The bottom-up "statement" of the Ming Dynasty worked like this: memorials, large and small, were compiled by the general affairs envoy, and the chief ceremonial officer submitted them to the emperor for review, and then handed them over to the cabinet. The cabinet was responsible for drafting the handling opinions, and then the secretary
The ceremonial supervisor submitted his opinions to the emperor for approval, and was finally reviewed and issued by the Sixth Section Examiner. The smooth flow of speech can, to a certain extent, reflect the political clarity of the empire.
Zhang Ning guessed from the information revealed by Wang Zhen that the memorial to impeach him actually failed. After passing through the General Affairs Commission, it was regarded as a meaningless memorial when the Secretary of Ceremonies reported it to the emperor.
That is to say, Zhang He's memorial did not reach the hands of the ministers. However, Zhang Ning took into account Yang Shiqi's status and the great power of the cabinet minister to participate in the six ministries. It is very likely that the people from the General Affairs Department will take the memorial.
The content told Yang Shiqi that after all, the person being impeached was his prospective son-in-law.
Therefore, Zhang Ning felt that this matter could no longer be covered up, so instead of avoiding it, he should take the initiative to confess to Yang Shiqi to show his sincerity.
After getting off duty one day, he went straight to the Yang Mansion to submit a message asking for an audience. Most of the servants in the Yang Mansion knew Zhang Ning and knew about his relationship with the Yang family, so they quickly informed him. He met Yang Shiqi in the living room, and soon Luo
Yaoniang also came. Since she was at home, Yang Shiqi didn't ask her to avoid it.
I saw Luo Yaoniang wearing a pink cross-collar skirt, a floral short top and a long skirt. She was dressed simply and neatly, and she was giving gifts. She really looked like a homely lady, which was different from the image she sometimes saw riding a horse.
Because she was different. However, her curved eyebrows were long and thin, her eyes were lively, and her face showed that she was not weak and gentle. She also had a plump figure, and she was tall, which gave Zhang Ning an illusion.
It is not easy for anyone to bully her.
Because her father was present and had not yet walked through the door, Zhang Ning could not keep a close eye on her, so she turned to Yang Shiqi and said, "I received a letter from home not long ago. I remembered something important and thought I should tell the truth to Mr. Yang...
…”
While he was talking, he secretly observed Yang Shiqi's expression. His wrinkled and yellow old face looked calm and kind. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart: Did Yang Shiqi still not know about that?
"As for the life experience of this younger generation, according to the preface of my late concubine's lifetime, I was not born to the Zhang family, but a baby found more than 20 years ago. I was still in my infancy at the time and knew nothing about it. Therefore, I have always been a child.
The Zhang family's parents were biological, and everyone in the family and neighbors treated me as such, so much so that when I took the county examination, I asked a student from the same county to act as a guarantor, and two students from the same county thought it didn't matter. And because my adoptive parents treated me like family with kindness,
I have forgotten about this matter for many years, but now that it is a major event in my life, my uncle mentioned it in his family letter. I just woke up from a dream and realized that I had made a mistake in not telling Mr. Yang as early as possible. Isn't it too late now?"
Yang Shiqi listened carefully, with a trace of surprise on his face. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Did Ping An's biological parents leave any tokens, such as birthdays and so on?"
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ning felt that Yang Shiqi might not really know about the memorial for the time being, but since the matter had been exposed, it couldn't be hidden... Of course, Zhang Ning would not say that he knew about the memorial. It was common sense.
There was no way for him to know anything about it. From the memorial to the Secretary of General Affairs and then to the Supervisor of Rites, it was not a place where the head of the Ministry of Rites could intervene; Wang Zhen was now an unknown little eunuch, and no one knew that Zhang Ning had a
The neighbor works as a eunuch in the palace, and they still have contact with each other.
He then replied: "There is no real thing left. Everything is based on what my late concubine said during his lifetime, and my uncle and aunt at home also know about it."
As long as he doesn't take out his things, who will search his house? If it gets to that point, everything will be useless. Zhang Ning's lies come out of his mouth. He feels that he is still a very sincere person, maybe in modern times
This is what people are like. In his previous life, he really had no pressure to lie. He had to make up all kinds of baseless excuses almost every day.
Yang Shiqi asked calmly: "Ping'an will be twenty-three years old this year?"
"Yes." Zhang Ning replied.
Yang Shiqi sighed slightly and said: "Body, hair, and skin are gifts from parents. No matter what, parents are kind to their children. You can't forget it casually. If you can find your biological parents, you should be filial to them."
Zhang Ning said hurriedly: "What Yang Gong taught is that this junior will definitely try to find out."
After telling him that something happened, Zhang Ning left soon after.
After he left, Yang Shiqi immediately said to Luo Yaoniang: "This matter is a bit troublesome."
Luo Yaoniang also felt something mysterious at this time and asked: "Dad, what you mean is that it doesn't matter that he was adopted by the Zhang family, but his age is too coincidental?"
Yang Shiqi nodded and frowned: "That's right. From a common sense point of view, people adopted from childhood are regarded as the adoptive parents. It's not a big problem in itself, but... if he is only one year older, this won't be a problem.
"
"Dad must have a way!" Luo Yaoniang said anxiously.
Yang Shiqi looked at her and sighed: "As a father, you have to find a way even if you have no choice."
After hearing this, Luo Yaoniang smiled happily, looked at him with admiration and said coquettishly: "There is nothing in this world that dad cannot do."
"Let's just pretend that this is not the case for now. There probably aren't many people who know about it, otherwise it wouldn't be so easy for the health officials in Shangyuan County to vouch for him." Yang Shiqi said thoughtfully, "But Zhang Ping'an has entered the officialdom.
, the officialdom is a muddy place, and it is difficult for someone to have no political enemies. In the future, people may find shortcomings and use them as a means of attack. The best way is to find his biological parents to support him, firstly, to fulfill his filial piety, and secondly,
If you are upright, you will not be afraid of a crooked shadow, and others will not be able to catch your weak spots."
Luo Yaoniang showed a trace of sadness: "But the world is so big that there is no token. Where can I find it? If I could find it, his adoptive parents have passed away, and he should have found someone to recognize him long ago."
At this moment, the housekeeper came over and said, "Sir, Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites has sent in a message, and he is just outside the door."
"Please come in quickly." Yang Shiqi said without hesitation. Lu Zhen was an important minister in the imperial court and a rare ally. Even Yang Shiqi had to try his best to win over and maintain him; there was also a great scholar Yang Rong, both of whom had the same surname of Yang, but Yang Shiqi felt
He is wary and prejudiced against himself. In short, this is how it is in officialdom. No matter how good you are in life, there is no guarantee that someone will dislike you.
He turned to Luo Yaoniang and said, "I am meeting guests here, please stay out of the way."
Because Luo Yaoniang was worried about Zhang Ning's affairs and didn't make it clear just now, she didn't want to go back to the inner palace, so she said, "I'll go behind the curtain for a while and wait for the guests to leave before coming out."
"It's okay." Yang Shiqi didn't force it. He still trusted his adopted daughter. And since she was not his biological daughter, he was not strict in his discipline. He was afraid of being beaten and scolded, which would make his daughter's family careless. He just loved her.
After Yang Shiqi gave the instructions, he walked out. Just a few steps out of the living room, he saw the housekeeper coming in with Lu Zhen and his son-in-law. Yang Shiqi hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "I went out to greet you. I was a step too slow to meet you from a distance. I looked at Lu
Brother Haihan."
The housekeeper also cooperated and said: "I was afraid that Mr. Lu would be waiting outside for a long time, so I hurriedly welcomed him in."
Lu Zhen smiled and replied: "I have feet, and I am not afraid of being rude and presumptuous. I just came in by myself, haha!"
"Invite Lao Hong inside and ask for some good tea." Yang Shiqi made a gesture of invitation.
The housekeeper agreed. Then the young bureaucrat behind Lu Zhen also bowed and said: "I'll see Mr. Yang when I'm studying."
"Okay." Yang Shiqi stroked his beard and looked at him with a smile.
The three of them entered the living room, and the guests and hosts took their seats. The servants who were waiting for the tea went down. Lu Zhen suddenly changed his face and shouted sternly: "Kneel down!" Yang Shiqi was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that of course he was not told to kneel down. You, I, have nothing else to do now. Who else does the emperor need to kneel to?
As expected, the person kneeling was Zhang He, Lu Zhen's son-in-law. The young man simply knelt down in front of Yang Shiqi as soon as his knees softened.
Yang Shiqi hurriedly stood up and asked, "What are you doing?" If it were another sixth-grade Beijing official who knelt down to him, he would have accepted it, but in front of his elders, how could Yang Shiqi be so easy to support?
Zhang He couldn't get up, so he bowed and said, "I did something wrong carelessly, so I came to apologize to Mr. Yang."
Yang Shiqi asked: "What have you done wrong? How can you apologize to me? Mr. Lu will teach you."
Zhang He said: "I will first apologize to my father-in-law, and then my father-in-law will bring me to confess my fault to Yang. It's like this. A while ago, I received an anonymous tip at home, which was about the life experience of my colleague Zhang Ping'an, the head of the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette. There is something fishy. The younger generation is timid and does not dare to hide it secretly for fear of causing trouble, so he wrote a note and handed it to the General Secretary..."
Yang Shiqi suddenly felt slightly surprised and said to himself: You are afraid of getting into trouble, but isn't there Lu Zhen, the father-in-law? If you don't talk to me first, at least discuss it with your father-in-law. That is your own family, and Lu Zhen Even if I marry my daughter to you, will I still worry about harming you?
Zhang He explained at this time: "Afterwards, I remembered to tell my father-in-law about this. When my father-in-law heard about it, he quickly brought me to apologize."
Lu Zhen also had a distressed expression: "When I heard that Zhang Ping'an was being impeached, I remembered the last time I listened to a play at Brother Yang's house. It seemed that Brother Yang and the Zhang family had already entered into a marriage contract... This kid stabbed someone in the back. It really makes me sad!"
Yang Shiqi calmly wondered to himself whether the two young men named Zhang had any grudges in private.
But of course it is difficult for him to ask questions verbally. Once he asks questions like this, not only will the people below him become grudges, but it will also affect his relationship with Lu Zhen. No matter how prejudiced he is against Zhang He, he can only pretend to be generous. Yang Shiqi then stepped forward to help Zhang He: "It's not a big deal to get up and speak. There is no need to do this. Jingxiang (zi) is still young and lacks experience. People are bound to make mistakes in their work. Gradually, he will make progress with the guidance of Lu Gong. .”
"Junior, I will kowtow to you three times to admit my mistake." Zhang He kowtowed with sincerity on his face. If it weren't for the fact that they are both scholars, Lu Zhen might have come up to slap him in the mouth with his angry look.
Yang Shiqi thought it was a coincidence that as soon as Ping An came to speak, Lu Zhen brought his son-in-law to admit his mistake... Could it be that Ping An came to speak out after knowing that he had been impeached?
He thought about it and rejected the idea in his mind: Zhang He was obviously doing things behind his back, and it was impossible for him to say hello to Ping An. Ping An had no way of knowing the content of the memorial.
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