75 Chapter 75

◎The vest fell off◎

As he was about to leave Beijing, Song Qianqi was reluctant to leave the storytelling in the teahouse and insisted on dragging Lin Fan along, saying that he wanted to listen to it to the fullest.

In order to chat with his old friend, he booked a private room on the second floor in advance. As soon as the door of the teahouse opened, he took Lin Fan into the room.

The location of the private room is quite good, and you can clearly see the storyteller's desk.

"Look, Mr. Gu is here!" Song Qianqi jumped off his seat and almost leaned on the railing.

An ordinary middle-aged man, wearing an indigo robe and a net scarf on his head, dressed like an ordinary scholar, can be seen everywhere on the street.

The only memorable thing is the pair of glasses on his nose, which are now called "glasses".

"Afan, why are you so listless?" Song Qianqi had changed his tone and called him by his new name.

Lin Fan: "Storying is not uncommon."

"This is different!" Song Qianqi spread his arms exaggeratedly. "Mr. Gu's stories are brilliant. He's arguably the best storyteller in Beijing. Otherwise, why do you think this teahouse is so bustling?"

"Oh?" Lin Fan became interested.

He had heard dozens if not hundreds of storytellers. There were good and bad storytellers in this industry, and there were certainly outstanding ones, but he had never seen one that was so popular.

Song Qianqi appears carefree, but he is actually very careful and cautious. "Fanatical" has never been his thing.

Could it be that his temperament has changed drastically after not seeing him for ten years?

There was a crisp sound, and the ruler hit the table, attracting everyone's attention.

Mr. Gu pushed his glasses with a fan. His voice was deep and powerful, yet it also had a kind of affinity and soothing feeling. The ups and downs of his tone were just right. With just a few words, he immediately captured the hearts of the audience.

He was talking about a new book, the plot of which was already very exciting and captivating, and coupled with Mr. Gu's superb "voice performance", everyone was fascinated by it.

Lin Fan was not interested in listening to books at first, but he was gradually attracted to it. Mr. Gu's voice seemed to have a strange magic that could bring people into the wonderful world of books.

The heroine who just appeared is somewhat similar to Miss Meng...

He woke up suddenly.

After regaining my senses, a chill rushed from the soles of my feet up my spine, and cold sweat suddenly broke out on my back.

Lin Fan pretended to be obsessed and calmly observed the audience in the lobby on the first floor. There was a teacup in front of almost everyone.

In order to create a so-called "immersive experience", teahouses close their doors, draw the curtains, and light candles at all costs when they are full.

He had been a squad leader for several years and had encountered all kinds of strange cases. He had a hunch that something was wrong with this teahouse.

When Mr. Gu was talking about something exciting, he struck the rudder hard, and everyone's heart suddenly rose, rising and falling with his words.

Even though Lin Fan was awake, he felt an invisible hand controlling his mind.

If he got up and left at this moment, he would definitely alert the enemy.

Song Qianqi sat blankly in the chair, his eyes vacant, and he even forgot about the teacup in his hand.

Lin Fan quietly reached over and overturned the teacup, spilling all the still warm tea onto his robe, but he didn't react at all.

You have to come up with a legitimate reason to leave.

On the storytelling stage, Mr. Gu once again used the tip of his fan to push up his glasses. His eyes behind the thick lenses absorbed everyone's will like a whirlpool.

Suddenly, a startling scream interrupted Mr. Gu's words and brought the audience back to their senses.

Song Qianqi covered his bleeding palm and cried out in pain.

He had been a big customer of the teahouse recently, and the owner treated him very warmly. Upon hearing the noise, he quickly came to the private room and saw that his left palm was bleeding. He asked in surprise, "Mr. Song, what's going on?"

"I don't know either," Song Qianqi wondered, looking at the teacup that had split in two in his palm. "Maybe I got so excited that I used too much force in my hand and crushed the teacup, cutting my flesh. It's all because Mr. Gu's lecture was so good."

Lin Fan asked with concern, "Why are you so careless? I'll take you to the clinic to get bandaged."

"Ah? But I still want to listen to Mr. Gu's storytelling."

"It won't be too late to come back after you've bandaged it." Lin Fan also expressed his reluctance to leave, "Boss, can I still keep this private room?"

The shopkeeper was completely unaware and quickly replied, "Keep it, of course. Health is important. Young Master Song should get it bandaged first."

"Don't dawdle, go and come back quickly."

Lin Fan initially planned to hurt himself, but then he thought, he is a new customer, and suddenly hurting his hand might arouse suspicion, so he had to let Song Qianqi down.

He was careful to avoid damaging any muscles or tendons, and the wound only scratched the surface. It would heal within two days.

After leaving the teahouse smoothly, Song Qianqi looked back frequently until he turned the corner and his head turned straight.

Lin Fan took him to the most famous clinic on this street and asked at the right time: "Where are your followers?"

"The teahouse is short of space, so I can't bring anyone with me. I didn't let them come with me." Song Qianqi sighed, "It's just a small cut, it's not a big deal. There's no need to go to the clinic. Let's go back."

"no."

“…”

Song Qianqi was dragged to Ji'an Hall unwillingly and pressed in front of the doctor.

The doctor took one look, his goatee twitching as he said unhappily, "Just go back and take care of it. If you're really worried, go get some ointment and apply it."

"I said no need..." Song Qianqi, who resisted, was suppressed again.

Lin Fan glanced at him calmly, stopping him from refusing and looking at the doctor: "His mind hasn't been very clear lately. Can you help take a look?"

Song Qianqi: "..."

"I see he looks radiant, there's nothing wrong with him," the old doctor, who had seen a lot, said calmly, "Young man, if you're fine, take the medicine and leave. Don't delay the patients coming after you."

Lin Fan knew that the doctor couldn't see the cause, so he took the ointment and left, heading for Huang Huafang's house.

"Where are you taking me?" Song Qianqi said sullenly, "This is not the way to the teahouse."

Lin Fan lied casually: "I have something very important to tell you."

He stopped a little beggar, gave him ten cents, and told him to go to the teahouse and tell the doorman outside the teahouse that Mr. Song's entourage had something important to tell them, and that they didn't need to stay in Mr. Song's private room any longer.

After delivering the message, go to the entrance of Yanzi Hutong in Huanghuafang to collect the remaining ten cents.

The little beggar didn't dare to disobey and take the money without doing any work. As long as both the employer and the servant kept in touch, they could easily find out whether his words had been conveyed.

If you anger a bad-tempered old man because of this, no one will care even if you are beaten to death.

He took the ten cents and ran towards the teahouse.

Song Qianqi stared blankly for a long while before saying, "What's the important thing...hiss, you're not really going to Guizhou with me, are you?"

"What?" Lin Fan felt that there was something wrong with his brain.

"You're still hiding this from me!" Song Qianqi didn't even think about going back to the teahouse anymore. He was blaming Lin Fan for being disloyal. "You didn't even tell me you were following the princess around. I was so worried about you that I asked if you wanted to go back to Guizhou with me."

“…”

Lin Fan stopped and frowned: "Is there really something wrong with your brain?"

"You're the problem!"

"Then what princess are you talking about?"

"The Miss Meng you mentioned is Princess Rong'an, isn't she?" Song Qianqi said confidently, "I saw her in Fengtian Palace yesterday."

“…”

Speaking of Princess Rong'an, Song Qianqi couldn't help but open up: "The story of the princess shooting a tiger in the palace yesterday has spread all over the streets today. I'm sure you know about it. She's really amazing."

Lin Fan got up early to buy groceries and indeed heard a few of them. He felt a bit of admiration at the time, but that faded later.

But now Song Qianqi told him that Miss Meng was Princess Rong'an who shot the tiger!

In addition, she is the princess in "Three Discussions" and "Two or Three Things with the Scholar-President"!

The third place winner...how does he look better than him?

"Hey!" Song Qianqi patted his shoulder, "Why are you so stupid all of a sudden?"

Lin Fan suddenly came back to his senses. He had actually doubted Miss Meng's identity. It had been some time since he came to Beijing. He had learned about the Jinyiwei Yamen from the inns and neighbors.

They had never heard of female Jinyiwei.

If there really was a woman who was officially appointed to a high position, rumors would surely spread among the well-informed people in the market.

Then there is only one possibility left.

Miss Meng's family background is extremely prominent, so even if she pretends to be a Jinyiwei, it is not considered breaking the rules.

What's more, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was named Yang.

The only person who could make "Old Yang" so obedient was someone from the royal family.

But these were just his speculations and had not been confirmed. Since Miss Meng did not mention it herself, he did not ask.

Now that he learned her true identity from Song Qianqi, he was only slightly surprised, and then he felt that it was true. Those rumors that he had never taken to heart before instantly became deeply engraved in his mind.

I feel proud of it, but also a slight bitterness.

The story of the third place winner being abducted to the princess's mansion was not made up by others, it really happened.

Lin Fan intuitively felt that the Miss Meng he knew would not do such a thing, and there must be some misunderstanding, but...he still felt a little upset.

"Meng Fan, I'm talking to you!"

Lin Fan pushed him on the shoulder and said, "Come to my house and tell me in detail what happened on the Wanshou Festival."

Song Qianqi: "..."

It's you who has the problem in your head!

*

At today's court meeting, Xie Mingzhuo specifically proposed to reward the soldiers who participated in the military parade.

As the governor of the Beijing camp, Lu Ping was responsible for the entire training process. The successful completion of this review was inseparable from his arrangements and dispatches, and he deserves the most praise.

But he was already a first-rank governor, the governor-general of the Beijing camp, and a marquis. He had no further rank to advance. It was impossible for him to be given a new title just for an inspection.

Xie Mingzhuo thought of the name "Sanguan".

There are two types of officials: civil officials and military officials. They have no actual duties and are opposite to official positions. They are usually granted by the emperor to his subjects and they also receive salaries.

Lu Ping's current official rank is only the first rank, Guanglu Dafu, which is the highest rank among the first rank.

So Xie Changfeng followed her advice and promoted Lu Ping to the rank of Ronglu Doctor, a first-rank official.

The rest of the soldiers were also rewarded according to their merits.

The military generals' group was like the New Year.

Among them, there is also a special recipient of the reward, that is, Liu Ying, the horse training expert recommended by Lu Ping.

Her contribution was also not small, but she was already a first-rank lady, so it was difficult to reward her.

Xie Mingzhuo valued talents, but he could not force people to assign positions, so he secretly summoned Liu Ying. After talking with her, he learned that she was willing to serve the court, and he came up with an idea.

The imperial court established four horse-raising temples in Northern Zhili, Liaodong, Pingliang and Gansu, which were specifically responsible for the breeding of war horses.

The Northern Zhili Yuanma Temple is located in the capital.

According to horse breeding statistics from previous years, the Northern Zhili Yuanma Temple did not meet the court's expectations.

The importance of war horses is unquestionable, but today's horse management is often neglected and slack, and war horses are far inferior to the majestic horses on the grassland.

Most of the horses obtained through trade were the leftovers from the Northern Desert tribes.

Ma Zheng must be taken seriously, and reform is a long-term process. Even if Xie Mingzhuo is willing, he is unable to change the status quo and can only accumulate slowly.

There are six supervisory offices and twenty-four gardens in the Northern Zhili Yuanma Temple. Xie Mingzhuo first proposed to appoint Liu Ying as the sixth-rank temple secretary of the Yuanma Temple. There is no fixed number of staff for this position, and additions or deletions will not affect the appointment and dismissal of officials in the temple.

But this proposal was strongly opposed by the ministers.

When the princess came to court, they had already tacitly acknowledged that she was the emperor's daughter, and as long as the emperor was willing, they had no choice.

But letting Liu Ying serve as an official in the court and suddenly giving him the sixth rank was something they could not accept after working so hard to take the imperial examination.

Xie Mingzhuo frowned.

When the ministers thought of her bravery in shooting a tiger yesterday, they couldn't help but tremble in their hearts, fearing that the princess would suddenly take out a pistol and fire at them.

They exchanged glances with Chang Wei, who remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Your Highness, there is no precedent for this matter. Please consider it carefully."

He supported Xie Mingzhuo in his heart, but on the surface he had to pretend to do so to reassure the ministers behind him and prevent them from rebelling and causing bloodshed in the hall.

"Precedents precedents. Without the courage to be the first, how can there be any precedents to follow?" Xie Mingzhuo's eyes swept over them with a heavy look. "Don't you even have this little courage?"

Ministers: “…”

Is this a question of courage or not? This is a question of women holding official positions and disrupting the government.

People protested one after another.

"Then tell me, how should we reward Liu Ying?" Xie Mingzhuo asked impatiently.

Chang Wei knew she was pretending, but he would not remind the group of people behind him.

A First-Rank Imperial Consort was already the highest rank, so were they going to confer her the title of Super-Rank Consort? That was too much.

Someone suddenly thought: "Since we can't reward the wife of Marquis Weining, why not reward her son? I remember that the second son of Marquis Weining is on duty at the Shanglin Garden, so we can promote his son to the rank of ninth-grade recorder."

"Well said," Xie Mingzhuo said with a smile, "If you achieve merit in the future, I will ask the Emperor to reward your daughter."

"How can this be compared?"

Xie Mingzhuo didn't continue talking nonsense with him. She had already got what she wanted.

"But you did remind me that Yuanma Temple also has a recorder position. It's not a high-ranking position, and Liu Ying is more than qualified for it."

In order to facilitate their work, many government offices would open some low-level positions to women, so there was nothing wrong with her raising this point.

But Liu Ying is not an ordinary maid. She has a noble status and outstanding abilities, and with the princess's support, her promotion is only a matter of time.

The ministers were well aware of her plan, but at this moment they were powerless to stop her and could only accept their fate.

Later, someone brought up the issue of official vacancies in Henan and Anlu, but Xie Mingzhuo dismissed it with "we'll discuss it tomorrow."

After noon, Xie Mingshuo came to Wenhua Hall and asked Feng Caiyu. When he learned that his younger sister was reviewing memorials, he knocked on the door and entered.

"Rong An, I've found out Du Bing's background."

"Du... Bing?" Xie Mingzhuo looked up, bewildered. "Who is this?"

Her days were full, with countless pieces of information sorted and organized in her mind. There was really no extra space to pretend to be an unimportant person.

Xie Mingshuo squeezed next to her, his eyebrows dancing with joy, "It's the Du family that sells golden eggs. Do you know why they sell golden eggs at such a high price?"

"I want money."

"But there are many ways to get money. Isn't it safer to hide it than to let everyone know?"

Xie Mingzhuo hit the nail on the head: "He needs this money to make ends meet."

"She's worthy of being my sister," Xie Mingshuo praised others without forgetting to brag about himself. "His son is getting married, and the one he's marrying is the niece of the Director of the Sichuan Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue. For the son of a small soldier, marrying the niece of a sixth-rank official is considered marrying up. I can't let the in-laws look down on him with the betrothal gift."

"But he's just a small fry. Although he can make some money on a regular basis, it's not enough to raise the betrothal gifts, so he has to find another way." Xie Mingzhuo stroked the pages of the memorial with his fingertips. "A Huizhou Prefecture grocery merchant, and a Sichuan Qinglisi official. Second brother, don't you think it's too coincidental?"

"What's the coincidence?" Xie Mingshuo was bewildered.

Xie Mingzhuo explained, "I mentioned this to you earlier. When I was at Xunyang Post, I learned that the new Sichuan postmaster had been abusing the postmen. After I came back, I asked you who recommended him."

"Oh, I remember now. He once worked in Huizhou." Xie Mingshuo suddenly realized, but was puzzled. "But there are so many merchants in Huizhou. What does the business of a golden egg have to do with him?"

Xie Mingzhuo really couldn't figure out the logic behind it; it was just an intuition.

She still preferred her intuition, so she said, "Please help me check the head of the Ministry of Revenue."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Outside the palace, Feng Caiyu reported, "Princess, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, Governor Gao, and Censor Lu are waiting outside the palace."

Gao Quan was the governor of Huguang. Since he wiped out the remnants of Bishan, he has been working to wrap up the Liang Wang case.

Most of the Bishan soldiers were killed or wounded in internal strife, and only a small number surrendered. It was impossible to escort all of them to Beijing at once, so Gao Quan was responsible for dealing with these people and did not bring them to Beijing until before the Wanshou Festival.

The same was true for Lu Lian. After the Wang family mine and Datong carriage and horse company were found to be involved in the rebellion, the miners in the mine, the coachmen in the carriage and horse company, and other servants were all checked one by one.

The two did not want to displease the emperor before the Wanshou Festival, so they waited until after the festival before entering the palace to report on their work.

But who could have expected that before they even entered the Qianqing Palace, they were told by Wu Zhangyin that the emperor was unwell and all government affairs had to be reported to Princess Rong'an in Wenhua Palace.

They both said, “…”

They had never met each other before, but because of this incident, they felt that they were "fellow travelers". On the way to Wenhua Hall, they chatted for a few words and felt that they had met too late, and thus became friends regardless of age difference.

At this time, the two were waiting outside the Wenhua Palace, talking about the rumors they heard after returning to Beijing.

The center of the rumor is Princess Rong'an.

"Your Highness, those three proposals are truly excellent," Gao Quan praised, stroking his beard. "I've pondered them over and over for a long time. They are truly excellent strategies and brilliant moves that will benefit the people."

Lu Lian instantly understood his intention. This was the Wenhua Palace, and the people guarding outside the palace were all the princess's men. Praising the princess appropriately would only do good and no harm.

"Governor Gao is absolutely right. The princess is not only insightful in governing a country, but she can even kill a ferocious tiger in the palace. She is truly unparalleled in wisdom and courage."

The two looked at each other, smiled and nodded.

It has been confirmed that they are not overly rigid people. If they are too rigid, they will be easily broken. Such people can be associated with in official circles, but not close friends.

Just the right amount of tact can make things go more smoothly and avoid mistakes.

"My lords, His Highness has summoned you." Feng Caiyu came to inform them.

The two of them bowed politely and said, "Thank you, Ms. Feng."

Inside the hall, Xie Mingshuo had nothing to do, so he decided to meet the two of them, mainly because he was curious about Lu Lian.

He had met everyone in the Lu family except Lu Lian.

The two entered the hall one after another.

Gao Quan was nearly fifty years old, with half white hair on his temples, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and a short beard, but his temperament was still quite good.

The man behind him was in his twenties, handsome, wearing the robes of a seventh-rank censor, and had a tall and slender figure.

Xie Mingshuo secretly judged in his heart that he was not short, but not as tall as Lin Fan. He looked okay, but was definitely not as good as Lin Fan. The only thing that could be compared to him was his family background and official position.

But before the Lin family got into trouble, Lin Yingjie was a second-rank left governor, a high position. If he could continue to serve the court, he might have entered the cabinet by now.

Let’s not talk about family background for now.

As for the official position, the squad leader naturally cannot be compared with the censor, but it is still the same. If nothing happened to the Lin family, with Lin Fan's intelligence, he would not necessarily be worse than Lu Lian.

The most important point is that Lin Fan is several years younger than Lu Lian.

Alas, after comparing them this way, I find that Tiezhu’s vision is indeed sharp.

Xie Mingzhuo had no idea that he was comparing Lin Fan to others. He sat behind the desk, his eyes fixed on the two of them, gentle yet also a bit majestic.

"You two must have come a long way, please sit down."

"Thank you, Princess."

When Gao Quan and Lu Lian sat down separately, they exchanged glances again and could see what the other was thinking.

The princess was different from what they had imagined. To be more precise, she was even more shocking than they had imagined.

The rumors in the market are true!

Just as he was about to report his work to the princess, he suddenly heard Feng Caiyu coming to report from outside the hall.

"Your Highness, there is urgent news outside the palace."