stand back, let me come

Chapter 1314: Whose food are you eating? (Part 1314) [Seeking monthly votes]

When luck comes, nothing can stop it.

Including good luck and bad luck.

As the noise outside the tent grew louder, the sky brightened.

Luan Xin took Miao Ne to see Shen Tang in person after a simple breakfast. Since Miao Ne was willing to come to the court, he should strike while the iron is hot and make the matter a reality to avoid any more trouble. It would be safer for him to help Miao Ne with the request for pardon.

"Ximin finally decided to come back?"

I received the news of Miao Ne's return at midnight yesterday, and I was really relieved. With the death of the former king of Qi State, the Southwest Alliance completely fell apart, and the situation in the Southwest Continent became a complete mess. Although Miao Ne has his own means, he is a scholar after all, not a warrior. If he is surrounded and beaten by others, there is also the risk of capsizing.

A journey of just a few days turned into more than two months due to Miao Ne.

Shen Tang was really afraid that she would have an accident.

It was so chaotic that we couldn't get in touch with anyone.

Hearing Shen Tang's harsh words, Miao Ne shrank his neck in guilt: "It's my fault that you made the master worry about me."

She had only met Shen Tang himself a few times, but she had spent a lot of time with his incarnation, so she naturally knew that Shen Tang would always give in to soft tactics rather than hard ones. As long as it didn't involve principles, it was absolutely right to take a step back first.

"Since you have worked hard and made great contributions, I will not bother with you this time. Remember, this will not happen again next time." Shen Tang did not really want to hold Miao Ne accountable. He just gave Miao Ne a half-truthful warning so that he would learn his lesson. "Don't you think about how worried your teacher and master must be about you..."

But Luan Xin was slow to react.

I've been worrying for too long and I can't help myself.

Miao Ne was quite surprised and observed Luan Xin's expression out of the corner of his eye.

She had previously told Xiang Zhao that she was only half a fellow disciple, and Luan Xin was half a teacher. It was not that she was intentionally alienating him, but she really believed it. The past events of the Miao family made her feel inferior deep in her bones, and her sense of worthiness was below average.

Become a direct disciple of the Minister of Personnel?

Really worried from the bottom of your heart?
Miao Ne did not dare to hope for it. Deep down, she always believed that Luan Xin's care was partly due to his regret for Miao Shu - although he and Miao Shu were master and disciple in name, he did not fulfill his responsibility of teaching her, so he gave this compensation to Miao Ne, a member of the same clan as Miao Shu.

Luan Xin's response was also simple: [What else? ]

When a child travels far away, how can parents and teachers not worry?
Miao Ne felt relieved to see him doing good deeds outside.

Receiving Luan Xin's gaze, Miao Ne felt inexplicably uneasy, with heat spreading from her neck to the top of her head, and a little shy blush appeared on her face through her well-trained skin. She hadn't felt this shy for many years.

"It's the students' fault that Teacher Luan is worried."

Noticing that she changed her address, Luan Xin's lips curled up.

Shen Tang interrupted the warm interaction between teacher and student with an unromantic look: "The resistance in the southwest is no longer a threat. All obstacles can be cleared in March. Ximin, do you have any plans for the future? Do you plan to keep everything as it is, or go to the court to help your teacher share the worries?"

The Ministry of Personnel is already extremely busy.

The southwest was incorporated into the territory, and the size of the official staff at least doubled.

I dare not imagine how much work the Ministry of Personnel will have to do. Even if the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel expand their staff, they will be very busy. If Miao Ne comes back, Luan Xin's pressure will be greatly reduced. Her ability has been in the wild, which is somewhat wasted.

You can be with Shen Tang without going to the Ministry of Personnel.

Responsible for secret investigation and assisting in monitoring the common people.

Miao Ne was deeply touched by Shen Tang's recognition of him: "Thank you for your kindness, my Lord, but I still feel that my qualifications are not enough. Joining the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel will not be enough to convince the public, and it will also bring shame to Master Luan and make him bear the stigma of nepotism..."

Luan Xin spoke up to help at this time.

So as to prevent the master from misunderstanding that Miao Ne was refusing.

"I intend to let Ximin go to the prefecture first."

"That's fine too. Where are you going, Ximin?"

Shen Tang gave Miao Ne the choice.

This kind of treatment is almost the best.

Who doesn't rack his brains and sharpen his mind when entering the officialdom?
The royal family is not our own, so how can we go wherever we want?
"It's not suitable to go to the southwest." Luan Xin believed that his master knew the reason better than he did. "Isn't Yuan Fu's place suitable?"

"You mean Yuanfu County?"

Shen Tang dug out the relevant information about Yuan Fu from his mind.

He said angrily, "How can you be a teacher like this? Wouldn't it be a punishment for Ximin to be transferred to Yuan Fu's place?"

It's not that she doesn't know Luan Xin's plan.

However, the situation in Yuanfu is not optimistic.

In name, Yuanfu County was under the jurisdiction of Kangguo, but in reality it was an enclave constrained by the central forces. This enclave can be traced back to the last time the Zhen Kingdom was annihilated. At that time, Kangguo took over all the territory of Zhen Kingdom, and relied on a beating to make the nearby forces afraid, so they did not dare to easily mobilize troops against Kangguo, which had just experienced a war.

As time went by, the tension eased and there was a strong demand from the public to resume commercial exchanges. In order to ensure smooth trade routes, Kangguo and the central forces agreed to set up a transit point in the disputed area, that is, the enclave.

The Central Powers were causing trouble in the enclave, which resulted in the officials sent out being unable to completely control the local power. They were constrained everywhere, and three consecutive officials returned home in failure. The three people were lucky not to die in office, but that doesn't mean there were no assassinations in secret.

The greater the friction between Kangguo and the central region, the more frequent the assassinations.

Now the relationship has been completely torn apart.

Two coups d'état took place in Yuan Fu's territory at the secret instigation of others.

It would be too risky to appoint Miao Ne there at this critical moment.

Luan Xin looked at Miao Ne: "What do you think, Ximin?"

"It's my wish, but I don't dare to ask for my ear."

Shen Tang looked at the teacher and student who were singing the same tune, and immediately guessed that they had already discussed going to Yuanfu: "Since Ximin is so insistent, I can't refuse. But you have to think carefully, if something happens, you will never come back!"

"Please grant me your blessing, my Lord!"

Shen Tang had no choice but to agree.

Miao Ne said shyly, "I have another unwelcome request. If we want to stabilize Yuan Fu, we need more people, but I am short of money and have not saved much in recent years. I am afraid that the regular salary of the county government is not enough. Can the Lord be flexible and grant me more?"

If you want to take office smoothly, you have to make arrangements.

It is definitely not necessary under normal circumstances, but Yuan Fu is special.

Shen Tang: "..."

She pressed her temple. She couldn't sleep last night because the fiscal expenditure budget deficit exceeded the target this year. Xun Zhen added fuel to the fire by submitting a budget for rebuilding the existing land in the southwest. If it is fully implemented, it will at least overdraw the profits for the next five years. Xun Zhen also squandered the private treasury that she had saved with great difficulty. Now her private treasury is poorer than the national treasury.

Miao Ne's words were even more of a critical blow.

Shen Tang even wanted to lie down and give up.

Tell her that money is not as important as life!
However, for the sake of his prestige as the head of a country, Shen Tang could only swallow his tears and say, "Of course, there is still some time before you take office. You can go again in the spring of next year and select some smart people to follow you. Everything is based on your safety."

It won’t be long before spring comes.

Miao Ne said: "I already have a candidate in mind."

"Oh, who is it?"

"It's the teacher's new student, Junior Sister Xiang Laiqu." The teacher said that Xiang Zhao was very talented and should be able to open up the Dan Mansion and gather the literary mind before she took office. Miao Ne himself was from an orthodox academy and had teaching experience, so it was no problem for him to tutor Xiang Zhao.

Shen Tang looked a little strange: "Are you talking about Xiang Zhao?"

"Yes, Junior Sister agreed." Shen Tang: "..."

She didn't have to worry about Miao Ne at all.

Focus on feeling sorry for your wallet.

Miao Ne didn't know Shen Tang's financial situation, but Luan Xin knew it very well. He couldn't feel anything but sympathy. But after sympathy, he had to do what he had to do. It was impossible for a minister to not take his salary just because his master was poor.

If the master is well fed, his whole family will not be hungry. He has a family to support.

So, I can only sympathize with you.

Shen Tang: "..."

Did Gongyi think he couldn't read his eyes???

Among the three, Miao Ne was the happiest.

She was about to lament her good fortune recently, but soon she could no longer smile, because an urgent letter suddenly came from outside the tent.

The current new ruler of Qi State has passed away.

Since being forced to defend the isolated city, the voices in the city have been divided into two groups. One group wants to know the current situation and surrender, while the other group would rather die than live in disgrace and is ready to fight to the death. The final decision was made by the new leader of Qi State.

The new master himself was not a very courageous man.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he no longer had the will to struggle.

The only thought was to use surrender as a bargaining chip to exchange as much benefit as possible with Kangguo to ensure his wealth and prosperity in the second half of his life. Gaoguo's Wu Zhaode had fought with Shen Tang for many years and had such an ending. There was no reason why he who had not had time to offend her could not do the same. But this idea could not be easily publicized, because the death fighting faction had already controlled most of the defenses in the city.

If they knew about this, the new master’s life would be in danger.

When we were at our wits' end, the news somehow leaked out.

The death fighting faction was naturally filled with grief and indignation, but they still held back and prepared to test the new master's true attitude. At a banquet that should have been open and honest, someone suddenly broke the cup, drew the sword first, or moved the knife first, and both sides thought it was the other who did it.

The scene was filled with blood and heads were rolling everywhere.

In the chaos, the new master died.

At this time, the Kangguo troops outside the city attacked the city, capturing those who should be captured and persuading those who should surrender. The body of the new leader of the Qi Kingdom was transported to Shen Tang, including the imperial seal in his hand, which was not yet warm. As soon as Shen Tang heard it, he knew that someone was playing tricks.

"Who is the escort?"

The guard said, "It's Cui Xiong from the Cui family."

Miao Ne felt a chill down his spine when he heard this and subconsciously turned to look at the teacher.

Should she avoid it now?
Luan Xin said slowly: "Why are you afraid of him?"

The Cui family was still a big player in the southwest, but they were inferior to others in Kangguo. What was wrong with Cui Xiong having a grandfather named Cui Xiao? His students also had a teacher who was the Minister of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel was his territory, and before he stepped down and was transferred, the Cui family had to keep their tails between their legs.

If we really fight, I will be able to win.

Miao Ne smiled awkwardly: "I'm not afraid."

I just feel a little guilty.

Cui Xiong was already waiting outside the tent. Miao Ne would be caught red-handed if she went out now. If she used the Word Spirit to hide her body and was discovered, it would be like trying to cover up one's own guilt. She pursed her lips and could only put on the calmest expression, forcing herself to empty her mind.

After not seeing him for more than two months, Cui Xiongqing has lost a lot of weight.

There is almost no flesh on the cheeks, and they are visibly uncomfortable to the touch.

Cui Xiong did not notice the people around Luan Xin. He lowered his eyes slightly, as humble and polite as usual. It was also the first time that Luan Xin met the eldest son of the Cui family. He was quite satisfied with his appearance. His manners were impeccable, worthy of his family background.

It just sounds a bit hollow.

When Cui Xiong presented the national seal, Shen Tang took a look to determine whether it was real or fake, waved his hand and took it into the Dan Mansion, and asked sincerely: "Cui Lang has a problem with his voice, are you ill?"

Cui Xiong bowed again before replying.

He is not sick, but has internal injuries and poisoning.

Fortunately, he survived and is now fine.

How did you get injured and poisoned?

Of course it was the civil strife.

Cui Xiong was still frightened when he talked about this, just like an unlucky person who was innocently affected. If he hadn't been lucky, he would have drunk the hot Meng Po soup. Luan Xin watched coldly from the side, and believed that Cui Xiong was lying, or at least he didn't tell the whole truth.

Why are you so sure?

Cui Xiong felt calm.

This is one of the characteristics of high alert.

_(:з　∠)_
Using mind reading to spy on others' thoughts would be discovered if you met an expert, but Gu Chi's way of the scholar didn't have this worry. Although Luan Xin didn't like Gu Chi, he used his way of the scholar smoothly.

Cui Xiong sent the seal of Qi State, Shen Tang could not be stingy, he said something nice first, and arranged for the doctor of Xinglin to see him. Young people should not blindly do this just because they have good health, which may cause hidden dangers.

Cui Xiong bowed again to express his gratitude.

As for the body of the new leader of Qi State sent by Cui Xiong?
He had only been in power for more than two months, and the construction of the royal mausoleum had not yet begun. It would not be convenient for him to share a mausoleum with the previous ruler of Qi State. Shen Tang would not pay to build a mausoleum for him that suited his status. So he simply found a beautiful Feng Shui site nearby to bury him there.

Erecting a monument will also make it convenient for future generations to pay homage.

Because the simple burial method was popular in Kangguo, outsiders could not blame Shen Tang, and Cui Xiong naturally would not refute anything.

Of course, this is not the real purpose of Cui Xiong's trip.

The corpse was just delivered as a gift, and the national seal was just a token of surrender. The real purpose was to test Shen Tang's attitude - the system of Kangguo was completely different from that in the southwest. The most obvious point was the local taxation, which also concerned the interests of various local families.

Cui Xiong actually didn't want to come, but he had to.

Others pushed Cui out just to be the first to take action.

He had just started to speak when he was suppressed by Shen Tang.

"Don't mention this first."

Cui Xiong stammered twice, lowered his head and left.

Teacher Luan Xin and his students did not stay in the tent for long.

When they came out, they saw the young man who was supposed to leave standing not far away, his eyes passed Luan Xin and fell on Miao Ne behind him. Miao Ne realized something was wrong when he saw this look.

No, she didn't say a word.

The last bit of hope was also dissipated by Cui Xiong's greeting: "How have you been these past two months, Baojun?"

Miao Ne gave up struggling.

But her disguise was given by Qi Zhongshu, so it wouldn't be seen through at a glance, right? Especially Cui Xiong, who couldn't even tell the color of lip balm: "Who told you my true identity?"

Cui Xiong looked at her and chuckled, his tone a little more bitter than usual: "It's been three years, I can recognize any smell you have."

"Your name is just Cui Xiong, you are not a bear?"

I never thought that it was the smell that exposed my identity.

|ω`)