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Xu Zuiyin smiled and said, "I did, but today the children from the Chamber of Commerce wanted to meet the fourth son of the Su family to facilitate business in the future, so I didn't go. I just wrote a poem for my family Lezhi to bring over to show his support."
Upon hearing this, Yao Yuanzai looked deeply at Xu Zuiyin, then looked at Mu Xu, but didn't say much.
Mu Xu, on the other hand, looked at Xu Zuiyin, thought for a moment and asked, "Le Zhi should be 22 this year, right?"
Xu Zuiyin nodded immediately: "Yes, he will be twenty-three in April. He is very naughty at home and doesn't like studying as much as his sister, so the elders at home threw him into the Chamber of Commerce to train him."
Mu Xu crushed a salted dried peanut shell with his fingers, put it in his mouth and said, "You are a grown man now, but you don't have the heart to study. If you follow scholars for a long time, you will also get some of the scholars' airs. Now Xun Kuang is busy with things, and Li Jiulang, Su Wenqing and other bastards are trying to get him out of the sect all day long. Yan Shu is also busy, taking care of his own affairs with Gu Chiyu and the Hanlin Academy. I am with your master's wife, and we need someone to serve tea and water and run errands. Ask Le Zhi to come over?"
Hearing this, Yao Yuanzai said nothing more and just took a sip of wine.
Xu Zuiyin looked at his teacher deeply, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Teacher, does the emperor really want..."
When he said this, Xu Zuiyin stopped talking and just looked at Mu Xu.
Mu Xu looked at Xu Zuiyin, smiled and said, "Not bad, you guessed it right away, which is better than that time. At that time, you read the books of sages and were full of ambitions. You thought that you had read too many books, and you could be a person and an official just by following the sages. You didn't know at all that the books of sages were for reading, and they were useless for doing things. But you are good in one way, you are obedient! You listened to me, went to study, traveled around Daxia, and when you came back, you didn't clamor to be an official. You also told me that not all scholars are suitable for being officials. I was so relieved at that time. To be honest with you, I was worried about you back then. If you really became an official, what would I do? I would have to find a way to clean up your ass every few days. But fortunately you didn't become an official, otherwise you can see the situation in the past few years. People like you would be played with."
After that, Mu Xu took a sip of wine and glanced at Xu Zuiyin, who had a serious and anxious face. "You saw it, so it's going to be done. Don't ask us about the specifics. We saw the same thing as you did. Our emperor never tells anyone about his actions. He will only reveal a few words when it comes to the critical moment and he has to do something. Especially when it's none of your business, he will never tell anyone more."
At this point, Mu Xu picked up the peanuts and didn't eat them in a hurry. Instead, he looked at his students and said, "But there is one thing you should remember. Write to your elder brother and tell him that His Majesty asked Li Jiulang to arrange this matter. He is talking to you. If he can talk to you, it means there is a chance. If he doesn't talk to you, there is no way."
Xu Zuiyin thought about it carefully and then nodded.
On the other hand, Yao Yuanzai, who was honest by nature, asked directly: "Zuiyin, you came to the capital this time. Your elder brother told you to ask Mu Xu, right?"
Xu Zuiyin did not hide it and nodded, saying, "Before leaving, my eldest brother had this plan. I thought that although my lineage is not close to the main family and has been separated, this matter is not a big deal, so I agreed."
When Mu Xu heard this, he smiled and said, "You rascal, it's a good thing you didn't become an official! Otherwise, I would have died in your hands long ago!"
Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi smiled at each other, and then looked at Xu Zuiyin.
Zhao Shi said, "Hey, you, you can be called a master when it comes to reciting poems, writing couplets and annotating scriptures, but how can you not see such a small thing? And just now when your teacher mentioned Le Zhi's matter, you immediately thought that your teacher wanted to protect your lineage, why don't you see it now?"
Xu Zuiyin was stunned for a moment, looked at Zhao Shi, then at Yao Yuanzai and Mu Xu.
He noticed that the first two people had helpless expressions, but Mu Xu didn't seem to care at all. He just drank wine and ate peanuts, and even peeled several for himself and placed them in front of him.
After discovering that he was a very learned but unsuited disciple to be an official, Mu Xu smiled and said, "It's nothing. Don't listen to their nonsense. Even if you don't ask about this matter today, you have already fallen into the emperor's trap. I can't escape it anyway. So don't worry about it. Just write the letter to your elder brother as I said. But remember, tell him not to tell anyone. If he does, things will change."
After all, Xu Zuiyin was no longer the young man he once was. After thinking carefully for a while, his expression changed. He immediately stood up and bowed to Mu Xu: "Teacher, student."
Snapped!
Just as Xu Zuiyin opened his mouth, Mu Xu slapped him on the back of the head and cursed, "You bastard! I told you it was okay, so you should just sit there quietly. Why are you asking questions when you don't understand? I came to see you, so you are still my student. No matter what you do, your teacher is here! Even if you make a huge mistake, I will take responsibility for it! You act like you did something wrong, so just sit there quietly!"
Xu Zuiyin frowned and looked at Mu Xu. Although he was in his forties, he still obediently sat on the stool and looked at Mu Xu.
Mu Xu didn't care. He smiled and said, "Since you came to the capital... No, no, it should be from the beginning. After all, even if you are gone, there is still Le Zhi. With your relationship with me, how can I not meet my disciple? So the emperor wanted me to get involved from the beginning. After all, I am the great Mu Xu, the chief priest. I have a great reputation in your southern literary world, especially in your aristocratic families. Over the years, many people have called me teacher when they see me. Even a few family heads treat me with respect. Isn't it!"
Xu Zuiyin looked at Mu Xu without saying a word, but was thinking about the relationship between them.
Yao Yuanzai couldn't stand it anymore and said with a smile, "Your teacher, in fact, the emperor has given an order, so he can't hide and has to do it. But the emperor's order for him to do it and he himself goes to the emperor to ask for it are two different things, especially for the aristocratic families in the south. If the emperor asks him to do it, it means he has to do it directly, and the children of the aristocratic families will inevitably panic and feel that they have no way out. But if Mu Xu says he wants to do it himself, then he still has room for maneuver, at least he has a way out."
"There is also a difference between resisting and not resisting. In short, the emperor wants your teacher to participate, but he cannot give orders directly to your teacher. In addition, he must make some people from the aristocratic families feel that your teacher wants to protect them and is willing to get involved in this matter. Therefore, there must be a process like this for your eldest brother and others to see, and then Mu Xu will get involved."
Chapter 323 The Queen loves His Majesty so much that she wrote this poem
Xu Zuiyin listened to Yao Yuanzai's explanation and understood a little.
But he frowned, knowing that he had let the teacher down by thinking that he was just going with the flow.
But it also seemed like I shouldn't have come to the capital at this time from the beginning!
Therefore, I felt a little annoyed. After all, I had a good life but I had caused trouble for the teacher, and even got myself into bigger trouble!
Mu Xu, who was standing at the side, looked at his disciple like this, laughed twice, and then scolded: "Pretending to understand, have you digested the saints' books? Knowing what you know and not knowing what you don't know is knowledge. We old guys don't know whether you understand or not? But it doesn't matter if you don't understand. To put it bluntly, this matter has nothing to do with you. It's the emperor and me."
"I don't want to get involved in this, so I've been pretending to be ignorant to His Majesty and not saying a word. I'm also surprised that His Majesty is so anxious to deal with the south so that there will be no worries over there, but why hasn't he come to see me alone? But I heard that you're here, good guy, I thought you were waiting for me here. Sure enough!"
"Your Majesty, you are good at playing overt schemes. The previous emperor played them more smoothly. You have to fall into them. So it has nothing to do with you. Without you, there are others. Anyone who has anything to do with the southern family who comes to me is trapped and cannot be solved. Moreover, in the end, Your Majesty issued an edict to let me do it. I still have to do it, but it is just the method that Yao Yuanzai said just now. So don't be so sad. What kind of day is this? If you are sad, even wine will not taste good."
"Moreover, the affairs of the court are linked one to another. An ordinary sentence involves a huge matter. An ordinary sentence, when weighed, weighs tens of thousands of taels. Such things are everywhere."
After saying that, Mu Xu looked at Xu Zuiyin, smiled, drank a sip of wine and said: "Your child, your knowledge is getting bigger and bigger, your poems are getting better and better, your reputation is getting louder and louder, and you have more and more students, but you just don't guard against people. But it's true that some people are born without this mind, so they are not suitable for being officials. But this kind of people, if they do anything else, they will definitely succeed, because their minds are pure and they have no distractions."
As he said this, he looked at Xu Zuiyin and sighed again: "You are blessed to have a good teacher like me. If it were someone else, they would have allowed you to enter the government directly. What would you do then? People who are not suitable for being an official should not be officials! Just like that Meng Shaoan, he didn't even know that he had screwed himself over, and I heard he was still happy."
I heard Mu Xu shamelessly praising me without even a hint of being subtle.
Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.
But without saying much, he actually agreed with Mu Xu's words. After all, this was really Mu Xu's credit. Otherwise, if Xu Zuiyin had really entered the official career, there might not be the current "Poetry King" Xu Zuiyin.
It can be said that there are just a lot of frustrated literati.
Or even just a corpse.
They have lived for so long and have been in the capital for so long that they have seen too many things like this. Some of them tried to persuade them but they didn't listen, some listened but just left, and most of them were too late to persuade them, like Meng Shaoan, who is the most recent example.
Mu Xu no longer added wine to his glass.
Drinking quickly is a taboo at the wine table. No matter how good your alcohol tolerance is, you will easily fall into the wine tank, and then most of them will run under the wine table and claim to be invincible! I am not drunk!
But in fact, he was already drunk and talking nonsense!
Mu Xu did this a lot when he was young, so he doesn’t do this anymore when he gets older.
After saying these simple words just now, Mu Xu had actually drunk four or five cups. On the one hand, he was happy to see his eldest disciple, and on the other hand, he was worried about this disciple. What should he do with his brain like this?
As for the fact that the emperor invited him to join the game, Mu Xu actually didn't take it to heart at all.
After all, he is the emperor!
When I'm in a good mood, I'll consider the overall situation and set up a trap for you to join.
If you are in a bad mood, you will have to enter the game on your knees once an imperial decree is issued.
So comparing the two, Mu Xu chose the former, which is at least decent and face-saving.
just
In fact, it was only after he learned that his disciple had entered the capital that he realized that the emperor had set up such a trap. He even wondered if he was overthinking it.
Until just now, this disciple of mine nodded to indicate that he wanted to ask a question.
Mu Xu realized that he couldn't escape it after all, so he might as well face it calmly.
But in fact, this question, if it is normal, is nothing, just a question. It is normal for Xu Zuiyin to come to the Imperial College, just a visit.
But it happened that day, and Xu Zuiyin would definitely ask the emperor whether he was going to take action against the aristocratic families. No matter what his answer was, as long as he asked the question, he would be considered involved and there would be no way to escape!
Although my old bones may need to take a stroll to the south, I will still regard it as studying hard!
By the way, let’s see how many people we can save.
In the past few years, people like Li Nishang were deceived by the emperor in the capital and did all kinds of evil things, so naturally these noble families were also deceived.
In this situation, a few people have to die.
Thinking of the tragic scene that happened when the late emperor was alive, Mu Xu was shocked and shook his head. It was so tragic.
Although our emperor is kind, when it comes to killing people, he is no worse than the late emperor.
but.
"Not bad." Mu Xu suddenly looked at his disciple and said with a smile.
Xu Zuiyin looked at his teacher, puzzled.
This time, not only Xu Zuiyin, but also Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi on the side, looked at Mu Xu with some confusion.
Mu Xu said with a smile: "I think it's okay. The emperor is good to me. At least the one who talked with those people from your Liu family today was the fat guy Su Liheng, which means that your Wanli family can still be saved. As for the other side, Zhao Yulang has gone there. May you be lucky. Hey, let's not talk about this. Come on, let's talk about something else. I can't talk to you about this. You are too stupid. Xun Kuang is here. He can still talk to us."
No matter what Mu Xu said, the King of Poetry, who was very knowledgeable but could not be an official, simply could not listen.
When Mu Xu finished speaking, Xu Zuiyin stood up and bowed to Mu Xu again: "I really didn't expect there would be so many things here."
Hearing this, Mu Xu raised his hand and was about to slap him.
But when he arrived, he smiled and patted me gently and said, "Okay, stop being so hypocritical. I already said it has nothing to do with you. And even if you didn't come, I would have been thinking about how to help you."
Xu Zuiyin raised his eyes and looked at Mu Xu, his expression still bitter, just because he really didn't expect it!
There are too many tricks in this capital city!
Moreover, he thought about it again and again and made sure it was not a big deal, so he agreed to his eldest brother, who is now the head of the Liu family, but he did not expect it to be like this.
However, Mu Xu looked at Xu Zuiyin's expression and scolded him with a smile: "You bastard! Look at yourself! No wonder you can't be my sweet girl! Do you know what Xun Kuang would do at this moment? That bastard will definitely stick his butt out and say, "Then you kick me. Anyway, it's already like this. After you kick me, we'll find a way to solve it."
Yao Yuanzai thought for a moment and added, "When you really kick him, that kid will definitely hide, and will even say, if you really kick him, something will happen!"
Mu Xu heard it and nodded immediately, then looked at Xu Zuiyin: "Did you hear that?"
Xu Zuiyin smiled bitterly.
He felt helpless in his heart, so he thought that his junior brother was the most suitable to be an official.
He would never be able to do such a thing.
But Xu Zuiyin thought for a while and said, "Teacher, how about I move back to the capital? I can just go and talk to my wife. You are here, and the teacher's wife is here too. We need someone to serve you. And now that something like this is going to happen, I'd better stay away from the Liu family."
It’s not that Xu Zuiyin is heartless, it’s mainly because he has no real feelings for the Liu family. After all, he was scolded as stupid since he was a child. If it weren’t for the old man of the Liu family, he might have been separated at a very young age.
Later, because he listened to Mu Xu and refused to become an official, many people looked down on him. If he had not been so knowledgeable and had not opened a school, his life would have been better and his status would have been much higher. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened.
But Xu Zuiyin had had enough of all this and just wanted to study and teach in peace, so he separated from his family early and lived alone.
There are many people like him in every aristocratic family, so he is not special.
As for his son Xu Lezhi joining the Chamber of Commerce, it was mainly because the Liu family had few members and Xu Lezhi was not doing his job properly, so he had to have a way out. So Xu Zuiyin let him join the Chamber of Commerce to help with business.
But unexpectedly, I still got myself into trouble.
So, I felt guilty after all, but I was also afraid that I would betray the teacher again in the future. After all, if the teacher went to the south, there would inevitably be more trouble. It would be better to leave and not cause trouble for the teacher!
Mu Xu smiled and said, "Finish this with me first! I'm here, no one can cheat you. Besides, in Beijing, we can't be completely stable until these things are over. Let's not talk about this, come on, let's talk about poetry. You just said that you wrote a poem for Le Zhi and asked him to take it to Liu Baishi's poetry meeting, right?"
Xu Zuiyin nodded: "Yes, I wrote a poem."
After saying this, Xu Zuiyin didn't need Mu Xu and the others to say anything special. He stood up, picked up the pen and ink beside him and started writing.
Mu Xu, Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi all rushed over.