Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 45 Shen Lian
No sooner had Yan Maoqing left the douzhi stall than the vendor immediately stopped smiling and whispered to a customer at the stall:
"Boss, this fish is really cunning; it won't take the bait."

"Pah! This soy milk is absolutely disgusting!"

The diner deliberately shouted a curse, then immediately spoke in a low voice without looking to the side.

“I heard you. What’s the rush? This kind of person has many flaws. He’ll slip up eventually.”

After saying that, he slammed the three copper coins on the table, then deliberately shouted, "I won't come again next time," and got up to quickly follow Yan Maoqing in the direction he had left.

This man is named Shen Lian, and he is currently a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign (1548) and was first appointed as the magistrate of Liyang County.

Because of his upright character, hatred of evil, integrity, diligence, and strict adherence to the law during his tenure, countless thugs and ruffians died under his caning. There was even a saying among the people: "Shen Chiping is as clear as a mirror and as pure as water. He does not reward the people for their advice, nor does he anger them for their orders to be obeyed."

When Lu Bing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, heard about these deeds, he admired Lu Bing's upright and unyielding character, so he transferred him to the capital to serve as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When he first arrived, he was just a junior officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a seventh-rank civil official, the same rank as the previous county magistrate.

Under Lu Bing's promotion, he was promoted after only a few months and was promoted to a sixth-rank official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Incidentally.

Shen Lian had studied under Wang Yangming in his early years and admired Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind. Wang Yangming also favored him and regarded him as his prized student.

And by the way...

Because he went against the tide when Yan Song and his son came to power, repeatedly submitting memorials to impeach them and requesting the execution of Yan's faction, he ultimately died unjustly, and even his sons were implicated and brutally beaten to death...

The first task Shen Lian received after being promoted to commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was to secretly monitor Yan Maoqing.

With the recent exposure of that rather intriguing imperial examination answer sheet, Yan Maoqing was naturally categorized by Shen Lian as a treacherous villain.

Therefore, even though his mission this time was only to conduct secret surveillance, he still harbored a strong determination to find some concrete evidence of Yan Maoqing's crimes, expose his true colors to the emperor, and cut off any chance for such a treacherous villain to wreak havoc on the court in the future, even if it meant resorting to fishing to enforce the law.

"This man is clearly as nimble as a bird, yet yesterday he went around spreading rumors that he had been flogged by the Emperor and even went to the Hanlin Academy to ask for leave. This clearly shows his treacherous nature."

With preconceived notions in mind, Shen Lian quietly followed behind Yan Maoqing.

Unlike Yan Song's servant Yan Nian, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's tracking methods were far more sophisticated, so how could Yan Maoqing have easily noticed them?

Soon after.

Yan Maoqing returned to his small courtyard.

After signaling to the people secretly taking turns to keep a close watch, Shen Lian also entered a courtyard house only a dozen feet away.

The most wonderful thing about this residence is that it has a two-story pavilion with windows facing Yan Maoqing's courtyard.

Sitting in the attic, one could not only observe Yan Maoqing discreetly through the window, but also hear roughly what people were saying in the courtyard.

Shen Lian then climbed up to the pavilion and came to the window, looking out through the window.

But in the blink of an eye, Yan Maoqing's courtyard was surrounded by a group of people!
"Open the door! Yan Maoqing, I know you're in there!"

The leader pounded on the courtyard gate, looking like he had come with ill intentions.

……

"We're here, we're here, what's the rush?"

Yan Maoqing had barely settled into his room when he heard a commotion outside, so he had to get up and go out to check.

"We urge you to return the gifts, the house, and the money!"

The people outside were shouting loudly.

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing quickly recognized the visitor's identity after a brief mental connection.

This person was none other than the trusted servant who had accompanied Guo Xun to deliver gifts that day.

It seems that news of yesterday's events at the West Garden has reached Guo Xun's ears. Guo Xun didn't get the result he wanted, and he must have been so angry and frightened that he didn't sleep a wink all night. That's why he sent people early this morning to retrieve the gifts he had previously given. So Yan Maoqing readily removed the door bolt:

"Is there any reason to take back a gift that has already been given?"

"Cut the nonsense!"

A trusted servant kicked the door open, shoving Yan Maoqing aside without any politeness, while waving to his entourage.

"Go in and move everything! Take all the valuables!"

"Return the house deed, and my master's five hundred taels of silver. If you're short a single coin, you won't have a good day today!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian, who was in the attic, was immediately invigorated.

Putting aside the gifts and the house deed, how dare Yan Maoqing, who had only recently passed the imperial examination, accept a bribe of five hundred taels of silver?!
Very good, that's been recorded!
He also called over the Imperial Guards behind him and whispered a message:
"Go tell our brothers to keep a close eye on this group outside and find out where they went and whose people they are!"

at the same time.

"Does your master know that you have been so disrespectful to me today?"

Yan Maoqing didn't stop him, but just stood aside and asked with a smile.

"Haha, what do you think?"

The trusted servant sneered, making no attempt to hide the contempt and disgust on his face.

“I don’t think your owner knows this, and I can tell you with certainty that you have to return these things as you took them today.”

Yan Maoqing smiled and said:
"And you... might even have to slap yourself in front of me for this, to apologize for your rudeness today."

"Who do you think you are?"

The trusted servant curled his lip, cleared his throat, and spat at Yan Maoqing's feet.

He really didn't understand whether Yan Maoqing was truly stupid or pretending, as he kept insisting that his master was unaware of this matter.

If he hadn't received orders from his master, how could a servant like him have dared to act on his own initiative and lead people to take back the gifts his master had sent out? Wouldn't that be going against the natural order?

"Just because I was flogged in the West Garden yesterday, I can still stand here and talk to you today."

Yan Maoqing was still smiling.
"If you don't understand, why don't you go back and ask your master what it means? Perhaps he can tell you the answer."

"This……"

The trusted servant was taken aback upon hearing this and subconsciously began to sized up Yan Maoqing.

Having lived in the capital for a long time, he had naturally heard of the palace's coded language, one of which seemed to be this: the Emperor's use of "beat," "truly beat," and "beat with all one's heart" all had different meanings.

"Hitting" is just a token gesture.

If we really fight, it will be a serious and devastating blow.

If you hit him hard, he'll definitely die after this beating.

Yan Maoqing is standing perfectly fine now, which means...

The trusted servant suddenly realized the deeper meaning behind Yan Maoqing's words, "I think your master doesn't know."

He was leaving a way out for his master in advance, so that they could meet again in the future.

His master, wanting to resolve the "misunderstanding" later, naturally had no choice but to make him, the servant who had handled the matter, take the blame. He would likely have to apologize to Yan Maoqing, which would be the least of his worries. He might even have to be beaten to show his sincerity!

the other side.

Shen Lian: "He abused his power and used the matter of being flogged in court to extort bribes. This is on record!"

(End of this chapter)