inspire-indiana Chapter 1116 Xu Yunyan is slandered
Chapter 1116 Xu Yunyan is slandered
In the pitch-black night, Cui Jinyin once again accepted the fact that Cui Xiang did not love her.
The imagined sadness did not come; instead, I felt a sense of relief.
She began to look forward to returning to the capital in the future, and to loudly proclaiming to Prime Minister Cui, "Sever ties with him."
As the tension subsided, she leaned against Shen Zheng and fell into a deep sleep.
Yu Shizhang remarked that she was "carefree," and Shen Zheng smiled as she draped a coat over her shoulders.
Kids should have big hearts.
As they approached the prefectural city, Yu Shizhang spoke to Shen Zheng about their plans: "Zhengqing and Zhiyun will be able to look after Jiusi when they return to the capital. Yingqing and I will stay in the county for a while and enjoy a comfortable life. After your term of office is over, we will return to the capital together."
Shen Zheng was overjoyed: "Really? I thought..."
"Did you think we were going to go back to the capital with Zhengqing?" Yu Shizhang said with a look of disdain. "He has his own path to walk, and I have my own blessings to enjoy. Why should we follow him? Besides, Nan Shu and I just got back. Why should we go? Aren't we tired from the journey?"
Shen Zheng thought what he said made a lot of sense.
At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the carriage wheels rolled through the night and arrived at the Yu residence. Shen Zheng woke up Cui Jinyin.
A cool night breeze carried a refreshing feeling as the group entered the mansion.
Yu Zhengqing stamped his slightly numb feet and said to Shen Zheng, "It's too late now, so I won't wake your aunt and the others. You should go back to your rooms and rest. We'll go to the government office to hand over the duties tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Shen Zheng nodded and led Cui Jinyin to her private room, while Xu Yunyan was led to the guest room by a servant.
......
The next morning, it was sunny.
Under Zhuang Zhiyun's loving gaze, Shen Zheng ate a piece of silver thread roll, a piece of millet cake, a bowl of steamed egg custard, a bowl of eight-treasure porridge, and a bowl of small glutinous rice balls.
As they boarded the carriage, Zhuang Zhiyun handed them a food box, saying, "Remember to eat if you get hungry along the way."
Thinking of the government office, which was only two miles away from the Yu residence, Shen Zheng fell into deep thought.
The coachman cracked his whip, and the wheels slowly began to turn, catching up with Yu Zhengqing's carriage ahead.
Shen Zheng lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Xu Yunyan riding beside her on horseback, and called out, "Little Xu?"
Xu Yunyan paused for a moment, then pulled on the reins and came closer. "What are your orders, sir?"
“Something’s not right…” Shen Zheng looked him up and down. “I noticed you were acting strange since breakfast. Is something wrong?”
Xu Yunyan remained silent for a moment, then slowly extended his right hand to Shen Zheng.
"what?"
Under Shen Zheng's puzzled gaze, Xu Yunyan pulled his right sleeve up to his wrist, revealing a pair of...
"A gold bracelet?"
Shen Zheng was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter, leaning against the small window to ask, "Did Madam give it to you? When?"
Xu Yunyan looked surprised: "Sir, how did you know that this bracelet was... given to you by the Madam?"
“Because I’ve received them before, and Zhaoqi and Ziyan have received them too.” Shen Zheng glanced at his wrist again, rested her chin on her hand, and said, “Your hands…are considered big for a man, aren’t they?”
Xu Yunyan opened his palm, looked at it, and nodded: "It could be considered above average."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng felt a renewed sense of admiration for Madam Bo.
Even with Xu Yunyan's large hands, she could still produce suitable bracelets, which shows she had quite a large stock...
"When did she give it to you?" Shen Zheng asked, "Was it when you first entered the dining room?"
Xu Yunyan nodded: "That's right... Moreover, she looked very serious and told me not to make a fuss. So I thought I'd ask Lord Yu after I leave the manor."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng's lips curved into a wider smile. Just as she was about to tell him that he didn't need to ask, she suddenly heard a series of conversations coming from beside the car.
"Is that true? That's a seventh-rank official; how could he just want to become one?"
"It's absolutely true! If you don't believe me, go and ask around. It's all over the prefectural city. He got his position because of that guy in Tong'an County!"
"Of course! I wholeheartedly agree with Lord Shen being appointed as the prefect, but what is he? What real skills does he possess? His name is Xu... Xu something? I've never heard of him before... Let alone a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), he's probably not even a Gongshi (a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination)!"
"In my opinion... this man is just the most obedient dog by Lord Shen's side. If Lord Shen wants him to be promoted, he will be promoted! What use are official titles and honors in front of high-ranking officials! Only we common people are easily fooled and think that studying can make us stand out from the crowd!"
"That's right! Moreover, I've also heard that the former official, Lord Wang Huai'an, had elderly parents and young children to support. After he took over the post, his family's livelihood became a problem. He's really harming people!"
"Oh dear, this person is so wicked, leaving no way for the other person to survive..."
"But... I heard from the people of Tongan County that their Registrar Xu is quite capable. He has been serving Lord Shen for so long, and now that Lord Shen has become the Prefect, it doesn't seem like there's any problem with him coming to the Prefectural Office to assist him, does it?"
“I also think there’s no problem. Lord Shen is so capable, how could his subordinates be incompetent? You’re just jealous of his success and making snide remarks.”
"What nonsense! What do you know! The important thing is that he stole someone else's official position. What are they supposed to do? Beg for food?"
"..."
With each word they spoke, Shen Zheng clenched her teeth tighter. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she flung open the carriage curtain and shouted, "Stop the car!"
She wanted to ask these people which eye saw that Xu Yunyan had no real skills, and which ear heard that Wang Huai'an's family was starving!
Rumors and misinformation are spreading, and Xu Yunyan, a perfectly good person, is about to be ruined by them!
The angrier she got, the more Shen Zheng clung to the carriage and crawled out. Before she could even speak, the people recognized her.
"Master Shen!"
"It's Lord Shen! Lord Shen really did come to the government office to take over!"
Some people were overjoyed to see her and wanted to run over to talk to her, while others' expressions changed drastically and they scattered and fled.
Seeing her displeasure, the remaining people spoke up, "Lord Shen, those people are just sour grapes. Please don't take it to heart and upset yourself!"
"Yes, yes, Lord Shen, we trust you. The person you chose for the government office must have some merit!"
Seeing the people running and scattering, Shen Zheng suppressed his anger and said to the people in front of him, "Thank you for your trust, but there are two things I need you to help me spread."
The people nodded repeatedly, waiting for her to speak.
She said, “First of all, I am only a fourth-rank official and have no authority to appoint officials. I have never petitioned the higher authorities for an official position on behalf of Lord Xu. The reason why Lord Xu was able to serve as an official in the prefectural office was by His Majesty’s will. I only learned about this yesterday.”
"The second thing. After Lord Wang Huai'an, the former clerk of the prefectural government, takes over from Lord Xu, he will be appointed as the chief clerk of the accounting office, which is also a seventh-rank official. Lord Wang's family livelihood will not be affected by the transfer."