Chapter 215: Etiquette is also law

A new official came to the Ministry of Rites.

This year's top scholar, son of the Dali Temple Minister, Princess An Ning's future husband, and currently the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

These are not four people, but one person.

The imperial examination had long been over, and the appointments of the new Jinshi had already been issued.

The Ministry of Rites has a lot of things to do, and the Deputy Minister of Rites is an official who is in charge of practical matters. It can be said that he is very busy with official duties and has to deal with all kinds of things every day, and he cannot be absent for a single day.

Although the court stipulated that the final term of office was July, as a Jinshi born in Chang'an, he should have started work early to help Langzhong share official duties. However, this new Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Rites has not arrived yet, which is simply outrageous.

Moreover, he did not come to the Ministry of Rites to officially join the company this time.

The Langzhong announced to the public that this Yuanwailang was here to familiarize himself with his duties, and all officials of the Ministry of Rites must cooperate with him.

Since he had not officially taken up the post, he did not need to go to and from the government office at the times prescribed by the court. He could come and go as he pleased, enjoying immense freedom.

Not only that, the original sixth-rank Yuanwailang did not have his own separate office.

The Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Rites and the Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Shrines shared a government office.

But before Mr. Li came, Lord Langzhong had asked Mr. Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Shrines to move out and squeeze him into one room with Mr. Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Food and Mr. Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Guests, leaving that room alone for Lord Li, who was familiar with the job.

This person doesn't come to the Ministry of Rites to be an official, but more like coming to the Ministry of Rites to be a boss.

However, officials of the Ministry of Rites, both big and small, did not think there was anything wrong with this arrangement.

If their father was also called Li Xuanjing, they would be more arrogant than Li Yuanwailang.

Ministry of Rites, inside a government office somewhere.

Lu Sheng led Li Nuo in and said, "Sir Li, this will be your office from now on. See if you need anything else and I will have someone prepare it right away."

Li Nuo took a quick glance and found that the entire government office was cleaned tidy. Office supplies such as pens, ink, paper and inkstone were all available, and the bookshelves were filled with relevant books.

Behind the bookshelf, there is a big soft bed with new bedding and pillows.

Li Nuo clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Lord Lu. There's nothing else I need."

Lu Sheng smiled and said, "Then I will go and get busy first. If you need anything, Lord Li, please call me at any time."

After Lu Sheng left, Li Nuo sat alone in front of the large desk.

His chair also has some soft padding, which makes it very comfortable whether sitting or leaning.

As expected of a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, there is absolutely nothing wrong with his meticulous arrangements.

Li Nuo took a book from the bookshelf.

He came to the Ministry of Rites early, certainly not in a hurry to work as an employee.

The idea of ​​holding a martial arts conference was unanimously opposed by several departments in the court.

If the martial arts conference cannot be held, it will affect the cultivation plans of my wife and my beloved.

This is only the first point. Secondly, those martial arts sects should indeed be properly restrained.

Disciples of some sects rely on their personal strength to do evil, disregard the law and trample on it wantonly. This chaos must be resolved at this conference.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the martial arts conference can be successfully held.

Li Nuo could ask his father to take action and force the court to pass this proposal, but if he did that, his father's reputation would probably be even worse.

Although his reputation is bad enough...

He doesn't want people to say that he depends on his father for everything.

When you encounter difficulties, you should first try to solve them yourself.

I can’t solve it myself.

Li Nuo opened the book in his hand.

This book stipulates some etiquette and laws.

Etiquette is more reflected in ceremonial systems. For example, officials of different ranks should ride in certain carriages, wear certain clothes, wear certain accessories, and listen to certain music. These are all clearly stipulated, and officials and dignitaries cannot violate the rules without permission.

In addition to rituals, there are some other matters that are also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites also has the power to report and expose improper behavior such as being late for or leaving early from the government office, wearing untidy and unclean official uniforms, dozing off during court, being unfilial to parents, not respecting one's wife, and other immoral behavior.

For example, although the court did not encourage officials to go in and out of brothels without permission, it was not a serious matter and was actually under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.

However, because the Dali Temple was too overbearing and often acted beyond its authority, officials from the Ministry of Rites dared not be angry or speak out.

Li Nuo wrote down these regulations one by one and then left the Ministry of Rites.

…

Someone from the Ministry of Rites proposed to hold a martial arts conference in Chang'an. However, after the proposal was rejected by all the ministries at court, the court officials soon forgot about it.

Secretariat.

Zhongshu Sheren Du Yu received a memorial from the Ministry of Rites.

There were six Zhongshu Sheren, each of whom was in charge of one of the six ministries, and the one Du Yu was in charge of happened to be the Ministry of Rites.

This memorial said that Jiang Wei, the left doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, doted on his concubine and treated his wife coldly. The concubine he took into the mansion three months ago relied on Jiang Wei's favor and disrespected his wife, and even insulted her wantonly...

Du Yu frowned as he watched.

A wife is a wife, a concubine is a concubine, the wife is superior and the concubine is inferior, this is written into the laws of Daxia.

Using a concubine to humiliate a wife is an act of rebellion and is not permitted by law or morality.

Although it is difficult for an honest official to judge family affairs, this is not the family affair of the Left Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue. Favoring a concubine and ignoring his wife is against etiquette, and etiquette is also law. As an official appointed by the court, he actually allowed his concubine to commit crimes, which would add an indelible stain on his resume.

Du Yu sent this memorial to the Menxia Province, and after verification by the Menxia Province, he would impose corresponding punishment on the Zuo Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue.

He frowned and turned to the next document, his frown deepening.

This memorial was to impeach the Right Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue.

In the home of Wang Shang, the Right Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue, there was no such thing as favoring a concubine over his wife. However, his wife was unwilling to serve Wang Shang's old mother. The couple lived in the Wang family's mansion, but asked Wang Shang's mother to move to another small house and only sent a maid to take care of her daily life.

This is unfilial and more serious than insubordination.

Daxia attached great importance to filial piety. When officials studied the Sixteen Classics, they would learn many stories related to filial piety.

If a person does not even respect his parents who gave birth to him and raised him, we can't expect him to be loyal to the country.

What Wang Shang and his wife did was not tolerated by etiquette and law. Since the memorial from the Ministry of Rites had been submitted to him, he could not pretend not to have seen it.

After sending the matter to the Menxia Province for investigation, he opened a new memorial.

Still from the Ministry of Rites.

It was still an impeachment memorial.

The person impeached was an official from the Ministry of Revenue.

This memorial impeached the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for exceeding the rules of rituals and music. Only officials of Daxia with a rank of fifth rank or above were allowed to keep female musicians at home.

Unless granted by Your Majesty, an official of the fourth rank may not have more than three female musicians in his home.

Officials liked elegance and kept a few prostitutes at home. They would listen to folk songs and watch singing and dancing at home on weekdays. The court also allowed this. Du Yu's family also had three female musicians.

But even though it was allowed, the etiquette and laws had to be followed. As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he could only keep three prostitutes at home, but he kept four, which was considered exceeding the rules.

No one reported it, so it’s no big deal.

Once someone reports it, the Secretariat must handle it.

He opened the next letter, yes, it was still from the Ministry of Revenue.

Du Yu scratched his head, thinking that he had really disturbed the Ministry of Household Affairs today.

The Ministry of Rites was also very puzzled. As far as he knew, the Ministry of Rites was very busy and had no time to take care of these trivial matters. Could it be that the Ministry of Revenue withheld the Ministry of Rites' funding, causing the Ministry of Rites' dissatisfaction?

The Ministry of Rites hasn't applied for any funding recently...

…

Ministry of Revenue.

Early in the morning, the left doctor of the Ministry of Revenue walked into the yamen with a depressed look on his face.

Somehow, the discord between the wife and concubine in the family was discovered by the Ministry of Rites.

Because of this incident, he was fined half a month's salary and suspended from work for half a month, asking him to discipline his concubine.

Yesterday, the imperial edict from the Secretariat was sent directly to his home.

Fortunately, it was not sent to the Ministry of Revenue, otherwise, he would have been greatly embarrassed.

Jiang Wei didn't care about being suspended from work for half a month and being fined half a month's salary, but the Secretariat directly issued an imperial decree because of this matter. This punishment would be directly written into his resume, affecting his future promotion path.

He had to inform the Left Vice Minister truthfully about his half-month suspension.

In the next half month, the Right Doctor will have to take care of his mission.

Jiang Wei walked into the office of the Left Vice Minister and saw the Right Minister Wang Shang also standing there.

Seeing that the Left Minister was not there, he asked, “Sir Wang, are you looking for Minister Shen as well?”

Wang Shang looked a little unnatural, and said, "Yes, I have something important to report to Minister Shen."

Yesterday, the imperial edict from the three provinces was issued directly to his home.

Because his wife asked his mother to move out of the house, he was fined three months' salary and suspended from work for one month to reflect on his behavior.

Although the punishment was not severe, he would never be able to wash away the charge of filial piety in his lifetime. In the future, the court would not give him priority for promotion, which had a huge impact on his future.

The two doctors from the Ministry of Revenue each had their own concerns, and they spoke at the same time in tacit understanding.

"I have to take a half-month leave for some matters within the company..."

"I have to take a month off for some matters, internal affairs..."

Both of them wanted to ask the other to help with official business. They looked at each other and said in unison: "You too?"

The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain. Because the Ministry of Revenue is very busy, it has two doctors. Now that both of them want to take leave, who will handle the official business of the ministry?

At this time, a figure walked out from outside the yamen.

The two looked back and found that the person who came in was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

The two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue each have their own duties, and matters concerning leave for officials within the ministry are generally handled by the left assistant minister.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue looked at them and said, "Minister Shen has asked for leave for the next two days. Doctor Jiang and Doctor Wang, if you have anything to say, you can tell me."

The two looked at each other and spoke one after another.

"I need to take a half-month leave."

"I need to take a month's leave."

The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue looked at them in shock. The Left Assistant Minister asked for leave, and the Left and Right Doctors also asked for leave. And the leave was for such a long time. Are they going to tire him to death?

He frowned and asked, "Why did you take such a long leave?"

At this point, the two knew they could no longer hide the truth and had to tell it.

The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He pointed at them and said angrily: "One favors his concubine and kills his wife, and the other indulges his wife and abandons his mother. You have read so many books about sages that you have lost everything. What can I say about you?"

The law stipulates that the wife is superior and the concubine is inferior. It is unacceptable for the inferior to commit crimes against the superior.

The grace of giving birth to and raising one cannot be repaid, and if one does not treat one's parents well, one will be despised by the whole world.

As the two men were officials appointed by the imperial court, they did not set a good example themselves, so the punishment imposed on them by the three provinces was not excessive.

As for himself, although his wife and mother were not very harmonious, he did not dare to let his mother move out. Instead, he built a high wall at home to separate the inner house. They could not see each other on weekdays and naturally there was no quarrel.

Because of his mother's affairs, he and his wife were not on good terms. They slept in the same bed but had different dreams and were physically together but spiritually apart. However, because he was worried about discord within his family, he did not take in another concubine, but secretly kept several mistresses outside.

As an official appointed by the court, you must cherish your reputation. In addition to not breaking the law, it is best not to violate etiquette.

The decree to suspend the two men was issued by the three provinces, and he could not protect them, so he had to approve their leave.

After seeing the two men off, he was about to return to his own yamen when he saw two officials in yellow clothes walking into the courtyard of the Ministry of Revenue.

In Daxia, officials wearing yellow clothes are generally patrol officials. Nothing good will happen when they appear, and all officials are afraid of each other.

An official in yellow clothes walked up to him and said straight to the point: "Minister Zhang, as an official appointed by the court, you secretly keep a concubine outside. You need to go to the Ministry of Personnel to give a detailed explanation..."

Friendly recommendation: "You Are Worthy of Being Called a Martial Arts Genius", Jiang Yuan is an unparalleled genius.

His comprehension and talent are unparalleled in the world. He can master any martial arts moves at a glance, master all kinds of weapons at once, and can easily master the profound mysteries and bring forth new ideas.

If he is willing to concentrate on practicing, he will be able to unify the world of martial arts within three years, silence many young heroes, make all the sects in the martial arts world bow down to him, and make vicious bandits tremble in fear.

Unfortunately, he was a handyman in a pawnshop. He was used to a leisurely life and hated to wield swords.

If not for a scarred girl who broke into the pawnshop holding a book of "unparalleled magic" in the midsummer of that year, perhaps Jiang Yuan would never have chosen to practice martial arts in his life.

(End of this chapter)