Song Jiangmei is indeed very resourceful.
Wei Qinglou and his men searched everywhere for the disgraced official Song Baopu, but in the time it took to eat a meal, Song Jiangmei managed to extract Song Baopu's whereabouts from someone in the know.
It turned out that this person knew Wei Qinglou was coming long ago, so he moved into the house that belonged to an old friend and never went out. If you didn't have some connections, you probably wouldn't have been able to find his hiding place.
The next day, Zhu Jiayu brought a box of pastries to the door. After knocking on the door, a young boy came and asked her who she was.
She said politely, "I heard that Lord Song lives here. I admire your literary talent and refined manners, so I have come to pay you a visit. Please let me know."
The boy stood at the door, pondering for a long time: The teacher had only said that if a young and handsome man came, he should say that he had gone out to visit a friend, but he had not said what to do if a beautiful girl came.
He looked up at Zhu Jiayu with some embarrassment.
Zhu Jiayu smiled: "What's wrong?"
"No...it's nothing." He turned and ran into the courtyard, telling the tea master under the eaves about the pretty girl who had come to the door.
"Didn't I say that I wouldn't announce anyone who came?" The middle-aged man, dressed in a short brown robe, with a scraggly beard and a rough appearance, asked indifferently, his eyes weary.
The boy felt wronged: "You didn't say that before. Besides, I think that girl is beautiful and must be a kind-hearted older sister. What harm would it do if you met her?"
"What a fine little brat, interfering with the master's affairs!" The man glanced at him before sighing, "Fine, then let's meet him."
Having received his permission, the boy ran out excitedly and welcomed Zhu Jiayu in.
Upon entering the courtyard and walking several dozen steps, Zhu Jiayu saw Song Baopu kneeling under the eaves.
She glanced at him and then looked away, but in her heart she thought, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes here, who would have thought that this disheveled and dejected man had once paraded through the streets in a red robe, served wine before the emperor, and received the envy and congratulations of the entire court?
She sighed silently, walked over, stood before the steps where moss grew in the cracks of the stones, and called out with lowered eyes, "Lord Song."
"I am but a mere seventh-rank official, not worthy of being addressed as 'Master' by the young lady." Song Baopu did not look up, but sat at the stone table, gazing intently at the rising steam from the teapot. "What is it, young lady? Please speak frankly."
Zhu Jiayu then placed the pastries in front of him and said softly, "I heard that when Lord Song was demoted to Yunmeng, he wanted to eat a bite of this sesame cake but could not. I have searched for a long time and finally found the pastries today. I thought that sending them to you would fulfill your wish. Please accept them."
She stood gracefully, finished speaking slowly and deliberately, and then fell silent, waiting for Song Baopu to speak.
However, Song Baopu still didn't look up, only lazily saying, "Times have changed, these pastries are nothing special to me anymore, take them back."
"With the passage of time, do old stories simply vanish like smoke?" Zhu Jiayu asked.
Song Baopu nodded: "It's all gone."
"If that's the case, why doesn't Lord Song go to Yujing? Isn't the reason you don't go back precisely because the past events haven't passed in your heart?"
Zhu Jiayu then countered with a question. Her words were not pleasant, but because of her calm tone, she did not seem aggressive. Instead, she sounded like a young person sincerely seeking advice.
Song Baopu paused slightly as he poured the tea, the ripples on the surface gradually subsiding. He finally looked up: "Whether I pass or not, what does it have to do with you?"
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "Lord Song swindled a large sum of money from the aristocratic families back then, which was a rare display of courage. I couldn't bear to see such a hero fall into obscurity, so I dared to come and persuade Lord Song to come to the capital. Lord Song is now living a secluded life here, tending to flowers and plants but having no interest in officialdom. To others, this may seem like a life of leisure and comfort, but if it were you, you would inevitably be called mediocre, which would be a source of pain for your loved ones and a source of joy for your enemies."
"I am a woman born into this world and do not understand the grand principles of the state and its rulers. However, there is one thing I do understand: when Lord Song was demoted, no one stood up to speak on your behalf. It was not because you were a pawn, but because the officials knew that you would be reinstated in the future. They did not want to do anything unnecessary at this critical juncture and give you more ammunition to criticize you."
"His Majesty hates evil as if it were his enemy. If any officials in the capital commit crimes or embezzle public funds, they will be severely punished. At best, their property will be confiscated; at worst, they will be beheaded. Only Lord Song has been treated leniently. Although he was hated by the powerful families, he only ended up being demoted. His Majesty has shown you great kindness and affection."
Zhu Jiayu knew that Song Baopu was unwilling to return to Yujing not because he feared the revenge of the aristocratic families, but because he felt a deep disappointment in his teachers and friends, and in the monarch he was to serve.
When his scheme to swindle a powerful family was exposed, the emperor dismissed him from his post. On the day he left the capital, not a single person came to see him off. He thought he had become a discarded pawn, and to avoid getting into trouble, not a single one of his true mentors and friends saw him off when he left the capital.
Little did they know that they did not personally see him off in order to avoid arousing the emperor's suspicion and hindering his future reinstatement.
This misunderstanding was never resolved, and in his previous life, Song Baopu did not go to the capital, but instead died in Xingchuan Prefecture in despair.
Zhu Jiayu knew all this because the Imperial Censor Jiang, who had once taught her, was a close friend of Song Baopu. Later, the two lost contact due to this misunderstanding, which was also a source of worry for Imperial Censor Jiang.
Zhu Jiayu came to persuade Song Baopu, partly for Song Jiangmei's sake and partly for the sake of his former mentor.
"You used the pretext of selling official positions to swindle money from aristocratic families, but in the end you donated all the money to the Northwest Army. This shows that you are not a villain, but a gentleman. Lord Song, Daye and its people need a gentleman like you."
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