The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Although no one impeached Zhang Juzheng in the morning court, there were still voices impeaching the reformists. Min Xi never participated in the impeachment. He mainly watched the situation and understood the complicated relationships in the court.

After seven days of rest, Zhang Juzheng's coffin was temporarily placed in the Fahua Temple outside the city. His ancestral home was Jiangling, Huguang, and according to tradition, people who died in a foreign land must be buried in their ancestral tombs. However, the journey was long and it was impossible to bury the coffin in a short time. The family needed to make good arrangements and pick a suitable time to carry the coffin back home.

After the Zhang brothers finished the funeral, they seriously considered Min Xi and Yun Ji's suggestions. Anyway, they were in mourning at home and had nothing else to do. Planning for the future of the Zhang family was what they needed to do most.

Zhang Juzheng had six sons. The eldest, second and third sons all passed the imperial examination and served as officials in the court. The fourth son served in the Imperial Guard. The fifth son was studying for the exam and the sixth son was still young. So when discussing family affairs, except for the sixth son, the others were all present.

To resign from office and give away all the wealth to return home, a prosperous family has fallen into decline, all the wealth and glory have vanished overnight, and it is all their own choice, which is hard for anyone to accept. But since their father's death, they have also experienced the fickleness of the world, and the once bustling house is now deserted. Even if there is only a slight possibility of the confiscation of property and the extermination of the family, it is definitely not a pain they can bear.

Resigning from office and returning home would indeed hurt the Zhang family, but it was not the end of the road. In a few years, they might be able to make a comeback. If they were convicted and their property was confiscated, not only would their father's reputation be ruined, but the Zhang family would never be able to make a comeback. The emperor was in his prime, and who knew how many years he could live. Few emperors could redress the unjust, false, and wrong cases they had judged during their reign.

The brothers thought about it again and again, but still could not make up their minds. However, the situation in the court changed. On this day in the court, seven censors of the Censorate jointly impeached Pan Sheng.

The charges listed this time were much more serious than those of Dai Liang last time. Pan Sheng's son, who had just arrived in Beijing from his hometown, was accused of robbing a woman and causing a murder. When Min Xi heard about this, he knew that someone was setting up a trap, and Master Pan fell into it, and it was true that a murder had occurred.

Wanli flew into a rage in the court and severely scolded Pan Sheng. The hostile officials took the opportunity to criticize Pan Sheng. Pan Sheng had no way to defend himself. Finally, he had to take off his official hat in court, kneel down and say: "I know that I have failed to educate my son. I am speechless in the face of Your Majesty's grace. I request to resign and return home."

Wanli waved his hand and said, "I approve it!"

When Min Xi heard Wanli's reply, he immediately felt that something was wrong. He was trying to divert the trajectory of history away from its original trajectory. Zhang Juzheng lived two more years, and Wanli's temper changed a lot, but why was it still developing in the direction set by history? Could it be that they really couldn't change the fate of the Ming Dynasty?

So after the court was dismissed, when everyone else had left, Min Xi and Yun Ji stayed.

"Seventh brother, what should we do? Lord Pan has resigned, and he will not be the Prime Minister." Min Xi was helpless and anxious.

Yun Ji asked: "Do you remember who became the Prime Minister after Lord Pan resigned?"

Min Xi thought hard and shook his head: "I don't know. He should be a conservative, not a reformist."

"The best plan for now is to encourage the reformists to take over the position of Prime Minister. Otherwise, once the conservatives come to power, they will abolish the reforms and suppress the reformists," said Yun Ji.

"But is this something we can decide?" Min Xi thought of his and Yun Ji's identities. They were both small officials. How could they influence the emperor's choice of the prime minister?

Yun Ji said: "It is not something we can decide, but we still have to do something. This is why the elder recommended you to the Censorate. He wants you to give advice to His Majesty."

"Yes, no matter what, we have to try." If we give up at this time, all our previous efforts will be in vain!

The two did not leave the palace immediately, but turned in another direction and went to find Emperor Wanli.

Wanli had just come down from the morning court and was washing up to eat breakfast when he heard the eunuch announce that Min Xi and Yun Ji wanted to see him, so he said, "Let them in."

It was not the first time that Min Xi and Yun Ji saw the emperor like this, so they were naturally not surprised and waited respectfully for the emperor to finish washing.

Wanli sat down at the table and said, "You two dear ministers haven't had breakfast yet, so let's eat together."

The emperor gave him a meal, so of course he had to obey: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wanli took a sip of soup and said, "Tell me, why did you think of looking for me today? Are you here to plead for Pan Sheng?"

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other, and Min Xi quickly said, "Of course not, Your Majesty! As the Minister of Rites, Lord Pan is a role model for scholars all over the world. He should set an example and become a model of virtue for the world. He is not strict in managing his family and educating his children. He actually indulged his son in such evil deeds. It is simply intolerable. This is the punishment he deserves. We are not here to plead for him."

The Minister of Rites was in charge of the imperial examinations, which meant that all the examiners in those examinations were his students. One can imagine how influential he was, and he was often the only choice for the cabinet's chief minister. There is a reason why the Ministry of Rites is called the head of the six ministries.

"So what do you want to say?" Wanli said.

"Now that Lord Pan has stepped down, which minister does Your Majesty plan to appoint as the new prime minister of the cabinet?" Min Xi did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.