Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 901: Huang Zicheng, a minor official from the Ministry of Rites

According to the Ming system, the ceremony for local officials to come to Beijing for an audience with the emperor was quite complicated. First, they had to inform the inn, and officials coming to Beijing could only check in at the inn, and then report to their superior government office. Civil officials would report to the Ministry of Personnel, and military officials would need to report to the Five Military Commissioners' Office, which would then report to the Ministry of Civil and Military Affairs and the Ministry of Military Selection, and then report to the Cabinet, which would present a memorial to the emperor, and finally the emperor would issue an edict to allow them to request an audience.

Shuidong was a chieftain. Although he was also an official of the Ming Dynasty, he was classified as a native official. The procedure for his audience in Beijing was more like a tribute from a foreign country than a local official reporting on his work. In addition to the above-mentioned processes, there were several more procedures such as review and verification, verification by the Ministry of Rites, reception by the Honglu Temple, and counting of tributes.

Fortunately, in the early Ming Dynasty, the central government and the local chieftains had close ties. In order to improve the relationship, the court had agreed to increase the frequency of tribute for chieftains at all levels. Song Qin and Liu Shuzhen from Shuidong had led teams several times and were familiar with the whole process. As soon as they arrived in Beijing, they rushed to the Ministry of Rites as quickly as possible.

"Since the chieftain of Shuidong has come to the court, may I ask where is chieftain Song Qin?" Unexpectedly, when Madam Liu Shuzhen arrived at the Ministry of Rites, she was stopped by a minor official of the Ministry of Rites.

This minor official from the Ministry of Rites was none other than the Confucian scholar Huang Zicheng, who was once rebuked by Zhu Su and sent back to his hometown, becoming the laughing stock of Yingtian. This Confucian scholar was once considered a talented scholar, and had a reputation as a leader among the next generation of literati in Jiangnan. However, fate played tricks on him, and because of this incident, he could no longer face people, and had to waste his time in his hometown.

Although he was ashamed to see his old friends, his ambition for fame was still burning. Although he was conservative, he had to adapt to the times after wasting years at home. Therefore, he worked hard to read a few new books.

Although he still disagreed with the new learning in his heart, with his talent, he still successfully passed the imperial examination and got a job as a chief official in the Ministry of Rites of Yingtian.

Although Huang Zicheng studied new learning and entered the government, he still hated it. Although he studied many new learning classics, he didn't listen to a word of those concepts because of his rejection. Fortunately, the Ministry of Rites was one of the six ministries in the court where new learning was not prosperous, so Huang Zicheng could barely get by in the Ministry of Rites. Today was his turn, and when he saw Madam Liu Shuzhen, who was eager to see him, he began to be cautious.

"The situation in the southwest is tense, and my husband is in charge of the village. How can I leave so easily?" Madam Liu Shuzhen frowned slightly. But she was not an ordinary woman who didn't know the world, and naturally knew that it was easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with the little ghosts. So although her eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, she hesitated for a moment, but still swallowed her anger and said: "We want to see Your Majesty, and we really have something important to tell you... This matter is related to the situation in the southwest. If we delay for one more day, there may be more variables."

"We also have a memorial that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou has entrusted to pass on to Your Majesty. Please bear with it..." As he said this, he took out a golden bead and put it in his sleeve...

If she hadn't mentioned King Zhou, it would have been fine. But when she mentioned King Zhou, Huang Zicheng was startled, and all the new and old hatreds suddenly surged up in his heart. In the past, King Zhou Zhu Su angrily accused him of being conservative and unchanging during a literary gathering. He said, "A scholar should follow Wang Xuan Ce, not Fen Yi Huang Zicheng." He nailed him to the pillar of shame among scholars. Perhaps thousands of years later, someone would spread Huang Zicheng's infamy for this half-line of poetry. How could he not hate him?

If it was said that originally, he just saw that the visitor was actually a woman, so he asked a few more questions. Now that Zhu Su was mentioned again, Huang Zicheng simply started to find faults. He glared at him, and with a righteous look, he angrily slammed the gold bead on the ground and scolded: "Ridiculous! I am an official appointed by the court, do you think I covet your wealth?"

"You, the Guifang barbarians, are ignorant of morality and the rule of the king. How can you humiliate the officials of the imperial court with such behavior?"

"Besides, the affairs of the imperial court have their own rules. You claim to be the wife of a chieftain, but who can prove it? You have no chieftain in person, and no tribute goods. This is against the rules. How can I report it?"

"Do you think that if you move out His Royal Highness King Zhou, we will be able to make concessions?"

"But you don't know that this court is your majesty's court, not King Zhou's court!"

His hypocritical words annoyed Liu Shuzhen. Southwestern women are naturally hot-tempered, and Liu Shuzhen was the wife of a chieftain. Even the chieftain Song Qin would occasionally be pulled by his ears by his wife. So she simply changed her color and said, "You old official are so unreasonable. I am Shuidong, a native official appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and my husband is a second-rank official, hereditary. In theory, my rank is the same as your Minister of Rites... Moreover, we have hurriedly traveled seven thousand miles for the Ming Dynasty court, but you are here asking me for some offerings..."

"We are not here to pay tribute this time, but to see Your Majesty for an important matter... Does it mean that without tribute, Shuidong is no longer under the rule of the Ming Dynasty?"

Huang Zicheng had never thought that a woman like her would dare to make a scene in public. After all, in his eyes, women should follow the three obediences and four virtues and depend on men. Seeing that many colleagues looked at him and pointed at him because of the noise, Huang Zicheng felt embarrassed and simply brushed his sleeves: "Anyway, the rules cannot be enforced, I can't handle it, you go back!"

"Regulations? We in Shuidong are local officials, not a foreign vassal. On what basis do you, the Ministry of Rites, separate the inside and the outside and prevent us from reporting to Your Majesty? Moreover, His Royal Highness Prince Zhou is Your Majesty's biological son. How dare you talk about the court of Prince Zhou... Are you trying to sow discord between Your Majesty and His Royal Highness, the father and son?" Liu Shuzhen raised her eyes and cursed.

This was too harsh. Huang Zicheng's face turned pale. He had never expected that a barbarian woman would understand the twists and turns in his words. But now that things had come to this, he couldn't lose face in front of a woman. So he simply flicked his sleeves and said, "Humph! Only women and villains are difficult to raise! I won't bother with you! You leave quickly. If you make noise again, I will punish you for roaring in the government office!"

"We have come here from Guizhou for thousands of miles to serve the court... You, the official, are so unreasonable. We want to see His Majesty!" Madam Liu Shuzhen said angrily.

"Oh, Your Majesty is so noble, how can I see you? Just go back to your southwest!" Huang Zicheng said with a smile.

"Who is speaking nonsense here and dares to expel guests on behalf of His Majesty?" Before Huang Zicheng finished speaking, a cold voice came from outside the door. The people in the Ministry of Rites were startled, and saw dozens of imperial guards entering the Ministry of Rites in a row, with a fierce momentum.

"Jin, Jinyiwei?" All the officials in the Ministry of Rites changed their expressions.

These imperial guards, wearing flying fish uniforms and carrying embroidered spring swords on their waists, were the notorious Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty. Huang Zicheng stared with wide eyes, wondering how these Jinyiwei could suddenly appear here. Then, the commander of Jinyiwei, Jiang Li, strode in, shocking all the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

"Jiang... Lord Jiang..." Huang Zicheng was closest to the gate and was the officer on duty. Although he was afraid of Jiang Li's fierce reputation, he had no choice but to step forward and pay his respects.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Li didn't even look at him, but strode directly towards Madam Liu Shuzhen over there.

(End of this chapter)