The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 381 Keeping an Appointment
"Mr. Zhang may be young, but he has a great bearing!"

"No way! Your Excellency, the Minister is too kind. We are all ministers in the same palace, serving His Majesty and His Highness. Why should we be so clear about the distinction?"

In a secret side hall of Prince Zhongshun's palace, Zhang Yun逸, who came to keep the appointment, had a humble attitude.

Prince Zhongshun laughed and said, "Yun Yi, why should you be so modest? Mei Lian is not qualified to serve His Highness!"

In addition to Zhang Yun逸 and Prince Zhongshun, those attending the meeting included Minister of Rites Gu Dashou, Minister of War Li Congwen, Duke of Qing Qi Yuandao, and Vice Minister of Personnel Zhou Xianzu.

Just by looking at the rank and title, Zhang Yun逸 knew that this should be considered the core circle of the Qin Wang family.

Zhou Xianzu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said somewhat embarrassedly: "Your Highness is right! It seems that I have misjudged him. I did not expect that Mei Lian would be like this. This is really unfair to Master Zhang."

"There is no reason to feel wronged when working for His Highness!"

Zhou Xianzu seemed to be apologizing to him, but he was also thinking of taking the blame for the King of Qin. It was impossible for Zhang Yun逸 to take this seriously for both emotional and logical reasons.

"Hahaha!" Duke Qing laughed heartily, "Master Zhang is right. Besides, everyone has made mistakes. Besides, choosing Mei Lian was a helpless move because we didn't want to alert the enemy. It's not Brother Zhou's fault."

Among the six, the Minister of Rites was the most reasonable and expected.

After all, the Prince of Qin was born to the late Queen and was the eldest son of the Emperor. It was only reasonable for the Minister of Rites to support him since he sat in this position.

The title of Minister of War surprised Zhang Yun逸, but on second thought, it seemed reasonable.

It is not difficult to see from the Ministry of Works corruption case that Prince Ning had too close connections with the military generals. Although the Minister of War was not a military general leading troops, he was in charge of the dispatch of food and fodder, weapons and armor, and logistical supplies.

If the King of Qin does not even have any means of checks and balances, he might as well withdraw as soon as possible.

As for Duke Qing, the reason why he is still a duke now is not because he lived long but because the title was not hereditary.

But it was because he was the first to contribute to Prince Yoshitada's suppression of the rebellion.

Needless to say, King Zhongshun was the money bag of King Qin.

Among the six, Zhang Yun逸 and Zhou Xianzu had the lowest ranks.

Zhang Yun逸 has his own unique qualities, and so does Zhou Xianzu.

His status was just enough to make him a partner, and his daughter had been selected as an imperial concubine in her early years and happened to be assigned to the Qin Palace.

The topic turned to Mei Lian, and they took the opportunity to talk about the smuggling of guano.

Duke Qing was the first to speak: "According to the news sent back by the old subordinates, this time it is the Zhen family who is in charge. As long as we can get to the emperor, even if we can't lead him to Prince Ning, we will definitely make him pay for it."

If the four kings and eight dukes are considered the old nobles, then the Duke of Qing is the new noble.

Although they did not have the foundation of these old nobles, each of whom had their own sphere of influence, after the rebellion was suppressed, they were rewarded according to merit, and their old subordinates were also well-connected.

Minister of Rites Gu Dashou took over the conversation and said, "It's a pity that Mei Lian doesn't seem to be able to take on a big role. I'm afraid we have to make preparations and arrange one or two candidates to take the lead."

In this day and age, the people who hold the power of speech are scholars. To be able to become the Minister of Rites, one must at least have a certain reputation among the literati.

Moreover, the Minister of Rites was also a strong contender for the chief examiner of the imperial examinations, and it is no exaggeration to say that he had many students all over the world.

Zhou Xianzu continued, "Don't worry, sir. Even if we are ostracized and retaliated against by them, at most we can just stay out of the spotlight for a while, and I will arrange for you to come back after a while."

Zhou Xianzu and Jia Yucun were both assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel. Jia Yucun was in charge of the two departments of verifying seals and examining merits, while Zhou Xianzu was in charge of literary selection and examination of merits.

He does have the right to say that.

As the organizer, Prince Zhongshun saw that Zhang Yunyi didn't say a word, so he asked, "What do you think, Yunyi?"

"I am a new comer with limited experience, so I still have a lot to learn from you seniors!"

Zhang Yunyi has always felt that in such occasions, it is better to listen more and talk less, especially for newcomers like him who have just joined the game.

The circle is xenophobic and no one would be willing to watch a newcomer being bossed around. Gu Dashou nodded approvingly.

"It's good for young people to be modest, but they should not underestimate themselves. I've read the Legend of the White Snake published by your bookstore, and it's pretty good!" He paused and said with a smile, "But why does your bookstore only sell that one book? What's the problem? I also have several bookstores. If you need anything, I can give you some pointers later."

The ancients mostly treasured the reference materials on the imperial examinations.

Classics, history, and even annotations can be purchased, but good essay samples and examination essays written by previous generations are extremely rare.

The so-called inheritance of poetry and books is the accumulation of experience of predecessors.

From examination poems and essays, policy essay templates, and even the examiners' preferences, these are not things that ordinary people can know.

It is also the foundation of these big families.

As the Minister of Rites, Gu Dashou was quite famous among the scholars, so he naturally had no shortage of resources in this regard.

There is always a reason for giving up something. Zhang Yunyi naturally would not think that he looked at him differently just because he read the Legend of the White Snake.

"It turns out that the elder's family also has a bookstore. I am just pretending to be cultured and playing around."

He changed the subject and continued, "However, after I opened a bookstore, I realized how difficult it was for poor children to study, so I devoted myself to improving bamboo paper and finally made some progress."

Bamboo paper was not invented by him, but its quality was far inferior to the improved one.

"Oh?" Gu Dashou became interested.

"The bamboo paper I improved is not as soft as Xuan paper and has good ink absorption, but it can be used for typesetting and printing, and the cost is less than one tenth of Xuan paper. Your Excellency is a scholar and has a bookstore. If you can participate in the promotion, it will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort, and it will also benefit future generations."

Whether it was Gu Dashou or the others, they were all polite, and it was obviously not just because of the King of Qin.

Instead of waiting for them to speak, take the initiative.

In addition, taking the initiative to speak can also help you take control of the situation, and you can use bamboo paper to block their mouths to avoid embarrassment.

After all, the Ministry of Works corruption case is a lesson for us. Although the King of Qin may not say anything at the moment, if he ascends the throne, his position will be different. He will certainly not sit idly by and watch him share the profits of the Tiangong Institute.

Bamboo paper is different. It is an improved technology and it is also his own industry. Moreover, if he does this kind of thing that benefits scholars all over the world alone, it will bring too much attention. It would be better for him to bring these people along and kill two birds with one stone.

The cost of breaking bones is attractive enough, and it also benefits scholars all over the world.

Except for King Zhongshun, no one present could resist the temptation of such a chance to gain both fame and fortune.

It’s not that Prince Zhongshun didn’t care, but as a royal, it was obviously irrational for him to try to win the favor of scholars all over the world.

Prince Zhongshun's palace was not far from the bookstore, so Zhang Yun逸 sent someone to visit Zhiyanzhai.

After seeing the finished product of the experimental print, Gu Dashou was the first to lose his composure.

Zhang Yunyi also struck while the iron was hot and regarded it as an early investment, dividing the shares of Bamboo Paper equally.

After the relevant matters were settled, except for the witness, King Zhongshun, everyone's face was beaming and they were clamoring for the entertainment activities they loved.

When discussing serious matters, it was naturally impossible to let the concubines participate. Zhang Yunyi was a rookie and did not play by the rules, so he did not know where the concubines he brought with him were arranged.

King Zhongshun raised his hands and clapped twice.

Along with the lingering sound of the piano, a pink veil fell in the side hall, dividing the entire side hall into two.

Then, in the gauze curtain opposite, several graceful figures appeared and disappeared, swaying with the sound of the piano.

This……

Zhang Yunyi couldn't help but shake his head. What should have been a good exchange meeting turned out to be a concubine selection event without any plot.

……

(End of this chapter)