Chapter 352 Resurrection
Qin Chi’s first thought was that someone was targeting him.
Just at this moment, Old Li came in and said, "Sir, someone sent you a note, saying it was from the Li Mansion."
"Li Mansion?"
Qin Chi took the invitation and opened it. "Hey, Mr. Rong is back in Beijing. He invited me to his house for a gathering."
Mr. Rong is Li Huarong, the former president of the Hanlin Academy and Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. He was dismissed from his official position because he angered Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty by giving him straightforward advice.
Qin Chi had received guidance from Li Huarong before taking the imperial examination, and after he became the top scorer, he also visited Li's residence once.
Afterwards, Li Huarong went out traveling.
The two of them have a teacher-student relationship.
Qin Chi asked Old Li to prepare a gift, and then he got on the carriage and set off.
Everyone got off the car in front of the gate of Li's mansion.
The doorman seemed to have known he would come. After he introduced himself, he immediately let him in. After a while, he was led by the butler to meet the master of the house.
No surprises.
In the study, Qin Chi met Li Huarong.
Li Huarong was sitting at the desk writing an inscription. When he saw Qin Chi come in, he looked up.
"Student greets Mr. Rong."
Qin Chi still stepped forward politely and bowed.
Li Huarong hummed lightly, "Find a chair and sit down."
He didn't stop writing.
Qin Chi sat down near the charcoal stove. There was a pot of boiling water on the stove, with steam rising. It could be used to make tea at any time.
Qin Chi looked up at Li Huarong who was busy, reached out to pick up the tea set and tea leaves placed beside him, and brewed tea slowly.
When Li Huarong finished writing the last word, he put down the brush in his hand, looked up and saw Qin Chi sitting in front of the charcoal stove drinking tea leisurely. He couldn't help but smile silently, then stood up and walked over.
He lifted his shirt and sat down.
Qin Chi handed him a bowl of warm tea with both hands, "Sir, please have some tea."
"You are quite at ease."
Li Huarong picked up the tea bowl and warmed his hands first. "Your uncle and I were worried that you would not be able to adapt to the officialdom for the first time. Who knew that you would be so successful in the officialdom? It seems that you are born to be a talent for this job."
"Thank you for your compliment, sir." Qin Chi smiled modestly.
Li Huarong drank half a bowl of tea and sighed comfortably, "It's so cold today, it would be nice if I could warm up a pot of wine."
"If you want to drink, you can ask the servant to bring it to you now."
"Forget it. It's boring if I drink and you don't."
"I'll have no problem having a drink."
"No, no, I'm afraid your uncle will find out and blame me." Li Huarong knew that Qin Chi's body was not suitable for drinking.
Qin Chi chuckled, "When did you return to Beijing, sir?"
"Two days ago, that person asked me to come back." Li Huarong meant that Emperor Mingcheng suddenly summoned him back to the capital. "The court is short of people now, and I got a great bargain."
The fall of the Yang, Yuan and Liu families implicated a large number of officials. This left a large number of vacancies in the court, some of which have already been filled. With the help of Qin Chi, Lu Yanji and Lu Bozhou also found an opportunity to transfer out of the Hanlin Academy and were promoted to a higher position. However, not everyone can take on important positions. For example, a cabinet minister committed suicide, and the Ministry of Works still lacked a minister.
Li Huarong was originally a cabinet minister.
When Emperor Mingcheng had no one to use, an eunuch mentioned Li Huarong's name. If Li Huarong came back, he would either re-enter the cabinet and take over Yang Ge Lao's previous work, or serve as the Minister of Works.
Both positions are very important.
Generally speaking, it is not possible to hold both positions.
When talking about the situation in the court, Li Huarong mentioned the matter of restoration.
Qin Chi asked: "Where do you want to go, sir?"
Li Huarong's previous position had already been taken over by someone else. Even if he returns to the cabinet this time, he will probably take over Yang Zhengkai's position. "Personally, I would like to be the Minister of Industry, but the possibility is not high."
"It all depends on your majesty's wishes."
Qin Chi had the illusion that he was showing off.
There are few civil servants who do not want to join the cabinet. This is the lifelong goal of most officials in the Hanlin Academy.
Qin Chi asked again: "Sir, do you know Luo Sicheng of the Dali Temple? I checked him out and found that he is from the same period as you."
"Why are you asking about him suddenly? Did he offend you?" Li Huarong asked this, obviously knowing Luo Sicheng.
Qin Chi told the rumors outside.
Li Huarong listened with a serious expression, "I'm not sure who he is. He and I didn't have much contact. It was just before the imperial examination, when I attended a poetry gathering, that I saw that he was quite impressed with Yan Jiangnan's article, and his words were full of respect."
"Then he is from Yan Jiangnan?" Qin Chi knew that this was not a reliable estimate.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
As expected, Li Huarong shook his head, "There were many scholars who admired Yan Jiangnan's talent and learning back then, so this is not a valid basis."
When Emperor Mingcheng ascends the throne, he will naturally clear out the remnants of the former crown prince's faction. Li Huarong did not say this, but Qin Chi could understand it.
Qin Chi poured more tea for Li Huarong, stood up and walked to the door, opened the door and saw Qin Ba guarding outside, then closed the door and walked to the window and stayed for a while.
Li Huarong saw his actions and understood what he meant. He said, "I have dismissed the people around me before. No one is approaching the study room now. Oh, except for the people you brought with you."
"All right."
Qin Chi was indeed not eavesdropped by anyone.
He returned to sit in front of the charcoal stove again.
He spoke in a low voice and told Li Huarong about the affairs of the former crown prince, Yan Jiangnan and others.
Before coming to the capital last year, he went to Huangshan to meet Helian Pu.
Helian Pu told him that Li Huarong could be trusted.
Li Huarong was shocked that the former crown prince was still alive. "Are you sure? I was also there when the former crown prince died—"
The following words stopped abruptly.
Qin Chi's eyes flickered when he saw this.
Li Huarong's attitude clearly indicated that he had something wrong. After a long while, Li Huarong said in disbelief, "At the beginning, His Majesty personally stared at the corpse for a long time, and called three groups of people to check the corpse. They all said that the deceased was the former crown prince. He also specially called several imperial doctors to check, and they were very sure that there was no trace of disguise."
Therefore, he never doubted that the former crown prince was not dead.
Qin Chi just wanted to say, if he couldn't even fool outsiders, how could he fool Emperor Mingcheng? "I heard that many people would raise a substitute from a young age."
Li Huarong suddenly thought of this.
Qin Chi smiled and did not deny his words.
But the two of them knew very well that it was not so easy to train a stand-in, let alone a completely imaginary one. Many of them just looked for someone with a somewhat similar face, plus some disguise techniques. The imperial physician would be able to find out these through careful examination.
A mystery that is not quite certain for the moment.
The two of them agreed not to pursue the matter any further.
Before night fell, Qin Chi said goodbye.
When he just returned home, Old Man Hong handed him another note, "A note from the East Palace."
Qin Chi was surprised when he heard it was the Eastern Palace.
Then a light bulb went off in his head, and thinking about the rumor that had been spreading secretly, he suddenly understood the malicious intent of the person behind the scenes.
Kill with a borrowed knife.