King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

All the dignitaries nodded. Zhang Mao had not expected his granddaughter to be so smart. He shook his head and said, "Teach him a lesson. Let him know not to be so proud and not to collude with these bureaucrats! Although the Marquis of Jianchang is corrupt, he is one of us after all. If he joins hands with civil officials, people will only look down on him and resent him."

The contempt and dissatisfaction he expressed were naturally directed to those powerful people, such as the Duke of Dingguo, the Marquis of Cheng'an, and Xu Tai, who had a close relationship with Zhu Tan.

Among the nobles, they all have their own power and their own supporters.

Zhang Yuanying chuckled and said, "Grandfather, you are speaking too late. I heard that some people think that the Marquis of Jianchang is suspected of favoritism and fraud in the Yang Peng case and the Spring Examination. He is especially suspected of spreading rumors in the imperial examination. Even a university scholar in the court is extremely dissatisfied with this!"

Zhang Mao knew very well that this person was not Li Dongyang who was rumored to have thrown the cup, but Xie Qian, whose name was Xie Kankan.

Ma Wensheng resigned from his post as Minister of War earlier than Ma Wensheng and proposed to him to double the taxation in southern Xinjiang.

But Xie Qian firmly refused.

Xie Qian said very clearly that when the previous emperor was in power, taxes in Jiangnan were very high, so in order to ease their burden, they exchanged silver for silver.

If it is raised further, it will go against the original intention and may increase the burden on the people.

Another time, at the end of last year, Ma Wensheng carried out a major purge of the capital, excluding the imperial guards and imperial guards who were originally part of the imperial guards, and letting them take their own salaries.

Although this matter was not the responsibility of the military, Ma Wensheng did not pursue it.

That's why Xie Qian seized this opportunity to speak ill of Ma Wensheng.

This was just a "work" competition. Xie Qian felt that he was an upright person, while Ma Wensheng had really lost face, so as soon as he entered the Ministry of Personnel, some people were dissatisfied.

Yesterday, the news that he had a big fight with Jiao Fang, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, was also known. This was a shame and a blow to Ma Wensheng.

Zhu Tan's marriage to Ma Wensheng's granddaughter meant that they were in the same boat, and Zhu Tan's reputation among the civil officials was also terrible.

There is no need for provocation at all. Naturally, someone will keep an eye on Ma Wensheng and Zhu Tan, trying to find any flaws.

There is another obstacle here, the Beijing inspection.

This is the imperial examination in the capital city. Starting from the Ming Dynasty, it was held every three years. During the Hongzhi period, it was held every ten years, which was increased to six years.

This year was the twelfth year of the Hongzhi reign, which was also the first year of the imperial examination.

Ma Wensheng is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and is in charge of the affairs of the Beijing Inspection. This is not an easy task and is likely to offend people.

Zhang Mao could imagine that after this investigation in Beijing, Ma Wensheng would definitely be excluded and suppressed by most officials in the capital, and the Marquis of Jianchang, who had an engagement with Ma Wensheng, would probably be implicated as well.

Zhang Yuanying has made it clear that this is just a trap set by civil officials to attack Marquis Jianchang.

At that time, it would be natural for him to take the opportunity to strike at the Marquis of Jianchang! Those princes and nobles could not find any flaws.

Zhu Tan didn't know that all the guests had a great time tonight. He even asked all the guests to leave the inn one by one. At this moment, he was holding Feng Xi's arm and talking to her.

"Brother Feng, if you have any ideas about criminal law, I will naturally help you. As for the Ministry of Justice, Secretary Peng Shao doesn't like me. However, Ding Zhe and several of his doctors are all good friends with me. Tomorrow, Brother Feng, wait for my good news. Then, I will come to see you in person!"

Feng Xi was delighted as he had a good chance of being appointed as a Hanlin scholar, but he did not want to waste his time in the Hanlin Academy, so he became a lecturer. Moving up the career ladder, he would become You Yude, which was equivalent to the prince's right-hand man.

This is definitely a smooth road. Look at today's civil and military officials, and ministers of the six ministries. Half of them come from here and have become important figures in the Prince's Palace.

But Fengxi didn't think so. Emperor Hongzhi was in his prime, and the crown prince was young. To put it bluntly, when the crown prince was chosen in the future, he would probably still be a right-hand man.

The three great secretaries, the six ministries and the nine ministers may not have changed, but he is not qualified.

It is better to do what you love and what you want to do. Feng Xi just told Zhu Tan about this and Zhu Tan agreed.

What's more, he also guaranteed that he would continue to stay in the position of Hanlin editor, which was already a promotion for him.

Feng Xi bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, my Lord. Feng Xi will never forget it."

Zhu Tan laughed and saluted.

Considering that you cried bitterly in front of Emperor Jiajing, my brother-in-law and nephew, it’s not a big deal for me to help you. We are all family, a family!

Everyone left, leaving only Tang Bohu, Xu Jing, and Ma Wensheng's apprentice Jiang Rong.

All three of them were admitted to the Imperial College, so they became classmates.

Tang Bohu said with an embarrassed look on his face: "My Lord, if you just hand over the money like this, wouldn't it be too cheap?"

Zhu Tan once mentioned this matter to Tang Bohu.

He wanted to help scholars like Lun Wenxu who came from poor families. Apart from Lun Wenxu, it was very likely that someone like Feng Xi, who did not come from a wealthy family, could be helped.

Zhu Tan also understood why the emperor's brother-in-law valued Feng Xi so much. Today, the Grand Secretary in the Golden Palace specially asked Feng Xi to wear the same robe as the Jinshi.

Because Feng Xi was filial to his mother, he lost his father at the age of sixteen. He could not eat for several days and even drank a lot. He almost starved himself to death. He stayed in a mourning room for the next three years.

Zhu Youtang was named Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, and naturally he looked at Fengxi differently. Fengxi naturally would not forget his kindness, and knelt at the door and cried to Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty. In the end, he was badly beaten by Emperor Jiajing.

Zhu Tan looked at Tang Bohu absentmindedly and said, "Brother Bohu, do you want to do this? Let me give you two examples. Lun Wenxu is a great writer of couplets. My shop is just about to open, and I want him to write a wedding poem. If I reward him with a few thousand taels, I will be happy to do it! And Feng Xi, his grandfather once served as a governor, but that is an old story. The family is in decline. I asked him to copy a copy and present it to the prince's private school. It is not too much to charge him a thousand taels of silver."

Tang Bohu did not expect this to happen. Xu Jing, Jiang Rong and others were all very happy.

Jiang Rong praised them: "My Lord is wise. He gave them money but forced them to accept it. My Lord is so kind-hearted. It's really brilliant!"

Zhu Tan curled his lips and thought to himself, don't say that, it makes me seem like a traitor and a Japanese.

Moreover, there are many kinds of gifts and presents.

If you can't do it, watch some anti-corruption films and you can learn everything from them.

After returning home, Zhu Tan found Ma Yuexian, and Ma Yuexian told Zhu Tan a piece of news.

This is the account book that Shen Qionglian and the others gave to Ma Yuexian. He was also worried that Ma Yuexian didn't know Arabic data and didn't know how to calculate, so Shen Qionglian was very considerate and marked it for her.

Zhu Tan thought that Shen Qionglian's move was really powerful. She was indeed a fifth-rank female official with a deep mind and deep scheming.

He had thought of all the details and no one could find anything wrong.

Ma Yuexian asked Zhu Tan to read the Arabic numerals first, then raised her head, smiled slightly, and said, "My husband, please don't sleep tonight. Shen Qionglian is so respectful to me, I can't let her look down on me no matter what. Please go to her room and sleep!"

Zhu Tan was in a really good mood today, and Ma Yuexian's injuries would take several days to heal, so she was very happy. She gave some homework to Ma Yuexian and went to Shen Qionglian's room.

Shen Qionglian was counting the accounts under the light. When she saw Zhu Tan coming over, she was stunned for a moment, and then her pretty face turned red.

She had already sent out her monthly letter, so she naturally understood that there was no reason or need to refuse it tonight. This was what she should do as a father.

Moreover, Shen Qionglian had lived in the palace for so long and had a better understanding of Zhu Tan, so she knew that fate had been kind to her.

Marquis Jianchang was different from the princes and nobles she knew. There was something attractive about him.

Shen Qionglian stopped paying the bill, stood up, and walked towards Zhu Tan: "My Lord, do you want to take a bath? I'll ask someone to bring you some warm water!"

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Zhu Tan laughed.

"Not only that! I have someone prepare a wooden tub for bathing. Let's go in and take a bath."

Not long after, a man named Chu Mu came in with a wooden barrel. The barrel was similar to a Turkish bathtub and was large enough for two people to bathe.

Shen Qionglian never expected Zhu Tan to react like this. Her pretty face flushed red and she immediately prepared herself.

Since you are a concubine, you should behave like a concubine. As for women's rules and regulations, there is no need to take them too seriously, as they will make the Marquis unhappy.

Zhu Tan closed the door, took off his clothes, and plunged into the warm water, staring at Shen Qionglian with fiery eyes.

He would never let go of this woman who made him fall in love at first sight.

Shen Qionglian also had some guesses about Zhu Tan's thoughts, and she bit her lower lip hard, almost making blood come out.

Finally, in front of Zhu Tan, under the bright candlelight, he took off his clothes.

Shen Qionglian is twenty-six years old this year. If she were in ancient times, she would be considered an old woman, but to Zhu Tan, she is still young and beautiful.

Seeing Shen Qionglian's clothes being torn off bit by bit, Zhu Tan's lips curled up.

Just as he expected, Shen Qionglian not only had a good-looking face that indicated a peaceful and prosperous age, but also had a slender figure with a hint of plumpness.

He has a great body and is in great shape.

"My Lord, your subordinate——"

Shen Qionglian was also startled, feeling that the person she was before was not herself.

"I was just about to tell you, you don't have to call me that at home, you can call me husband!"

“Is this considered a violation?”

"I have the final say!"

Zhu Tan reached out his hand and patted Shen Qionglian gently. She was the woman he loved most since his rebirth.

He thought he could still fight, but when he saw Shen Qionglian leaping out of the water like a fish, he was worried that something might happen to him, so he quickly diverted his attention.

Shen Qionglian thought about the mistake she had made and did as she was told!

"Husband, I came to you today because I have something to discuss with you, but I haven't had time to do it yet. My brother also went to the Ministry of Rites and ranked 30th!"

Zhu Tan was surprised: "Why didn't you tell me about this? May I ask your name?"

"Shen Lian, I just learned that Shen Lian arrived in Kyoto at the end of last year, but he never contacted me. After I left the palace, our contact was cut off. He had to work hard to prepare for the imperial examination. I heard that he was going to Kyoto after the results were released yesterday, so he was able to see me today."

Zhu Tan was shocked again. The second place among the thirty was already a very high ranking!

Unexpectedly, this uninvited brother-in-law actually passed the exam and became a scholar. Now, if I tell my sister that my brother-in-law married Shen Qionglian, it won't be a loss.

"Why didn't you let someone tell me in advance that there is a scholar in the inn today. If he comes, it will be terrible."

Before Zhu Tan finished speaking, Shen Qionglian continued, "He knew and specifically told me not to tell my husband. It's not that he doesn't associate with people, but he just wanted to keep it a secret. He actually has a good impression of my husband and praised my husband for handling the Yang Peng case and the imperial examinations!"

Zhu Tan was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Shen Qionglian's brother was not ordinary. There was obviously another meaning behind his reminder to Shen Qionglian.

"That's good. I'll find an opportunity to meet him privately tomorrow. What's it about?"

"The Shen family used to run a lot of businesses, but now they are in decline. Only the silk business is still doing well. The family still has hundreds of acres of mulberry trees! They have dozens of workers."

Zhu Tan remembered reading in school that the sprouts of capitalism began to appear in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. He did not expect that his in-laws would also participate. After all, it was also a very large workshop.

"My family is also in the silk business. You need to take good care of them and make sure they don't suffer any loss."

Shen Qionglian was overjoyed and continued, "My husband has used a large amount of money these days. I asked around and he said he wanted to buy wood. You want so much wood, are you going to build a house?"

"Of course not." Zhu Tan was excited, "These woods are used to build ships. Can you build ships? But I guessed wrong. Since Zheng He went to sea, all shipbuilding techniques, including shipbuilding technology, have been lost and abandoned."

It was confirmed that Zhu Tan's thought was carried out in a closed state, and he also knew this afterwards.

Besides, the shipyard of Jinling was built here, and there were not enough ships in the north, so they had to buy wood and store it. (End of this chapter)