Chapter 121 Things Have Changed, Some Are Happy While Others Are Sad
Because people had to be assigned to deal with the disaster, the government office was noticeably quieter than usual; even half of the runners on duty at the gate were missing.
Sun Shaozong signed in at the check-in office, and after finding out that Liu Zhizhong was not in the city at the moment, he went straight to Han Fuyin's office. As one of the examiners, Jia Yucun had to wait until the rankings of the autumn examination were decided before he could leave the Imperial Examination Hall.
After asking his subordinates to report, Sun Shaozong waited in the flower hall for about half a quarter of an hour before he saw Han Anbang walk in hunched over. Not only was his face pale, but even his hair was a lot grayer.
What's going on?
I haven’t heard that his wife and child died recently?
Could it be that he was anxious and angry because of the disaster victims outside the city?
But it shouldn’t be like this, right?
It is said that this time the emperor has distributed a large amount of silver [most likely the proceeds from the confiscation of the He family], so the emotions of the victims are very stable, and there is no intention of rebelling.
Sun Shaozong was thinking about all sorts of things in his mind, but on the surface he bowed without looking away: "Your humble servant pays respect to the prefect."
“Cough cough cough…”
Han Anbang didn't say anything, but coughed a few times, his face flushed and he was out of breath.
Just when Sun Shaozong was hesitating whether to go forward and help him, he finally squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Sit down."
As he spoke, he hunched over and sat down in the main seat.
Sun Shaozong waited for him to sit down, then he lowered his butt and said, "I have just handed over the job of inspector of the Autumn Examination, but the governor happened to be out of the city, so I came to report to the prefect."
Normally, Han Anbang should have said a few words of encouragement and then politely served the guest tea.
However, after Sun Shaozong finished speaking, he saw Han Anbang staring at him with gloomy eyes and a dejected face.
Sun Shaozong felt uncomfortable just by looking at him, but he didn't dare to ask him the reason - otherwise, if Han Anbang took advantage of the situation and assigned him some difficult task, wouldn't he be at a loss?
After an awkward silence for a while, Han Anbang finally spoke quietly, "When did Liu Zhizhong get in touch with Rongguo Mansion?"
Hey!
How did this traitor Liu Chongshan get exposed?
Could it be that because of this incident, Han Fuyin was devastated to such an extent?
Then isn't his mental endurance too fragile?
While complaining in his heart, Sun Shaozong had a puzzled look on his face: "What do you mean, sir? Why don't I understand?"
"hehe……"
Han Anbang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Since Lord Sun doesn't want to tell the truth, just pretend that I didn't say anything."
As he spoke, he cupped his hands again and said, "I would like to congratulate Lord Sun in advance on his promotion to the position of Zhizhong."
Today, the prefect's words were really incoherent.
"Your Excellency is joking."
Not knowing what was going on, Sun Shaozong could only say casually, "I have only been the Tongpan for more than half a year. Even if Lord Liu gets promoted, I'm afraid it won't be my turn to succeed him."
Han Anbang shook his head and said, "You are mistaken. Although civil officials are valued more than military officials nowadays, your transfer from a sixth-rank commander to a sixth-rank assistant judge is still considered a horizontal transfer in the court system. Your term of office should be counted from the spring of the eighth year of Guangde."
Is there such a good thing?
If that's the case, I've been in office for two and a half years. Although it's still a little short of the three-year term, I have made a lot of contributions, so being promoted twice is not too eye-catching...
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but feel a little eager in his heart. After staying in the small courtyard for more than half a year, he had long been eyeing Liu Chongshan's five main rooms!
Besides, only by becoming a court official will he be qualified to compete with Jia Yucun in the future!
So he couldn't help but ask, "From what you said, sir, Liu Zhizhong is going to be promoted?"
Han Anbang stared at him for a long while before sighing, "It seems you really don't know about this - well, go down first."
Damn~
This bitch just whetted other people's appetite, but suddenly ordered them to leave!
Sun Shaozong was complaining in his heart, but he did not slow down at all. He stood up, bowed and said, "Then I will take my leave."
Having said that, he walked out without any reluctance.
As the old saying goes, it’s not a good deal if you rush for something!
If I were really thrown into a state of confusion by a few words from Han Anbang, wouldn't I be led by him by the nose in the future?
Besides, Han Anbang's changes were so obvious that it was impossible that no one in the government office had noticed it. If I went back and asked around, it wouldn't be difficult to find out what had happened during this period of time.
"Lord Sun!"
As soon as I walked out of Han Anbang's yard, I heard someone greet me crisply.
Sun Shaozong turned around and saw Chen Zhichuang, a seventh-rank official in charge of paperwork in the mansion.
When he first took office, this man named Chen had made things difficult for him.
But at this moment, Chen Zhichuang was smiling like a chrysanthemum, and he came up like a pug, leaning his shoulder and flatteringly said, "When did you come out of the Imperial Examination Hall? I heard from the scholars yesterday that this year's autumn examination was much more disciplined than in previous years, and they all praised you, the inspector general!"
"Chen has been praised."
Sun Shaozong said calmly: "This is all due to the good leadership of Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Rites. I am just following orders. Why should I be praised so highly?"
"Of course, of course, sir, you deserve it!"
If Sun Shaozong had been unhappy in the past, he would most likely have retreated in embarrassment, but this time his enthusiasm did not diminish in the slightest, and he kept flattering him.
Seeing him like this, Sun Shaozong realized that he must have received some inside information and knew that he was about to be promoted to the position of governor, so he became so enthusiastic.
Of course, serving as the Inspector General of the Autumn Examination was also a big plus - with this connection, Sun Shaozong, the outlier in the civil service system, was not as conspicuous as he had initially been.
It’s not easy to ask any questions in front of Han Anbang’s door.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong said a few perfunctory words without leaving a trace, turned around and returned to the Criminal Law Department, but immediately sent Zhou Da to find Chen Zhichuang to inquire about the news.
It turns out that Chen Zhichuang knows the inside story!
It turned out that during the time when Sun Shaozong was inspecting the autumn examination, the people of Shuntian Prefecture were also busy with the disaster victims outside the city.
Later, the emperor allocated a large sum of money for disaster relief, and the disaster situation was alleviated. Han Anbang and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This relaxation will inevitably lead to evil thoughts.
It just so happened that Jia Yucun and Sun Shaozong were not at home, and the only person in Jia's faction was Fu Shi, a newcomer. Han Anbang thought about killing the chicken to scare the monkey, first finding Fu Shi's weakness and taking the opportunity to turn the tables.
How could he not invite his ally Liu Zhizhong to participate in such a major event?
However, Han Anbang had no idea that Liu Chongshan had actually secretly defected to Jia Yucun!
On the surface, he was helping with advice, but when Han Anbang made his move, he immediately submitted a secret memorial to impeach Han Anbang for framing his colleagues.
Then Han Anbang was caught red-handed by the censor!
Although the court's decision has not yet been made, it is unlikely that Han Anbang will be able to keep his seat as prefect - of course, Jia Yucun has only been in office for a short time, and unlike Sun Shaozong who has made many outstanding achievements, it may not be easy for him to succeed.
As for Liu Zhizhong, because of his meritorious service in reporting the case and the fact that he had taken advantage of Sun Shaozong, he had been included in the list of people to be sent out to other provinces. At the latest by the end of the year, he would be sent to another province to serve as a pacification envoy [fourth rank].
As for the position of governor he left behind, no one else could hold it except Sun Shaozong, who was known as the "divine decision maker".
