Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 108: Chickens and Dogs Rise to Heaven (Subscription Request)

Shen Lu immediately rushed to Li Zi's provincial government.

In the past, the gate of the Li Mansion was something Shen Lu could only look up to. He could only visit once or twice a year, and he had to make an appointment and wait. But now...

Come whenever you want!

He didn't even need to announce himself when entering the house. When the receptionist at the door saw him coming, he invited him in directly, as if he was the most important guest in the mansion.

Soon, Li Zisheng asked Pang Qing to come out and take Shen Lu to the study in Li's mansion.

"Have you met me in person? Ruxue, you are really efficient."

Li Zisheng was very satisfied with Shen Lu's responsible attitude.

Shen Lu said with emotion, "I have seen her and was amazed by her beauty. The rumors are true. Over the past few years, his family has gradually declined, but he has not neglected his daughter's upbringing. In addition to her excellent temperament, appearance, words and deeds, my niece is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is dignified and generous, and she really has the grace of a crown princess."

Li Zisheng asked with a smile: "Is it really as good as you say?"

Shen Lu said: "I dare not say a single word of falsehood."

Pang Qing at the side also smiled and said, "I think Shen has been busy and is very concerned about this matter. How could he lie about such a thing? But...if her talent and appearance are too outstanding, will she be in trouble after entering the palace selection stage?"

"trouble?"

When Shen Lu heard this, he immediately became nervous.

You say it's not okay when others are not good-looking or talented, but your niece's appearance and talent are outstanding, so you still think there will be trouble?

This means that neither good nor bad is acceptable, right?
Li Zisheng smiled and said, "If it were in the past, if one's appearance was too outstanding, there might be some restrictions. After all, the selection of concubines in the Eastern Palace is most concerned with character, not appearance. But our Queen Mother is really not an ordinary person. She is very picky about appearance."

Shen Lu and Pang Qing both looked at Li Zisheng with curiosity, as if asking, how come you even know this?
"Let's not talk about the Queen Mother's remarks when she was selecting a concubine for His Majesty last time..." Li Zisheng added, "Let's just talk about the current situation. Do you think the position of the Empress is stable?"

Shen Lu smiled bitterly and said, "Minister Li, you are just kidding. Even the common people know what is going on in the palace."

Li Zisheng asked: "So what do you think is better for the future queen to have outstanding looks, or to be mediocre in everything?"

Pang Qing, who was standing by, understood instantly and said, "What the Queen Mother wants is harmony in the harem, and that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess can live in harmony and respect each other in the future, creating a good story, rather than having some voluptuous and vulgar concubines who will take away the Queen's favor and finally make the palace a mess.

"So at this critical moment, they will definitely make a big deal about the Crown Princess's appearance. The more dignified and beautiful she is, the easier it will be to win the favor of the Queen Mother."

Only then did Shen Lu understand what Li Zisheng said.

Because Emperor Chenghua favored the old woman, Concubine Wan, and his behavior was too absurd, Empress Dowager Zhou was extremely annoyed. Even though Emperor Chenghua was a filial son, he never reconciled with his mother about his favoritism for Concubine Wan for half his life.

Although Emperor Chenghua favored Concubine Wan not simply because of her beauty, it was also related to the fact that the two previous empresses were not outstanding in appearance and were not very competitive in the harem.

If the queen wants to maintain her favor and hold her position, she needs to rely on her outstanding beauty so that she can successfully attract the emperor's attention. The young couple will live in harmony and will naturally not be easily disturbed by external things.

On the contrary, if you rely on the so-called demeanor of a mother of the country and keep people away from you, it will probably only have the opposite effect.

Therefore, when Queen Mother Zhou is choosing a concubine for the crown prince, she will definitely pay great attention to external things such as figure and appearance, rather than simply looking for a virtuous person to be placed in front of her grandson as a decoration.

After figuring it all out, Shen Lu suddenly felt cheerful. He probably felt that his niece was a sure winner in the selection of concubines for the Eastern Palace this time.

"Ruxue, don't go back. Stay for lunch. I have something to discuss with you... If Laizhan really becomes a relative of the Eastern Palace, it will be inconvenient for me to interact with him. But it will be different for you. You may become the liaison between him and me, and your status will be highlighted..."

Li Zisheng began to think about the future and regarded Zhang Luan as the father of the future Crown Princess. Shen Lu's status also rose with the times and he was increasingly valued by Li Zisheng.

"Thank you, Minister Li, for your appreciation."

"Hey, why are you so polite? Why don't you go and prepare the wine and food?" Li Zisheng said the last sentence to Pang Qing.

"Already preparing."

Pang Qing said, "Master Dao, tomorrow is the New Year's Day. After the sacrifice, the court officials will have a day off. Before that, there is something else that may require your attention."

As he spoke, Pang Qing looked at Shen Lu with suspicion.

The general meaning is, I have no objection to you inviting Shen Lu to dinner, but I have important court matters to discuss with you now, do you think you should ask him to leave first?
Shen Lu was also very curious. As the Minister of Public Administration, it was fine for Li Zisheng to handle court affairs at home, but how come he seemed to be deeply tied to you, a guest of the aide?

Pang Qing has no official rank, but is qualified to interfere in state affairs?
Li Zisheng waved his hand and said, "It's okay to talk about it. Let Ruxue listen in as well. It will be a reference for your future actions."

Pang Qing then respectfully reported: "Regarding the selection of officials at the beginning of the year, the process has basically been completed, but there are still some details that have not been finalized. It concerns the promotion and transfer of many officials, and some have informed us in advance..."

Li Zisheng laughed and joked: "These people used their connections to come to our house and gave us generous gifts. Now they want me to fulfill my promise and promote them... Why don't you just say it clearly? Why are you hiding it?"

Shen Lu couldn't help but feel ashamed after hearing this.

He had long known that Li Zisheng had great power in the court, but he had never expected that he would sell official positions and titles so blatantly, directly sending his aides to meet with those people and even accepting huge bribes.

Although Shen Lu did not think that the Chenghua Dynasty was a dynasty with clean administration, when he heard it with his own ears, he still found it difficult to adapt for a while.

Pang Qing said: "The list and everything else has been prepared. Now..."

Then Pang Qing glanced at Shen Lu and said with a smile, "These are some officials in Hejian Prefecture. They have been suppressed in the past two years and their future is worrying. Do you think it is necessary to make some additional arrangements?"

"Hejian Prefecture official?"

Li Zisheng pondered.

Pang Qing smiled and said, "That's right. Since the retirement of Shangshu Chen Yue, the officials of Hejian Prefecture have had a bleak future in the court in the past two years, especially Chen Yue's brother Chen Li, who has been wandering around since he passed the imperial examination and wanted to be released but couldn't. The Chen family has always been on good terms with the Zhang family of Hejian Prefecture."

Li Zisheng smiled calmly: "A mere scholar is not worth mentioning... By the way, what position does he want to fill?"

Pang Qing said: "It seems that he wants to be the magistrate of a county in the north. At the very least, he can be given an eighth or ninth grade job in a prefecture. As long as he can be an official, that's fine!"

Li Zisheng asked, "Has anyone come to visit your house?"

"Never."

Pang Qing said, "This person has no connections to you, the Taoist priest... However, it is said that Chen Yue's other brother, Chen Lin, has been running around the capital recently, seeking a future for the Jinshi and Juren from Hejian Prefecture, hoping that they can find a good place when the Ministry of Personnel selects candidates."

Li Zisheng nodded, then glanced at Shen Lu and asked, "Ruxue, what do you think?"

"This... If we promote officials of Hejian Prefecture just because of Lai Zhan, it would be too much of an act, and it shouldn't be done this way." Shen Lu didn't think that letting Li Zisheng promote officials of Hejian Prefecture would be of any benefit to him.

Not to mention that Zhang Luan’s daughter has not yet married into the Eastern Palace. Even if she really becomes the Crown Princess, the officials of Hejian Prefecture cannot rise to the top overnight.

Li Zisheng nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense. It would not be appropriate to promote all of them. It is not impossible to select a few who are capable of great use and give them some care during the selection process.

"As for Chen Yue's brother, let's arrange for him to be the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture."

"what!?"

Pang Qing was somewhat surprised and asked, "Chief of the Beijing Suburbs, isn't this treatment a bit too good?"

"I can even transfer the Imperial Academy's Bachelor of Imperial Studies back to the capital, so why do I need him as a county magistrate? Zhang Laizhan's background in the court is still too weak. How will he face the crises in the future? It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a few more people to help."

Li Zisheng said this and looked at Shen Lu again, "Ruxue, what do you think?"

Shen Lu said helplessly: "Minister Li has a far-sighted vision, and I dare not make any rash comments."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "When I have a chance, I will meet the officials of Hejian Prefecture and see if there are any talents that can be used among them. Your Majesty has always said that people should be appointed based on their merits, and I think that is right.

"If the officials of Hejian Prefecture lose their chance of promotion just because of Chen Yue's crime, it is clearly a clique attacking dissidents. It's fine if I don't know the reason, but now that I know it, I must take action to correct it. Isn't this for the sake of maintaining the integrity of the court?"

Pang Qing said, "Your Excellency is right. The group of upright officials in the court love to do things that are inconsistent with their words and deeds. The disputes among the local parties have always existed. Your Excellency just disdained to have anything to do with them in the past."

Li Zisheng nodded: "The chaos in the court should be rectified. This can be regarded as a new atmosphere. I don't believe that the historian can still say that white is black?
"I do all this for the sake of the court. Heaven can bear witness to this, the sun and the moon can testify to this, I have absolutely no selfish motives!"

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(End of this chapter)