Good son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty

The following days are simply a kind of torture for Su Mu. Princess Taikang said that he will hold a cultural event, and let him deliberately lose a few games. It is simply crazy. He has no intention of going crazy with her. .

No matter how the little girl sent someone to invite her, he would just say: "I have official duties, so I don't have that time!"

I thought that after I found His Highness Taikang, this errand would be over and I could go back to Beijing for business, but I didn't want to leave or stay now, and I was really trapped here.

Since you can't leave, just stay!

Su Mu also figured it out, at worst, wait until the Spring Festival, Queen Mother Zhang, you will never allow me to go home for the New Year, right?

As long as you return to the capital, after the New Year is over, you can find some excuses to stay for a month, and the next thing is the examination, you can enter the examination room openly.Even the emperor and empress dowager cannot stop the national talent ceremony.

Having been selected as a Jinshi and squeezed into the ranks of civil servants, Su Mu is not afraid of Queen Mother Zhang's retaliation.Moreover, at that time, the emperor should also be in charge, so he would naturally protect his close friend, the most useful person in the East Palace.

Therefore, Su Mu simply calmed down and began to study his homework. He only brought a letter back to Beijing through the royal secret communication channel, and told Queen Mother Zhang that the whereabouts of Princess Taikang had already been revealed. It was probably in the Cangzhou generation. When you find someone, go back to Beijing to pay the order.

As for the affairs of the inspection department, Su Mu didn't bother to pay attention to it, and asked his subordinates to figure it out, as long as no big leaks were revealed.Su Mu didn't take any of what the soldiers gained outside, and distributed it to his subordinates.As a result, everyone supported Su Mu even more, and seeing Su Mu reading the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" all day long, they were inexplicably awed in their hearts.

There was so much time that people felt helpless. At the beginning, Su Mu felt annoyed, so he decided to use his memory to sort out the content taught by the three elders in Xiyuan.

At the beginning of sorting out, Su Mu gained a new understanding of the knowledge of Xie Qian, Liu Jian, and Li Dongyang.

All three of them were from the Hanlin Academy, and they might not be ranked among the top three civil servants in the Manchu Dynasty in terms of real knowledge, but they are the best among them in terms of how to cope with the imperial examinations.

At the beginning of the lectures, the three Ge elders taught practical methods on how to cope with the exam.

After sorting out the manuscript, Su Mu gained a new understanding of the imperial examination, and then remembered what Xie Qian said at the beginning: "This exam is actually lower than the rural exam in terms of difficulty. Scholars compete. But the number of people taking the exam is smaller than that of the rural exam, and the admission rate is much higher.”

Thinking of this, Su Mu suddenly became a little more sure about the future test.

After nearly two months like this, the weather is getting hotter day by day, Shiwei is in May, and the summer of Hongzhi's 17th year is coming.

It's annoying for Su Mu to report to the inspection department every day, and Su Mu only goes there every three to five days.On weekdays, he either stays in the inn to read books, or goes out to the city to see the scenery, and his life is happy.

At the same time, the two poems he wrote on the boat have spread in Cangzhou City.In addition, he ignored his official duties all day long, and when he mentioned Mei's inspection, everyone in the city said that Mr. Mei was a romantic person, but he was very different from ordinary subordinates.Of course, when scholars hear this, they will sneer and say: "It's just a kung fu master. He has learned two good poems, but he has learned the seeds of reading and become arty. Inspiration is unpredictable, otherwise it is impossible to have a dream. Let’s talk. If Mei Fugui is really talented, why doesn’t she dare to accept the invitation of Yizhen Fairy when she doesn’t have any new works. However, Fairy has a few new songs, and the pieces are exquisite. It can be seen that Mei Xunjian’s flowery pen has been accepted God took it away."

For such comments, Su Mu just laughed it off and didn't take it to heart.He is now famous all over the world, and he has no interest in getting angry with the Cangzhou scholars.He is now afraid that he will not keep a low profile, and spending a day in Cangzhou is considered a day, as long as he waits until the Chinese New Year.

Recently, the inspection department has been very busy.All the soldiers under him were released, and Banbidian was responsible for the security of the entire Cangzhou. The soldiers had been indulged by Sumu for a while, and they didn't bother to check pedestrians or anything. , A stay is three or four days, and every time there is a moderate gain.

Gradually, the pockets of the inspectors' soldiers became thicker, and their income was even higher than that of the state government officials.

Seeing that the inspection department is full of oil and water, other people's eyes are red, and people keep getting out of the relationship and want to get rich in the inspection department, and many of them are local dignitaries.

When other people encounter this kind of opportunity, if they want to make a living in the local area, they have to give face to these big shots.Su Mu was just dawdling in the inspection department, and he didn't take any gray income from the government office. It can be said that he is a rare honest official.It's not that he is selfless in his heart, he really doesn't like the meager things he got back in the wind and rain.Besides, he is a close minister of the emperor, representing the face of Emperor Zhengde, if he is a corrupt official, he will be sued, and his face will be lost.

In this way, Su Mu didn't know that he had offended many people invisibly.Even if he knew, he wouldn't take it to heart.

Zhao Hulu was originally an orphan, and he had long thought of joining Master Mei's family.

Helplessly, Su Mu thinks that the child is too young, and he doesn't keep a close eye on the door.In addition, he was just dawdling in Cangzhou, and never thought of being a doorman.

But Zhao Hulu still came to Su Mu's place every day to wash and sweep the floor for Mr. Mei, and rushed to do it anyway if there was work.

Not to mention, this kid loves to be clean. A small courtyard was tidied up by him until there was not a speck of dust to be found, and the floor in the house was wiped with a rag until the wood grain could be seen.

After being pestered by him for a month, Su Mu was a little touched, and thought: This kid is hardworking and talkative, I think Xiaodie will like it, and it would be good to accept him as a doorman.However, it can only be placed in the house as a family member, and there is no scene.However, I am just a small recruiter now, even if I want to accept the door, I have to wait until I am awarded a Jinshi.Also, this kid is a native of Cangzhou, so he may not be willing to resign from his job in the Yamen and go to Beijing with me. Let's ask him what he thinks before the Chinese New Year!

Su Mu was also a little embarrassed to be served by Zhao Hulu in vain, and would reward him with a dime of silver from time to time.

Seeing that Su Mu was so generous, Zhao Hulu came more frequently, making Su Mu dumbfounded.

On this day, Su Mu got up early in the morning, thought about it, recently he was busy studying his homework, and hadn't been to the inspection department for four days.It's not good to raise money in his position and not grow old.

At this time, Zhao Hulu quickly walked into the courtyard: "I have seen Master Mei."

Seeing him, Su Mu shook his head helplessly: "You came so early...go out and call me a sedan chair."

Zhao Hulu: "Master Mei, I have a guest asking to see you." Then he handed over a post.

Su Mu took the post, thinking that it was another prominent figure in the local area who wanted to arrange an acquaintance to join the inspection department, so he said: "Go back, just say that I am busy with work and am going back to the inspection department."

"Yes." Zhao Hulu was about to leave the yard when he heard someone say at the door: "Xiaomin Zong really pays his respects to Mei Xunjian."

"Zong Zhen..." Su Mu didn't remember who this person was for a moment, and felt a little unhappy, this person was so rude, you come to see me, Su Mu, just wait by the side.If I want to see you, I will naturally ask someone to invite you. Why is there any reason to block the door?

Just as he was about to scold, he looked intently, but Su Mu was startled.This person was actually the leader of the rowers that he met on the day he met Princess Taikang on the boat.

If I'm not mistaken, this person is definitely a salt lord.

That day he wrapped private salt in sheepskin and hid it under the wooden raft in an attempt to get away with it. As a result, Su Mu's soldiers deliberately revealed it in front of the new inspector.

Yan Xiao was a murderer without batting an eyelid, and this Zongzhen was obviously a daring person. Given the situation at the time, he was about to kill someone immediately.

Su Mu also found something was wrong, and was in a hurry to see Princess Taikang, so he pretended to ignore it and let him go.

For this kind of ruthless underworld figure, Su Mu is indifferent.I am a dignified master, but I will focus on Hanlin in the future, who is willing to get involved with this kind of Jianghu figure, if people find out in the future, it will be an extra stain for no reason.

"Oh it's you."

"It's the villain." Zong Zhen still had the thin and capable appearance, "The villain met the adult on the canal last time, and I admired him, so I came here to pay my respects."

Although Su Mu was not interested in this kind of character, on the surface he stretched out his hand very kindly: "Talk inside."

Zong Zhen: "Master Mei, the villain has already set up a table of wine in front, and please be sure to appreciate it."

Su Mu just woke up, feeling hungry, so he nodded.This person will definitely not come to see me for no reason, and listen to what he has to say.

"Master Mei, please!"

The two entered a private room in front of the inn. After drinking for three rounds, Zong Zhen suddenly took out two gold garlic sticks from his waist and put them on the table, and slowly pushed them in front of Su Mu: "A little heart, I hope you will accept it." .”

Stretching out his hand, the blue dragon tattoo on it began to bark its teeth and claws again.

Judging from the weight of the gold bars, there are at least twelve taels, so the handwriting is not small.

It turned out that he came to thank me, Su Mu sneered in his heart, he was indeed a salt owl.However, Zong Zhen was so bold that he came to bribe officials.

He deliberately pretended to be puzzled: "What do you mean, Daxia Zong, but I don't understand."

Twelve taels of gold are worth 100 taels of silver, which is quite a fortune for ordinary officials.You know, the annual salary of the seventh-rank county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty was only 30 taels.Not to mention a small Ninth-Rank inspection, if it was someone else, he would have been tempted.

I really have great confidence in buying Tong Mei's inspector Zong. Being an official for thousands of miles is only for money, let alone an inspector.Nine-rank Zhima officials are not like the imperial court order officials, they have to consider official admonitions, and there is a possibility of promotion in the future.As an official, it is natural to make a lot of money.

Moreover, the last time Master Mei deliberately pretended not to see the private salt after finding out about it, and let Zongzhen go, presumably because he wanted to see if Zongzhen was interested.

Zong Zhen smiled and said in a low voice: "The last time I was taken care of by the master, the villain will remember it in my heart, and I have always wanted to come to visit. This time I can see the master, and the villain still wants to ask the master for favor."