310, note
310, note
"Father, godfather."
"Mingfei, you're back. Come and have dinner. We were just saying that you would definitely come back here."
Seeing his father and adoptive father waiting for him in the backyard, Lu Mingfei was not surprised at all. Hearing this, he smiled and nodded, then walked towards the two fathers.
There is a hot pot on the table and the dishes are ready.
The three of them sat around the table, poured the meat in to cook, and when it was cooked they took it out and ate it, chatting while they ate.
"Did your visit to the Ministry of Justice go smoothly today?" Lu Qingfeng took a spoonful of meat and put half of it into his adopted son's bowl.
"Father and father, you two should eat too." Lu Mingfei nodded, hummed, and said, "It went quite smoothly. The Minister was very nice to me."
"Oh, that's good." Lu Qingfeng felt relieved.
"Will you go back to the Hanlin Academy in the future?" Lu Youtian asked.
"Not for now, there's nothing going on over there." Lu Mingfei picked up a piece of meat with the chopsticks in his hand and put it into his mouth. Thinking of the days when he worked in the Hanlin Academy, it seemed like a long time had passed.
In fact, he was currently serving as a temporary replacement for the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and his real position was still in the Hanlin Academy. Therefore, when he took up his post at the Ministry of Justice, he did not go through the formalities for promotion at the Ministry of Personnel, so in principle, he was still only a minor official of the sixth rank.
But who made the emperor honor him?
However, it was unknown how long this favor from the emperor would last. Lu Mingfei knew in his heart that things gained through the favor of others would eventually be returned, and only things gained through one's own ability would be one's own.
Thinking of this, he mentioned to his two fathers: "Father, foster father, I am only taking over the position in the Ministry of Justice temporarily. I may have to go back to the Hanlin Academy someday."
"Yes, yes, we understand." Lu Qingfeng also knew the current situation and knew that he should be low-key in his life and work.
Lu Youtian also nodded.
Thinking that his father and adoptive father had been in Kyoto for a long time, they must be very familiar with what was happening in the city. Lu Mingfei asked, "After His Majesty ascended the throne, he ordered the arrest of many people. Do you know about this?"
"I know. We've seen quite a few Hui officials arresting people."
Seeing his adopted son asking about it, Lu Qingfeng talked about some of the things that had happened in Kyoto City in the past few months. "After the deposed emperor ascended the throne, many officials were arrested."
"After the new emperor ascended the throne, he ordered the arrest of many people."
"Hey, being an official isn't that easy."
When he said the last sentence, Lu Qingfeng looked at his adopted son and suddenly felt that the official uniform his adopted son was not easy to wear.
Hearing this, Lu Youtian looked as if he wanted to say something but he didn't say anything in the end.
"What about the Taifu Mansion? Do you know anything about the Taifu Mansion?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Why are you asking about the Taifu Mansion? I remember you and the Taifu's grandson, right? You two were both Jinshi in the same exam, you were the top scorer and he was the second place?" Lu Qingfeng realized that his adopted son asked so many questions just because he wanted to ask about the Taifu Mansion.
He still had some impression of his adopted son's participation in the imperial examination. He remembered that the grandson of the Taifu family was the most popular candidate for the top scholar, but in the end it was their child who won the top spot.
"Well, he and I were both admitted to the imperial examination in the same year, and we even worked together in the Hanlin Academy for several months." Lu Mingfei did not hide this fact, and even the new emperor knew it.
However, since the new emperor appointed him, he must have investigated the relationship between him and Fu Lianxin and knew that he had no deep involvement with the deposed emperor, so he promoted him to temporarily replace the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
Seeing his adopted son's expression, Lu Qingfeng was completely confused. He lowered his voice and asked, "Ming Fei, you're not thinking...?"
"His servant came to me and asked me to help their young master. I used to have a good relationship with Fu Lianxin, and he helped me many times. Now that he is in trouble, it is my responsibility to help him back." Lu Mingfei also lowered his voice and said.
Although there were only a few of them here, he was also worried that there might be eavesdroppers. Who knew if the emperor would send someone to keep an eye on him.
"You have to think carefully. The people and things related to the deposed emperor are not so easy to help now." Lu Qingfeng reminded.
Lu Youtian didn't say anything, but the expression on his face also conveyed this meaning.
Seeing the worry on the two fathers' faces, Lu Mingfei understood what they were worried about. "Don't worry, I will do my best."
Lu Mingfei also knew that he was not alone and had family and relatives behind him. If something happened to him, his relatives and friends would be implicated.
So, regarding Fu Lianxin's matter, he could only do what he could. But being able to help a little is always better than not helping at all, isn't it?
As a human being, you must be true to your conscience.
After having dinner with his two fathers that night, Lu Mingfei did not go back to the courtyard on Chunxi Road directly. Instead, he went to his master's place and chatted with his teacher for a while, talking about a lot of things in Kyoto Prefecture, before returning to the courtyard to rest.
***
After just a few hours of sleep, I have to get up and attend the morning court.
Although he was temporarily filling in as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Lu Mingfei was still aware of his actual official rank. Therefore, during the morning court session, he still stood at the back and did not dare to stand in front.
This is to prevent him from standing in front and irritating some officials.
After all, among a group of old men, a young and handsome official like him is quite eye-catching.
It is better to keep a low profile at this time.
He still understands the principle of shooting down the first bird to stick its head out.
Perhaps it was because of his low profile that the officials ignored him. Even Prime Minister Wan, whom he was worried about, did not send anyone to look for him.
But how could such a big shot set his sights on such an insignificant person like him? Lu Mingfei felt that he was not worthy of the Prime Minister's attention at the moment, so he ignored him.
But if he shows up one day, someone will crush him to death without Prime Minister Wan having to do it himself.
After the morning court session ended, he returned to the Ministry of Justice to continue familiarizing himself with general affairs.
Working in the Ministry of Justice has one convenience, which is that it is quite easy to understand things related to the case of the deposed emperor, because the Ministry of Justice is also responsible for some cases of officials related to the deposed emperor.
It took him two days to figure out the officials involved in the case of deposing the emperor.
Those who were arrested have not been convicted yet, they have just been thrown into jail.
The judicial system in Kyoto Prefecture consisted of three major agencies: the Ministry of Justice, where he was currently working, the Dali Temple, and the Fengtian Prefecture Yamen. This time, there were so many people arrested that a single prison couldn't hold them all, so they were scattered across the prisons of these three major judicial departments.
But the problem was that Fu Lianxin was imprisoned in the Dali Temple prison. It would be difficult for him to meet Fu Lianxin without attracting anyone's attention.
Moreover, he now has no idea how many of the people in the Dali Temple are Prime Minister Wan's men and how many are the emperor's men.
The only thing to be thankful for now is that too many officials have been arrested in the past six months, and the major government offices are simply unable to review so many officials and cases, so many arrested officials have not even entered the review process.
The fact that the cases of these officials have not entered the review and judgment process means that there is still room for improvement in these cases.
However, the emperor was keeping an eye on matters related to the deposed emperor, so it was not easy to change his mind. After all, the emperor had asked him to come to the Ministry of Justice to keep an eye on the officials related to the deposed emperor and find out his whereabouts.
If he dared to acquit these officials, he would be the next one to go to jail.
The reason is ready-made - he is a member of the party that wants to depose the emperor.
"So what should I do now to meet Fu Lianxin without attracting the emperor's attention?" Lu Mingfei rubbed his chin with his fingers, thinking about this question in his mind.
However, it is not convenient for him to meet the person, but he can still ask others to send some clothes and food to Fu Lianxin.
***
In the evening of that day, Fu Lianxin in prison received clothes and food sent to him by the jailer.
There was a dessert among the food. He remembered that a long time ago he invited Lu Mingfei to a restaurant for tea. Lu Mingfei ate the peach blossom pastry and said he liked it.
When he saw this dessert, he knew who had sent it to him.
He found a piece of paper under the peach blossom pastry, with only four words written on it - [Live well].
There wasn't even a signature on the note, but he still recognized it as Lu Mingfei's handwriting.
When he saw the note, his tears fell uncontrollably.
When he was arrested, he didn't cry. When the girl he loved most wrote a farewell letter to break off the engagement with him, he didn't cry either. But when he saw the four words on the note, he couldn't help crying.
No one knew that this period was the darkest time in his life.
After he got into trouble, all his close friends distanced themselves from him. No one wanted to get involved in his affairs, let alone lend him a hand or help him at this time.
Even the girl who grew up with him, was his childhood sweetheart, and was engaged to him, asked her family to send him a farewell letter the day after he was imprisoned. The letter begged him to spare her and her family, and said that her family had chosen another marriage for her and she would get married soon.
When he received this farewell letter, he felt more angry and painful about being betrayed.
But when he received the things and the note sent by Lu Mingfei, an inexplicable feeling ignited in his heart. He wanted to live, to live well...
"Lu Mingfei, will you help me?" Holding the note, Fu Lianxin looked at the only window with light and muttered to himself.
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