Xia Houhui, who had returned to duty after Xiu Mu, continued to amuse himself by reading in the palace with nothing to do. It was not until the third day that he was told that he could go and accompany the emperor.
At that time, he was sitting in front of his desk, studying military books without any distractions, when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.
This surprised him greatly.
Obviously, he has been in the building for nearly an hour, but he didn't know that Yisanqi Chang was waiting on the complex building.
He also quickly stood up and looked at the sound, only to see a man in crimson clothes, a martial arts crown, and aquatic jade walking down the stairs. [Note 1]
He is not a majestic person, only about seven feet tall, and is already in his thirties. His face is quite kind, his demeanor is calm, his eyes are light, and he has an air of elegance that is not obvious.
Xia Houhui knew that the four current Sanqi regular attendants were Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao, Liu Shao and Wang Su.
Among them, Cao Shuang has long been promoted to the rank of city gate captain, and has become a temporary servant, and is not usually around the emperor. Cao Zhao has a very beautiful appearance, and Xia Houhui has met him in his early years, and he can still recognize him now.
But he couldn't tell whether the person in front of him was Liu Shao or Wang Su.
Before Xia Houhui could salute, the man nodded at him, walked out without stopping, and said hello, "Zhiquan, your Majesty said yesterday that I should take you with him to accompany you."
"only."
Xia Houhui hurriedly raised his hands and cleared away the clutter on the table, following closely behind him.
"May I ask how you call me your honor?"
After leaving the building, he held the ceremony and asked questions, and said with shame, "I am ashamed. In my early years, I rarely interacted with others, and I also left Luoyang for several years. I am like a country man who has eyesight but does not recognize the good men of the world."
"Hey, I didn't expect Zhiquan to not recognize me!"
The man's footsteps paused slightly, and his sideways eyes were full of surprise, "I am Wang Su. Although Zhiquan is studying in isolation and not paying attention to worldly affairs, he should have heard it mentioned by his family, right?"
Immediately, Xia Houhui knew where his surprise came from.
Wang Su, courtesy name Ziyong, was from Donghai County.
Therefore, the eldest son of Situ Wanglang had studied under Song Zhong, a great scholar, and was recognized as a learned man by the world.
As early as the early Huang Dynasty when Cao Pi was in power, he served as the Sanqi Shilang. Now, after his father Wang Lang died last year, Emperor Cao Rui promoted him to the Sanqi Shilang. What surprised him was that his successor was Xiahou.
It's just that it's not from Xia Houyuan's lineage.
At the emperor's feet, nobles and dignitaries gathered, and dragons and fish mingled among them.
Whether they are meritorious and noble, or they are lucky enough to be treacherous, they can always have a vague relationship with each other.
Under normal circumstances, they can ignore each other.
But if you don't recognize someone face to face, it's a humiliation.
"It turns out to be Brother Ziyong."
Xia Houhui smiled bitterly and quickly confessed, "On the occasion of my brother's wedding, I happened to be studying in Sangziqiao County. It happened that the clans in my hometown were celebrating together, and I had no time to rush back to Luoyang to have a banquet. Now I am in front of my brother.
Brother Shi, you really put me to shame, and I hope you can forgive me."
"No problem."
In response to this, Wang Su waved his hand and smiled sternly, "I also have a plain temperament, and I like to be quiet. I seldom socialize with you on weekdays. If I hadn't known that Wei Zhequan was now designated as a casual knight, I wouldn't know who you are."
This man not only has an extraordinary bearing, but also has a rare and sincere temperament.
If I asked him about the taboos of serving as a palace official due to the ties of family ties, I wonder if he would be willing to tell me?
Involuntarily, Xia Houhui's heart moved.
This is not because he is very busy and has a utilitarian heart in his dealings with people and things.
But out of the caution of accompanying a king like a tiger.
Before joining the job, his elder brother Xia Houheng had given private instructions, claiming that Emperor Cao Rui was sentenced to death because his biological mother, Empress Zhen, and Wei Wen and Cao Pi had revealed his intention to be a prince, so his temperament was a bit extreme; since he came to the throne, there are many Xiaoguo killed his attendants and demoted his assistants due to personal hatred, etc., so that he would be cautious in his words and deeds after taking office to avoid offending.
It just so happened that Wang Su had been serving in the Imperial Palace for many years.
Moreover, he had just been promoted from Sanqi Shilang to Sanqi Regular Shi by Emperor Cao Rui, so he was Xia Houhui's best consultant.
However, it is also taboo for close ministers to comment privately on the emperor's words and deeds.
If Xia Houhui wanted Wang Su to tell him in detail, he would have to think carefully about his words and find a good time.
Just as his mind was wandering, Wang Su, who was walking slowly forward, thought of something. He suddenly stopped and turned around, twirling his beard with one hand and looking at Xia Houhui up and down.
There is also a trace of novelty in his eyes, just like an elder who likes to discuss people's plans and examines the young man.
Is it because my appearance is not straight?
Or, when the emperor asked him to take me to accompany him, should he be allowed to examine my words and deeds?
This also made Xia Houhui secretly wonder. Just when he was about to ask a question, Wang Su suddenly smiled and said, "Zhi Quan is the queen of our Wei State. It is inevitable that you will be a minister of Sanqi, and you will be a pillar of the country in the future! Yesterday, I heard that the servants in the palace were gossiping in private, saying that Bo Quan was lamenting that you are too old to be appreciated by your elders, and that you are a female wife. This is really spreading rumors."
Uh~
This is really not spreading rumors~
Suddenly, Xia Houhui felt a severe headache.
His eldest brother is really decisive in doing things. He only mentioned it two days ago, but yesterday he spread the news and waited for the courtiers who had girls of the right age at home to take the initiative to contact him.
As for why Jiang Taigong is used to fish, he is willing to take the bait in a passive way~
Although the Xiahou family today is still blessed with a great family, they are not from a high-ranking noble family, and no one currently holds the position of important minister, so their status in the court has been considered in decline.
Therefore, Xia Houheng felt that if he took the initiative to find the official's family, he might be humiliating himself.
But he felt unwilling to deign to find in-laws with low family status.
In any case, his sixth brother Xia Houhui has been appointed as the minister of Sanqi and is a close minister of the emperor. He may not be unable to be appreciated by the emperor in the future and turn the family into one of the top wealthy families in the Wei Kingdom.
Furthermore, he felt that marriage should be a boost to career!
How could he find a family with low family status and low reputation, leaving Xia Houhui with no help in his official career?
After thinking like this, it was a compromise to first vaguely mention his intention to find a wife for Xia Houhui, and see if the ministers would pay attention to him.
Anyway, Xia Houhui himself has no intention of getting married yet, so he might as well give it a try.
"Let Brother Ziyong laugh."
Sighing quietly in his heart, Xia Houhui's smile on his face was like a spring breeze, "This is not a rumor. My eldest brother mentioned it at home a few days ago. However, I have no intention of starting a family."
"Oh, why?"
Hearing this, Wang Su raised his eyebrows slightly, stretched out his hand forward to indicate that the two of them were walking and talking, "It's natural for men to get married when they get older, and for girls to get married when they get older. Why didn't Zhiquan follow his brother's advice?"
After finishing his words, Xia Houhui smiled and joked again, "Could it be that Zhiquan had the same ambition as Huo Qubing of the previous dynasty, 'Why should the family be the home before the Huns are destroyed? Do you think of meritorious deeds, and are you determined to fight for the country against those who are disloyal, to destroy Shu and swallow up Wu?"
"Hahaha~~Brother Ziyong looks up to me!"
Immediately, Xiahou Hui was full of joy and said humbly, "I am a mediocre person, how dare I compete with the champion Hou Zi before? I have no intention of getting married for the time being. It is because I am not very talented and knowledgeable now. I am afraid that after I get married, I will indulge in pleasure and no longer have the desire to study."
As a seven-foot-tall man, you should seek to make meritorious deeds and repay the favor of the emperor, so why should you be so anxious to find a wife?"
"nice!"
Such an answer made Wang Su's eyes flash with a strange color, and he couldn't help but raise his hands in praise, "Zhiquan's words are very kind, and he is worthy of his meritorious service!"
He was not acting out of a humane and sophisticated heart.
Because before Xia Houhui was appointed as the Minister of Sanqi and became a close minister of the emperor, his background and life were examined in detail by officials. Therefore, Wang Su also knew that he studied in isolation in his early years and practiced bow and horse diligently.
Moreover, after Xiahou Hui was a founding figure, he was born with fine clothes and good food. He was able to devote himself to learning at an age when he was wearing fine clothes and angry with horses. He said that he had the ambition to make contributions, which is worthy of belief.
And his compliment made Xia Houhui feel that the timing was just right.
He hurriedly made a few humble words, and then went straight to the court to ask, "Brother Ziyong, I have been in the countryside for many years and I have just entered the palace to serve as a prisoner. I don't know much about the taboos in the palace. If you don't think I am stupid, please give me some advice."
.”
"Hey, Zhiquan doesn't need to be polite."
Unexpectedly, Wang Su agreed to such a simple and in-depth request, "Zhi Quan may not know it, but your brother Bo Quan told me about this matter long before you entered the palace to take up the post."
And when Wang Su softly described his experience of living in Sanqi, he knew why the other party was so happy.
What’s more, he took his career as an official for granted.
——
[Note 1: In the Wei Dynasty, both the Sanqi regular servants and the Sanqi servants wore two thousand stones, and their clothes were the same. The only difference was that the Sanqi regular servants wore a mink gold ornament on the left, while the Sanqi regular servants wore a mink gold ornament on the right. Later, Sima of the Western Jin Dynasty
Lun usurped the throne and expanded the number of his ministers to hundreds. The mink tail used to decorate the official hat was insufficient, so he replaced it with a dog tail, hence the allusion of "the dog's tail continues the mink".]