Chapter 257: Begging for mercy
"Lord Su." Prince Cheng called out to the person who was about to leave.
"Your Highness." Su Fengzhang slowed down his pace and walked out of the palace gate with him.
Prince Cheng smiled and said, "I know you've been very busy lately, but there's no need to rush."
Su Fengzhang said helplessly: "It's good that Your Majesty knows. It would be even better if you could spare some time to help."
Prince Cheng laughed heartily and said, "My unequivocal support for you is the greatest help. Besides, with Lord Yun here, you two are working together so well that I can't help even if I want to."
After hearing this, Su Fengzhang couldn't help but look at him again, secretly thinking about the meaning behind these words.
Prince Cheng then said, "Whatever you want to do, just go for it."
Su Fengzhang couldn't help but laugh. He whispered, "If it weren't for Your Highness's strong support, my plan wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Ultimately, Your Highness is the one who made the greatest contribution."
Prince Cheng sighed and said, "You are the ones taking the risk. You are the ones who may be cursed for eternity. If you are not afraid, then why should I be afraid?"
"If everything goes well, we will be the ones to go down in history," Su Fengzhang said with a smile. "Your Highness took the risk, but in the end, it gained nothing."
Prince Cheng said, "How can it be without benefit? Seeing that day is my lifelong wish."
After saying this, he patted Su Fengzhang on the shoulder and added, "But after this, I'm afraid you'll offend a lot of people, even those around you... Sir Su, you must be prepared."
Su Fengzhang had been prepared for this and simply said, "Those with different ideals cannot work together. We each follow our own aspirations."
As a result, the next day after he said this, someone came to plead for mercy.
Looking at the hesitant He Tang, Su Fengzhang sighed helplessly, poured him a cup of tea, and before he could speak, he said, "Brother He, how many years have we known each other?"
He Tang took a sip of water and seemed to calm down a little. "It's been almost five years now. I still vaguely remember the first time I met Brother Su at the Scholars' Building. Back then, I felt that Brother Su was extraordinary and wanted to get to know him. That's why I acted so abruptly later."
Su Fengzhang nodded and said, "When I first saw you waving from upstairs, I thought it was quite interesting. We eventually became acquainted. While we can't say we're close friends, we do share similar ideals."
He Tang's hand holding the teacup trembled.
He said self-deprecatingly, "Brother Su, why do you have to praise me like this? I've never had any big ambitions. All I want in my life is to paint my own beautiful women. I'm usually a person without any ideas. If it weren't for the emperor's love for beautiful women, I would have been depressed by now."
Su Fengzhang said, "Brother He likes paintings of beauties, is willing to paint them, and spends time studying them. This is something that people admire and envy."
He Tang frowned and smiled bitterly, "You're the only one who would say that. Everyone says I'm not doing my job properly. I'm just a painter favored by the Emperor. Even my family despises me for being useless."
Su Fengzhang said with a smile: "They say that there are top talents in every field, so why should you underestimate yourself, brother?"
"Ordinary people think that being literate and serving as an official are serious matters, as if the higher the official position, the more honor one can bring to their family. However, from ancient times to the present, how many high-ranking officials can be remembered?"
He Tang shook his head and said, "It would be great if I could be above everyone else, but unfortunately, I've never had any big ambitions. Every day, I just think about painting beauties, and I get a headache when I have to deal with government affairs."
Su Fengzhang took advantage of the situation and said, "That's why we should let the right people do the right things. Otherwise, officials won't be happy and government affairs will be in chaos."
He Tang opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment. He had clearly come to beg for mercy, but now he unknowingly stood on Su Fengzhang's side. It was also true that he had always been a soft-hearted person and was easily influenced by the people around him.
Su Fengzhang continued, "Brother He, wave away the fog, isn't that the case?"
"Those who are good at painting should focus on painting, those who are good at fighting should go to war, and those who are good at general affairs should handle financial matters." Su Fengzhang's voice was a bit seductive. "The saints said to teach students according to their aptitude. Then when entering the court as an official, shouldn't we position ourselves according to our aptitude?"
"Everyone should do what they are good at, which can not only unleash their potential, but also prevent others from usurping their power. This is the real intention of Su's reform."
He Tang couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, it's indeed a great thing."
After he finished speaking, he choked for a moment and continued, "Brother Su, to be honest, I came here to ask for mercy from you."
"Brother Su, I know you're the Minister of Personnel now, and you have to be fair in your work, but we're all from the south. Have you forgotten how those northerners made things difficult for us back in the Scholars' Building?"
"Let's not talk about others, it's that Lin Yuye who is always looking for trouble and making things difficult for everyone. His bad temper disgusts everyone. Now he has offended many people in the Ministry of Justice and has not been able to get promoted for many years."
"On the other hand, Bai Yu and the others have always had a good relationship with us, and they are not the kind of people who would commit corruption or abuse the law. However, after hearing about the reform, they are afraid of being targeted and are a little nervous."
The smile on Su Fengzhang's lips slowly disappeared, and he let out a long sigh.
He sighed, and He Tang became nervous first, and asked quickly: "Brother Su, did I embarrass you?"
Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "It's not because of this. I just thought about how my friends were terrified when I proposed the Ten Rules for Official Administration, but they still refused to come to my house and supported me silently. I am grateful to them."
He Tang's face changed, and he heard Su Fengzhang ask: "Brother He, I guess you came here without permission today, and Brother Bai and the others stopped you from coming."
He Tang heard this and said, "How do you know? I, I really did make the decision on my own. Seeing Brother Bai and the others were worried, I thought we were friends and there was nothing to hide, so I came here."
Su Fengzhang patted his shoulder and sighed, "We are all good friends. I know you all well."
"Brother He, you can let them rest assured. They have always been upright and honest. Even if the civil service reforms are carried out a thousand times, it will not be a problem for them. Now that they are silently supporting us, I will remember this."
He Tang came out of Su's house in a daze, and only came to his senses after walking a long way.
He is not a fool if he can pass the imperial examination. He was fooled into entering the Su family before, and now he is fooled out. Now he has reacted and figured out what happened.
He Tang laughed at himself, thinking that he thought of himself as an important person, but he didn't expect that Bai Yu and the others were just using him. Su Fengzhang tried to talk to him nicely, but he didn't give in at all.
But this cannot be blamed on Su Fengzhang. After all, he was the one who forced others to do things against their will.
He Tang sighed deeply and shook his head. This kind of reform was good. He didn't have to worry about those things anymore. Maybe he could live longer. It was a pity that he didn't know if anyone liked his painting of beauty.
Everyone knows that Lord Su, the Minister of Personnel, looks gentle, but is actually a smiling fox. His ruthless and impartial attitude is almost the same as Yun Qian's. However, after the layoffs officially began, there was still an endless stream of people coming to him to plead for mercy.
However, Su Fengzhang looked generous and amiable, and he always welcomed people in and politely sent them out, but he never gave up on the things he had insisted on.
On the contrary, everyone who had entered the Su family was convinced by him and became his supporters after leaving.
When Xiao Hanlin appeared at Su Fengzhang's door, he was extremely hesitant.
He hesitated to move forward. If the Su family members had not noticed his presence and welcomed him in politely, he might have turned back halfway.
Thinking of the advice given by others before, Xiao Hanlin still felt overwhelmed.
"Sir Xiao, you and Su Fengzhang are from the same hometown, and you were the chief examiner for his provincial examination. You must have some kinship, right?"
"Yes, you were his superior in the Imperial Academy, and you took good care of him back then."
"I heard that Su Fengzhang was particularly respectful to his teachers. Mr. Wen, who taught him in his early years, was only a Juren, but Su Fengzhang even visited him when he returned to Qingzhou. This shows that he is also a person who respects teachers."
No matter how much he tried to persuade her, Xiao Hanlin finally couldn't bear it and came, but he regretted it as soon as he entered the door. Others didn't know, but he himself still remembered what happened that year.
When he actually met Su Fengzhang and saw that he had a polite smile on his face, Xiao Hanlin breathed a sigh of relief. He secretly comforted himself that so many years had passed and that woman had been dealt with long ago. Su Fengzhang must be unaware of what he had done.
"Master Xiao, please take a seat." Su Fengzhang personally poured him a cup of tea. "Try this year's new tea. It's not a famous tea, but it was brought here by a good friend of mine from Qingzhou."
Xiao Hanlin had no intention of drinking tea at the moment. He just took a sip and praised, "Good tea."
"Sir Su, I've taken the liberty of coming here today to discuss the matters concerning the Xuanwu Ceremony..."
"Master Xiao, there's no need to rush. Let's sit down and talk slowly." Su Fengzhang said with a smile, "Come to think of it, it's been a while since I last saw you, Master Xiao. When I first entered the Imperial Academy, you took great care of me, and I've always remembered that."
Xiao Hanlin's face was a little stiff, and he didn't know whether what Su Fengzhang said was true or false. However, Su Fengzhang's politeness made him feel relieved and relaxed a little.
The next moment, Su Fengzhang continued, "I and Lord Xiao also have a connection. When I took part in the provincial examination in Qingzhou, Lord Xiao was my deputy examiner. When I arrived in the capital, Lord Xiao was my superior."
"Now that I think about it, Su and Master Xiao are quite destined to be together."
Xiao Hanlin's heart skipped a beat, and the next moment he heard Su Fengzhang continue, "Sir Xiao, you are also from Qingzhou. Do you know a Tongzhi named Qian?"
Xiao Hanlin tightened his grip on the teacup and subconsciously denied, "No, I don't know him."
Su Fengzhang nodded and said, "It's better not to know him. Although this Lord Qian is only a Tongzhi, he relies on his origins in Qingzhou and his status as a local tyrant to commit fraud under Lord Fang's nose. Now that many inappropriate things have been discovered, he's not only guilty this time, but he might also implicate others."
Xiao Hanlin's hands were shaking as he held the teacup.
Su Fengzhang seemed not to notice his loss of composure and continued, "The reputation of our Great Zhou court has been ruined by these people, and in the end it is the people who suffer. Such corrupt officials are hateful and should be killed. Sir Xiao, don't you agree?"
Xiao Hanlin didn't even dare to raise his head: "Yes, he deserves to be killed."
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "In fact, it was because he was too greedy. If he had retired and returned home at the beginning of the official rectification, it would have been difficult to track him down, and he could have had a good end."
Su Fengzhang looked up at Xiao Hanlin, patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you ask me, since you have entered the court as an official, you should work hard for the people. Otherwise, you should give up your position to avoid ending up with your head and body separated. Sir Xiao, do you think this is right?"
After Xiao Hanlin left, Su Arong couldn't help laughing and said, "Erlang, what did you say to this gentleman just now? He almost couldn't walk when he left."
Su Fengzhang smiled and shook his head without answering. In fact, many years had passed since the provincial examination. How could he possibly make a big fuss to investigate the matter again? It would do him no good at all. Xiao Hanlin was not worth it for him to do that.
However, using this incident to scare people and make Xiao Hanlin and the people behind him give up is a good idea.
When leaving the Su family, Xiao Hanlin's hands and feet felt weak.
If before entering the door he still had the lucky idea that Su Fengzhang didn't know what happened that year, then now he was 100% sure that Su Fengzhang not only knew, but had known it for a long time.
He had known it for a long time, but he had kept it to himself all these years. Was he just waiting for this day?
The more Xiao Hanlin thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case. He felt that Su Fengzhang was very scheming. He knew that he had cheated but he could still endure it for many years. It shows how cunning he is.
Now with Prince Cheng and the Yun family standing behind him, how could he have the courage to confront them head-on?
After returning home, Xiao Hanlin tossed and turned, feeling more and more that his life was in imminent danger. He was reluctant to give up his wealth and glory, but he was even more reluctant to give up his life. The words "beheading" scared him to death.
So the next day, Xiao Hanlin gritted his teeth and submitted a memorial to retire and return home. He even secretly persuaded those who had instigated him to beg for mercy to leave quickly if they knew they were not clean, so as to avoid suffering in the future.
Although Xiao Hanlin demonized Su Fengzhang invisibly, this publicity actually saved him a lot of trouble.
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The author has something to say: It’s almost November in a blink of an eye.
New article please collect~~
Still following the imperial examination route, if you don't study, you will die [Imperial Examination]
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