In the painted boat.

"Excuse me, Zheng Guancha. I shouted out your real name in excitement." Xu Fan said with a fake apologetic smile, "Please go ahead. I won't force you to stay."

Zheng Yuanshao felt as if he was coiled by a poisonous snake. He was filled with fear and dared not move.

"Why, have you changed your mind again?" Xu Ying also laughed strangely and said, "Then come in and have another drink."

"Alas..." Zheng Yuanshao sighed exhaustedly and walked back to his seat like a zombie.

"This name...where did you hear it from?" He asked woodenly, looking into the void.

"Haha." Xu Fan played with the jade wine glass in his hand and said in a cat-playing-with-a-mouse tone:

"That's how things are in this world. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it. You think you did it perfectly, but in fact, it has been seen clearly by others for a long time. It's just that the time has not come yet, so it has not been exposed."

"Ah..." Zheng Yuanshao had no hope this time. His knees went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

On the stage, Fahai sang in a sob voice: "Look at the Buddhist temple, it is peaceful and quiet, surrounded by auspicious clouds, the sound of bells and chimes drives away ghosts and phantoms..."

Xu Xian hesitated and said, "Is this becoming a monk..."

Fahai shouted: "If you still hesitate, she will show her ferocious side!"

Xu Ying was actually confused as well, and asked her elder brother, "What is the relationship between Zheng Guancha and Zheng Yuanzhao?"

Xu Fan waved his hand, the music stopped abruptly, and the troupe and the female historian retreated silently.

He then smiled and said:

"Zheng Guancha's real name was Zheng Yuanzhao. He had been to school, but unfortunately, studying was a matter of talent. His cousin Zheng Yuanshao, who went to school with him, had already passed the imperial examination, but he never passed. Later, he had to give up the idea of ​​fame and fortune and found a private school to study."

"Twenty years ago, Zheng Yuanshao died suddenly of an acute illness before going to Beijing for the imperial examination. Zheng Yuanzhao suddenly had an idea and saw a chance to make a comeback. He persuaded his aunt with his eloquence, and went to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination under the name of Zheng Yuanshao. As a result, he was lucky and was selected right away."

"Fuck, we can play like this?" Xu Ying was stunned.

Actually, there is nothing to be surprised about. Because all identity documents of the Ming Dynasty did not have photos or even portraits, only the person's appearance was noted in words, such as "medium body, white face and no beard", "tall body, yellow face and curly beard", etc., so even if there was no blood relationship, it was possible to pass it off, let alone cousins.

Of course, officials were promoted through examinations, and so many of your peers and teachers knew you. The Ming Dynasty was a society of personal relationships, and after becoming an official, relatives and friends flocked to you, so it was almost impossible for a fake person to avoid being exposed.

Zheng Yuanzhao was able to get away with it because he looked like Zheng Yuanshao and he bribed Zheng Yuanshao's mother. Also, his relatives and friends would naturally help him conceal the truth in order to gain some benefits.

Furthermore, Zheng Yuanshao was a juren and had no fellow jinshi. When he was sent to serve as an official in other places, he would not meet fellow juren from the same province, so the risk of being exposed was naturally greatly reduced.

Ten or twenty years have passed like this, and he himself can't even remember who 'Zheng Yuanzhao' is, let alone be recognized by others.

But how could Xu Fan reveal it in one sentence?

Zheng Yuanshao couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, and Xu Fan naturally wouldn't tell him.

The unknown is the best breeding ground for fear. He wanted to make Zheng Yuanshao fall into boundless fear so that he could control him at will.

"Zheng Guancha has served as an official for my brother for twenty years and has always been known as an 'honest and capable official' with a very outstanding reputation." He smiled and asked the pale-faced 'Zheng Yuanshao':

"But I'm curious. You're replacing your cousin as an official. You're in danger of being exposed at any time. Why don't you enjoy yourself while you can? Why do you have to work so hard?"

"Hehe..." Zheng Yuanzhao... let's call him Zheng Yuanshao, smiled sadly and said:

"You young men who have been able to hold high positions by relying on the protection of your ancestors will never understand the hardships of us, the lower-class scholars."

"I started learning at the age of six. I didn't study very hard, but I studied day and night for 20 years without slacking off for a single day." Zheng Yuanshao recalled with a bitter face:

"My parents spent almost all their money to support my studies, even selling the dowry they had prepared for my younger sister. But what did they get in return? I failed the exam again and again. I was unwilling to accept this, but I couldn't bear to see my whole family suffer because of me, so I had to leave the county school and teach in a private school..."

"I taught a bunch of ignorant kids in the countryside for ten years. You have no idea how I survived those ten years. If it weren't for my mother who needed to be taken care of, I would have jumped into the river and ended it all." As he said this, he wiped away the tears that he couldn't help but shed, and said with a strange smile:

"At this time, an opportunity arises, an opportunity that allows me to put all my life's learning into practice. Of course I have to seize it!"

Zheng Yuanshao let out a long breath, and his scattered gaze focused again.

"I replaced my cousin as an official, not for fame and fortune, but to prove that even though I, Zheng Yuanzhao, didn't pass the imperial examination, I can still be a good official! And better than those who are in the right positions!"

"I want to prove that it's not that I can't do it, I just lack an opportunity! It's this Ming Dynasty that won't give me a chance!!"

Zheng Yuanshao was completely immersed in his own emotions, and his face became ferocious.

Xu Fan, who was always around Lord Xu, was used to seeing all kinds of people.

He picked up the teacup, skimmed off the foam and said, "Observer Zheng, you should save this for later discussion with the Censorate."

“No, no!” Zheng Yuanshao jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on, “I can’t let people know that I’m not myself. Then everything I’ve done in the past twenty years will become a laughing stock!”

"No, I absolutely cannot..." Zheng Yuanshao's face was filled with expressions of fear, despair, and unwillingness.

In the end, he only had a begging look on his face, and he lowered his head dejectedly and said: "I really can't be beaten back to my original form. That would be more terrible than killing me."

"How about compared to the kindness of Lin Zhongcheng?" Xu Fan asked sinisterly.

"Nothing can compare to it. Nothing is more important than my official career over the past twenty years..." Zheng Yuanshao was shattered and exhausted, without any dignity or integrity left.

"Don't worry, brother. Your twenty years as an official have not been in vain." Xu Fan handed the teacup to Zheng Yuanshao and looked down at him.

Zheng Yuanshao looked at the bowl of tea, raised his hands and put them down again, hesitated for a long time, and finally took the bowl of tea tremblingly.

Then, under the gaze of the Xu family's brothers, he drank it with tears in his eyes.

"Hahaha, you are mine from now on. With the protection of the Xu family, you will be indestructible. You can be a governor or a minister in the future."

Seeing Zheng Yuanshao lower his head and obey, Xu Fan laughed triumphantly for a while before helping him up from the ground and said:

"Now I will give you your first task. Cooperate with us to mess up the land survey."

As he spoke, Xu Fan took out a meeting ticket from his sleeve and handed it to Zheng Yuanshao.

"Use it to deal with the people below."

The amount on the ticket was "five thousand taels", which was half less than the previous one.

ps. The first of three consecutive updates, please give me your monthly votes!