Song Xiang splashed ink and wrote down the three characters "Shou Yi Lou". He carefully replaced it with a small pen and wrote the inscription. He stamped his own calligraphy private seal with the word "Bo Xiang" engraved on it. He put down the brush and wiped his hands while crooked.
He raised his head to examine the thickly ink handwriting and asked with a smile: "Special Envoy Su, can you still read it?"
Su Jin saw that the calligraphy had a straight skeleton and a decent layout, and the character showed quite a bit of character. He sincerely praised: "Song Fuzun is such a good calligraphy. No wonder so many people are flocking to it to be honored by Fuzun's calligraphy."
Song Xiang stroked his beard and laughed and said: "For those who read, poetry and books are the center, and characters are the form. The form is the outside, the center is the inside, and they are indispensable. Otherwise, how can we be regarded as a serious reader?"
Su Jin smiled and said: "I'm ashamed, I'm useless next time."
Song Xiang said: "You are different. You have not yet entered an official position and cannot be considered a serious scholar. However, this is just my family's opinion. I have heard about Special Envoy Su's literary talent for a long time. If I have some free time later in the day, I would like to discuss it with the Special Envoy.
What’s going on?”
Seeing his proud look, Su Jin thought to himself: Is it great to be a scholar? Look at your virtues. You don't realize that you have been deceived by others, and you are still complacent. Look, I have trampled on your bullshit. Are you still happy?
It still took some tea time for the ink to dry, so Su Jin walked over and dismissed the boy waiting at the study door, closed the study door and walked to Song Xiang.
Song Xiang was a little puzzled. This guy was so sneaky and didn't know what to say.
"Your Excellency, I have an important matter here that I don't know whether to talk about or not." Su Jin said hesitantly.
Song Xiang said: "Special Envoy Su always speaks when he has something to say. When did he become so reserved?"
"It's not that I'm reserved, I'm just afraid that speaking out will spoil the Lord's good mood, so I'm a little hesitant."
"But it doesn't matter. Do you want to search for grain harvesting? This matter is not easy, but I really can't help you in this matter. If you want to find someone familiar with the situation, I will appoint Yangzhou Chang.
Mr. Sifan, the director of Hengcang, is here to listen to your arrangements and inquiries."
Su Jin smiled and said: "I'm not busy with this. What I want to say is about something about the reputation of Lord Fu Zun. I just learned about it today. It's really stuck in my throat and I can't spit it out."
Song Xiang was surprised and said: "About me? I have always kept myself clean, what will happen to my reputation?"
Su Jindao: "I will tell you what you are doing. I will correct it if it is not the case, and encourage you if it is not. But I ask you to be realistic and truthful, because this is really related to your reputation, so I have to be cautious about what you do."
Seeing Su Jin's solemn words, Song Xiang nodded and said: "Your Majesty, please don't betray me, just say it."
Su Jindao: "Just now I asked you for help. Your Excellency once said that you helped Mr. Guo, the judge, to inscribe a copy of the word 'Fugui Tower', right? In addition, have you ever helped anyone else to write the same calligraphy?"
Song Xiang said: "Although I am not very proficient in calligraphy, and it is difficult to compare with others in ink calligraphy, I still treasure it for myself. Waiting for idlers to ask me to write inscriptions is not allowed. It is like 'Fugui Lou' and other vulgarities."
How can I be willing to inscribe the plaque casually unless I can't show my face? Even the special envoy, my government is grateful to Special Envoy Su for resolving my difficulties in Yangzhou, so I agreed."
Su Jin nodded and said: "Thank you Lord Song for your kindness, but I saw a plaque of 'Fugui Tower' inscribed by your Excellency on a private pavilion in Yangzhou. How can I explain this?"
Song Xiang was surprised and said: "Private pavilion? Is it from Yangzhou Mansion?"
Su Jin smiled and nodded.
"It's absolutely impossible that I didn't know that the plaque inscribed by me was the private residence of one of his relatives. His residence was far away in Daming Prefecture. How could there be a second home in Yangzhou?"
Su Jin said: "But I saw it with my own eyes, and the owner of the house also said that the plaque was given by the Lord of the Palace. This is strange."
Song Xiang said: "Whose house is it? Don't you know that I wrote the inscription myself?"
"The owner of that house is Mr. Feng Jingyao who is said by adults to be a charitable man who paved roads and built bridges to benefit Yangzhou. This time you should remember it."
Song Xiang looked confused and frowned: "He and I have never been together. Feng Jingyao asked someone to invite me several times, but I didn't like to make friends with big businessmen, so I refused them all. During the New Year, Feng Jingyao also prepared gifts for me.
Here, how can I ask for his gifts and return them one by one? I have never had a close relationship with him, so how can I even write an inscription to give them to him?"
Su Jin carefully observed Song Xiang's face, trying to find evidence from his expression that Song Xiang was lying, but Song Xiang's expression was innocent, as if he was really confused, and he strengthened his judgment in his heart. This Magistrate Song was afraid that he was being lied to.
People took advantage of it.
"It's strange that the Song Dynasty has inscribed the 'Fugui Tower' plaque to Lord Tongpan Guo, but there is no other second time. How come this plaque ended up on the lintel of Feng Jingyao's private residence? Could it be that Feng Jingyao is Guo
The Lord's family member? This word is for him?"
"It is absolutely impossible. Mr. Guo is from Huazhou, Lingnan, and Feng Jingyao is said to be from Xijing. The two places are thousands of miles apart. How can they become relatives? Moreover, when I took office as the governor of Yangzhou, Feng Jingyao had already settled in Yangzhou for more than ten years.
Mr. Guo was promoted from the county magistrate of Hua Prefecture by the imperial court to work with me. The two of them have never met before, and there is no way they are relatives."
"That's it..." Su Jin pretended to think: "Is it possible that Guo Tongpan secretly transferred the words you gave to Feng Jingyao? Maybe the two of them have a close relationship, and Feng Jingyao can't please you, the prefect, so
Is this a way to show off his face and let everyone know that he has a close personal relationship with the prefect?"
"This... is there any reason to transfer a plaque inscribed by someone else to a gift? Besides, what is the use of Feng Jingyao hanging this plaque? We have no personal friendship with him, and even hanging this plaque cannot change this fact."
Su Jin sighed: "Don't you, Mr. Fu Zun, know that there is a saying called 'Pull a tiger skin to make a big flag'? What would a Yangzhou official think if he saw your inscription? Mr. Fu Zun is indeed selfless with this person.
But others don’t know the truth. At least as far as I am concerned, when I saw this plaque, my first reaction was: Mr. Fu Zun was very close to this Feng Jingyao, so much so that Feng Jingyao
Even if I make any small request to the envoy, I will not refuse it for the sake of the Lord's personal relationship with him; to put it bluntly, this is using your prestige to give him a prestige."
Song Xiang frowned and said, "But it's true that I didn't inscribe it as a gift to him? It would be too outrageous for Feng Jingyao to do this."
Su Jin leaned into Song Xiang's ear and whispered: "This is the crux of the problem. How much do you know about Mr. Feng? Do you know what he has done? Do you know that Feng Jingyao is here?
How is the reputation among the public?"
Song Xiang shook his head blankly and said: "How can I understand an unrelated person so thoroughly?"
Su Jin said: "This is my lord's negligence. Just now you said that Feng Jingyao was good at charity and helped the government. This man is well-known in Yangzhou, and he seems to be such a prominent figure under his rule. As a prefect, he should pay more attention to it, but the governor doesn't do it at all."
I don’t understand, this is a bit outrageous.”
Song Xiang said anxiously: "I don't regard him as a prominent figure in my heart. He, like everyone else, is a citizen of Yangzhou. There are hundreds of thousands of people under my rule in Yangzhou. Am I still unable to find out the details one by one?
"
Su Jin was completely speechless with him. This fool was simply unreasonable. His logic was actually good, but it was just too dogmatic. As an official with one parent, how could he treat the people under his rule equally? How could the prominent figures in Yangzhou City not be ranked in order?
Classification, treating everyone equally is bullshit. Can you treat a lion and a little white rabbit equally? The little white rabbit will let you stroke and play with it, but the lion will swallow you up before your hand even touches it.
Su Jin sneered and said: "Your Excellency, I might as well make it clear to you that my envoy has caught the evidence that Feng Jingyao colluded to corrupt Yangzhou officials. Although it is not perfect, it has begun to emerge; besides, I also have witnesses for Feng Jingyao's involvement in grain harvesting.
, I am just afraid that this matter will implicate the Lord of the Palace, so I confided in Your Majesty; if Lord Song thinks that I, Su Jin, am meddlesome, just pretend that I have not said anything."
Song Xiang stared at Su Jin and said hesitantly: "You mean... I, the Yangzhou official, and Feng Jingyao colluded to collect grain for profit?"
Su Jindao: "I can't say whether they colluded to make profits or not. There is still a lack of evidence. However, under your rule, Feng Jingyao controlled the corruption of officials."
Song Xiang slammed the table and shouted: "Special Envoy Su, when you speak, you must provide evidence, and you cannot talk nonsense."
Su Jin slapped the table twice with his palm, and also shouted: "Wake up Song Fu Zun, don't have your sweet dream of ruling Qingping, your Yangzhou government office is already riddled with holes, your
Most of the subordinate officials in the administration have been controlled by Feng Jingyao. Feng Jingyao privately stocked more than one million dan of grain. You are still kept in the dark about these things. Your inscription hangs high in Feng Jingyao's private house. If things happen, can you protect me wisely?