Tan Zhenying beside him was thin, but she was imposing. Even the person behind the curtain was silent by this sense of oppression, but the balance in his heart unknowingly deviated to him.

In front of such a rock-solid will, Zhao Zimai suddenly felt that he had no confidence, just like he had always shown in front of Zhao Wen'an.

He turned his head gently, looked at Tan Zhenying's resolute side face as if he was cutting a knife and chisel, and suddenly remembered something that Zhou Pei, the old housekeeper who had been following Zhao Wen'an, had said.

He said that Zhao Wen'an had studied with Tan Zhenying in his early years with Tang Zhijian, a famous Neo-Confucian master. At that time, he had to call Tan Zhenying a senior brother. At that time, Tang Zhijian was an official in the court. Because of his profound knowledge, excellent Hanlin scholars gathered around him. Zhao Wen'an, who had just passed the imperial examination, joined Tang Zhijian and naturally met Tan Zhenying, who had already followed his teacher.

Tan Zhenying worked very hard in his studies and was deeply admired by his peers. Tang Zhijian also praised him for his most practical and solid knowledge. Zhao Wen'an, who was determined to be a saint in his early years, admired Tan Zhenying's strict self-discipline style and often asked him for advice. The two of them once had a close relationship. Because both of them highly praised Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, Tan Zhenying also appreciated Zhao Wen'an very much. Based on his own experience in self-cultivation, he taught Zhao Wen'an's homework. Zhao Wen'an also imitated Tan Zhenying and learned to write "day classes". He once gave Tan Zhenying the daily classes he usually wrote to Tan Zhenying for review and advice. The two were brothers and friends, and got along very well. Their academic discussions and discussions made both of them later become important figures in the revival of Neo-Confucianism.

"Why have I never heard my father say that he had had a good relationship with Lord Tan? Since he had a close relationship, why didn't he have any contact now?" Zhao Zimai asked Zhou Pei in confusion.

"I am not very clear about the specific reasons. I only know that when the late emperor was still alive, the master and Lord Tan respectively submitted the "Chen Yan Shu" to express their own ideas and opinions on national governance. Lord Tan, who has always been good at debate, talked about the "defense of gentlemen and villains", quoted classics and was highly praised by colleagues. However, the late emperor said that his name was "although very good, it was difficult to do". The master just explained his ideas with people, and was evaluated by the late emperor as "clear and clear, and to the point of being in love." Young master, I don't know these words very well, but it sounds like the late emperor had a completely different impression of the two. Do you think?"

Of course it is different. "Although the name is very good, it is difficult to do it." It is summarized in two words, which is "empty words". Empty words are not helpful to the top priority. The dynasty is in danger, and the empty Confucian old tunes cannot solve any problem. "Be clear and clear, and go to the truth" is just the opposite. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the late emperor had an idea in his mind at that time, that is, Zhao Wen'an is the one who deserves to rely on.

So later, Tan Zhenying's "outside release" was found. Tan Zhenying, who had been an official in Beijing for more than ten years, was released by the late emperor as the deputy commander in Dihua. It was thousands of miles away from the capital, and was named "outside release" but was actually demoted.

This is undoubtedly a blow to Tan Zhenying, who is full of enthusiasm in the scholarly businessman.

So later, even though he was recalled to the capital by the new emperor, he was still cautious in his words and actions, no longer easily discussed politics, and even took the initiative to resign from the Minister of Revenue and become the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, only in charge of the capital's punishment.

But no one knew that Tan Zhenying had never given up. It was not that he had a grudge against the late emperor's lack of use, but that he had never given up his inner ideals. Especially after Zhao Wen'an proposed to gradualize Western learning and received the support of the current saints and ministers in the court, the small bud that had been pressed out of nowhere appeared from a gap, growing taller and taller, and in the end, it turned into a shade covering his head, which could never be dispelled by the sun.

Zhao Zimai's heart trembled, and remembered the words of the old farmer in the countryside: Xiao Liu is a child, although he is strange, but he can't say bad. He is just a little bit, and he will never look back on anything he knows, no matter how long time has passed. I remember that when his father died, the villagers thought their family was strange and did not want his father to move into the cemetery in the village. Besides, his mother was buried in that rice field, so the people in the village said that it would be better to let him bury his father in the rice field and bury his parents in the same place, which is also in accordance with the rules. Xiao Liu was just a child under ten years old, and there was no one in his family, so how could he be more than hundreds of people in the village? So he had to agree. But I remember that on the day his father's coffin was buried, he looked at the green rice field and asked a question.

He said: Do you really think it is a blessing to bury in this rice field?

The patriarch hurriedly continued: Naturally, water can gather energy and be buried here, so a high-ranking official will be born in the family.

Xiao Liu smiled with a gloomy face and said nothing. Later, he went to another place. He didn't say where he went, nor did we ask. I thought that the day he left was the last time we met in our lives, but I didn't expect that after a few years, he came back, and was still alone, but he was much taller and his eyes were full of light, which was completely different from the thin boy before.

He returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors. That day, it was his father's Mingdan.

The night when Xiao Liu came back, the north wind blew in the village all night, and the wind was so strong that it almost lifted the roof. I couldn't sleep well all night, but it was not because of the wind, but another sound. I heard someone digging the soil.

The soil in winter is so frozen so much that the sound overwhelmed the wind and spread all the way to my already nervous ears. But when I told my parents about this, they were unwilling to get up, and they thought I was too troublesome and disturbed their dreams.

Some of them regret it.

The next day, before dawn, I was awakened by a scream of surprise and came outside the house in a daze. I saw a scene that I could never forget in my life.

All the cemeteries in the village were chiseled open, and a broken shovel was inserted into the ground with cracked stones, slightly slanted, and the shadows were dragged by the rising sun. However, all the coffins buried in the ground and even decayed were dug out, leaving no bites left.

The official, the old farmer smiled faintly. You must have guessed where the coffin went? Yes, they were pressed upside down in the rice fields of the Tan family, and all the corpses inside were gone, just like the missing culprit.

Everyone in the village knew who did it, but no one said it.

You said that the Feng Shui here is good, so I will dig out all the bones of your ancestors and throw them into it. I know that when Xiao Liu did this, he must have been chanting this sentence in his mind.
Chapter completed!