Xu Mansion, dining room.

Xu Jietui sat on the chair, staring at the empty table with his eyes blank, and stood there on the spot.

In his plan tonight, he wanted to take advantage of the banquet to stage a wonderful scene, forcing Lin Qingran to give him a promise in public.

This practice was not his first. When Yan Song resigned from office, he ordered Yan Shifan and the family of Yan's mansion to kneel down and ask for protection.

Although he did not take his promise seriously, and in fact he was the mastermind behind the destruction of Yan Song's family, he believed in Lin Shiran's character.

As long as Lin Qingran promised in public that he would not pursue his Xu family again, his Xu family would be exempted from a catastrophe and he would be able to rest assured.

But he never expected that Lin Qingran would not pay attention to him at all. He had even known that the news of the news of Longqing when the emperor resigned, but he refused his invitation.

"Master, the wine and food are ready, should I serve it?" The butler looked at Xu Jie's appearance and asked carefully.

"Forget it, serve it! It's just right for Lin Ruoyu to come, so I won't really bow my head to him, so that everyone thinks I'm afraid of Lin Ruoyu!" Xu Jie waved his hand and said toughly.

Although he has lost power now, Li Chunfang, whom he has supported, has taken over as the chief minister, and Zhang Juzheng, whom he has carefully cultivated, is also a minister of the current dynasty. In addition to his disciples and disciples throughout the court and the country, I believe Lin Weiran can't do anything to him.

It is precisely because of this confidence that he decided not to show weakness to Lin Qinran, nor would he ask his family to beg Lin Qinran, but to return to his hometown in Songjiang tomorrow as originally planned.

As night fell, lights lit up in the entire capital.

Although Xu Jie really wanted to think that nothing had happened before, there was no airtight wall in the world, and this important news quickly spread to the outside world.

"Haha... I've reported to the emperor behind my back and wanted to give him some stinky feet. I really think it's beautiful!"

"I have been stumbling around these years. I really think that I have no temper. It's a pity that Xu Huating still has the face to post!"

"If he is sincere, he should apologize, instead of still pretending to be a prime minister, I really don't know how much he is now!"

...

When he learned that Xu Jie invited Lin Junran and the other two were rejected, he learned that Lin Junran refused and Xu Jie's advice was made. Not many officials accused Lin Junran and others of disrespect for Xu Jie, but instead pointed the finger at Xu Jie.

The grudge between Xu Jie and Lin Qinran has long been well known. Not only did the two sides fight for power and power, but there was a huge conflict between political ideas and military policies. Xu Jie almost pulled Lin Qinran's back in the Battle of Juyongguan.

Now that Xu Jie is affected by Xu Kun, he is forced to step down. As a result, he makes a report to Longqing, but wants to let go of his past grudges. How can Lin Qingran give him a good look?

Although everyone could not feel Lin Qinran's resentment, they understood Lin Qinran's actions, so they agreed.

That's why Lin Weiran's rejection of Xu Jie's invitation to a family dinner was not criticized by everyone, but was understood by the vast majority of officials.

This news did not stop in the officialdom, but was also passed on to the outside world, causing many ordinary people to know about this.

"Let's see! Xu Jie's matter cannot be settled!"

"I dare not say anything else, but I still believe in Hai Qingtian!"

"His Xu family has done so many corrupt and abused things, and the court must still hold such evil people accountable!"

...

The people in the capital were not too concerned about the struggles in the court, but they had a pursuit of justice in their hearts. Especially after learning about the content of Hai Rui's memorial to impeach Xu Jie, they all looked forward to the Xu family being punished.

As Xu Jie's face was torn apart, all the officials in the capital also saw Xu Jie's ugly face clearly. The so-called virtuous prime minister was nothing more than the support of the Xu Party and the Shanxi Gang, but in fact, Xu Jie did not do many things that were beneficial to the people's livelihood.

On the contrary, Xu Jie indulged his mermaids and meat, secretly did a lot of stolen stolen goods and abused the law, and even had hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land and had to evade taxes.

Such actions, if they are not subject to the law, cannot be explained to the people of the world, and they will also lose the justice they expect.

That's why the people in the capital did not blame Lin Qingran for rejecting Xu Jie's invitation to a family dinner, but also looked forward to Lin Qingran's trial of the Xu family.

But no matter how officials and the people view Xu Jie, what kind of ending they expect Xu Jie to have, they cannot have any impact on Xu Jie at all, and even cannot stop Xu Jie from leaving the capital.

The next morning, the Tongzhou Wharf was alerted by a well-trained Tongzhou Guard, and ordinary merchants and people were rudely driven outside.

Under the escort of an Jinyiwei, a tall carriage ran towards the dock. Xu Jie left the capital as planned, and like most officials leaving the capital, he planned to take an official boat to go south along the Grand Canal of the capital.

"Here you come!"

When the carriage appeared, the officials guarding here couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Although Tongzhou Wei has cleared the entire Tongzhou wharf, there are only a mere twenty officials present, which shows a sense of shabbyness.

Although all the officials in the capital already knew that Xu Jie left Beijing today, there were not many officials coming to see him off, and even the officials from the Tongzhou Prefecture Office did not come here.

Although Xu Jie was the chief minister of the two dynasties, he has lost power after all. In addition, his previous behavior of insisting on supporting the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Yijun, has lost a lot of points, and his reputation is much worse than that of the ordinary chief minister.

Not only did those officials who were proficient in self-protection have to draw a clear line with him, but many officials with bottom lines disdained to be with Xu Jie, and the farce that happened yesterday, so many officials pretended not to know that Xu Jie was leaving Beijing.

For the outgoing officials, although many officials will burn cold stoves, Xu Jie has almost no chance of making a comeback.

Not to mention that Xu Jie is almost old, Xu Kun's stains lock on Xu Jie like shackles, and this court does not need a prime minister who has served as the chief minister for more than six years without any achievements.

That's why the dignified chief minister's resignation treatment is not as good as the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites Pan Sheng, who had left office earlier. Most of the officials who came to see him off now were his disciples, and even many officials from his camp did not come.

this……

Xu Jie came down from the carriage and saw the withered crowd, and finally he was mentally prepared, but he still felt "neglected" when he saw the empty dock.

I thought that Lin Qingran and those who hadn't come, and half of the officials in the court would come to see him off, but I never expected this would be the case.

"Teacher, I'm here to see you off!" Zhang Juzheng led the group of officials who seemed to be withered and saluted respectfully.

"Gei Master Xu, the official is here to see you off!" Zhang Shouzhi and other officials were deeply imprinted by Xu Party, and they were in a complicated mood at this time.

Xu Jie also felt a little comfort when he looked at Zhang Juzheng, and he was greeting the officials who were as vulgar as before, pretending to be concerned.

"Mr. Li Ge Lao said that he would not tell others about right and wrong and that his reputation would be damaged. He should not come to see him off. Please forgive me!" When Zhang Juzheng faced Xu Jie again, he seemed to convey Li Chunfang's humility with a serious expression.

Although Li Chunfang is the successor cultivated by Xu Jie, this matter has long been an open secret in the officialdom, this kind of "inheritance" is undoubtedly a taboo thing and can easily arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Therefore, Li Chunfang deliberately distanced from Xu Jie over the years, and even deliberately showed disagreement in public, so that newcomers who have just entered the officialdom mistakenly think that Li Chunfang is in his own relationship.

"Well, it's right that he won't come and see him off!" Xu Jie nodded gently, but his eyes couldn't hide and said in a loss.

Although he understood Li Chunfang's approach, he still refused to come and save some face for himself when he was "neglected". He still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Now that he has officially left office, Li Chunfang will no longer be restricted by him. If he encounters problems in the future, he may have to rely on Zhang Juzheng to be more secure.

Zhang Juzheng saw Xu Jie's loss, but knew very well that this was the truest side of the officialdom. Not to mention that Li Chunfang had to make a small plan, even Zhang Juzheng had to consider how to go next and how to gain a foothold in the court controlled by Lin Junran.

Xu Jie packed up his lost mood and said seriously to Zhang Juzheng: "I have been leaving office for many days. Who do you think is the cabinet that controls the overall situation now?"

"The current prime minister is Mr. Li, so he should naturally control the overall situation!" Zhang Juzheng swallowed secretly, but said vaguely.

Xu Jie let out a voice of disdain, and Zhizhu said in his grasp: "Although my successor is Li Chunfang, the one who controls the situation in the cabinet must be Guo and Lin. Guo Pu's talent is not as strong as Lin Qingran. He is actually Lin Qingran's voice-over, so the person who really controls the situation in the cabinet must be Lin Ruoyu!"

"Disciples dare not deceive. The political affairs these days are indeed carried out according to Lin Junran's willingness!" Zhang Juzheng nodded helplessly and said.

Not to mention the distant future, just like the cabinet had a disagreement on handling Yang Yinglong’s case earlier, especially Li Chunfang hopes to deal with the toast in a more gentle way.

Guo Pu and Lin Qingran had just a look of their eyes, and they jointly promoted the plan to severely punish Yang Qinglong, and even directly formulated a major plan to send troops to the state and implement land reform.

Such a major event that concerns the dynasty bureau was not decided by the chief assistant Li Chunfang, but was formulated by Guo Pu and Lin Shiran. The relationship between this cabinet and the chief assistant Li Chunfang is indeed not very important.

Lin Yeran's talent and wisdom, coupled with Guo Pu's qualifications and relying on his seniority, Li Chunfang's chief assistant is useless. Now the real mastermind is not the chief assistant Li Chunfang, but the alliance between the second assistant Guo Pu and Lin Yeran, who ranks third, is Lin Yeran in control of the entire situation.

"Lin Ruoyu has become a climatic person. You should be lurking now, remember!" Xu Jie saw that his guess was confirmed, but he gave a serious reminder.

Zhang Juzheng knew that he had no capital to challenge Lin Junran at all, so he bowed respectfully: "Disciple, remember!"

"There are many rumors in the officialdom, and it will be true if there are too many people. Lin Junran and I are not in harmony with each other. After years of age, his clan Hai Rui and his disciple Wang Honghai work in Songjiang. Although he can save them from returning home, he will not be able to submit a memorial to slander and ask Dayue to take care of him!" Xu Jie suddenly asked.

"Disciples will do their best to protect their mentors!" Zhang Juzheng immediately agreed and said.

"That would be a blessing in this way!" Xu Jie felt relieved and nodded with relief.

The master and apprentice looked at each other, and their feelings were sincere.

Unlike other disciples, Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng did not form a teacher-student relationship in the imperial examination, but Xu Jie became a lecturer in Shujishi and accepted Zhang Juzheng as his disciple.

Zhang Juzheng was originally a second-class Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, but he failed to write Qing Ci like Li Chunfang to please Jiajing, and even had a career as an angry young man.

It was not until the 43rd year of Jiajing that he ushered in a turning point in his life. At that time, he entered the palace as the fifth-rank Youchunfang Youyude, and he joined the cabinet and became the prime minister in less than four years. This promotion speed naturally requires Xu Jie's support.

That's true, Zhang Juzheng has always cared about Xu Jie's kindness. Although he knows that Xu Jie's tribe members are full of evil deeds, he is still willing to protect him.

"By the way, when Mr. Lin went to court, he asked me to pass this letter to you!" Zhang Juzheng took out a letter from his arms and presented it with respect.

Xu Jie handed over the letter, waved goodbye to everyone who sent him, and then climbed the official ship that had been waiting for a long time through the stairs.

When Dong Chuance saw that Xu Jie had boarded the ship, he twisted his thighs secretly. He immediately burst into tears and cried loudly along the pain.

Zou Yinglong and others looked at Dong Chuance resentfully, and even when they burst into tears, the people who really couldn't cry were still crying hypocritically.

Xu Jie got on the boat and saw the scene of the dock, and his eyes couldn't help but become wet.

After spending decades of surviving in the officialdom, how could he not know whether the people below were crying or pretending to cry? But he was driven away by Lin Qingran and left in a mess. Today, only a few people came to see him off, and he felt a little sad.

The official ship gradually faded away, and the officials on the dock also stopped crying, but they knew that the era of Xu Jie had completely ended and that the era of Lin Junran had quietly arrived.

Xu Jie kept standing at the bow of the boat and staring at the dock. When he couldn't see clearly, he turned around and prepared to go back to his room to rest. Suddenly, he remembered that he was still holding a letter in his hand, and couldn't help but tear the hole in the letter.

When the font came into his eyes, a confused expression appeared on his face, because it was not Lin Yanran's handwriting at all. It was just as he continued to look, especially when he saw the owner and content of the handwriting, a heart-wrenching chill immediately surged from the soles of his feet.

After a while, he murmured to himself: "He...he knew it all the time!"
Chapter completed!