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

Chapter 171 The Harmless Handling of the Junior Grand Secretary [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"My lord, please forgive me!"

Bai Lu immediately glared at Liu Laizi for his incompetence, then blushed and explained guiltily to Yan Maoqing.
"This Madam Yan is our neighbor in this alley, Madam Yan of the Yan family."

"My husband is unwilling to associate with the Yan family, so I should not associate with them either."

"It's because Madam Yan has come today to recognize me as her relative. She is my niece and I are cousins."

"Out of consideration for our kinship, I invited her into the house for a chat."

"However, I have already explained to her that my husband was humiliated by Yan Shifan, which is something I cannot tolerate. Therefore, although I have acknowledged her as my aunt, I will not associate with her in the future."

"I just learned that my husband has returned from his duty, and I have already sent someone to escort her out of the manor, but I don't know why she has wandered here..."

Yan Maoqing was taken aback upon hearing this, and then looked Ouyang Duanshu up and down, who was at least two months older than Bailu:
"The two families are actually related?"

However, he quickly came to terms with it.

It was not uncommon for prominent families in Jiangxi to intermarry with each other.

If a family produces a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) or even just a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination), powerful and influential families will rush to arrange a marriage. Over time, this naturally leads to a situation where everyone is intertwined with each other.

Therefore, it was normal for Ouyang Duanshu to marry Yan Song, just as it was the same principle for Bai Lu to marry herself.

After all, Yan Song was born in the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, and like himself, he had been promoted to the position of Shujishi.

It's not surprising that Ouyang Duanshu's aunt married into the powerful Bai family of Fengcheng.

As for age, it's not a problem at all. Every family has different branches, and even siblings can have a large age gap. Over time, it's quite common for generational age to not match age.

But at the same time.

Yan Maoqing couldn't help but feel nauseous.

If we calculate it this way, Yan Song would be considered his cousin, and Yan Shifan would have to call him "little uncle" and Bai Lu "little aunt".

But what did the previous ruler do in history?
In order to curry favor with Yan Song and his son, he actually made Yan Song his godfather and addressed Yan Shifan as his brother... He has no shame at all!

However, it may be precisely because of this kinship that Yan Song in history treated him differently, and subsequently promoted him and strongly recommended him to serve as the salt commissioner, who was the most lucrative position in the country.
After all, historical records clearly indicate that Yan Song had only two adopted sons:

One was named Zhao Wenhua, and the other was Yan Maoqing.

Without special connections or exceptional abilities, not just anyone could become Yan Song's godfather...

Just as I was thinking this.

“The shameless Ouyang has met his sister-in-law.”

Although Ouyang Duanshu had some complaints about Yan Maoqing's current miserable state, she was almost at her wit's end, so she still forced herself to step forward and pay her respects.

"No need to be polite."

Yan Maoqing returned the greeting, still scrutinizing Ouyang Duanshu, before getting straight to the point.
"Madam Yan would never come here without a reason. If you have any purpose, you might as well just say it directly. There's no need to play coy here."

Because of the relationship between Yan Song and his son, he naturally had no good feelings towards Ouyang Duanshu.

However, this did not prevent him from figuring out the Yan family's true intentions. Even if it was just to probe their intentions, he could still know himself and his enemy in advance and act accordingly.

After all, in his mind, Yan Song and his son had long been on the list of those who had to be eliminated.

Even if it's not possible to kill the father and son, it's essential to ensure they can never set foot in officialdom again and never wield power again.

Because it is based on my own experience, combined with historical records.

It's not hard to see that both father and son are the kind of petty people who hold grudges, seek revenge, and are ruthless.

We cannot be as broad-minded, kind, and forgiving as him!
Although Xia Yan was arrogant, he had at least promoted Yan Song. However, after Yan Song came to power, not only did he turn against him, but after bringing down Xia Yan, he also wanted to kill him and behead him in the marketplace.

There were also Shen Lian, Yang Jisheng, and others who impeached them; these were all bloody lessons.

This father and son were not only pursuing victory in political struggles, but also seeking to vent their anger by causing each other's families to be destroyed.

Now that the two sides are engaged in open and covert struggles, the father and son can no longer survive!

After all, he will eventually retire and return to his hometown.

If Yan Song and his son were still in officialdom and held power by then, they would have succeeded.

They might use old grudges against him to try and kill him, just like they did with Xia Yan, Shen Lian, and Yang Jisheng. This would be a very serious hidden danger and an extreme act of irresponsibility towards himself and his family.

This is something Yan Maoqing absolutely cannot accept; he must strike first!
"This……"

Seeing Yan Maoqing's directness, Ouyang Duanshu was somewhat at a loss for words. After a moment of hesitation, she smiled, trying to cover up her misunderstanding.

“Brother-in-law, you’re too kind. I’ve come today simply to acknowledge our kinship. Our two families have no relatives in the capital, so we should visit each other more often to ease our homesickness.”

Even though she doesn't go out much on a regular basis, she knows that when trying to establish a relationship with someone, she shouldn't reveal her intentions too early, otherwise it might backfire.

This time, she took the initiative to come and acknowledge her relatives in order to use kinship to subtly change Yan Maoqing's perception of the Yan family and eventually accept this kinship.

After all, in officialdom, having one high-ranking relative is enough.

At that time, someone will naturally assess the situation and, even if this high-ranking relative does nothing, the Yan family's current predicament will change...

“That’s your Yan family. Our Yan family isn’t without relatives in the capital.”

Yan Maoqing also laughed, and bowed to the heavens, saying,
“I eat the king’s food, and the king is my father. I call him ‘father’ every day. This is a kind of kinship.”

"The Duke of Yiguo is also my adoptive father. He not only gave me the name Shouchang when I already had three sons, Shouqian, Shoukun and Shougang, but also treated me like his own son. This is another kind of kinship."

"With these two close relatives, how can one say that one has no relatives?"

"?!"

These few words alone made Ouyang Duanshu look at Yan Maoqing with new respect.

Although this complete stranger's brother-in-law was not very old, he spoke with such utmost tact and shrewdness that one wondered how deep his cunning had become!
She even suspected that Yan Shifan, that unfilial son, was blind in both eyes.
Why did you make things difficult for a fellow townsman who was clearly no ordinary person?

Furthermore, why didn't Yan Song try his best to stop it? Were they both blinded by greed and delusion?

Anyway, after hearing Yan Maoqing's words, she was convinced that her brother-in-law was destined to become a prime minister.

She had been with Yan Song for nearly forty years, and had never heard such wonderful words from him before…

If she were the current emperor, upon hearing these words, she would surely promote Yan Maoqing to the point of exhaustion. Even just listening to him speak would be more delightful than taking a few elixirs!

At this moment, looking at Yan Maoqing's miserable state, she suddenly remembered the words she had vaguely heard Bai Lu and Yan Maoqing talking when she came in:
"Was it really the Emperor who struck him?"

"What's so strange about that? The first time I went to the West Garden to see the Emperor, I was given forty strokes of the cane. I'm used to it..."

"My lady, you probably don't know, but the other day I actually smeared my snot on the Emperor's robe..."

Whether others believed it or not, she was starting to believe it. After all, Yan Maoqing was a rising star who became a third-rank official within months of passing the imperial examination, a legendary figure in the capital and even throughout history.

Aside from the Emperor, ask the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet if they dare to lay a hand on him, let alone beat him into such a miserable state.

Once you eliminate all the impossibilities, whatever remains, however unbelievable, is the truth!

what is this?
This is because of deep love and strict criticism!
Just as she would never personally punish servants at home, but would personally discipline Yan Shifan, it is the same principle!

and so……

In less than a year, Yan Maoqing has become so close to the current emperor!
And his earlier statement, "I eat the emperor's food, so the emperor is my father. I call him 'emperor' and 'emperor' every day. This is a kinship," is being compared to Guo Xun's adoptive father relationship. Is this also for this reason?
This isn't actually about speaking flawlessly!
Or is it simply a truth that has no flaws whatsoever?!

I thought so in my heart.

Ouyang Duanshu's heart trembled violently, and she immediately lowered her posture even further, bowing her head and saying:

“My sister-in-law is absolutely right. I am just a woman who doesn’t know how to speak properly. I only have the Yan family in the capital and have no relatives or friends. How dare I compare myself to the Yan family?”

"There's no need for pleasantries. If Madam Yan has truly come to acknowledge her relatives, then this distant relative, who is not even remotely related to us, can be considered to have been recognized."

Seeing that Ouyang Duanshu kept changing the subject, Yan Maoqing gradually lost patience and glanced at Bai Sheng beside him.
"Bai Sheng, you can see the guests out now."

"Brother-in-law, wait!"

Upon hearing the phrase "completely unrelated," Ouyang Duanshu immediately understood Yan Maoqing's attitude towards the matter. In a panic, she knelt down and wept, saying...

"Now that things have come to this, even if my sister-in-law and sister look down on me, I have no choice but to tell the truth."

"My purpose in coming here to claim kinship is actually to use my sister-in-law's influence to save the Yan family from their dire straits."

“Now my husband has lost power in the court, and my good-for-nothing son has done many bad things and offended many people he shouldn’t have. Now the Yan family is like a homeless dog or a rat crossing the street in the capital.”

“I won’t hide it from my brother-in-law. In the past few months, the Yan family’s property has been looted. When the servants go out, they are harassed by hooligans. Even my son was beaten a few days ago and couldn’t get out of bed for several days.”

“Even now, some people throw wooden puppets into the Yan residence at night, threatening to sue the Yan family for practicing witchcraft, in order to extort money.”

"If this continues, the Yan family will likely be destroyed..."

"Please, brother-in-law, for the sake of our family ties, please set aside past grievances and lend a helping hand to the Yan family!"

As she spoke, Ouyang Duanshu disregarded her status and kowtowed to Yan Maoqing, her words filled with pleading.

Live it!

Upon hearing this, Yan Maoqing felt no sympathy whatsoever; instead, he felt a sense of satisfaction and wanted to laugh.

Based solely on the previous charge of "adultery without a husband," the recent praise and condemnation of Yan Song was merely a stepping stone; the ultimate goal was to destroy Yan Song's family and cause his death.

If the Yan family could be destroyed so easily, wouldn't that be a good thing that would save him a lot of trouble and effort?

However, he also knew in his heart that this was basically impossible...

The biggest problem is that although Yan Song was stripped of all his power by Zhu Houcong, he was sent to Datong as the county magistrate this time!

In Zhu Houcong's eyes now, the matter of Datong (the ideal of universal harmony) is the most important thing.

Only when the ideal of Great Harmony is truly achieved can Zhu Houcong control a portion of the finances, gain some military power, and have the confidence and foundation to advance other matters!

you could put it that way.

The present-day Datong was the key for Zhu Houcong to break the deadlock in the court and the point of breakthrough for the Ming Dynasty.

That's why Zhu Houcong humbled himself and forced Guo Xun to help him no matter what, in order to ensure that the Datong project would not go wrong!

The same principle applies to Yan Song as well.

At present, the problems that the Yan family is experiencing are still minor, so these matters have not yet come to Zhu Houcong's attention.

Once someone does something that goes too far.

For example, if Yan Shifan was indeed imprisoned, or if the Yan family had truly reached the point of ruin and death.

Zhu Houcong would most likely intervene in time, even if it meant temporarily imprisoning Yan Song's family and ordering them to be well protected, to ensure that Yan Song had no worries and could focus on preparing for the Datong project.

Once the great unity is achieved...

Yan Song will definitely return to the court, and his family will all be released so he can make a comeback!
This was certainly not the outcome Yan Maoqing had hoped for...

really.

"This is a letter my husband sent from Datong. Please take a look, brother-in-law."

Ouyang Duanshu was clearly prepared; as she spoke, she took out a neatly folded letter from her bosom.

"Although my husband was demoted to a minor county magistrate in Datong this time, he was actually doing something earth-shaking for the emperor."

"This matter was initiated by my sister-in-law's husband, so he naturally knows its significance."

"The day this matter is accomplished will be the day my husband is transferred back to the capital, and there will still be a great chance that he will be highly valued by the Emperor."

"If my sister-in-law's husband lends a helping hand now, the Yan family will surely repay him. In the future, my sister-in-law's husband will have more relatives to help him in the court, and his wishes will be more fulfilled. Isn't that a wonderful thing?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible chill flashed deep in Yan Maoqing's eyes.

If his previous thoughts were merely speculation, then Yan Song's letter to his family undoubtedly confirmed his guess!

This is not possible!

Absolutely unacceptable!

In order to ensure that Yan Song and his son would have no worries after retiring and returning to their hometown, they absolutely could not be allowed to stay!
Therefore, he had to do something to ensure that even after Yan Song accomplished the Datong project, it would still be extremely difficult for him to return.

However, through this period of contact...

It wasn't hard for him to see that Zhu Houcong was ultimately a relatively fair person in terms of rewards and punishments, and he also valued old relationships, making it difficult to change his mind.

That being the case.

It would be best to approach it from other angles...

For example, we could first try to make use of Yan Shifan's waste and treat it in a pollution-free manner.
After all, there were certain matters at court, but even he, who only wanted to retire and return to his hometown, was unwilling to easily get involved, as he had to avoid making too many enemies...

With this thought in mind, Yan Maoqing suddenly had a flash of inspiration and a bold idea popped into his head:

"Sister-in-law, do you think if I could get my good-for-nothing nephew an official position, would the Yan family's current situation change?"

(End of this chapter)