Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2873 Master Qingsong 91.0
"While Ling Yao's actions were indeed a bit excessive, haven't you been holding onto this grudge for a little too long?" Song Yaojia chuckled and said, "Knowing you as I do, you're not the type to hold a grudge for a lifetime over a small matter. For you to hold a grudge to this day, it can't be as simple as him refusing your help back then, right?" He raised an eyebrow at Jin Miaomiao, "Is there anything else?"

Jin Miaomiao didn't say anything, but she looked at Shen Cha, and the two of them sighed in unison.

"What's going on with you two?" Song Yaojia looked at them, then at Shen Haolin. "What's going on with them?"

“Ling Yao,” Shen Haolin raised an eyebrow slightly, “offended them to their faces.”

"Huh?" Song Yaojia exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?"

"It's still about that case. I'm quite curious about what kind of poison has left the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Jingzhao Prefecture, and the Imperial Hospital helpless, so I went to the Dali Temple with Miao Miao." Shen Cha's expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion. She glanced at Song Yaojia, "We were stopped at the entrance as soon as we arrived. They said that the Vice Minister only allowed Miao Miao to enter, and no unauthorized personnel were allowed to enter."

"Ling Yao is quite bold. What happened next?"

“The token of the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion!” Shen Cha snorted. “How can you say that Miao Miao is a member of the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion and the Shen family army? Of course, Cui Banban arrived just in time and led us in. We met Ling Yao in the second hall. This is the second time I’ve seen him in many years.”

"The first time was..."

“The time he fainted.” Shen Cha couldn’t help but laugh and said, “However, the second time I saw him, he was a little different from the last time. Once you become an official, especially one who holds the power of life and death, your whole demeanor changes.”

"That's for sure." Song Yaojia nodded. "And then?"

"Seeing him in person is not as good as hearing about him. Although I admired him for his unwavering choice to join the Dali Temple despite his fainting spell, saying he wanted to challenge himself, I realized how naive I was when we met again. Scholars are scholars, young or old, their core values ​​are the same. Like some old fogies in the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate, he was very dissatisfied with women entering officialdom. We weren't familiar with him; if it weren't for this case, we would never have met. Yet, in front of us, he said that women shouldn't show their faces in public, shouldn't set foot in such filthy places as prisons, shouldn't do such lowly work as coroners, and even criticized me, believing that as a woman, I shouldn't lead troops into battle." Shen Cha sneered. "This should be considered our first formal meeting. Of course, he didn't know that I had seen him at his most pathetic."

“He spoke so rudely, and you didn’t expose his past. Our Xiaocha is too kind.” Song Yaojia snorted. “No matter how many times we’ve met, he shouldn’t have said such things. He’s not like those old fogies, but most scholars, especially those who got their positions through the imperial examinations, are like that.”

"That's true."

“Nominally, my father is in charge of the Dali Temple, so he knows a bit about the people there. Although Ling Yao is not from a noble family and comes from a humble background, his family is quite well-off. His family runs a restaurant and a tea shop in the area, and they live a very comfortable life.”

"Is he an only child?" "No, he has an older sister and a younger sister. The older sister manages the family business, and the younger sister is quite young, probably only eight or nine years old now." Song Yaojia sneered, "If I had known he would say such things to your faces, I would have asked him if it wasn't equally disgraceful for his sister to work in the business to support him and pay for his education!"

“It matches my impression of this group: a bunch of pedantic scholars who don’t know the hardships of life and only know how to talk big!” Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes. “We originally thought that after so many years in the Dali Temple, he would know what kind of lives the common people are living, but we didn’t expect that he would still be like this.”

“He knows it, but at crucial moments, especially when it comes to his reputation, that part of him just comes out.” Shen Cha gently shook her finger. “Prejudice is innate and can’t be changed.”

"Given your personalities, you two probably wouldn't tolerate him saying that to you, and would likely react on the spot, right?" Song Yaojia stroked her chin. "And what about Cui Banban? What was her attitude?"

“Cui Banban is even angrier than us, and we have to try to persuade him to calm down.” Shen Cha said helplessly, “Unfortunately, all our efforts are in vain. Lord Ling knows how to add fuel to the fire.”

"Did he make a sarcastic remark about Cui Banban?"

"They didn't dare to be blatant, but their words were very sarcastic and ambiguous."

“Ling Yao wouldn’t dare do anything to Cui Banban. He knows that Cui is a close minister of His Majesty and cannot be easily offended. As for us, we are just returning to the capital to report on our duties, so it’s fine if we offend him.” Jin Miaomiao spread her hands. “He boasted that he had studied hard for ten years and passed the imperial examination in one fell swoop, enjoying great glory. He also boasted that his knowledge was superior to others, so he showed off in front of us, spouting all sorts of classical Chinese phrases.”

"To show off my knowledge in front of you two is like trying to teach a fish to swim."

"So, Cui Banban didn't stop him and let him show off." Jin Miaomiao smiled. "But Xiaocha and I thought that this second-class Jinshi was nothing special. If he didn't go to the Dali Temple and instead took a post outside the capital like others, he probably wouldn't achieve anything."

"You two were taught by Master Huilan. Although Master Qingsong didn't pass on the Yun family's traditional skills, the ancient books privately kept by the Yun family were completely open to Master Huilan. Because Elder Yelü inherited the throne, he couldn't stay by Master Qingsong's side for many years, so only Master Huilan served him. The elders of the Yun family cared very much for this junior, Master Huilan, and taught her many skills." Song Yaojia looked at Shen Cha, then at Jin Miaomiao, "You two have probably learned almost everything."

“Our master didn’t hold back at all; you could say he taught us everything he knew.” Jin Miaomiao sneered. “Although we don’t like to show off our knowledge, when someone comes knocking on our door, there’s no reason to run away. Unfortunately, he really wasn’t very good; he was speechless after only a few words.”

"Have I finally gotten my revenge?"

"It'll be alright, but at least we'll tell him not to underestimate women. His old tricks won't work here." Jin Miaomiao snorted. "I'll say it again: if he doesn't come to provoke us, I can pretend I didn't see him. But if he's being unreasonable..." She clenched her fist, "We've already tried to be polite, so if he comes again, we'll have to resort to force!"