I don’t know if Lu Jiayi was careless or Wang Anshi’s attitude had changed slightly, but Lu Huiqing actually knew that Sima Guang was dissatisfied with him.
His first reaction was anger, and his second reaction was to go and see Wang Anshi's reaction.
Wang Anshi did not respond.
He felt relieved, and then thought that Sima Guang was highly respected by everyone. His retirement from politics and his career in history writing did not mean that his influence had disappeared.
Thinking of this, Lu Huiqing realized that it was time to teach Sima Guang a lesson.
So, he began to do everything he could to search for Sima Guang's "secrets" in an attempt to suppress his arrogance. One day, Wang Anshi finally got some free time, so he went to Lu's Teahouse to drink tea. Lu Jiayi opened a private room for him as usual. Unexpectedly, as soon as Wang Anshi sat down, Lu Huiqing came in.
At that time, Lu Jiayi had just made a pot of tea and pushed the door open, and immediately heard an indignant voice.
"Sir Wang, you see, he is clearly slandering the new law! In order for our reform movement to proceed smoothly, please join me in reporting him!"
Wang Anshi took the thing from his hand, looked at it closely, frowned and said, "Isn't this an epitaph?"
"Yes!" Lu Huiqing nodded repeatedly, "But he expressed his dissatisfaction with the new law in his writing. I think he did this to publicize his attitude to those opponents in the court. If they gather together, they will definitely create huge resistance to the implementation of the new law!"
Having said this, Lu Huiqing leaned close to Wang Anshi's ear, with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Sir Wang, it is the emperor's intention to implement the new law, but Sima Guang openly opposes us, which is actually opposing the emperor. As long as we talk to the emperor nicely, he will definitely punish those guys who don't take the new law seriously!"
"Lord Sima is a man of great talent and is highly valued by the emperor, so the important task of compiling history was given to him. By suing Lord Sima, aren't you also singing a different tune from the emperor?" Wang Anshi looked at Lu Huiqing unhappily.
Lu Huiqing didn't expect him to say that and was stunned.
"We have finally convinced the emperor to openly promote the reform movement, so we should fulfill our duties well and not play tricks all day long instead of doing practical things." Wang Anshi exhaled heavily through his nose, "Don't just follow the crowd and make false accusations! Since our new law is still being promoted, we should focus on this. You should go back and reflect on your mistakes!"
"This..." Lu Huiqing was shocked. Lord Wang actually blamed him?
He was dissatisfied, but did not dare to say too much, so he had to leave reluctantly.
After he left, Lu Jiayi came in with tea. She glanced at the person sitting by the window. Wang Anshi was looking down at the manuscript in his hand, so focused that he didn't even notice Lu Jiayi's arrival.
It was not until she placed the tea next to Wang Anshi that he came back to his senses. Against the light, he raised his ostentatious and angular face, glanced at Lu Jiayi, and asked, "'For major matters, it is better to consult with the governor before proceeding'. Do you think Brother Sima wanted to use this sentence to persuade me at that time?"
Lu Jiayi was about to answer, but he laughed to himself.
"I have consulted many people, but none of them support me..." He sighed, "I have no choice but to move forward alone. Am I being arbitrary? Now it seems that I am lonely."
After drinking the tea, Wang Anshi said goodbye with a gloomy expression.
Lu Jiayi didn't know what he would say to Sima Guang, but he heard that he hung the inscription on the wall after returning. When the scholars saw it, he sighed: "Brother Sima's article really has the style of the Western Han Dynasty!"
Although we have never met, our hearts are close.
The implementation of the new law was constantly obstructed by conservatives. The voices of the opponents were getting louder and louder, and what was even more frightening was that they represented the most powerful people in the Song Dynasty. Wang Anshi, Lu Huiqing and others were in a precarious position on the road to reform. If it weren't for the emperor's protection, they could be pushed down at any time.
However, this day finally came.
In the seventh year of Xining, there was a severe drought throughout the country, and the hungry people were displaced. Someone drew a picture of the displaced people and gave it to the emperor, who sighed and had to order the abolition of the new law.
As soon as this move was made, countless people began to submit memorials to discuss the faults of the new law and strongly advised the removal of Wang Anshi. Even the Queen Mother said that "Wang Anshi is causing chaos in the world." Lu Huiqing sensed the change in the wind and decisively sold out his teammates. Although some parts of the new law are still being implemented, it has lost its former glory.
Wang Anshi was disheartened and calmly accepted the court's decision, then prepared to return home.
In April, willow trees outside the city of Bianjing were swaying in the wind, creating a rich green. When Lu Jiayi arrived here, she saw many familiar faces. Wang Anshi stood in the crowd, constantly clasping his fists to his friends.
"Even in the era of Yao and Shun, natural disasters were inevitable." Lu Jiayi walked up to him and said softly, "This is not your fault."
Wang Anshi nodded.
The people around echoed a few words and then sent their blessings.
Wang Anshi looked around, his eyes searching among the crowd, as if he was looking for someone. Lu Jiayi had an idea and wanted to tell him that the person had come, but she didn't say it in the end.
After a long time, Wang Anshi didn't see that person and looked a little disappointed.
He turned slowly and walked towards the carriage waiting on the side, his back looking a little lonely.
He walked very slowly, but he didn't look back. So he didn't see a person standing under the bridge he just passed. The person stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching him leave.
The breeze blew across his gentle face, quietly covering up a gentle oath.
"This time, it's my turn to protect this country."
The people who came to see him off gradually left, and no one noticed Sima Guang in the corner.
Lu Jiayi stood for a while, watching the carriage go farther and farther away, then turned around with some sadness.
Suddenly, her eyes moved slightly. She saw a tall young man standing in front of her, wearing an inconspicuous green gown, but his elegance was not obscured by the lush green leaves outside the city.
Those bright eyes stared at Lu Jiayi quietly. Seeing that she had noticed him, he gently moved his lips and revealed a gentle smile.
He walked over slowly, lowered his head, and whispered something in the ear of the dazed Lu Jiayi.
"You waited until I came back, did I wait for you?"
The warm breeze blew through the space between the two people, as if blending their breaths together.
Plop, plop.
Lu Jiayi felt like her heart was about to jump out.
Cai Jing is back, and his pursuit of Lu Jiayi becomes more intense.
Lu Jiayi avoided him everywhere like an ostrich.
After finally dealing with Lu's Teahouse, she fled away.
She ran away because she could no longer control her heart.
It is said that girls change a lot when they grow up, but Cai Jing is really surprising when he grows up. During the years in the Song Dynasty, Lu Jiayi found that she could not resist the tenderness that was sent to him.
So, she could only escape desperately like a mouse.
She took out the three-legged golden toad tea pet and called Lu Yu to open the time and space channel and return to her home in the 21st century. There was still only Lu Yu waiting for her in the living room.
Lu Jiayi brewed the cup of Mengding tea that contained a feeling of fear and handed it to Lu Yu who was sitting on the sofa, watching him slowly absorb the emotions in the tea.
His body became more and more real.
She had obtained this Mengding tea full of fear a long time ago.
Out of habit, she waited until the story was over before leaving. But because of this, her involvement with Cai Jing became even deeper.
"Don't invest too much emotion in people from other time and space, otherwise you will inevitably hurt yourself in the end."
She remembered what Lu Yu once said.
In the past, she was just a passer-by in those stories, just like an audience sitting in a movie theater, releasing her emotions without reservation. But if the person in the story becomes herself...
I dare not, I can’t.
Lu Jiayi clenched her fists and told herself over and over again in her heart to forget it quickly.
Lu Yu noticed something was wrong with the person next to him and couldn't help but look at her with a puzzled look.
Lu Jiayi let out a long breath, smiled widely, and said to herself, "It's okay! It was just a dream, it's all over now."
"You..." Lu Yu said.
However, before he could finish his words, Lu Jiayi went straight to the study room as if she hadn't noticed at all.
She found the "History of Song Dynasty", turned to the "Biography of Wang Anshi" and "Biography of Sima Guang", and read them quietly.
The book says that Wang Anshi was appointed and dismissed as prime minister several times, but ultimately failed to stick to the new law. He returned to his hometown and became unhappy, and eventually died of illness.
When the news reached Bianjing, Sima Guang, who was also weak, was deeply saddened. He wrote: "Brother Jiefu has many outstanding qualities in both writing and integrity... Now that he has unfortunately passed away, he may be slandered by some treacherous villains. I hope the court can treat him well."
Based on Sima Guang's suggestion, Wang Anshi was posthumously awarded the first-rank honorary title - Taifu.
In the same year, less than five months after Wang Anshi's death, the great writer Sima Guang passed away.

Tea flavor tips (from Baidu Encyclopedia):
Mengding Tea: A traditional famous tea of ​​the Han nationality, produced in Mengshan, Sichuan. Mengshan has majestic mountains, tall and beautiful peaks, waterfalls, and heavy clouds and fog. The ancients said that "looking up, the sky is high and the wind is clear, and the world is bleak; looking down, the Qiang River is flowing, and the mountains are surrounded. There are tea plots, fir paths, strange stones and flowers, which are enough to be called a famous place." Mengshan has five peaks, Shangqing, Lingjiao, Biluo, Jingquan, and Ganlu, also known as the Five Peaks. According to legend, more than 2,000 years ago, the monk Ganlu Puhui Zen Master Wu Lizhen "brought the seeds of spiritual tea and planted them among the five peaks." Among the five peaks of Mengshan, Shangqing Peak is the highest. Wu Lizhen planted seven tea trees on Shangqing Peak. This tea tree is "not even a foot high, immortal, and very different from ordinary ones", "sweet and clear, yellow and green in color, and covered by fragrant clouds in the cup, which will not disperse for a long time". Drinking this tea for a long time is beneficial to the spleen and stomach and can prolong life, so it is known as "immortal tea".