Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

This person was sitting behind the screen, presumably wanting to hear Xie Gen discuss business with him, but not wanting to show up in person.

is this necessary?

During the few days Lu Chen stayed in Cen Port, he could easily find out about maritime trade by simply asking someone in any tavern.

In Ningbo Prefecture, private involvement in maritime trade was an open secret; even the officers and soldiers of Guanhaiwei and Dinghaiwei were secretly involved.

Among all the gentry and powerful families in Ningbo Prefecture, there was probably no one who was completely uninvolved. Even if they did not trade directly with Shuangyu Maritime Trade Group, they still played a role in the entire maritime trade import and export supply chain.

Yesterday, Xie Gen met with me. Although he had the air of superiority of a noble family in his every move, he was still quite generous and proper in his manners, and he never avoided talking about maritime trade.

Yes, Xie Gen mentioned yesterday that he is a student at the Nanjing Imperial Academy.

Lu Chen already knew only one of the famous figures from the Xie family of Yuyao: Xie Qian. After all, Xie Qian was one of the three famous prime ministers of the Hongzhi era, along with Li Dongyang and Liu Jian, and also an important advisor left by Emperor Xiaozong to his son, Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao.

That was all Lu Chen knew about Xie Qian's life.

After arriving in Yuyao, Lu Chen realized that the Xie family was indeed a family of academic elites.

Not only did Xie Qian himself achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination during the Chenghua reign, but his second son, Xie Pi, also achieved the third rank during the Hongzhi reign, making them a renowned father and son who both achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination.

Under such family traditions, the Xie family members were bound to take the imperial examination route.

The status of a student at the Imperial Academy was higher than that of a scholar who had passed the county-level imperial examination, but it was essentially just an admission qualification. After graduation, their status was theoretically equivalent to that of a provincial-level scholar, and they were also qualified to take up an official post.

In reality, because they did not come from the official examination system, officials who were graduates of the Imperial Academy had a lower career ceiling than those who were graduates of the Juren examination.

Although students of the Imperial Academy were also eligible to participate in the imperial examinations, they would take the provincial examination to become candidates for the provincial degree, just like scholars who had passed the county-level examinations. They could not directly participate in the metropolitan examination to become candidates for the highest degree.

The biggest advantage of taking the Imperial Academy route is that you can become an official without having to take the imperial examination like ordinary people.

Xie Gen claimed to be the son of Xie Qian's elder brother, Xie Di. Such a person did not take the proper path of the imperial examination, but instead obtained the status of a student at the Nanjing Imperial Academy, which can only mean that he was completely unfit for studying.

He could only rely on Xie Qian's connections to obtain the status of a student in the Imperial Academy.

In this way, as Xie Qian's nephew, with a high enough status in the Xie family and without the burden of being a so-called "pure stream" official who came from the imperial examinations, he was the most suitable person to take the lead in managing the Xie family's maritime trade business.

But this person is definitely not the head of the Xie family; he doesn't have that kind of influence.

By this time, Xie Qian had already passed away, and the person with the highest status in the Yuyao Xie family must have been Xie Pi, the third-ranked scholar!

Could the person behind the screen be Xie Pi?

As the third-ranking scholar in the Hongzhi era, and with Xie Qian, the prime minister, as his father, Xie Pi should have been a high-ranking official in the six ministries of the capital or a regional governor at this time.

How did this person end up in Yuyao, his hometown?

"Did the ship owner, Lu, also like Tang Yin's paintings?"

Just as Lu Chen was pondering who the person behind the screen could be, Xie Gen's voice came from behind him.

"Tang Bohu is very famous. It's rare to see an original work, so naturally I have to appreciate it properly."

Lu Chen turned around, nodded and smiled at Xie Gen.

Before Xie Gen could speak again, a crisp sound came from behind the screen—the sound of a teacup falling to the ground and shattering.

. . .

Entering through the hidden door, Xie Pi sat down on a chair behind the screen and secretly observed the two young men who called themselves "maritime merchants" through the screen.

Neither of them faced the screen; one sat in a seat while the other stood by the wall admiring Tang Yin's paintings.

Although Xie Pi felt that the figure of the person standing there looked somewhat familiar, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Until that person spoke to Xie Gen.

To Xie Gen, this was just a casual greeting, but to Xie Pi, it was like a thunderclap.

Xie Pi was all too familiar with that voice; he would never forget it in his entire life.

Without any hesitation, Xie Pi immediately stood up and peered through the gap between the two screens.

Just then, the man who had been admiring the paintings on the wall turned around, allowing him to see the other man's face.

The moment Xie Pi saw that face, he froze completely, not even noticing the teacup in his hand fall to the ground.

. . .

"Brother!"

Upon hearing the sound of the teacup shattering, Xie Gen could no longer care that Xie Pi only wanted to observe the plans of these two "sea merchants" from behind the screen.

He rushed over, pulled back the screen, and caught the swaying Xie Pi.

To Xie Gen's surprise, Xie Pi, who had just regained his balance, pushed him away and then knelt down before the "sea merchant" who had just discussed Tang Yin's paintings with him, pressing his forehead to the ground.

"Your Majesty... I deserve to die!"

Xie Pi's voice was trembling.

"Your Majesty, with your supreme status, has graced my humble abode with your presence. I... I am utterly terrified and beg Your Majesty to punish me for failing to greet you properly."

Upon hearing this, Xie Geng, who had originally intended to help his elder brother up, also hurriedly knelt down, his teeth chattering, but he couldn't utter a single word.

. . .

Can anyone tell me what's going on?!

Staring at the two people kneeling before him, Lu Chen felt like his brain was about to overload!

When Xie Gen met with him yesterday, he did not show any abnormality. Even when they were discussing Tang Bohu's paintings just now, nothing seemed amiss.

Clearly, the current situation has nothing to do with him.

If that's the case, then it can only be related to the old man behind the screen.

His reaction just now can only be explained in one way: he thought he was the emperor.

How is this possible?!

Although Lu Chen had transmigrated into another body, how could he not know whether he had transmigrated into the emperor's body or not?

It has been more than half a year since I first transmigrated to this world and woke up in the deep mountains of western Hubei.

In such a long time, I've experienced quite a lot. What does this have to do with my status as emperor?

Moreover, the fifteenth day of the first month of the eighteenth year of Jiajing's reign has already passed, and Emperor Jiajing must be in his thirties by now!

He looked to be in his early twenties at most, but if you counted him as "Lu Chen," he was only nineteen.

Is this old man blind? How could he mistake this for something else?!

Lu Chen turned to look at Qin Fang and saw a bewildered expression on his face.

Well, he didn't understand what was going on between the two of them either!

Moreover, Qin Fang had been under my command for a full six months and was very clear that I could never be the emperor.

Since this person could mistake himself for the emperor, whatever the reason, he must have seen the emperor.

Just now, I heard Xie Gen address the old man behind the screen as "elder brother," which means that this person is his peer, a nephew or niece of Xie Qian.

Among these people, the only one who might have met the Jiajing Emperor was Xie Pi, who was a third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations.

Therefore, the old man kneeling before him was Xie Pi himself!