Chapter 446: Two hundred and twenty-seven, The New Chief Clerk is Late and Leaves Early

Two hundred and twenty-seven, The New Chief Clerk is Late and Leaves Early

On the third floor, in a window-side private room.

Wei Shaoqi, thick-skinned, smoothed over his awkward expression and continued to smile:

"Qin Xiaoniangzi is joking. Every trade has its master; there are few in the imperial army who know military affairs better than Old General Qin.

"His Majesty and the ministers of the Secretariat trust Old General Qin, which is why they feel at ease entrusting him with such heavy responsibilities.

"A famous general like Old General Qin, who appears once in an age, is not someone just anyone can compare to; Ouyang Lianghan doesn't even come close."

Qin Ying was noncommittal and asked directly:

"Wei Shaoqi, is this the opportunity you told me about a few days ago that would benefit the Great Zhou's state and society? By letting the imperial court stall the Xunyang Grottoes and moving the Buddha statue site to build it in Star Child Ward?"

Wei Shaoqi said with a straight face to Wei Anhui:

"Seventh Sister, this Ouyang Lianghan just slandered my father, your uncle, in public, not to mention that Lin Cheng was also maligned by him. And you still feel sorry for him?"

An elderly, grey-haired eunuch walked out of the main gate with a grave expression, holding an imperial edict that had yet to be received by the intended recipient.

"Prince Xiang said that Ouyang Lianghan is an upright official and a backbone of integrity recognized by the scholars of the North and South. To kill him would damage His Majesty's sagacity; he must not be killed."

"Master Shen said that Lin Cheng should be killed; he is a national traitor who persecutes the virtuous."

Wei Shaoqi said with a straight face: "How would you know? Don't be deceived by appearances!"

Fortunately, Lin Cheng was clever and grasped the straightforward, justice-loving personality of this Qin Xiaoniangzi, providing him with plenty of rhetoric to respond beforehand...

The old woman in dragon robes, eyes closed, smiled.

Ouyang Rong said with a straight face: "Dream on. I have a high tolerance for alcohol; I'll be there on time tomorrow to report for duty, so don't you be late."

The Empress had decided not to cooperate with the statue construction, kicking him aside, yet she did not strip him of everything, leaving him in Jiangzhou.

"But he seems like a good official."

Wei Shaoqi guided her step by step, moving her with "profit" and explaining the "benefits."

"But you are a demoted official."

Not being imprisoned or granted death was already quite good; there was still a chance. "Refusing to obey the imperial edict" had indeed been weighed on the scales, but a thousand catties couldn't be held down by a single weight; it was merely a warning.

"Hmm."

A sober Ouyang Rong looked at the tightly shut door, knocking to no avail.

Qin Ying was silent for a while, then nodded lightly:

"I just feel that I understand your state of mind a little better."

Perhaps it was out of respect for his relationship with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.

The two of them drank to their hearts' content under the moon...

"The Master said that His Majesty has three strategies. The upper strategy would make Ouyang Lianghan submit wholeheartedly, shouting His Majesty's sagacity. The middle strategy would teach him a lesson without delaying His Majesty's affairs, allowing him to continue serving the country. As for the lower strategy, it would be to seek peace and quiet, though there might be some invisible costs later... The Master said all three strategies are viable; His Majesty may choose as he pleases."

Ouyang Rong stood up, preparing to leave.

"Where is Qin Xiaoniangzi going? Is it to hunt outside the city? I happen to have nothing to do today; why don't we go together..."

Wei Shaoqi asked suspiciously: "Did you see it from the window just now?"

"Still curious about how you were demoted to Jiangzhou in the first place."

Wei Shaoqi sneered:

"Some things don't weigh much until they're put on the scales, but once they are, a thousand catties won't hold them down. This time, even if he doesn't die, he'll lose a layer of skin..."

"...??" Wei Shaoqi.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if this little girl is temperamental. What's important is the Qin family. The orders of parents and the words of matchmakers—if Qin Lao nods, she'll have to marry him whether she likes it or not, hmph..."

Wei Shaoqi returned to the private room, frowning, still unable to make sense of it.

Ouyang Rong drank and looked up: "With your flattery skills, being a Jiangzhou Commandant is a waste of talent."

"No."

In the main hall, Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

Yuan Huaimin laughed:

"Be more open-minded. Life is unsatisfactory eight or nine times out of ten. Brother Lianghan, you should learn from my attitude; when you're in a trough, as you put it, just 'let it rot'."

"What did the others say?"

He curled his lips and went to the Jiangzhou Hall to report for duty on time.

"The attitude of 'better to live a wretched life than to die a good death'."

Ouyang Rong, who was originally preparing to walk away calmly, paused and turned his head with an expressionless face.

On the road, Wei Shaoqi asked casually:

"Lin Cheng didn't come?"

"What attitude?"

The eunuch urged: "New Chief Clerk, please receive the edict quickly. Where is he?"

"Princess Changle said that this child has a precedent for liking to sell his integrity. His Majesty must not let him succeed again. The more attention you pay him, the more famous he becomes. He might even be hoping to enter the history books."

Outside the window, the street where the Censorate was located was crowded with Xunyang commoners.

"Lingzhen, how do you think Ouyang Lianghan will handle this?"

Qin Ying turned her head, stared at the old woman in dragon robes for a while, and asked:

"Beneficial to the Great Zhou's state and society? Beneficial to the country and the people? I don't see how."

"Prince Liang didn't express an opinion, he only reported one thing... He heard many scholars and citizens discussing it on the streets of Luoyang today. It is now spreading everywhere at court and among the people, and they have even given Ouyang Lianghan a new title, something like 'Ouyang Lianghan Who Refuses to Obey the Edict'. What a great reputation."

Before Ouyang Rong could sit down, there was a commotion at the door.

"Brother Lianghan, come, let's drink today while we have wine, and worry tomorrow when tomorrow comes."

Wei Shaoqi's eyelids twitched....

With the Empress's edict, Li Xian, as the Jiang Nan Supervisor, could not manage him.

"He must be busy. Brother Lin's guess was right; this Ouyang Lianghan is indeed a stone in a latrine—stinking and hard. He actually dared to resist the edict in public, saying something about 'refusing to obey the edict'."

Not long after, after seeing Qin Ying off.

Qin Ying frowned slightly as she looked at Wei Shaoqi, whose words were well-rehearsed.

Arriving at the main hall, he met his Junior Sister and Li Dalang, who had been following him recently, as if afraid he would act impulsively again.

At the street where the Censorate was finally cleared of commoners.

Yuan Huaimin was silent for a moment, took a sip of wine, and said:

"It was a long time ago. Having been a wandering official doing jobs similar to Jiangzhou Commandant for these years, it has already become blurred. Hmm, because I wrote some poems criticizing the Great Zhou... I was reported."

Even the two words the person had just spoken calmly still lingered in his ears.

"A fake edict?"

"More or less."

"However, Qin Xiaoniangzi, don't worry. Please wait a moment; I will introduce you to the Jiang Nan Supervisor Right Assistant, Lin Cheng. He is also a young talent, absolutely not inferior to Ouyang Lianghan, and perhaps even better."

"Brother Lianghan is looking at people through a crack in the door, looking down on me."

Having learned from the previous experience, this time Wei Shaoqi placed two female guards by his cousin's side to prevent anyone else from walking out of the private room to drink tea.

Wei Shaoqi looked back and saw that the carriage had stopped at some point.

"Wait, Ouyang Chief Clerk has been removed from office, so who will serve as Chief Clerk? Will it be an empty drop or will the position remain vacant?"

"God knows, stupid."

Wei Anhui immediately shut her mouth.

But the only unfortunate thing was that the statue construction in Star Child Ward had all fallen into Lin Cheng's hands, with him serving as the Jiang Nan Supervisor Right Assistant, leading the construction.

"I won't say too much to a little girl. Matters at home are all decided by my grandfather. As for Lin Cheng, I won't wait for him; I have things to do, so I'll be going first."

Wei Shaoqi said calmly:

Could it be that he said the wrong thing?

"It is the attitude of Tao Yuanming who was content and at ease after resigning from office."

"No wonder. You are still the bold one."

Yuan Huaimin agreed readily, poured wine into his mouth, and laughed:

"Ouyang Chief Clerk is so dedicated; no wonder you are the Chief Clerk and I am the Commandant. It serves you right that your official rank is higher."

A seat in the main hall was empty.

"The so-called benefiting the country and the people has an order of priority. First benefit the country, then benefit the people. If there is no country, what is the use of benefiting the people? Wouldn't we still have to suffer from war and strife?"

"Dismissed from office, transferred away, thrown to the front lines."

The old woman in dragon robes waved her hand, appearing very experienced:

Lingzhen looked at the old woman's expression in dragon robes and found that she didn't seem displeased, and a look of envy appeared in his eyes.

"Especially the latter, the profit is absolutely several times that of the Xunyang Grottoes. As long as the Qin family follows the plan provided by Brother Lin, there's actually no need to invest much... Hmm, first buy some low-priced land in Star Child Ward with Brother Lin's suggestions and assistance..."

"..."

Just then, at the entrance of the main hall, the new eunuch delivering the edict unfolded the imperial edict and announced in a sharp voice before the silent crowd...

Empress Wei Zhao laughed lightly:

"Yes, this child said it was a fake edict in public."

This eunuch delivering the edict from Luoyang came and went in a hurry.

"You're not worried? If you weren't worried, would you have come to find me to drink these past two days?"

Outside the window, the accidental storm at Xunyang Ferry seemed to have temporarily ended.

He, who refused to obey the edict, finally received the new imperial edict from Luoyang.

The statue construction in Star Child Ward would continue, and other changes would remain unchanged.

Empress Wei Zhao turned her eyes and asked:

Wei Anhui suddenly pointed to the street outside and said:

"Because of this."

She raised the index finger on the armrest of the dragon throne, which wore a jade ring.

A few days later.

"Disobeying the Sage's edict, just kick him aside. Such a small character won't affect the Sage's arrangements. However, you can let him continue to stay in Xunyang, because watching the East Forest Buddha statue, which doesn't fit his own wishes, be successfully built and stand for a hundred years—that is the greatest punishment for a hard bone."

Empress Wei Zhao suddenly sighed:

"Rong Zhen said she is the Supervisor of the Xunyang Grottoes, not the Supervisor of the Star Child Ward statue construction, and asked His Majesty to please invite someone else."

Wei Shaoqi was happy for a moment, then chased after her and asked:

"Everyone has a hundred hearts, huh."

In the evening.

Lingzhen hesitated: "Rong Zhen also submitted a memorial."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand.

Wei Shaoqi's forehead veins jumped: "You're still bringing him up!"

Wei Shaoqi and Wei Anhui went downstairs together, boarded the carriage, and returned to the mansion in Xiushui Ward.

The female official in colorful clothes with a mole at the corner of her mouth held a stack of memorials and said in a rigid tone.

"What did she say?"

"The general meaning is that the return that investing in the Xunyang Grottoes could bring to the Qin family previously can now also be provided by the Star Child Ward statue construction, whether it is the ranking of names on the congratulatory chapters presented by Jiangzhou after the Buddha statue is completed, or the actual silver profit."

Why was her attitude so cold all of a sudden?

The old woman asked without lifting her eyelids:

Yuan Huaimin laughed awkwardly: "Hahaha, Brother Lianghan is still the smart one."

Lingzhen was silent for a while, lowering his eyes:

"He is also very concerned about the Qin family's losses in the Xunyang Grottoes, and yesterday he proposed a small plan to me..."

Jiangzhou Chief Clerk Ouyang Lianghan was demoted to Jiangzhou Commandant for his words.

"Then what is your attitude?"

Luoyang, Shangyang Palace, a certain palace.

Xie Lingjiang, Li Dalang, and others were relieved.

"This wonderful plan to move the East Forest Buddha statue to Star Child Ward and share the worries for His Majesty was initiated by Brother Lin and has been highly praised by my father and uncle."

The next day, early morning.

"Brother Huaimin, don't talk nonsense, I'm not worried."

"Don't read the upper and lower strategies, just tell me the State Elder's middle strategy."

"Come, come, come, drink."

The latter had a serious expression, but in his heart, he gave a thumbs up to the future brother-in-law who had come up with the idea.

Wei Shaoqi's eyes turned, and he immediately said in a firm tone:

He used to laugh at Yuan Huaimin for whether his green shirt would get wet as a Jiangzhou Commandant; now it was good, he had become a Jiangzhou Commandant himself.

Wei Shaoqi turned his head, went to another private room next door, and found Wei Anhui, who was waiting.

"The Luoyang envoy is here!"

"Prince Wei said that this was a decision made by His Majesty and many ministers at the imperial meeting. Ouyang Lianghan disobeyed it, and according to the law, he should be executed. Not to mention, resisting the edict in public, the nature of the matter is very bad, damaging the majesty of His Majesty and the imperial court. It is recommended to execute his nine generations to serve as a warning."

"He doesn't give me any peace of mind either."

Yuan Huaimin said seriously: "That's only for Ouyang Chief Clerk alone. I actually look down on the others from the bottom of my heart."

Wei Anhui seemed a bit distracted and shook her head:

"This Ouyang Lianghan is indeed good at doing things that benefit the people, but that doesn't mean His Majesty and the ministers of the Secretariat are wrong. His Majesty and the ministers of the Secretariat are standing at a higher angle, overseeing the overall situation, standing high and seeing far... The Star Child Ward statue construction is also like this; it is standing from the perspective of the Great Zhou's interests. Isn't this a matter that benefits the Great Zhou's state and society?"

"Fake edict."

Qin Ying threw back a sentence without turning her head:

"I'm used to being alone. Don't come to the autumn hunt in the future, Wei Young Master."

The old eunuch hurried to Xunyang Ferry to board the ship.

"That's right, the reason I invited Qin Xiaoniangzi here this time is to discuss this matter. I heard that Ouyang Lianghan previously invited your Qin family to donate a sum of silver to the Xunyang Grottoes, which counts as sharing worries for His Majesty."

Everyone was stunned and looked at a certain seat in the main hall.

Wei Anhui was silent for a while, then suddenly said:

Ouyang Rong nodded seriously and asked: "Are you thinking that because I asked you to drink, you have an excuse not to come tomorrow? It would be best if I were late with you."

"Qin Xiaoniangzi, this Ouyang Chief Clerk has a big reputation and is also a popular heartthrob in the social circles of ladies in Luoyang. This makes it hard for you not to have a good first impression of him. However, some things are not as simple as they appear on the surface."

An old woman in dragon robes sat high up, appearing to be closing her eyes to rest.

Wei Anhui came back to her senses and asked in a low voice: "Third Brother, why does he dare to disobey the imperial edict in public? Isn't this a matter of losing one's head?"

"The Emperor's edict says: Transfer the former Jiangzhou Commandant Yuan Huaimin to be the Jiangzhou Chief Clerk, acting as Chief Clerk, assisting the Jiang Nan Supervisor Right Assistant Lin Cheng in the Star Child Ward statue construction. Respect this."

Wei Anhui nodded:

"I remember him. This Ouyang Chief Clerk was with Li Young Master last time, and later when they set up the porridge shed together, Li Young Master told me that Ouyang Chief Clerk is his good friend and also one of the people he admires most in his life. It is said that like attracts like; the people around Li Young Master are indeed extraordinary."

"But right now, seeing that the Xunyang Grottoes are about to regretfully stall, and I don't know when they can continue to be built, I, Magistrate Wang, and the Jiang Nan Supervisor Right Assistant Lin Cheng all feel some apologies and worries about this."

Yan Liulang and a group of officials were confused. Before they could react, the eunuch delivering the edict announced with a cold face again:

"Where is the State Elder? Where is Changle?"

"Good, good, good..."

The new Chief Clerk...

He is late and leaves early.

(End of chapter)