Let's discuss rationally the possibility of officials sending bacon as gifts.

The Xinghua prefect certainly knew that the locals believed in Mazu.

But he didn't expect that they could believe it so much.

When he was stuffed into a prison car and transported to the capital to be executed in the autumn, he was still mumbling like a madman: "It's normal to worship. I also worship Emperor Wenchang during the New Year and Wenquxingjun before the imperial examination. I am sincere and donate a lot of incense money. But if you ask me to swear that I will never be promoted again if I lie, I dare to swear..."

The Xinghua prefect couldn't figure it out.

But he didn't need to figure it out.

*

Xu Yanmo saw Liang Rui writing a memorial, which should be a report on this matter.

Liang Rui also noticed him coming in and spoke first: "As an official appointed by the court, you were almost killed. Now that you are safe, you must appeal."

Xu Yanmiao uttered an "ah" in a low voice, and said: "Indeed, I was reckless at the time. I also troubled everyone to worry and send troops to rescue me."

Liang Rui shook his head: "You just wanted to save people."

If anyone else was there, they would not be able to delay the soldiers from coming over. No matter how much they talked, the villagers would put the worship of the river god first. Only someone like Xu Yanmiao could delay time by using the people's own affairs to cause internal strife among them.

The clerk of the Ministry of War came in and said, "Mr. Xu! The woman you saved is looking for you."

Xu Yanmiao hurried out. As soon as he left, the clerk of the Ministry of War asked Liang Rui, "Are you still sending it 600 miles in an emergency?"

Liang Rui stopped writing, picked up the memorial, and blew the ink on it. "When Xu Yanmiao got into trouble, I sent someone to report to the capital. Now it has been more than half a day. I am afraid that the postman has run 100 to 200 miles and started to change the second horse. It will reach the capital in a few days. At this time, if the second memorial is sent by ordinary fast horses, by the time it reaches the capital, it is possible that His Majesty will be impatient and lead his troops to Fujian."

This was of course a joke, but Liang Rui did not dare to bet.

So, this memorial to report safety was also sent 600 miles in an emergency. It would probably take only a few hours to reach the capital.

...

When Xu Yanmiao left the government office, she saw the woman standing under a street eave without makeup. It was still raining in Fujian, but the wind blew, and the owner of the house had tied a string of wind chimes under the eaves, which rang jingling.

The woman's grateful voice drowned out the sound of the wind chimes. If she didn't interrupt, she would express gratitude endlessly. Xu Yanmiao asked hurriedly, "Where are you going to go after this is over? I remember that your contract of sale has been transferred from the brothel owner to the Xinghua prefect?"

Otherwise, the Xinghua prefect would not dare to kill anyone directly.

Of course, now that the Xinghua prefect was almost dead, Liang Rui took the lead and had her indentures cancelled by the government, and she was free.

"I was going to the capital to visit the sisters who had lived there, and secretly bring them some medicinal herbs, and then... and then... maybe I would see which family was hiring female workers without signing an indenture, and I would stay there."

After listening to the woman's next narration, Xu Yanmiao realized that she was not a native of Fujian. The Xinghua prefect was afraid that finding a local prostitute would cause trouble, so he directly asked someone to redeem one from the capital. The journey was long and the mountains were high, and no one would know if she died.

After the woman in front of her took off her makeup, her face was pale, and a glance showed that her wrists under her sleeves were very thin. She was obviously a minor, but her temperament was already very old and sullen.

Thinking of the place where she lived before...

Xu Yanmiao said directly: "It's not convenient for a girl like you to enter the brothel. I'll go with you when the time comes, so that you won't be detained by the brothel."

The woman was stunned when she heard this unexpectedly. After she reacted, she couldn't control her tears and kept falling down. She bowed deeply to Xu Yanmiao: "Thank you, my lord. I have no way to repay you for your kindness. I will only repay you in the next life."

*

Five days later, the two messengers arrived in the capital with a time difference of half a day.

It made the king and ministers of Daxia experience what great sorrow and joy are - although they probably guessed that the person was fine, otherwise five days would be enough for the person to get cold and the world to change.

But! What if!

What if Xiao Bai Ze had been seriously injured? He was actually struggling to death in bed these days!

"Fortunately, fortunately..."

The old emperor read the second memorial over and over again, regardless of the fact that he was still in the grand court meeting. The worry and anger on his face retreated, and he laughed: "My dear ministers, please take a look. This Xu Yanmiao is really a blessing for the country. He only went to Fujian once and caused a great harm to the people of Fujian!"

After saying that, he asked the eunuch to pass the memorial down.

However, although it was said that it was for my dear ministers, in fact, only the second- and third-rank officials in front could see it. Many local officials could only hold their breath and secretly look forward, constantly guessing who this Xu Yanmiao was. Even the "blessing of the country" came out. It seems that... he is particularly favored by the emperor?

However, until the day when the local officials left Beijing and returned to their posts as required, they had not seen the legendary Xu Yanmiao, which led to some outrageous rumors in the local area. Thousands of years later, there was another wave of strange unofficial history.

...

It was already the end of the first lunar month when Xu Yanmiao and others returned to Beijing.

In the court, the old emperor gave them face and sighed: "You have worked hard. Because of the disaster in Fujian, you can't even spend the New Year with your family..."

[Then give them a compensatory vacation!!!]

The old emperor: "..."

This familiar feeling of being choked.

The old emperor paused, and said in a rather sad tone: "In this case, in the next two or three days, you will return home to reunite with your family. You don't need to come to court or handle official business. You can return to court to work after you have revised your documents."

The eyes of the Minister of Justice suddenly widened.

"!!!"

Your Majesty, who is almost stingy and saves as much as possible on holidays! Today they are given a holiday! Although it is not much, it is still a holiday!

Your Majesty is right! Xu Yanmo is indeed a good omen for the country!

Liang Rui bowed his waist to thank him.

And he was glad that he was not a fool now.

Looking back to the past, when he had just entered the officialdom and was not yet mature, his superiors said that they felt sorry for the hard work they had done and gave them a holiday. He foolishly told his superiors that he was not tired and wanted to do more for the people, and that he could give holidays to his colleagues.

Then, his colleagues did not go home. He thought that his colleagues also wanted to do things for the people, and he was quite happy that they shared the same ideals. Later...

Liang Rui paused, silently skipping over the period of "being tricked by colleagues, and he didn't know where he had offended his colleagues."

And Xu Yanmiao couldn't show it on her face. She seemed to thank him calmly, but her heart was already cheering and ecstatic.

The old emperor gave a vacation, and naturally there would be rewards later. If there is merit, it must be rewarded -

the Minister of the Ministry of Justice will not be promoted in official rank, and merit will be reduced to promotion.

Liang Rui, the head of the Ministry of Justice, has not made enough merit this time to allow him to be promoted.

"Today, Gao Huachun, the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, is promoted to the position of Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue."

"?!" Princess Wanshou heard her own rapid breathing.

Gao Huachun is her given name, but this is the only time she has been addressed so formally and solemnly, and with an official promotion.

Not the Gao family, not Princess Wanshou, but...

Gao, Hua, Chun!

"Promote Lian Hang, the clerk of the Ministry of War, to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of War's Chariot and Vehicle Department."

From the ninth rank to the fifth rank?!

Lian Hang felt dazed for a moment, as if his chest had been hit hard.

The promotions of officials in the court have always been exaggerated. There was once a clerk who was directly promoted to the prefect of a place. But when this happened to him, it was still very shocking.

You know, other clerks are still working hard, and his predecessor, the clerk of the Ministry of War, had to endure nine years before he was promoted. How many years has he been the clerk of the Ministry of War?

Lian Hang turned his head and glanced at Xu Yanmiao. He knew in his heart who was the reason why he was promoted so quickly.

"Xu Yanmiao, the clerk of the Ministry of Personnel, is promoted to the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel."

"And--"

Xu Yanmiao blinked.

[And...? ]

The old emperor looked at him, and his eyes changed slightly: "Promote him to the position of Shizhong."

Xu Yanmiao couldn't stop the surprise on his face for a moment.

Shizhong is a promotion, and he has no power on the surface, but... in modern terms, he is the emperor's secretary and has an important status.

In other words, even the prime minister would not easily offend the Shizhong. The other party lives with the emperor day and night, and as long as he occasionally says one or two words that are unfavorable to you, it may affect the emperor's perception.

Xu Yanmiao felt that many eyes were fixed on him.

He could feel their doubts, and to be honest, he was also very confused.

[Why did you let me be the Shizhong? 】

【Wasn't it enough that I was asked to review the memorials before? 】

Officials: "!!!"

They repeated this thought in their hearts, confirmed it again and again, and then took a breath of cool air.

In your majesty's heart... Xiao Bai Ze is no longer just Xiao Bai Ze who is placed there for worship? !

When did this happen? !

They are really close to each other, right?

Some high-ranking officials were not surprised by this. They knew in their hearts that regardless of the positive and negative aspects, if you can get the emperor's attention, you have already won half the battle. The remaining half depends on the right time, place and people.

The kind of storybooks that... love you and find a shield for you do not exist. The emperor is a self-centered creature. If he loves you, he will only give you the best.

This has been proven by all dynasties.

In the distant past - see a certain emperor directly divide half of the imperial power with the queen.

In the more distant past, a certain emperor directly said that he would pass the throne to his male favorite.

In the recent past, a certain emperor directly created a position for his beloved minister, and said that you are second to none, the prime minister must pay respect to you, and all the ministers see you as if they are seeing me.

In the more recent past, a certain emperor was fighting outside, and heard someone report that his beloved prime minister in the rear was planning a rebellion, so he turned around and told the prime minister about it and let him handle it himself.

In short...

all the officials were silent and began to look for precedents in history.

Should they pay respect to Xu Lang now before the emperor officially expresses his position? Or should they find out what Xu Lang likes and get closer to him?

——Xu Lang’s identity is still very sensitive. Theoretically, they should not get close to him. However, it would be strange if no one pleases the emperor’s favorite minister. His Majesty directly appointed Xu Lang as the Minister of the Court, which actually tacitly acknowledged that they could get close to the “favored minister” Xu Yanmo.

But, they have to know

when to stop. So, what does Xu Lang like?

…Watching other people’s excitement?

This is not good, let’s change it.

…Criticizing His Majesty for being stingy, stingy, and not treating officials well?

Uh, let’s change it.

…Like to eat meat?

It’s the first month of the year now, and every family should still have a lot of bacon?

Oh, is this their first gift, and they are going to give bacon? !

The officials imagined a scene in which a servant politely came to the door, handed in a visiting card, left bacon, and stated that he was a servant of someone's family, and then interacted with each other in the future...