Chapter 38: The Thick Friendship Between Ruler and Minister

  Li Er's heart was like a stormy sea, these medicines really worked, he had already forgotten the reluctance of taking He Tianyu's jade pendant to exchange earlier. His body was strong and healthy, but since childhood, he had suffered from wind-induced headaches, which was a hereditary disease in the Li family. Whenever it rained or when he got extremely angry, he would feel unbearable pain, wondering if there was any medicine that could cure his illness!

  Xiao Baozi served tea and presented it, these people have already gotten used to the habit of having dinner and drinking tea, which is also the most basic etiquette for receiving guests.

  Du Ruhui took the medicine and ate two bowls of porridge, feeling much more comfortable. He sat up, leaning against the edge of the bed, and said: "Your Majesty, my brothers, it's been a long time since we've had a chance to gather together like this and chat. Even if Old Du were to pass away today, he would have no regrets. In the past, even when we did gather together, it was always to discuss matters of state; it's rare that we can just chat casually now."

  "Old Du, don't worry, you have your family and us old brothers!" House Xuanling softly comforted Du Ruhui. All along, others had called him and Du Ruhui "House plans, Du decides". He had learned a lot from Du Ruhui and also saw his own shortcomings. It was precisely because of Du Ruhui's appearance that he worked tirelessly, reminding himself not to slack off, which led to his current position.

  Cheng Yaojin said with a big smile: "Let's talk about something happy, and let Old Du go on his way with a high spirit!"

  Li Jing kicked his foot on Cheng Yaojin's big buttocks and scolded: "You don't speak, no one takes you as a mute!"

  "What's going on! I'm telling the truth......" Cheng Yaojin was unconvinced and before he could finish speaking, Li Er kicked him again.

  "Get out of here... Old Du is fine!" Li Er turned his head to see Old Du leaning against the bed with his eyes closed, and his slightly relieved heart was lifted again. Had Du Ai Qing died?

  Li Er quickly walked to the bedside, placed his fingers under Du Ruhui's nostrils, felt the breathing, and there was still breathing, not dead yet. The chest rose and fell with force, but it was just a tired body that had fallen asleep.

  "Shh!" Li Er signaled everyone to be quiet and not speak, worried that they would disturb the sleeping Du Ruhui.

  Chang Sun Chong occasionally asked Xiao Baozi to pour tea and add water!

  Everyone sat quietly in their chairs, not speaking. The only light came from a single oil lamp, its wick flickering dimly in the draft from the door. The people in the room stared intently at Du Ruhui lying on the bed. Even the man who didn't believe in ghosts and gods was silently praying for divine protection in his heart.

  Changsun Wuji knew that Du Ruhui was fine, so he went back to eat and sleep well. However, only Changsun Wuji had a good rest, while others did not sleep well.

  The next day, Zhangsun Chong got up early to visit Li Er. As soon as he entered the yard, he smelled a foul odor. Zhangsun Chong frowned and saw that there were many water droplets on the flowers in the garden, which used to be dew, white and transparent. But now they were light yellow, with a familiar foul smell that everyone knew was human urine.

  These old men are worthless, they don't even know to go to the toilet, and instead relieve themselves directly in his garden, it's really pitiful. His garden was full of beautiful flowers, swaying gently in the breeze, but these old men have trampled them, leaving a foul smell, and causing them to wither and fall prematurely, turning into mud and dust, becoming fertilizer for the flowers.

  Xiao Baozi kept pouring water for these people, sending them pastries, and naturally also knew that these adults were urinating in the garden. Looking at the young master with his head down, face red and ears burning, he was too embarrassed to speak.

  Du Ru Hui slept soundly for the whole night, feeling refreshed and clear-headed. He saw his old friend, brother, sitting in a chair in the room, dozing off, and tears welled up in his eyes. When his gaze fell on the other side of the bed, he saw Li Er leaning against the headboard, also dozing off. He was deeply moved that the great Tang Emperor had personally taken care of him, a humble subject, for the whole night. It couldn't be said that there was no precedent, but it was certainly unprecedented.

  Du Ruhui thought back to the old days when he was still serving under Li Jiancheng, and felt extremely fortunate that, after being persuaded by friends, he had joined Li Shimin's camp instead. Not only did he receive imperial favor and trust, but he was also appointed as Minister of War and enfeoffed as Duke of Cai.

  Chang Sun rushed into the house, momentarily stunned. Fang Xuanling, Li Jing, and Li Ji were all self-proclaimed cultured men who usually took great care of their feathers, so they sat on chairs, although their posture was a bit unrefined. However, compared to Cheng Yaojin, who was curled up on the large table with his head resting on one of their family's flower vases, they looked much more elegant.

  Oh no, my goodness! The big table leg has been crushed and deformed. It's heartbreaking.

  "Uncle Du, are you awake?" Long Sun rushed over and asked softly as he saw that Du Ruhui was already awake.

  Du Ruhui looked at Zhangsun Chong and Du He with affection, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and stood up.

  Li Er's vigilance was high, and he felt someone approaching. He had already woken up, opened his eyes, and hastily asked: "How are you now, my love?"

  Others also gathered around, originally thought that Lao Du would not live past last night, but now this Du Ruhui's complexion is even better than usual, can't help but be surprised, this Zhangsun family's villa is actually a place of good feng shui, people who are critically ill can actually come back to life.

  Du Ruhui looked at the brothers surrounding him, even his colleagues who didn't get along with him usually, accompanied him for a night, clasped his hands and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty and all the brothers, for accompanying me for a night. Even if the God of Death wants to take me away, he will be scared off by Your Majesty's dragon prestige and the tiger-like momentum of all the brothers." Du Ruhui felt very relaxed, more so than ever before.

  Du He jumped in front of Du Ruhui like a monkey, and said with joy: "Dad, dad, you're really better?"

  This is absolutely not a mirage, because a mirage doesn't last for such a long time!

  "Silly child, I'm fine! After I finish breakfast, I'll return to our own home in the village to rest. You go to Chang'an and bring your mother back, so she won't worry." Du Ruhui was ill after all, and it wasn't good for him to stay too long at the Longsun family's estate, as it would be unlucky for the host family.

  "Alright, Father, I'll go back to fetch Mother. She must have been worried sick at home yesterday." Du He felt that his father was much better and wouldn't die anytime soon, so he slightly relaxed and prepared to head back to Chang'an to pick up his mother.

  Cheng Yaojin jumped down from the big table, rubbed his neck and raised his eyes to see Du Ruhui's energetic appearance, and exclaimed in surprise: "Old Du, you're not dead?"

  Li Er kicked his leg and kicked Cheng Yaojin, scolding: "A dog's mouth can't spit out elephant teeth! Get out!"

  Cheng Yaojin rubbed his sore buttocks, walked around to the side and muttered: "You can spit out ivory, you spit one for me to see!"

  Li glared with wide eyes, if it wasn't for the distance, he would have definitely kicked him a couple more times.

  Chang Sun's admiration for Cheng Yaojin is unmatched, but this is too bold, isn't it? He actually dares to scold Li Er as a dog. Among the civil and military officials of the imperial court, only Cheng Yaojin, this demon king of the mortal world, has such audacity.

  However, it can also be seen from the side that Li Er has trust and tolerance for Cheng Yaojin. As a minister, becoming like Cheng Yaojin is already the ultimate achievement. In history, these old ministers, whether it was during Li Er's reign or Gaozong, Wu Zetian, or the later generations of the Cheng family, their ending can be considered good.

  "Everyone, the water for washing up is ready outside, hurry up and wash, breakfast is ready." Changsun Ti reminded, can't just stand there, the food will get cold.

  Li Er patted Du Ruhui's shoulder and said with relief, "Let's go!" As he lifted his arm, a special "sour and refreshing" smell wafted from his armpit. On such a hot day, he had been worried about Du Ruhui's health yesterday and forgot to take a bath after sweating so much, it was really smelly!

  "Bring us some clean clothes." Du Ruhui was fine, but Li Er had the habit of caring about his smelly and dirty clothes, which damaged his handsome image!

  Empress Zhangsun and Empress Dou had anticipated this and had clean clothes prepared overnight, which they sent over.

  Empress Zhangsun was a very intelligent person, not only did she have a good understanding of the temperaments of various officials, but also their physiques. As a result, the clothes she prepared for them were usually well-fitted, eight or nine out of ten times.