Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2654 Still Vigorous in Old Age 38.0
"Grand Uncle, please wait a moment." Shen Haolin interrupted Chu Han's story and asked, "Selling official positions? Does Grand Tutor Du have connections to sell official positions?"

“That’s right!” Song Yaojia chimed in, pointing to herself and then to Xia Chen. “Let alone Grand Tutor Du, even we proper noble children don’t have this connection. If I’m not mistaken, my great-uncle probably doesn’t either, right?”

"That's right, we didn't have any." Chu Han sneered, raising an eyebrow at them. "Then guess what happened?"

The group exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed in unison.

"What's wrong?" Chu Han looked at everyone. "You all look so troubled. Is it because you can't think of anything, or is there something else?"

"After much thought, we can only come up with one word to describe the Du family's behavior." Xia Chen snorted, "A false pretense." He spread his hands, "In fact, the Du family doesn't have this channel at all. They're just using the name of Grand Tutor Du to amass wealth for themselves."

"That's not accurate. They weren't using the Grand Tutor's name, but rather using him to coerce the Old Madam's family." Seeing everyone's attention turn to her, Song Yaojia shrugged and said, "The Grand Tutor came from a farming family, but the Old Madam didn't. The Old Madam's family is the Gao family of Jizhou. Although they aren't considered a prestigious family, they are still a prominent and influential family in Jizhou. Of course, they also belong to the category of families that cannot take the imperial examinations. However, unlike other aristocratic families, they chose a safer method."

"A son-in-law marrying into the family?" Shen Cha asked curiously. "But if it's a son-in-law marrying into the family, their descendants should also be from a prominent family?"

"Of course it wasn't about marrying into the family," Chu Han smiled at Shen Cha and said, "If it were, wouldn't they receive the same treatment as the Gao family's sons? The Gao family of Jizhou has had relatively few boys over the years, only two or three per generation, but quite a few girls. So, they figured that since their own sons couldn't take the imperial examinations, the children of their married daughters could. The Gao family specifically established a clan school, inviting renowned scholars to teach these children. These children were quite promising, with many passing the examinations. The most outstanding among them was the eldest son of Grand Tutor Du, who became a Juren at the age of twelve. If it weren't for the Grand Tutor and the Gao family head wanting to suppress him and make him study for three more years, we might have had a fifteen-year-old Zhuangyuan (top scholar in the imperial examinations) in our dynasty." He looked at Song Yaojia, "That's when Du Yunshen became your study companion, right?"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia chuckled. “When he first became my study companion, he was quite arrogant, bowing respectfully and not even glancing at me. Later, after we got to know each other better, I joked with him that he was completely disdainful of everyone when we first met. He said he thought I would be an idle and good-for-nothing playboy, and that even if I went to study at the Eastern Palace, I would just be wasting my time and wouldn’t study properly. Later, he discovered that not only me, but everyone studying at the Eastern Palace dared not be unserious.”

"Because His Majesty will appear secretly, observe everyone in secret, and find out who isn't paying attention in class. When school ends, he will personally assign them homework." Xue Ruitian sighed heavily, looked at Song Yaojia with a mischievous grin and Shen Haolin with a faint smile, "Don't ask me how I know, because I'm the unlucky one."

"You got caught by your uncle?" Shen Cha looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"The first day, with His Majesty and him," Xue Ruitian pointed to Shen Haolin, then to Song Yaojia, "and him, he played Pai Gow too late and caught a chill, so he was listless and fell asleep. But unexpectedly, the late Emperor arrived quietly. After school, knowing I wasn't feeling well, he showed concern, but still gave me extra lessons. So, everyone thinks we're all good-for-nothings, but that's all a misunderstanding." He looked at Chu Han and said, "Is Du Yunshen, the eldest son of the Du family, also a top scholar?"

“That’s right.” Chu Han nodded. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the Gao family of Jizhou. The Du family thought that such a large family must have connections, but they didn’t discuss it with Grand Tutor Du and just boldly did it on their own.” “Ignorance is bliss.” Shen Cha sighed. “This not only ruined Grand Tutor Du’s reputation, but also the reputation of the Gao family of Jizhou.”

"Fortunately, the whole thing about selling official positions never actually happened. The Du family just kept collecting money, but they never actually made it happen. The funniest thing is that the buyers weren't in a hurry, because they knew that Grand Tutor Du wouldn't be back in his hometown for several years. If he did return, the position would definitely be finalized. But these people are always eager to show off. Before the deal was even done, they were already talking about it everywhere. As a result, it reached the ears of the Gao family, and a secret memorial was sent to the emperor."

"So it was the work of the Gao family of Jizhou." Shen Cha nodded. "If it were me, I would probably do the same."

"Grand Tutor Du also thought so. He personally went to Yue’s family to apologize and promised to rectify the family’s conduct."

"That led to his return to his hometown?"

“Yes!” Chu Han nodded. “They arrested those ringleaders who bought and sold official positions and handed them over to the authorities. Then, everyone involved was severely punished according to the newly established clan rules. The uproar lasted for more than half a month.”

"That kidnapper," Shen Cha thought for a moment, then boldly guessed, "could he be a descendant of those who led the sale of official positions?"

"Yes!" Chu Han smiled at her. "You're right. Although he knew his family members were wrong and criminal, and he also knew that Grand Tutor Du was right and acted out of righteousness by sacrificing family ties, he was still furious. So, wanting to avenge his family, he pretended to be humble and worked for the Du family for several years. When he found an opportunity, he kidnapped Du Yunqian, not only demanding money from Grand Tutor Du but also trying to kill Du Yunqian."

"He must have had helpers?" Shen Cha looked at Chu Han. "Those tomb raider friends?"

"Yes!" Chu Han sighed helplessly. "Grand Tutor Du was also muddle-headed. He only knew that this was his own clansman, and that he appeared to be very honest and kind-hearted on the surface. But he had no idea that before joining him, this clansman had already made a name for himself as a tomb raider, with about ten brothers around him. The reason he endured humiliation and stayed at his mansion with Young Master Yun Qian was simply to wait for an opportunity to take revenge. It can be said that Grand Tutor Du accumulated good deeds and was also lucky. That kidnapper's days were numbered, and I ran into him at the border." He looked at Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian. "You two were also quick-witted at the time. Although you were still crying, you were able to hold onto that kidnapper tightly."

"Uncle, you flatter me. That fellow has shifty eyes and doesn't look like a good person at all." Xue Ruitian snorted. "Trying to kidnap me? Not so easy!"