Chapter 89 Seeking the Position of County Magistrate
In mid-April, as spring warmed and flowers bloomed, the Emperor returned to the capital, and Du Min also set foot on the land of Chang'an. He was still an official in the Ministry of Rites, and before going home, he made a trip to the Ministry of Rites.
“Scholar Du, the Vice Minister requests your presence. He has something to discuss with you upon his return.” Vice Minister Zheng’s servant found Du Min and relayed his master’s order.
"Okay, I understand." Du Min agreed and went to wait outside the Ministry of Rites.
An hour passed before Zheng, the Vice Minister, emerged from the palace, looking travel-worn. Upon seeing Du Min, he said, "Come in with me."
Du Min followed Zheng Shilang into his duty room. As soon as they entered, servants immediately brought them tea and snacks.
"Have something to eat." Minister Zheng was also hungry. He didn't have time to say more and first filled his stomach with tea and snacks.
Du Min glanced at him twice, then sat down to eat and drink with him.
"My lord, I'm back." The servant who had spoken to Du Min an hour ago appeared again.
Minister Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "Go on."
Then he said to Du Min, "You don't need to avoid it, listen along with me."
Du Min should be right.
"I've inquired, and everything is normal at the academy; no one is causing trouble. After we left last year, the academy took in fifty more apprentices, with an apprenticeship fee of twenty strings of cash. Master Meng promised they would graduate in a year, but he released these fifty apprentices three months early to open their own shops. Now, there are paper-making shops in Jing County and nearby Xianyang County, Shiping County, and Weinan County, and these people are also taking on apprentices." The servant recounted the information he had gathered. "By the way, after opening their shops, these people also received a ten-string-of-cash congratulatory gift from the academy based on their shop deeds."
Vice Minister Zheng looked at Du Min, "What do you think?"
Du Min was unsure of Vice Minister Zheng's thoughts, so he cautiously replied, "I am unsure about other things, but the only thing I am certain of is that my second sister-in-law is eager to show you the answers she has written this year. I just don't know if you are satisfied."
Vice Minister Zheng chuckled lightly. He didn't answer, but instead asked with certainty, "Are you planning to participate in the imperial examination in half a month?"
"Yes, I originally planned to resign from my post with Doctor Cui in a couple of days," Du Min said without hiding anything.
“There’s no need to resign from your official post; you can take the exam as a temporary official from the Ministry of Rites,” said Vice Minister Zheng.
Du Min hesitated for a few moments, then asked, "What impact will it have on my application for the special imperial examination as an official of the Ministry of Rites? My lord, to be honest, I want to serve as a county magistrate in a county outside of Chang'an and Luoyang."
He had inquired with Prefect Yin and learned that those who excelled in the special imperial examinations could obtain the highest rank (甲科), and even commoners could be directly appointed as county magistrates or proofreaders. He had already passed the imperial examinations, obtained the highest rank, and had experience as a minor official in the Ministry of Rites; he was ninety percent certain he would be appointed magistrate of Heqing County. Much of Beiman Mountain lay within Heqing County, where the custom of elaborate burials was prevalent. While difficult to govern, this also meant fertile ground for achieving merit.
Zheng Shilang's face darkened. "Go to another county to be a county magistrate? What did you think of this? With your reputation, you could easily stand out in the special imperial examination. Stay in the capital as a proofreader. In two or three years, I can transfer you to the Ministry of Rites. I'll reserve a vacancy for you as an assistant director in the Ministry of Rites."
Du Min was overwhelmed with joy in an instant; he was ecstatic. But a thought still held his mouth back. He remembered Meng Qing's plan; from her perspective, if he stayed in Beijing, all her career plans would be ruined.
"My lord, if I may be so bold as to inquire, given my background, is it difficult for me to advance in the Ministry of Rites? Perhaps I'll end up like Lord Chen Mingzhang, still a sixth-rank official even in my forties or fifties?" Du Min asked shamelessly. The answer was already clear in his mind. Vice Minister Zheng, from the Zheng clan of Xingyang, became a fourth-rank vice minister at forty. Below him, the directors and assistant directors of the four departments of the Ministry of Rites were all quite old and had no opportunity to meet the emperor; they could only accumulate seniority. He saw no chance of promotion for himself; if he took that path, he would only be able to accumulate seniority.
"My lord, thank you for your kind offer, but I still wish to serve as a county magistrate outside the county, where I will have the opportunity to do real work." Du Min made his choice before Zheng Shilang could speak.
“You’re short-sighted. You’re not limited to the Ministry of Rites.” Vice Minister Zheng shook his head and advised, “If you’re a proofreader and work at the Hongwen Academy, Chongwen Academy, or the Secretariat, you’ll not only have access to the imperial archives but also to important officials of the court. If you’re appreciated, your career path will be easier than if you were to rise through the ranks from the local level.”
Du Min was tempted. "My lord, may I think about it some more?"
Vice Minister Zheng waved his hand, "Go down. You don't need to come to the Ministry of Rites for the next half month. Focus on preparing for the special imperial examination."
"Yes." Du Min withdrew, walking out of the Ministry of Rites with a dazed expression. He stood by the roadside, carefully considering his options. The path ahead was clear: if he were to become a local official, promotion would depend entirely on his own hard work, but his second sister-in-law might be able to lend him a hand; if he were to become a government official in the capital, he would have to rely on his cunning and scheming, and the only way to get promoted would be to gain the favor of important officials in the court, something his second sister-in-law couldn't help him with.
But did he possess the exceptional talent to be appreciated by high-ranking officials of the court? No, without Lord Chen's introduction, he would not have even been able to pass the provincial examination and become a Jinshi.
"Aren't you leaving yet? Curfew is almost here," Minister Zheng said, leading his servants out.
Du Min snapped out of his daze and ran quickly home.
The gates of the private school were wide open. Meng Qing, Du Li, and Wang Zhou stood outside looking at the alleyways on both sides. Suddenly, footsteps approached from the western alleyway, and the three of them turned their heads to look.
The footsteps drew closer, then slowed down. Wang Zhou asked anxiously, "Who is it? Is it Du Min?"
"How dare you! Call your third uncle by his full name!" Du Min's voice pierced through the night.
"We're home already, why aren't you running anymore?" Meng Qing asked. "Hurry up, the food's getting cold, we're just waiting for you."
"Why are you back so late?" Du Li asked, puzzled.
Du Min appeared before the three of them. He shoved the bundle into Du Li's arms, leaned against him, and wailed, "Second brother, I'm so tired, I've suffered so much."
“What’s suffering? It’s glorious. It’ll be written in the family genealogy and we can brag about it for generations.” Du Li mocked him, using his words as a pretext.
Du Min punched him.
Meng Qing laughed out loud, "Come on, let's go inside."
The four entered the room. Du Li pushed away the person slumped on top of him and then bolted the door shut.
Crossing the front yard to the back, Du Min smelled the aroma of food. He took a deep breath and asked, "Second Sister-in-law, are you determined to leave Chang'an?"
“Yes, paper-made funerary objects are no longer widely used in Chang’an. I want to find another place,” Meng Qing said.
Du Min let out a long breath, then took a deep breath of the aroma of the food. Thinking of the scene outside the door, he made a choice in his heart.
"You're talking about business as soon as you get back? Let's eat first. Did you eat out?" Du Li asked.
"No." Du Min walked into the kitchen. "What dishes did you make?"
"Stewed duck with sanle sauce, stewed mutton with red dates, water celery and egg soup, and congee," Meng Qing said. "They were all made by your second brother for you. He heard that the emperor had returned, so he went to the East Market to buy live ducks and fresh mutton."
Du Min looked incredulous, but inwardly he was extremely pleased.
Du Li felt uncomfortable, but he stubbornly said, "I did this for you and Wang Zhou."
Meng Qing let out a "heh," and lifted the lid of the pot to serve the dishes and rice.
"Wangzhou has grown quite a bit taller and thinner." Du Min patted Wangzhou's head and asked, "Do you still remember me this time?"
Wang Zhou nodded, and deliberately said, "I remember, your name is Du Min, you are my father's third brother, and also my third uncle."
Du Min found the words somewhat familiar. He thought for a moment and realized that when he returned to Wu County from Luoyang two years ago, Wang Zhou was herding geese on the riverbank, and he had said those words then.
"You little rascal," Du Min laughed, "you're already five years old, you've grown so fast."
"Let's eat," Meng Qing said.
Du Min took the bowl and chopsticks. After everyone else sat down, he picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, took the first bite, and praised, "My second brother's cooking skills have improved a lot. This duck stew is delicious."
"The new apprentice at the charity school taught me." This year, the charity school took in twenty more apprentices. One of them, an older woman, used to run a restaurant. After Du Li learned about this, she specially learned a few dishes from her.
"In your first letter last year, you mentioned feeling unwell due to the change in environment. Was it really that you were unwell?" Du Li sized up Du Min's figure. He was thin but muscular. If the two of them were to fight again, he probably wouldn't have much of an advantage.
"No, that's not it. I was afraid the courier would read my letter and say something wrong, so I wrote that I was suffering from water and soil incompatibility. You have no idea how much I suffered. I slept in a large dormitory with the soldiers on the boat. As soon as it got dark, the snoring in the whole room was louder than the croaking of frogs in a pond in early spring..." Du Min started to talk, pouring out his grievances, from the dining table to the bedroom door. If Du Li hadn't chased him away, he would have stayed outside their bedroom all night, peeking out and talking.
The next day, after waking up, Du Min began to talk again, starting with the emperor's departure from Luoyang to Mount Tai, and not until lunchtime that he mentioned the emperor presiding over the sacrificial altar at the foot of Mount Tai.
“I didn’t witness it myself, but I heard from the servants of those high-ranking officials that the paper offerings of Buddhist verses were lit by the saints themselves holding torches. When the flames burned, the paper was like glass, translucent, and the seven layers of characters stacked together looked thick, as if each character was flying into the air. Minister Zheng made a great impression in front of the two saints and received a reward. I think he’s going to be promoted,” Du Min said. “By the way, as soon as he returned to the capital, he arranged for his servants to inquire about the free school and found out that you had released fifty apprentices ahead of schedule to open a shop.”
"What did he say?" Meng Qing asked.
“He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t seem angry.” Du Min chose to conceal the content of his conversation with Minister Zheng.
"You're going to take the imperial examination, right? Can you take up a post in another place?" Meng Qing asked. "If you're not absolutely sure you'll pass, I can help you out."
“Those who pass the imperial examinations will be directly appointed by the Emperor without going through the Ministry of Personnel. I am the most famous among this year’s candidates. The magistrate of Heqing County who died from overwork last year is still in a vacant position. The Emperor will probably select one of the top candidates to be appointed there, and I think it will be me,” Du Min said.
The county magistrate was a seventh-rank official, which was a very high starting point for Du Min, a poor scholar from a peasant family. Meng Qing was worried that his background would be an obstacle, since no one would speak up for him in front of the emperor.
“If the Vice Minister of Rites hasn’t shown up in two or three days, go and invite him over for me. I’ll give you an extra boost and make sure you’re firmly in the position of magistrate of Heqing County,” Meng Qing said. She had already planned her own future and wouldn’t allow Du Min’s official career to go astray.
"Such arrogance?" Du Min exclaimed in surprise. "What method?"
"It's a secret for now." Meng Qing smiled mysteriously. "Go study. I've found you some help. If you make any mistakes in the exam, I'll skin you alive."
"Yes, ma'am!" Du Min grinned, revealing a tooth. He finally got to taste the joy of Du Lao Er enjoying the fruits of others' labor.
Before Du Min could even make the invitation, three days later, Vice Minister Zheng arrived at the school with the Director of the Imperial Household Department and said, "Master Meng, the craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department should be returned. Can the school do without them?"
Meng Qing nodded readily, "Yes, our apprentices are capable of working independently now."
The Director of the Imperial Household Department was very displeased. He said with a half-smile, "You woman do nothing but foolish things. You've turned Chang'an into a place full of paper craft shops, and the Ministry of Rites' free school has lost its value."
Meng Qing glanced at Minister Zheng, then lowered her head and did not refute him.
Vice Minister Zheng smiled without saying a word. He knew that the Director of the Imperial Household Department was furious. What did it matter to him whether the free school of the Ministry of Rites had any value? The only possibility was that he had planned to seize the free school, but since the free school had no value, his scheme had become useless.
Seeing Zheng Shilang's attitude, the Shaofu Jian could not say anything no matter how angry he was. He could only choke back his anger and take away thirteen craftsmen and their children and grandchildren who had come to learn their craft.
As Meng Qing watched the Shaofujian's figure disappear, she let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and said with relief, "That was close! The school almost changed hands. The Shaofujian was very shrewd; the craftsmen all learned the paper-crafting skills, so the change of hands wouldn't affect the school's operation."
“What’s the use of not changing owners? In the future, it will only become a true free school, and it’s very likely that it won’t even be able to take in enough students,” Minister Zheng replied.
Meng Qing smiled and said, "My lord, please come with me."
She led Minister Zheng to the backyard, opened the west wing door near the goose shed, and what greeted them was a pile of money higher than the top edge of the window frame.
"The money in this room represents the year's profits, totaling 9,274 strings of cash. This free school is worth 10,000 strings of cash; it's more than enough," Meng Qing said.
A rare moment of stunned silence appeared on Minister Zheng's face. He spoke with difficulty, "You only earn this much in a year?"
Then he added with deep regret, "It's a pity that the glory days are over, and I can never earn them again."
"Sure, I don't know how many prefectures there are in the Tang Dynasty, but if you have the support of an official, I can make sure that the Qingniao Paper Effigy Free School appears in half of the territory," Meng Qing said confidently.
Zheng Shilang looked at her, recalling what Du Min had said a few days ago at the Ministry of Rites: he wanted to serve as the magistrate of Heqing County.
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