Chapter 716: Change of Principle with the Wind (Part )

"General, where are we going?"

Walking out of the Privy Council, the depressed and haggard Lan Qi cast a troubled look at the frowning Xu Guangsheng.

"We?" Xu Guangsheng calmed down and turned to look at the bewildered Lan Qi, and said jokingly, "This general has to go to the Third Yamen to mobilize troops and escort the princess to Helin tomorrow. As for you... I'm afraid you can't go with me."

"How dare I, a lowly person, sneak into the wedding procession and tarnish the princess's nobility." Lan Qi said self-deprecatingly, "When Master Lu gave me to the general, he said clearly that I would no longer have anything to do with Su Shui Pavilion. Now that I'm rejected by the general, I'm afraid it's just a luxury to want to go back to Su Shui Pavilion to make a living."

As she spoke, Lan Qi's eyes turned red and tears as big as beans rolled down.

In fact, Lan Qi's worries were not without reason. She was a weak woman, helpless in Lin'an, a city where she was unfamiliar with the world. If Xu Guangsheng ignored her, what would she do in the future?
"Lan Qi, although Lord Qian didn't keep you, I noticed that Bai Jin seemed to have a good impression of you." Seeing Lan Qi's tears and pitiful face, Xu Guangsheng couldn't help but feel sympathy, and said thoughtfully, "Why not... I entrust you to him? After all, he is the Minister of the Privy Council, and he is also powerful..."

"That Lord Bai already has a wife, and maybe his children are a few years older than me." Lan Qi said sadly, "Will the general let me be his concubine? Or will he keep a beautiful girl in his mansion?"

"This..." Faced with Lan Qi's questioning, Xu Guangsheng was speechless.

To be fair, considering Lan Qi's beauty and talent, it was a bit unfair for her to marry as a concubine of a "minor official in the capital" who was over 40 years old and had a family.

At first, Lan Qi dreamed of marrying the single Xu Guangsheng and becoming the wife of the governor. But unexpectedly, Xu Guangsheng used her as a tool to curry favor with him. Lan Qi was sad, but when she learned that the other party was a powerful privy councilor, she could not help but waver.

Although Lord Qian is old and frail, he is a high-ranking official with great wealth and power, enough to satisfy Lan Qi's inner vanity.

Now, since she could not serve as the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, Xu Guangsheng actually entrusted her to the Vice Minister. Lan Qi must find it difficult to accept such a huge gap.

"Forget it!" The upset Xu Guangsheng waved his hand and said impatiently, "This general has the emperor's order and has no time to tangle with you. I will accompany you back to the inn to pack your things, and then send someone to take you back to Quanzhou."

"But……"

"Don't worry! I will write a letter to inform Tingxiang of the whole story and ask you to return to Sushui Pavilion." Xu Guangsheng added, "After I come back from escorting the bride... I will go to Sushui Pavilion to find you."

"Looking for me?" Lan Qi's eyes lit up and she asked expectantly, "Will the general marry me?"

"This... let's discuss it later! Let's discuss it later!"

Xu Guangsheng hastily evaded the question and, ignoring Lan Qi's questioning, strode towards the inn where Lan Qi was staying.

Although the afternoon sun is not as hot as at noon, it is equally scorching.

"Boss, please settle the room and meal bills for the past few days. I'll go upstairs to pack my things and come down to pay the bill later."

"Okay! Master, take your time to clean up..."

Without waiting for the shopkeeper's consent, Xu Guangsheng dragged the reluctant Lan Qi upstairs and rushed to the guest room.

"General, why are you so anxious?"

"Nonsense! Of course you are not in a hurry, but this general is busy with many things, how can I delay?"

With a burst of complaints, Xu Guangsheng pushed open the door in a hurry, pushed the petite and weak Lan Qi into the room, and urged: "I'll give you an incense stick of time, hurry up and pack! I'll go find a carriage..."

"Guangsheng!"

Before Xu Guangsheng finished speaking, an old man's laugh suddenly came from the inner room.

Hearing this, Xu Guangsheng and Lan Qi were both stunned. They looked at each other with a bewildered look on their faces, and looked towards the room at the same time.

His hair and beard were gray, his face was covered with wrinkles, and he was wearing a green robe, looking like a Taoist immortal. His eyes were glittering with intelligence, and the corners of his mouth raised a kind smile. He appeared in front of Xu Guangsheng and Lan Qi as if strolling in the garden.

"Mr. Zhu?"

The person who came was none other than the chief steward of the Jiangnan Lu Mansion, Sikong Zhu.

"My dear cousin, how are you?"

Since Xu Guangsheng and Lu Tingxiang were cousins, the servants of the Lu family all called him "cousin master". However, given Si Kongzhu's seniority and status in the Lu family, he could just call him by his name, and occasionally calling him "cousin master" was also somewhat humorous.

"Thank you for your concern, Master Zhu. Guangsheng is doing well." Xu Guangsheng was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked Sikong Zhu to sit down. He asked curiously, "How come Master Zhu has the leisure to come to Lin'an City today?"

While they were talking, Lan Qi took the initiative to pour tea and water for the two of them.

"I came to see you." Si Kongzhu took the teacup nonchalantly, but his eyes never left Xu Guangsheng. "How is it? Is this trip going well?"

"Alas!" Xu Guangsheng sighed, "I thought there were no men in the world who were not lustful, but I didn't expect that the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council was an exception." "Oh?" Sikong Zhu glanced at Lan Qi and smiled faintly, "It seems that the position of 'Du Yu Hou' that you coveted has now become a dream bubble?"

"Yeah!" Xu Guangsheng laughed at himself, "I spent so much effort to give her women and gold and silver jewelry, but in the end, she didn't even look at them and returned everything."

"So, this deputy privy councilor is a good official who is as clear as water and as bright as a mirror?" Sikong Zhu said jokingly, "It shouldn't be like this! If there were such loyal ministers and good generals in the court, how could the Song Dynasty decline to this extent?"

"In my opinion, the Deputy Privy Envoy didn't like Lan Qi and the gold, silver and jewelry, but me, Xu Guangsheng." Xu Guangsheng drank the tea in one gulp and curled his lips, "He probably has other candidates in mind for cultivation, and is worried that my entry into the court will affect his plans, so he repeatedly ignores me. This time, if the Privy Envoy hadn't praised me, I'm afraid I wouldn't even get the job of escorting the bride."

"One is the Privy Councilor and the other is the Deputy Privy Councilor. Which one is more important?" Sikong Zhu asked suspiciously. "Since the Privy Councilor respects you, why should you care about the attitude of the Deputy Privy Councilor towards you?"

"Mr. Zhu, you may not know that the Privy Councilor is the head of the West Palace, and is considered the most powerful minister in the Song Dynasty together with the Prime Minister. With such a position, they focus all their attention on the country and the people, and the safety of the world. They wholeheartedly assist the emperor in governing the Song Dynasty, and have no time or interest to intervene in the affairs of the lower level. Therefore, whether it is the East Palace or the West Palace, most of the big and small matters and the open and secret struggles in the court are managed by the 'Second in Charge'." Xu Guangsheng explained, "In fact, there are many 'Second in Charge' in the East and West Palaces, but there are only a few who really hold real power and are deeply favored by the Prime Minister and the Privy Councilor. At present, the real 'Second in Charge' of the East Palace is Lord Jia, the Minister, and the West Palace is the 'Second in Charge' of the West Palace. The 'second in command' of the government is the Deputy Privy Councilor Qian. If Qian doesn't give me a chance, my career will be bleak. Unless the Emperor and the Privy Councilor Qiankun make a dictatorial decision and appoint me to the court, I won't have any chance at all. However, the Privy Councilor has to take into account the balance of officials in the Privy Council, especially the opinions of the 'second in command', and generally there will be no disagreements. If Qian sneers at me, the Privy Councilor will not use me. After all, the unity and harmony of the core figures of the Privy Council are far more important than a small Xu Guangsheng. As for 'overcoming all opinions' and 'making a dictatorial decision', it is almost impossible to happen unless the situation forces it. "

"I see." Si Kongzhu nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment of silence, his eyes suddenly moved, and he instructed Lan Qi who was waiting beside him, "You go out first, I have something to tell my cousin."

Lan Qi did not dare to disobey Si Kong Zhu's order. She bowed obediently and quickly left the room.

Xu Guangsheng was stunned and asked in astonishment: "Master Zhu, what is so mysterious?"

"Guangsheng, does the court really want you to go to Helin to marry?" Sikong Zhu asked seriously.

"Yes." Xu Guangsheng said bluntly, "I just came back from the Privy Council and will immediately head outside the city to join the Mongols."

"I heard that... Liu Xunyi is also among those who will be escorting the bride?"

"Liu Xunyi?" Xu Guangsheng frowned slightly and said hesitantly, "There is indeed such a person. How come? Does Elder Zhu know him?"

"Of course!" Si Kong Zhu laughed, "He killed the leader of the martial arts world, and any hero in the world can kill him."

"Oh." Xu Guangsheng knew very little about the affairs of the martial arts world and had no interest in learning more. He asked, "Master Zhu suddenly asked about this person. Is it Tingxiang..."

"If there is a chance, sir, of course I am willing to kill this thief." Si Kong Zhu said, "You know, whoever can deliver this man's head to the Xianwang Mansion will become the deputy leader of the martial arts world."

"What do you mean?" Xu Guangsheng seemed to have heard a clue, "Master Zhu suddenly came to Lin'an to find me. Did he want me to help you deal with Liu Xunyi halfway?"

"No! You and he are both from the imperial court. If you take action, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble." Si Kongzhu shook his head and said, "Young Master, what you mean is that you tell us the route for the bride's escort and the arrangements for the guards, and then we will take action to solve it."

"This..." Xu Guangsheng was secretly shocked and hesitated, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate?"

"What?" Seeing Xu Guangsheng's hesitation, Si Kongzhu's face darkened immediately, and he said unhappily, "Don't you even trust your own family? Don't forget, without the help of the young master, how could you sit in the position you are today? In the past, when you encountered difficulties, the Lu family gave you money and people, and never said a word of 'no'. Today, the young master rarely asked you for help, but you were so timid and hesitant. What does it mean?"

"Master Zhu, please don't misunderstand me. Tingxiang and I are closer than brothers, so it is my duty to help him." Xu Guangsheng said in panic, "However, this matter is a secret of the court..."

"The imperial court?" Si Kongzhu sneered and said contemptuously, "The imperial court ignored you and treated you as a street cat or dog, but you are still thinking about the imperial court? I want to ask you, in your heart, which one is more important, the imperial court or the Lu family?"

"Of course it's the Lu family, but..."

"No need to say more!" Si Kongzhu waved his hand and got straight to the point. "Give me a straightforward answer. Will you help me with this favor or not? If you will, please copy a copy of the 'transfer letter' for me. If you will not, I will take my leave immediately and will never embarrass General Xu."

"This..." Seeing Si Kongzhu's firm attitude and not giving him any time to think, Xu Guangsheng couldn't help but feel flustered and at a loss, "This..."

"That's all! General Xu, don't worry. I'm leaving now!"

After saying this, Sikong Zhu, with disappointment in his eyes, suddenly stood up and walked towards the door angrily.

"and many more!"

However, just as Sikong Zhu reached out to pull the door, Xu Guangsheng's reluctant voice suddenly rang out, immediately interrupting Sikong Zhu's action.

"What's the matter?" Si Kongzhu turned slowly and asked with a smile, "Does General Xu want to hold me accountable?"

"Master Zhu's words are simply embarrassing for Guangsheng. If I lose the Lu family, Xu Guangsheng... will be completely worthless." Xu Guangsheng smiled bitterly, then reached into his bosom, slowly took out the travel card, and said word by word, "Tell Tingxiang that no matter what he wants to do, he must send someone to inform me before he does it. I will do my best to cooperate with you to avoid conflicts with the Mongols and cause unnecessary casualties."

Si Kong Zhu looked at the letter with excitement and said soothingly, "Guangsheng, you are the young master's relative and brother. He won't harm you, don't worry!"

Xu Guangsheng nodded vaguely, his mind serious, his eyes trembling, he took a deep breath, and tremblingly placed the letter on the table.

……

(End of this chapter)