Taking advantage of the good mood of the Beijing envoy, Xu Zhiling invited him again.
The envoy from the capital named Kong Hua did not refuse directly: "I will be exempted from waiting for the long journey tonight. Wenhe County is the last stop this time. If Brother Xu doesn't mind, I will bother you for a few more days."
"That's very good. I can show brother Kong a little kindness as a landlord."
Xu Zhiling also smiled.
But out of the corner of his eye, he drifted toward his nephew Xu Kun not far away, with a complex yet solemn look.
…
After settling the envoys from the capital and his party, Xu Zhiling turned and walked towards the inner house.
Along the way, the servants and maids all had smiles on their faces, joy on their brows, and bowed to congratulate the prince on his comeback.
Xu Zhiling nodded slightly, his steps were neither hasty nor slow, he seemed to be on a steady footing, and his face was calm.
At the age of seventeen, he was a prostitute in Chang'an.
At the age of twenty-four, he was appointed magistrate of Hexi County.
In his early thirties, he was already promoted to be the governor of the Mu Shou side. Looking at the entire history of the Tang Dynasty, he was a rare young and promising person.
In the next five years, his political achievements were outstanding, and everyone on Jiannan Road knew that the prefect of Guangyuan County was capable of both literary and military skills and that he was a good minister in governing the country.
Perhaps because he was young and energetic, and his horse's hoofs were frightened by the wind, he took too radical measures to appease the refugees, and was criticized by the Qing Dynasty.
At the same time, he wrote a letter to remonstrate, insinuating that Your Majesty only knows how to practice martial arts and does not care about people's livelihood.
In the end, His Majesty was offended. Not only did he issue an order to remove Xu Zhiling from his official title, but he also said eloquently that "Xu Xiaopifu will never be appointed."
He was once discouraged and even wanted to return to his hometown to work in farming.
Fortunately, a letter from my old father solved the knot...
‘… A gentleman who is good at cultivating Qi is also good at leisure... He does not set up barriers, fearing that the wind and moon will be restrained by him. He opens a large house and lets the country come into his arms... Only by cultivating this awe-inspiring Qi can he become a great weapon for the country.'
Xu Zhiling suddenly woke up.
In the next few years, he stayed at his old home in Wenhe County, neither arrogant nor impetuous, integrating into the countryside and cultivating his character.
Gradually, he no longer had any hope of returning to his official career, but he was also happy to be at ease.
Until today...
…
The servants were withdrawn and the leaf curtains were closed. Only Xu Zhiling, his nephew Xu Kun, and the former steward Xu Liang were left in the side hall.
Xu Zhiling sat down at the top and looked at Xu Kun, who was blushing and excited, and then at his former steward Xu Liang, who couldn't help but burst into tears.
After a long silence, he sighed:
"Tell me, what exactly is going on...
...Why were you so sure a month ago that His Majesty would appoint me as the prefect of Nan'an and stay in Lingnan during the holidays?"
There was silence in the dark secret room.
Xu Kun and Xu Liang fell silent at the same time.
They did not look at each other, nor did they have any secret communication. They kept their mouths shut in a tacit understanding, but they had already discussed it in private.
More than a month ago, the two of them accompanied Lu Wujiu to the small building to visit Master Yichen who was still living in Xu Mansion at that time.
The usually high-spirited Lu Shenqi lost his chain in the middle of the road and stayed in front of the building as if he couldn't walk. He kept sticking out his tongue and making some incredible movements.
They had no choice but to go up to the small building first.
It was at that time that Master Yichen composed this prophetic poem.
Neither Xu Kun nor Xu Liang believed it at first, but later various signs showed that Master Yichen was no ordinary monk.
The two of them decided to give it a try and secretly made preparations. Until today... everything that happened in front of the hall was exactly the same as what Master Yichen said in his prophecy poem!
Second uncle Xu Zhiling was reappointed by His Majesty and became the prefect of Nan'an County!
Although Master Yichen did not ask him to tell Xu Zhiling the truth.
But Xu Kun and Xu Liang both agreed that concealing the truth might be the best choice.
After all, my uncle Xu Zhiling, like the Grand Duke, hated so-called masters.
They don't want a good thing to turn into a bad thing and create a rift between Xu Zhiling and Master Yichen.
Xu Zhiling took in this scene without getting angry or scolding him.
He lifted the lid of the tea, lowered his head to breathe, and fanned it gently.
"Based on what I know about you two, even if I got the news that I would be retiring, I would never think of using this method.
Zhongcai, you have always liked to dance with guns and sticks, and you are a master who can't sit still.
It just happened that I fell in love with policy theory in the past two months, and even used the topic of pacifying Lingnan to examine your uncle and me...
...In the end, You wrote the seven Pingnan policies, and also sorted out the situation in various places in Lingnan. This is not like your style."
Hearing this, Xu Kun looked dissatisfied: "Uncle actually looks down on my nephew so much! This plan was really thought up by my nephew himself!"
"That person really didn't give any advice?"
"Of course not, how could he...eh."
"Haha, so, someone really told you in advance."
Xu Zhiling smiled and looked away, not looking at his slightly embarrassed nephew Xu Kun, and gently fanned the hot tea.
"Yes, that little master Yichen has been living in the south of the city recently, but is he still used to it?"
Xu Kun was startled and said: "Master Yichen is under the care of his maid Xiangzhu. Recently, he has taken in a young boy named Chen. There is no need for daily living or food."
Seeing his second uncle nod slightly, Xu Kun couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Why does my second uncle suddenly care about Master Yichen?"
Xu Zhiling took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, it's thanks to little master Yichen that he brought this good fortune to someone."
The expressions of Xu Kun and Xu Liang changed at the same time.
Xu Kungan smiled and said: "Second uncle, what do you mean by this?"
Xu Zhiling's eyelids were drooped, as if he didn't notice anything strange about the two of them.
"Zhongcai, do you know why your great-grandfather took Yichen in in the first place?"
"No...I don't know."
"Firstly, it was out of kindness and pity for his frailty and illness. Secondly, it was also because his Dharma name was 'Yichen', which also meant reclusiveness and detachment from the world. I didn't expect that Xu Mansion would actually be given to me.
It brings blessings.”
Xu Zhiling looked at his nephew who seemed to be secretly relieved and a little inexplicably disappointed, and laughed.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. As soon as Yichen becomes a monk, he is afraid that he will not be interested in the ceremony of worshiping the moon, so he will not invite him back home. You prepare a souvenir for a certain person and send it to Yichen to express your feelings."
Xu Kun scratched his head: "Are you giving me a gift? What... should I give you?"
"It doesn't need to be too expensive, so as not to be rude. I heard that the government purchased a batch of mooncakes a few days ago. The ancients said, 'small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispy and glutinous rice in them.' You can pick some top-quality ones and send them to him. Bring more by the way.
Have some food in case you need it in case of emergencies."
"This is a good thing, my nephew will do it now."
Xu Kun took Xu Liang and left first.
Xu Zhiling was still sitting in his original position, gently stroking the lost silver fish bag, his expression changing.
After a long time, he sighed quietly and whispered to himself.
"Does this young master Yichen really know how to predict the future?"
…
At dusk, the small county town in Lingnan is already filled with smoke.
The smell of firewood and the aroma of food wafted in from afar.
The young man in gray robe who was sitting in the courtyard reading couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and looked out the door eagerly, his eyes wide open.
On the wicker chair nearby, Zhou Yi was reading a book and playing with elm leaves without raising his head.
A line of small black characters floated in the air diagonally.
"Don't worry, Maid Zhu thought she was delayed because she met an acquaintance on the way to buy food. Maybe we can have a different meal tonight."
"That's great. Master said two days ago that he was tired of eating the vegetarian food at Qingchun House."
Zhou Yi smiled and said nothing more.
The envoy from the capital entered the Xu Mansion in a low-key manner and read out the imperial edict, which naturally appeared in small black characters.
Zhou Yi still had a good impression of the graceful and elegant Prefect Xu, who was good at dancing. Zhou Yi was even grateful.
When I was in the Xu Mansion, I had to stretch out my hands for clothes and open my mouth for food every day. I had been a fat and delicate rice bug for more than a month. If it were anyone else, I would have been bored.
But Xu Zhiling was always consistent. Even if we met only a few times, we could still feel his inner concern for her.
After more than a month, the imperial edict to reconquer Xu Zhiling finally arrived at the Xu Mansion.
At this time, Xu Xiaolangjun, carrying large and small bags, was already on his way back with Xiangzhu.
Zhou Yizheng was thinking, when suddenly, the sky turned dark.