Chang'an is good

At first, most of the court officials who were filled with righteous indignation and vowed not to go to Taiyuan eventually followed suit, but they changed their words and claimed that they wanted to go to Taiyuan to see with their own eyes how Chang Suining would prove that he was a descendant of the Li family and how he would deceive the world.

He looked like a righteous man who was going to expose lies and ruin things.

Some of them also said: Don't think that you can deceive the people by holding the Taifu hostage. The Taifu will never help the tyrant to commit atrocities and deceive the world!

Yes, they regarded the Taifu's move to leave Luoyang first as a form of coercion and hostage-taking.

Therefore, among the crowd, there were also people who wanted to "go to Taiyuan to protect the Taifu", and they made cruel remarks - if anything happened to the Taifu, Chang Suining would be the enemy of all the literati in the world, and there would be no possibility of compromise with the pens in our hands!

Luo Guanlin felt annoyed by these indignant and noisy words. Then he thought that he was the same kind of person in the past, which made him even more annoyed. So he quickly sent all the people to Taiyuan.

Luo Guanlin had not left, and Chang Suining also invited him to go and witness in a letter, but after weighing the pros and cons, he chose to stay in Luoyang.

Rather than witnessing the ceremony of returning to the clan, he was more inclined to guard the important area of ​​Luoyang and arrange various affairs to ensure that the ceremony of the envoy's return to the clan could be completed smoothly.

On the day of the grand ceremony, he would also drink a cup of wine in Luoyang City and serve as a witness from afar.

In Taiyuan City, Dai Cong, who had received instructions from Cui Jing in advance, brought Cui's clansmen to prepare everything and were just waiting for the people from Luoyang to arrive.

What surprised Dai Cong was that the first person to arrive in Taiyuan was the oldest Tutor Chu.

When Master Chu first entered Taiyuan City, he walked all the way to the Bingzhou Grand Commandery. When he saw Dai Cong coming to greet him, he nodded and asked, "Where is your Envoy Chang? Have you returned from Yinshan?"

Just as Dai Cong was about to answer, a joyful voice came from inside the mansion gate: "Teacher!"

Master Chu looked up blankly, but he hadn't seen anyone yet. The word "teacher" unexpectedly made tears well up in his eyes.

This cheerful and joyful voice of teacher, after two lifetimes of life and death, finally reached my ears again.

There were many figures, and they all moved to the sides when they heard the sound. Master Chu's vision was blurred by tears, and it was a little hazy. Fearing that he would appear strange, he did not dare to raise his hand to wipe the tears from his eyes. He just looked at the figure hazily.

Since she was not on the battlefield and did not need to travel, she dressed appropriately and comfortably. She wore a moon-white robe with wide sleeves and a round collar, and a light golden gauze dress with a translucent luster, and auspicious clouds were woven in gold thread on the shoulders.

Her long black hair was not tied into a bun, but casually tied up with a jade hairpin, with the ends of her hair hanging down on her shoulders. The morning light passed through the newly painted red door, colliding with her body at an angle, reflecting a circle of halo.

She quickly jumped over the red gate, the corner of her robe quickly brushing the vermilion threshold, and her light footsteps were filled with undisguised joy, as if she was almost running over.

The wind blew away the tears, and Master Chu slowly saw the person walking towards him. Seeing her steps and demeanor, he wanted to give her a lecture: What's wrong with you? You are going to do great things, but you don't know how to be steady.

But when he saw the welcoming smile, saw her raise her hand to salute, and heard her call him "teacher" again, Master Chu's throat was filled with bitter joy, and he could hardly say anything, but he had to say: "I don't remember when I became the teacher of the envoy..."

With so many people watching and listening, this unfortunate student had no sense of propriety? She even asked this dusty old man to make up for her.

But the unfortunate student raised his face slightly, still smiling brightly: "Taifu is the teacher of the world, it is only natural for me to call you teacher."

Chang Suining spoke confidently, and there were also people who tried to make up for her. Cui Jing, who came forward next, bowed respectfully to Master Chu and called out, "Teacher—"

Dai Cong raised his eyebrows. It seemed a little strange for one person to call him teacher, but for two people to call him teacher together... it seemed like the husband and wife were following suit...

The next moment, another smiling "Teacher" was heard. Seeing that it was Mr. Wei who spoke, Dai Cong's mood suddenly became subtle.

Looking at the three "good students" in front of him, Master Chu waved his hands and said, "I am not worthy of this!"

"Only teacher is worthy of this title." Chang Suining smiled and refused to change her words. She had done many shameless things anyway, and at this moment, in order to curry favor with the tutor, she forced herself to address him as teacher, which was also in line with her style.

As she spoke, she raised her hand to invite him, her face still full of smiles: "Teacher, you have worked hard all the way, please follow me in and talk."

Master Chu was in a good mood and said "hmm", then walked forward with his hands behind his back.

Wei Shuyi raised his hand to support him: "Master, be careful with the steps."

The Grand Tutor stepped onto the stone steps and casually asked Wei Shuyi, "Did you come from Shuofang? Have you recovered from your injuries?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Grand Master. Thanks to Envoy Chang Jie who has sent people to take care of me for several months, my injuries have greatly healed." As Wei Shuyi spoke, he smiled as he looked at Chang Suining who was one step ahead of him.

"..." Cui Jing keenly noticed that Wei Zigu was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and his motive seemed to be provocative.

The Grand Tutor nodded, and then Chang Suining said, "We have someone prepare a place for the teacher to stay. The teacher will go change clothes later. The food is also being prepared."

"The teacher loves fish soup, and it happens to be the season for eating fish—"

"Teacher, you haven't been away from home for a long time. Are you feeling unwell on the way?"

"Teacher, how many days did it take you to get here from Luoyang?"

"..."

Chang Suining kept calling "teacher" and hardly gave others a chance to speak.

Moreover, all the questions she asked were trivial matters, and her words were extremely plain and simple. To Dai Cong's ears, there was no trace of political intention at all. It was just like an ordinary teacher and student... no, it was even more friendly and everyday than an ordinary teacher and student.

Moreover, he saw that Chang Jieshi's joy had no trace of polite performance at all.

Looking at his own Grand Commander again, he saw that he also had a rare smile on his face, but it seemed that the smile of Envoy Chang Jie came from the heart, and the Grand Commander's smile probably came from Envoy Chang Jie's smile.

Before this, Chang Suining had not been able to call "teacher" for a long time. Now he finally had a legitimate reason and enough ability to call him that, regardless of whether it would seem too servile.

Chang Suining accompanied his teacher for lunch, and Cui Jing and Wei Shuyi were also there.

The two grandchildren of the Chu family were very flattered and at a loss. Under such circumstances, even if the Three Pure Ones, the Buddha, came, he would only be treated like this at most, right?

But the grandfather sitting at the top looked really relaxed and calm. I can only say that my grandfather is worthy of being a grandfather.

After the meal, a disciple of the Cui family came over to deliver a message. Chang Suining said to his teacher, "I'll leave you first," and went about his business.

Seeing her walking out, Master Chu pointed at Wei Shuyi and said, "It's windy outside. I'm afraid she will be busy until evening. Ask someone to send her a cloak." It is said that one should keep warm in spring and autumn. People with battle wounds should keep themselves covered in spring.

Wei Shuyi smiled and replied, "Yes," "I will go over now."

"No need. Prime Minister Wei is busy with his affairs. I won't bother you with such trivial matters." Cui Jing raised his hand and saluted Master Chu: "Master, I will go and deliver the cloak. Bye."

Wei Shuyi's smile froze for a moment, and after bowing to the Grand Tutor, he followed Cui Jing who was leaving: "...I can't remember what I have to do right now, why don't you let Grand Commander Cui remind me?"

Looking at the two young figures leaving one after the other, Master Chu hissed softly, and after a moment, he stroked his beard thoughtfully and said to himself, "Both of them are pretty good."

Chang Suining arranged accommodation for the Grand Tutor in the Grand Marshal's Mansion, and the Grand Tutor was very satisfied with this arrangement.

After returning to his residence, the tutor walked around the courtyard, looked at the calligraphy and paintings hanging in the room, and touched the wood used for the tables and chairs. Although there was nothing surprising, every detail was to his liking.

When it was getting dark, the Grand Tutor asked someone to ask Chang Suining whether she had eaten dinner. An hour later, he heard that she was still discussing matters with others, and asked someone to make a nourishing soup for her.

After hearing that she had drunk the tonic soup, the Grand Master finally felt relieved. Just as he was about to rest, he heard someone outside pass on a message saying, "Masters Xuan Yangzi and Xuan Jingzi want to see you."

The Grand Tutor listened and didn't recognize any of them. In the past, he would have refused to let them in directly, but the Grand Tutor was different now. He put on his clothes again and let the two in to talk.

First, seeing the "Xuan Yangzi" who came in earlier, Master Chu was stunned for a moment, then he raised his gray eyebrows in sudden realization: "Oh, he's still alive."

Wu Jue smiled and bowed: "Yes, I have met you, Master."

"I thought that I would inevitably meet the Grand Tutor, and I was afraid that the sudden encounter would scare the Grand Tutor, so I came here to see you so that you can be prepared." Wu Jue said in a respectful tone.

"You come here at this hour without even saying hello, so I'm not sure I'm well prepared." The Master snorted, raised his hand and pointed at the dark sky outside the window. Seeing Tian Jing coming in right after him, he asked curiously, "There's another one."

Tianjing raised his whisk and saluted, smiling and saying, "Master, it's been a long time."

"Please sit down and talk, Imperial Master and Grand Master." The Grand Master sat down first and calmly continued the topic: "Your envoy is a very busy man, so why don't you two Grand Masters tell me about the arrangements for the Return Ceremony first—"

As soon as these words came out, there was a feeling of testing one's homework and finding out what was lacking and filling in the gaps.

In one's lifetime, there are very few opportunities to see the Grand Tutor take the initiative to inquire about official affairs.

When Wu Jue was about to speak, the Grand Tutor suddenly asked, "Tell me first, is her identity as Li real or fake?"

After hearing these words, Wu Jue was a little stunned: So the Grand Tutor came here without being sure whether it was true or not?

The tutor looked normal - she had only said in the letter that she wanted to trace her ancestral roots and wanted him, as her teacher, to testify, so why didn't he come?

Who knows if she didn't dare to reveal the truth in the letter in order to prevent it from being hijacked?

Wu Jue came back to his senses, smiled and patted his chest: "Don't worry about this, this is the genuine orthodox bloodline of the old Li family."

The Grand Master said "Oh" and nodded, "That will be easier."

It would be fine if the Grand Tutor didn't ask too much, but once he took it to heart, he was very thorough and considerate. Wu Jue and Tianjing didn't get away until late at night.

The next day, Chang Suining came early to greet the teacher and had breakfast.

Also coming with them was Adian, who came here from Jiangdu with He Wuhu.

Chang Suining originally wanted Adian to stay with Chang Kuo in Jiangdu, but Adian insisted on coming, and insisted that "it was Liuhuo who refused to eat or drink and insisted on coming with him" - yes, the elderly Liuhuo also came all the way to Taiyuan this time.

After breakfast, the Chu family's grandchildren who were waiting outside were staring with their eyes popped out. They exchanged glances with each other, and no one dared to believe that the old man who was chattering at the table was their grandfather.

Grandfather hates people who talk too much, but now he is chattering non-stop... On normal days, they don’t have the chance to hear grandpa talk so much in a year!

The meal was almost over, and Master Chu's nagging was also coming to an end: "Return to your roots, and go back to Luoyang. Do what you should do. Leave the war in the north to the Cui family and his men... You are someone who wants to do great things, so don't always act like a little lamb, jumping up and down at the forefront of everything."

Chang Suining put the last two mouthfuls of porridge into his mouth and responded vaguely.

Seeing that she didn't care at all, Master Chu glared at her and asked, "Did you listen?"

"I'm listening, I'm listening..." Chang Suining put down his spoon and bowl of porridge and interrupted the teacher's next words: "Teacher, there is a grain of rice stuck in your beard."

Master Chu snorted, "You're trying to scare me with this old trick from hundreds of years ago!"

"No, Master...it's really there!" Ah Dian poked his chin and indicated, "It's right here..."

Master Chu then raised his hand to touch his beard, but he didn't touch anything. Seeing this, Ah Dian couldn't help but covered his mouth and laughed.

"..." Master Chu blew his beard and said angrily, "Great! The top beam is not straight, and the bottom beam is crooked. You have trained a good guard!"

Chang Suining and Adian burst into laughter, and their laughter scared away the birds on the branches outside the window.

Chang Suining brought Adian to Master Chu's place for breakfast for three consecutive days, and one of the days he also brought Cui Jing along.

On the fourth day, the empress and the crown prince arrived in Taiyuan with their ministers. Dai Cong and Wei Shuyi went to greet them.

The officials were upset that they did not see Chang Suining coming to greet them, so one of them signaled the prince to ask why Chang Suining did not come.

Receiving the looks from the ministers, Li Zhi showed a rare calm expression and asked, "May I ask Prime Minister Wei and Chief Clerk Dai, since we have entered Taiyuan, should we immediately go to pay a visit to Envoy Chang?"

After hearing this question, the ministers almost fainted on the spot out of anger.

It was in vain that they felt that the crown prince had made great progress along the way and had the courage to remain calm in the face of adversity. They thought that the weak crown prince of the past had disappeared... and he had indeed disappeared. The crown prince standing in front of them now was an even weaker one!
Moreover, he was so weak that he actually felt it was natural and he went on calmly!

Dai Cong glanced at the empress's carriage and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. The Return Ceremony will be held in three days, and you will be able to see Envoy Chang by then."

The officials' faces changed several times. After a moment of surprise, they were all filled with suppressed anger and dissatisfaction. So before the ceremony, Chang Suining had no intention of meeting them? He didn't even plan to meet the emperor and the crown prince? He didn't plan to try to "persuade" them to cooperate, but directly held the return ceremony?
Are they sure that they dare not disobey her tyranny and expose her lies?
This woman's behavior is really too arrogant! (End of this chapter)