After exhausting myself to death

The atmosphere in the secret room suddenly became a little condensed.

Luo Xiuyuan couldn't understand why his father, who had held his hand and taught him calligraphy when he was a child, now wanted to kill him?

"My apprentice, Luo Dan can't move." Qu Zhengcheng said treasonous words in a casual tone.

Gu Chenglin observed his expression suspiciously and couldn't help but pick up the teacup on the table and throw it over. "If you have something to say, just say it and don't hold back. What's your backup plan?"

Qu Zhengcheng stretched out his hand to catch it, smiling lightly and saying nothing.

Gu Chenglin's hands were itchy and he wanted to hit someone.

Even Luo Xiuyuan, who had always been restrained, couldn't help but reveal a bit of curiosity in his eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't say I had a back-up plan." Seeing that Gu Chenglin had clenched his fists, Qu Zhengcheng took a step back.

He, a "weak scholar", could not defeat Gu Chenglin, a reckless man.

"That's too rude... Wait, Gu Chenglin, don't be impulsive. I mean, someone has a back-up plan." A man who knows the current affairs is a hero, and Qu Zhengcheng doesn't want to be beaten in front of his apprentice.

I am a dead Taoist friend but not a poor Taoist. Shen Changqing, I’m sorry!

"Who?" Gu Chenglin continued to ask.

Qu Zhengcheng is very principled: "I can't say that I promised Shen Changqing, and I can't be a villain who breaks his word."

Gu Chenglin: "Shen Changqing?"

Luo Xiuyuan: "Shen?"

Shen Minghuan, who was far away in Prince Rui's Mansion, sneezed.

Luo Xiuqi looked nervous, "Sir, are you feeling unwell?"

Lu Ren quickly poured a cup of hot tea, handed it over with both hands, and worriedly advised: "Master Shen, please don't work too hard."

Shen Minghuan took it naturally, without any embarrassment at being served, "We will set off in three days. Are you ready, Your Highness?"

"Sir, please teach me." Luo Xiuqi leaned down and saluted, making a full gesture of humility.

Shen Minghuan stood up and dusted off the non-existent dust on his clothes. "At this time, the more you need to be able to keep your composure. Since you have chosen the path you want to take, don't be indecisive when it is time to give up. For example... Your Highness, I heard that you Are you in contact with the ministers of the DPRK and China?”

"I..." Luo Xiu suddenly sensed something was wrong, but didn't know how to explain it.

Shen Minghuan snorted softly: "It's useless. Although the emperor of Daqi is not very good, the amazing thing is that the ministers in the court are not bad, especially the high-ranking ones. They are all devoted to the country and the people."

"People like them, even if they are blind, will choose Luo Xiuyuan. Your Highness, don't waste your efforts. Pearl and jade are in front, how can they see you..." Where is this waste?

Shen Minghuan didn't finish what he said, but Luo Xiuqi suddenly understood his unfinished meaning.

Luo Xiuqi clenched his fists and could hardly keep his smile.

"What's more," Shen Minghuan looked at him with a half-smile, "Isn't it enough for me? Your Highness also needs to find someone else?"

"..." Luo Xiuqi really couldn't laugh now.

Based on his understanding of Shen Minghuan during this period, speaking in such a tone showed that this person was really angry.

Whenever Shen Minghuan gets angry, he has to coax him in a low voice. The key is that this person has a bad temper, he is very easy to get angry, and he is very difficult to coax!

Luo Xiuqi took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "Sir, the people below are ignorant and made their own decisions, and I only know about this."

"Oh? Did I misunderstand you? After a long time, it turns out it was still my fault." Shen Minghuan sneered.

"No, no, I am not strict with my subordinates. You are right, sir." Luo Xiuqi had been tortured a lot during this period, so he said this very quickly.

Lu Ren touched the non-existent cold sweat and said, "Master Shen, please calm down. It's not worth it to be so angry that your body is ruined. I can guarantee that His Highness has absolutely no intention of winning over other ministers!"

Shen Minghuan shook his folding fan and said with a chuckle: "Your Highness, you must keep your word. After all, I hate people lying to me the most."

Luo Xiuqi's hair stood up again, and he immediately decided to stay as far away from those important ministers as possible. It was best not to say hello when they met, and to take back all the spies he had let out, so as not to be misunderstood by Shen Minghuan.

*

Three days later, the oath was taken outside the city.

The Yanling area is far north, lonely in late autumn, and the sky seems higher and higher.

A lone eagle flew across the thin cloud sky, and heard a sharp cry in the distance.

The sound floated in mid-air, and when it landed on the ground, it was drowned in the waving hunting flags.

The swearing-in ceremony was taking place outside Yanling City.

The emperor stood on the high city wall, handed the tiger talisman, which symbolized power, to the newly minted military marshal, and watched him mount his horse and gallop off into the distance.

There were no calluses in Luo Xiuqi's hands when he took the tiger talisman. The armor on his body was also specially made by the embroiderer. It was only superficial, but it was light and would not hurt the delicate shoulders of the royal family members.

——It’s like a ridiculous farce from beginning to end.

Lords Qu, Lu, Wang, Lin, and Lu are qualified to stand behind the emperor and admire the majesty of the Heavenly Family from a close distance.

This kind of honor cannot be obtained by anyone above the second rank.

But anyway, adults don’t feel proud.

The swearing-in was over and the class teacher returned to the court.

The emperor's chariot should be at the front, followed by the carriages of several adults, and the rest can only follow on foot at the end.

Qu Zhengcheng coldly nodded to his colleagues and took the lead in getting into the car after the emperor. Still adhering to his usual style of keeping a distance from everyone in the court.

If the emperor wants him to be a pure minister, he will be as pure as possible.

Wang Jin and Lin Zhihang did not move, their eyebrows slightly lowered, standing at the back of the walking queue.

Seeing this, the two adults, Lu Zhi and Lu Suiping, looked at each other and stopped hesitantly.

After shooing away the guards who were about to come forward to ask, the four of them walked slowly at the end and soon fell behind.

The guards silently formed a team to protect them, and did not dare to step forward to urge them.

Lu Zhi suddenly looked up at the sky and said with some melancholy: "It's going to rain."

I don’t know how he saw it.

"One autumn rain and another cold. Once it rains, winter is coming." In just a few days, Wang Shangshu and Wang Jin have become much older. After walking a short distance, he will stop and rest for a while.

Lin Zhihang's eyes paused on Wang Jin's gray temples for a moment, and then looked away without leaving a trace.

"How is King Rui?"

"Stupid, unworthy of education." Lu Suiping said flatly.

"It's okay that he's just stupid. With you and me watching, it won't be too bad. Just be afraid, it's Luo Dan again." Wang Jin called the emperor by his name for the first time.

Lu Suiping snorted, "What's even more scary is that someone is better than someone who is a person."

The impression of Luo Xiuqi by the young officials who had just entered the court was probably limited to the endless rewards given to him by the emperor, but old people like them still remembered Luo Xiuqi's arrogance and presumptuousness when he first gained favor.

He rode his horse in the busy city, bullied his younger brother, and killed the palace maids and guards. The little princess was only eight years old, and she had scars on her face that could not be erased.

Luo Xiuqi was only eleven years old when he cruelly ordered the young eunuch to be beaten to death and used the knife on his own sister.

Fortunately, Luo Xiuqi has kept a low profile in recent years, but they are not naive enough to think that this is about correcting evil.

Lu Zhi hesitated and asked in a low voice: "What if it is really... then?"

"I will not leave the people to him." Wang Jin's back was stooped, but his figure became more majestic. "The most I can do is die."

"Wrong, that's not called death." Lu Suiping touched the long beard on his chin and suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, so he laughed, "This is called martyrdom for the country."

"Lord Lu is right, it would be a pleasure to sacrifice one's life for one's country." Lin Zhihang clapped his hands and laughed.

*

Outside Yanling City, there is a pavilion beside a path full of willows.

No one knows who built it. It seems that the small pavilion has been standing quietly outside the city since Yanling. Later, the people privately called it the "Farewell Pavilion".

Shen Minghuan did not attend the swearing-in ceremony. This time he went out with only Shen An, a boy who knew how to drive a carriage, and rode the carriage all the way to the small pavilion outside the city.

Shen An is very capable. As soon as Shen Minghuan got off the carriage, he had already laid out soft, snow-white furry blankets on the stone chairs in the pavilion, and even put tea, water, melons and fruits on them.

He noticed that his family master was more dignified than before, and he accepted it well... No, it was too good.

Shen Minghuan nodded with satisfaction and started timing in a good mood.

If Luo Xiuqi dared to make him wait for more than half an hour, he would not be able to get through this journey easily.

"Hey, Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Shen An, who was busy cutting fruit for Shen Minghuan, exclaimed, then bent down to salute the visitor, even a little excited in his movements.

Chang Mao, who was following behind Luo Xiuyuan: ... is simply sick!

Although Luo Xiuyuan was a little confused about this joy, he was well-educated and smiled to signal him to excuse himself.

Shen An followed Shen Minghuan and had a lot of contact with Luo Xiuyuan, so he was not cautious. He asked enthusiastically: "Is Your Highness here to see off our master? Don't worry, the master will be back soon."

He has blind trust in Shen Minghuan.

Chang Mao: ...You are the one who is worried! Your whole family is worried!

Shen Minghuan played with the folding fan in his hand boredly without even looking at him.

Luo Xiuyuan smiled indifferently, his eyes sliding over the priceless blanket spread on the stone chair and the rich melon and fruit snacks on the table. Before his surprise arose, he was washed away by the feeling of ridicule.

He shook his head slightly and said helplessly: "You are still like that. You won't eat the fruit until it is cut well."

Even for grapes, you have to cut them in the middle and pick out the seeds.

This is the habit of the original owner.

However, Shen Minghuan had been carefully taken care of by his tribe members, and no fruit was served to him uncut. He immediately felt that the original owner's persistence was good and worth continuing.

Luo Xiuyuan naturally picked up the fruit knife that Shen An placed on the fruit plate, not realizing at all that he was a prince and there was nothing wrong with doing these things.

He continued to finish cutting half of the fruit that Shen An had cut on the table, then took the handkerchief and carefully and meticulously wiped off the water stains on the knife.

Then Luo Xiuyuan suddenly raised his head, turned sideways forward suddenly, flipped his wrist, and the tip of the knife was directly between Shen Minghuan's eyebrows.

"Ah!" Shen An was originally watching the two of them reminiscing with a smile, but unexpectedly the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. After he screamed, he reflexively threw himself in front of Shen Minghuan.

Chang Mao was also startled, but he reacted faster. Although he didn't know the reason, he still reached out and grabbed Shen An to prevent him from ruining His Highness's affairs.

Shen Minghuan raised his eyes, and the cold light of the sharp blade was reflected in his pupils. His expression did not change, and he still sat calmly, neither dodge nor dodge.