Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 135 Special Contribution

Chen Ce sat quietly in the study with the windows open. The warm spring sunshine shone on his face and desk, making him feel very comfortable.

Chen Ce was in deep thought. Today, this senior official from the Ministry of Justice revealed a lot of information. Chen Ce also indirectly confirmed some guesses. All this information was very useful.

There are many news articles piled up on the desk, and Chen Ce needs to screen them early to select the articles that need to be published tomorrow.

However, Chen Ce is not in a hurry to screen the manuscripts now. He is thinking about things in the Northwest.

The health problems he had a few days ago forced Chen Ce to quickly devote his energy to national policies, but many things cannot be solved in a hurry.

The people of Turpan plundered Hami and left, and it seemed that they had no intention of occupying Hami.

Chen Ce needs to completely resolve the hidden dangers of Hami in the future, otherwise the Northwest issue will be delayed until the Jiajing period.

He naturally knew how to solve the root cause of Hami. Emperor Jiajing had already given the standard answer, but Hami was never the key. The key was the internal court of the Ming Dynasty. They might not necessarily execute Chen Ce's will. How to calculate them was the key.

What Chen Ce had to deal with was not the Turpan people, nor the Tatars, but secretly fighting with the high-level officials of the Ming court, which was very troublesome.

It seemed that Emperor Hongzhi left Zhu Houzhao with a prosperous and rejuvenated era, but there were many hidden dangers. Others might not be able to see them, but Chen Ce was clear about them. He had to solve these hidden dangers as much as possible in the limited time, and hoped that he could hold on until that time.

As I said, many things cannot be solved in a hurry, and you have to eat one bite at a time.

Putting the Hami issue aside for the time being, Chen Ce began to review the news release.

Chen Ce was stunned for a moment until he saw a special submission.

This article is very eye-catching and eye-catching. If it is used on the front page, it will definitely sell well in tomorrow's newspaper.

This is enough to show the superb writing skills of the contributors behind the scenes.

[Tang Yin ignored the rumors and announced that he would win the first prize in this year's imperial examination]

In the manuscript submitted the day before yesterday, Chen Ce himself wrote that the top scholar of this year's exam might be Lun Wenxu. Today, someone submitted a similar manuscript. Does this count as helping Tang Yin fight back?

Or have ulterior motives?

When Chen Ce continued to read the content, he was stunned again.

The contents of the manuscript were all about Tang Yin showing off his talents in various public occasions, as well as his confident words about winning the first prize this year.

This is flattering Tang Yin.

If this article were sent out, it would attract a lot of discussion, but it would be extremely disadvantageous to Tang Yin.

Don’t forget that there was a massive imperial examination fraud case in the 12th year of Hongzhi.

Chen Ce did not want to make the matter bigger. If he published the article on the front page, he would definitely make money, but it would also harm Tang Yin.

Chen Ce thought about it, put the manuscript aside for the time being, then put on his clothes and went to find Xu Jing.

He wants to inquire about the situation.

In Xu Jing's villa, Xu Jing refused to see visitors these days. He knew his level, which was just a half-baked one, so he did not dare to slack off.

However, when the doorman reported that Chen Ce wanted to see him, Xu Jing still warmly invited Chen Ce in.

Chen Ce didn't waste any time talking and asked Xu Jing directly, "Did you and Bo Hu go to entertain any officials?"

Chen Ce understood from Xu Jing's embarrassed expression, so they went anyway.

Chen Ce looked disappointed. After so many times of warning, they still didn't listen to him.

Seeing Chen Ce was about to leave, Xu Jing hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen, wait a minute."

"I did not go."

Chen Ce looked at him suspiciously and said, "So you let Bo Hu go?"

Xu Jing said hurriedly: "Mr. Chen, I know that you don't have a good impression of me, but I'm not so mean as to do this."

"I tried to persuade Bo Hu, but several of the candidates said there was nothing wrong with meeting him. You know Bo Hu's temper, so I couldn't persuade him."

"I have kept your kind words in mind and have not forgotten them, but I am only Brother Tang's friend and fellow student after all, and I have fulfilled my responsibilities."

Chen Ce stared at Xu Jing seriously, and Xu Jing looked at Chen Ce with a clear conscience. Chen Ce nodded and said, "Who did he go to see?"

Xu Jing said: "Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Sure enough.

In this matter, Chen Ce did not change history. To be more precise, he did not change Tang Yin's arrogant character. His temperament destined him to make this choice.

But Xu Jing surprised Chen Ce.

"Why didn't you go?"

Chen Ce looked at him curiously.

Xu Jing smiled helplessly and said, "You know my level. I am not as talented as Brother Tang. It's hard to say whether I can pass the exam."

"I remember all the wise words that Master Chen gave me before. To be honest, I believe that you would not do anything without a purpose. Of course, I also always believe in your judgment and foresight. For all these reasons, I gave up the opportunity to make connections, even though I wanted to go."

Xu Jing did not lie. What he said was what it was. After interacting with Chen Ce time and time again, he understood one thing: none of his lies would stand up to Chen Ce.

Instead of doing that, it is better to say whatever you want to say, even if it is wrong.

Chen Ce never thought it would be like this. He wanted to change Tang Yin's life trajectory, but failed.

He didn't intend to change Xu Jing's life trajectory, but he did.

Ultimately, it’s because there is a huge gap in the personalities of the two people.

Xu Jing is a truly smart man. Although he sometimes does whatever it takes to achieve his goals, it is undeniable that Xu Jing has an accurate understanding of himself and that he has absolute trust and admiration for Chen Ce!
Chen Ce nodded and said, "If you work hard, you may have a chance."

He said nothing and left with his hands behind his back.

Xu Jing stopped Chen Ce and said, "Mr. Chen, have you figured out something? Is Bo Hu in danger?"

Chen Ce said: "I don't know, maybe."

Xu Jing hurriedly asked: "Can you save him?"

Chen Ce shook his head: "No, he should go through it, otherwise it will harm him even if he becomes an official in the future."

"Don't worry about him, just work hard."

Xu Jing nodded and said, "Okay!"

……

Newspapers are everywhere in the streets and alleys. People can know what is happening in the world with just a penny, and most people are not stingy.

There were all kinds of discussions on the streets, gossip, chivalry, supernatural stories, and of course, more of the topic was the upcoming imperial examination.

Chen Ce had no time to care about this. After returning to Huaihua Hutong, he continued to review the manuscripts and finalized all the manuscripts for tomorrow.

Chen Ce did not publish the explosive news about Tang Yin, trying his best to suppress the public opinion to the lowest level.

Early the next morning, the news from Shuntian Press was published as scheduled.

Chengqingfang Street, the residence of Fu, the left Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites.

Fu Yuan got up early in the morning and accompanied his father Fu Han to have breakfast. He then watched the news and couldn't help frowning.

Fu Han saw that his eldest son looked upset and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "It's okay, father, why don't you go to work?"

"Well, let's go."

After Fu Han left, Fu Yuan narrowed his eyes and said to himself, "This is not right. Is there something wrong with the manuscript I submitted?"

“Why didn’t it make the front page headlines today?”

(End of this chapter)