Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 123 Is it easier to storm into the capital than to pass the imperial examination?
"Greetings, Shangguan."

Shen Kun already knew that Yan Maoqing was now a fifth-rank official.

Although she had some reservations about his previous self-serving behavior, she still gave him a proper bow.

Speaking of which, although Yan Maoqing has been finding all sorts of excuses to take leave lately, his reputation in the Hanlin Academy has been rising steadily.

This was entirely due to the strong praise and promotion by Chen Yingda, a Hanlin Academy scholar.

This old scholar, who had served in the Hanlin Academy for decades, never flattered the powerful or wealthy. Almost no one in the Hanlin Academy ever heard a good word from him; he always spoke negatively! Negatively! And more negatively!
But for some reason, after learning that Yan Maoqing already held the rank of a fifth-grade official, he suddenly changed his tune and began to praise him endlessly:

Wei Xian doesn't forget his roots, great job!

Respectfully commendable for emphasizing gratitude towards teachers!

Not arrogant despite success, well done!

Chen Yingda even emphasized a past event that has now been forgotten by people.

It was the incident the day before the Hanlin Academy opened, when Yan Maoqing, having been flogged by the Emperor, came to ask for leave...

Through Chen Yingda's description, Yan Maoqing was portrayed as a loyal minister who dared to speak frankly to the emperor, becoming an honorable junior scholar worthy of emulation by all Hanlin scholars, and that beating in court was the most illustrious achievement in the land.

No one can refute this.

After all, the main direction for the Hanlin Academy to send talents to the court was to send officials to the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate, whose main task was to give direct advice to the emperor.

If someone manages to get a beating from the emperor while offering advice, their reputation and fame will soar, and even their former teachers will feel proud.

The reason why no one cared about Yan Maoqing's previous beating in court was that...

Firstly, Yan Maoqing had not revealed to the public what the reason was;

Secondly, his examination paper had only recently been exposed, and his reputation was already poor, so no one dared to speak up for him.

Now, under Chen Yingda's free interpretation and promotion, Yan Maoqing has transformed into the only loyal minister in the world who dared to speak frankly to the emperor while still a junior scholar, and has become a guiding light for all Hanlin scholars and censors to learn from!
In Chen Yingda's own words, this is "the best of the best"!
That's why Yan Maoqing hasn't been to the Hanlin Academy much lately and hasn't heard about this matter; otherwise, he would be so angry he'd vomit blood.

Who would have thought that he was just unwilling to humiliate a stubborn old scholar, but the old scholar would turn around and repay kindness with enmity, causing such a big commotion for him.

Will he be able to retire and return to his hometown smoothly...?

"No need for formalities, please."

Yan Maoqing smiled and returned the greeting, then raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Although he was unaware that the Hanlin Academy had caused such a commotion, he was still somewhat wary of Shen Kun.

It wasn't that they were afraid of Shen Kun as a person, but rather they were afraid of Shen Kun's treacherous mouth, whose words were almost always law!

Because after being caught off guard and receiving the rank of fifth-grade official, Yan Maoqing immediately conducted a deep and detailed self-reflection.

As a result, during his self-reflection, he quickly recalled what Shen Kun had said when he stormed off that day:
"I will keep your advice in mind, and I wish you both continued success! Farewell!"

For Yan Maoqing, this statement was not only comparable to the most vicious curse in the world, but it also echoed his own experience of entering the palace after the palace coup, engaging in a series of absurd and unreasonable arguments with Tao Zhongwen, and somehow managing to solve the case and earn merit. This made Yan Maoqing wonder if the final outcome of the events was somehow inextricably linked to Shen Kun's prophetic and unreliable words…

"I am Wu Cheng'en, and I have met Niu Bishanren."

The way Wu Cheng'en addressed Yan Maoqing took him by surprise.

Niu Bishanren was the pen name he used when he approached Manager Liu to publish "Xuan Po Cang Qiong".

The fact that Wu Cheng'en could mention this pen name suggests that he had already read "Xuan Po Cang Qiong".
Feeling guilty for "showing off one's limited skills before an expert," Yan Maoqing quickly addressed him as Wu Cheng'en, bowing and saying:
"Having met the Hermit of Sheyang Mountain, please have a seat, Hermit of Sheyang Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Wu Cheng'en was momentarily stunned:
"How did Niu Bishanren know that I used this as my pen name? Could it be that Niu Bishanren has also read my articles?"

"That's natural, there are several people who haven't seen you before..."

Yan Maoqing was about to answer when he suddenly paused... No!
No, no, no!

The Journey to the West hasn't been released yet!

According to historical records, Wu Cheng'en should not have been able to complete the first draft of "Journey to the West" until next year.

And it was only a first draft. He continued to participate in the provincial examinations, and continued to fail. He didn't pass the provincial examinations for seven or eight years. In the end, he could only rely on connections to study at the Imperial Academy in Nanjing. He then became a tribute student, but was eliminated in the selection process for official positions.

It wasn't until the thirty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign that Wu Cheng'en finally managed to become a county magistrate. However, a little over a year later, he was falsely accused and had no choice but to return to his hometown and live in seclusion.

After that, it wasn't until the first year of the Wanli reign that the final manuscript of Journey to the West was officially completed.

And it wasn't until the twentieth year of the Wanli reign, ten years after Wu Cheng'en died in poverty, that it was officially published...

However, historically, the time when Wu Cheng'en was falsely accused and forced to retire coincided with the time when Shen Kun was falsely accused and died in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Historically, the time when Shen Kun formed the Zhuangyuan Army coincided with the time when Wu Cheng'en planned to abandon his pen for the sword and join the army to fight against Japanese pirates, but for some unknown reason, it did not come to fruition.

In addition, Wu Cheng'en did indeed have an older sister named Wu Chengjia, who did indeed marry "Shen".

Thinking about it this way, the unexpected in-law relationship between Wu Cheng'en and Shen Kun, which surprised Yan Maoqing, suddenly seems much more reasonable...

"Haha, I've been lucky enough to have seen some of them. It's a pleasure to meet you."

With these thoughts in mind, Yan Maoqing immediately chuckled and quietly corrected the words he had almost let slip.

It's impossible for "Journey to the West" to exist now, and even if it did, it wouldn't be published at this time.

After all, Zhu Houcong promoted a policy of venerating Taoism and suppressing Buddhism, yet Wu Cheng'en's "Journey to the West" elevated Buddhism to such a high level. In addition, the book contains so much satire of officialdom, and even the image of the Jade Emperor, upon closer examination, seems to be deliberately designed to vilify Zhu Houcong or belittle the Taoism he promoted.

In short, as soon as this book is published, it will probably be immediately regarded as a banned book by Zhu Houcong.

At that time, both Wu Cheng'en himself and the publishing house will be implicated, and the consequences will be quite serious!
Yan Maoqing couldn't help but recall the classic scene of "Havoc in Heaven" from the book.

If we only look at this episode, and combine it with Wu Cheng'en's life experiences... when this guy was writing "Journey to the West", he may have had similar thoughts to Huang Chao, such as "it is easier to storm into the capital than to pass the imperial examination".
Thinking about it this way...

I always felt that Shen Kun and Wu Cheng'en possessed some admirable qualities that could help me successfully retire and return to my hometown!
Sigh, these highlights are getting more and more dazzling!
(End of this chapter)