Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 41 Damn it

At night, Ning Cheng returned to Shuntian Prefecture.

The lights in Shuntian Prefecture were as bright as day, and the clerks from the six departments were still shuttling back and forth, busy day and night.

Ever since Ning Cheng was demoted to the position of Tui, the position of Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture has remained vacant. Now Ning Cheng's immediate superior is Lin Qi, the Chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture.

When Ning Cheng found Lin Qi, he was still handling official business. The local government could not really focus all its energy on disaster relief, and daily official business still had to be handled.

Ning Cheng looked solemn as he told Lin Qi everything that Chen Ce had said about the great disaster and the great epidemic.

After hearing this, Lin Qi's expression was slightly shocked and frightened. No one had thought of such a big loophole until now.

But soon, he said with a smile: "Master Ning, you are right, and you have a good idea!"

"I will go to Lord Zhang to commend you. You have done a great job in checking for deficiencies and filling gaps, making preparations in advance, and preventing disasters before they happen."

As he said this he stood up and was about to leave.

After all, they are the officials he brought up and his subordinates, so Ning Cheng’s achievements are his own achievements.

Ning Cheng hurriedly stopped Lin Qi and shook his head, saying, "Sir Lin, it was not you. I dare not take credit for it. It was a disaster victim in Zhengyang Street who said it. His name is Chen Ce."

Lin Qi had a strange look on his face. He looked at Ning Cheng deeply and was not in a hurry to get up. He personally took the porcelain stove and poured a sip of tea, then motioned Ning Cheng to sit down and drink tea.

He took a sip of the teacup and said earnestly, "Junrui, this is an opportunity for you."

"The Crown Prince was injured by a villain in Shuntian Prefecture. It was an unprovoked disaster for you. I know you were demoted unjustly, but who dares to redress your injustice?"

"It's not easy to get to this position after studying so hard. How can I accept the fact that I will be demoted for any mistake?"

"I treat you as my own. I am talking to you behind closed doors. I hope you won't spread it to others."

"He's just a disaster victim. There are many ways to thank him. Giving him money or women can all be ways of expressing gratitude. Why do you have to do this?"

"This strategy shouldn't be his idea, and it can't be his idea. It has to be you. Don't shirk it."

I am a commoner helping the imperial court to find out the shortcomings and fill the gaps. Are all the civil servants in the Ming Dynasty useless? What would the people above you think if they knew about this?
What does it have to do with Lin Qi if the credit is shared by a commoner? Why should he take credit for something that has nothing to do with him?
Instead of doing this, it is better to let the epidemic happen. You won’t be the one to die, so why bother to meddle in other people’s business?

Ning Cheng's face flushed red, his fists clenched in his sleeves, he said: "Master Lin, I already owed him once."

"There are relationships?"

Ning Cheng nodded and said, "He was supposed to be my son-in-law, and I broke off the engagement."

Lin Qi smiled and said, "Isn't this good? If the two are not well matched, even if they get married, they will still separate for various reasons."

"A chicken mates with a chicken, a dog mates with a dog, and the phoenix mates with the dragon. If you let the phoenix mate with a dog, there will be chaos every day."

He looked at Ning Cheng deeply and said, "Junrui, how can an official be kind? How many true saints and gentlemen are there?"

"You've been through this for so long, and you still haven't figured this out?"

"Okay." Lin Qi waved his hand and said, "No need to say more, I will go and report my achievements to Lord Zhang."

"I still have people in the palace. Eunuch Li is my godfather. I won't let you down in this matter. You will be reinstated soon."

Ning Cheng was silent, standing there for a long time. Lin Qi's qualifications were not as good as his, but he was still promoted from the magistrate of Xuanfu to the emperor's feet. He didn't need to wait for qualifications, as long as he recognized a eunuch as his father, everything would be achieved.

If this achievement is made public, as he said, he will be able to reinstate his post, he may be praised by the court, and his political achievements in the Ministry of Personnel's inspection will not be bad. He will be able to make further progress in two years.

Seems to be nice to everyone.

Except for Chen Ce...but these things were clearly thought up by Chen Ce!
"I'm sorry, nephew Chen." Ning Cheng said silently, "I promised you that I would break my promise again."

……

This memorial was eventually delivered to the Qianqing Palace by Zhang Xian, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. The cabinet was greatly shocked after reading it, and immediately began to pay attention to it and re-arranged disaster relief and epidemic prevention matters.

After reading the policy, Emperor Hongzhi praised the governor of Shuntian prefecture highly, and reinstated Ning Cheng, the prosecutor who proposed this policy to fill the gaps, as a reward. The Ministry of Personnel recorded a merit for Lin Qi in the performance appraisal book.

Just as Lin Qi said, reporting it this way will be good for everyone.

As for a commoner like you, who cares whether you live or die?
The shantytowns on Zhengyang Street began to change. There were more uniform toilets, and the victims were required not to defecate at will.

Anyone who shows symptoms will be isolated, treated and observed individually.

The dining bowls and chopsticks should be disinfected and washed clean with lime and vinegar.

The court's epidemic prevention work was far more detailed than what Chen Ce proposed, because the court was more afraid than Chen Ce. An earthquake had already made them anxious. If they could prevent the epidemic but did not do it well, once a major epidemic broke out, it would be too late to regret. Preparation is the key to success.

Ning Cheng finally gave Chen Ce thirty taels of silver as a reward. It was not that he did not want to give more, but the money was all from his own pocket. He did not have much cash on hand, and the tax on the land had not yet been paid, so he could not come up with that much money.

As for more rewards, there were none, and there was not even a message from the court. Chen Ce did not take it seriously. He did not care much. He said these things because he was afraid that he would be infected with the plague, and he was afraid for so many people living with him, and he was afraid that the people in Shuntian Prefecture who had been affected by the disaster would suffer from the disaster again. That was all.

The next day, when night fell again, Chen Ce asked Ning Cheng to inquire about the situation of Wu Shuxian in the women's quarters.

There was no reason for Ning Cheng not to help with these things that were within his ability, so he personally called the doctor over to inform Chen Ce.

The doctor told Chen Ce that Madam Wu's cold had stabilized and there was nothing serious. Only then did Chen Ce feel relieved.

Ning Cheng didn't dare to face Chen Ce and planned to leave. Chen Ce bowed and said, "Congratulations, Lord Ning, on your promotion."

For some reason, Ning Cheng didn't dare to look at Chen Ce. Although he knew that Chen Ce was not very old, he always felt that his sickly eyes could see through people's hearts.

He laughed it off, made a few casual remarks, and left on the pretext of going on patrol.

Chen Ce shook his head, put his hands behind his back and prepared to go back to sleep.

The moon was high in the sky, and a few drunken scholars were walking on the street. Perhaps they wanted to experience the suffering of the people? To see the plight of the people after the disaster, and no longer moan about their love for the country and the people?
One of the Confucian scholars drank the most and lost his composure. He walked unsteadily, his eyes were blurry, and he staggered from side to side.

Until he saw Chen Ce standing not far away, and then he screamed: "Ghost! Teacher, ghost!"

Tang Yin was so frightened that he almost jumped up, pointing at Chen Ce and stammering.

Chen Ce turned around to look at him. Tang Yin's hands trembled and he sat down on the ground, almost peeing his pants.

Thanks to Brother Yaolang, Brother 6553, and Brother Lexicon for their monthly tickets. Thank you very much

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(End of this chapter)