Presently, the Qing Kingdom was known as the Golden Age of Prosperity. The weather had been favorable for a decade, and the people were wealthy and at ease. They had the titles of the wisest ruler in a thousand years, the best ruler in a thousand years, and the best ruler in a thousand years. But, miraculously, what followed was what was known as the most corrupt officialdom in a thousand years and the most treacherous prime minister in a thousand years.
This treacherous minister was the Prime Minister, Lin Ruofu. Lin Ruofu was born poor and was not the son of a noble family. He had passed the imperial examinations and entered the officialdom, starting out as an appraiser in Suzhou. Soon after, he was transferred to the capital to serve as the registrar of the Zhan Shi Fu, and then to the rank of the Twelve Guards of the Southern Office. He then entered the Imperial Censorate as the Zhangyin, and then became a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. In the last new policy, he was transferred to the six ministries to be in charge of specific affairs. He became an assistant minister of the Ministry of Appointments, and then a minister. He rose all the way to the head of the civil officials today — the Prime Minister, who was second only to the Emperor and above tens of thousands.
People looked closely at the official positions that the Prime Minister had held, only to discover that he had been a civil official, a military official, a minister of poetry, and a supervisor. Although his official position had risen and fallen, he had experienced all of the official circles of the Kingdom of Qing, and his official position had always been slowly but surely rising.
Rumor had it that Lin Ruofu had no one to rely on in the inner palace, nor did he have any complicated background or connections. Yet, he was able to rise and fall in the complicated officialdom of Qing Kingdom and never fall. This surprised many people.
The Prime Minister appeared to be clear-minded on the surface, but he was sinister and ruthless on the inside, accepting countless bribes. In addition, he had offended many people in the struggle between the civil officials and the nobles, so he had an image of not being close to the nobles and not being loved by the people.
However, with his decades of effort, he had long grown countless branches in the Qing Kingdom's civil official system. The big tree had always stood tall and did not fall. From time to time, there would be censors who would impeach the Prime Minister, but there was never any concrete evidence, so they could only drop the matter. The righteous people of Jingdou hated him to the bone and wanted nothing more than to eat his flesh raw. However, in front of the bureaucracy, no one dared to provoke him to his face.
In the entire Kingdom of Qing, only the Emperor could demand the life and power of the Prime Minister. No one else could. This was the consensus of all the officials. In the entire Kingdom of Qing, only the Director of the Overwatch Council could spit in the face of the Prime Minister. No one else had the guts to do so. This was the unanimous opinion of all the nobles.
And when the dean spat on the Prime Minister on the street, he still had to pay the price of three years' salary. This punishment was personally given by His Majesty.
…
…
When people discovered that the Emperor's trust in the Prime Minister had never wavered, those officials and scholars who boasted of their integrity began to despair. At this time, no one expected that the newspaper would publish the news that Prime Minister Lin Ruofu had an illegitimate daughter!
It was normal for the Patriarch to marry several concubines in any noble family. What if there was only one woman in the backyard? Sorry, I'm really embarrassed to go to the party. However, the customs of the world placed great importance on bloodline and etiquette. Although the Prime Minister was known to be cunning and ruthless, he had always considered himself to be pure and upright. Unexpectedly, he had an illegitimate daughter outside. This was a loss of virtue. His daughter was already more than ten years old, but he still hadn't brought her back to the residence, allowing her to live alone outside. As a father, this was proof that he didn't have a benevolent heart.
Because the news had come from the Imperial Palace, it caused a small earthquake in the bureaucracy of the capital. People speculated that His Majesty was tired of the Prime Minister and wanted to replace him. That was why the Imperial Censorate had collectively submitted a petition.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, His Majesty personally appeared and suppressed the matter. The matter gradually calmed down, but the Prime Minister's illegitimate daughter became the center of attention.
— — —
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. He had never imagined that the woman he was about to marry would have such a background, and one so similar to his own. At this time, there was a commotion outside. The siblings knew that the man had returned to the manor. They looked at each other and said nothing more. Fan Xian only used his eyes to ask his sister to take him out for a stroll when she had time. Ruoruo nodded slightly.
Candles were lit, but the sky outside was not completely dark, so the candlelight seemed very dim.
There was a table of sumptuous dishes in the hall, and five people sat there. Many servant girls and servants were waiting on them. Fan Xian noticed that Lady Liu was not like the concubines of other families, who first served the Patriarch as he ate. Instead, she sat next to the middle-aged man with a calm demeanor.
That middle-aged man was his father? Thinking of this, Fan Xian's eyebrows involuntarily furrowed into beautiful little wrinkles.
Count Sinan's face was solemn, and his facial features were regular. He wore a four-inch beard that people of the time liked to wear. One could tell that he had a serious temperament, and that he was serious in speech and manner.
They quietly finished their meal. Count Sinan walked in front, and Fan Xian followed behind him, all the way to the study.
This was the first time Fan Xian had been alone with his "father". He smiled, but was not very excited. In the depths of his heart, he had never truly regarded Count Sinan as his own flesh and blood.
Count Sinan looked at the young man in front of him. He looked at the young man's delicate features, and seemed to be lost in thought. After a while, he gently sighed. "You really look like your mother."
Fan Xian did not respond, because he had never seen what his mother looked like. But when it came to his father, he had countless questions in his heart. He knew that it was not his place to ask.
"How have you been in Danzhou these past few years?" Count Sinan looked at him. There seemed to be some weariness in his eyes, but it still could not hide the traces of his youthful handsomeness.
"Not bad."
"On the way here, I believe that with your personality, you should have found out from Teng Zijing why I wanted you to come to the capital so urgently."
"Yes."
"Do you feel wronged?"
"No," Fan Xian replied with a smile. "I just hitched a ride to the capital. I didn't say that I had to marry Miss Lin."
As soon as these words left his mouth, the study fell into a deathly silence. After a while, Count Sinan said coldly, "Do you know what it means to marry her?"
"It means that, in addition to the Emperor's unfailing favor, Fan Xian will also be able to cling to an incredibly thick thigh in the court?"
Fan Xian replied sarcastically. Originally, he had no feelings for the middle-aged man in front of him. Logically speaking, he should have been able to keep his cool as a bystander. But when he thought of the fact that Count Sinan was his father, and that he had treated his children's marriage as a political marriage, although he understood and accepted it, it did not mean that he was not angry. But this anger had been well hidden over the past few days.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
