After chatting with his father for nearly half an hour, Xu Yan didn't want to disturb his rest anymore and took the initiative to leave.
When he arrived at the flower hall and saw Shen Mingchen still there, he went over to him.
"Jia Ze, I really have to thank you very much this time."
Xu Yan said sincerely.
Shen Mingchen waved his hands repeatedly: "What are you talking about, Master? If I see your father is ill and don't help him, would I still be a human being?"
"Anyway, I'll remember your kindness. By the way, how did you get to know Divine Doctor Gao?"
"Haha, that's a long story. To put it simply, our two families are old friends."
"I see."
"Master, you've rushed back to Ningbo this time. Doesn't it look like the Grandmaster will be here soon?"
Shen Mingchen asked curiously.
"Of course, the Grand Master will be visiting Ningbo soon."
Xu Yan spoke eloquently, "The Grand Master chose Ningbo as the third stop for the academy exams. It seems he still has high hopes for Ningbo's scholars."
Shen Mingchen, also from Ningbo, proudly said: "Ningbo scholars are no worse than those in Hangzhou, although they are still slightly behind those in Shaoxing."
Although Shen Mingchen was very proud, he had to admit the gap between the two governments.
Shaoxing Prefecture is a super academic prefecture like Ji'an Prefecture, and has produced countless Jinshi.
"By the way, Master, have you heard that a big event happened in the capital recently?"
Shen Mingchen suddenly said mysteriously.
"Um?"
"I heard that there was a fire in the palace, burning down many palaces and pavilions. The emperor was furious about this."
Shen Mingchen swallowed his saliva and said, "I also heard this from a good friend in Beijing. My dear teacher, just listen to it and don't tell anyone else."
Xu Yan nodded: "Master, I understand this principle."
In fact, there were many cases of inexplicable fires in the palace during the Jiajing period. From this perspective, Emperor Jiajing was quite unlucky.
Some are caused by human factors, and some are because the roof was struck by lightning.
After all, the main body of the Forbidden City halls are made of wood, and it is easy to cause a fire without good lightning protection measures.
Emperor Jiajing happened to be a king who practiced Taoism and was very sensitive to such things.
He would think that this was a warning from God and would start fasting to express his sincere repentance to God.
Perhaps with foresight, thinking that the Forbidden City was unsuitable for living, Emperor Jiajing had already moved to the Western Garden. Therefore, the fire in the palace did not have a direct impact on him.
Xu Yan just didn't realize that Shen Mingchen also had a gossipy nature, which he really didn't expect.
"Alas, the current emperor is devoted to practicing Taoism and has not attended court for many years. State affairs are handled by the cabinet. If this continues, it's no wonder that the heavens will be angry."
Since there was no one around in private, Shen Mingchen couldn't help but complain a few words.
"This isn't Jia Ze's style."
Xu Yan paused and said, "Besides, just because Your Majesty isn't attending court doesn't mean he's not handling state affairs. Your Majesty will definitely read the cabinet's decision. Otherwise, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty have been in chaos long ago?"
Although Emperor Jiajing did not attend court in the middle and late period of his life, there was still a fundamental difference between him and Emperor Wanli.
The Jiajing Emperor personally oversaw all major matters. In reality, he had complete control over the court situation, and even manipulated the civil officials. Xia Yan, Yan Song, and Xu Jie were all cunning men, but would they dare to play dirty tricks on the Jiajing Emperor?
Emperor Wanli's skills were much weaker. Not only could he not defeat the civil servants, he was also scolded by many people. He couldn't even make the decision to appoint a crown prince. So he simply gave up and became a hands-off boss.
It can be said that Emperor Jiajing's absence from court was to enjoy life and practice Taoism to seek immortality, while Emperor Wanli's was more of a revengeful one.
One is active and the other is passive, and the difference is obvious.
Shen Mingchen thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.
"That's true. I won't have to hold up the sky if it falls, so why should I worry about it? Eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink, write poetry when you should write poetry. Life is short, enjoy it while you can."
Xu Yan thought to himself that this was the attitude towards life that Shen Mingchen should have.
Isn't it much more elegant to be a commoner poet than to be an official?
"I really envy Jia Ze."
"Master, please don't follow my example. I'm used to being idle, and I can't change that. Master, you're still so young, you should take the imperial examinations and serve the court."
Shen Mingchen didn't want to influence Xu Yan's choice of path, so he quickly added.
"Don't worry, I know what's going on."
"The Grand Master will be visiting the capital. Would you like to stay there in advance?"
"That's not necessary. Dinghai County is not too far from the prefectural capital, so going there a day in advance is enough. I want to spend more time with my father these days."
"Indeed, my mentor is truly filial."
The two chatted for a while, and then Shen Mingchen took the initiative to say goodbye.
Xu Yan personally went to boil medicine for his father. After the medicine was ready, he helped his father take it before he was willing to rest.
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, Xu Yan prepared medicine for his father as usual, and then personally served him the medicine.
After finishing the work, he went to have breakfast and then read.
After reading for half an hour, he began to practice writing, of course imitating Mr. Qian's writing style.
He had just written half of the article when the little clerk came hurriedly to report that someone had come from the Ningbo government office and asked him to go to the city immediately.
The current prefect of Ningbo is the former Dinghai County Magistrate Zhao Ruohai.
Given his relationship with Prefect Zhao, he should be informed immediately of any important matters.
Zhao Ruohai asked him to go to the provincial capital now, so there must be something important.
Xu Yan didn't dare to delay and hurried to the flower hall to meet someone.
The yamen runner who came met Xu Yan. When he saw him coming, he took out a handwritten letter from Prefect Zhao and carefully handed it to Xu Yan.
"Master Xu, Lord Zhao has said so. Once you read this letter, you will understand everything."
Xu Yan nodded and said thank you.
He did not hesitate to open the letter in front of the yamen runners, take out the letter paper and unfold it to read.
The letter was not long, and Xu Yan burned it after reading it.
"Could you tell me when we'll set off?"
"Of course, the sooner the better."
Xu Yan thought for a moment and said, "Let me go and report to my parents."
The bailiff nodded and said, "Mr. Xu, please do as you please."
To be honest, Xu Yan didn't want to go to the capital so early. He wanted to stay in Dinghai County and serve his father for as long as possible. Otherwise, he would have left with Shen Mingchen long ago.
I can only say that plans cannot keep up with changes!
But Magistrate Zhao had already said so in the letter, and it would be unreasonable for him to delay further.
After all, Magistrate Zhao is half his teacher, so he has to give him some face.
Xu Yan sighed and went to report this sudden incident to his parents.
Although Xu Huaiyuan was reluctant, he couldn't stop it.
"My son must take good care of himself."
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry, father. I can take care of myself. But you have to take your medicine on time."
"Haha, my son is so filial. When you come back from the capital, your father's illness will be cured."
"Is it a deal?"
"Haha, it's a deal."
...
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