Chapter 80: Court Debate
"It might be a good idea to give it a try." Gong Mingyuan said, "Since we are going to select someone for Lord Song, we must choose carefully. It would be best if she is a prostitute who has never served anyone before, so that Lord Song will not dislike her."
"That's natural."
"Which family in this imperial city has the best-looking prostitutes? Have you found out?"
"It should be Avon Pavilion." Chu Yuni said with a smile, "Since my cousin thinks my method is feasible, I will go pick two when I have time. However, I am also a servant in the palace now, so it is not easy for me to go to such a place openly. I will have to disguise myself later."
"You have made great progress now. You are smarter than I thought."
"Thank you, cousin."
While the two men on this side were discussing the selection of a young prostitute, in the prime minister's residence on the other side, Song Yunchu was sitting under a pear tree reading a book when he suddenly sneezed.
She rubbed her itchy nose.
At this time of year, the weather is getting colder.
…
As night falls, the number of pedestrians on the long street becomes increasingly deserted.
"Your cold isn't serious. Remember not to catch a cold again in the next few days. Take a dose of this medicine before going to bed every day. You should see improvement in three to five days."
"Thank you, doctor."
After Ruihe Hall had treated the last patient, Jiang Rumin wrote down the bill and said to the maid beside her, "Peony, let's close the shop. Let's go back to the house and warm ourselves by the fire."
Shaoyao rubbed her cold hands and closed the door of the clinic.
At the opposite corner of the street, Jun Tianyi's gaze lingered on the closed door for a moment before he turned and left.
The attendant behind him was puzzled, "Your Majesty, now that you are here, aren't you going to go see Miss Jiang?"
"She probably doesn't want to see me now."
Jun Tianyi said coldly, "Didn't that guy surnamed Chu take special care of her? I want to see if she would still think of me without that guy's care."
The conflict between him and Minmin this time was quite big, and he knew that she would not forgive him easily.
But he would never allow other men to get close to her.
She left a note and ran away, choosing to make a living on her own. If someone had always taken care of her, she would have lived a prosperous life and would probably have forgotten him soon.
He couldn't be forgotten by her like this.
If she loses the help of others and realizes how hard it is to make a living outside, then she will be willing to return under his wings.
Just wait and see, you bastard Song.
…
The next morning, all officials gathered in the main hall.
Song Yunchu listened to them reporting on people's livelihood to the emperor as usual.
Some are responsible for disaster relief, some are responsible for flood control, and some are responsible for selecting talented people. If we put aside party disputes, there are many talented people among the officials.
Just as Song Yunchu was thinking this, he heard a loud voice not far behind him -
"Your Majesty, I have the audacity to file a complaint against Prime Minister Song! Prime Minister Song broke the rules and recruited a rich man into the Mingjing Division, and allowed his subordinates to oppress the people and seek illegitimate benefits. Your Majesty, please make the decision."
Song Yunchu didn't sleep well last night and was feeling a little sleepy, but he immediately became alert when he heard these words.
Okay, okay, they are targeting her again. The charges are quite serious.
She turned to look at the person who spoke, who was the Minister of Taichang Temple who was in charge of ancestral temple sacrifices.
She didn't have much interaction with this guy in normal times. At most, she had ridiculed him before. This guy couldn't just start targeting her just because he couldn't win an argument, right?
She was not in a hurry to do something she had never done before, and she just said expressionlessly: "Master Ding, you must speak with facts and facts."
"Of course, I dare not slander Prime Minister Song without any evidence."
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites said coldly, "If I remember correctly, the Mirror Department recruits people through multiple levels of assessment and only recruits once a year. The person that Lord Song has just recruited is the son of a well-known wealthy businessman in the imperial city. Lord Song, shouldn't you give an explanation?"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone echoed him, "I have also heard about this matter. Lord Song is really treating the rules as a joke. Although the Mingjing Division is under your jurisdiction, the rules are set by the court. How can Lord Song change them without authorization? You are not taking His Majesty seriously at all."
Sitting on the first seat, Jun Li Luo narrowed his eyes.
Of course he knew about the personnel changes in the Mingjing Division, but to him, it was just a trivial matter.
As long as Song Yunchu is on his side, why should he care what kind of people Song Yunchu recruits? A confidant's subordinates can also have confidants, and subordinates have the right to cultivate the talents they want.
However, the man specially recruited by Song Yunchu was indeed conspicuously wealthy, and it was inevitable that he would be used by people with ulterior motives to make a big fuss. Now that someone has accused him of oppressing the people, it means that they may have also targeted the Chu family in private.
So he looked at Song Yunchu and asked with a puzzled look: "Song Qing's family, what's going on?"
It is not enough for him to stand by Song Yunchu alone. Song Yunchu must give a convincing explanation himself.
"Your Majesty, what they said is simply nonsense."
Song Yunchu looked at the two people who were targeting her and just found it funny. "It's interesting that the two adults are singing the same tune. Yes, the Mirror Division does have its rules, but looking at the court and the country, is this the only one who makes an exception to recruit talents?"
"Do you remember General Shen who is guarding the border now? He was a martial arts genius since he was young. When he was a member of the Yulin Army, he was specially recruited by the commander without taking any examinations. And Scholar Lin who retired to his hometown two years ago. He could write poems at the age of seven and read a lot of books at the age of twelve or thirteen. He also embarked on a career in officialdom without taking any literary examinations."
"Similarly, since Your Majesty has given me the power to manage the Mirror Department, why can't I recruit a talent? Throughout the dynasties, there have been some preferential treatment for outstanding talents. You often say to select the virtuous and the capable. Why, this phrase cannot be used in my case, right?"
When Song Yun first recruited Chu Yunni, he had already considered that someone might use Chu Yunni's identity as a rich young man to make trouble.
The Chu family was quite famous, and some pedantic officials would definitely talk about her and the Chu family colluding behind their backs.
Prime Minister Song has never been afraid of being criticized. If he were to be hesitant, he would not be Prime Minister Song.
Chu Yuni's Kung Fu was indeed top-notch. On the day they first met, she was able to smash the table to pieces, and even cracks appeared on the table legs. With such internal strength in her early twenties, she was no worse than Bai Zhu. This was the main reason why he was accepted by her, and it had nothing to do with his wealth.
Of course, the fact that he is rich and generous is also a plus.
It doesn't matter how much he studies, as long as he can fight and is obedient.
Now, facing accusations from other officials, she doesn't have to panic at all.
"Those with extraordinary talents do not need to be tested by literary examinations, and those with extraordinary martial arts naturally do not need to be proved by martial arts examinations. If the two adults are not convinced, I will pick a few people from the Mingjing Division and a few from the Yulin Army to compete with the newcomers in turns. Then we will see his winning rate. Your nonsense is useless. I only look at strength!"
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites frowned, "Sir Song, you..."
"The selection process is fair. It is also reasonable for people with extraordinary abilities to be specially recruited. The court never mistreats capable people."
Song Yunchu interrupted him coldly, "If you have capable people around you, you can let them show their talents. You are targeting me now, isn't it because you don't have any talented people? Or maybe you only saw that the newcomer has a rich family background and didn't ask about his ability. What, he is rich and specially recruited, so you are jealous? Then your minds are too narrow."
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was immediately annoyed, "Master Song, be careful with your words!"
Are they jealous of a young boy? This thief Song is really good at sophistry.
"Master Song is right!"
Seeing Song Yunchu stop, Gong Mingyuan quickly took the opportunity to continue the conversation, "The court has never stipulated that children from wealthy families cannot enter the officialdom. The two adults may have a prejudice against children from wealthy families. Although it is easy for poor families to produce talents, not all rich families are mediocre."
Song Yunchu smiled and said, "Lord Ding asked me to be careful with my words. Tell me, is there anything I didn't do carefully in what I said just now? You can point it out and refute it."
"I think I have done my duty to the court and to Your Majesty, and I am not afraid of being framed by you. It is just that it is really hard to talk to you. You are always hesitant and can't say more than two sentences in a long time. You are undoubtedly wasting the time of Your Majesty and the gentlemen."
"You...it's obviously Lord Song, you always interrupt me when I'm talking!"
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was so angry that he almost blew his beard and glared.
This thief Song never takes a breath every time he starts to argue, and he even has the nerve to complain about his hesitancy... There is no chance for him to interrupt!
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