Great Sui Storyteller

Chapter 546
Outside the Taoguang Hall, a man wearing an official uniform with gray hair on his temples, but who appeared to be less than fifty, walked in.

Stepping into the hall, when he saw Yang Tong sitting behind the desk and Hongying standing beside him, Lu Chu was not surprised, just bowed:
"Chen Lu Chu, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the King of Yue."

"Lu Qing is free."

Although Yang Tong is not very old, he has been nurtured by Yang Guang for so many years, so he naturally has an imperial demeanor. After Lu Chu finished giving the gift, he said that he was exempt from the gift, and at the same time signaled to Hongying:

"Give a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Hongying personally moved the seat, and after Lu Chu sat down, although he didn't say it clearly, his eyes fell on Hongying.

Obviously, he came today to talk about things that he didn't want others to hear.

Did Yang Tong understand?

understood.

But if you understand it, you understand it. As a grandson, he has his own plans.

So he didn't think about pushing Hongying away at all, instead he smiled and said:
"I know that Lu Qing likes tea, the last time I came here to drink a bowl of tea, I praised it three times in a row. No, today I specially asked Hongying to cook a pot for us."

"Your Highness..."

When Lu Chu heard this, he probably felt that Yang Tong hadn't guessed his purpose, so he immediately wanted to explain.

By the way, he pushed Hongying away.

But before he could speak, he heard Yang Tong continue:

"Perhaps Lu Qing doesn't know that Gu's diet and daily life are becoming more and more inseparable from her. It's just a pity... Gu hasn't taken a concubine yet, and Hongying was born as Mr. Jing Chan's maid after all, and her age is too old. It's a bit longer than Gu. Otherwise, Gu really wants to be included in the mansion."

"Dang..."

The teacup in her hand was not grasped, and the panicked woman raised her head unconsciously...

"Your Highness... Your Highness..."

She was really panicked.

It's okay to be a female officer, but you still want to take pictures of me! ?

But as everyone knows, her panicked appearance has become a proof of her own charm to Yang Tong.

"What? You don't want to?"

"Oh no……"

If there is a knife in her waist right now, Hongying really wants to...

But when she was flustered, she heard Lu Chu suddenly say:
"Your Highness loves beauty, but she is of royal blood after all. If the Hongying lady is a direct descendant of the three clans, maybe it's okay. Although this statement is a bit unreasonable, it is true that the Hongying lady is a maid, and now lives in the East Palace. The position of being in charge of the inner palace is already at its limit. If you go one step further, even if His Highness wants to be included in the palace, you must go to the Great Treasure, for the sake of selecting talents. Otherwise, you may be afraid that the world's words will be unethical."

In an instant, Hongying's impression of Lu Chu became "a good guy".

And Yang Tong also understands this truth, although it is a bit frivolous for a woman to say that the two are talking about it.But from the side, it also shows the importance of Hongying in Yang Tong's heart.

These words were actually said to Lu Chu.

Tell Lu Chu: This is my own.

Lu Chu also understood this truth, so he followed Yang Tong's words and used Hongying's background as an excuse to find a way for Hongying to step down.

Sure enough, after Lu Chu finished speaking, he turned to Hongying and said:
"A few days ago, I drank a pot of tea soup from the female officer, and I really had a lot of aftertaste. I have to trouble the female officer."

Hongying hurriedly saluted:

"I dare not take Zuo Cheng's praise like this."

"Haha, hurry up and make tea."

Yang Tong urged, and let Hongying start to serve the tea set on the tea table next to him, and asked Lu Chu to himself:
"What's going on with Zuo Cheng tonight?"

He got down to business.

After knowing the position of the female official of Pegasus City in His Highness's heart, Lu Chu thought about it for a while, and seemed to have figured out something, and said directly:
"Returning to Your Highness, I'm here tonight because I'm worried about the situation in the east of the river, and I've thought of a comprehensive plan to discuss it with Your Highness."

"Oh?"

Yang Tong's expression is subtle but not revealing:
"The dilemma in Hedong?...Didn't the Shanxi Hedong consolation ambassador set out yesterday? Although there are bandits in Hedong, they are nothing more than local chickens and dogs. Li Yuan will probably be able to calm down in a year at most when he arrives there. Why is there such a problem? "

Lu Chu shook his head:

"No, Your Highness, as far as the overall situation is concerned, the peace of Hedong is just around the corner. But in "The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan", Fan Chi asked about benevolence. The Master said: Love others. The Master said again: Restraining oneself and returning to the courtesy is benevolence. One day, self-restraining and returning to the courtesy , the world belongs to benevolence. Benevolence depends on oneself, but on others?... The minister has accepted the way of the sages of Confucius and Mencius, and he has also received the benevolence of His Highness. Now he can sit in a high position, but he is walking on thin ice, for fear that he will not be benevolent. A person with little benevolence loves himself .Benevolent person, lover.

The east of the river has indeed been pacified, the thief Wu Duan'er died, and the soldiers under his command were routed, and now they can only hide in the deep mountains and panic all day long.But in the final analysis, these people were just bewitched by Wu Duan'er and gathered together under coercion.As soon as Wu Duan'er died, these people hid in the mountains but did not dare to invade and make trouble, which is the evidence.And it is said that when Wu Duan'er was in Weicheng, in order to fight against Li Yuan, he raided a whole county for grain and grain. "

"Ah!? How could this be!?"

Yang Tong's eyes were full of surprise, and was quickly replaced by a solemn expression:
"This Wuduaner is really abominable! He even dares to touch the grain seeds!... Doesn't he think about how the people who have no grain seeds can survive!?"

Lu Chu's eyes were full of approval, and there was also compassion in his voice:

"That's why I just came here today to talk to His Highness. When His Majesty left, he ordered His Highness to oversee the administration of the country. His Highness has always been respected by the people for his benevolence, and there are still some unfinished matters left by His Majesty. Presumably there is an examination Meaning. This year’s Hedong is doing well at the moment. Everything recovers in spring and summer, and the common people can still make a living by turning over some wild vegetables. But in autumn and winter, these thieves will have no pardon and no place to live. Going down...there may be another chaos in the east of the river. I think that if such a thing really happens, I'm afraid...your majesty will be very dissatisfied with your majesty."

"This... this this this..."

Yang Tong subconsciously sat up straight, his eyes full of solemnity:

"Then according to Zuo Cheng's intention, what should I do?... I am going to pardon them for their innocence?"

"Your Highness can't."

Lu Chu quickly shook his head:

"Whether or not these people are bewitched by Wu Duan'er, the name of joining the army to rebel is already a fact. If they are pardoned in vain, it will hurt the majesty of the court! Absolutely not."

"I can't forgive them. If this riverside starves to death in autumn and winter, wouldn't it be a purgatory on earth?!... If grandfather knows this, that orphan..."

Yang Tong frowned completely.

It looked extremely distressed.

While talking, Hong Ying, who had cooked the tea soup in a similar way to ordering tea, had already served the tea to the two of them.

Then they retreated silently, and continued to wait for the two of them to drink up the tea and then store water.

As for Lu Chu, he took a sip of the tea soup and nodded slightly, looking extremely satisfied.Then he said to Yang Tong:
"Your Highness, there is no need to be troubled. The reason why I came here today and raised this matter is that I already have some calculations in my heart..."

Before he finished speaking, Yang Tong immediately said:
"Zuo Cheng taught me!"

Even "solitary" is not used.

And when he was talking, Lu Chu just took another sip of tea.

Using the teacup as a cover, Yang Tong didn't see the flashing smile at the corner of his mouth.

And Lu Chu also didn't see the deep sarcasm hidden in Yang Tong's eyes.

……

"Your Highness, subject, please leave."

"Zuo Cheng has done a lot of hard work, Hong Ying, send Zuo Cheng for Gu."

"Yes."

After Lu Chu arrived for less than an hour, he got up and left.

It's just...the expression on his face when he left was not very good-looking.

Hongying sent her farewell to the gate of the East Palace in person, bowed and waited for the other party's carriage to leave before turning back.

When he returned to the Taoguang Hall, he saw Yang Tong sitting behind the desk at a glance, looking at the map of Hedong County and seemed to be thinking about something.

After thinking about it, she said softly:
"Your Highness, it's late at night, please rest in peace."

"Um……"

Yang Tong responded, but didn't get up, but asked:

"Today's matter, how much do you understand?"

"This……"

Hongying thought for a moment, then said in a tone full of confusion and incomprehension:

"If it wasn't for His Highness to clear up my doubts, I'm afraid I really thought that Zuo Cheng was benevolent, and he came here to ask His Highness to ask for an order for those rebels in Hedong, and issued an edict to allow those rebels to perform their crimes with corvée and reduce their punishment. Woolen cloth."

A trace of sarcasm flowed from the corner of Yang Tong's mouth.

"His Highness's wisdom is unparalleled in this world..."

The sarcasm turned into self-satisfaction mixed with humility in an instant.

"It's just... I don't understand, why did His Highness insist on thinking about it when Zuo Cheng asked for the order just now?"

"Look at you..."

In an instant, Yang Tong's eyes were full of helplessness:
"I've said it all, you have to take a long-term view. Have you forgotten what Gu told you just now?"

"……what?"

Looking at the innocent woman, he shook his head slightly:
"Didn't Gu tell you that the most important thing in the court is checks and balances. If Gu agreed to him just now and issued an edict directly, it would be tantamount to confirming the matter. What about the others? What about the Cui family? The dragon fire belongs to the Cui family. Laojun wants to recruit a husband, but no one will give it to him. Therefore, they can only look for it from Hedong. And the lonely edict is equivalent to standing in the Lu family This side. What will the Cui family think? What will the Wang family think? What can Gu get from the Lu family? An empty benevolent name?"

The more he talked, the more speechless he became, gradually using a sarcasm tone that seemed to be to Hongying, but also to himself:

"The Lu family... really underestimated Gu. If grandfather hadn't left, Gu Gu would not have dared to tell his grandfather that if he had ten guts in Lu's family. Heh~ I want to get rid of Gu with just an empty name, and take it by myself." The biggest advantage? It's just a dream. Tomorrow, when I go to court alone, I will tell you about it. It's a pity that you are gone, Hongying..."

"?"

Looking at the blank eyes of the woman, he said impatiently:
"You can't go to the court, so you can't see it. When Gu tells this matter, what will happen to the officials of the family standing behind them. Hahahaha..."

As he said that, there was a coldness in his eyes:
"If you can't issue an edict, the people in Hedong are treacherous! Let's see if anyone dares to give them a finger! If you don't give them any benefits, treat Gu as a child with a yellow mouth?... Hehe, this time Gu Let's see what you can do!"

"Oh!!"

Hongying suddenly realized:

"It turns out that His Highness... wants to reap the benefits of being a fisherman!"

"Hahahaha, you finally understand?"

Hearty laughter sounded from the Taoguang Hall:

"That's right, what I want is the greatest benefit! On weekdays, I have seen many times that my grandfather is under the control of the family because of some political affairs. But now..."

A... expression mixed with dissatisfaction, eagerness, provocation, etc., appeared on Yang Tong's face:
"I'm so lonely that I want to try it! In this world, it's not the turn of a family to ride on Gu's head!"

"Your Highness..."

The woman's eyes were full of admiration.

Seeing this look, Yang Tong smiled even more happily:

"Ha ha ha ha……"

……

"I have seen the master in charge."

"Well, Wang Shuisi, the fruits in these two food boxes are all from Lingnan as a tribute. The weather is hot these days, you take them back and soak them in the spring water. In the early morning tomorrow, someone will deliver them to His Highness on time. , do you know?"

Hearing Hongying's words, Wang Shuisi, who was in charge of transporting the No. [-] spring in Luoyang, "Ximing Mountain Spring", nodded respectfully:
"Yes, the officer knows."

"Ah."

Hongying nodded, and then pointed to the basket of sweet-smelling snacks:

"I asked you to come here so late. His Highness is sympathetic to your hard work, and specially prepared some snacks in the dining room. One of them is from your Wang Shuisi. I remember that your children like to eat jujube cake the most." Right? Take it."

Wang Shuisi's eyes were full of surprise and joy, and he bowed immediately:
"Thank you, my lord."

"Well, let's go. Remember to grasp the timing and make no mistakes."

"Yes."

Following Hongying's order, Wang Shuisi left the East Palace with several officers from the Shuisi.

He ordered people to return to Ximing Spring with two sealed food boxes, while he himself walked back with the basket of snacks.

After passing by a group of patrolling guards, he put his hand into the basket.

After fumbling for a while, soon, I found a cloth bag under the basket.

After taking it out, he quickly put it in his arms and walked home with the basket.

When they came to the alley at home, they saw two gray-clothed men who had been waiting there for a long time.

Wang Shuisi was not surprised, but quickly took out the cloth bag in his arms, handed it to a man in gray respectfully, and said:
"My lord, Master Donggong Hongying sent someone to send out a signal today, and the younger one notified the two adults. This is the information that Master Hongying gave just now."

"..."

"..."

The two of them didn't say a word, but under the moonlight, they checked the shallow mark that was linked together on the cloth bag, and after confirming that it was intact, one of them nodded:
"Ah."

Wang Shuisi heaved a sigh of relief, bowed, and walked towards home with the basket in hand.

And the two men in gray behind have disappeared without a sound.

Business as usual.

It's as if nothing happened.

(End of this chapter)