284, resignation
284, resignation
Kyoto Prefecture
Only after the late emperor's coffin was buried in the imperial mausoleum did Lu Mingfei receive approval from the Ministry of Personnel, allowing him to resign and return home to mourn his father.
Also resigning from his official position and returning home to mourn his father was Fu Lianxin, who also worked in the Hanlin Academy, because Fu Lianxin's grandfather, Old Master Fu, had also passed away.
The imperial court stipulated that when an official's immediate family member died, he or she was required to resign and return home to observe a period of mourning for 27 months, a total of two years and three months. During this period, they were required to wear coarse clothing and eat vegetarian food, and were prohibited from drinking alcohol, getting married, or engaging in any other forms of entertainment. Violations of these rules could result in dismissal from office or even exile.
However, if the emperor remembers you and finds a reason to call you back to work, you can end the mourning period early.
After all, in this era, no matter how important parents or elders are, they are not greater than the emperor.
During the national mourning period, it was not appropriate to gather for drinking. So on the day he left the Hanlin Academy, Lu Mingfei only invited Zhang Lingxuan and Fu Lianxin to a restaurant outside for dinner.
Now people are not allowed to drink alcohol and eat meat, so when they eat, all the dishes they order are vegetarian and they drink tea.
Lu Mingfei could only pick up the tea in front of him and toast Fu Lianxin with it: "Today I will use tea instead of wine to toast Brother Fu. Thank you for taking care of me all these days."
"Brother Lu, you're welcome." Fu Lianxin also picked up the teacup and looked at Lu Mingfei and said.
Zhang Lingxuan on this side also picked up the teacup, gestured to the two of them, and drank the tea in the cup.
Although they were drinking tea, the three of them could taste the flavor of alcohol.
They spent more than an hour on the meal, and when they came out of the restaurant, there were few people on the street.
The three of them said goodbye to each other and were about to get on the carriage to receive their own carriage. Fu Lianxin paused and turned back to whisper in Lu Mingfei's ear: "Now is the time when the court needs people. I believe that His Majesty will remember us soon. You should just wait for news at home."
Lu Mingfei immediately understood what Fu Lianxin meant. He glanced at Fu Lianxin, met his gaze, smiled, nodded, and said, "Thank you, Brother Fu, for the reminder."
Fu Lianxin nodded slightly to Lu Mingfei, then walked towards the carriage that was waiting for him, got on and left.
After watching Fu Lianxin's carriage leave, Lu Mingfei called Zhang Lingxuan to his carriage and said to the driver outside, "Let's go, go slowly."
"Yes." The driver outside responded, grabbed the reins and whipped the horse's butt, and the horse started pulling the cart.
Listening to the sound of wheels turning outside, Lu Mingfei looked at his friend sitting in front of him, slowly exhaled, and then said to Zhang Lingxuan: "I will not be in the Hanlin Academy from now on. You are alone over there, so be careful about everything."
"Okay, I know." Zhang Lingxuan said.
"When you get the approval, remember to send someone to deliver a message to me." Lu Mingfei was referring to Zhang Lingxuan's application for a local official position. Zhang Lingxuan had submitted his application some time ago, but the Ministry of Personnel had not yet approved it.
They could understand this. The palace examination had only been over for less than half a year, and there were still many newly minted scholars in Kyoto waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to assign them official positions. It was normal for those who had been doing well in the Hanlin Academy to join in the fun at the Ministry of Personnel, who were also overwhelmed with the arrangements.
In fact, the more important reason is that they have no power or connections behind them to help them, so the Ministry of Personnel will delay the matter as much as possible and ignore it. After all, there are many more people ahead of them who have more connections than them and are still queuing up.
Therefore, if they continued to wait for news in the Hanlin Academy, they didn’t know how long they would have to wait.
Just now, when they were having dinner with Fu Lianxin, Lu Mingfei mentioned Zhang Lingxuan's situation to Fu Lianxin. Fu Lianxin agreed to help them without any hesitation. They all knew that with Fu Lianxin's help, Zhang Lingxuan's approval should be available soon.
What Fu Lianxin had said to him before he left also confirmed his previous suspicions. Fu Lianxin was the Third Prince, the one currently sitting on the throne. Therefore, with Fu Lianxin's help, Zhang Lingxuan's assignment was a sure thing, and the place he was going to shouldn't be too bad.
Hearing this, Zhang Lingxuan said, "I'll go and tell you in person when the time comes."
"Thank you very much for what happened today." Zhang Lingxuan was talking about how Lu Mingfei came forward today to help him find Fu Lianxin for help.
"Between you and me, there's no need for such words as thank you or not. I just hope that no matter where you become an official, you won't go against the original purpose of our official duties."
"It's natural."
There was determination in the eyes of the two people as they looked at each other.
When they were studying, they talked about becoming officials in the future. They wanted to be good officials who worked for the people and spoke for them.
[I hope you won't forget what we said together!] Lu Mingfei smiled. He was willing to believe this friend. He also hoped that if his close friends and classmates from the Imperial College all entered the government in the future, they would all become good officials, rather than corrupt officials who were greedy for money and lustful.
Putting away the smile on his face, Lu Mingfei asked, "Does Zhuoran agree to go with you?"
Speaking of this, Zhang Lingxuan told Lu Mingfei about his thoughts: "He actually said he wanted to go with me."
"However, after Your Majesty ascends the throne, the court may hold an imperial examination. I want him to wait and see in Kyoto Prefecture. If the court holds an imperial examination, he can take the exam and won't have to follow me around."
Hearing this, Lu Mingfei showed a thoughtful expression on his face, shook his head, and said to Zhang Lingxuan: "No, let him go with you."
"Why?"
"I have a feeling that this Enke exam might not be able to be held."
Zhang Lingxuan looked straight at Lu Mingfei. When their eyes met, he saw the seriousness in Lu Mingfei's eyes, and then he asked, "Do you know something?"
"I don't know. I just have a hunch." Lu Mingfei turned sideways, lifted the car window curtain and looked out.
The street was deserted, even carriages and sedan chairs were rare. In the past, there were still vendors selling late-night snacks on this street, but since the incident that night, there have been no vendors selling anything on this street at night.
Even the doors of the shops on the street no longer had lanterns lit like they used to.
If it weren't for the moonlight pouring down, the whole street would have been pitch black.
Nowadays, not only is the city quiet at night, but there are also fewer vendors and pedestrians on the streets during the day, and it is no longer as bustling as before.
Lu Mingfei looked at the street outside and said to Zhang Lingxuan, "You should have noticed that since the Hu soldiers entered the city that night, the entire Jingdu Prefecture has become quite quiet. This month is usually the busiest time for Jingdu Prefecture, but this year many caravans have left Jingdu Prefecture, and fewer have come to Jingdu Prefecture. There aren't many caravans coming to our area."
Zhang Lingxuan's family is in business, so he knew about the changes in Kyoto Prefecture.
After lowering the curtain, Lu Mingfei turned around and said to Zhang Lingxuan, "While you are still in Kyoto Prefecture, you should make some arrangements for your family."
"Okay, I understand." Zhang Lingxuan nodded.
Their carriage did not move fast along the way.
When they reached the intersection, Zhang Lingxuan got out of Lu Mingfei's carriage, got on his own carriage, and went home.
***
After Zhang Lingxuan left, the carriage that Lu Mingfei was riding in continued to move forward and stopped at the gate of their courtyard.
"Sir, we're here."
"Um."
Hearing the reminder outside, he got out of the carriage.
The people in the yard heard them coming back and opened the door to let them in.
A month ago, his father and mother returned to the village with his younger brother and other people. So many people had died in the village this time, including his grandparents, his uncle, his aunt, and several cousins, nephews, and nieces. His father and mother had to go back to handle the funeral for their family and other relatives in the village.
His adoptive father and mother took their child and the servants to live near their workshop instead of staying in the city.
Their braised food shop, his adoptive father's pancake shop, and all the shops jointly opened by the two families have been closed for some time and are not in business.
Nowadays, food, oil and salt are too expensive in the city. Even if they open a shop to do business, the cost will increase and they have to sell their products at a very high price to make back the cost. Ordinary diners who don’t make much money can’t afford to eat in their shop.
Moreover, during the national mourning period, all restaurants and hotels were not allowed to sell alcohol or meat, and street vendors were not allowed to sell any meat, so even if someone wanted to eat meat, they had no place to buy it even if they had money.
Since he couldn't do business, he simply asked his family to take everyone back home to avoid the chaos in Kyoto Prefecture. The late emperor had just passed away, and during this period of national mourning, the new emperor hadn't had the time to deal with the factions and officials in the court. When the late emperor had time, he would definitely settle accounts with those people.
Now that his resignation has been approved, Lu Mingfei will leave Kyoto Prefecture in two days. He plans to go back to the countryside to visit his parents and family first. After making some arrangements, he will go to Beijun to meet up with Zhao Lang.
However, Fu Lianxin's reminder to him before he left today did remind him of one thing, that is, if the emperor suddenly remembered him and sent someone to the village to summon him to the palace, it would be troublesome if he couldn't find his person.
"What should I do?" Lu Mingfei sat on the chair in the study, one hand touching his chin, thinking about this matter in his mind.
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