Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 187 Scandal
Qufu is located in Yanzhou Prefecture in southwest Shandong.

To the north is the wealthy Jinan Prefecture, to the south is Nanjing, to the west is Linqing, and to the east is the Yellow Sea. In addition, Confucius was born here, so Qufu is prosperous, not the richest in Shandong, but it is also one of the best.

There are four main streets in the east, west, south and north, with shops scattered around and attics connected to each other.

The streets were crowded with people, and scholars wearing round-necked robes and merchants traveling from north to south could be seen everywhere. Because the autumn examination was approaching, most of these students came to pay homage to the saint, not to mention the merchants.

Prepare to get some of the saint's literary aura.

Just after noon that day, hundreds of students had already gathered in front of the statue of Confucius not far from the Kong family mansion.

All of them had solemn expressions and knelt and bowed to the statue of Confucius.

Like crazy.

In order to get one step closer to becoming a saint, there were occasional noises: "Get out of the way, get out of the way! Don't block my way. If you delay my success, can you afford it?"

"Why should I give up my position? I was the first one to get here." There was an immediate objection.

"That's right. To serve the saint, one only needs to be sincere. How can you behave like this?" A middle-aged scholar with a short beard glared at him with disdain, then moved forward and said with a smile, "Please give us a seat, dear brother."

The students present were instantly thrown into chaos.

At this moment they no longer cared about their dignity and just wanted to walk a few more steps forward and breathe in the cultural air.

In a simple teahouse not far away, three men sat around a table with some snacks on it. The first one was about thirty years old, with a sharp face and purple complexion. One could tell at a glance that he had something in his hand.

His name is Wang Lin.

He was a general flag in the Jinyiwei, and this time Han San sent him to investigate the Kong family. As soon as he arrived in Qufu, he made secret investigations, and the more he investigated, the more he felt that the power behind the Kong family was terrifying.

Because most of what he knew was out in the open.

No one dared to sue for this.

What does this mean? !

The Kong family had absolute power in Qufu and was like a fish in water in the whole of Shandong.

Wang Linton felt enormous pressure.

But since he had accepted the job, there was no turning back and he could only grit his teeth and stay here.

While he was pondering, one of his men tilted his head and said with a puzzled smile: "Boss, these nerds are crazy. They are almost beating their brains out just to worship this stone."

Before Wang Lin could answer, the owner of the tea stall nearby became unhappy.

He put down the teapot in his hand, curled his lips, and said contemptuously: "It is obvious that this gentleman is not from Shandong. This statue of Confucius is imbued with immortal spirit. Well, forget it, you won't understand anyway."

The guard was full of dissatisfaction and thought: How can a small vendor like you look down on our officials?
If he hadn't had official business today, he would have definitely overturned this mess.

Wang Lin held his men in place, looked at the man and said with a smile, "Brother, I see that you look like someone who has read some books. I want to ask you, brother. I believe you also know that the current Prime Minister has issued a memorial, saying that he wants to re-evaluate the students in the country. What do you think?"

"Well, what can I say?" the tea stall owner waved his hands and muttered.

"What about the Kong family?" Wang Lin took the opportunity to turn the conversation to the Kong family.

"What happened to the Kong family?" the tea stall owner asked in surprise.

“The Prime Minister measured the land of the world, and the land held by the Kong family is close to one million acres. It is known as Qubancheng. With such a lot of land, you can’t eat it all in ten lifetimes.” Wang Lin said with envy.

The tea stall owner heard the voice and glanced at him three times.

But seeing that all three of them were strong and healthy, it was obvious that they were not easy to deal with.

The boss didn't want to get involved, so he just smiled and replied, "They all belong to others. Even if you are greedy, you can't just go and steal them." "They are all accumulated by their ancestors from generation to generation."

"Puch."

The strong man who spoke earlier couldn't help but smile.

The teahouse owner felt insulted and asked him with a dark face: "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just thought of something funny." The strong man waved his hands repeatedly.

I thought: Bullshit! What do you mean by accumulated wealth? It was obviously robbed from the people by force. If I had accumulated it by farming, how many years would it have taken?
The tea stall owner was unhappy, but he could only force a smile on his face and slid to a small table elsewhere.

Wang Lin also sneered secretly in his heart.

He turned around and looked at the statue of Confucius outside the shed.

The statue of Confucius is bathed in the scorching sun. At this moment, there is a huge crowd of people, sweating profusely, but the visiting students seem to be unaffected by the scorching sun at all.

"Let's go, let's go worship too." Wang Lin stood up, stretched, and then walked out of the tea stall casually.

That evening.

Wang Lin met Song Ming, who had returned to Qufu, at the hotel. Song Ming was accompanied by a thin young man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks.

Wang Lin was secretly confused. He didn't understand why Song Ming brought this person here.

Seeing Wang Lin's expression, Song Ming smiled and said, "Brother Wang, don't underestimate my brother. As the saying goes, fish have their own paths, and shrimps have their own paths. My brother may not be as good as you in single combat, but when it comes to other skills, no one can match him."

"What ability?" Wang Lin asked.

"Well, you'll know when the time comes." Song Ming stroked his beard lightly, deliberately keeping the person in suspense.

Then, Song Ming waved his hand and sent the thin man to a room aside to rest. The two of them took out their own stools and sat down to talk about business.

Wang Lin first said: "Master Song, the power of the Kong family is far beyond your and my imagination."

"Yes, he is the descendant of a saint after all." Song Ming clicked his tongue, looked at Wang Lin and asked, "Did you wander around Qufu City these days and gain anything else?"

Wang Lin shook his head.

He simply took a trip to Qufu these few days and didn't get any explosive news.

When Wang Lin heard Song Ming asking this question at this moment, he felt ashamed.

Song Ming, who was standing opposite Wang Lin, saw Wang Lin's expression and understood what was going on. He stopped asking questions and just told him what he knew: "Brother Wang, we just found out that the Qufu County Magistrate Kong Lin has a lover."

"So what?" Wang Lin asked in confusion.

"Guess who it is?"

"Who?"

"The new concubine of Duke Yansheng."

"This is impossible!" Wang Lin stood up suddenly, stared at Song Ming with wide eyes, and continued, "That's Kong Lin's aunt. This is totally against common sense!"

"The two sons of Duke Yansheng died young. If he had no sons, his title of Duke Yansheng would have gone to these side branches. Tell me, how could Kong Lin not be tempted by such temptation?" Song Ming said to himself.

After Wang Lin heard this, his heart was filled with waves.

(End of this chapter)