"Students have met Master Shangshu." Yu Qian bowed his hands. Before the exam began, the Ministry of Rites had introduced six senior officials to him, and he knew Li Qing's identity.
But he didn't understand that the dignified Minister of War would come to talk to him.
"No need to be polite." Li Qing smiled, "Are you sure you'll hit the armor?"
Li Qing looked familiar and confused Yu Qian. Out of courtesy, he handed over his hand and replied: "There are many talents in the Ming Dynasty, but students are not sure."
What's going on with this masked minister? I don't even know him... Yu Qian was puzzled and a little embarrassed.
The identities of the two are so different that even if he wins the first prize, he cannot compare with a minister.
"You haven't eaten yet?"
"Not yet." Yu Qian replied.
Li Qing scratched his head, not knowing what to say for a moment, "Ahem...what, eat well and rest well."
Yu Qian bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Shangshu, for your concern."
"Uh-huh..." Li Qing smiled awkwardly, and seeing that he was very restrained, he let him go.
~
There is plenty of time, wait until he enters the Ministry of War... Li Qing made up his mind and left the palace humming a little tune.
Li Qing didn't live in the Duke's Mansion because he thought it was noisy, so he rented a house to stay temporarily.
As soon as I entered the house, I smelled the familiar aroma of rice.
"master."
The two little maids called out timidly.
"Yes." Li Qing nodded and said to Wan Ling, "Smell this, I am your chef today, right?"
Wan Ling smiled and said, "Actually, they have almost learned it, but they are a little unsure about Jiangnan cuisine. I am afraid that my husband will not be used to it, so I cook."
"Master, we've almost learned it." The little maid nodded vigorously, for fear of being fired.
Li Qing smiled and said, "You can go and eat too. You don't have to wait for me."
"Yes, Master." The little maid breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and then withdrew.
"They work very hard." Hong Xiu said, "I gave them three guan notes as wages."
"Well, now that the treasure money has not been spent as much as before, it is time for wages to rise." Li Qing came to the table and sat down, "I will take you to go shopping in the afternoon."
"There is nothing missing at home." Hongxiu said with a smile, "I bought so much in Jinling, I won't need to buy anything for a long time."
"Idle time is idle. It's good to walk more." Lianxiang said with a smile, "It's not comfortable to stay at home all day. If Sister Hongxiu doesn't want to go, Wanling and I will go."
Hong Xiu rolled her eyes at her and hummed, "Who said I didn't want to go?"
Li Qing chuckled and said, "Okay, let's eat first."
…
After moving to Shuntian, Li Qing often took them shopping. Except for official duties, he stayed with them almost all the time.
~
Three days later, the results were released.
Yu Qian didn't get the top grade, but his grades were not bad. He ranked among the best in the second grade. He was recruited by Li Qing into the Ministry of War, and he was successful in serving as the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War gave Shi Zhong the position. Although he was a seventh-rank official, his authority was not small. He was responsible for delivering official documents from the Ministry of War, and had the power of supervision. He was also a public speaking officer.
It is a sweet potato in the work, and it is the favorite position of almost all Jinshi. It is much better than being sent out to be a county magistrate.
However, when Yu Qian was appointed to the Ministry of War, he was given the position of Shizhong, which is also reasonable. The first-ranked ones were all admitted to the Hanlin Academy, and they were all given positions like Shizhong, which were usually held by second-class Jinshi.
However, most of the second-class Jinshi were not so lucky, because only a few of them were given to Shizhong, but there were a lot of second-class Jinshi, and most of them were given the position of Shizhong, and most of them were occupied. Yu Qian was very confident that he could get this position. Official position, big surprise.
When he became an official, he also wanted to be in a high position and express his ambitions.
Starting from a job, it is much better than the same batch of Jinshi, and this position is also easy to be promoted.
Surprised, but also a little uneasy, he found that his boss seemed to be deliberately cultivating him.
He came to have a heart-to-heart talk with him every now and then, and even taught him the ways of being an official, such as how to display his ambitions while protecting himself.
Yu Qian was flattered, but also puzzled.
Although his ancestors also served as officials, it was a long time ago. Their family was in decline before the Ming Dynasty was established, and there was no human kindness at all.
On this day, Yu Qian finally couldn't help it and asked his doubts: "Master Shangshu, you seem to be too kind to your humble position. Why...why?"
Li Qing smiled and said: "It is the duty of a superior officer to cultivate his subordinates. I am doing what is within my duties. Why is it strange?"
After a pause, he said, "I am approachable and kind to everyone. You should get used to it. I have always been so kind."
Yu Qian had a strange look on his face. Most literati were self-effacing. This was the first time he had seen such a boastful person, but... there was nothing wrong with his words.
This minister is too good!
"Work hard, the Ming Dynasty needs talents like you." Li Qing said sternly, "Don't let me down."
"I will remember this, my official." Yu Qian bowed in a very serious tone.
Li Qing added: "Not only do you have to be able to do things, you also have to be an official, do you understand?"
Yu Qian nodded, "The humble position naturally has to cooperate with the boss in handling official affairs and obey the boss's arrangements. However, if the boss has something inappropriate, the humble position naturally has the right to give opinions;
Even humble ministers understand what the minister means! "
Li Qing touched his nose but did not correct Yu Qian.
An innocent heart is very precious. He wanted Yu Qian to be a little more diplomatic, but he didn't want Yu Qian to lose his true heart.
Now Yu Qian has not yet realized the dangers of officialdom, and it is a little premature to talk about the way to be an official. Li Qing decided to let him stay in the position of Du Ge Shizhong for two years.
Although Li Qing is already in his sixties, there is no problem in continuing to work for another ten years.
What he wanted to do was to let Yu Qian take over the position of Minister of War before he left.
…
night.
"boom--!"
A thunder exploded, and Li Qing suddenly woke up from his deep sleep.
Due to the excessive noise, the three women also woke up one after another, "What's wrong, sir?"
"It's nothing. You go on sleeping." Li Qing pretended to be relaxed and said, "I'll go out and see if it's going to rain."
The three women didn't think much and lay down again.
Li Qing left the room, jumped to the roof, and stared in the direction of the palace.
Thunder was still thundering in the sky, but the sound became quieter each time, and there was no sign of rain. Only a quarter of an hour later, calm returned.
This house is far away from the palace, about seven or eight miles.
Even though his eyesight was extremely far, he couldn't clearly see the situation from such a distance unless a fire started.
Li Qing was restless. After more than ten days, he couldn't guarantee whether Zhu Zhanji could still remain vigilant. After much thought, he decided to go and see for himself.
After returning to the room, he poked the three women a few times to make them sleep more soundly. Li Qing put on a dark robe and hurried to the palace.
The palace door has been locked for a long time, but the tall palace wall cannot stop Li Qing.
Soon, he climbed over the wall and entered the palace quietly.
The palace was eerily quiet at night. There were not many people on duty and they were not very vigilant. Li Qing didn't put in much effort, bypassing the inspectors and approaching Fengtian Palace little by little.
After walking not far, Li Qing suddenly heard a loud noise. He was startled and quickly approached, and soon smelled the smell of smoke.
Damn, how dare you... Li Qing gritted his teeth and was about to expose himself to stop him, but he stopped himself abruptly.
Because someone has already taken action.
Li Qing went to look attentively and saw a group of more than fifty people, all carrying buckets of water. The leader, a 'little eunuch', yelled:
"Damn it, don't let the arsonist go. Whoever can catch him will be rewarded with a hundred gold coins!"
Xiao Zhanji is still very reliable... Li Qing felt relieved and quietly left during the chaos and rushed to Jinshen Hall.
Worried about being exposed, Li Qing was not very fast. When he arrived, Zhu Zhanji also arrived with his people and rushed directly into the palace. Soon, he heard begging for mercy inside.
There wasn't even a smoke rising from Jinshen Palace!
Li Qing did not go to Huagai Hall again. Zhu Zhanji had obviously made sufficient preparations and there was no need to take risks.
…
The next day, morning.
Li Qing looked at the three intact halls with a sneer in his heart. Some people's plans finally failed.
In Fengtian Hall, Zhu Di stood in front of the imperial court, his face full of anger.
The reason why he didn't sit down was because the dragon chair was burned, although it was only a little burned.
Fengtian Hall suffered almost no damage. Except for Zhu Di's dragon chair, only two red lacquered wooden pillars were burnt black, and the others were intact.
However, the fire in Fengtian Palace was extinguished, but the fire in Zhu Di's heart burned extremely strong.
His anger was unprecedentedly fierce.
