Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 118 Whose Responsibility is It?
Ai Yu acted very aggressive in front of the Chai family, but when he entered the Ministry of Rites, he found that he was powerless.

Although the Supervisor of Shanglinyuan is of the seventh rank, his experience is different from that of Shen Lu, who is of the seventh rank in the Ministry of Public Security. He is only an official with no merits of his own, and he has achieved his current status thanks to the support of Deng Chang'en. Apart from knowing a little about astrology, calendar, and the skills of flattery, he knows nothing else.

As expected, an accident happened today.

When Ai Yu returned to the teahouse, the old and young of the Chai family came out to greet him. Ai Yu saw deep expectation in the eyes of the two Chai family members.

"You've been spreading the word everywhere, claiming that you have Lord Deng's support, and even mentioned that Lord Deng will help your family choose a crown princess?"

What Ai Yu has to do now is to turn the tables.

Put all the blame on the Chai family.

The old man was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly explained: "There has never been such a thing... Merchants are the most particular about keeping a low profile. After I arrived in the capital, I rarely had social events, so how can I spread the news everywhere?
"Master Ai, I wonder what the situation is like inside? Where will the people be sent next? When will the next round of selection begin?"

Chai Meng sensed something was wrong and reached out to tug at his uncle's collar.

It seems to be a reminder that it is obvious that the matter cannot be accomplished and no matter what you say, it is useless.

Ai Yu was a little frustrated: "I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with the next step. All the candidates have been sent to the palace, and the selection process is probably already underway."

"what!?"

The old man was completely panicked now.

Chai Meng asked angrily, "Lord Ai, have you met the officials from the Ministry of Rites? What did they say? This matter was originally fine, and there was no problem. Why did they suddenly start targeting our family? I have seen almost all the candidates yesterday. Most of them are from ordinary families and cannot compare with my sister's beauty."

Ai Yu waved his sleeves and said, "Choosing a Crown Princess, do you think it's about selecting the most beautiful woman in the Qin and Chu houses? Just because you are good-looking, you can become the mistress of the East Palace? How can there be so many good things?"

Chai Meng argued: "But he was clearly selected yesterday, and was pulled down again today. How can this matter be so weird... Isn't there Lord Deng who can make the decision for us? Can I ask to see Lord Deng?"

Ai Yu became more and more irritated.

He thought to himself, merchants are just blinded by money, thinking that they can get things done by spending money?

If everything is so easy, and you can choose a crown princess by paying money, then how much is the crown princess worth? Wouldn't it be a sky-high price?
After all, she is most likely the future queen of the Ming Dynasty!
The old man was in a state of confusion, and he stammered, "Then... Lord Ai, can we... only go back home now?"

Ai Yu shirked responsibility and said, "I have met with people from the Ministry of Rites. According to what they said, it was because your family is a merchant family that they concealed your origin... The principal wife of the Eastern Palace of the Ming Dynasty must not come from a merchant family. You should have known this long ago."

"What do you mean by merchant family? I am a scholar, my father is also a scholar, my family has a small piece of land for farming, and we have all taken the imperial examination. As for the fact that someone in the family is engaged in business, what does it have to do with our branch? On the other hand, which wealthy family in the world today does not involve some business? Why are we merchants and they are so-called aristocratic families?"

Chai Meng relied on his status as a scholar, and because this incident had caused the most trouble to his family, he was very resentful and got angry with Ai Yu.

Ai Yu glared at Chai Meng and shouted, "Who do you think you are? How dare you question me here?"

The old man hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Please forgive me, sir. My nephew is a little impatient, but he is just concerned and has no ill intentions... Can you see if there is any room for improvement? If there is any need for further respect, just let us know and we will do our best."

Ai Yu sighed, "I understand your feelings, but we must be realistic. Don't you think about it? If it weren't for your family background, you would have been selected but was rejected? It was also because of the haste of the matter, and Lord Deng didn't have time to inform us. If the selection is not over today and there is a by-election tomorrow, I will talk to Lord Deng tonight, maybe there will be a turnaround."

"Thank you, Master Ai."

The old man quickly bowed his hands in thanks.

Chai Meng said with disdain: "Uncle, even if we are just peddlers in his eyes, we can't ignore the most basic principles when meeting an official, right? Didn't I say that all the candidates today will be granted an audience by the Queen Mother, so how can there be tomorrow? Maybe even the Crown Princess will be decided tomorrow!"

"How to speak?"

Ai Yu was furious and yelled, "You little bastard, I guess you don't know your limits unless I teach you a lesson."

Chai Meng raised his head and said, "I am a student. I don't kneel before an official. I am just discussing the matter in front of you. What's wrong with that? Do you still want to hit me?
"You must know that the Shanglinyuan Supervisor does not have the power to abuse private punishment. I have read the Great Ming Law and I don't know which law you have violated! Instead, you took the money but did not do the work. This is an act of defrauding others of their money. Even worse, it is suspected of corruption and abuse of power!"

"You...you..." Ai Yu was not a scholar to begin with. After hearing what Chai Meng said, he was so angry that he couldn't even speak.

The old man quickly pulled his nephew and hurriedly apologized to Ai Yuhao.

Ai Yu waved his sleeves and said, "I'm leaving it at that. Only Lord Deng has the chance to help you with today's matter. You can't do anything on your own! And this matter must have been ruined by your own hands. Your humble background, and the fact that you didn't keep a low profile after arriving in the capital..."

"Humble? Who is humble? My family occupies the top two of the four categories of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. How can we still call this humble?"

Chai Meng was so angry that he immediately retorted.

We paid you to help us with something, but when nothing got done, you put all the blame on us.

Is it still reasonable?
Is there any royal law?
"You... you are a rotten tree that cannot be carved..."

Ai Yu pointed at Chai Meng, his whole body trembling. Finally, he left angrily after saying a few words.

The grandfather and grandson of the Chai family looked at each other, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

"Go back and wait."

The old man looked helpless.

Chai Meng complained, "Uncle, is this matter completely over? My brother and I have gone through so much trouble to come to the capital, how should this be counted?"

"What else?"

The old man said angrily, "I thought that with your academic achievements, you could change the fate of our Chai family, but it's still the same. People still ignore us and don't take us seriously. Didn't you hear what Lord Ai said? They despise us because we are from a merchant family and put us in the lowest class!"

Chai Meng looked proud and said, "At least the fault is not with us brothers and sisters, nor with our family. Isn't that right?"

The old man thought about it and found nothing wrong with this statement.

Either it was because of their background that they failed to pass the re-selection, or it was for some other reason, but it had nothing to do with Chai Meng and his sister.

Chai Meng said self-deprecatingly: "If I put it this way, at least I can give an explanation to my fellow villagers when I return, so that my family won't be ridiculed and mocked."

For Chai Meng, it was an extremely embarrassing thing to bring his sister out to be chosen as the Crown Princess, and then return home in disgrace after failing to be chosen. If someone said that it was because of Chai Meng and his sister's own reasons that they failed to be chosen, then Chai Meng would feel even more embarrassed.

"We Shanxi merchants travel the world, who dares to mock us?"

The old man said something self-congratulatory, but still waved his hand and said, "Go back and wait for news first."

Chai Meng asked: "How long do we have to wait?"

The old man said, "Listen to the message from the higher-ups... The Crown Princess will be officially decided in the next few days. It won't be too late for you to leave after the result is known."

"Those things I gave to my sister before..."

Because Chai Meng's family was not well off as both father and son were scholars, the Chai family and even the entire Shanxi merchant group gave them many gifts when they came to participate in the selection of the Crown Princess.

The old man immediately turned his face away: "Take what you should take, and return what you shouldn't take. I can take care of what the clan gives me. As for what's outside... do you want to take it for yourself?"

"If you don't get elected, you have to withdraw. It's really... You want to speculate without spending any money. What's the point of giving gifts in advance?" Chai Meng said with a bit of disdain in his tone, and then he rushed out angrily before the old man changed his face.

He drove the coachman aside, jumped into his sister's carriage, acted as the coachman temporarily, and drove away with the whip.

(End of this chapter)