The current Cai Jing is more terrifying than Cai Jing. If Cai Jing was the trigger that triggered Lu Jiayi's guilty memories, then the grown-up Cai Jing is Lu Jiayi's creditor.
Lu Jiayi had never expected that he still remembered things from his youth. Now that they were reunited and Cai Jing was of marriageable age, he simply regarded Lu Jiayi as his future wife who had escaped from marriage and was caught, and he kept a close eye on her.
The first conflict between the two was about Lu’s Teahouse.
The Song Dynasty had strict etiquette, and Cai Jing was naturally influenced by this idea. He opposed Lu Jiayi's public appearances all day long, and asked her to close the teahouse and go back to her hometown with him.
The values ​​of the two eras collided fiercely, and Lu Jiayi said, "It's none of your business."
Then, she was taken away.
Cai Jing took Lu Jiayi to his former residence and forced her to stay there. Lu Jiayi was so angry that she almost tore down the door of his house.
Cai Jing held his forehead and comforted him kindly: "Jia Yi, we haven't seen each other for so many years, can't you spend more time with me?"
"That's my career! Career!" Lu Jiayi said righteously.
"Jiayi, listen to me!" Cai Jing looked at her and said seriously, "I know that's your hard work, but it's too dangerous for you to work hard alone outside. Besides, there are so many things going on in and out of the teahouse, and it's very hard for you as a girl to take care of them all. I don't want you to be so hard. You see, I'm grown up now, I can support you and protect you. So, I hope you can have a good rest at home and talk to me, okay?"
Lu Jiayi looked at his handsome face and still found it hard to digest the fact that the naughty boy had become a social elite. For Cai Jing, more than a decade had passed, but for Lu Jiayi, the so-called "back then" had just happened a while ago!
However, she had to admit that Cai Jing had grown up. He was still proud and somewhat chauvinistic, but he also knew how to take care of others and be considerate.
"My idea is different from yours. Just like you are determined to make a name for yourself in your official career and bring honor to your family, I have devoted my whole life to the tea ceremony. You leaving me idle at home is tantamount to murdering my life." Lu Jiayi sighed and said, "Master Jing, I may be different from the girls you have met. I will not rely on anyone to survive, and I am not willing to draw eyebrows and embroider in pavilions and towers. If you really want to do good for me, please respect my ideas."
Cai Jing looked at her and smiled bitterly, "You are still the same as you were back then, lawless and doing what you want, but... you have a lot of personality and live a wonderful life."
After saying the last sentence, he raised his head and gently stroked her hair. Then he stared at her with his bright eyes and whispered, " Will you be reluctant if I leave?"
Lu Jiayi stared at him blankly. The man who had taken her first kiss had grown from a boy to a young man. Looking at those clear and bright eyes, Lu Jiayi's heart was moved for a moment. However, after that moment, she quickly shook her head to get herself out of her daze.
She was not from this era and could not make any promises to Cai Jing.
Cai Jing mistook her shaking head as an answer, and couldn't help feeling a little lonely. He slowly put down his hand, lowered his head, and said softly, "I understand ."
Lu Jiayi opened her mouth and wanted to explain, but stopped.
That's it, good for both of us.
After Cai Jing left, Lu's Teahouse reopened. Lu Jiayi was still the most famous woman in Bianjing City, and she slowly expanded the business of the teahouse. When Cai Jing returned to Fujian Road, he did not completely give up on Lu Jiayi. He often wrote back letters, many of which were very touching.
In a blink of an eye, several years passed.
The article that did not wait for Sima Guang's review was finally brought to the table.
That day, Lu Jiayi invited the two to the private room as usual and brewed a pot of Mengding tea herself. But when she came in with the teapot, she found that the topic in this private room was gradually becoming sensitive.
"Years of war and natural disasters have made the people in various places suffer. When I went to the countryside to investigate, I found that many wealthy gentry had concealed a large amount of land. In the past few years, the treasury revenue has dropped sharply, which has seriously affected the border war. These problems must be taken seriously."
Wang Anshi stood in front of the window, looking at the city of Bianjing outside. He looked tall and straight, yet extremely lonely.
Sima Guang was still waving the folding fan that had been with him for many years. His eyes followed his friend's back and he sighed, "Our dynasty has accumulated over a hundred years. Many problems cannot be solved in a short time. The most important thing is, have you ever thought that these ideas of yours will offend those who are truly powerful? By then, let alone reform, I'm afraid you won't even be able to protect yourself."
Hearing this, Lu Jiayi's heart skipped a beat. Is the reform finally about to begin?
She put the teapot on the table, found a convenient spot to sit down, and asked with a smile, "What are you two talking about? The atmosphere seems quite solemn ."
As soon as Lu Jiayi finished speaking, Wang Anshi suddenly turned around and asked, "Miss Lu, you are different from other women. Let me ask you, during the spring ploughing season, can the people without land and food just wait to starve to death?"
"No land and no food?" Lu Jiayi thought for a while and said with a smile, "Mr. Wang, you know the rules of my Lu's Teahouse, right? If familiar customers come to buy tea, I will give them discounts. If they don't bring money, I can also buy on credit. Because we are familiar with each other, I believe they will pay me back in the future. There is tea in the teahouse, but customers who want to drink tea may not have tea. But as long as we make some adjustments, we can get a win-win situation."
Wang Anshi listened attentively, vaguely realizing something, and asked, "What do you mean..."
Lu Jiayi clapped her hands and said, "If the people don't have food, the government will have it, right? During the spring plowing season, when there is a shortage of food, the government can lend money and food to the people on credit since they don't want the people to starve to death. When the autumn harvest season comes, the people will have passed the most difficult period of the year and have food in their hands. The money and food borrowed during the spring plowing season can be returned to the government in the form of taxes. See, doesn't this solve the problem?"
"What a good idea!" Wang Anshi was overjoyed. He strode to Lu Jiayi, held her shoulders tightly, and said in a trembling voice, "You are worthy of being the extraordinary woman that Yuan Chang admires! You really helped me a lot!"
Yuan Chang is Cai Jing. When Lu Jiayi heard his name, she blushed.
Sima Guang listened to their conversation and also showed an approving look towards Lu Jiayi.
"In this way, the court can not only let the people concentrate on farming, but also increase the income for the national treasury. It's a good idea! But..." Sima Guang asked worriedly, "In the past, the gentry lent money to the people at high interest rates. If this job is taken away by the government, they will have less money in their pockets and will definitely be dissatisfied. If these people unite, the trouble they create will be no less than the trouble caused by the poor people now."
"You are so timid, what great things can you accomplish?" Wang Anshi suddenly scolded Sima Guang, then turned around and looked at Lu Jiayi, his expression softened a lot, "If the Song Dynasty can change its current situation of poverty and weakness, Miss Lu will be a hero of our dynasty!"
Lu Jiayi waved her hands repeatedly and was about to say something, but Wang Anshi said, "There is no time to lose. I have to go back and study the loan law." After that, he left the teahouse without even drinking the tea.
The remaining two were stunned. Lu Jiayi glanced at Sima Guang and couldn't help but said, "Sima sir..."
Sima Guang waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to say anything more.
"I know how loyal Wang Xianggong is. He has been planning the reform since the day he was appointed. It's not that I can't understand him, but our Song Dynasty has been established for more than a hundred years, and many things are really not as simple as they seem. I am worried that one day, he will be harmed by his own stubbornness..."
Sima Guang said this, shook his head, and pushed the door open and left.
Today's pot of tea just got cold like this.
Since that day, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang rarely met in the teahouse again. Soon, Sima Guang was sent to a new post. Wang Anshi's career, however, was smooth sailing, and he became the Minister of State Affairs.
After a few days of bustling in the palace, Wang Anshi came to Lu's Teahouse step by step. Unexpectedly, someone was waiting for him in the teahouse.
Sima Guang, who was supposed to be out of town, was carrying a pot of tea and looking at the person who had just entered with a smile.
"Brother Sima, why are you back?" Wang Anshi stepped into the private room, somewhat unable to believe his eyes.
Lu Jiayi came out from behind him and said with a smile, "Lord Sima learned that Prime Minister Wang was appointed as the Vice Minister of State Affairs, so he rushed back from other places."
Sima Guang put down the teapot, clasped his hands together, bowed, and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Wang."
Wang Anshi looked at him with a complicated expression on his face. Because of their different political views on some things, they had not been in touch for a long time. A few years ago, Sima Guang was exiled, which indirectly broke their friendship. When they met again today, Wang Anshi felt a little surprised.
"I didn't expect that you would come back in person..." Wang Anshi whispered.
"Your career is going smoothly, and I feel relieved watching you from afar." Sima Guang made a gesture of invitation, and Wang Anshi walked over and sat down.
Lu Jiayi prepared some light snacks for the two of them and sat down with them.
The three of them sat opposite each other, speechless for a moment.
This private room is on the second floor, and in the hot summer, the windows are wide open. Lu Jiayi made some soft furnishings based on the original house, such as replacing the windows with gauze curtains and carving patterns on the wooden walls.
A breeze blew in from outside, lifting the white gauze curtains and bringing a hint of coolness to the people in the room.
Sima Guang looked at a corner of the capital in the distance, and he felt a little emotional. He couldn't help but sighed: "I have been to many places, met many people, and experienced many things over the years. I can be considered half a parent official. Mr. Wang, do you still insist on doing what you wanted to do back then?"
Wang Anshi looked at his calm face and nodded slowly.
"I have already prepared the memorial and am just waiting for the right time."
Sima Guang maintained his original posture, without even looking at the other person, and asked in a slightly desolate tone: "I heard that after I left, you looked for many colleagues, but none of them supported you. Even so, do you still insist on reforming?"
Wang Anshi remained calm and answered firmly: "I have been preparing for this for many years. No matter what difficulties I encounter in the future, I will not give up this ideal."
"I heard that you and your brother had a falling out."
These words seemed to pierce the heart of the stubborn minister. Wang Anshi suddenly stood up, brushed his sleeves, and said loudly: "For the eternal foundation of the Song Dynasty, even if no one supports me, I will do it alone!"
Sima Guang finally turned his gaze to him and said in a serious tone: "Have you ever thought that when everyone is against you, it is possible that you are really wrong?"
Wang Anshi turned around suddenly, staring at him with cold eyes, his voice trembling slightly: "Am I wrong? Have you ever asked those people who starved to death what they did wrong? Have you ever asked those so-called "rebels" suppressed by the army what they did wrong? Have you ever asked those landlords who hoarded a lot of land what they did wrong? Everyone wants to survive, no one is wrong, but this uniform is wrong! It's our country..."
With a "swoosh", Sima Guang stood up from his chair, grabbed Wang Anshi's arm, and warned him with a stern look not to say anything more.
Wang Anshi swallowed the second half of his sentence , then looked at him coldly and said, "Although I am not a saint, I am loyal to the people. If there is a way to make the people live better, why shouldn't I do it?"
"I've already said it before, you're saving the poor people, but you're offending the people who really hold power!" Sima Guang also got angry, and his voice unconsciously became much higher. "By then, I'm afraid that as soon as your reform movement begins, you'll be eliminated by those who see you as a thorn in their side!"
Wang Anshi shook off his hand and said disdainfully: "I have the emperor's support, who dares to touch me?"
"Don't you really have any idea about the scholar-official class? If ordinary people are half of the foundation of the Song Dynasty, these powerful people are the other half!" Sima Guang said coldly, "Even if the emperor can help you for a while, he won't be able to hold out for long!"
"What do you mean?" Wang Anshi looked at him, his eyes suddenly cold, "Don't even think about guessing the emperor's intentions here! You've been away from Beijing for many years, I'm afraid you don't know what the court is like now? The emperor just appointed me as the vice chancellor, which is enough to prove his trust in me! You have repeatedly obstructed my reforms, are you jealous of me?"
"You..." Sima Guang didn't expect him to say that. It was as if a fire in his chest burned his rationality to ashes. He looked at Wang Anshi and asked in an unbelievable tone: "We have known each other for many years. In your eyes, I am such a person?"
Wang Anshi avoided his eyes, as if he regretted what he had just said. Facing Sima Guang's question, he still stubbornly said: "I don't know what kind of person you are! I only know that you have mixed with those rich and powerful people you mentioned! You can't see the suffering of the people at all! You don't even see the crisis of the Song Dynasty!"
Sima Guang looked at him as if he were looking at a stranger. After a long while, he said softly, "Well, I came all the way back to congratulate , but I was wrong. It turns out that you and I are on two different paths."
"Yes, we are on two different paths." Wang Anshi repeated his words and said deeply, "I have been planning for the reform for many years. I will go ahead even if there are tens of thousands of people against me. You don't need to persuade me anymore."
The room was silent for a while. Seeing that the atmosphere was too tense, Lu Jiayi gently stood up from her seat, wanting to say something to break the awkward situation.
Sima Guang spoke first, his voice full of fatigue: "In this case, we probably won't see each other again."
"That's the best." Wang Anshi nodded, and then he took out a small knife from his bosom, which he probably used to cut documents. He held the knife in his backhand and scratched the wide sleeve. With a "swish", a piece of the sleeve fluttered off.
"If we don't share the same ideals, we can't work together. Today, our relationship ends here."
"Mr. Wang!" Lu Jiayi couldn't help but exclaim.
Sima Guang looked at him, then looked at the sleeve that fell in front of him, and his heart sank completely.
"Severing ties of friendship... You're actually going to go this far with me..." He opened his mouth, but found that he had nothing more to say, so he turned and left.
"Lord Sima!" Lu Jiayi wanted to call him, but he just gently pushed the door open. He was always gentle and didn't even give her a gentle look back.
Lu Jiayi watched his figure disappear out the door.
Looking at Wang Anshi again, he sat back in his seat as if he had just fought a battle. Lu Jiayi couldn't help but walk over. She looked at the sleeve lying quietly at her feet and sighed, "Why are you doing this?"
Wang Anshi's eyes were fixed on something, and he was in a daze for a long time. After a long while, he finally came back to his senses, smiled at Lu Jiayi, and said in a hoarse voice: "From now on, this is the only place where I can sit quietly."
Seeing his distraught look, Lu Jiayi felt extremely distressed. She wiped her eyes and said with a smile, "No matter when you come, I welcome you."
After saying that, she went downstairs to get some tea leaves and made another pot of tea for Wang Anshi.
Just as she was about to turn around and leave, wanting to leave him alone, Wang Anshi's voice came from behind.
"In fact, don't I know the resistance to doing this? I know everything he said, I know everything..." He closed his eyes in pain, and each word seemed to come out from his heart, "But, someone has to do this, and that person is me, and no one else needs to be involved. In this way, even if something really happens to me in the future, those people won't make trouble for other innocent people."
Lu Jiayi was a little surprised: "So you..."
In the end, she just sighed, then walked out and closed the door gently.
Wang Anshi sat inside for the whole night.
Lu Jiayi had no idea how he spent such a long night alone. Was it because of doubts about himself, fear of the political reform, or regret towards his best friend?
The only thing she was sure of was that the Song Dynasty was about to launch a massive movement, and those who were at the forefront truly cared about their country and the people.
The country and the people are shouldered by one person; as for the merits and demerits, let future generations judge...
When Wang Anshi left, it was the next morning. He was about to go to the palace to see the emperor. When he saw Lu Jiayi, he smiled with his haggard face: "Even if there are thousands of people, I will go."
After saying this, he walked forward with his head held high and his chest puffed out, like a newborn baby wanting to embrace the rising sun, or like a martyr ready to die, which made people feel infinite emotion.
Lu Jiayi looked at the room where he had been sitting alone all night. The pot of tea on the table was barely touched. The tea was completely cold, but it silently conveyed an indescribable feeling to Lu Jiayi.
This was the tea of ​​fear she had been waiting for.
Last year, the emperor was shocked by a note written by the Prime Minister, "A Hundred Years of Peace in Our Dynasty."
This year, a long-planned reform movement was launched vigorously.
If the idea of ​​"borrowing grain" a few years ago was just an idea, now Wang Anshi has completely systematized his reform movement. This reform movement not only includes how to enrich the country by solving the problem of the gap between the rich and the poor, but he also puts forward subversive ideas in strengthening the army and the imperial examination.
The land in the whole country was remeasured, and everyone had a piece of land to cultivate. The poor were no longer oppressed by the rich, and they could eat by relying on the government and their own hands. The farmers who were incorporated into the system cultivated when they were busy, and received military training when they were free, which greatly strengthened the military strength of the Song Dynasty.
At the beginning of the reform, these measures were welcomed by the general public. Everyone wanted to live a good life, and since the court gave them a way to survive, they stopped complaining, and the number of peasants who revolted and resisted in various places gradually decreased.
The poor had food to eat, the treasury had more income, and national defense was greatly enhanced... It can be said that the "New Law" implemented by Wang Anshi brought a new look to the impoverished and weak Song Dynasty.
People cheered, the emperor was pleased, and Wang Anshi's reputation reached an unprecedented height.
Even Lu Jiayi fully felt the huge social impact brought about by this reform.
After traveling through time and space many times, she has already mastered a set of survival rules.
After coming here, she started by reselling goods and gradually built her own teahouse. After these years of operation, Lu's Teahouse has become a presence that cannot be underestimated in the tea industry in Bianjing. In other words, Lu Jiayi is no longer a poor person with nothing, but a so-called landlord class. To some extent, tea merchants like her can even manipulate market prices.
However, after the implementation of the Market Exchange Law, some unsalable tea was bought by the government at a very low price, and then sold when the tea was in short supply. This was to prevent tea merchants like Lu Jiayi from hoarding or selling at will. Tea was a luxury item, so this small move naturally did not hurt Lu Jiayi, but it had to be admitted that many "rich people" like her had suffered some degree of loss of interests, especially those industry monopoly merchants and landlords.
Lu Jiayi couldn't help but tell Cai Jing about these things, but she didn't expect that Cai Jing actually had a yearning for Wang Anshi.
Lu Jiayi couldn't help but become alert.
Although Lu Jiayi often had brain storms, she would always be more careful when encountering major events. The first thing she did after parting with Cai Jing was to look up this name.
Unlike the heroines in TV shows who would meet a prince charming, the one she met was not a perfect prince. Cai Jing was a well-known powerful minister, and also a famous traitor in the history of the Song Dynasty. When watching "The Four" before, Lu Jiayi always saw a big boss behind the scenes who liked to go against the four handsome guys. That boss was the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, Cai Jing.
This made Lu Jiayi very upset.
However, since they had known each other for a while, she did not want to watch Cai Jing bear the infamy of being the "chief of the six thieves" of the Song Dynasty, and especially did not want him to cause trouble on such a sensitive political issue.
"Don't be impulsive! Mr. Wang's reform measures are indeed good for the people, but I'm afraid they won't last long. Not to mention other wealthy gentry, I've been dragged to meetings by several chambers of commerce in Bianjing City. They look down on women who do business. They never paid any attention to me in the past, but this time they were very polite to me, which shows that everyone is anxious. Once these rich people gather together, the reform will inevitably be greatly hindered."
"Are you concerned about me? Jiayi, I've lowered myself to pursue you for so long, isn't it time for you to give me a response?"
Well, Lu Jiayi admitted that she cared about him very much.
This time, the two of them spent a long time together, and Cai Jing... seemed to really like her. Daily greetings and gifts were absolutely indispensable , and since the last time Lu Jiayi got angry, Cai Jing had always respected her and did not make any excessive demands, but just accompanied her silently. But Lu Jiayi was not a person of this era after all, so she would not give Cai Jing any response. Lu Jiayi thought for a long time, and then sent a letter to Cai Jing, repeatedly telling him not to take sides easily, and then went to visit Wang Anshi, who was at the peak of his career.
On weekdays, Wang Anshi went to Lu's Teahouse to drink tea, and Lu Jiayi rarely came to the palace. After the reform movement began, Wang Anshi was too busy to rest, and the two of them contacted even less.
The palace was very lively today. After explaining her purpose, Lu Jiayi was invited to the main hall. Several officials from the imperial court were already sitting there. When they saw Lu Jiayi, they were all shocked.
"Could this be the famous Miss Lu?" Sitting at the head was a round-faced young man with a faint smile on his face and a strange glow in his eyes.
Lu Jiayi greeted him.
She smiled on the surface, but her heart was full of worries. She had heard that Wang Anshi was deserted by his friends and relatives. There was not a single old acquaintance among the people in this room. They were all colleagues who came together for the reform.
Wang Anshi motioned Lu Jiayi to sit down and asked someone to serve tea. He looked around and said, "We are not going to talk about state affairs today, but only about romance. You don't have to worry too much about Miss Lu."
"No, no." The young man looked at Lu Jiayi with a smile and said gently, "I have heard that there is a wonderful woman in Bianjing City who has built a teahouse with her own hands. I have wanted to meet her for a long time."
Wang Anshi nodded, pointed at the young man and said to Lu Jiayi, "The current Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Lu Huiqing."
"I've heard a lot about you." Lu Jiayi said with a smile.
Wang Anshi introduced her to several other court officials. Lu Jiayi greeted them one by one, but she didn't remember their names. Looking at the complacent Lu Huiqing in front of her, she felt very uncomfortable and couldn't help but say something to attack him: "The Chamber of Commerce in Beijing has been making moves recently. Mr. Wang, Mr. Lu, if you want to continue to implement the new law, you have to think of a way."
"Humph, a bunch of termites!" Lu Huiqing shook his head disapprovingly and said with disdain, "What we are doing is a major event that benefits the country and the people. Anyone who tries to obstruct us, I will inform the emperor and punish them severely!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Anshi remained silent, as if he was thinking about something.
"I heard that Lord Lu once had a heated debate with Lord Sima, who is famous for his erudition. I believe that you are also a man of extraordinary wit and erudition. With your assistance, Lord Wang, I believe that no difficulties can stop you from moving forward."
After being praised by Lu Jiayi, Lu Huiqing felt a little flattered. She said slowly, "Miss Lu, you really have a good eye for heroes. What kind of erudite scholar really thinks that the officialdom is a water tank that can be smashed at will? Lord Sima opposed our implementation of the new law from the beginning, so what? After being scolded by me, isn't he hiding away to compile history? Hahahaha..." Lu Huiqing laughed, "This world has always belonged to the people. The will of the people is our responsibility. So, Miss Lu, you are right, no difficulties can stop us from moving forward."
Lu Jiayi's smile was a little awkward. She secretly glanced at Wang Anshi, who was sitting in the main seat. Wang Anshi had no expression on his face, and she couldn't guess what he was thinking. Lu Jiayi lost interest and had to get up and leave.
Wang Anshi came to his senses and asked his servants to escort her out of the house.
After returning, Lu Jiayi wrote a letter to Sima Guang, asking about the people around Wang Anshi . After a few days, Sima Guang responded.
"Please ask Miss Lu to tell him to stay away from those flatterers as soon as possible. People like Lu Huiqing only follow him because of their own interests. When he loses power in the future, people like him will probably be the first to betray their former friends!"
Sima Guang had debated with Lu Huiqing before, so he knew his character to some extent. After hearing what he said, Lu Jiayi also felt that something was not good, so she quickly passed the content of the reply to Wang Anshi.
Unfortunately, Wang Anshi did not react at all, as if he did not see these warnings.