Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 66 Unofficial decision
That afternoon, Liang Mancang had a simple meal and went to his backyard. At this time, the backyard was much more desolate, without the prosperity and noise of the past.

Even the flowers and plants in the garden drooped their heads, looking dejected.

Liang Mancang felt a sense of emptiness he had never felt before. For a moment, he even regretted letting his son run for the position of imperial concubine.

But he was not the kind of person who was afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind. The arrow was on the string, so he could only bite the bullet and rush forward.

After walking along a wide bluestone path, Liang Mancang arrived at the backyard of his home.

When he looked inside, he saw his wife and sick son resting in the pavilion in the southeast corner of the courtyard.

Liang Mancang straightened his clothes and walked forward.

When Liang Bangrui saw this, he pretended to salute, but at this moment his throat started to itch and he started coughing violently.

The pale face was as red as a chili pepper.

"Rui'er. Rui'er." The couple hurriedly supported Liang Bangrui, gently waving their hands and patting his back.

Liang Bangrui waved his hands, forced a smile on his flushed face, looked at his parents and replied: "I'm fine, father, don't worry, I will definitely be chosen as a prince consort and bring honor to you, cough cough cough"

Before he could finish his words, he started coughing violently again.

Liang's mother's face was full of heartache. She used a handkerchief to catch the blood, and soon it was stained with blood.

"Rui'er!" Liang's mother choked up and stared at her son, tears welling up in her eyes. Liang Bangrui wanted to comfort her, but before he could say anything, he was drowned out by the cough.

"You will be fine, you will be fine. Master Zhao said that as long as you are chosen as the prince consort, the imperial physician and the princess can save your life." Liang's mother hugged her son and forced a smile.

Liang Mancang also burst into tears and said, "Yes, in a month at most, our family will be royal relatives. We have already arranged with Eunuch Zhang, and the position of the prince consort must belong to Rui'er."

After that, the three of them hugged each other.

After such tenderness for a while, Liang Bangrui finally broke free from his parents' arms. He looked at his father and asked, "Dad, did our family spend a lot of money to bribe Eunuch Zhang?"

"Not much. Not much. Our family has nothing else but plenty of money. Just don't worry." Liang Mancang shook his head.

"You're lying." Liang Bangrui said angrily, pointing at his parents, "You used to drink two bowls of bird's nest every night before going to bed. Now the bird's nest is gone, and the jewelry on mother's body is gone too."

"That's because Dad doesn't want to drink anymore."

"It was also because mom thought the jewelry was ugly." The couple looked at each other and argued together.

Liang Bangrui's face was full of pain. He covered his face and said self-deprecatingly: "I am a useless person. Not only can I not bring honor to my parents, I can't pass on the family business for my ancestors, and now I'm causing trouble for you two elders. You have to spend all your family property for me."

"I might as well die."

"Rui'er!" Liang Mancang shouted with a red face. He grabbed his son's hands, stared into his eyes and said, "You are my son. My things are yours. If you are gone, what's the point of me keeping these things?"

"Besides, as long as you become the prince consort, our family will be royal relatives. Who will dare to say you are useless in the future?"

Mrs. Liang also nodded, and a trace of determination flashed across Liang Bangrui's face, which was considered as his agreement.

The family of three stayed in the pavilion until the sun set and then dispersed.

Seven days later.

In the lobby of the Ministry of Rites on Fugui Street, more than a dozen young men stood in a row.

They were all winners of the second round of selection, and after the third round of selection, only three people were left.

Zhang Jing would then select one of the three and report to the emperor. In other words, the princess would not see her husband before getting married. It was like opening a blind box, whoever got the prize was the winner.

Today Liang Bangrui put some rouge on his face and took some cough medicine, and he also looked pretty decent.

Standing there, he actually had some of the aura of a royal consort.

The other electors were also eager to try, wearing red and burning incense.

Before coming, they wiped the anus several times, for fear that there was something inside that was not wiped clean and would stink the big shots.

"Eunuch Zhang is here!" Suddenly, a sharp roar swept through the hall, as swift as wind and thunder, startling everyone in the hall. They straightened their backs and looked towards the entrance on the left side of the hall.

Then, a man named Zhang Jing, wearing a bean green python robe, walked in. Next to him, there was an official from the Ministry of Rites, wearing a scarlet official robe.

That was the Left Vice Minister of Rites, Qian Pu.

Behind the two of them were some officials and managers from the Ministry of Rites.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Jing walked to the front of the candidates with a shaky step. Everyone did not dare to be disrespectful and bowed and said, "Greetings to Eunuch Zhang, Minister Qian, and all the masters."

Zhang Jing glanced at Liang Bangrui in the crowd and was happy to see that he looked good today.

Nodding, Zhang Jing winked at Qian Pu.

Qian Pu glanced back again. A person in charge squeezed out of the crowd, glanced at everyone in the hall, and said, "This time, Princess Yongning is choosing a husband. There will be two rounds of selection, and 18 will be selected into three. If you lose, don't be discouraged."

After that, the officials stepped forward and took the eighteen people to the small rooms on both sides of the hall. They examined and questioned them one by one and decided to select three people.

Since Zhang Jing had informed Liang Bangrui in advance that he would definitely be selected, he was not in a hurry.

As the representative of the Ministry of Rites, Qian Pu naturally received benefits from Zhang Jing. He pulled Zhang Jing to the duty room nearby and sat down. He lowered his voice and said, "Eunuch Zhang, in addition to Liang Bangrui, there are two others. Someone has also greeted them."

"One is Li Cheng, the son of Li Gan, a captain of the Imperial Guard. He is eighteen years old."

"The other one is Wang Yong, the son of Wang Song, a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue. He has a dignified appearance and a clean family background."

Zhang Jing took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Hey, why bother choosing? Just have someone bring him up. We can choose Liang Bangrui as soon as possible and report back as soon as possible."

"We still have to do the superficial work." Qian Pu waved his hand and replied.

"Well, but we have a deal." Zhang Jing nodded, and said coldly, "Then we must choose Liang Bangrui, so don't mess with us, otherwise we will not be polite!"

"Oh, what are you talking about, Eunuch Zhang? How dare I fight you, Eunuch Zhang?" Qian Pu shook his head and smiled flatteringly, "Who doesn't know how powerful you, Eunuch Zhang? I think once Eunuch Feng retreats, the position of the palm seal will be yours sooner or later."

Zhang Jing didn't comment, just smiled with his eyes narrowed.

Seeing that he was not in a good mood, Qian Pu stopped trying to please him and just narrowed his eyes, quietly waiting for the election results.

Time quickly came to the afternoon and finally three people were chosen.

"The first is Li Cheng, the second is Wang Yong, and the third is Liang Bangrui."

After getting the list, Zhang Jing pretended to be struggling between the three, and finally gritted his teeth and chose Liang Bangrui.

Then he and Qian Pu wrote a memorial to the emperor.

All today, follow up

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(End of this chapter)