The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 282 Mei Hanlin

In the evening of that day, when Wang Ziteng returned home from the Ministry of War, his servants reported: "Second uncle is here and has been waiting in the living room for a long time."

"Just let him wait." Wang Ziteng said calmly, and then went back to the main courtyard of the back house to change clothes.

While Wang Ziteng's old wife took off her official uniform and put on her home clothes, she kept talking: "It would be such an honor and such a blessing to be able to marry the prince. Lin Ruhai actually disagreed and said he was studying. Ming Li, why is this person so confused? Fortunately, he still won the top prize."

The prince said calmly: "You, a foolish woman, can understand a few of these joints, so don't be so blind."

Although Wang Ziteng also hoped that the marriage would come true, he expected that it would not happen. Although Lin Ruhai was married to the Jia family, he had never been a core figure in the old group, or even a marginal figure. In addition, Lin Ruhai was demoted by the Supreme Emperor due to the "Zuoyemen Incident", but was later promoted by the current emperor to Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor, and held this position for seven or eight years.

Therefore, Lin Ruhai is neither the old emperor nor the new emperor, and he himself never takes sides and only immerses himself in doing practical things. He is a neutral and practical person. Therefore, it is only natural that he refuses to marry the Prince Yi Zhong's palace. After all, Marrying into Prince Yi Zhong's palace is tantamount to announcing that he is siding with the Supreme Emperor. Giving up his neutral status will definitely offend Emperor Qian Sheng and attract the hatred of Donglin's family.

Wang Ziteng's old wife was used to being submissive all her life. She was not angry when her husband scolded her mercilessly. She just whispered in a low voice: "I don't understand. It's just that your second son-in-law is getting older, and he comes to the door empty-handed. If he doesn’t understand the world at all, this book will be read into a dog, and he is still an Hanlin scholar.”

After Wang Ziteng changed into his regular clothes, he ignored his nagging old wife and went straight to the front living room to receive guests.

At this time, there was a middle-aged man waiting in the living room of the palace. He was about forty years old and was still wearing the uniform of a sixth-grade official. He had obviously come to the door right after being released from office, and he hadn't even had time to change his clothes.

This person's name is Mei Yucheng, whose pseudonym is Yuru. He was a Jinshi in the early years of Kangping, and was selected as a good scholar by the Imperial Academy. Later he served as editor of the Hanlin Academy, ranking seventh grade.

Mei Yucheng was dull, not good at speaking, and her articles were only mediocre, so she had no sense of presence in the Hanlin Academy. It took her three years to advance from Hanlin Shujishi (equivalent to an intern) to Hanlin Review, and from Hanlin Review to Hanlin Editor It took another six years to repair, and since then it has been in the same place. It was not until a few years ago that he married Wang Ziteng's second daughter as a successor, and then he was promoted from the seventh-rank Hanlin compiler to the Hanlin compiler, and the rank was from the sixth rank, that is, to Upgraded one level.

Wang Ziteng's second daughter was in a second marriage, otherwise she would not have married Mei Yu as a second wife. Moreover, this daughter had a bad temper. She divorced her first marriage because her husband's family couldn't bear it. Fortunately, Mei Yucheng is now honest and kind-hearted. He tolerated this woman in every way, and after all, this woman was married for the second time, she was older, and her temper was not as good as before, so the two of them could barely live in harmony after getting married.

Mei Yucheng waited uneasily in the living room for a long time, and then finally her father-in-law Wang Ziteng arrived. He quickly stood up and saluted respectfully: "My son-in-law pays homage to Lao Taishan." After saying this, he bowed to the end.

Wang Ziteng only nodded slightly in response. He looked down on this son-in-law from the bottom of his heart. Although he was a Jinshi, he was too real-minded, not smart enough, and had no potential in his career. If his second daughter hadn't also been married for the second time, he would have even taken a look at it. He wouldn't even glance at Mei Yucheng. The reason why he was summoned today was because something came in handy.

After Prince Teng sat down, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then said calmly: "Sit down."

Mei Yucheng sat down obediently, thinking anxiously about the purpose of Wang Ziteng's visit to him today. He also knew that his father-in-law looked down on him and would never take the initiative to summon him, unless it was to beat him up for his daughter, but recently he There was no conflict with my wife, not even a word of quarrel.

Wang Ziteng took another sip of tea, and after a long time he said: "Next year is the seventieth birthday of the Supreme Emperor. The Emperor has given special permission for this. According to the usual practice, the chief examiner and deputy examiner of the provincial examination in various places are appointed by the imperial court, from the Hanlin Academy and Are you elected to the cabinet?"

Mei Yucheng said hurriedly: "My son-in-law is honored to be selected as the deputy examiner of the Nanzhili Township Examination."

Wang Ziteng nodded. In fact, he had known it for a long time, and asked deliberately: "Then who is the examiner of the rural examination in Nanzhili?"

Mei Yucheng replied: "It's Sun Chengzong, Zhan Shifu of Zhan Shifu." Wang Ziteng was silent for a long time, and Mei Yucheng became even more uneasy. Finally, the former said: "I have something to do, and it will be good for you if it is done. , if it goes wrong...you have to decide for yourself."

Mei Yucheng became even more uneasy when he heard this, and said with a smile: "My son-in-law should do his best. I wonder what Lao Taishan wants my son-in-law to do?"

Wang Ziteng pondered: "It is not difficult to accomplish this, but it is not easy either. It mainly depends on whether you have the courage."

Mei Yucheng's expression suddenly changed slightly. When Wang Ziteng saw this, he knew that the other party had vaguely guessed that this boy was not stupid, but his character was too cowardly, he did not know how to please, and he was not mellow enough in his dealings with others.

"You must have heard of Jia Huan, the concubine of the Jia family, right?" the prince said calmly.

Mei Yucheng nodded and said sarcastically: "I heard that he was commended by the emperor's decree not long ago as a role model for the son of man and a model of filial piety."

Wang Ziteng sneered and said, "This guy is not that simple. He is just a person seeking fame and reputation."

Mei Yucheng was surprised and said: "Old Taishan means that the emperor was deceived by this son?"

Wang Ziteng did not answer directly, but simply said calmly: "To be more careful, this son is my sister-in-law's concubine, and he is also my nephew, so I know very much about him. This son is by no means a role model for a son or a model of filial piety."

Mei Yucheng remained silent and waited for the next sentence.

Wang Ziteng coughed and said calmly: "The reason why I came to you this time is to ask you to make this child fail. You must not let him pass the provincial examination."

Mei Yucheng's face suddenly turned pale, and his voice trembled, and he said in a dignified manner: "This... I'm afraid this won't work. Disrupting the imperial examination is a serious crime, not to mention that the imperial court has entrusted me with a heavy responsibility. How can my son-in-law let down the imperial court and the emperor's trust?" ?”

Wang Ziteng's face darkened and he scolded: "Trash, look at how you can achieve great things with such a timid appearance? You are the examiner, and it is not you who has the final say whether the candidate's test paper will pass, it is just a matter of nodding and shaking his head. , You don’t have to worry about it. If you don’t have the courage, just resign as soon as possible and go home to farm.”

Mei Yucheng blushed and said: "My son-in-law is just a deputy examiner, and there is also a chief examiner above him."

Wang Ziteng said coldly: "There is no need to submit the papers that were discarded by the deputy examiner to the examiner. Just throw Jia Huan's papers on top of the discarded papers and everything will be fine."

Mei Yucheng hesitated: "But the provincial examination is anonymous, and my son-in-law doesn't know which paper is Jia Huan's. Moreover, after reviewing the papers, the examiner will randomly check and delete them. It would be bad if he is discovered."

Wang Ziteng was furious and scolded: "Idiot, you can't think of a solution by yourself? You asked me to arrange it for you, why do you need it!"

Mei Yucheng was trained to death, and it was almost dark before he left the palace with a heavy heart.

(End of this chapter)