As an official, what's wrong with raising a few monsters?

Chapter 120: Drinking Date After Failing the Exam
"Time flies... Chinese New Year is almost here..."

The weather was gloomy and the north wind was howling.

Mingchen, wrapped in a silver fox fur, was leaning in a rosewood chair, stroking the cat in his arms, quietly watching the child practicing sword not far away, and sighed softly.

It feels like entering retirement life at the age of sixteen.

If only there were mobile phones in this world...

The child's figure moved, jumping and turning in the yard, and the wooden sword was like a fluttering butterfly, agile and elegant.

Xiudie is very hardworking. She has mastered everything Lingyu taught her and still practices diligently, which is in stark contrast to Mingchen, the lazy guy.

The document requesting leave to attend court has been sent over.

The cat nestled quietly in his arms, while the rat was concentrating on digging holes and planting in the yard.

The chirping bird was not around, as he had sent it out to deliver a letter home.

After all, I have been out for almost half a year, so I should report the situation to my family, otherwise my parents will probably think that they raised me in vain.

In this era, people at the bottom of society live in poverty and hardship, but once they climb to the top, they will live a comfortable life.

The capital city is prosperous and charming, and everything is quiet and peaceful.

A month and a half had passed since he returned to Beijing for his promotion.

Now he lives in his own mansion and rarely goes to restaurants.

Due to its reputation, it is inconvenient to stay there. The restaurant can now run on its own. Xiudie will visit the store from time to time, and that is enough.

As a senior civil servant, the state would always allocate him a house. In addition to promotion, Xiao Yu rewarded him with a mansion, gold, silver, cloth... and other material things.

Compared to the small house allocated during the compilation, this place is much more spacious and elegant.

Mingchen didn't know how long he could live here, so he didn't pay much attention to it, and the name was simply "Ming Mansion".

Although he was promoted, he was still very lazy and always took sick leave to avoid court and cabinet meetings.

He didn't care about the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, as there was still a Minister of Rites above him to do the work.

He is so young, what's wrong with taking a salary without working? !
He does nothing but play with birds or pet kittens every day...

Unfortunately, both the old emperor and the crown prince were very tolerant of him, and even if some court officials reported him, it was of no avail.

During this period, many ministers came to visit one after another. They welcomed him with smiles, and various gifts were delivered to the mansion one after another, including a lot of gold, silver and treasures.

Mingchen, a rising star in the court, has great abilities and has risen to prominence in one step. He is deeply appreciated by His Majesty and his rise is unstoppable.

If you don't win over and show goodwill to such an official, wouldn't you be a fool?
When newcomers emerge, they are obstructed by various forces from all sides. The class system is such that the upper and middle classes will not allow the lower classes to come up. They will set up various barriers to test, stop, and destroy...

But if the newcomer breaks through the obstacles in a domineering manner, then he will be the new nobleman, everything will become clear, and he will receive unprecedented respect.

Mingchen is such a person now. Before people have time to target him, he has already rushed forward.

Once you reach an unstoppable position, all obstacles will turn into flattery and enticement.

It’s just right, it’s just right, drifting in troubled times, this is Mingchen’s original intention.

A little greed, isn't this what's happening?
He accepted everything no matter who the visitor was or what the gift was.

His mind would automatically generate words to respond to the visitor's conversation, and he would not think about what they were talking about.

He won't remember who gave him a gift, but he will know who didn't.

"Report~"

"Sir, there is a visitor from outside the mansion."

"He said he's an old friend of yours and you owe him a drink."

Suddenly, a shout came from outside the yard, startling the cat in my arms and causing it to open its strange-colored eyes.

Old friend? Drinking?
If it were Ling Yu, he would have just barged in without notifying the guards.

Mingchen pondered for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and said, "Let him in."

Xiudie, who was standing nearby, stopped what she was doing when she heard this, stepped forward, and said to Mingchen, "Brother, when you left, someone came to Xiangmanlou and said you owed him a drink."

"Ah."

Not long after, the guards came in with a scholar in blue clothes.

He should be less than 30 years old, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square chin, and looks very energetic.

"Brother, no...I should call you Lord Ming now."

"Master Ming, long time no see!"

He cupped his hands and said to Mingchen with a smile, "Do you remember the date we had for drinks after failing the exam?"

Mingchen, a genius, suddenly appeared in the world. He did not take the imperial examination, but he was so popular that he stole the limelight from all his peers.

And the most embarrassing one among them may be this top scholar.

Mingchen remembered what this man looked like.

It was the same talkative candidate who had discussed whale sharks with him at the end of the team during the imperial examination that day.

Willow View.

……

In the elegantly decorated room, smoke curled up from the incense burner, wine swirls on the sandalwood table, and two scholars sat opposite each other.

"Ha~ Good wine, good wine~"

"Master Ming, you deceived me so much~"

Mingchen no longer needs to use Qingzhu wine to entertain guests. There are plenty of different kinds of wine in the mansion. He can just take out a jar to deal with the situation.

Liu Wang was not at all restrained, and did not care that Mingchen's official position was much higher than his.

He took a sip of wine and looked at the genius in front of him who was even younger than him, and kept complaining to him.

After all, this person had been suppressing him from the very beginning and stealing a lot of his limelight.

Didn’t we agree to fail the exam together?

How did you get to first place?
Mom, I feel like I've always lived in his shadow.

Ming Chen shrugged and said sarcastically, "Didn't Brother Liu also say he would fail the exam? Didn't he say he couldn't even remember the Four Books and Five Classics? How come the top scorer is also called Liu Wang? He must have the same name as you, right?" "That's not as good as Master Ming~"

Oh, I lied too.
That's okay.

But it's all just the insidious self-deprecation of a bitch.

Liu Wang laughed dryly: "Luck, luck~"

They seemed unchanged, just like the two strange candidates at the end of the imperial examination queue that day, even though one of them was now a shining new noble in the court, and the other was the top scorer on the imperial examination list.

If both of them lied, it is almost the same as if neither of them lied.

"I wonder why Brother Liu wants to see me here?"

The newcomers who haven't been corrupted by officialdom are actually quite interesting.

At least he was much more interesting than the ministers who had come to give gifts before, and his speech was not stereotyped, which made people drowsy.

"Why?"

"Hahaha, Lord Ming is rising rapidly to prominence and his name is known throughout the world."

"I hope to have the opportunity to meet Lord Ming once. I will definitely seize it. If there is an opportunity in the future, Lord Ming will help me."

"Thank goodness I still have the promise of a drink, otherwise I really don't know what excuse I would come to see you~"

Liu Wang drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and said with a hearty smile.

He didn't seem to want to hide his intention at all, and spoke frankly about his intention to curry favor with the powerful.

The essence of officialdom is the bond of interests.

The first thing to do is to find a reason to link.

Fellow townspeople, same surname, classmates...this is the best reason.

Liu Wang’s current reason is actually not bad.

Friends who I had great fun talking to when I was not rich.

Mingchen smiled and said, "Brother Liu is quite honest."

Liu Wang said proudly, "After all, no one else has such a keen eye as mine~"

"I sincerely hope that Lord Ming will support me. Together, we will be loyal to the emperor and serve our country, devoting ourselves to Qianyuan!"

Be loyal to the emperor and serve the country?

Devote yourself to Qianyuan?
I don't think I am that kind of person, and I don't think you are either.

Mingchen looked at him again.

"I didn't expect that! I was quite confident going into the examination, but I didn't expect to be outshined by Master Ming..."

"Why isn't Lord Ming taking part in the palace examination? Oh... is he going on a diplomatic mission?"

"Hahaha, I won the top prize, and I have to thank Lord Ming for not taking the exam! Let me tell you, the questions for the palace examination..."

Liu Wang seemed to be still the e-person candidate who was slacking off and chattering at the entrance of the examination room.

He was talkative and said that he came to curry favor with Mingchen, but he didn't show any restraint or humility at all. He spoke as if he was a gossipy diner in a restaurant.

This was only the second time the two met, but the atmosphere was still tense.

Mingchen spoke to him with a smile, while Liu Wang drank and observed Mingchen.

Suddenly, Liu Wang leaned closer to Mingchen and lowered his voice, "I heard... Lord Ming has a close personal relationship with the Northern Emperor?"

People like Mingchen don't seem like those who are loyal to the emperor.

He needed to test Mingchen by asking him sensitive questions to observe what he was thinking.

Mingchen's face straightened when he heard this: "Brother Liu, please don't talk nonsense. We are officials of the Qianyuan government and we are loyal to the emperor. How could we associate with the king of an enemy country?"

"Hahaha~"

Seeing Mingchen's reaction clearly, Liu Wang couldn't help but laugh heartily: "Master Ming is right. It must be a rumor."

However, next

"I heard... Brother Liu and the leader of the Blood Robe Army are like brothers?"

The same sentence rang in his ears, but Liu Wang's eyes suddenly shrank, his hearty smile instantly disappeared, and his whole body froze in place.

He seemed to be overwhelmed by shock.

Faced with the same temptation, his reaction was not as perfect as Mingchen's.

Mingchen narrowed his eyes and looked at the shocked top scholar in front of him with interest.

He never suffers any loss.

This unlucky guy tested him, so he would retaliate.

Everyone knows each other well, and none of them are good people. Just speak frankly and don't say those hypocritical empty words.

next moment,
"Whoosh!"

The wind was so strong that it blew up a few strands of Mingchen's hair.

The hidden sword on his wrist pointed directly at the most distinguished person in this mansion.

"who are you?"

Liu Wang's face changed drastically, and he no longer looked like the usual nonchalant and talkative scholar.

Just looking at the strange and evil minister in front of him who was younger than him, he couldn't help but question him harshly.

This person is so weird!

It was as if he could penetrate the flesh and see into people's hearts. How did he know?
Cuiyu's stick had reached his throat at some point.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move forward even a little bit.

Before his hidden blade could pierce Mingchen, the jade stick would pierce his throat.

(End of this chapter)