Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

The capital city, Dengshikou, Yan Mansion.

"Father, we've found him."

The study door was pushed open, and a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a blue official robe with a white falcon badge on his chest, sat down unceremoniously in the chair opposite Yan Song.

"Donglou, have some tea first, then we can talk."

Yan Song, who was the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and the Minister of Rites, didn't care about his son's rudeness at all. He picked up a cup of tea that had been brewed earlier and placed it in front of Yan Shifan.

Yan Shifan didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the teacup in front of him and gulped down several mouthfuls.

"One or two?"

After Yan Shifan caught his breath, Yan Song finally spoke and asked.

"The two sons of Chen Chen who were exiled to the army back then have both been found."

Yan Shifan put down his teacup and looked at his father.

"However, his eldest son had already died in battle in the thirteenth year of the Jiajing reign, when the Right Wing Mongol Ordos Ten Thousand Household Jinang and Tumed Ten Thousand Household Anda led an army of 100,000 to attack Guyuan."

The youngest son, Chen Rubai, is still alive and has now risen through the ranks to become a sentry officer in Guyuan Town, leading a hundred-man squad.

"I really didn't expect this. Back then, Chen Chen was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in two separate examinations. His two sons were also from scholarly families and were supposed to take the orthodox path of the imperial examinations."

Yan Song raised his hand and stroked his long beard.

"Unexpectedly, after his family suffered a major misfortune and he was exiled to the border region to serve in the army, Chen Rubai was able to gain a foothold in the border army."

"Donglou, did you manage to glean any useful information from the second son of this former official in the Ministry of Rites?"

"There really was some gain, and it's about Grand Secretary Xia!"

Yan Shifan nodded.

In the eighth year of the Jiajing reign, Zhang Cong, the Grand Secretary, was dismissed by the emperor on charges of "abusing his power" and "colluding with eunuchs." However, he was reinstated a few months later.

The claims of "absolute power and tyranny" and "colluding with eunuchs" actually lack substantial evidence, at least that's what the emperor believed.

However, there was one case of corruption and arrogance, for which the evidence was conclusive.

The official involved in the case was a close confidant of Grand Secretary Zhang, whom he had placed high hopes on and even placed in the position of Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Rites to gain seniority so that he could recommend Chen Chen to the cabinet in the future!

After Zhang Ge Lao was reinstated, in order to avoid the emperor's suspicion, he could only sever ties with Chen Chen and let him be beheaded and his family property confiscated in the ninth year of Jiajing's reign. His two sons were exiled to Guyuan and his female relatives were forced into prostitution.

At the time, I'm afraid no one could have seen the role that our Grand Secretary Xia played in this case!

When Chen Chen got into trouble, Xia Yan was his colleague, serving as a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Rites.

The position of Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Rites, a seventh-rank official, is vacant, and Xia Yan and Chen Chen are both popular candidates for promotion.

After Chen Chen's case came to light, all the other officials in the Ministry of Rites who were seventh-rank officials were investigated by the Northern Garrison Command, except for Xia Yan!

Not long after, Xia Yan was promoted to the position of Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Rites, a seventh-rank official. He rose rapidly through the ranks until he became a Grand Secretary.

Now that Grand Secretary Li is seriously ill and his body won't last much longer, it's likely that Xia Yan will be the one to succeed him.

Xia Yan's meteoric rise to power actually began when he was promoted to the position of Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Rites!

This time, the son went to Guyuan to visit Chen Chen's two sons. Originally, it was just a matter of taking a chance, since Chen Chen and Xia Yan were colleagues back then, and it is said that they were very close for a period of time.

Perhaps his two sons also know something about Xia Yan.

Chen Chen had died long ago. His son was in the border army and had seen many life and death over the years, so he had no fear of Grand Secretary Xia.

If they truly knew something, they wouldn't hesitate to speak out out of fear of Grand Secretary Xia's power.

"Father, you probably have no idea what role Xia Yan played in Chen Chen's corruption case back then!"

"Could it be?!"

Upon hearing his son's words, Yan Song stopped stroking his long beard.

"Xia Yan is really connected to Chen Chen's corruption case from back then?!"

"That's right. After my son found Chen Rubai in Guyuan, he pretended to be Chen Chen's student when he taught at the Imperial Academy and drank and talked with him."

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, Chen Rubai had no suspicion of me.

Of course, he probably doesn't feel he has anything to guard against or anything he can't say.

Yan Shifan chuckled softly.

When I steered the conversation toward Xia Yan, Chen Rubai was momentarily stunned.

I was secretly delighted at that moment; his reaction meant that he knew Xia Yan.

However, when his son continued to probe him for information, he fell silent, seemingly intentionally avoiding any topic related to Xia Yan.

"Chen Rubai's reaction is very strange!"

Yan Song glanced at Yan Shifan,

"Donglou, how did you handle it?"

"Father, I gave this young master Chen a rather strong dose of medicine!"

Yan Shifan stood up and laughed heartily.

"Isn't he being secretive? Then I'll just ignite the fire that's been burning inside him for eight years!"

His son told him directly that after his father's incident, all the officials in charge of the Ministry of Rites were taken in for questioning by the Northern Garrison Command, except for Xia Yan.

Moreover, shortly after Chen Chen was executed, Xia Yan was promoted to the position of Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, a seventh-rank official. From then on, he rose rapidly through the ranks and is now a Grand Secretary, and may even be able to become the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet!

Sure enough, this drastic medicine completely exposed the secret that Chen Rubai had kept hidden in his heart!

It turned out that after Grand Secretary Zhang recommended Chen Chen to serve as a Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Xia Yan and Chen Chen became very close, even to the point of being close friends.

Chen Rubai, who was only eighteen years old at the time, had seen Xia Yan at his home many times.

Moreover, he had overheard Chen Chen mention, after a few drinks, that Xia Yan had introduced him to several friends, and that the Chen family's current wealth was all thanks to this Brother Xia.

"Could it be... that the truth behind the Chen Chen case back then was actually...?!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Song's hand, which was reaching for the teacup, trembled involuntarily.

"That old scoundrel Xia Yan, how dare he?!"

"Father, when I heard Chen Rubai say that, I had a similar reaction to you."

Yan Shifan sighed.

"I never imagined that Chen Chen's corruption case back then was probably orchestrated by our Grand Secretary Xia in secret."

Why did the Northern Garrison Command question everyone in the Ministry of Rites individually back then, but let him go alone?

In retrospect, it seems that the one who secretly reported Chen Chen was Xia Yan from back then!

In other words, it was he who created the opportunity for Chen Chen to embezzle and accept bribes, and it was he who secretly reported Chen Chen to the Northern Garrison Command!

In this way, he not only eliminated his rival for the position of Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, but also earned a merit, thus naturally being promoted to the head of the Ministry of Rites, and beginning his meteoric rise in rank!

"Hahaha, this is truly a stroke of luck!"

Yan Song stroked his long beard and burst into laughter.

"Xia Yan, you old scoundrel, I never imagined you'd have such leverage over me!"

"Father, Xia Yan now enjoys the Emperor's deep trust, and it seems that his succession as Grand Secretary is a natural progression."

Yan Shifan was not as optimistic as Yan Song.

"Even if Chen Chen's little matter is brought before the Emperor, it's nothing more than a lice to the Grand Secretary. It probably won't shake Xia Yan in the slightest."

"Donglou, you're right. This matter is indeed nothing to Grand Secretary Xia, who is currently at the height of his power."

Yan Song looked at his son.

"However, Xia Yan is stubborn and self-willed. Given His Majesty's temperament, he will eventually grow tired of him."

By then, even this tiny louse could become the straw that breaks the camel's back!