cabinet first lady

Chapter 45

Zhang Anyi became the second assistant of the cabinet, a great honor.

Although Emperor Wu had just passed away and there was no need to make noise, there were still many people who secretly sent gifts to Zhang's mansion. Zhang Anyi was not around, so Ruan Muyang decided to return them all.

On the night of the fourth day after Emperor Wu's death, Zhang Anyi finally came back.

Ruan Muyang kept Han Shi watching the movement and news outside, and heard the scolding of Luo Jie and Zhang Anyi by Mr. Gu and some of the censors.

She didn't know that Zhang Anyi also entered the palace to meet Emperor Wu that night, and she only thought that he only entered the palace after learning the news in the middle of the night.

After taking off the mantle for him, looking at the blue stubble on his face, Ruan Muyang was so distressed that he couldn't bear to disturb him anymore, and wanted him to sleep well first.

Even though he hadn't slept for several nights, Zhang Anyi still had a gentle and handsome appearance. The cyan stubble did not look sloppy, but made the elegant him a little rough, which made people unable to look away.

"Madam, do you have something to ask?" Zhang Anyi was so meticulous, how could he fail to see that Ruan Muyang was hesitant to speak.

Now that he asked, Ruan Muyang stopped being hypocritical, and said, "Listen to the outsiders, the scolding from the court is now second only to Luo Jie?"

Ever since Zhang Anyan accepted bribes in his name, Zhang Anyi has been constantly scolded by some censor officials, and now the scolding is even worse.Ruan Muyang is very worthless for him.She knows how hard he is on weekdays.What Zhang Anyan did has nothing to do with him.Luo Jie loves power, Xu Hou loves money, and Zhang Anyi has never accepted bribes since he became an official. A star and a half.

Although he may also have a purpose and want to keep going up, Ruan Muyang believes that he has never forgotten Jiangshan Sheji.

Just as she said to Diancui on her wedding night, he is the one with real ambition in her heart.

"Ma'am, did you hear me scolding me?" Zhang Anyi didn't seem to care about the abuse from those people.

"You also entered the palace that night?" Ruan Muyang asked in a low voice.She wasn't sure if he would tell her what had happened.

After all, the more people who know about it, the more dangerous it is.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Anyi nodded without any hesitation, looked at her softly and said, "I drafted the last edict for the late emperor, so I am naturally the one who changed it."

Ruan Muyang was surprised that it was true.She secretly went to Luo Jie and reported to him, but she didn't want to involve him who was neutral, but she didn't expect him to be involved.

Luo Jie forced him to board the boat and stood by his side.

"Then does he want to silence it?" Ruan Muyang asked.

Zhang Anyi benefited from her worry.His old man was smiling, and said without worry: "It's not easy for him to touch me."

When Emperor Wu died, officials all over the world mourned for 36 days.

The national mourning in Guanghua Kingdom is always on the 36th, except a few years ago when Empress Xiaojing came to heaven, Emperor Wu was so sad that he ordered a one-year mourning.

After the crown prince Xie Xi succeeded to the throne and became Ling Emperor, the crown princess Qiu's family became the queen, and the grandson Xie Shen became the prince.

After the restriction was gone, after Emperor Wu's coffin was sent to Huangling, Emperor Ling began to recruit capable Taoist priests from all over the world, took out the alchemy furnace that was hidden and dared not take it out, and moved it into the bedroom. The appearance of submerging in alchemy and cultivating Taoism secretly made the palace even more smoky than the previous East Palace.

As for the affairs of the court, he recruited two cabinet ministers, Luo Jie and Zhang Anyi.

For these two people who helped him hide from the throne, especially Luo Jie, Emperor Ling was in awe and impatient, but he still had great trust in him.

"A thorough investigation of Xu Hou's accomplices in the court, and the search of Xu's mansion will be in charge of Mr. Luo, and Mr. Zhang will assist." Emperor Ling seemed to hand over all the affairs of the court to Luo Jie.

Luo Jie and Zhang Anyi said together: "Yes, I obey the order."

Afterwards, Luo Jie asked: "Your Majesty, I don't know how the Emperor wants to deal with the matter of King Yong'an."

Zhang Anyi, who rarely spoke at the side, also moved his eyelids, obviously he was also concerned about King Yong'an's treatment.

When Emperor Wu was alive, the crown prince and King Yong'an fought fiercely for the throne. Although these were not put on the table, the ministers in the court knew it well.Now that the crown prince has inherited the throne, King Yong'an is naturally defeated. How to deal with King Yong'an has become the most important thing for all the ministers.

Some of the ministers who have always been neutral are watching the fun, Luo Jie's faction wants to avenge their grievances, and the ministers of Xu Hou's faction are worried and anxious all day long.

"Well——" Emperor Ling frowned, thought for a while, and said, "King Yong'an didn't make any mistakes. Now that the overall situation is settled, I don't have many brothers left, so I sealed off a land that is not very rich. Give it to him, let him go to the fief."

Gao Yan, who served him and poured water for him, paused for a moment at Lingdi's suggestion.

If you want to add a crime, are you afraid that there is no one?

Luo Jie immediately objected: "Your Majesty, you can't! If you don't get rid of the roots, you will leave future troubles."

"Lord Luo, you must leave room for everything, don't kill everything, I still think about parting ways with King Yong'an, so let him live." Emperor Ling really has a kind heart, but he can't figure out the current situation.

This is obviously a merciful insinuation of Luo Jie's cruelty. Luo Jie's expression changed immediately after hearing this, and he finally suppressed his anger and said patiently and sincerely: "Your Majesty, don't let the tiger go back to the mountain!"

Zhang Anyi, who stood for a long time with his eyes on his nose, his nose, his nose and his heart, also echoed: "Your Majesty, what Master Luo said is very true."

"Master Zhang, why are you like this?" Emperor Ling said very dissatisfied, "Could it be that I am already the Son of Heaven, so I don't want to commit more crimes? Besides, he is still my brother!"

Zhang Anyi lowered his eyes and stopped talking.

Luo Jie hesitated to speak, and finally sighed: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The final result was that King Yong'an was sent to the fief - Xizhou.

This result surprised the whole court. Perhaps even Xie Zhao, the King of Yong'an who was secretly preparing for the way out, did not expect that Lingdi did not want his own life, and would let him go to the fiefdom.

Although Xizhou is in the north, it is the most barren place in Guanghua, the land is sparsely populated, and it is close to the border, but it is better to go there than to die.

This news was brought back by Zhang Anyi from the palace and told to Ruan Muyang.

Ruan Muyang couldn't believe his ears, he couldn't believe that Emperor Ling would make such a decision.

Isn't this returning the tiger to the mountain?

I thought that Xie Zhao would definitely die this time, but I didn't expect Emperor Ling to have such a "benevolent heart"!
Ruan Muyang lowered his eyes to conceal his emotions and the changes in his eyes. After everything calmed down, he raised his head and asked uncertainly, "Your Majesty wants to let King Yong'an go?"

"Yes." Zhang Anyi said, "Lord Luo has persuaded the emperor."

Xie Zhao is not dead, her wish has never been fulfilled, and she even has a very uneasy feeling.Xizhou is close to the border, and there are foreign invaders all year round. There are a large number of troops stationed there. If it becomes Xie Zhao's back cover, the sky will be high and the emperor will be far away. Wouldn't it give him an excellent opportunity?

Xie Zhao must not be allowed to go to Xizhou.

Might be able to kill him on the way.

But she didn't have a reliable master in her hands.

Just when Ruan Muyang was thinking about how to get people to kill Xie Zhao on the road, Zhang Anyi's voice sounded again: "Even if Master Luo is not willing, he can only let the tiger go back to the mountain. On the way to Xizhou, King Yong'an must be prepared." He The timing of these words was just right, when Ruan Muyang wanted to intercept and kill Xie Zhao on the way, it seemed to be reminding her.

Ruan Muyang, who was thinking about something in his heart, was startled, feeling that he had seen through all his thoughts, and looked up at him, trying to see something from his expression.

Zhang Anyi met her probing gaze, and asked with a gentle and tolerant smile: "Ma'am, what's the matter?" His expression and tone were as usual.

Ruan Muyang withdrew his gaze, shook his head and said with a smile, "It's just that I suddenly thought that the second master is already the second minister of the cabinet, and I feel a little dazed and emotional."

It should be just a coincidence, if he can see all these thoughts of his own, it will be too scary, then maybe a change of her expression, a frown is all in his eyes.

Zhang Anyi smiled and stroked the corners of her eyes, then his eyes became distant, and he said, "I'm afraid I've become another thorn in Luo Jie's side after Xu Hou."

"Second Master must be careful everywhere." Ruan Muyang said softly.

After Emperor Ling succeeded to the throne, Luo Jie was in charge of all government affairs in the court, and what happened to Shen Wei's father, Shen Lian, had something to do with Luo Jie.As long as Luo Jie is still the chief assistant of the cabinet, he will definitely not be willing to vindicate Shen Lian.If Zhang Anyi and Shen Wei want to be rehabilitated, they must be above the Luo rank where power is overwhelming.

Now that Luo Jie had regarded Zhang Anyi as a thorn in his side, the two would definitely be at odds with each other from now on.

Now there is no need to join forces to deal with Xie Zhao, she, Ruan Muyang, is naturally on Zhang Anyi's side.

In the middle of the court, Luo Jie got the order of Emperor Ling, and began to investigate a large number of officials of Xu Hou's faction, and even pulled out many thorns in the flesh in this name.

There were some vacancies in the official positions. In addition to transferring people from outside Beijing, some young officials were also promoted.

Among them, Ruan Muyang was most concerned about two people.

Yin Ji, the former editor of the Imperial Academy, was promoted to be a student of the Imperial Academy, and also served as You Zhongyun, and became a lecturer for the prince.And Shen Wei, the right servant of the Ministry of Officials, finally entered the Wenyuan Pavilion and became a scholar of the East Pavilion, ranking last among the six members of the cabinet.

Shen Wei finally entered Hanlin.

In addition to Zhang Anyi, there were two cabinet ministers among the Jinshi in their subject.

Compared with Shen Wei, Yin Ji's changes were inconspicuous, and he was submerged in a group of promoted people. If Ruan Muyang didn't know him, he probably wouldn't have noticed him.

After the national funeral, King Yong'an set off for the Xizhou fiefdom.Concubine Ruan is on the list.

It happened to be the day when Zhang Anyi took a rest.Since entering the cabinet, Zhang Anyi has been in and out every day, most of the time either in the cabinet or in the official department. Even Xiu Mu has a lot of things to deal with. When taking her out.

On this day, Zhang Anyi got up when he was Mao, and made a fuss with Ruan Muyang, insisting that he would take her to the suburbs of Beijing to see lotus flowers.

God knows that last night Ruan Muyang was tormented by him so late that he didn't go to bed, and today he was still sore all over, and he dragged him up after lying on the bed for a while.

He said that lotus flowers with dew in the morning are the most beautiful.

After tidying up and getting into the carriage, Ruan Muyang was still in a daze.

Sensing a little resentment in her bright eyes, Zhang Anyi smiled and said, "Madam, do you want to sleep a little longer and call you when we arrive?"

Ruan Muyang shook his head.As long as he doesn't make trouble with her in the future, it will be fine.

It wasn't until he arrived at the lakeside in the suburbs of Beijing and saw the lotus in full bloom that Ruan Muyang felt that the trip was worthwhile and sighed in his heart.

Because it was early in the morning, few people came to the suburbs of Beijing to see the lotus, and the quietness made the scenery even better.Zhang Anyi took Ruan Muyang's hand and walked slowly along the lakeside. The morning light illuminated him more handsomely, and also illuminated his deep eyes clearly, which were full of gentle smiles, lingering and touching.

Being held by him and feeling the warmth in his palm, Ruan Muyang felt extremely peaceful in his heart. Only after experiencing a turbulent political struggle with murderous intentions everywhere, and hearing the death knell in the palace, can he realize how precious this peace is. .

"Madam, have you seen lotus before?" Zhang Anyi looked at her and asked.

Ruan Muyang thought for a while and said, "I've only seen lotus flowers in the pond in Ruan's mansion, but I haven't seen such a large area of ​​lotus flowers that can't be seen."

Zhang Anyi continued: "In the past, Mrs. Hong's wife liked lotus very much. Mr. Hong dug the garden of Hong's Mansion, turned it into an artificial lake, and planted a large lot of lotus. In the capital, the lotus of Hong's Mansion used to be comparable to It's comparable here."

After what he said, Ruan Muyang remembered: "I went to the Hong Mansion with my mother for a banquet when I was nine years old, and I was lucky enough to see it." She was reborn in this life when she was 12 years old. Almost forgot.

This Lord Hong was an official to Guanglu Temple, but he was also killed by Emperor Wu later.The Hong Mansion was emptied, and no one took care of the lotus in the Hong Mansion.

During Emperor Wu's reign, the most dangerous thing was not being a bodyguard, but being an official.Countless officials were killed by him.

But no matter how brutal and fearsome he was, he was already dead.

Ruan Muyang felt emotional in his heart, changed the subject and said: "Speaking of which, something happened when I was looking at the lotus in Hong Mansion. The lake was wet and slippery, and I fell into the lake without paying attention. At that time, there was no one around , I don’t know how to swim, and I almost thought I was going to die like that.” When I was nine years old, I accidentally fell into the lake and almost drowned. The marriage with Zhang Anyi was also dependent on pulling him into the water in the winter, and that time Pushed down by Ruan Muxi to the Meditation Pool and rescued by Zhang Anyu, her knees fell down and she suffered a problem. Thinking about her two lifetimes, she really had trouble with the water.

Success is also due to water, and failure is also due to water.

"And then." Zhang Anyi stopped.He looked at her quietly, his eyes that were softer than the morning light fell on her face, and there seemed to be something surging in his eyes, as far away as passing through the changes of years.

"Just when I thought I was going to die, I was rescued." The memory at that time is no longer clear, Ruan Muyang tried to recall and said, "I passed out when I was rescued ashore, in order to repay the life-saving grace Before I fainted, I grabbed the man's sleeve to keep him from running away, but when I woke up, I was already in the room. My mother said that I didn't see anyone saving me. I didn't hear anyone got wet, so they said that the one who saved me was a fairy, and they didn't say anything for the sake of my name."

Hearing the word "fairy", the curvature of Zhang Anyi's lips became wider at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ruan Muyang was immersed in the past and said: "I don't remember what the person who rescued me looked like, but the impression is that the person should not be very old."

After she finished speaking, she realized that it didn't seem very good to say these things, after all, it was about fame.Moreover, she changed the "Xianjun" in Zhao's dialect to "Fairy". In fact, she was sure that the person who saved her was a man.

"Will Second Master mind?" She looked at Zhang Anyi with caution in her eyes.

Zhang Anyi smiled inclusively, and said in a gentle tone: "It's okay, you were still young at that time. Speaking of it, I have to thank that 'fairy', otherwise I'm afraid it will take several lifetimes to meet my wife."

What he said was unintentional, but Ruan Muyang listened to it intentionally, and his heart was full of emotion.

It did take her two lifetimes to meet him.

But will he really be her lover?She couldn't see through him with the experience of two lifetimes. She always felt that he was so kind to her from the beginning of marriage, and it was a bit unreal for her to indulge in his kindness gradually.

After nearly an hour by the lake, watching the sun rise higher and higher, Zhang Anyi and Ruan Muyang prepared to go back.

The sun made people drowsy, and finally Ruan Muyang couldn't hold on anymore, and fell asleep in Zhang Anyi's arms.

When approaching the gate of the city, the carriage stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Anyi's voice was not loud because he was afraid of waking up Ruan Muyang.

Mo Jian, who was driving, said, "Second Master, it's King Yong'an's chariot and horse."

Ruan Muyang opened his eyes.She hadn't slept deeply, and woke up when the carriage stopped.

Today is the day Xie Zhao leaves Beijing.When they entered the city, they happened to meet Xie Zhao leaving Beijing for Xizhou.

Although the chance of success is very slim, Ruan Muyang still asked Han Shi to spend a lot of money to buy a master and intercept him halfway, otherwise she would never be willing to leave him alive like this.

"I didn't expect that I would meet Mr. Zhang Ge when I left Beijing."

Xie Zhao's voice came from outside the carriage.

"I'll go down and have a look." Zhang Anyi whispered to Ruan Muyang, then lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.

"See His Highness King Yong'an."

Seeing that Concubine Ruan raised the curtain of the car, he added: "The next official sees the concubine."

In just over a month, Concubine Ruan's complexion became very bad, and she looked much older. "So it's Mr. Zhang Ge." She said through gritted teeth.

The moment the carriage curtain was raised, Xie Zhao saw a lavender skirt, apparently there was a woman in the carriage.Zhang Anyi did not have a concubine, and he had never heard of being interested in any other woman, so the only one in the carriage could be Ruan Muyang.She was supposed to be Princess Yong'an, but she made him lose face and married another man.Especially when thinking of the night when the late emperor passed away, when she was promised the rightful position in the palace, she still dismissed it, Xie Zhao felt resentful and unwilling.

His feelings towards Ruan Muyang are a little complicated, he likes him a little bit, but now he hates her more, wants to conquer her, bully her, and make her regret what she has done.

"If the lord doesn't leave yet, I'm afraid he won't be able to reach the post after dark."

Zhang Anyi's voice made Xie Zhao look away.

When enemies meet, they always look at each other with swords drawn and glaring, but Zhang Anyi has a gentle look as usual, which makes Xie Zhao angrier and more depressed as he looks at it.

"Actually, Zhang Ge has long been a member of Luojie, so he hid it really well." Thinking of how many times he has been seduced and threatened, Xie Zhao felt that he was being played around by him, and he hated him even more.

Compared to Luo Jie, he actually hated Zhang Anyi more.

Zhang Anyi didn't change his face, he still looked like an old god, and said: "I don't know what the prince is talking about."

"You—" Xie Zhao wished he could draw out his sword and place it around his neck.

Even now, she still pretends to be a fool with him.

Ruan Muyang sat in the carriage and heard their conversation clearly.Xie Zhao has lost power and is going to the desolate Xizhou, is she taking revenge?
It should count.

But she still wanted to kill him and let him die.It's just that if you can't get your hands on the road, it will be impossible, and you can only look for opportunities in the future.

Zhang Anyi looked up at Xie Zhao, his eyes seemed gentle.

The eyes of the two met, lightning and flint.

Until the voice of the guard came from the motorcade of King Yong'an: "Your Highness, it's getting late, if you don't hurry, you won't have time to reach the posthouse before dark."

"My lord, please first." Zhang Anyi said respectfully.

Xie Zhao snorted coldly, and when he was about to leave, he stopped and looked at the carriage covered by the curtain.

It seemed that Ruan Muyang could be seen dignifiedly sitting inside through the curtain of the carriage. He sneered and said provocatively to the carriage: "Fourth sister, don't worry, the king will come back."

Ruan Muyang clenched his palms tightly.

It is a capital offense for a vassal king to enter Beijing without authorization.He won't have a chance, even if he comes back, he will only die!
As if expecting that Ruan Muyang would not respond, Xie Zhao looked at Zhang Anyi provocatively, then turned and returned to his carriage.

Zhang Anyi looked at his back, killing intent flashed in his deep eyes, and when he got into the carriage, he looked gentle and handsome again.

"Xie Zhao left?" Ruan Muyang asked.What Xie Zhao said just now was in front of Zhang Anyi, not only provoking her, but also provoking him.

Zhang Anyi nodded and said, "Don't worry, when he returns to Xizhou, someone will monitor his movements all the time." As for those bloody and dark things, he never told her.

"King Yong'an is insidious and cunning. I'm afraid that this time he will let the tiger go back to the mountain. I only hope that he will never be able to set foot in the capital again in this lifetime." While speaking, Ruan Muyang was thinking about where the cold food buyers would have the best chance of winning.Likewise, she didn't want him to see her dark, stern side.

It happened to be noon when we returned to Zhang's mansion. After we had dinner together, Zhang Anyi went to the study.

"What's going on at Luo Jie?"

Mo Wen replied: "Luo Jie has already sent people to catch up with King Yong'an's chariot, and he should be waiting for an opportunity on the way."

Zhang Anyi nodded, the gentleness in his eyes dissipated, replaced by a terrifying calm and silence, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be surging. "Send some people to follow Luojie's people, and help them when they see them attacking. The chances of winning are greater if both sides attack together. Be sure to kill Xie Zhao." His voice was a little cold.

"Yes."

On the other side, while Zhang Anyi was going to the study, Fang Fang asked in a low voice: "Madam, can the soup be delivered now?" When she tidied up the room today, she naturally saw traces of happiness on the bed.

Ruan Muyang hesitated for a moment.Now Xie Zhao has already set off for Xizhou, if she is killed on the way, her wish will be fulfilled, if not, he will not be able to turn around in Xizhou for a short time.She has stabilized.Their children must have grown exceedingly beautiful.

"No need." The matter of drinking Bizi Tang without telling Zhang Anyi has always made Ruan Muyang feel guilty and uneasy, not only for him, but also for the old Shangshu and the old lady. Now that he decided not to drink it, he finally felt relieved.

A look of joy flashed in the enamel eyes.In fact, she was very satisfied with their family's fourth aunt, and she couldn't figure out why Ruan Muyang wanted to drink Bizi soup. It would be fine if she didn't drink it now, and there should be a young master or young lady in Chuanyun courtyard soon.

"Tomorrow, you call a reliable doctor to take my pulse, and then prescribe some tonics for me to drink every day." After using Bizitang for so long, Ruan Muyang was worried that it would be bad for his body, and he still thought about it. Let the doctor take a look and take good care of it.

"Yes, the servant will call the doctor tomorrow." Falang's tone was filled with uncontrollable joy.

(End of this chapter)