Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 93 The world has changed?!

Xia Mansion.

"This bastard promised me that he would retire and return to his hometown, never to enter officialdom again, yet he dares to play such a trick on me. If I don't make him pay the price, wouldn't I have been the Grand Secretary for nothing?"

Although Xia Yan spoke calmly when he said those words, those close to him could easily hear the resentment in his heart.

Xia Yan's hatred was not only for Yan Maoqing's broken promise.

Ultimately, the root cause was that Yan Maoqing knew too much.

That day at the Hanlin Academy, when Yan Maoqing coerced him into approving sick leave, he had already revealed too much.

Therefore, in Xia Yan's eyes, Yan Maoqing was an extremely restless time bomb.

If he had actually retired and returned to his hometown from that day onward, he would have had no deep-seated hatred for Yan Maoqing, and the matter would have simply passed.

After all, as the Grand Secretary, Xia Yan felt it was beneath him to so ruthlessly eliminate a junior scholar who was about to retire and return to his hometown.

What he really needed to deal with were the people who had "used" Yan Maoqing.

Xia Yan felt that this person was Guo Xun. After all, Yan Maoqing was a junior official who had never really set foot in the officialdom. If he hadn't been used as a pawn by Guo Xun, he would never have known about his secrets.

It's all because Yan Maoqing is so ungrateful!

He had clearly let this bastard go, but the bastard turned around and pulled a surprise attack.

Not only did he "cure" his terminal tuberculosis on the same day, but he also followed Guo Xun to Shanxi and even into the desert, and finally accomplished such an unexpected and even unbelievable feat.

Xia Yan could easily imagine that after this incident, his previous scheme to use Duan Chaoyong's affair to bring down Guo Xun had failed.

With this achievement, Guo Xun's position is likely to be even more secure than before.

Correspondingly, his plan to consolidate his position as Grand Secretary by using the "re-set" incident also completely failed, and because he made too much of a fuss a few days ago, he may even incur the Emperor's wrath.

What is this called?
This is what they call "Old Xia's brilliant plan to secure the world ended up costing him both his wife and his army!"
This time, he not only lost, but he lost twice, as if Guo Xun had thoroughly humiliated him.

This is an insult and a mockery of him!
However, now that things have come to this, he does not believe that Yan Maoqing played any key role in this incident. He simply takes his anger out on Yan Maoqing, who first tricked him and was then adopted by Guo Xun as his godson.

After all, in his view, someone who had acted so frivolously before and so easily exposed his cards to his political enemies simply didn't have the brains to accomplish something this big...

"Your Excellency, I've heard that this Yan Maoqing was cured of his terminal illness by the imperial physicians sent by the Emperor, which is why he was unable to retire."

Xia Yan's confidant, Gao Shi, a censor in the Ministry of Justice, pondered for a moment and said...
"Therefore, I often wonder if the Emperor is showing too much favor to Yan Maoqing, who is just a newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"

"Brother Boyuan, do you really believe that Yan Maoqing has terminal tuberculosis?"

Xia Yan said irritably.

Gao Shi looked doubtful:

"What the Grand Secretary means is..."

"Yan Maoqing was not sick at all! He just paid Xu Shen, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, to issue a fake medical certificate."

Xia Yan shook his head and said,
"The Emperor has always regarded the newly appointed scholars as his private heirs, and he wants to select and cultivate his confidants and loyal followers from among them."

"This time, ordering the imperial physician to treat Yan Maoqing was probably just a pretense to win people's hearts. Unexpectedly, it was a lucky coincidence, which frightened Xu Shen and Yan Maoqing, who already had something to hide, so they had no choice but to recover."

This is one of the reasons why Xia Yan thought Yan Maoqing was acting childishly.

He believed that Yan Maoqing had genuinely intended to retire and return to his hometown; otherwise, there would have been no need for him to spend money to have his illness diagnosed as a terminal illness like tuberculosis.

Unfortunately, Yan Maoqing was too shallow in his thinking and was too impatient, insisting on choosing the time shortly after the palace examination and when the Hanlin Academy had just started classes.

It should be noted that this period is when the Emperor pays the most attention to the newly appointed Jinshi, especially the Shujishi. Moreover, Yan Maoqing is at the top of the list in the selection process, and with Guo Xun's encouragement, it is only natural that the Emperor is watching him closely.

If Yan Maoqing had remained in seclusion for a few more months, until the Emperor's enthusiasm had subsided, his plan to retire and return to his hometown on sick leave might have gone much more smoothly...

"But surely the Grand Secretary can't deny that this incident with the Tartars is indeed related to him, can he?"

Gao Shi pondered for a moment, then continued.

“Brother Boyuan, you have ultimately been blinded by appearances.”

Xia Yan shook his head again, and said with a smile,

"Yan Maoqing wasn't the only one accompanying Guo Xun to Shanxi this time..."

"Does Your Excellency mean that the key to the success or failure of this matter actually lies with Gao Gong, who is also a junior scholar, and Shen Lian, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Gao Shi frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"To be precise, only high arches."

Xia Yan, unperturbed, stroked his beard and said,
"You and I know exactly who Guo Xun is; he simply doesn't have that ability."

"As for Yan Maoqing... let's not mention him."

“Shen Lian is a straightforward person who, apart from being stubborn, has no redeeming qualities. His actions when he served as county magistrate are proof of that.”

"After eliminating these possibilities, only this high arch remains."

"Furthermore, I might as well reveal another secret to you..." "Before Guo Xun was ordered to go to Shanxi this time, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy personally witnessed Zhang Zuo, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, calling out to Gao Gong at the end of the lecture."

"The two talked privately for more than half an hour, and Zhang Zuo even took notes himself... Now you should be able to understand my deduction, right?"

Gao Shi suddenly realized what was going on:

"If this is true, Your Excellency should pay close attention to this Gao Gong. He is likely a man of great talent. If he can be put to use by Your Excellency, he will be even more powerful!"

"Haha, my brother Boyuan understands me well. I already had this idea."

Xia Yan smiled and said,

“Now that I have ordered people to impeach Yan Maoqing, isn’t this also a way to tame Gao Gong and make him understand that Guo Xun couldn’t even protect his adopted son, so he is definitely not a good tree to be chosen.”

"So even if he has made contact with Guo Xun this time, he will never become Guo Xun's disciple in the future."

"At the same time, I will put more effort into his work at the Hanlin Academy. A smart man like him will naturally be willing to serve me..."

……

Yanfu.

"Father, Yan Maoqing is definitely powerless to reverse the situation this time!"

Yan Shifan, beaming with excitement, said to Yan Song,
"As far as my son knows, this time, it's not just Xia Yan's people who are impeaching Yan Maoqing, but also people from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works."

"The cabinet and so many ministers working together to deal with a mere Yan Maoqing is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Even if he became the emperor's adopted son, let alone Guo Xun's, it would still be difficult to handle him."

Yan Song simply smiled noncommittally, using this incident to test Yan Shifan:
Do you know why Yan Maoqing is so hated?

"It's all about money, isn't it?"

Yan Shifan laughed and said,
"Since Yan Maoqing has accomplished this task, the Ministry of War's allocations for matters related to the northern border will be greatly reduced in the future, the Ministry of Revenue's allocations from Taicang will also be greatly reduced, and the Ministry of Works will no longer have a reason to request funding to build city walls."

“Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents; how could they not resent Yan Maoqing?”

Yan Song then asked, neither confirming nor denying:

"But this matter is ultimately a good thing for the country and the people. How do you know that the Emperor won't remember the merits and stand up to protect Yan Maoqing?"

"rule!"

Yan Shifan then added,
"Without rules, there can be no order. This is the foundation upon which the Emperor controls all affairs of the country. How could the Emperor destroy this foundation for the sake of a mere Yan Maoqing?"

"Furthermore, my father once said that the emperor had suffered the consequences of personally getting involved in court affairs when he was young, and he would never personally get involved again unless it involved him personally, thus risking his precious life to get involved in court struggles."

"And this is why the Emperor, knowing that he could not and did not want to repeat the same thing, did not personally veto the court's decision, but instead asked my father to go to the trouble of fighting against Xia Yan."

Yan Song nodded:

"It's good that you understand. Once you understand these principles, one day when your father is gone, you will be able to take charge of things on your own in the court."

"Father's words are quite ominous... I wonder how Father plans to deal with this?"

Yan Shifan was smug, but then pressed for more information.

"Let's lend Xia Yan a hand and stir up the waters even more."

Yan Song's old eyes grew increasingly sharp.
"The muddier the water, the more powerless the emperor will be, and the more he will need us. This will give us more opportunities to fish in troubled waters."

"However, you must remember that Yan Maoqing is nothing but a fleeting, insignificant figure. Such a person is never worth your concern. Don't let your likes and dislikes lead you astray..."

……

The next day.

Huangji Gate, Mao hour (5-7 AM).

Civil officials went north and west, while military officials went north and east.

Grand Secretary Xia Yan, who should have been presiding over the morning court session, had not yet arrived, and the Golden Throne under the Imperial Gate was also empty.

However, the officials were already used to this kind of morning court session. They listened numbly as the Court of State Ceremonial announced the arrival of the new officials and then the arrival of the new ones, mechanically bowing and kowtowing three times to the empty golden throne...

Just when they thought today's morning court would be no different from usual.

A shout suddenly rang out:
"The Emperor has arrived——!"

All the officials were taken aback and looked in the direction from which the announcement came.

The imperial carriage was slowly approaching from afar, with Zhu Houcong sitting on it like a dragon coiled and a tiger crouching, exuding an aura of majesty and nobility.

"This is?!"

Immediately, sharp-eyed officials widened their eyes.

Zhu Houcong today is extremely unusual.

Not only did he not miss the morning court session due to the monthly ritual on the fifteenth of the month without fail, but he also did not wear a Taoist robe, but rather the most formal leather cap that was rarely seen!
The sun comes out in the west? !
Or... is the world about to change?!

(End of this chapter)