In the autumn of the third year of Lu Aigong, Ji Huanzi's life was about to come to an end.

Ji Huanzi has many sons, but he has never set up an heir. Ji Huanzi's favorite concubine Nan Ruzi is about to give birth, which is undoubtedly a great joy for her seriously ill husband, but he thinks that he can't wait for the moment when the child is born.

Ji Huanzi called his eldest son, Ji Sun Fei, and the elder of the room, and said, "After I die, Fei will temporarily take the position of patriarch." If a boy is born to a son, you will report to the prince and make him his queen; If it's a girl, get fat! ”

A few days later, Ji Huanzi summoned Ji Sun Fei and said: "The ancestor Pingzi expelled Zhao Gong, and this matter was recorded in the Jianshu and hidden in the treasury of the nations. Pingzi got off to a bad start, and as a result, everyone in the world regarded the Ji family as a chaotic minister and thief. I've been trying to salvage this image, but how can I solve such a serious problem alone? I am loyal to the office, so I have a clear conscience. I am committed to the revitalization of the Lu State, but I made a wrong decision at a critical moment, so much so that I regret it even now - I should not have expelled Kong Qiu, he is the one who can really make the Lu State strong! I can't see the day when Kong Qiu returns to the country of Lu! But you can. After my death, you are to call him back, and to present him to the princes, that he may be in charge of the kingdom. If you can't fulfill my wishes, don't be buried in the family cemetery after you die! ”

After Ji Huanzi died, Ji Sunfei temporarily became the patriarch for Ji Kangzi.

The short half month from the death of his father to the time when Nan Ruzi gave birth was the most torturous time in Ji Kangzi's life; Not only him, but all those who can benefit or lose benefits from Ji Kangzi feel very difficult; Those people have all bet heavily on Ji Kangzi, and they are all anxious to know if they can win the lottery. In this way, the innocent little life who is about to come to earth will have to pay the price of death for his gender.

On this day, Ji Kangzi was handling government affairs in the palace, and Nan Ruzi gave birth to a healthy baby boy at home, and the little life announced to this evil world with a loud cry that he had just arrived and was about to leave.

Normally, he ordered the nurse to hold the baby boy and personally drove the two to the palace. When he saw Lu Aigong, he said: "Before the death of the ancestor Huanzi, I said: 'If the son of Nan gives birth to a boy, report it to the princes and doctors, and make him his heir. 'Nan has just given birth to a baby boy, so I will report it to the princes. ”

Lu Aigong said: "In this case, let's do it according to the master's wishes!" ”

The doctors looked at each other, and Ji Kangzi's face suddenly turned like earth. After saluting normally, he sent the baby boy home safely and fled to Weiguo.

Ji Kangzi felt that it was difficult to breathe and the world was spinning, so he announced his retirement to Lu Ai, and then went home. Later that day, Lu Aigong sent a doctor, Gong Liu, to Ji's house to congratulate him, but Gong Liu was told that the boy was dead.

Gong Liu said angrily: "Killing Yiqing is the same as treason, where is the murderer?" The murderer must be brought to justice! ”

Ji Kangzi pushed out an old and weak slave on the spot and said, "This old guy did it!" His son sinned, and was put to death by his father; He held a grudge, so he killed my brother to vent his anger. ”

The old slave confessed to the incident, insisting that the reason for the murder was a personal vendetta and had nothing to do with anyone else. As a result, he was dragged out and hanged.

The "murderer" was duly punished, "justice" was served, and this bizarre infanticide case came to an end. Ji Kangzi sent someone to Weiguo to summon Normal, but Normal resolutely refused to come back.

After Ji Huanzi was buried, Ji Kangzi prepared to recall Confucius back to Lu to fulfill his father's last wish. Ji Kangzi has a retainer named Gong Zhiyi, who is a villain who specializes in killing people for a living (Lu people have reason to believe that the boy was killed by him). Gongzhiyi began to instigate Ji Sunfei to do bad things a few years ago, and Ji Sunfei quickly fell in love with that line; Sometimes he couldn't do it himself, so he sent public officials to do it. The two soon became close brothers.

When Zilu was a retainer in the Ji family's mansion, Gongzhiyi suffered a lot from Zilu, he hated and feared Zilu, but he was helpless against him, so much so that he still had nightmares when he remembered that name.

Gong Zhiyi didn't want to bring back that wrongdoer because of the recall of Confucius to Lu, so he said: "Master, I don't think this move is appropriate. Kong Qiu defected to the ancestor Pingzi in his early years, and left the Ji family after earning enough money; Pingzi sacrificed to his ancestors, and he incited the people of the country to say: 'Eight dances in the court are tolerable or unbearable.' It's for infidelity. Huan Zi kindly recommended him to join the Shi, but he hated the Ji family for not dying, and tried in vain to destroy the foundation of the Ji family (Fei Yi).

It can be seen that Kong Qiu has always been an enemy of the Ji family. After the defeat of Kongqiu, he couldn't get along in the Lu country, so he was forced to flee; And the Chinese people who don't know the truth complain that Huan Zi is unfair to him. Pingzi and Huanzi are both world-renowned big names, and Kong Qiu still doesn't take the two of them seriously; The master is young and has just entered the political arena, but Kong Qiu is old and cunning. Even a wise person like Huan Zi was almost plotted by him, let alone you, the young master!

"Even if Kong Qiu finds out in his conscience, he will reform and not harm the Ji family; But can his beliefs change? As soon as his opinion disagrees with that of his master—it is impossible for him to obey him—should the master obey him? If Confucius runs away again, O master! Three generations of our Ji family will be destroyed in his hands! ”

Ji Kangzi couldn't help nodding frequently, and he said again: "But I have already made a promise, how can I break my promise?" ”

The public said: "This is easy to do. Kong Qiu is already sixty years old, how many years will he live? The master can wait until he is buried in his neck and can no longer participate in politics before calling him back. The first lord did not set a time, as long as the master recalled him, it would not be considered a broken word. ”

Ji Kangzi nodded yes. Although he did not fulfill the promise he made to his father, he recalled Confucius's student Ran Qiu.

It turned out that Ji Kangzi and Ran Qiu were old acquaintances, Ran Qiu had thick eyebrows and big eyes, was loyal and honest, had outstanding ability, and was a financial expert; Ji Kangzi needs such a talent to help him manage his family.

When the news of Ji Huanzi's death reached the state of Chen, Confucius was also heartbroken, and couldn't help shedding tears for his old rival and old friend. Soon Ji Huanzi's last words came over, and Confucius was excited, almost wanting to pack up the cover and immediately embark on the road back to China. But what he was waiting for was his order to recall Ran Qiu.

Ran Qiu knelt down in front of Confucius in surprise and firmly stated that he would never abandon his teacher and go back to Lu alone.

Disappointed and relieved, Confucius picked up Ran Qiu and said earnestly, "No. If you reject the Ji family, all of us will have no hope of returning to Lu in this life. If you enter the Ji family, there is hope that you will convince him to call us back. So you've got a lot of work to do! Both the teacher and your brothers are counting on you! ”

Ran Qiu obeyed Confucius's orders, and before leaving, he asked his teacher to give him a few words of advice. Confucius said: "Ji Sun is greedy and arbitrary, and if no one restrains him, he will become the worst ruler of the Lu State." Be by his side and remind him all the time, warn him, and exhort him so that he does not fall too quickly. If not, you leave him; It doesn't matter if I return to China or not, the important thing is that you don't go along with him. ”

Ran Qiu thanked the teacher and reluctantly left Chen Guo. Immediately after his return to China, he was appointed by Ji Kangzi as the family financial director.