Because the imperial court had appointed a crown prince and conferred titles to various kings, the Emperor had personally decreed a general amnesty and changed the name of the year to Xiangfu. In the first year of Xiangfu, when the sound of firecrackers welcomed the new year, there were still court officials on duty. An old man in his sixties walked unsteadily toward Zhang Hut with wine and a bag in his hand. Along the way, he occasionally met him. Regardless of whether it was the Son of Heaven's personal attendants or the eunuchs who could wear bright red python robes, when they met this old man, without exception, they all took the initiative to stop and throw the rules and regulations of the Palace to the back of their minds. They all exchanged a few pleasantries with a smiling face. If it were an ordinary person, once they were discovered, they would definitely be remembered by the head eunuch of the Ceremony Directorate, Han Diaosi. Sooner or later, they would not be able to bear the consequences. However, now that the Ceremony Directorate had changed its head, celebrating the beginning of spring, and the target was Tantanon, who was liked by everyone in the imperial court, both inside and outside the Palace, there was no need to be afraid of being used against them. Even if there were people who wanted to make trouble for the Emperor, the Emperor would only reprimand those people for gossiping. Huan Wen, who had replaced Sun Xiji as the new head of the province, greeted everyone along the way and arrived at Zhang Hut. From a distance, he saw the Minister of Revenue, Wang Xionggui, standing under the eaves, rubbing his hands and exhaling. This Jiangnan scholar, who came from a humble family, could be considered an extremely young and strong man in the imperial court that was full of white hair. Along with many of the pillars of the imperial court, he had relied on the imperial examination to become a carp jumping over the dragon's gate during the Yonghui era. Furthermore, in that year's imperial examination, Wang Xionggui, who ranked first and third, was the youngest of the top three. The teacher who presided over the imperial examination was the Grand Secretary Zhang Julu. The teacher who read the examination papers was coincidentally the Left Chancellor of the Imperial College at that time, Huan Wen. Relying on his talent in running the country and helping the world, he had climbed up the ranks to become the Minister of Revenue. Wang Xionggui was undoubtedly part of the Zhang faction. Even though he had become a minister, he had always treated Zhang Julu and Huan Wen as disciples. At this moment, without waiting for Huan Wen to approach Zhang Hut, he hurriedly ran down the stairs to help Huan Wen take the wine jug and cloth bag. Huan Wen joked, "Fuding, why is that blue-eyed boy shutting the door to you again? This old fellow is really something. Yesterday you went to pay your New Year's greetings, and today he came again. It's obvious that he cares a lot about your favorite student, but he just can't bring himself to do it. It's fine, it's fine. In a moment, I'll just say that this pot of wine and salted peanuts were all brought by you. I don't believe that Bi Yan 'er won't be envious. If he can hold back his greed and just watch the two of us enjoy life, then I'll be helping you vent your anger, won't I? "
Minister Wang, whose given name was Fu Ding, smiled wryly and said, "How could this junior dare to get angry with Grand Secretary Daren? Huan shi, please don't make fun of Fu Ding. Besides, this junior didn't discipline him properly and let that good-for-nothing son of mine get into trouble. The entire capital is watching as a joke. This junior truly has let down Grand Secretary Daren and Huan shi's expectations. "
Huan Wen smiled. This Tantanon wasn't quite the same as those shrewd pillars of the imperial court who couldn't help but be suspicious of their dark temperaments. When the old man smiled, it wasn't a fake smile, and it didn't make people feel that there was a knife hidden in his smile. Instead, it made people feel that Sir Huan had truly encountered a happy occasion. Over the years, some of the senior ministers who had fallen on hard times liked to run over to Huan Wen to reminisce about old times, bringing along a few pots of good wine. Whether or not this old man of the Huan residence could help was another matter. In short, if it was something that made people feel like there was still some leeway after he spoke of it. There were two things that Huan Zuo didn't do. He didn't add flowers to brocade, and he didn't hit a person who was down. With Huan Wen leading him into Zhang Lu, Wang Xionggui had the courage to enter. Huan Wen stopped in front of the door. Wang Xionggui had already put one foot in and could only obediently take it back. He heard the old man say softly, "Your youngest son is called Yuan Ran, right? Even an old man like me who doesn't leave the house has heard of his great name. It can't be said that he has done a basket of bad things, but at least half a basket of bad things. Last autumn, he had a dispute with the Heir of Beiliang at the Jiu Jiu Embassy. He was praised to the heavens by his accomplices, saying that he was the number one silkpants in the capital and that he was the only one who dared to go against the Heir. This originally wasn't much. Whether it was me or Bi Yan, we were all hot-blooded when we were young. Who didn't have a bit of vanity? It's just that your child is too bold now. He actually went to the Ministry of Personnel to bully Zhao Youling's daughter. This daughter is even betrothed to Yin Maochun's only son. Not only that, the son of the Ministry of Justice's Han Lin came out to say something fair and gave your son a beating. He even scolded his father for being a mere assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice. Fuding, if you count with your fingers, in the four years of Yonghui, it was actually only the few of you who stood out together. Your relationship was generally not bad. After this incident, how are you going to meet Yin, Zhao, and Han, who are all officials at the same time? You and I both know that next year's imperial examinations will be presided over by Yin Maochun. You and I both know the level of Yin Maochun's ability as an official. He isn't called the head of the Imperial Court's Prime Ministers for nothing. After this year's imperial examinations, it will be the big event of the local officials' examinations. Zhao Youling will definitely be the one in charge. How can your teacher not be fuming with anger? If I sat in Bi Yan's position, I would be just as angry. "
Wang Xionggui stomped his foot and sighed. He said in a low voice, "Teacher Huan, you don't know. My son Wang Yuanran was framed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted so rashly …"
Huan Wen, who was known for his good temper, actually had a face full of anger. He suppressed his voice and scolded, "Idiot, flies don't bite seamless eggs. If your son was a good person, would he have the chance to be framed? The family's misfortune, the greatest misfortune is that your descendants don't care about your fortune! He's already made such a big mistake. As his father, you're still thinking about how to clean up after Wang Yuanran's mess instead of mending the pen after the sheep are lost. If you, Wang Xionggui, aren't stupid, then what are you?! "
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