I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 238 The Fox Appreciation Gathering Turns Against Each Other
Nasal mucus is also known as boogers.

There is a main street in the west of the capital city that is shaped like a round piece of booger, hence the name "Bob-Grooger Street".

There is a fox god temple on Biluozha Street. It receives many offerings from prostitutes in the capital.

Over the course of more than a century, the Fox God Temple was expanded three times. Its main hall, the offering hall, could seat hundreds of people.

That night, the Fox God Temple was brightly lit inside and out. Countless carriages and official sedan chairs were parked in front of the temple gate. The people who stepped out of the carriages and sedan chairs were all prominent figures in the capital.

Three or four hundred people attended, including hereditary dukes, marquises, earls, imperial relatives, retired high-ranking officials, and their descendants.

Without exception, their servants carried a bamboo cage containing their pet fox.

Lin Shisan and Sun Yue greeted the guests at the temple entrance.

"Oh my! Duke Dingguo, you've arrived! Thirteenth Prince kowtows to you!"

"Brother Wang, you've come too. I heard your father was just promoted to Minister of Rites in Nanjing. Congratulations!"

"Oh, old Imperial Brother-in-law. Thirteenth Brother pays his respects to you!"

In such appreciation events, the most important person usually makes a grand entrance last.

Almost all the guests were seated in the tribute hall. It was only then that the young Grand Secretary Xu Fan arrived, albeit late.

Upon seeing Xu Fan, Lin Shisan leaped to the ground like a nimble toad and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Young Grand Secretary, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

It's never wrong to be overly polite. Besides, the person kowtowing to Xu Fan was the dignified Commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Xu Fan was quite pleased. He smiled and stroked his beautiful beard: "Thirteen, please rise quickly. You are, after all, a fourth-rank military officer of the imperial court, and your official rank is higher than mine. If anyone should kowtow, it should be me kowtowing to you."

Lin Shisan carefully rose to his feet: "Young Grand Secretary, what are you saying? Power is not determined by rank. Look at the court today, apart from the Grand Secretary, you are the one with the highest status."

"It is only right and proper for me to kowtow to you. Come quickly and announce to the guests that the most distinguished young Grand Secretary and his six red-eared snow foxes have arrived tonight!"

Sun Yue shouted a message.

Then Lin Shisan led the way and invited Xu Fan into the tribute hall.

Xu Fan entered the tribute hall. The guests smiled on the surface, but were inwardly cursing.

These imperial relatives, hereditary officials, and retired officials had long resented Xu Jie's monopoly on state affairs.

When Xu Jie was battling Yan Song, during the final showdown, Xu Jie rallied the nobles and imperial relatives in the capital to submit a memorial impeaching Yan Song.

At that time, Xu Jie promised to suggest to the emperor that he grant real power to meritorious officials and imperial relatives after Yan Song was brought down.

After the great battle, Lao Yan was demoted and sent back to his hometown to beg for food, while Xu Jie won a great victory. However, he went back on his word and failed to keep his promise.

Therefore, the imperial relatives and hereditary nobles hated Xu Jie to the core.

Needless to say, those officials who were essentially idle were also out of the picture. The reason they were "idle" was because Grand Secretary Xu had stripped them of their real power.

Lin Shisan announced loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, all the guests have arrived. The fox-watching party is about to begin tonight!"

"Bang!" Sun Yue mustered all his strength and struck the gong.

Lin Shisan smiled and said, "The first pet fox to appear tonight is the Northern Blue Fox tamed by the Duke of Dingguo."

In a short time, a bunch of rare and exotic pet foxes made their appearance. Each one was imbued with the blood, sweat, and tears of its owner.

Xu Fan sipped his tea with an air of arrogance, occasionally glancing at the various pet foxes that had appeared.

A full hour later, Lin Shisan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Please welcome the six red-eared snow foxes raised by the young Grand Secretary who shoulders the heavy responsibilities of two capitals and thirteen provinces!"

Sun Yue shouted in a jeering tone, "Good!"

The Xu family servants led six red-eared snow foxes onto the stage. These six foxes, hey, they were truly beautiful, with their cleavage and plumpness. Lin Shisan said, "Gentlemen, please look at the appearance of these six foxes of the young Grand Secretary. Their eyes are like jewels, their bodies like white snow, and their ears like flames."

“Each one is a rare find. This red-eared snow fox is not only a masterpiece of nature, but it has also absorbed the rich and fertile energy of the Xu family mansion. It’s perfect to see it by lamplight at night!”

"The foxes in Old Xu's family are truly one in a million. Their figures and appearances are top-notch!"

Xu Fan frowned upon hearing this, feeling displeased.

What does "the rich and luxurious atmosphere of the Xu family" mean? What does "the Xu family" mean?
A moment later, Xu Fan guessed: Lin Shisan, that little brat, has been hosting the fox-appreciation event for an hour now. If you collected all the spittle he's spewed out, it would probably fill a whole jar. It's understandable that he might slip up a few times due to exhaustion.

Sun Yue shouted from the side, "Wonderful! The Fox King has finally been crowned at tonight's Fox Appreciation Festival! It's him!"

Lin Shisan called out, "Wait a minute."

Then Lin Shisan walked up to Xu Fan and bowed respectfully: "Young Grand Secretary, could you tell us about the origin of these six red-eared snow foxes, so that Shisan and the other guests can broaden their horizons?"

Xu Fan stood up triumphantly: "Gentlemen, this red-eared snow fox is born in the deep mountains of Liaodong. It is cunning and extremely intelligent by nature, making it very difficult to capture."

"Furthermore, red-eared snow foxes can only be caught in the dead of winter when the snow is too deep to run fast because the water is freezing cold."

Lin Shisan laughed and said, "What a skilled hunter it must be to capture these six red-eared snow foxes!"

Xu Fan said, "That's right. Fortunately, it's under Li Chengliang's command."

At this point, Xu Fan abruptly stopped speaking. He had almost blurted out something he shouldn't have.

The fact that the son of the Grand Secretary associated with a border military commander and accepted gifts from him was always against the rules of the court.

Lin Shisan's expression changed, and he shouted, "Young Grand Secretary, you're talking about Li Chengliang? Which Li Chengliang? Is it Li Chengliang, the military commander of Xianshan?"

Xu Fan glanced at Lin Shisan: "What 'Admiral of Dangerous Mountains'? I don't know him. I'm talking about an old hunter from Liaodong named Li Chengliang."

Lin Shisan's eyes were no longer filled with the flattery and fawning of before; they were now sharp.

Lin Shisan took a step towards Xu Fan: "Really? Is what the young Grand Secretary said true?"

Xu Fan was taken aback. Had Lin Shisan taken the wrong medicine? He steadied himself and asked, "Why would I lie to a mere Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) commander like you about such a trivial matter?"

Since the fall of Yan's faction, Xu Fan became arrogant, and extremely arrogant at that. He even called the head of the Imperial Guard "a nobody."

Seeing the sudden trouble, all the guests held their breath and watched the show with bated breath.

Lin Shisan raised his voice and asked, "Do you all know the true origin of these six red-eared snow foxes?"

"They were captured by the young Grand Secretary who mobilized over a thousand cavalrymen under Li Chengliang's troops in the dangerous mountains of the border region!"

"The young Grand Secretary is truly powerful! A mere Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices can mobilize thousands of border troops!"

"You should know that even mobilizing 500 Liaodong border troops requires the Emperor's decree, the Minister of War's military order, and the Governor-General of Jiliao!"

"As far as I know, the young Grand Secretary mobilized over a thousand cavalrymen from the dangerous mountains with just one letter!"

"Such a grand troop deployment, just for a few rare foxes!"

"Compared to the previous Junior Grand Secretary surnamed Yan, this young Grand Secretary wields even greater power!"

Lin Shisan's words left Xu Fan speechless.

His words clearly indicated that he wanted to break ties with the Xu family.

Xu Fan couldn't understand why Lin Shisan, who had previously been so obsequious to him, had suddenly become so defiant.

(End of this chapter)