Chapter 162 Two Days of Storm (Four)

Wei Yan did not attend court today. The excuse he made was that his son wanted to marry a wife, and marrying a daughter-in-law should be a happy thing, but at this moment, the depression in Wei Yan's chest almost exploded.

He walked back and forth in the room with his back. Although Jiang Huan had died one day, Wei Yan's depressed heart could not be solved. Jiang Huan died in vain. The Ministry of Rites, who had just obtained, was thrown away. He believed that this matter could only be done by Cui Yuan. The dignified prime minister actually used such despicable means. Wei Yan kicked the table hard, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone rolled all over the floor.

"I'll kill the Minister of Personnel!" Wei Yan screamed like a wolf.

After shouting, Wei Yan finally sighed helplessly. What if he killed Changgui and Cui Yu? Doesn’t the Ministry of Personnel belong to Cui Yuan? No, the Ministry of Personnel belongs to Cui Yuan, which is completely different from the Ministry of Rites’ only one minister who surrenders to him. Without more than five years of actual control, he cannot form his possession of the Ministry of Rites. In fact, he only got the key to open the door and did not enter the door. Therefore, Cui Yuan used this most direct means to eliminate the key.

Wei Yan slowly calmed down. He walked to the window and pushed it open. The bitter cold wind blew across his face. His bronze skin shone in the sun. He was already fifty-four years old. I have experienced so many storms in his life. Even the Uighur invasion last year almost destroyed the entire Wei family. He could bear such a blow. At the end of last year, Zhang Huan invaded Hexi, causing the entire Helong change. In comparison, what is this little thing? It was just a fish that took the hook to fall off in the air. It was really not worth his loss of composure.

Wei Yan heard the movement behind him, his eyes slanted slightly, and saw his son Wei Qing squatting on the ground to clean up the pen and ink on the ground. Wei Yan suddenly remembered his marriage and felt a little guilty. His son had told him several times that he didn't like Jiang Ying, but he was determined to marry him. But now? Marrying Jiang Ying is meaningless, but he is too full of words, but now he can't put this face down.

"Qing'er, are you still resentful of being a father?"

Wei Qing picked up the last pen and stood up and lowered his head, "The child doesn't dare. My father's decision is to think about the family. How dare the child have resentment?"

‘Thinking about the family.’ Wei Er smiled bitterly, and his son’s tone was filled with a hint of sarcasm!

He sighed, waved his hand gently and said, "Sit down! Let's talk."

"Yes!" Wei Qing sat down, but he still said nothing.

"I know you are dissatisfied with the marriage. I really didn't expect such a consequence to be a father, but the marriage has been announced. If you don't marry, it will probably damage your reputation, so it's a difficult time for your father!"

Wei Qing slowly raised his head, his eyes became brighter. He had already heard that his father was giving in, but he couldn't take his face down. What's the difficulty? Wei Qing couldn't help but feel excited and immediately said: "Father, I have a way to protect my whole son and not be bound by this marriage."

"Tell me!" Wei Yan also became very interested.

"Drag!" Wei Qing said with a smug smile: "We also promised to marry her, but her father has just died, so it is not appropriate to do a marriage. We will delay the marriage for a year and marry her again when we are married. However, it is no longer a wife, so let her be the second wife. At that time, everyone will only praise us for our friendship and keep our trustworthiness. As for whether we are a wife, I think no one cares."

"Wonderful!" Wei Er slapped his thigh hard and praised his son's wisdom. A stone fell to the ground in his heart, then patted his son's shoulder and smiled comfortably: "Don't worry! Your wife will consider your feelings for her father. If you like it, let's look at her family background again, and it will not be like this time again."

‘Do I still like it?’ Wei Qing secretly felt sad. He remembered Pei Ying’s smile like a flower brocade, and his heart was shattered.

Wei Yan didn't understand his son's delicate psychological changes. In his opinion, women are the same when they go to bed.

He was in a happy mood to sort out the scattered documents on the table, but suddenly saw an exquisite New Year greeting post. He picked it up and looked carefully. He was stunned. This was actually the New Year greeting post of Pei Jun’s eldest son Pei Mingkai on behalf of his father. He didn’t know what was going on?

When Wei Qing saw this, he hurriedly said, "This was sent by Pei Mingkai early in the morning. At that time, my father was in a bad mood and told no one to see him. The child dared to accept it for his father. There was also a box of gifts, a pair of jade horses. The child came in just now to tell his father about this."

"No!" Wei Yan frowned suddenly, stood up and walked quickly to the bookcase. He flipped through a stack of New Year greetings and took out a similar New Year greetings. This was when Pei Jun sent his fifth son Pei Mingyuan to greet him on his behalf on his behalf.

He walked back to the table, put two New Year greetings and put them together, and asked his son, "Do you understand anything?"

Wei Qing looked carefully and couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He raised his head and asked his father, "Did Pei Jun forget that he had paid New Year's greetings, or he made a mistake, he should be here to congratulate the wedding."

Wei Yan shook his head, "Pei Jun is indifferent to things. He will never make mistakes in such a thing. He has his intention to pay New Year's greetings twice."

Speaking of this, a trace of enlightenment suddenly flashed through Wei Er's mind. He already understood what Pei Jun meant. Are he begging him? He wanted the vote in his hand. He laughed and reminded his son: "You might as well connect the most important things in the past two days and you will understand."

Wei Qing lowered his head and thought hard. The most important thing was nothing more than the assassination of Jiang Huan, but what did it have to do with Pei Jun’s two New Year greetings? Seeing that he couldn’t think of it, Wei Yan smiled and reminded him again, “Think about the balance of power in the cabinet again, why do Pei Jun want to be a father?”

Wei Qing then suddenly realized that there were so many things to pay New Year's greetings. He thought about it for a while and said, "But, what can a New Year's greeting post mean? Pei Jun did not agree to you any conditions!"

"Silly kid, don't you understand? This is just Pei Jun's throwing a stone to ask for directions. If I want to talk to him, I will naturally put forward my conditions in a subtle way, such as if I asked you to give me a gift again. This is a wonderful communication method. You have become the head and guest officer. You have to learn a little about these, do you know?"

"Yes! I remember it."

Wei Qing hesitated for a moment and asked again: "Will the father want the child to return the gift?"

"No! Don't worry." Wei Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "If I guessed correctly, Cui Yuan would definitely have some action."

As soon as he finished speaking, the housekeeper's voice came to his door, "Master, Mr. Cui from the Ministry of Personnel is asking for a visit outside the house."

Wei Qing was amazed, "Father is really a magical plan!"

Wei Yan smiled and waved his hand, "This is nothing. If you have been in the officialdom for more than ten years, you will be like being a father." As he said that, he stood up and said to the housekeeper, "I'll invite Mr. Cui."

Cui Yu, the clan's brother Cui Yuan, was appointed as the Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Among the six ministries of the Shangshu Province, there is not only one Minister of each department. The Ministry of Personnel has two Ministers, one is the Right Minister Changgui, and the other is the Left Minister Cui Yu. Changgui is not in good health and does not take care of specific affairs. The power of the Ministry of Personnel is mainly in the hands of Cui Yu.

In addition to the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue also had two ministers, one was Du Hongjian and the other was Pei You. In September last year, Du Hongjian was transferred to the patrol envoy and went to Nanhai County (now Guangzhou), so the Ministry of Revenue did not add a new minister.

Although Cui Yu was just Cui Yuan's clan brother, he was smart and capable, and was deeply trusted by Cui Yuan, so he was appointed as the most important position: the Minister of Personnel. When he came today, he was naturally entrusted by Cui Yuan to discuss a deal with Wei Yan.

He has a gentle personality and is very popular in the court, so because Wei Ye's hatred for the Cui family can tolerate him. Wei Ye took Wei Qing to greet him in person, and smiled from afar, "Isn't Mr. Cui sick? How could he still come to my house?"

Cui Yu bowed and gave a bow, and smiled and said, "I also heard that Wei Shangshu was preparing for his son's wedding, which is similar to being sick in the lower house!"

Wei Yan laughed with his palm, and he immediately shook his son, and Wei Qing immediately stepped forward and gave a deep salute, "Wei Qing meets Uncle Cui Shi."

Cui Yu looked at him and said solemnly: "In the arrangements for the children of aristocratic families to enter politics this time, only you and Wang Yan can be the real officials, and they are both ministers of the Secretariat. Others may not be able to get this position after being an official for more than ten years. So you must be cautious and don't embarrass your father, do you know?"

"My nephew remembers Uncle Cui Shi's teachings!"

Cui Yu patted his shoulder and smiled at Wei Yan and said, "I have something to visit today. I wonder if Secretary Wei has time to receive it?"

Wei Er glanced at him deeply, waved his hand, "Please!"

The three of them returned to the study. Cui Yu was waiting for the tea maid to leave, and then he said straight to the point: "I am not hiding it from Secretary Wei. The death of Minister Jiang was not done by Prime Minister Cui."

Wei Yan was slightly stunned. He didn't expect the other party to speak so straightforwardly. Cui Yu was a well-educated scholar and had a deep understanding of poetry, books and scriptures. He thought he would be around, but in the end he was as implicit as Pei Jun said Cui Yuan's request, but he didn't expect him to be so frank. Wei Yan was stunned for a moment and then laughed heartily: "Okay! Mr. Cui is quick and speaks quickly. I just like such a happy person."

But Xiao only showed his favorable feelings for Cui Yu, not his understanding of Cui Yuan. The laughter gradually stopped, and he said lightly: "How Minister Jiang died does not matter. What is important is how to deal with the funeral. The prime minister must be the Minister Cui, just for this matter!"

Cui Yu sighed slightly in his heart. He knew that Wei Yan had too deep hatred for Cui Yuan, and he could not eliminate the hatred by saying a few words, but he was still unwilling to give up and continued without saying a word: "The person who killed Jiang Huan is actually Zhang Huan from Hexi. Can Wei Shangshu think of his intention?"

Before Wei Yan could answer, Wei Qing, who was standing next to him, suddenly said, "What is the evidence for this matter?"

When Cui Yu saw him interfering, he shook his head and said hatefully, "He has planned for a long time, and it is outside the Jiang Mansion. Who would have thought of it? There is neither physical evidence nor certification. If he had not been hinting to the Prime Minister the day before, the Prime Minister would have thought it would be him. He hated that this would have happened, but he had made Cui take the blame. Cui ordered me to report this matter to the Secretary of State and ask Secretary Wei to eliminate the misunderstanding."

Wei Yan glared at his son fiercely, pondered for a moment and said, "I have said just now that it doesn't matter how Minister Jiang died. What is important is how to deal with the funeral. The Prime Minister asked Minister Cui to come and wouldn't just tell me the cause of Jiang Huan's death!"

Seeing that he was inseparable from the key to the problem, Cui Yu knew that it would be useless to say anything else. He smiled and said frankly: "Since Wei Shangshu doesn't like to turn around, then I'll just say it. The Prime Minister hopes that you support the candidate he proposed to be the Minister of Rites. At the same time, the Prime Minister will also support you from the current temporary position of Shuofang Jiedushi to the formal appointment, and order Duan Xiushi to withdraw from Lingwu County. What is the arrangement like this?"

Wei Yan said directly without thinking: "Please tell the Prime Minister that Wei Yan will consider this matter and will give him a reply at the appropriate time."

"What? Shangshu Wei feels that the prime minister is not sincere enough?"

Wei Yan stroked his beard and smiled slightly, "I'm not hiding it from the Minister Cui, Pei Jun's eldest son Pei Mingkai came early in the morning. He brought Pei's prime minister to divide the Ministry of Rites into two, Fang Xiu was appointed as the Minister of Right, and I recommended it to him, so I also couldn't make up my mind, so I need to think about it carefully."

After saying that, Wei Yan took the teacup and sucked it carefully, no longer looking at him. Cui Yu pondered for a long time. Although Cui Yuan gave him the power to deal with it on the spot, he was a very cautious person. He did not believe that Pei Jun would propose such conditions. After all, Cui Yuan held the Ministry of Personnel. Either Cui Pei and the two families owned it, or Cui Pei and the two families shared it. Pei Jun would agree to him for other interests, but would never agree to share the Ministry of Rites with him. In that case, the ownership of the Ministry of Rites would never be stable.

Cui Yu knew that things would not be that simple, so he didn't say much, so he stood up and bowed and smiled, "In this way, I won't disturb Mr. Wei. I will report the meaning of Mr. Wei to the Prime Minister and say goodbye."

Wei Yan quickly asked his son to see him off. After a while, Wei Qing hurried back to the study. As soon as he saw his father, he said, "Have you ever thought about using this matter to exchange for Zhang Huan's withdrawal from Hexi?"

Wei Yan glanced at him and said coldly: "How to change him? Can Cui Yuan do anything to Zhang Huan? Even if he ordered Duan Xiushi to withdraw from Lingwu, it was just a painting cake to satisfy his hunger. Who would pay attention to him? But you are trapped by personal grudges and love for your children all day long. If you don't repent, you will die on it one day."

"There is no boy!" Wei Qing replied tremblingly.

"I still say no!" Wei Yan saw his stubbornness and couldn't help but angrily said, "What did you just get in? When Zhang Huan is mentioned, you're excited. What are you? People dare to assassinate the Minister of Rites and provoke a great chaos in the court. Do you dare? Don't think that if you get a guest and a guest, you're complacent. Compared with Zhang Huan, you're still a thousand miles away!"

Wei Qing's face turned red and white when he was scolded. He lowered his head and said not daring to say anything. After a long time, Wei Yan saw that he stopped explaining, so he calmed down a little and said to Wei Qing in a lengthened voice: "Wait a moment, you will go to Pei's mansion on my behalf and give me a gift to the Prime Minister Pei for his New Year's greetings."

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After the New Year, the final ending slowly begins. The wind is still very cold, but sometimes on warm and bright afternoons, a slight wind will unexpectedly blow from the south, and the winter is no longer so cold and spicy.

This is the case on the sixth day of the first lunar month. In the afternoon, a warm south wind blew across the streets and alleys of Chang'an, making people no longer bear to stay at home. They walked on the streets to taste the breath of spring. A few colorful kites appeared in the sky, and they were soaring in the wind.

However, Zhang Huan did not accompany his newlywed wife to the street to appreciate spring. After he rushed back from Yongjiafang at noon, he formally visited Pei Jun about the Minister of Rites.

In Pei Jun's study, Zhang Huan gently pushed a pigeon letter to him. This was the result of the hidden stakes lying near Cui's mansion, shooting a pigeon flying out of Cui's mansion. The content was that Cui Xian, the eldest son who was the governor of Hanzhong, immediately went to Beijing to report his work.

Although the above words do not mention the Minister of Rites, this is enough for Zhang Huan and Pei Jun.

Pei Jun couldn't help but smile after reading the paper roll and said, "Only you can do this kind of thing. Cui Yuan has been holding pigeons for more than ten years, but never thought that someone would actually hit him pigeons. It seems that I have to be careful."

Zhang Huan couldn't help but smile and said, "Actually, this is what one of my staff members learned. He has always believed in details to determine success or failure. Therefore, he likes and is best at starting from details that others cannot imagine. For example, the bottom line of Wei Er's negotiation last time was to take back Huijun, so he found the answer in advance from the waste paper of the other party's carriage."

"Oh! This is a powerful person." Pei Jun's eyes burst into deep interest, and he smiled and said, "When will the son-in-law introduce me?"

"If my father-in-law is interested, I will find an opportunity to let him go to Beijing to do business next time."

Marriage is a continuation of politics, and this sentence is not false at all. After Zhang Huan officially became Pei Jun's son-in-law, the relationship between the two underwent a subtle change, which was reflected in the tone of speaking, title and even sitting posture between them, but this was just an appearance. The real change was that there were only the two of them in the room. Chu Mingyuan, who had been listening, disappeared, which meant that Pei Jun really regarded Zhang Huan as his own and admitted that he was a member of the Pei family.

It is precisely because of this that the conversation between the two of them has become much more harmonious and frank.

"At noon, your uncle had already come to me and suggested that I give up the Minister of Rites in exchange for Duan Xiushi as the governor of Shuofang. This is actually what you mean!"

"Yes!" Zhang Huan no longer denies and admitted frankly.
Chapter completed!