Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 510 Boomerang

Wang Hua had just returned to the court. Before that, he was a Hanlin official who served the emperor with literature and poetry. He was noble, but the strength of his party members was almost zero.

According to official ethics, the chief examiner is the student's seat teacher, and the co-examiner is the student's room teacher.

In terms of status, although Master Fang is not as good as Master Zuo, he is still one of the masters of “Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents and Teacher”.

With this recognized official ethics, students can approach their superiors with dignity, and teachers can also openly promote their students.

Moreover, the constraints between teachers and students are not small. Students do not have to follow their teachers, but if they jump out and stab their teachers in the back, it will become a lifelong stain.

It was a dream start for Wang Hua to be able to get a fellow examiner right after he returned.

Wang Hua had a dream start, as he had a saintly son. With the help of Wang Shouren, he could also form an alliance with Wang Qiong.

Pei Yuan's help in solving this problem for him was at most icing on the cake.

Although Mao Ji will soon return home to observe mourning for his father, this high-quality court official who can serve for a long time is also worth investing in.

Mao Ji's mourning period lasted for three years.

But even if he had another three years, Pei Yuan might not be able to train someone who could serve as one of the Seven Great Ministers.

If you show kindness to him at this time, you can make more good connections in advance.

What's more, Mao Ji was from Shandong. Having such a leading figure in the camp would greatly help Pei Yuan win the hearts of Shandong scholars.

Besides, Wang Hua, an old Hanlin Academy scholar, was good at elegant conversation and slippery, so Pei Yuan had basically no way of tying him to the chariot.

But Mao Ji is different. If this matter was really Mao Ji trying to trip up Wang Hua, then this guy who looks honest but is actually a bit sinister can still do something bad together.

Although it was Mao Ji who started the trouble and took advantage of him, for the sake of his own interests, Captain Pei would not tolerate any grievance.

Pei Yuan suddenly had a better idea and threw the documents in his hand to Liu Pang.

Liu Pang stretched out his hand to take it in astonishment, and then he heard Pei Yuan say generously, "I'm giving you this favor. How you tell Mao Ji is up to you."

The stunned look on Liu Pang's face instantly disappeared. His eyes flickered and his tone softened a lot. "What does Captain Pei mean by this?"

Pei Yuan said casually, "I am a rough man, I always like to make friends, and Doctor Liu and I... we get along well."

"We all work for others, and I understand your difficulties. In this case, why should I make things difficult for Brother Liu? Just take it."

Liu Pang didn't expect Pei Yuan to be so open-minded, and was a little at a loss for a moment.

Pei Yuan saw that he was about to say something else, so he quickly interrupted him and said, "No need to say more, it's over, this matter is over."

After saying that, he called on the people around him to leave.

Seeing how quick and efficient Pei Yuan was in doing things, Liu Pang's previous bad impression of him changed drastically, and he actually felt that this guy was not a bad guy.

Pei Yuan acted as if he did not ask for anything in return, and left quickly with his men and the three candidates.

Chen Xinjian and others were accustomed to Pei Yuan's various methods of playing with people's hearts and had long been accustomed to it.

Tang Gao and the other three felt greatly shocked.

Originally, in the eyes of these small town test-takers, the Jinyiwei were naturally evil, while the Ministry of Rites and the Censorate were noble and upright government offices, and they were the places of justice that could not be violated.

Have they ever thought that a doctor from the Ministry of Rites would come to the Embroidered Uniform Guard with a smile on his face and say hello, and that this captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard seemed to be very familiar with the Minister and Vice Minister of Rites?

In the end, the two parties were actually very underworld and secretly passed on some suspected black material to each other.

This surprised Tang Gao and others, and they also began to become disenchanted with their future official life.

Even the most noble government office like the Ministry of Rites was colluding with the evil Jinyiwei, so the other government offices might not be what one imagined.

The three were following behind with their minds wandering, when they saw Pei Yuan turn around and say with a smile, "Fortunately, the Grand Master and the Junior Master have been locked up in the Imperial Court, otherwise there would probably be some obstacles."

Cai Ang asked quickly, "What do you mean by that, Captain Pei?"

Pei Yuan said, "I have a good relationship with the Minister of Rites Mao Ji, and I call the son of the Minister of Rites Wang Hua a brother. If they had not all entered the tribute court, I would inevitably be suspected of fraud if I took you to the Ministry of Rites."

After hearing this, Cai Ang's already shaky official filter completely collapsed.

While feeling lucky, Cai Ang consoled himself by saying, "We are honest and upright, so we don't have to worry about any rumors."

Pei Yuan shook his head and said, "That's different."

"In that subject last year, Yang Shen, with his talent, was suspected of favoritism, wasn't he?"

"Besides, there are rumors that the chief examiner Jin Gui's servants were involved in cheating, and there is still no explanation."

Seeing Pei Yuan comparing him to Yang Shen, Cai Ang said with some self-mockery, "Yang Yongxiu was the top scholar in the last exam, and his father is the prime minister of the current dynasty, so it is normal for him to have some controversy. The three of us are just from ordinary families, so we won't have such troubles."

Pei Yuan said jokingly, "It would be fine if the three of you were ranked last, but if the three of you took the first place, I would be confused."

When the three of them heard Pei Yuan saying this again, none of them responded.

Pei Yuan didn't say anything else.

In his mind, these three were his quest items to increase his reputation, and their greatest value was to get a spot on the gold list.

As for the others, Pei Yuan had no use for them.

When they arrived at Zhihua Temple, the Jinyiwei on duty were overjoyed to see Pei Yuan coming back and came to pay their respects.

Tang Gao and the other three already knew that time was running out, so while on the way, they agreed to stay in the Zhihua Temple for a few days.

At this moment, Pei Yuan had not yet made any arrangements for the three of them, so they could only follow the crowd awkwardly and follow Pei Yuan into Zhihua Temple.

After entering the temple, Pei Yuan brought everyone to the court where he handled affairs.

Then, he took one look at the various documents placed on the desk and felt a little overwhelmed.

Pei Yuan was already a little tired after traveling all the way, so naturally he didn't want to deal with these anymore.

He didn't even want to look at it any longer, and turned around and went to the study in the side wing.

Tang Gao and others hesitated for a moment and had no choice but to follow Chen Xinjian and Cen Meng.

This small study is where Pei Yuan usually sleeps. A curtain divides the study into two rooms. There is a bed in the inside, and Pei Yuan handles some important machinery matters outside.

Sometimes when Pei Yuan had an affair or was busy with other things, he would sleep alone in Zhihua Temple for a night.

Pei Yuan went to the desk and sat down. Everyone stood respectfully waiting for Pei Yuan's instructions.

After a quick glance, Tang Gao and the other three couldn't help but look at a painting hung behind Pei Yuan.

The painting seems to be a dinner scene, with Pei Yuan sitting in the middle and some readers sitting on both sides. The painting is very lifelike and the whole painting is very beautiful.

Look at the side of the scroll, there are a few poems, which seem to be commemorating the banquet.

Only after Pei Yuan sat down did he notice the three outsiders following him in.

He also remembered that he had invited them to stay at Zhihua Temple, but had not yet arranged accommodation for them.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to send them away, he noticed the three people's gazes. He turned around and saw the painting behind him.

Pei Yuan's attention was immediately attracted by the painting.

I just took a cursory look at it last time, but now that it has been mounted and the twelve candidates have inscribed couplets of poems and each used their own seal, the painting looks very much like the original.

Pei Yuan admired it for a while, then asked, "Why is this painting placed here?"

While Pei Yuan was admiring the painting, Chen Xinjian had already asked someone in a low voice, and he replied, "The people working below are being clever and trying to please the thousand households. Do you want me to put the things away?"

Pei Yuan thought about it and suddenly felt that this was a great idea.

After the successful candidates are announced, it will be time for those candidates to have a clearer understanding of their positions.

So he said, "No hurry, let's withdraw after a few days."

After that, he turned his gaze to Tang Gao and the others and said, "The west courtyard is where the Jinyiwei officers and soldiers live. Those guys are rude and disrespectful, and I'm afraid it will affect your study. In the east courtyard, I have to deal with official business all the time, so it's not a quiet place. You three might as well go and get along with the monks in the temple in the meditation room."

Tang Gao and the others were grateful to Pei Yuan for his careful consideration and said, "Thank you for your hospitality."

Pei Yuan smiled and continued, "This is a large temple with plenty of vacant meditation rooms. On weekdays, I will instruct them to prepare vegetarian meals on time. If there is anything needed for the imperial examination, I can also arrange for them to purchase and prepare it."

The three of them left with gratitude.

Pei Yuan rubbed his forehead, glanced at his men, and was too lazy to explain anything else. He said directly, "Disperse, go and have a good rest first."

Pei Yuan was exhausted from the journey and did not return to his old house in Dengshikou. Instead, he went straight to rest at Zhihua Temple.

The next morning, I learned that Pei Yuan had returned.

Huo Tao, Tian Fu and Zhang Song all rushed over.

There was another person that Pei Yuan had not thought of before, and that was Wei Ne, the Left Counselor of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Huo Tao and Tian Fu have already bet all their wealth and glory on Pei Yuan. It is much more meaningful for them to come to Pei Yuan to show off their face than to continue doing boring exercises.

Zhang Song has completed the formalities and the legal process of being seconded from the Nanjing Jinyiwei Experience Office to the Zhenxie Qianhu Office.

The reason used was, of course, to help deal with the powerful Luo Sect.

Wei Ne was purely a non-staff intelligence officer.

Pei Yuanxian asked Wei Ne in confusion, "I just arrived in Beijing yesterday. How come you got the news so quickly?"

Wei Ne replied, "The Qian Hu entered the capital yesterday, and this morning I saw a memorial impeaching Liu Pang, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites. It said that he and a large group of Jinyiwei had private conversations and passed some documents."

"An imperial censor suspected that Liu Pang was another Wang Qiong, and wanted to gain promotion in private to curry favor with the emperor, so he wrote a letter of impeachment. Your name was mentioned in the letter."

Pei Yuan was speechless. What the hell was going on?
It seems that the incident last time I secretly took Wang Qiong's things and handed them to Zhu Houzhao still had a strong impact.

Zhu Houzhao betrayed Wang Qiong in court, which resulted in Wang Qiong being demoted to a rural post to help with poverty alleviation.

I didn't expect that even today, there are still people who are obsessed with this kind of thing.

Pei Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "Is the environment of civil servants so bad?"

Wei Ne said dismissively, "It's just a small matter."

"It's nothing more than someone has been thinking about this matter and wants to use Liu Pang to warn everyone."

Pei Yuan asked somewhat depressedly, "Then I am fine, right?"

Based on Pei Yuan's previous understanding, he thought that those private conspiracies needed to be handled with caution to avoid being exposed to the world.

I didn't expect that a few words I spoke to someone at the gate of the Ministry of Rites would be made into a big fuss.

Wei Ne said, "The procedure will probably be followed. Liu Pang will be questioned by the Censorate. The Qianhu is a member of the Jinyiwei, and is affiliated with the Nanjing Jinyiwei. The Southern Pacification Office here has no control over it."

"I think it's probably someone from the East or West Factory asking a question. It's nothing."

He added, "In fact, everyone knows what is going on. It is nothing more than an opportunity to warn other court officials. No one will pay too much attention to this matter."

Pei Yuan sighed and said nothing.

After all, it was he who did the bad thing that Wang Qiong got into that year.

This can be considered as Boomerang solving the case by itself.

It's just right. We can send someone to Liu Pang's house in the evening to collect his testimony and deepen their relationship.

There was nothing wrong with Pei Yuan. He was a member of the Imperial Guard and it was his job to find out the movements of officials. It was not a big deal even if he helped to secretly pass messages to the emperor.

It mainly depends on what Liu Pang says.

Pei Yuan said to Wei Ne, "You are thoughtful. Please keep an eye on this for me these few days. If anyone continues to use this incident to make trouble, please remind me in time."

Although Wei Ne judged that this was the best case scenario, he still agreed.

Since Wei Ne was here, Pei Yuan simply asked him first, "I have not been in the capital these days. Is the world peaceful?"

Wei Ne calmed himself down for a moment, then replied concisely, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Pei Yuan was a little surprised.

Am I so unimportant?
Wei Ne explained, "Right now, the court's attention is focused on this imperial examination. The fighting is fierce, so there is nothing to pay attention to."

Pei Yuan asked in confusion, "What happened to Enke? What's there to fight about?"

Wei Ne sighed and replied, "The problem still lies with the Grand Secretary Liang Chu, who served as the chief examiner. Many people in the court have been discussing it, thinking that Liang Chu's current reputation makes him unfit to serve as the chief examiner, and it would be better to replace him with the deputy chief examiner Mao Cheng."

"Now even many candidates of this year are stirring up trouble. Those candidates have experienced the Liang Chu case last year. They have a very bad impression of Liang Chu and are unwilling to worship such a master. Of course, they are also afraid that last year's incident will be remembered and Liang Chu will make trouble for them in the future."

Pei Yuan was puzzled and said, "Are you sick? No matter how notorious Liang Chu is, he is still a university scholar, and Mao Cheng is only a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. What can he use to replace Liang Chu as the chief examiner?"

Wei Ne spread his hands and said, "So, some people say that Li Dongyang has retired, the cabinet is busy with affairs, and the emperor often has his own plans, which makes the officials overwhelmed, so it is suggested to add Mao Cheng as a university scholar."

Pei Yuan was speechless for a long while before he said, "Is this fucking Mao Cheng crazy to want to join the cabinet?"

(End of this chapter)