When Hunjun begins to make elixirs

Chapter 7 Do you have ice?

Duanmen leaks across the palace, and the dream is warm and fragrant.On a new day, Li Shun woke up in Concubine Li's octopus-like embrace, gently removed her catkins, and quietly stood up.

The maid waiting outside the palace noticed the movement and hurriedly came in to help the emperor change. Different from usual, according to the emperor's instructions before going to sleep last night, the maid prepared a plain white robe.

Li Shun opened his arms and raised his feet, enjoying the fully automatic dressing experience. He said to the eunuch on duty outside the door: "Go to the study and inform the officials that today's morning service has been suspended. If anything happens, they will discuss it first." .”

In the eyes of the Shengtong Emperor, stopping the court was nothing new. If the emperor couldn't get up, stop!The emperor is not feeling well, stop!The emperor discovered something interesting, stop!Since it is a mess, it must be done thoroughly.Moreover, the emperor, who had maggots in his heart, never notified in advance. He always waited for an hour or two before the ministers came at the fourth watch.

Half an hour later, three two-horse vehicles bearing the badge of Shenji Manufacturing Office sped out of Zhuque Gate, left the capital through Liuli Street, and turned east toward Longdu Mansion.

Two hours later, at the Governor's Yamen of Longdu Mansion, an old man and a young man appeared in front of the door. The old man was dressed as a housekeeper, and the young man was dressed in a white robe, with a white jade carved magnolia pendant hanging around his waist, waving a folding fan. , strode up the steps of the mansion.

"Who is coming?"

The gatekeeper saw the two men rushing over with his hands on his hips and quickly stopped them.If the young man hadn't dressed up like a scholar, he would have thought that some madman would dare to attack the government office!

Seeing that he was stopped, Li Shun was not angry. He put away the folding fan and slightly raised his hand: "I am a student of Governor Liu, and I came here to visit you today."

The yamen officer looked him up and down and replied directly: "My master has just arrived and is busy with the handover. This morning I told him not to see guests for three days. Master, please come back another day."

Li Shun smiled slightly, took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the Yamen servant: "Please give this to Governor Liu, he will meet with me."

Seeing that his tone was firm and his face was sincere, not like coaxing, the yamen servant said, "Wait a moment." The yamen servant went in with the jade pendant, burned a stick of incense, and came back with a humble posture: "Sir, my master invites you to come in."

Li Shun followed him into the Yamen.As soon as he entered the back office, he saw Liu Zheng, who was wearing a red official robe with a crane pattern, standing there in a daze, with a look of disbelief on his face.Liu Zheng originally thought it was the emperor who sent someone, but he didn't expect it was him.

"minister……"

Liu Zheng was about to salute, but was stopped by Li Shun.He pointed at his clothes with his folding fan.

Liu Zheng understood the emperor's intention, and quickly invited him into the room, screened the servants, and served tea himself. After closing the door, he turned around and glanced at Zhao Zhongxiao behind Li Shun. While asking Li Shun to sit down, he carefully Asked: "Why are you here?"

Li Shun did not answer directly, but opened the folding fan again and fanned the wind vigorously: "The weather is really hot. I wonder if there is any ice in the ice cellar of the Governor's Mansion?"

When Liu Zheng saw that the emperor was talking about him, he immediately ordered his servants to go to the ice cellar to check: "I have only been in office for a day, so I don't know much yet."

Li Shun chuckled: "This ice is a good thing. No matter how hot the weather is, it can relieve the heat." After saying that, he looked at Zhao Zhongxiao with some interest: "Butler Zhao, look at your clothes. Layer upon layer. Aren’t you hot?”

Zhao Zhongxiao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he bowed and replied: "Sir, my old servant is old and weak, so I don't dare to reduce it at will."

At this time, a servant came to report: "Sir, the ice cellar in the Governor's Palace has run out of ice. Last winter, the ice in the river was not thick, so we couldn't harvest much."

After hearing this, Li Shun shook his head in disappointment, and then stood up: "Teacher, I remembered that I still have some things to do, so I left first. The main reason for coming here this time is to see if you are in good health. By the way, I will stay here for a while. It's late, I won't go back to the capital until tomorrow." After saying that, he looked out the window, and a figure flashed past, secretly giving Zhao Zhongxiao a look.

Zhao Zhongxiao also noticed it and nodded slightly.

Liu Zheng was confused by the emperor's performance. He came inexplicably and left in a confused way, and his actions were still so erratic.

"The emperor asked about Bing as soon as he came? Did he leave when the weather was hot?" Liu Zheng felt that he didn't understand Li Shun more and more. Although he was a little weaker, his conduct was excellent and he abided by the etiquette. He is also extremely lenient towards princes and ministers.

Since the "Great Debate" on the implementation of the New Deal that shocked both the government and the public three years ago, his behavior has become more perverse and absurd. He renovated palaces, collected beautiful women, indulged in pleasure, and was indifferent to government affairs.Hu Minde, Zhao Zhongxiao and others even added fuel to the flames, flattering their superiors and engaging in party strife.

The conscientious ministers who advised the emperor were all demoted and removed from their posts.The ruling and opposition parties have become turbulent.

On that day, Liu Zheng prepared a coffin at home and rushed into the palace to protest.As expected, the emperor was furious and expelled him from the palace.In despair, he returned home and committed suicide. However, he waited for an edict from the emperor to appoint him as the governor of Zhili.Between great sorrow and joy, he hurriedly took office.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived, the emperor followed behind, taking Zhao Zhongxiao with him.

He originally thought that the emperor had woken up, started to distinguish between right and wrong, and appointed loyal people.Now it seems that Zhao Zhongxiao was not instigating this behind his back to win over him.

A familiar feeling of sadness arose in Liu Zheng's heart again, remembering the late emperor's instructions to him, who was still the right prime minister at the time, before his death, asking him to protect the prince.

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to do it, but he also allowed the prince to be killed by a traitor.After Li Shun succeeded to the throne, as his enlightenment teacher, he was named Taifu, but in fact he rose up and down secretly, ushering in five years of frustration.

"Late Emperor! I am ashamed of my trust in you!"

Liu Zheng shouted in his heart, and his eyes became a little wet.

On the streets of Longdu Mansion, Li Shun and Zhao Zhongxiao were strolling around, seemingly relaxed and casual. In fact, they were protected by divine machine guards in disguise. No one could approach within three feet of them.

"Do you think Liu Zheng can understand what I mean?" Li Shun asked Zhao Zhongxiao.

"Based on the old servant's understanding of him, we can't." Zhao Zhongxiao shook his head slightly.

Li Shun used the fan handle to scratch his itchy scalp due to thinking: "Do you know him very well?"

Zhao Zhongxiao bluntly said: "Liu Zheng is loyal, but lacks ability. He can talk about some big principles, but when it comes to actual implementation, he is often not flexible enough and a bit pedantic and short-sighted."

Although this statement may sound alienating, it is the truth.

Li Shun had a headache. The person who knows you best is indeed your opponent.The reason why treacherous ministers can do bad things depends on whether the emperor is wise and the ability of the so-called loyal ministers in the court to suppress them.

Li Shun wanted to learn from King Zhuang of Chu, but there was no Wu Ju or Su Cong in the court.This can be seen from the fact that Liu Zheng broke into the palace and scolded the palace. With such an honest approach, if it were a stingy monarch, his family would have been "well-off" long ago.

Li Shun never believed that anyone with a loud voice, many truths, and a good reputation would be a loyal and good minister.There are many people who look honest on the outside but are cunning on the inside.For example, he has seen too many cases where bad people cried more aggrieved than good people.

Crying is just an appearance. People often think that the harder they cry, the more aggrieved they are. However, they don’t know that after bad people do something wrong, they can cry even worse than good people because of fear or the need to show off the blame.

The emperor's loyal ministers and good ministers must be people who are useful to the emperor.

Liu Zheng was appointed because his own reputation and status could temporarily restrain Hu Minde.As for whether he was loyal or not, Li Shun didn't care, as long as he made sure that he would not join forces with Hu and Zhao and let the situation get out of control.

(End of this chapter)