Chapter 1113 Investigation
After Aunt Shang sent Manbao out of the palace and returned to Lizheng Palace, the Queen also ordered her two daughters to be sent away.
She picked up another clan history and leaned back on the couch to read.
Aunt Shang tiptoed to add more water for her.
The Queen looked away from the book and asked, "Did Doctor Zhou send it out?"
"Yes." Aunt Shang bowed and responded, reporting to her in detail.
The Queen nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Changyu is not young anymore. Your Majesty is planning to arrange a marriage for her, but I always feel that this child has the temper of a child. How can she be married?"
Aunt Shang laughed and said, "Girls grow up when they get married. Didn't Your Majesty marry His Majesty at the age of thirteen?"
The Queen shook her head slightly and smiled, "It's different now. When we were there, the world was in turmoil. Now the country is peaceful and the people are safe. We don't need children to do anything for the world. It's better to wait for them to grow up."
She said, "Don't people outside wait until their children reach the age of marriage before planning marriages?"
She covered her mouth and coughed twice, then took a sip of the water. After swallowing the cough, she said, "I used to worry that it would be difficult to arrange marriages for them after I was gone, so I wanted to arrange them early. But now looking at Zhou Man, I suddenly think it's better for them to marry later. They are princesses and princes. No matter how much injustice they suffer, they will not be treated unfairly in their marriages."
Aunt Shang lowered her head and dared not speak.
"It's better to let the children grow up and develop their own abilities than for me to arrange everything for them."
Aunt Shang said softly, "Your Highness also has a loving mother's heart."
The queen smiled and lowered her head to drink water.
Aunt Shang smiled and changed the subject to a safer one, "The Empress seems to like Doctor Zhou very much."
The Queen nodded and sighed, "That's a poor child, too. He lost his parents when he was young and has endured so much at such a young age, yet he still looks so cheerful and happy."
It was because of seeing her that the queen suddenly felt that the child could live well even without his mother.
Aunt Shang was the fourth person in the palace besides Gu Zhong who knew about Bai Shan and Zhou Man. She lowered her head when she heard this.
"Oh, right, go find Gu Zhong and ask him to investigate Zhou Man's teacher. I vaguely saw him at Your Majesty's place, and it seems his surname is Zhuang," the Queen said with a smile. "A teacher who can teach a disciple like Bai Shan Zhou Man must be quite good. Even if his luck is a little off, as long as he wants to enter the government, he won't be stuck forever. Ask him to investigate what's going on."
Aunt Shang nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, two days later, the Duke of Yu finally managed to find out something. His attendant, sitting on a small stool beside him, replied, "...He's from Mianzhou. He rarely left the house after arriving in the capital. The few times he did go out, he became friends with Mr. Jiang and others. He's also from the same hometown and classmate as Chen Fulin, the doctor in the Ministry of Revenue."
As the Duke of Yu peeled water chestnuts, he said, "I asked you to investigate his past, but why are you only investigating current events?"
His attendant said angrily, "This happened over 20 years ago. He doesn't live in the capital permanently. How can I investigate this quickly?"
After being rebuked, the Duke of Yu lowered his head and silently peeled and ate water chestnuts.
The attendant continued, "However, we did find out a little bit. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhuang Xun and Chen Fulin met at Mo Hui Garden. The scene was not very pleasant. People privately said that they might have some grudges."
"On Double Ninth Festival, they met again at Qinghua Mountain. Mr. Zhuang's two disciples were very protective of their master. Although they spoke politely to each other, everyone present felt that there was a hidden edge to their words and that there was still a conflict."
"Have you found out what conflicts they have?"
The attendant slapped his thigh and said, "I hadn't found out originally, but when I went to ask about Chen Fulin, I heard something strange."
The attendant shook his head and recited a poem, then said with a smile, "Old Master, do you still remember the poem you recited when you came back that day?"
Yuxian Gong raised his eyelids and glanced at him. "Nonsense! How could I not remember the poem I recited? Are you trying to say that this poem was written by Chen Fulin?"
The attendant was stunned, "How did the old man know?"
The Duke of Yu sighed and said, "As we age, our memories become less robust. I only vaguely remember that the person who wrote this poem was involved in a scandal. It seems the poem was plagiarized from someone else, but I can't remember who that someone was."
Long-servant: "...Then why didn't you tell me when you asked me to investigate?"
Yu County Lord: "I forgot!"
The long-servant was so angry that his white beard flew up.
The Duke of Yu asked, "What official position did you mention Chen Fulin held?"
The attendant didn't want to pay attention to him, but couldn't help but said, "Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue."
"What's wrong, Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue?" Minister Yu came in from outside, bowed to his father, then half-bowed to his long-servant, and called out, "Uncle Quan."
The attendant immediately stood up from the small stool and saluted Yu Shilang, "Greetings to the Third Master."
Minister Yu quickly reached out to support him, then asked, "What happened to the Ministry of Revenue doctor?"
The Duke of Yu lifted his eyelids to look at him and said quietly, "It's Chen Fulin, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue."
Minister Yu waited for a moment, and seeing his father had only said this, he asked, "What's wrong with him? Did father know he was being transferred to the Ministry of Works?"
"Hmm?" Yu County Lord showed a hint of interest. "He's being transferred to the Ministry of Works? What's he going to do there? Right Vice Minister?"
Yu Shilang smiled and said, "No, it's the Left Shilang. My son will be transferred to the Right Shilang."
Although the left and right assistant ministers are both assistant ministers and have the same official rank, the right one is more senior, so when he is promoted to a minister in the future, the right assistant minister will have more advantages.
The Duke of Yu asked, "Why, is he the only candidate?"
"That's not the case. He simply has the most experience," Minister Yu said. "He's been a doctor for nine years and currently has the most experience among the six ministries. Our Ministry of Works has always had a lot of work to do, and he's known for being a good person. So, after careful consideration, the Minister selected him."
Yu County Lord snorted coldly, "Nowadays, officials are selected not based on talent, but on whether they are good people?"
Minister Yu lowered his head and said nothing.
The Duke of Yu pointed at him and asked, "What kind of person is he?"
Minister Yu smiled and said, "He's a really good man, but he also has talent. I've asked about him, and he did quite a few practical things when he was at the Ministry of Revenue. It's a pity that several of his proposed methods for calculating land acreage were good, but he abandoned them as soon as someone objected."
Yu County Lord snorted and said, "Is this what your Shangshu values about him? No wonder you were demoted. Putting a man like him in the position of Right Vice Minister, do you really expect him to become a Shangshu in the future?"
"It's everyone's temperament. Why is Father so angry today?"
The thought of Mr. Zhuang's humility and courtesy flashed through County Lord Yu's mind. Without evidence, he would not blindly believe someone. However, Bai Shan and Zhou Man were both good-looking children with good personalities and talents. In addition, Mr. Zhuang was at a disadvantage, so County Lord Yu could not help but think more about it.
After thinking about it for a while, I began to focus.
The next update will be around 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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