Chaos of Ming 1628

"You're not here to repay a debt of gratitude, you're here to sow discord!" Zhou Ji only recognized cleverness.

Sun Qing did not rush to refute, but said calmly, "If the late emperor were still alive, I would naturally not dare to speak so presumptuously."

"Given the current state of affairs in the court, Lord Zhou, who is in office, is probably even more aware of it."

Zhou Ji's eyes darted around, trying hard to hide his emotions: "What do I know? It's too far away for the emperor to reach us."

"Lord Zhou, it's just the two of us here, why deceive yourselves?" Sun Qing listed in detail: "When the current emperor was still Prince Xin, did he ever accept even the slightest gift from the Eunuch? And when did he ever take the initiative to visit him?"

"Furthermore, Prince Xin prefers to use his personal land directly for military expenses and to provide relief to the people. He has always lived a secluded life and never participated in factional infighting. Even the tutors in his palace are all Donglin scholars!"

Even a seventh-rank county magistrate, how could he not understand these things? The current emperor has always distanced himself from the eunuch faction, which is the main reason why the eunuch faction is terrified when the current emperor ascends the throne.

"The Grand Eunuch is still the Ninth Prince, still in control of the court, still..." Zhou Ji's words were somewhat powerless.

Sun Qing interrupted with a sneer: "The current emperor is not the late emperor. How much leniency can he have towards the eunuch? Besides, I am a member of the Sun family. If he kills me to vent his anger, he will surely face a counterattack from the Donglin Party."

"I am innocent, yet I am being held accountable by the eunuch faction; the Sun family will certainly not stand idly by. But you…"

Sun Qing didn't need to say anything more.

Sure enough, Zhou Ji realized what was happening. He was just a minor county magistrate; there were plenty of people like him in the eunuch faction. The eunuch faction had lost face and couldn't take down Sun Qing, so they could only hold this minor county magistrate accountable.

The order to arrest people came from the Eastern Depot, but now many of their own men have died. Wei Zhongxian's humiliated reputation can only be salvaged by the life of this minor county magistrate.

"Oh my god!" Zhou Ji carefully sorted out the reason, his face covered with large beads of sweat, and he was shivering from the cold, so he wrapped himself tightly in the quilt.

Then look at Sun Qing, he scrambled off the bed and onto the floor, crawling to Sun Qing's feet: "Young Master Sun, I'm willing to pay those six hundred taels of silver!"

"I admire the Sun family and respect the Grand Commander. As for the slander against you, it was all forced upon me by Li Weilin!"

"Young Master Sun, if you let me get through this ordeal, you will be my godfather!"

Zhou Ji cried so hard that tears streamed down her face.

Sun Qing pretended to help him up and comforted him with kind words: "Lord Zhou, please get up quickly. I have already said that I came here to save you."

"How can I save his life?"

"That depends on whether Lord Zhou will cooperate," Sun Qing said with a gentle smile.

As the alarm bells blared on Zhou Ji, his eyes lowered, he muttered under his breath, "My salary is meager, and I've already spent all my money on drinks. I really have no money left!"

"What are you saying, Lord Zhou? How could I be such a greedy person?" Sun Qing reprimanded him sternly, "This time, you don't need to spend a single penny."

After saying that, he leaned in and whispered in Zhou Ji's ear.

Zhou Ji became more and more excited as he listened, his eyes widening as he nodded repeatedly.

After some secret planning, Zhou Ji had recovered most of his illness. No longer shivering or cold, he threw off the blanket and personally saw Sun Qing out of the room.

At the entrance.

Shen Junru was wiping her longsword.

The postmaster was utterly puzzled: "What are you doing, young lady?"

"That silly goose is probably not coming back, but he's really annoying. I'll wait until he's suffered for another cup of tea in there before I rush to save him."

When Shen Junru thought about how Sun Qing, that pedantic scholar, was weeping and thanking her so gratefully after the beauty saved the hero, he couldn't help but smile with a smug look on his face.

"Young Master Sun, watch your step."

As they were talking, Zhou Ji personally opened the door and waited at the entrance with a slight bow.

Sun Qing walked very slowly, taking one step and then stopping.

As if suddenly noticing the writing implements on the table beside her: "Oh my, that pen holder is really beautiful!"

"I never imagined Lord Zhou had such discerning taste; it seems you must compose poetry and paint quite often!"

Zhou Ji was somewhat surprised to be praised so suddenly. Following Sun Qing's gaze, he saw it was just a pen holder on the table.

These were just gifts from the wealthy businessmen at the birthday banquet. Zhou Ji didn't see anything special about them; they were just casually placed on the table.

Compared to these useless things, Zhou Ji prefers gold and silver.

"Young Master Sun is too kind," Zhou Ji said, somewhat embarrassed by the praise. "To be honest, I also got this county magistrate position through donation. I've always found literary pursuits extremely tiresome."

"It's a blessing for the young master that this thing has won his favor."

Having said that, he straightened his back and shouted at the man, "Hurry up and wrap up that pen holder and send it to the young master."

"No need, no need," Sun Qing hurriedly waved his hand.

"Please don't find it offensive, young master," Zhou Ji said, still calculating in his mind that if he really didn't want it, he could just let it go. Since it was on the table, it was at least a valuable item.

Sun Qing laughed and said, "No need to trouble yourself, I have men with me, we can take it."

"By the way, the wolf hair brushes in the brush holder are also quite nice, so there's no need to take them out."

Day of the week: ...

On the way back to the post station.

Staring at Sun Qing's retreating figure, Shen Junru was utterly baffled. How could there be such a shameless person?

He muttered to himself, "If it weren't for you, sir, I would have slit your throat."

"What did the young lady say?" asked the postmaster, who was standing beside her, puzzled.

Shen Junru's eyes darted around, and she said guiltily, "He said I had no taste, that I would pick up a broken jar."

The postmaster was utterly astonished and exclaimed, "Grandma, this is the blue-and-white porcelain brush holder depicting a scholar discussing philosophy!"

"Look how exquisite this porcelain is, depicting ancient sages discussing philosophy and philosophy. And look at the elegant blue-and-white glaze—this is top-grade Ru ware!"

No matter how pretty they are, aren't they just bottles and jars for holding pens? They're only prettier than rice jars, just with a few more colors.

In Shen Junru's opinion, since she was going to take it anyway, she might as well just take the long gun by the door.

Inside the post station.

Sun Qing simply placed the pen holder casually on the table, and Lao Yu, who was trying to sleep, stared intently at the pen holder.

"Old Yu, do you like it?" Sun Qing asked casually.

Old Yu didn't look away for a second, and said, "This thing can't be eaten or drunk, what's there for me to like?"

"It's very valuable," Sun Qing laughed.

"Hehe, I'd love to exchange it for wine." Old Yu's eyes clearly showed a struggle, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Why not give it to this old man?"

He chuckled and shook the empty gourd: "Just in time, it's all gone."

The purpose of asking for the pen holder was precisely to give it to Lao Yu. As a renowned calligrapher, it's impossible that he wouldn't like it.

He was Sun Chengzong's confidant, so having a connection with him was a good thing. But these refined scholars detested such ingratiating tactics. What Sun Qing wanted was for the other party to take the initiative and acknowledge the favor.

"That won't do. I like this thing too," Sun Qing decisively refused.

Old Yu licked his lips, his mind racing with inner turmoil.

Shen Junru, however, couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "It's just a broken pot! The master has been going to great lengths for you, and you're still reluctant to part with it?"

"I think you deserve a beating." Shen Junru made a move to strike.

"No!" Old Yu hurriedly stopped him.

Sun Qing feigned fear, her voice full of reluctance: "I'm scared of you. I knew I shouldn't have kept you by my side."

"Here you go, here you go."

As he spoke, Sun Qing handed the pen holder, along with the wolf-hair brush inside, to Lao Yu. Before he could take it, he quickly added, "These things aren't given away for free; you have to do me a favor."

"Write a memorial to the throne for me, in the tone of the magistrate of Jiaohe County."

Old Yu's eyes sharpened, though he quickly concealed it, a hint of murderous intent still flashed in them.

Song Xian's calligraphy was vigorous and powerful. Having served as an official in the capital for many years, he was also a confidant of Sun Chengzong. The Donglin Party members in the capital could easily recognize his handwriting.

What is Sun Qing's intention in making this request now? Or has he already seen through his identity and is simply using this as a pretext?

In fact, Sun Qing did think so too.

The current emperor is diligent and will never be like the Tianqi Emperor, who even allowed Wei Zhongxian to review his memorials.

However, to get a memorial to the emperor, it had to go through several layers of bureaucracy. According to ancestral rules, it was not permissible to bypass the Ministry of Justice; even ordinary official matters had to be submitted to the cabinet for review after the emperor ascended the throne.

The cabinet's petitions were collected again and presented to His Majesty in person at the Wenhua Hall.

During the reign of the Tianqi Emperor, Wei Zhongxian would meticulously select candidates, and those presented to the emperor were all those approved by Wei Zhongxian.

Although things have changed beyond this point, the eunuch faction is still powerful, and being detained is inevitable. Unless a close confidant of a high-ranking official of the third rank or above is directly sent in.

Presumably, Song Xian's handwritten letter, along with its contents, was sufficient to reach Chongzhen on that day.

This is what Sun Qing wanted.

Seeing the change in Lao Yu's eyes, Sun Qing sighed, "I am a member of the Sun family. If I were to write this, I'm afraid it would implicate the Sun family."

"Fine, if you don't want to, then forget it. I'll go find Meng Zhaoxiang and the others."

"Wait a minute," Old Yu's doubts were finally dispelled. As long as he didn't guess his identity and intend to use him, it was fine: "I've traveled all over the country, and I make a living with this mouth and this handwriting."

"I'll do you this favor for the sake of this drink."