Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 121 Uncle
After rushing all the way, we finally arrived in the capital.

After entering the capital, Li Jin, who had been following him all the way, parted ways with him. Zhou Anmin found a place to stay. After a night's rest, he changed his clothes, took the documents and went to the Ministry of War. When he arrived at the place, he took out the official documents and reported to the Imperial Chariot Office.

The post station is managed by both the central and local governments. The local government is in charge of it, not to mention the state government. The central government is in charge of the military department. From this point of view, the department has every right to use official documents to make Zhou Anmin, the post station chief, do things.

As a government office, the Ministry of War is not a small place. Zhou Anmin is just a local postmaster, and his rank is not even high enough. In a government office like the Ministry of War, to put it bluntly, the gatekeepers are of higher rank than Zhou Anmin. When Zhou Anmin arrived at such a place, he was naturally cautious and always smiling. He even paid the entrance fee when he entered, and was then led in.

After entering the Ministry of War, the person who led him in threw Zhou Anmin directly into a side room and asked him to wait there.

Even though it was the New Year, there were still many people coming to the Ministry of War to do business, and judging from the official uniforms they wore, they were at least sixth or seventh rank officials. Zhou Anmin's clothes showed that he was just a postmaster, and when most people saw a small, low-ranking postmaster coming in, they looked at him with a hint of surprise.

Zhou Anmin was not flustered. He was here to make the best of it. Why should he care about these things? After entering the room, he first bowed to everyone present with a smile on his face, and then found an inconspicuous seat in the corner and sat down. After sitting down, Zhou Anmin did not talk to anyone. He did not know anyone here, and the officials of others were much higher than him, so they were not interested in talking to him.

In this case, we might as well wait patiently. Now that we have arrived in the capital, the mystery of what is going on will soon be revealed.

Originally Zhou Anmin thought that someone would come to summon him after a while, but who would have thought that he would have to wait for so long.

Zhou Anmin arrived at the Ministry of War early in the morning and waited until the afternoon but no one called him out. He didn't know if they had forgotten about him or what.

After waiting like this for a whole day, Zhou Anmin's butt was sore from sitting. In addition, he didn't know how long he would have to wait, and he didn't dare to drink water, because drinking water would cause him to urinate more. If someone came to call him when he left for the toilet, it would be bad. Zhou Anmin waited like this, watching those who came later than him finish their business and leave one by one, and he still sat there.

At first, Zhou Anmin was a little impatient, but after a few hours, he was not so impatient anymore. What was coming would come eventually. Even if he didn't see me today, he would see me tomorrow. Zhou Anmin simply sat down and closed his eyes to rest, like an old monk. His posture surprised several officials. How could such a small official, who was not worth much, be so calm in the Ministry of War? What was his background?
It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon and it was getting dark when a clerk from the Ministry of War finally walked into the side room.

After coming in, he glanced at the people waiting and his eyes fell on Zhou Anmin.

"Is Pingshun Postmaster Zhou Anmin here?"

"I'm here!" When he heard his name, Zhou Anmin instantly opened his eyes from resting. He quickly stood up and saluted the visitor in response.

"Are you Zhou Anmin?" the man looked at him again and asked.

"My Lord, that is my humble duty."

"Come with me." The man said this lightly, then turned and walked out of the wing room. Zhou Anmin hurriedly followed the official and left the place where he had been waiting for a day.

After going out the door and walking along the corridor, he turned left and right and made a long circle. After walking for a long time, he still didn't arrive. Zhou Anmin didn't know where the visitor was going to take him.

Just as he was wondering, the man walked through an alley and took him to a very secluded place. The man pointed inside and said to Zhou Anmin, "Come in."

Zhou Anmin bowed and thanked the visitor, then watched him leave. After he left, he stepped into the yard. After entering the yard, he saw a white-faced, beardless man in cloth standing in front of the door of a main room. When he saw Zhou Anmin coming, he looked at him.

"Are you Zhou Anmin?"

"Your Excellency, it is me." Zhou Anmin hurriedly bowed and replied. The man's voice was shrill and Zhou Anmin's heart trembled slightly. At the same time, his heart, which had been hanging in the air, also fell. If his guess was correct, this young man was a eunuch in the palace.

The young eunuch didn't say much, he just opened the door behind him and motioned Zhou Anmin to go in.

Zhou Anmin thanked him again and then walked in. When he entered, the door was closed. The room was very simply furnished. A strange middle-aged man was sitting in the chair in the middle. Because of the light, Zhou Anmin couldn't see his face for a while, but from the other party's posture and gesture, he seemed to be sizing him up.

"Zhou Anmin?"

"Your Excellency, I am Zhou Anmin." Zhou Anmin replied quickly.

"Come forward!" The middle-aged man's voice was neither hurried nor slow, with dignity, but without the sharpness of a eunuch. He sounded no different from an ordinary person.

Zhou Anmin took two steps forward, and by this time his eyes had adapted to the light inside, and he could see the middle-aged man clearly. This middle-aged man was just like the young eunuch outside, wearing ordinary cloth, but his demeanor was extraordinary, and he was also white-faced and beardless, with a jade pendant hanging around his waist. This jade pendant was obviously not an ordinary item, and its pattern was definitely something from the palace.

The middle-aged man's appearance was not bad. He was handsome, with a pair of thin and sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, slender cheeks, and a faint smile on the corners of his mouth. At first glance, I thought he was the learned scholar, but it was a pity that he had no beard and lacked the elegance of a scholar.

"I'm Zhou Anmin, and I'm here to pay my respects to Lord Wei!" When Zhou Anmin saw this man's appearance, he was suddenly shocked and quickly kowtowed to Wei Zhongxian.

Zhou Anmin's action made Wei Zhongxian stunned. He looked at Zhou Anmin curiously and suddenly asked, "Have you ever met my family?"

"Replying to Lord Wei, I have never met Lord Wei."

"Then how did you recognize our family?" Wei Zhongxian asked curiously.

Zhou Anmin told the truth: "Replying to Duke Wei, I just noticed that the gatekeeper was a palace official. Apart from the emperor, Duke Wei is the only one in the world who can let a palace official guard the gate. Besides the emperor, Duke Wei is my good friend. Liang Qing and Duke Wei look alike. I am so bold to make a guess. I hope I can guess it right by chance."

"Hahaha! You kid, Liang Qing said you are smart, you really are a smart guy, you actually guessed my identity at a glance, get up!"

Wei Zhongxian laughed out loud and was in a good mood. He raised his hand and asked Zhou Anmin to stand up. Zhou Anmin stood up immediately and stood aside with his hands down like a junior.

Seeing him like this, Wei Zhongxian was even happier, and then asked Zhou Anmin why he called him Wei Gong instead of Wei Gong Gong? Zhou Anmin replied that he and Wei Liangqing were good friends, Wei Zhongxian was Liangqing's uncle, and today Wei Zhongxian saw him wearing only cloth clothes, not official uniform.

Although it was in a remote place in the Ministry of War, Wei Zhongxian was clearly meeting Zhou Anmin in private. In this case, the official title would be inappropriate. After much thought, it would be more appropriate to call him Lord Wei.

After saying this, Zhou Anmin hesitated for a moment, and then said a little embarrassedly that he actually wanted to call Wei Zhongxian "uncle", but was afraid that this title was inappropriate, so he changed it to "Mr. Wei".

After hearing what he said, Wei Zhongxian was even happier. This guy is really a monkey. He is good at taking advantage of others!

Wei Zhongxian was born a ruffian, and he still had some of the habits of a commoner after so many years. During those years in the imperial palace, Wei Zhongxian had seen all kinds of people, some of whom were arrogant to him when he was down and out, and some of whom followed him and fawned on him when he was successful. However, this was the first time he had seen someone as honest as Zhou Anmin, and what he said was very much in line with Wei Zhongxian's temperament, and it did make sense.

"Not bad, not bad. No wonder you are so smart. You were able to go to our hometown to seek connections ahead of time and secretly help Madam Fengsheng's family. You are quite capable."

“I’m ashamed. I didn’t expect that Lord Wei couldn’t hide my plans. I really… really…” Zhou Anmin was suddenly frightened and quickly knelt down again.

"Get up, don't kneel all the time. How can a man's knees be so weak?" Wei Zhongxian didn't care at all. On the contrary, the more he looked at Zhou Anmin, the more he liked him.

If Zhou Anmin had denied it, Wei Zhongxian might have criticized him or even found an excuse to make him look bad. But Zhou Anmin not only admitted his little calculation, but also treated him with such respect, which made Wei Zhongxian feel relieved and felt that Zhou Anmin was a real person.

"Lord Wei, I am actually..."

"I understand." Without waiting for Zhou Anmin to explain, Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and said, "People are like this, aren't they? When I first entered the palace, what kind of cold stares did I not see? What kind of suffering did I not endure? But when I became famous, not only did I become the chief steward of the Qianqing Palace, but I was also blessed by the emperor to be in charge of the Silijian. I don't know how many people flattered me overnight."

"Among these people, one more or one less of you is not much. But you are different from them. My family has made careful inquiries. When you went to my hometown, I was not even the chief steward of the Qianqing Palace. Under such circumstances, it is not simple for you, Zhou Anmin, to do such a thing."

"Then again, my family has been away from home for many years, and my brothers and nephews have had a hard time in their hometown. Although my family wanted to help them before, we were unable to do so. What you have done can be regarded as fulfilling some of our wishes and helping us. Besides, the same is true for Madam Fengsheng. When she found out, she praised you very much."

"Lord Wei, I am only doing what I can. Lord Wei serves the emperor and is very busy. Working for you is equivalent to working for the emperor. Only by helping you get rid of your worries can you serve the emperor with peace of mind!" Zhou Anmin was really willing to give it his all. It had come to this point. No matter how corny the words were, it didn't matter if he said one or two. Anyway, saying nice things didn't cost any money, so why not say them?

Wei Zhongxian laughed heartily, very satisfied with Zhou Anmin's statement. He looked at Zhou Anmin and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, you little monkey, didn't you say you were good friends with our Liang Qing? In that case, just call me uncle, don't keep saying 'Wei Gong' or 'Wei Gong', uncle sounds more appropriate."

"My nephew greets my uncle!"

Zhou Anmin was overjoyed, and hurried to pay his respects to Wei Zhongxian again, changing his way of addressing him to call him uncle.

(End of this chapter)