The autumn wind in the northwest ruffled the water of the capital's officialdom. The wind passed through the water without a trace, but under the surface, the undercurrent was surging.
After Lu Daolin and Yuan Guo, Sima Puhua became the Minister of Rites. After welcoming the extremely domineering young vassal king, he returned to the yamen adjacent to the Ministry of War in Zhao Jiawen. The 70-year-old man appeared particularly weak.
In the Liyang Dynasty, the six yamens were set up side by side. In the Liyang Dynasty, the left was superior and the right was inferior. The main official, known as the Heavenly Official, was naturally at the extreme left. At the time, Gu Jiantang, as the Minister of War, unexpectedly chose the yamen at the extreme right. Thus, from east to west, it was officials, workers, and soldiers. From this, it could be seen how disliked the Ministry of Rites was during the Yong Hui years. At the beginning, there was a saying in the capital that "the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites was as lowly as the assistant minister of other ministries." Following the two ministers, Lu Daolin and Yuan Guo, taking charge of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites's days gradually improved. Now, needless to say, it was an unwritten rule that scholars of the Ministry of Rites left the Ministry of Rites.
Since the second year of Xiangfu, Sima Puhua's back was straighter than the young officials at every court meeting. Even though it was late autumn, he still gave people the feeling of spring. But today, when the old Minister returned to the yamen, in the eyes of the monkey-like officials of the Ministry of Rites, it was as if he had lost his soul. After the old man entered the room and sat down, he began to moan and groan. Even when Left Assistant Minister Jin Lanting and the new Right Assistant Minister Jiang Yongle arrived together, the old Minister did not notice. He was still sighing and groaning.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Yongle's heart immediately chilled. The local officials only knew that he, who had originally been in charge of the Department for Purging Officials of the Ministry of Rites, had been promoted to assistant minister because Yin Maochun and Chen Wang, the two big shots, had received excellent comments in the capital review. This was how he had stood out from a group of colleagues of similar rank in the Ministry of Rites. However, the officials of the capital all knew that the reason Jiang Yongle had been able to obtain this position of Right Assistant Minister was because of the posthumous title after Lame Xu's death. Jiang Yongle, with great luck, had bet on the previous Emperor's intentions and proposed the posthumous title of "Wu Li" to pass. The so-called excellent performance in the capital review was nothing more than a fig leaf for the court. Some of the high-ranking officials in the capital who looked down on Jiang Yongle directly called him "dogsh * t assistant minister"! Previously, Jiang Yongle was too lazy to make a fuss about anything. He had been an official in the capital for many years and did not have a deep foundation. Otherwise, he would not have been involved in the disaster of the posthumous title. In Jiang Yongle's view, the position of assistant minister was the real deal. If they were not convinced, they could also step on dogsh * t. Could it make their official posts become embroidered peacocks? However, when the assistant minister suddenly heard that the son of the posthumous title of "Wu Li", the new Prince of Liang, Hsu Fengnian, had charged into the capital without warning, Jiang Yongle was scared silly. Originally, he had some thoughts of secretly competing with Jin Lanting, hoping that if he accidentally stepped on dogsh * t again, he might actually become the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Now, how could he dare to be so arrogant? The position of Minister of Rites was coveted, but his little life was more important. Thus, on this trip, Jiang Yongle's attitude was even lower than that of a sixth-rank official. He thought that today, he had to ask the Left Assistant Minister for advice on how to compete with Beiliang and still be successful in his official career.
The old minister finally came back to his senses and gestured for his two assistants to take a seat. Looking at these two assistant ministers, Sima Puhua was not very comfortable in the past. One was old enough to be his son, and the other was even more outrageous, old enough to be his grandson. However, there was only a difference of one rank between their official ranks. Once he retired and returned to his hometown, one of them would have his official post changed to a second-rank golden pheasant. However, the old man did not have such thoughts today. Instead, he felt that they were in the same boat. The old minister glanced at the door and coughed. After moistening his throat, he slowly said, "Today, I suddenly received an imperial edict to welcome Prince Liang into the capital. I believe that both of you know about this."
Jiang Yongle nodded furiously like a chick pecking at rice.
Jin Lanting, who had become a legend in Great Peace City because of the incident of growing a beard to show his ambition, did not change his expression. No wonder he was the Third Junior Jin who was praised as a "great beauty."
Next, Sima Puhua said some ordinary words of officialdom. With such an official tone, if it was a normal yamen meeting, this old man could talk for two to four hours without panting. This was the cultivation of an official. However, today, the old minister did not chatter endlessly. He stopped talking and reached out to stroke a yellow paperweight bestowed by the emperor. After a moment of silence, he seemed to use a great deal of effort to say, "Before we parted, that vassal king told me that he would come visit our Ministry of Rites when he had time."
Jin Lanting was unperturbed.
Jiang Yongle gaped. He did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that after the minister finished speaking, he looked at him with pity, as though he was looking at a pitiful creature about to be executed.
Sima Puhua's eyelids drooped and he calmly added, "That person also said that he wanted to talk about the past."
Jin Lanting narrowed his eyes and stroked his well-maintained beard. He said with a slight smile, "Oh?"
Jiang Yongle was sweating profusely. To talk about the past, was he looking for Jin Lanting? Or was he looking for himself? Or was he looking for all the officials of the Ministry of Rites?
The old minister's two dry fingers subconsciously rubbed the warm and moist Tianhuang Ruishi Lion paperweight. No one knew if it was because it was similar to the skin of the new concubine or because he was feeling the great kindness of the emperor.
It was true that the young king said that he wanted to come to the Ministry of Rites to sit down and talk about the past. However, Sima Puhua missed a part. In fact, other than this, the new Prince Liang had exchanged many pleasantries with him, a second-level official. Now, Gao Tingshu, Fan Changhou, and the other "auspicious new officials" probably did not know. Only the more experienced "old officials of Yong Hui" knew that there was a big joke in the officialdom of Tai 'an City in the early years. It was that Beiliang had offered a group of warhorses from the Xianli Ranch as a tribute. Sima Puhua was the vice-director of the Ministry of Rites at the time. When he saw the memorial that said that the Beiliang warhorses were nearly six feet tall, he could not help but laugh. He immediately shared this anecdote with a large group of colleagues in the Ministry of Rites. Sima Puhua did not forget to comment, "Beiliang's warhorses are really big. They are comparable to our Tai' an City's mules. The world is so big, there really are all kinds of strange things, and this Beiliang is the strangest." In the end, when the cold horses entered the capital, Sima Puhua, who had never held a blade in his life, finally understood that the height of a warhorse was not measured by the head of the horse, but only up to the back of the horse!
Such a big joke caused Sima Puhua to be unable to raise his head for many years. However, as Sima daren's official rank became higher and higher, he was rarely mentioned. He didn't expect that today, the young vassal king would open this scar again. He smiled and said to Minister Shangshu, "Minister Shangshu, I don't know if there is a six foot tall dung mule in the capital. This king must see it, then this trip will not be in vain, right?"
At the time, how could Sima Puhua reply? He could only lower his head and laugh dryly without speaking. Was he supposed to nod and say yes?
The more the minister thought about it, the more sullen he felt. The old man, who had always thought of himself as good at maintaining his composure, unconsciously tightened his grip on the paperweight.
Jiang Yongle had already started to consider whether or not he should ask for a leave of absence. If it really did not work, he would grit his teeth and fall down until his face was bruised and swollen.
Jin Lanting finally spoke, but his words confused Jiang Yongle, "Minister daren, this official's manor has just received a few cages of autumn crabs from the Spring God Lake. They are at their most plump and delicious. No matter if it is steamed or the locust tree salt, they are all good. When daren is free, would you like to have a taste with this official? "
The old minister made a sound of acknowledgment, and a smile appeared on his face, "I've heard that the high ranking scholar, who is known as a genius in poetry, has recently composed a masterpiece of crab tasting that has spread throughout the capital. It can be called a masterpiece. There's wine, crab, and poetry. Three or two good friends, how beautiful! "
Jiang Yongle became the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites due to luck. However, he had been in the Ministry of Rites yamen for a long time, where everyone beat around the bush and spoke in riddles. His cultivation was actually not bad. He was only slightly slower than the minister when he heard the hidden meaning behind Jin Lanting's words.
In the poem that the old minister had mentioned about the new second ranking scholar, Gao Tingshu, there was a line: But I will coldly watch the crab, and see how long you can rampage!
However, Jiang Yongle immediately became worried again. This was the truth, but the urgent matter at hand was that the arrogant Northwest Big Crab was about to charge into the Ministry of Rites yamen. Sima Puhua, you have deep roots in Great Peace City, and you have the status of a minister. Jin Lanting was a favorite that the previous emperor had given to the current Son of Heaven. With the support of the Emperor, the two of you can survive. But I, Jiang Yongle, am just a mediocre Right Assistant Minister. If that vassal king really wants to fight, who else will they find if not me? I don't know how long that Xu person can rampage, but I know that I will very likely have to leave the Ministry of Rites yamen horizontally!
Jin Lanting was the first to bid farewell and leave. Jiang Yongle wanted to speak but stopped. The old minister had already waved his hand at the Right Assistant Minister to send him away.
The dazed Jiang Yongle didn't even know how he left the room. He was in a daze in the corridor of the courtyard.
It was different from the piercing sound of cicadas that filled the city in the summer.
As autumn entered, the sound of cicadas gradually faded.
According to the law, the Zhao Family yamen did not plant tall trees. At this time, it was late autumn, and not a single cicada sound could be heard in this courtyard.
Jiang Yongle dejectedly leaned against the pillar. For some reason, he felt the cicadas were mournful.
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