That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 686

In the 23rd year of Taiping, the sixth day of the first month.

The warmth in the cabinet is overwhelming. Apart from the old man with white beard and hair, there is also a middle-aged literati of about [-] years old on the kang. He is a standard Jiangnan celebrity, with a fair complexion, three long beards, and phoenix eyes. When he was young, he was so graceful, gentle and elegant. Although he didn't wear a public uniform, he was not lacking in just the right amount of majesty.On a chair not far away, a middle-aged man was sitting alone, holding a snuff bottle between his two fingers. He never smoked snuff, but just played with it lightly.

Under the guidance of the cabinet bachelor Li Shiqi, Xu Beiyou entered the cabinet, first glanced at Han Xuan, then nodded to Zhao Qing who was holding the snuff bottle, and finally bowed to the middle-aged scribe and said, "I met Mr. Xie. "

The middle-aged scholar is Xie Suqing, the patriarch of the Xie family, named Ziqing, who is also the newly-appointed cabinet assistant. He just arrived in Beijing today. After His Majesty summons him, he will be awarded the Martial Yingdian University Bachelor, second only to the now Wenhuadian University. Han Xuan of the scholar.

Xie Suqing teased: "It turns out that Xiaoge is old."

Xu Beiyou said with a smile: "The real elder is in front, so there is no such thing as a small elder."

Han Xuan seemed to be careless and said: "It's only been a few days, even you in the south of the Yangtze River know the old man's story here, I'm afraid someone is behind the scenes to fuel the flames, and the intention is beyond question."

Xie Suqing picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said with a smile, "It's hard to make a big deal out of trivial tricks, so why should Duke Wen take it to heart?"

Han Xuan said with emotion: "The thousand-mile long embankment collapsed in the ant's nest, and the wind blows from the end of Qingping. There are some things that must be investigated."

Xie Suqing nodded and said: "Mr. Wen's words are reasonable, Xie has been taught."

Han Xuan waved his hands and said, "Ziqing is too modest, I am already old, and I will have to trouble you for the big and small matters in the cabinet in the future."

Xie Suqing smiled and dared not dare.

After a few conversations, Chen Zhijin, the supervisor of ceremonies, came to ask Mr. Cifu to go to Ganquan Palace for an audience. Xie Suqing bid farewell to Han Xuan and Xu Beiyou and his son, and left with Chen Zhijin.

After there were only three people left in the cabinet, Han Xuan seemed to be a little afraid of the cold, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Lan Ruiyu left, and Xie Ziqing came, you have to remember when returning to the south, above the officialdom Without friends, one cannot live without a heart of defense.”

Seeing the old man's serious face, Xu Beiyou straightened his expression, nodded and said, "I've made a note."

Han Xuan said with emotion softly: "You are a monk and you pay attention to practice. In fact, being an official is also practicing. Why would there be a saying of 'gongmen practice'? Being an official is the word pedantic. Learning can be pedantic. You can't be an official, no matter what talents you have, as long as you stick to the word pedantic, you can only be depressed. Being an official pays attention to the word "flexibility", and you have done a good job in this regard. Well, whether it is the method of dealing with Zhang Jian in Jiangdu, or after he came to the imperial capital, it is remarkable, but you have to remember that being an official is like being a man, you must not forget your roots, just like Zhang Jiangling back then. What you do is to turn the tide and help the building to collapse. The regent is only a means, not an end. This is not forgetting the original. You are considered a master now, but you want to know what you want?"

Xu Beiyou's expression was serious, and he didn't say a word.

Qin Mumian had said these words on the way to the imperial capital, but it was not so straightforward. Xu Beiyou himself had thought about it a lot, what exactly did he want?
After a long silence, Xu Beiyou said: "Father, the ambition of traveling to the north is never in the temple, but in the rivers and lakes, in the sword sect, and in the Taoism. Master handed over the sword sect to me before he left, and I have a duty to do so."

Han Xuan smiled heartily and said gratifiedly, "Ya Shengyun, even though there are tens of thousands of people, I will go, that's the reason."

Han Xuan got up and said, "It's not a problem to be bored in this room all day. Come out for a walk with me?"

Xu Beiyou took a cloak from the side and put it on for him. The father and son left the cabinet and walked side by side on a small path outside Wenyuan Pavilion.

The pines and cypresses on both sides of the path are lush, but not dense enough to block the warm winter sun.

Han Xuan said softly: "This round of changes in the Circular Mound Altar, many old people have died, and many old people have left, especially on the Daoist side, there are not many Dazhengs of the dust generation, and there are fewer young people. Chen and Mingchen, almost only Zhongli Anning and Bingchen are left. In terms of cultivation, methods and strategies, these two people are not as good as Qingchen and Mingchen, so it's nothing to worry about, but they are the Taoists of Ye Zi's generation Middle people, that is, people of our generation, it's about time to make a move. According to what you said, Qiu Ye has already left the customs, so Chen Ye is not far away. Don't forget, he is the master of the Demon Suppressing Palace. Over there, they took down the Taoist workshop, expelled Du Haichan and his Jiangnan Taoist sect, and had to entangle with Chen Ye again."

Xu Beiyou nodded and said: "Chen Ye is originally a great monk from the [-]th floor of the Earth Immortal, and there is only a line away from the [-]th floor. If this retreat is successful, then there will be another great monk from the [-]th floor of the Earth Immortal in the Taoist sect. It is indeed very difficult, but it is not impossible to deal with it at all. After all, I already have the official status of the imperial court, and the Daoist sect is at a disadvantage in the matter of the Circular Mound Altar. Unless they want to completely tear themselves apart from the imperial court, otherwise It shouldn’t be a big fight.”

Han Xuan nodded, looked at Jiangnan, and said slowly, "That's not bad, it's reasonable, but have you ever thought about what will happen if the Daoist sect doesn't follow common sense and completely tear their skin apart?"

Xu Beiyou said calmly: "I have often thought of this matter in the recent period. If the Taoist sect is determined to attack Jianzong regardless of the overall situation, then how much of the Jianzong family left to me by Master in the end? But I No matter how it is calculated, it will be a completely destroyed ending. This is the reality. Jianzong is no longer the same as it used to be. Daomen, the Taoist sect now dominates the world, and is the leader of the monk sect in the world. No matter how you look at it, there is no possibility that the two can be compared. That’s why I came to the imperial capital from Jiangdu.”

Han Xuan stopped in his tracks and said softly, "Now that the matter of the imperial capital is over, I have my father to help you sit here, so you can go back to Jiangnan with peace of mind, take Zhinan there, and accompany her around Jiangnan."

Xu Beiyou pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Speaking of Jiangnan, she is more familiar than me. She was the one who led me to Jiming Temple back then."

Han Xuan also smiled and said, "It's different, last time she was Her Royal Highness, but this time she is your wife."

The old man seemed to be a little afraid of the cold, tightened his cloak, and said softly: "I always say that Jiangnan is a good place. I am from the north, and I have never been to Jiangnan in my life. When I followed the late emperor to the imperial capital, I stopped there and never again. Walking to the south, if there is a chance in the future, I will also go to Jiangnan to see the apricot blossoms and gentle scholars in the south of the Yangtze River."

Xu Beiyou moved his lips, but in the end he hesitated to speak.

Han Xuan laughed at himself and said, "People don't use their muscles and bones as strength, so go back."

Xu Beiyou stretched out his hand to support the old man, and nodded silently.

In the early spring when the snow had not completely melted, and in the bitter cold, he finally felt the aging state of his adoptive father.

In the blink of an eye, the old age.

(End of this chapter)