The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 176 Entrusting Zhi Qiu
Just as the family was enjoying a happy reunion after resolving a major issue, the housekeeper rushed in from outside, his face filled with anxiety.

Upon entering the gate, he immediately knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and reported, "Your Highness, Master Chen Ying has sent someone to the residence, saying that he is seriously ill and wishes to invite the Second Young Master, Second Young Mistress, and Young Master to the residence for a chat."

Everyone in the room was startled. Li Mao's wife was Chen Ying's youngest daughter. Upon hearing this, she swayed as if about to collapse. Li Mao quickly supported her and held her in his arms.

If we're talking about the Li family in the past, then naturally the entire court was filled with their protégés and former officials. However, they all died out as early as the Hongwu era, and the rest lost contact with them. After Li Qi rebuilt the Li family, among the people he befriended, the Chen family was second to none.

He served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, Minister of Works, and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. He retired in March of the ninth year of the Yongle reign, but unexpectedly fell seriously ill just one year later.

Chen Ying was a person of noble character, and Li Qi respected her greatly.

In fact, Chen Ying's poor health had been a long-standing issue. He should have retired long ago, but at that time, Li Qi had just passed away, and the School of Mind was only a handful of people. Xie Jin had been demoted to Jiaozhi, leaving Chen Ying as the only one among the Nine Ministers. So he forced himself to stay in office, and this procrastination eventually led to his health deteriorating.

Princess Lin'an didn't delay and immediately said in a deep voice, "Zijuan, go to the storeroom and get two pieces of old ginseng. Have the second son and his wife take them to their father-in-law. Third son, since the Duke of Jiying wants to see you, he must have something to say to you. You should go with your second brother."

Li Mao, Li Chenshi, and Li Xianmu all wore solemn expressions. They hurriedly bowed and left the princess's residence, heading towards the Chen residence.

Li Xianmu remained calm. After retiring, Chen Ying should have returned to his hometown, but Chen Ying was in poor health at the time. Because he was worried that he might encounter some trouble on the way, he stayed in the capital to recuperate. Unexpectedly, he still passed away.

Upon arriving at the Chen residence, the sun had already set behind the tall, vermilion gates, carrying a hint of melancholy. The gatekeeper of the Minister's residence greeted them with "Miss" and "Son-in-law" before leading the three into the inner hall. The residence was deserted, with few servants in sight.

The two brothers were heavy-hearted, while Madam Chen wept bitterly, her eyes already blurred. After entering the inner hall, Madam Chen immediately broke down in tears and threw herself at the bedside, crying, "Father... Father, Master."

"Father-in-law, your son-in-law greets you."

"Uncle Chen, I, Xianmu, pay my respects."

Inside the room, Chen Ying's face was sunken, and anyone who saw it could tell that his life was not going to last long. Fortunately, it was not yet time for a final burst of energy. There was no doctor in the ward, only a bowl of medicine on the small table in front of the bed. The color looked like ginseng soup, probably because there was no way to save him and he was just trying to keep him alive so that he could see a few people one last time.

Chen Ying opened his eyes. Although he looked unwell, a bowl of ginseng soup had given him some energy. Seeing his youngest daughter crying her eyes out, he reached out and patted her head. "Good daughter, don't cry."

Hearing this, Chen cried even harder.

Chen Ying sighed slightly, but he was delighted. He only had one son, who was not good at studying and only passed the imperial examination. However, with his father, a second-rank official, the son was transferred to a county magistrate position and, over a decade later, rose step by step to the position of a fourth-rank prefect.

His youngest daughter married into the Li family and is doing very well. He knows that the Li family has a very strict family tradition, but it is not a rigid family. After all, Li Qi is the leader of the Neo-Confucianism school who is determined to break down the Neo-Confucianism.

Thinking of this, Chen Ying instructed his daughter, "The Li family is a family with upright traditions and not rigid, a family that I, your father, carefully selected. You have always been a person of good manners. In your husband's family, you must be filial to your mother-in-law. Princess Lin'an is of noble status and will not lack servants, but as her daughter-in-law, you must serve her more. At home, you must listen to your husband and not be jealous..."

A father's earnest teachings to his daughter, concealing his worries about leaving this world, brought tears to Chen's eyes once again.

Li Mao and Li Xianmu also couldn't help but shed tears. They both remembered that their father was like this before he passed away, as if he had endless things to say, as if he wanted to explain everything, afraid that after he left, his children would suffer some grievances or encounter some difficulties, and he would no longer be by their side to make decisions for them.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, I will take good care of Yunniang and will never let her suffer any injustice."

A faint smile appeared on Chen Ying's withered and thin face. "I know you're a good boy, otherwise I wouldn't have married Yunniang to you. I trust you."

Chen Ying was very satisfied with the three sons Li Qi had raised. Although the eldest and second sons were far less capable than Li Xianmu, their good character was enough. In a family like the Li family, as long as the people didn't have any major problems, a lifetime of wealth and honor would be easy.

Indeed, Li Fang and Li Mao, though not as famous as their younger brother Li Xianmu, were already fourth-rank military officers. At this rate, they could easily be promoted another rank. As long as they didn't commit any crimes, they were guaranteed a lifetime of wealth and status.

After speaking with his son-in-law and daughter, Chen Ying looked at Li Xianmu, and a look of excitement suddenly appeared on his face. "Xianmu, you are very good!"

His eyes held pure appreciation, unadulterated. "Jinghe once told me about his dream, and I thought to myself, 'That's too difficult, it's impossible to do.' But in the end, I still followed Jinghe and did it."

But Jinghe, having you as my son, I suddenly feel that those absurd things might not be without hope after all.

It's a pity I won't be able to see it.

Li Xianmu said in a deep voice, "My late father said many times that Uncle Chen was a man of noble character and a good teacher and friend to him."

"I won't say those things anymore. I called you here today because there are some people who want to tell you something." Chen Ying said. Li Mao and Chen Shi were startled upon hearing this, and then slowly withdrew from the room. Both of them knew that Chen Ying was going to hand over all her connections to Li Xianmu.

Li Xianmu was also taken aback. "Uncle, these things should be left to my brother." Chen Ying had served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice since the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign, and later as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for many years. Although the things he possessed were not as outrageous as the accounts of officials in the TV series, many of them were still extremely valuable.

From the Hongwu period to the Yongle period, Chen Ying held a high position among the Nine Ministers for more than a decade. He was able to keep the philosophy of mind from being attacked all by himself, which shows that he was no ordinary person!
This is a very rich political legacy, and now he wants to give it to Li Xianmu, an outsider.

Chen Ying waved his hand dismissively and said, "I told your brother about this a long time ago. He's an honest man, and I can't control him. Giving these to him wouldn't be of much use. Giving these to you might be a good thing for him."

I had met Chen Ying's son, Li Xianmu. He was indeed an honest man in officialdom. At the time, he was a county magistrate in Henan. When a tributary of the Yellow River flooded, he reportedly stayed on the embankment for three days and three nights, managing to plug the breach in the tributary before returning to the county office. He almost died from a high fever. He was also not good at flattery. It can be said that if he hadn't had a father who was one of the Nine Ministers, he would have remained a county magistrate for his entire life, and might even have been framed and killed at any time.

Poor parents in the world.

Chen Ying naturally harbored a hope that Li Xianmu would take care of his son in the future.

"Uncle, rest assured, my brother is an upright man. Although he is not good at adapting to circumstances, he has great perseverance and will surely have a bright future."

Li Xianmu made a promise to Chen Ying.

Chen Ying shook his head and said, "There's no need to overpraise him. Let him go as far as he can. The officialdom is unpredictable, so don't let him hold you back."

"Uncle, there's no need to worry. I'm confident in my abilities."

Li Xianmu had his own plans. If someone was truly incapable of being developed, he would naturally not support them. But Chen Ying's son was different; he was a capable official. Such officials were useful, and if he wanted to implement reforms in the future, he would need someone willing to take the lead.

Besides, Chen Ying's son is one of our own, so we should naturally give him a helping hand if we can.

As Li Xianmu was thinking, Chen Ying reached under the pillow and took out a key. Then she told Li Xianmu a location, “There are some things I have accumulated in the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review over the years. Many of them have been discarded, but some are still usable. I have spoken to all my former students and officials, and I have also kept a record of the favors I have done for them. They can be of great help to you in the future.”

Your father once spoke of broadcasting the philosophy of mind, but true followers of the philosophy of mind are more pure. See which of these people are useful and recruit them; discard those you can't use after repaying the favor.”

Li Xianmu put the key away, and then, in response to these words, Chen Ying stared at Li Xianmu in a daze. "I spent the first half of my life in the officialdom, but I felt it was all meaningless. I could only stick to my own principles until I met your father. Only then did I realize that life should be lived this way."

Your father was a very different person. During the difficult times of the late emperor's reign, he still held onto his ideals and persevered. It's just a pity that good people don't live long. He passed away just as the light of day was beginning to shine.

He's so young, unlike me, who's already old and frail.

Actually, Chen Ying isn't old; he's only a dozen years older than Li Qi.

Li Xianmu listened quietly, but his mind wandered as he thought of his father's appearance before his death. When he came back to his senses, his second brother, Li Mao, and his sister-in-law had already returned to the house at some point.

Chen Ying's voice gradually faded, trembling as if she was about to lose the ability to speak. Chen Shi was anxious to get her father to drink another sip of ginseng soup, but Chen Ying stopped her.

His face suddenly turned rosy, but Chen's face was deathly pale, and for a moment they couldn't tell who was the seriously ill person.

"Take care from now on, your father is leaving."

Looking at his daughter, who was already crying her eyes out, Chen Ying finally shed a tear of pity for her; he was still worried about her.

"Father!"

Chen held her father's hand and wept bitterly, her voice filled with endless sorrow.

Li Mao, as the son-in-law, helped out inside.

Li Xianmu walked into the courtyard and looked at the clear blue sky. "My father's friends are gradually passing away, and it seems that the traces of my father are disappearing little by little."

He sighed, and a leaf fell on his head.

He took it off, bewildered. Had autumn arrived?

(End of this chapter)