The Red Mansion Big Liar

"Hahaha!" Duke Qing laughed heartily, "Master Zhang is right. Besides, everyone has made mistakes. Besides, choosing Mei Lian was a helpless move because we didn't want to alert the enemy. It's not Brother Zhou's fault."

Among the six, the Minister of Rites was the most reasonable and expected.

After all, the Prince of Qin was born to the late Queen and was the eldest son of the Emperor. It was only reasonable for the Minister of Rites to support him since he sat in this position.

The title of Minister of War surprised Zhang Yun逸, but on second thought, it seemed reasonable.

It is not difficult to see from the Ministry of Works corruption case that Prince Ning had too close connections with the military generals. Although the Minister of War was not a military general leading troops, he was in charge of the dispatch of food and fodder, weapons and armor, and logistical supplies.

If the King of Qin does not even have any means of checks and balances, he might as well withdraw as soon as possible.

As for Duke Qing, the reason why he is still a duke now is not because he lived long but because the title was not hereditary.

But it was because he was the first to contribute to Prince Yoshitada's suppression of the rebellion.

Needless to say, King Zhongshun was the money bag of King Qin.

Among the six, Zhang Yun逸 and Zhou Xianzu had the lowest ranks.

Zhang Yun逸 has his own unique qualities, and so does Zhou Xianzu.

His status was just enough to make him a partner, and his daughter had been selected as an imperial concubine in her early years and happened to be assigned to the Qin Palace.

The topic turned to Mei Lian, and they took the opportunity to talk about the smuggling of guano.

Duke Qing was the first to speak: "According to the news sent back by the old subordinates, this time it is the Zhen family who is in charge. As long as we can get to the emperor, even if we can't lead him to Prince Ning, we will definitely make him pay for it."

If the four kings and eight dukes are considered the old nobles, then the Duke of Qing is the new noble.

Although they did not have the foundation of these old nobles, each of whom had their own sphere of influence, after the rebellion was suppressed, they were rewarded according to merit, and their old subordinates were also well-connected.

Minister of Rites Gu Dashou took over the conversation and said, "It's a pity that Mei Lian doesn't seem to be able to take on a big role. I'm afraid we have to make preparations and arrange one or two candidates to take the lead."

In this day and age, the people who hold the power of speech are scholars. To be able to become the Minister of Rites, one must at least have a certain reputation among the literati.

Moreover, the Minister of Rites was also a strong contender for the chief examiner of the imperial examinations, and it is no exaggeration to say that he had many students all over the world.

Zhou Xianzu continued, "Don't worry, sir. Even if we are ostracized and retaliated against by them, at most we can just stay out of the spotlight for a while, and I will arrange for you to come back after a while."

Zhou Xianzu and Jia Yucun were both assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel. Jia Yucun was in charge of the two departments of verifying seals and examining merits, while Zhou Xianzu was in charge of literary selection and examination of merits.

He does have the right to say that.

As the organizer, Prince Zhongshun saw that Zhang Yunyi didn't say a word, so he asked, "What do you think, Yunyi?"

"I am a new comer with limited experience, so I still have a lot to learn from you seniors!"

Zhang Yunyi has always felt that in such occasions, it is better to listen more and talk less, especially for newcomers like him who have just joined the game.

The circle is xenophobic and no one would be willing to watch a newcomer being bossed around. Gu Dashou nodded approvingly.

"It's good for young people to be modest, but they should not underestimate themselves. I've read the Legend of the White Snake published by your bookstore, and it's well written!"

He paused, then smiled and said, "How come your bookstore only sells that one book? What's the problem? I also have several bookstores. If you need anything, I can give you some pointers later."

The ancients mostly treasured the reference materials on the imperial examinations.

Classics, history, and even annotations can be purchased, but good essay samples and examination essays written by previous generations are extremely rare.

The so-called inheritance of poetry and books is the accumulation of experience of predecessors.

From examination poems and essays, policy essay templates, and even the examiners' preferences, these are not things that ordinary people can know.

It is also the foundation of these big families.

As the Minister of Rites, Gu Dashou was quite famous among the scholars, so he naturally had no shortage of resources in this regard.

There is always a reason for giving up something. Zhang Yunyi naturally would not think that he looked at him differently just because he read the Legend of the White Snake.

"It turns out that the elder's family also has a bookstore. I am just pretending to be cultured and playing around."

He changed the subject and continued, "However, after I opened a bookstore, I realized how difficult it was for poor children to study, so I devoted myself to improving bamboo paper and finally made some progress."

Bamboo paper was not invented by him, but its quality was far inferior to the improved one.

"Oh?" Gu Dashou became interested.

"The bamboo paper I improved is not as soft as Xuan paper and has good ink absorption, but it can be used for typesetting and printing, and the cost is less than one tenth of Xuan paper. Your Excellency is a scholar and has a bookstore. If you can participate in the promotion, it will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort, and it will also benefit future generations."

Whether it was Gu Dashou or the others, they were all polite, and it was obviously not just because of the King of Qin.

Instead of waiting for them to speak, take the initiative.

In addition, taking the initiative to speak can also help you take control of the situation, and you can use bamboo paper to block their mouths to avoid embarrassment.

After all, the Ministry of Works corruption case is a lesson for us. Although the King of Qin may not say anything at the moment, if he ascends the throne, his position will be different. He will certainly not sit idly by and watch him share the profits of the Tiangong Institute.

Bamboo paper is different. It is an improved technology and it is also his own industry. Moreover, if he does this kind of thing that benefits scholars all over the world alone, it will bring too much attention. It would be better for him to bring these people along and kill two birds with one stone.

The cost of breaking bones is attractive enough, and it also benefits scholars all over the world.

Except for King Zhongshun, no one present could resist the temptation of such a chance to gain both fame and fortune.

It’s not that Prince Zhongshun didn’t care, but as a royal, it was obviously irrational for him to try to win the favor of scholars all over the world.

Prince Zhongshun's palace was not far from the bookstore, so Zhang Yun逸 sent someone to visit Zhiyanzhai.

After seeing the finished product of the experimental print, Gu Dashou was the first to lose his composure.

Zhang Yunyi also struck while the iron was hot and regarded it as an early investment, dividing the shares of Bamboo Paper equally.

After the relevant matters were settled, except for the witness, King Zhongshun, everyone's face was beaming and they were clamoring for the entertainment activities they loved.

When discussing serious matters, it was naturally impossible to let the concubines participate. Zhang Yunyi was a rookie and did not play by the rules, so he did not know where the concubines he brought with him were arranged.

King Zhongshun raised his hands and clapped twice.

Along with the lingering sound of the piano, a pink veil fell in the side hall, dividing the entire side hall into two.

Then, in the gauze curtain opposite, several graceful figures appeared and disappeared, swaying with the sound of the piano.

This……

Zhang Yunyi couldn't help but shake his head. What should have been a good exchange meeting turned out to be a concubine selection event without any plot.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 382 Time Conflict

Although King Zhongshun, the organizer, did not set the right tone, these people also gained some insights.

Although it was like seeing flowers in the fog, he could still distinguish his own concubines.

Perhaps because she had received shares in Bamboo Paper, she enthusiastically promoted her concubine to Zhang Yunyi.

It is worth mentioning that he rejected the virgin arranged for him by King Zhongshun, and chose the girl named Yudie, as described by Gu Dashou: "As gentle as bees and tender as butterflies, always worthy of pity."

This was meant as a token of allegiance, and it couldn't be faked. He didn't want to abandon his lover, so he might as well just have a short romance, which would make him feel at ease.

It is not convenient to elaborate on the specific circumstances.

However, he didn't want people to misunderstand that he was just doing it in vain, so he delayed it a little longer.

However, Prince Zhongshun was bored and took this opportunity to publicize his love of freeloading.

When he came out of the room, several people were already yawning, having been waiting for a long time.

Prince Zhongshun was quite enthusiastic and ordered people to serve the nutritious midnight snack that had been prepared in advance.

During this period, everyone talked about selecting useful people for the King of Qin.

"It's a pity that Ru Hai left early, otherwise why would we have arranged for Mei Lian!"

At this point, Gu Dashou pondered and said, "I remember that Jia Hua and Ru Hai were classmates, and he was also recommended by him. Brother Zhou, you are in the Ministry of Personnel with him. What do you think of this person?"

Hearing the names of Lin Ruhai and Jia Yucun, Zhang Yun逸 couldn't help but listen attentively.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xianzu pointed at him and said with a smile: "I'm afraid you asked the wrong person. Brother Yun Yi is half-brother-in-law to him."

"Why is it still half?" Gu Dashou was a little suspicious.

Zhang Yunyi quickly recounted Xiangling's life story and her relationship with Jiao Xing.

Fang said: "Although there is this relationship, I have only been an official for a short time. I have only known him for more than a year, and we do not work together, so I can't say that I know him very well."

There are too many uncertainties about Jia Yucun, so he doesn't dare to make a guarantee rashly.

"Hahaha! No wonder you didn't want to bring your concubine with you to the appointment. It turns out you are such an amorous person!"

Seeing that he was trying to refuse, Zhou Xianzu just laughed it off.

Gu Dashou put down his chopsticks and said thoughtfully, "After all, you have this relationship, which is more convenient than us. You might as well learn more about it when you have time."

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "When Ru Hai recommended him, he also informed me. If you are unable to spare the time, or if you want to avoid suspicion, you might as well introduce him to me."

"Thank you very much, sir! I am young and ignorant, how can I know how to judge people?"

It would be fine if there was no such relationship, but with this relationship, if anything goes wrong when winning over Jia Yucun, it would be hard to explain.

"Okay! I'll be on my day off on the 21st, so you can bring him to my house."

"Twenty-one?" Zhang Yunyi frowned.

"What's the matter? Is there something wrong, little friend?"

Zhang Yunyi quickly denied it: "No! I just feel that time is too tight."

"This matter cannot be dealt with any later. We need more time before we can make a judgment, right?"

As if to suggest it intentionally, Gu Dashou explained, "He is in charge of the two departments of seal inspection and merit inspection in the Ministry of Personnel. If you can win him over to serve Your Highness, the burden on Congwen will be lighter."

After agreeing on a time, everyone went home.

As time was tight, after the court session the next day, Zhang Yun逸 went to Xinglong Street, Jia Yucun's residence.

"Brother, please come in! I just said I would go visit the elders in a couple of days, but you are here first."

Although they had just been together during the Spring Festival, Jia Yucun was not at all surprised. He warmly welcomed Zhang Yunyi into the mansion and ordered the servants, "Go and ask the lady to prepare some wine and food. I want to drink with my brother."

Zhang Yunyi didn't want to state his purpose as soon as they met, so he followed him into the backyard.

" After chatting for a while, they waited for the wine and food to be served, and then, at Jia Yucun's invitation, they sat down at the table.

After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Yunyi turned the topic to Gu Dashou: "I went to Prince Zhongshun's mansion a while ago and happened to meet Elder Gu. When we talked about Lord Lin Ruhai, he sighed a lot. Then I knew that Brother Yucun and he were classmates."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yucun stood up in awe and said, "My dear brother, you are indeed a man of great learning, and you can even drink and chat happily with Elder Gu."

At this point, he paused for a moment and said, "To be honest, I was very grateful to Brother Lin for recommending me. One of them was Elder Gu. However, I was a low-ranking official at the time and my words were not taken seriously, so I could not thank Elder Gu in person!"

Hearing him emphasize the word "at that time", Zhang Yunyi sighed inwardly that Jia Yucun was indeed a shrewd man.

I'm afraid that although he is not clear about his real purpose, he is also willing to take advantage of the situation and get in touch with Gu Dashou.

He smiled and said, "So Brother Yucun has this kind of relationship with the old man. It's not difficult. The day after tomorrow, the old man will be on vacation and he has invited me to a banquet at his mansion. If Brother Yucun is free, why not go with me? I can also thank the old man in person."

"Oh! Thank you so much, brother!"

Jia Yucun bowed to express his gratitude, then pretended to hesitate and said, "But, isn't this a bit too abrupt?"

"No problem! The elder and I are close friends regardless of age. We are not strangers, and we have a friendship from the past. I'm sure the elder won't mind."

Although Jia Yucun was appointed as the Minister of Personnel, he had only been in Beijing for a little over a year and had no connections in the capital. He could not be compared with Gu Dashou, an old minister who had been in the cabinet for more than ten years.

Although Zhang Yun逸 was extremely favored by the emperor, he was not a civil official after all.

If you can climb up a big tree like Gu Dashou, it will not be difficult to go further.

I have to express my gratitude profusely.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jia Yucun, with Jiao Xing, saw him out the door.

After returning home, Zhang Yunyi got off the carriage, hesitated for a moment, opened the door and entered the warehouse.

She picked up a string of red musk beads bestowed by the emperor from the antique display cabinet and came to the pavilion leaning against the mountain.

He poked his son's tender face with his stubble. He had been drinking, and the smell of alcohol made little Chengsi turn his head away. He scratched his face with his little hands.

This made Feng, who was standing by, feel very distressed, but she dared not say anything.

Fortunately, Xiangling couldn't bear it anymore, so she quickly stepped forward, snatched her son, and handed him to his mother to take away.

Zhang Yunyi laughed loudly, embraced Xiangling, took out the pearl necklace from his arms, handed it to her and said, "It's Miss Bao's birthday the day after tomorrow. I can't spare the time. Please take this gift with you and go!"

Xiangling hesitated and said, "Although we have waived the wine expenses for the birthday banquet, wouldn't it be too disrespectful for me to go?"