Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 230: Tricky favors! Surprising rewards!
Guo Zhengyu's memorial directly brought back the request for reward, which had been drowned out.

No one understood why Guo Zhengyu would speak up for Zhang Chonghui for no reason. Was it just because they were from the same hometown?
No one knew why, even Guo Zhengyu's accomplices were dumbfounded.

Zhou Jiamo, who was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War at the time, looked calmly at Li Sancai not far away. Coincidentally, at this moment, Li Sancai also looked at him.

Both of them saw the surprise and confusion in each other's eyes. After all, they still clearly remembered the scene when Zhang Chonghui came up and punched Gu Xiancheng.

Guo Zhengyu is about to be driven away now. At this time, he is still asking for reward from Zhang Chonghui, who is most likely the mastermind?

What's the difference between this and what happened when Gu Xiancheng got beaten and still pleaded for Zhang Chonghui?
At that time, Ye Xianggao was also present, and at this moment Ye Xianggao's face looked even worse. He seemed to have realized what Guo Zhengyu's real intention was.

"Boom."

Another muffled sound was heard from the sky. Someone looked up and found that dark clouds had covered the original sun without anyone noticing.

Emperor Wanli on the high platform had been silent for a long time. He seemed to want to wait for it to rain so that the heavy rain could wash away the topic that was brought up again by Guo Zhengyu.

Seeing that it was about to rain, the most anxious person was Zhang Yunxiu.

He was still kneeling with his head bowed. Even through his official robes, the hot tiles still numbed his knees. However, all he could do was wait quietly.

"Is this the end of the obedience test?"

"As expected, politics is surrounded by thousands of mountains. If you let one mountain go, you will be blocked by another mountain..."

Zhang Yunxiu thought helplessly in his heart, and at the same time, he was also hoping that God would be kind to him.

They hope that God will not make it rain so soon; they hope that God will give the Zhang family another chance.

Facts have proved that opportunities sometimes have to be earned by one’s own efforts.

As the third thunder roared in the sky, in a flash, Zhang Yunxiu seemed to suddenly remember something!
The memory that was so distant that it was almost forgotten came back to him again, as if it woke him up!
"Your Majesty! I have something else to say!"

……

It's raining.

However, the rain was not heavy and was totally incomparable to the rumbling thunder that had come before.

I thought the long-bubbling thunder indicated that a storm and heavy rain were coming, but in the end it was just loud thunder with little rain.

Zhang Chonghui held an umbrella in his hand and three umbrellas in his arms. He walked step by step to the outside of the Forbidden City in the drizzle.

This seldom convened grand court meeting lasted for a long time. It was almost past 3 p.m. when a bustling crowd in red and green began to pour in from the Meridian Gate.

Zhang Yunxiu walked so fast that it could almost be said that he was running, so he was walking in front of all the officials and was also the first person to see Zhang Chonghui.

"Is it done?"

When Zhang Yunxiu ran up to Zhang Chonghui, the first words he heard were these three words.

"How did you know?" Zhang Yunxiu asked in surprise, "Could it be that you calculated it?"

"Haha, that's impossible to predict." Zhang Chonghui smiled and tilted the umbrella over, saying, "I can tell from the way you rushed here. If it doesn't work, you'll be the last person to leave the palace."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled awkwardly, then asked excitedly: "Guess what the emperor gave you as a reward?"

"I don't know." Zhang Chonghui didn't seem to care about this so-called reward from the emperor. After all, it was true. All he wanted was a result, a test result to test the bottom line.

"The emperor has rewarded you with an official position!" Zhang Yunxiu was happy but hesitated to speak.

"Although it's just a minor official of the eighth rank, it's still much better than those vulgar things like gold, silver and treasures!"

Hearing that the usually stingy emperor had so generously rewarded him with a stable job, Zhang Chonghui couldn't help but wonder, "Why is the emperor so generous?"

"This is all thanks to Wen Changqing who stood up and made the suggestion. Anyway, it's a long story. Let's go back first, and I'll tell you slowly when we get back." Zhang Yunxiu said as he pulled Zhang Chonghui up and was about to leave, but he didn't pull the other person.

"Don't go back and talk about it." Zhang Chonghui said, "Just talk about it here. I want to hear it now."

It was not until this time that Zhang Yunxiu discovered that Zhang Chonghui was still holding three oil-paper umbrellas in his hands. He knew that he could not defeat Zhang Chonghui, so he had to quickly tell him the general story.

By the time Zhang Chonghui had a general understanding of what had happened today, all the officials who had adjourned the court had already walked out of the palace one after another.

Under the gazes of many strange people, Zhang Chonghui saw a familiar figure walking towards him.

"Minghe, what a coincidence." Wen Tiren came forward with a smile on his face. Before he even finished greeting, he took an umbrella from Zhang Chonghui's arms without any hesitation. While opening the umbrella, he smiled and said:

"It just so happens that I didn't bring an umbrella when I went out today. I didn't expect you to bring an extra umbrella. Thank you very much."

Faced with this act that was tantamount to robbery, Zhang Chonghui just smiled and said, "It's okay, I brought it for you anyway."

"It seems that you have prepared umbrellas for other people as well." Wen Tiren looked at the two remaining umbrellas in Zhang Chonghui's arms and smiled a little stiffly.

Zhang Chonghui seemed not to notice the strange look in Wen Tiren's eyes. He took the initiative to speak:

"Oh, by the way, I just heard from my uncle that the reason I was able to receive the emperor's reward today was because you took the initiative to report it. I should thank you very much. I will treat you to a good meal and wine some other day."

"Okay!" Wen Tiren said with a smile, "Well, in that case, why not treat me tonight?"

Zhang Chonghui was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm afraid not. I already have an appointment tonight."

"Is that so..." Wen Tiren shook his head with a look of regret, and sighed in a serious manner: "What a pity, I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy your delicious wine in the short term."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Chonghui asked.

"Didn't your uncle tell you?" Wen Tiren glanced at Zhang Yunxiu and said:

"The emperor not only praised me for caring for the prince, but also praised me for my ability to reward and punish the emperor. Therefore, the emperor showed his graciousness and promoted me to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue of Yingtian Prefecture. Soon, I will go to Nanjing to take up the post."

Yingtian and the Ministry of Revenue, the former is like the "cold palace" of officials, while the latter is a popular department with a lot of money.

These two somewhat contradictory words clearly show that Emperor Wanli had profound intentions.

After Wen Tiren finished his polite remarks in front of everyone, he leaned close to Zhang Chonghui's ear and whispered:

"Minghe, I was demoted to Yingtian, that hellhole, just to help you. Please don't let me bet on the wrong horse."

"Don't worry." Zhang Chonghui replied with a smile: "As long as there is a chance, I will get you back at the first opportunity."

After hearing this, Wen Tiren smiled and stepped back two steps, bowed and said goodbye:
"A farewell song and two lines of tears, I don't know when I will see you again. Then I will take my leave first, Minghe, see you another day."

…After Wen Tiren left, the rain began to fall heavier.

Even though the rain came suddenly, almost every official in the capital had a servant holding an umbrella for them.

Even Wen Tiren said that he forgot to bring an umbrella, but Zhang Chonghui saw that the servant following him was holding an umbrella.

Seeing that Zhang Chonghui had no intention of leaving, Zhang Yunxiu asked curiously, "Are you waiting for someone else?"

Just as Zhang Chonghui was about to nod, he saw two familiar faces walking out of the palace gate side by side.

Xiong Tingbi saw Zhang Chonghui's figure from a distance. Now the other party was staring at him from a distance, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Ever since the last incident, Xiong Tingbi had never known how to face Zhang Chonghui, so after saying goodbye to Guo Zhengyu, he prepared to leave first.

However, Guo Zhengyu stopped Xiong Tingbi who was eager to leave and said:

"Fei Bai, right now he owes you a favor, so he should remember it. Come with me to meet that guy, he's waiting for us."

Xiong Tingbi said, "But I didn't help him in order to make him owe me a favor. I just... discussed the matter at hand."

Guo Zhengyu looked at Xiong Tingbi and said seriously: "Fei Bai, remember, no matter where you are, it is one thing to deal with things objectively, but it is most important to plan for yourself! Don't be afraid of owing favors to others, and don't be afraid of others owing you favors! Just look at Zhang Chonghui and you will know. He really makes others owe him favors!"

Xiong Tingbi didn't quite understand what Guo Zhengyu meant, but was still dragged to meet Zhang Chonghui.

"It's raining. You two don't have an umbrella, right?" Zhang Chonghui handed out an umbrella as if he was blind.

Xiong Tingbi was about to say no, but he saw Guo Zhengyu, who was holding an umbrella with him, and took the umbrella handed to him by Zhang Chonghui at an extremely fast speed.

The next moment, Guo Zhengyu directly stuffed the umbrella he had received into Xiong Tingbi's hand and said:
"Fei Bai, take it. You can go back first."

Xiong Tingbi was confused. Although he didn't understand the specific situation, he still listened to Guo Zhengyu and left obediently holding the new umbrella.

"Fifth Uncle, Fei Bai is from the same hometown as us, you can go and see him off." Zhang Chonghui said as he opened the last umbrella left in his arms and gave the one in his hand to Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu took the umbrella knowing full well and went to see off Xiong Tingbi, who was not very familiar with him but was from the same hometown.

Everyone was sent away, and the officials who had left the court one after another had almost all left.

Guo Zhengyu first looked around and made sure there were no spies around before he said to Zhang Chonghui:

"Now that I am a retired person, it doesn't matter if I am seen by the spies inside and outside the Forbidden City. But you, you came here specially, aren't you afraid that the emperor will know that you are giving umbrellas to people everywhere?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Zhang Chonghui said with a smile, "Whether I sent it or not, after what happened today, the emperor will think that I sent it."

"That's true." Guo Zhengyu nodded and said, "You owe me this favor, how are you going to repay it?"

"I didn't force you to do it, so I'm not going to return it." Zhang Chonghui chuckled with a look of insight:
"Besides, you asked for the reward for me just to give me a push so that I can help you bring down Ye Xianggao."

"Haha..." Guo Zhengyu laughed at himself twice, and then his smile gradually became bitter. Looking back at the different looks from his former colleagues, he couldn't help but sigh:

"You can see that, except for Xiong Feibai, all those people who used to flatter me are now avoiding me as if they have seen a ghost."

"Isn't this normal?" Zhang Chonghui said calmly, "You should be thankful that they are just avoiding you, instead of being like Zhang Taiyue, who was severely stepped on by those who flattered him in the past."

"That's different." Guo Zhengyu said with a wry smile, "I can't compare to Zhang Taiyue. At least he succeeded, but I got myself into it..."

"You are stupid." Zhang Chonghui said mercilessly, "Who told you to hide from me all the time? Now you think you can push Yu Keyuan off the stage with a demon book? You underestimated him too much, didn't you? You are really not smart."

"You..." Guo Zhengyu's face turned red. He was also impressed by Zhang Chonghui. Why did he always like to call him stupid just like Gu Xiancheng?

But every time... he still couldn't refute...

"Forget it. I don't want to argue with you." Guo Zhengyu finally said, "I'm leaving now. From now on, I'll rely on you to protect the prince until he ascends the throne smoothly."

"I'm here to protect the prince?" Zhang Chonghui deliberately smiled and said, "Oh, aren't you afraid that I will lead the prince astray? I am the emperor's man."

"I don't want to joke with you." Guo Zhengyu said seriously: "I know you are the emperor's man, and I know you really want to lead the prince astray, but as the prince's teacher, I believe him. In addition, I also believe that you have always wanted to help the prince ascend to the throne."

"That's not necessarily true." Zhang Chonghui deliberately said, "What's wrong with Prince Fu taking the throne? Anyway, it doesn't matter to me who becomes the emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"No!" Guo Zhengyu was really serious this time. He said with a heavy expression:
"Prince Fu is rebellious by nature, and he has been spoiled too much by the emperor since he was young, so he has developed a perverse and cruel temperament!

I ask you, how can such a person be qualified to be a wise ruler?

If we allow them to act without thinking about the consequences, the country will become increasingly corrupt and the people will suffer terribly!"

This time, Zhang Chonghui did not deliberately refute. He just bowed and said goodbye: "It's getting late. Let's say goodbye now."

After saying that, Zhang Chonghui strode away, as if he was in a hurry to keep an appointment with someone.

However, after taking only a few steps, Zhang Chonghui heard Guo Zhengyu's voice, which was deliberately amplified, coming from behind him.

"Zhang Chonghui, do you know why I want to help you?"

Before Zhang Chonghui could answer, Guo Zhengyu said loudly:
"Zhang Chonghui, I actually don't like people like you who are smooth, sophisticated, and scheming.

But back then, when I was being accused and pushed around in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, you were the only one who pulled me back.

What I hate most is owing favors to others, so today, I will pay you back."

Zhang Chonghui no longer remembered this incident. He just thought that Guo Zhengyu said this on purpose so that the emperor's spies would hear it and go back to tell the emperor this.

Zhang Chonghui didn't take these words to heart. He just said "So that's how it is" and then held his umbrella to go to the next appointment.

Zhang Chonghui left, leaving Guo Zhengyu behind.

Looking back at the towering and majestic red walls, no matter how reluctant Guo Zhengyu was, he had to leave the Forbidden City, which he had studied the books of sages for many years and had finally climbed in, but now he had to leave again.

……

On the other side, Zhang Chonghui, who was rushing to an appointment, just realized something.

"No, what official position did the emperor give me?"

Zhang Chonghui then remembered that he didn't even know what official position Emperor Wanli had awarded him...

(End of this chapter)