County Magistrate Zuo walked leisurely into the backyard and saw Sister-in-law Xu directing the maids to clean the courtyard.
In the view of Zuo County Magistrate, the first beautiful thing in life is to be promoted to an official position. And the second beautiful thing is to have a good wife and concubine by his side.
Now the second beautiful thing has been realized, and as for the first beautiful thing, it will also be realized soon.
Therefore, County Magistrate Zuo was in a good mood. When he passed Sister-in-law Xu, he used his wide sleeves as a cover to squeeze Sister-in-law Xu's right hand without leaving a trace, and whispered: "I will go to your place tonight."
In front of all the maids, Sister-in-law Xu only gave County Magistrate Zuo a slight glare. Not only did that glare have no intimidating effect, but it actually made Magistrate Zuo burst out laughing.
The laughter spread to the bedroom, and the maids around Wen Min said, "My lord is back."
As soon as Wen Min put aside the work he had done, County Magistrate Zuo came in with a smile on his face.
"Why are you so happy today? Is there any happy event?" Wen Min was familiar with her husband's personality. When she saw Magistrate Zuo being so happy, she knew something good was going to happen.
Magistrate Zuo smiled and said: "The results of the county examination have come out."
It turned out to be because of this. Wen Min touched her belly and said, "Seeing that you are so happy, I guess the essays written by the candidates must be good."
"It's more than good." Magistrate Zuo said proudly: "I originally thought that even if the test questions I asked could not stump them, they would still have to worry about it. But I didn't expect that there would be so many candidates this year, especially Wei Yan.
, he is worthy of being favored by the Master of Academic Affairs, and he is really good at writing. There is also the one named Yuan Ziwen, whose literary talent is also good, but compared to Wei Yan, he is still a bit inferior."
Wei Yan, this name sounded familiar to Wen Min, and when she thought about it carefully, wasn't this Wei Yan Shen Xiu's husband-in-law?
Magistrate Zuo said: "This Wei Yan is indeed Mrs. Shen's husband. Mrs. Shen is so lucky to have such an outstandingly talented husband as Wei Yan."
"I think Wei Yan is lucky." Wen Min disagreed, "There is such a capable lady like Mrs. Shen."
Ever since Wen Min became pregnant, her temper has become more and more erratic. County Magistrate Zuo had no choice but to obey her all the time, and it was the same this time.
"Okay, okay, Madam is right. Wei Yan is the lucky one."
Only then did Wen Min feel a little more comfortable, "Don't think that only you men can be successful. We women can still live well without you men. If you don't believe it, we'll just wait and see."
Magistrate Zuo smiled bitterly and said: "Madam, where did you start talking about this? I never dare to look down on women, especially a woman like Madam."
After County Magistrate Zuo finished speaking, he felt that the topic had gone too far, so he talked about the county examination again, "This Wei Yan is indeed a talented person. I originally wanted to name him as the head of the case. Unfortunately, Mr. Lu said hello to me.
, let me take care of his future niece-in-law."
"Who is the niece-in-law of the Lu family?" Wen Min asked.
County Magistrate Zuo said: "That's that Yuan Ziwen. Yuan Ziwen is engaged to Mr. Lu's niece. Although he has not yet been engaged, he can be regarded as the son-in-law of the Lu family. Mr. Lu has never asked me for help in these years, but now he says,
I really can’t say no."
"What about Wei Yan?" Wen Min said, "I seem to remember that Master Xuezheng particularly appreciated him."
Magistrate Zuo said: "Master Xuezheng appreciates Wei Yan very much, but he only asked me to give him a set of history books. If there was no matter about the Lu family, I would definitely name him as the head of the case."
"The Lu family are relatives, and Mr. Lu has helped me a lot. After much thought, I still think it would be better to name Yuan Ziwen as the head of the case."
Wen Min didn't have much favorable impressions of the Lu family. Now that he saw the Zuo County Magistrate abandoning the Wei Banquet and choosing Yuan Ziwen, he said, "I don't think this is appropriate."
Magistrate Zuo then asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen Min slowly said: "It is true that the Lu family are relatives, but Mr. Lu only asked you to take care of him, and did not insist that you put Yuan Ziwen at the head of the case. As long as Yuan Ziwen can have a front position, you can be considered
I feel sorry for the Lu family.
And if you name Yuan Ziwen as the head of the case, his talents and learning are not as good as Wei Yan after all. When the results of the county examination come out in the future, what do you think the mountain chief and other masters will think.
They will definitely say that you do not distinguish between public and private affairs and favor the Lu family. It would be better if this word cannot be spread. If it is spread, firstly, it will hinder your official reputation. Secondly, if this word reaches the academic affairs master, how can you
Don’t you want to offend the other party?”
Wen Min's analysis was reasonable and reasonable. Magistrate Zuo couldn't help but nodded, "Madam, you are right. I only thought that Yuan Ziwen was talented and learned well. It is not too biased to name him as the leader of the case, but I forgot that Yuan Ziwen was the leader of the case."
What would the mountain chief and his masters think?"
Magistrate Zuo really wanted to repay the Lu family, but he loved his official reputation more. So after weighing it, he made up his mind, "Then the position of head of the case should be replaced by Wei Yan!"
Wen Min said: "It's up to you to decide. I'm just reminding you a few words."
Magistrate Zuo said: "Madam, there is no need to be too modest. In terms of knowledge and foresight, Madam is no less than a man. I will rely on Madam in many ways from now on."
Even though Wen Min knew that Magistrate Zuo was trying to flatter her, she couldn't hide her pride because these words came to her ears, "It's good that you know."
That night, County Magistrate Zuo had dinner with Wen Min and talked to him for a while before going to Sister-in-law Xu's place.
Sister-in-law Xu lives in the wing next door. It is already February, but the spring is still cold. In addition to the charcoal basin, there is also a small red clay stove on which a pot of duck porridge is stewed.
"I know you've had dinner at Madam's place." Sister-in-law Xu brought the bowls and chopsticks and said, "But Madam likes to eat sweets lately, so you must not be full, right?"
Wen Min likes to eat sweets very much recently, and even the staple food is peanut and walnut porridge. The left county magistrate doesn't like to eat sweets, so he was eating with Wen Min just now, and he really didn't feel full.
When Sister-in-law Xu served the duck porridge, County Magistrate Zuo smiled when he smelled the aroma, "This duck porridge smells delicious. It would be even better if there are pickles to go with the porridge."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sister-in-law Xu brought two plates of pickles, which were pickled radish and pickled cucumber that County Magistrate Zuo loved to eat.
County Magistrate Zuo ate duck porridge with pickles and laughed while eating: "Meat porridge with pickles, I wouldn't change it even if you gave me a god at this time."
Sister-in-law Xu pursed her lips and smiled: "Adults just like to joke. It's just a bowl of duck porridge."
Under the light, Sister-in-law Xu's smile was very charming.
County Magistrate Zuo couldn't help but pinch her arm, "Mrs., you haven't been angry with me these days, have you?"
Sister-in-law Xu shook her head and said: "No, Madam is a generous person and treats me well."
Magistrate Zuo said: "Then I'll be relieved." Then he told Sister-in-law Xu exactly what he said to Wen Min.
"This is why I respect my wife. After all, she comes from a wealthy family and has a lot of experience. She can help me in many places."
Sister-in-law Xu ignored Magistrate Zuo's excuse and focused on Wei Yan.
"Sir, do you think Wei Yan is Madam Shen's husband-in-law?"
County Magistrate Zuo said: "That's right. By the way, you also know Mrs. Shen. Please invite her to the county government office when you have time in the future. I am very sophisticated in my articles at the Guanwei Banquet. I have already mastered the essence of eight-part essay. I won't worry about taking the exam in the future. Down."
Sister-in-law Xu didn't expect that County Magistrate Zuo had such a high opinion of Wei Yan, so she immediately thought, "I'll post it to her later." But then she thought of something else.
"Sir, we will leave office in March. Isn't it a bit redundant to be friendly with others at this time?" Sister-in-law Xu asked.
Magistrate Zuo put down his chopsticks and said, "Why is it superfluous? If Wei Yan is really promising, we will all be officials in the same court in the future, and sooner or later we will have the opportunity to meet. Just do what I want."