I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 142: You, Lin Shisan, are no longer a nobody (-word chapter)
There is a special cat room in the Western Garden to raise royal cats.

There were six imperial cats in the Cat Room that were most favored by Emperor Jiajing.

One is called "Golden Tiger", a fat orange cat that looks like a little pig.

One of them is named "Chi Yu Xiao Fei Lian", and as its name suggests, the cat is pure white all over.

One of them is called "Xue Li Tuo Qiang", its whole body is snow-white except for its tail which is black.

One is named "Xiaotie" and is pure black.

One is named "Treading Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms", with a black body and four snow-white claws.

The names of the imperial cats were all given by Yan Song, so naturally each one is full of poetic meaning.

The above five combined are not as popular as "eyebrow cream".

It is light blue all over, except for the eyebrows which are white, hence the name "eyebrow cream".

Mei Shuang is a cat who is very good at observing the emperor's mood and flattering him. When Emperor Jiajing is in a bad mood, he will rub his head against his legs to make him happy.

Not to mention when Emperor Jiajing was in a good mood. He would wag his tail, lick the back of his hands, and step on his feet, just like a cat slave would act like a spoiled child.

No wonder Mei Shuang was named "Yue Sheng Lang Zhong" and had a salary equal to that of a fifth-rank official. Every meal was filled with top-quality dried fish from the East China Sea.

Emperor Jiajing even gave him two palace maids and two eunuchs to serve him personally.

Eyebrow cream is the favorite of Emperor Jiajing. Choosing a husband for it is no less important than recruiting a consort. No carelessness is allowed.

Lin Shisan took on the job of finding a son-in-law from Lu Fang. He first sent Li Gao back to the Jinyiwei headquarters to find a painter captain named Zhang.

Jinyiwei had many miscellaneous duties, and most of the court painters were granted the title of Jinyiwei. That Captain Zhang was the most skilled painter in meticulous painting among Jinyiwei.

Lin Shisan led Captain Zhang to the cat room.

The ambassador of the Maoerfang was a eunuch in his early twenties named Tian Yi.

Lin Shisan came here not to find a husband for Mei Shuang in the cat room. There were forty-six cats in the cat room, all of which were different from Mei Shuang.

The most important thing for matching cats is that they are of the same breed and appearance. This is true for both folk and royal cats.

If the eyebrow cream with pale blue and white eyebrows was paired with a fat orange cat and gave birth to a litter of mixed-colored cats, wouldn't Emperor Jiajing be furious?
Lin Shisan asked Tian Yi, "Is Doctor Mei serving the emperor in the main hall of Yongshou Palace? Or is he resting in the cat's room?"

Eyebrow cream is "Yuesheng Langzhong", so Lin Shisanzun called it: "Mei Langzhong".

Tian Yi replied: "The Emperor is currently speaking to several officials from the six ministries. Eunuch Huang has just sent someone to send Doctor Mei back to the cat room."

"It is eating dried fish in the doctor's house."

Lin Shisan nodded: "Okay, take us there."

There is a luxurious room in Mao'er's room. This luxurious room is covered with wool blankets from the Western Regions. This is Mei Shuang's "Doctor's House".

At this moment, Mei Shuang was lying in a nest on the east side of the mansion, squinting her eyes and chewing a small dried fish. Two eunuchs were waiting on her side.

Lin Shisan ordered Captain Zhang: "Draw a detailed portrait of Mei Langzhong."

Captain Zhang nodded, spread out the drawing paper on the desk in the luxurious room, and prepared the ink and inkstone. He immersed himself in painting, and occasionally looked up at Mei Shuang.

In just two moments, a lifelike portrait with eyebrow cream was completed.

Captain Zhang blew away the ink, rolled up the photo and handed it to Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan took out a silver ingot weighing about five taels from his purse and handed it to Captain Zhang: "Please help me."

The Lin family now had two big businesses, the elephant training center and the ice for the imperial palace, which brought in huge amounts of money every day. Lin Shisan was very well-off.

He ordered his comrades-in-arms who were not under his command to do things, and always rewarded them with money depending on the size of the task.

Even though Lin Shisan received a good beating from Lu Bing last year, now all the captains and strongmen in the guards are happy to be under Lin Baihu's orders.

There is no way, he gave too much.

Captain Zhang is very much like Lin Shisan two years ago. He is a low-ranking official in the guards and is very happy to get five taels of silver for free.

He took the silver and held it in his hand: "I have only done a small job, how can I ask for the reward from Captain Lin?"

Lin Shisan said with a smile: "Take it. It is said that our Jinyiwei people are very powerful, and we have to share it with everyone."

"The lives of the lieutenants below are very hard. I was a lieutenant in the past, so I know this. This little bit of silver will be used as a subsidy for your household expenses."

Captain Zhang thanked him profusely and left.

Lin Shisan returned to the Northern Pacification Office with his brows frost in his pocket. He instructed Sun Yue: "I'll give you a task. Gather all the cat dealers in the Diaobeng Street Cat Market."

"I will host a banquet for them at Hongbin Building tonight."

Sun Yue asked: "Master, whose cat is missing?"

Lin Shisan explained: "It's the Emperor who wants to find a son-in-law for Mei Shuang."

Lin Shisan was busy mating cats. He didn't know that his name had been included in an impeachment petition.

In the evening, in a courtyard in the south city.

Three officials in their early thirties were bowing before two tablets in the main hall.

On one side of the tablet is inscribed "The position of Yang Jisheng, Deputy Director of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty".

On the other side of the tablet was written "The position of Shen Lian, the officer of the Jinyiwei Department of the Ming Dynasty".

The three people who kowtowed to the two loyal officials were Wu Shilai, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Chong, the Director of the Guangdong Qingli Division of the Ministry of Justice, and Dong Chuanze, the Director of the Shanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Justice.

Among the three, Wu Shilai and Zhang Chong were Xu Jie’s students, while Dong Chuanze was Xu Jie’s fellow villager from Songjiang.

After bowing to the tablet, Wu Shilai picked up a memorial of impeachment from the altar.

This impeachment memorial contains two contents.

The first story: The former governor of Xuanda, Yang Shun, was afraid of the enemy and missed the opportunity to attack the enemy, which led to the capture of dozens of forts in Yingzhou by the Tatars and the death and injury of 10,000 soldiers and civilians.

The second story is about the former governor of Xuanda, Yang Shun, the inspector-general, Lu Kai, and Lin Shisan, a captain of the Imperial Guard, who framed Shen Lian and caused the unjust killing of a loyal and honest man.

Wu Shilai said, "Brother Zhang, Brother Dong, I hope that Lord Yang Jisheng and Lord Shen Lian are still alive and will bless me so that this memorial can be approved by the emperor and the treacherous people can be punished."

Zhang Chong said, "Brother Dong and I are willing to sign this petition with you."

Wu Shilai said, "I am testing the emperor's attitude towards the Yan Party. You don't have to take risks with me."

"If the emperor approves my memorial and punishes Yang Shun and others, it means that the emperor has the intention to overthrow Yan."

"Then we will submit a petition together to impeach Yan Song and his son."

Dong Chuance asked, "Should we ask Lord Xu about this matter first?"

Wu Shilai shook his head: "Master Xu has been tolerant of the Yan Party over the years. He would never agree to his students directly submitting memorials to impeach the Yan Party leaders."

"The court is dark, loyal people are beheaded in the streets. Incompetent officials and corrupt officials occupy high positions in the temple. Those who claim to be upright are silent."

"The world shouldn't be like this, and the court shouldn't be like this."

"In the long night, there must always be someone who brings fire to pierce the darkness and speak for the loyal people who died unjustly."

"I am not talented, but I am willing to be the one who lights the fire. I will not regret it even if I get burned in the flames."

Not all members of Xu's party were corrupt officials. These three were honest and virtuous officials.

Wu Shilai submitted this memorial not for fame or to make a splash. He simply wanted to speak up for Shen Lian.

There are not many people with conscience in the court. Wu Shilai is one, Zhang Chong is one, and Dong Chuanze is one.

Wu Shilai wrote this impeachment memorial without informing his teacher Xu Jie. Having been Xu's student for a long time, he naturally knew his teacher's character.

If he said he wanted to seek justice for Shen Lian, Teacher Xu would definitely stop him and say a bunch of muddy words. It didn't matter that Wu Shilai complained about Yang Shun and Lu Kai, but he also brought Lin Shisan along.

The six departments of the imperial court do not impeach minor figures. Lin Shisan was impeached by Wu Shilai, which indirectly shows that he is now a big shot in the officialdom of the capital.

That night, Wu Shilai had a drink with his two best friends.

The life of an honest official is hard. The three of them only had a plate of pickled vegetables, a bowl of tofu, and a bowl of fennel beans as snacks. The wine was also bad.

But when drinking with friends, a thousand cups are not enough. The three of them got drunk. When they were drunk, they cried loudly for the death of Yang Jisheng and Shen Lian.

At the same time, at Hongbin Tower at the junction of North and South City.

Lin Shisan was hosting a banquet for a group of cat dealers in Diaobeng Street.

Sixteen exquisite dishes were served, but Lin Shisan did not pick up his chopsticks.

He smiled and said, "Everyone, before we eat and drink, I'd better talk to you about business first."

Manager Hu, the oldest cat dealer, bowed and said, "If you need anything, Lin Chuanfeng, just tell me."

Lin Shisan said: "The emperor has a cat doctor named Meishuang, a little female cat with a pale blue body and white eyebrows."

"Recently, this cat doctor has been calling for sex every night, hoping to find a husband. The palace has entrusted me with the task of finding a husband for him."

After saying that, Lin Shisan unfolded the small face of eyebrow cream and showed it to the cat dealers.

After everyone had looked at it, Lin Shisan said, "You are all experts in matching cats. When you find a male cat for a female cat, you should choose one that is of the same breed and appearance."

Shopkeeper Hu said, "This kind of doctor Mei Shuang is extremely rare. But since Lin Chuanfeng has spoken, we must keep an eye out for it."

Lin Shisan said: "It's not about paying attention, but doing your best. When the royal cat is looking for a son-in-law, there is a dowry."

"This dowry will be the purchase of royal cats for Xiyuan Cat House next year."

"The annual purchase amount of the Maoerfang is five thousand taels of silver. Whoever helps Meishuang find a good son-in-law will be given the five thousand taels of silver business by me!"

As soon as Lin Shisan said this, all the cat dealers became furious.

First of all, doing business with the palace is lucrative.

Secondly, if his cat married into the imperial palace, it would also become an imperial cat. If his cat shop had the golden signboard of "tribute to the emperor's cat", wouldn't all the dignitaries and wealthy ladies in the whole capital flock to buy cats?
Lin Shisan is well aware that a big reward will always bring courage. With big profits ahead, he is not afraid that these cat dealers will not be dedicated.

After a round of drinking and feasting, Lin Shisan left Hongbinlou and returned to his new home on Fushou Street.

Uncle Zhang came forward and said half-jokingly, "Hey, the master is back. I kowtow to him."

Zhang Bo retired from the Northern Pacification Office in the early spring of this year. He moved out of Yihonglou and became the housekeeper of Lin Shisan's new house.

Lin Shisan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "This is not a joke. The master is like a father. If he kowtows to his disciple, the disciple will be struck by lightning!"

Uncle Zhang asked, "You came back quite late, were you out for a social event?"

Lin Shisan replied: "Yes, I invited the cat dealers to Hongbin Tower for a drink. The palace asked me to find a son-in-law for the Imperial Cat Eyebrow Cream."

Zhang Bo said, "There is a great event. Madam and Auntie are waiting for you in the main hall."

Lin Shisan asked: "What's the big happy event?"

Zhang Bo smiled and said, "As a servant, I dare not say anything. I'd better ask my wife and aunt to tell you in person."

Lin Shisan entered the main room.

Biyun smiled and said, "Husband, congratulations."

Lin Shisan asked: "Congratulations for what?"

Biyun said, "Yun'er was not feeling well today, so she asked a doctor to take her pulse. Guess what? It's a happy pulse! Hu'er is going to have a brother or sister."

Lin Shisan was stunned on the spot. After a moment, he was overjoyed: "Is it true? You two didn't lie to me?"

Since Biyun gave birth to Tiger, there has been no movement in her belly.

Now that Yun'er is pregnant, the Lin family can have another baby.

Yun'er said, "It's true, sir. I've been vomiting after eating these past few days. The master took my pulse twice to prevent mistaking it."

Lin Shisan's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled: "Okay, okay. Although we have Tiger to inherit our family business, an only son is still too weak."

Biyun was a generous woman. She was not jealous at all. Instead, she was happy for her husband: "I will ask a silversmith to make a copper basin for the full-term pregnancy tomorrow."

This is the custom in the capital. When a woman feels pregnant, her husband's family will prepare a silver, copper or clay basin. In the basin, a bunch of rice stalks will be placed, with flowers on the ends of the stalks.

Biyun would not be jealous. If a concubine gave birth to children, the children still belonged to the wife in name.

What's more, a concubine cannot sleep with her husband if she is pregnant. For the next eight months, Lin Shisan will only belong to Biyun at night.

The next day, Lin Shisan came to the duty room of the Northern Pacification Division and gave each of his men ten taels of silver as a gift.

The men were all happy when they received the money.

Sun Yue smiled and said, "Master, it is said that people feel refreshed when they are happy. When you entered the duty room just now, I saw your forehead was shining."

It is hard to say whether the forehead is dark or shiny.

That afternoon, Wu Shilai's impeachment memorial bypassed the Tongzhengsi and was submitted to the Yongshou Palace.

The Tongzhengsi was controlled by the Yan Party, but Wu Shilai was a censor of the six departments, and his impeachment memorials could be submitted directly to the emperor.

When Emperor Jiajing saw Wu Shilai's memorial, he threw it directly out of the green gauze curtain.

Lu Fang picked it up.

Emperor Jiajing said: "Show the memorial to Yan Song. After reading it, keep it in the palace and don't send it out."

Showing it to Yan Song was to warn him, while keeping it in the palace was to show favor to Yan Song.

Emperor Jiajing had a way of dealing with his subjects, and he was particularly good at giving them a slap in the face and then a sweet treat.

Lu Fang said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jiajing had not yet made up his mind to overthrow Yan. He planned to follow the old method of dealing with memorials from censors and "keep it in the palace without publishing it", that is, to deal with it coldly.

As the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, Lu Fang had of course read the memorial. But he did not expect that Wu Shilai would even implicate Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan was on duty in the Northern Pacification Office in the morning, and came to the West Garden to take care of the imperial concubine affairs in the afternoon.

He went to Lv Fang to report Mei Shuang's marriage proposal. Lv Fang said, "Let's not talk about that for now. You have been reported by the Six Departments' Censors."

Lin Shisan was stunned: "The six censors only report important figures, why would they report a small figure like my nephew?"

Lu Fang asked back: "I thought you were still the unknown Tangtie Xiaowei from two years ago?"

"The emperor's close minister, the prime minister's nephew, the Yan family's honored guest, Beisi Feiyu is a small figure?"

Lin Shisan was stunned. He suddenly realized that he was no longer the same as before.

He asked, "Why did the censor accuse my nephew?"

Lü Fang replied: "They colluded with the former governor of Xuanda, Yang Shun, and the inspector, Lu Kai, to frame Shen Lian, causing the unjust death of a loyal and good man in the border town."

"Don't worry, the emperor knows the whole story of Shen Lian's death. The emperor has already given a verbal order on this memorial, which will be kept in the palace and not released."

Lin Shisan breathed a sigh of relief: "They are reporting me for what happened in Xuanfu last autumn. They really can't do anything about it."

Lu Fang said: "You don't have to take this too seriously. As long as you are promoted to a certain position, which official will not be impeached?"

"Just do your job of finding a son-in-law for Mei Shuang."

(End of this chapter)