Chapter 167 Ask the common people and ask the ghosts and gods
Seeing the faint sound of Zen chanting coming from the hall, Sun Shaozong grabbed a clerk and pulled him aside to ask what was going on.
It turned out that Han Anbang was on duty last night. In the middle of the night, he heard that it was freezing , and he became very nervous - after all, the elderly are most afraid of sudden cold or heat.
It's OK for the old men in rich families, but the old men in poor families may not be able to take good care of us...
Thinking about all these things, Han Anbang tossed and turned for a long time under the foot warmer and couldn't fall asleep peacefully.
Therefore, without waiting for dawn, he sent the bailiffs on duty to investigate everywhere, and sure enough, he discovered that more than ten old men who were scheduled to go to the palace to celebrate his birthday had fallen ill.
To be honest, the proportion of these numbers is not too large, but I am afraid that an old man will fall ill and pass away tomorrow. The death of one person can be considered an accident, but if a few more die, it will be a slap in the face!
How many heads does Han Anbang have to dare to slap Emperor Guangde in the face?
So he hurriedly invited a famous doctor in the city to come and serve him, and asked for a prescription for nourishing yin, tonifying the kidneys, preventing wind and driving away cold. He set up a big pot in the front yamen to stew the medicine, and when it was ready, he asked the yamen runners to deliver it quickly throughout the city to prevent other old men from falling ill one after another.
Even so, Han Anbang still felt that this was not safe enough, so he simply invited a group of bald men from a nearby temple and held a ceremony in the lobby of Shuntian Prefecture. On the surface, he was praying for the old men, but secretly he wanted to ask the Buddha to keep his official position.
After listening to the clerk's explanation of the whole process, Sun Shaozong could not help but feel a sense of sympathy.
No wonder people say it’s hard to be a good family in Shuntian Prefecture. Just a freezing rain can actually trigger a crisis of losing one’s job!
However, sympathy aside, Sun Shaozong would not take the initiative to wade into this muddy water.
After sending the clerk away, he quietly went to the courtyard of the Criminal Law Department, brewed a pot of tribute tea brought from the Rongguo Mansion, and sipped it slowly while drinking the Northern Song Dynasty official kiln tea with a celadon glaze that had been rained on. He felt really comfortable.
"Dong Weng."
Cheng Rixing came in from outside with a smile on his face and asked, "Did you see Zhao Liben when you came here?"
"President Zhao? What happened to him?"
"The Imperial City Department sent a message yesterday."
Cheng Rixing said gloatingly, "It is said that on the day of the Wanshou Festival, auspicious signs will appear at the front gate tower, so we should maintain Shuntian Prefecture well and not cause any trouble. After hearing the news, Zhao Tongpan didn't sleep well the whole night. Today, he has a toothache and half of his face is swollen like a steamed bun!"
This is really a case of "misfortunes never come singly". The area near the imperial city that Zhao Liben is in charge of is already a high-risk area where accidents happen frequently. Now something like this has happened. I'm afraid he's going to be worried to death.
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong said with sympathy: "Don't worry, wait until his face gets more swollen, then I'll go over and take a look."
After saying this, both the master and the servant couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Sun Shaozong then pointed to the tea leaves on the table and said, "This is the tribute tea from Rongguo Mansion. Take a few ounces back to try it."
As he spoke, he evenly distributed some of the tea leaves to Cheng Rixing, and then said, "By the way, a few relatives from the south have come to my house. They are all candidates for the imperial examination. If you are free someday, you might as well pass on some of your experience in participating in the Spring Examination to them."
"From Jinling?"
Cheng Rixing's eyes lit up, and he said happily: "Anyone who can fight his way through the Jinling Imperial Examination must have some outstanding qualities. I must come to ask for your advice!"
"By the way, call my students along too - they are already familiar with you, right? "
The two were talking about the imperial examination when they heard a respectful voice outside: "I, Zhou Da, request to see you, sir."
Both the master and the servant in the room were startled, because Zhou Da often came and went, but they had never seen him "ask for a meeting" so solemnly.
Cheng Rixing then smiled and said, "I'm afraid this old Zhou has something to ask of me. I'd better go out and hide for a while."
Having said that, he went straight out of the inner room.
Not long after, Zhou Da walked in with a smile on his face, holding a beautifully carved wooden box in his hand.
He gently placed the box on the table and said with a charming smile, "Sir, you have been so busy lately, and I just don't know how to help you. I just happened to get a hundred-year-old wild ginseng. I think God is using me to give it to you as a gift!"
After hearing this, Sun Shaozong reached out and opened the lid of the box. He saw that there was indeed a complete old mountain ginseng inside, which vaguely resembled a human figure.
"I'm afraid your 'coincidence' is not cheap, right?"
Sun Shaozong closed the box again and said calmly, "If you want a promotion, just say you want a promotion. Why are you talking to me about God?"
"Sure enough, I can't hide it from the adults' discerning eyes."
Zhou Da smiled awkwardly and said, "I am just a scholar by birth, and I didn't expect to make progress. But since I followed you, sir, I have accumulated some merits thanks to your great fortune, and I have unconsciously started to think again, hehehe..."
Seeing this guy smiling with his face full of naughty bumps, Sun Shaozong felt that it was time to give him some benefits.
He has been with me for more than half a year. Apart from anything else, this face is definitely a work-related injury. I should at least give him some compensation.
Thinking of this, he pushed the old mountain ginseng back to Zhou Da and ordered: "Send this thing to the front yamen and ask the famous doctors to use it on the old men as appropriate."
"Sir! This..."
Zhou Da suddenly became a little anxious.
Sun Shaozong stopped him from talking with his eyes, and said unhappily: "You have followed me for such a long time, why haven't you made any progress? I want to recommend you for promotion, and I have to find a suitable opportunity and reason - now you send this thing forward, and everything will be ready."
Zhou Da suddenly realized it, and hurriedly thanked him profusely as he held the old mountain ginseng. He then smiled and said, "I will find a way to buy another one tomorrow and send it to you, sir!"
"That won't be necessary."
Sun Shaozong waved his hand and said, "It's good enough if you have this intention. It's not easy for you to support your whole family and four concubines."
This statement actually contains an implicit admonition and warning.
Since Zhou Da's appearance was ruined, perhaps because of his inferiority complex, he spared no expense and bought two beautiful concubines in one go!
Although this matter was not a big deal in the officialdom, it still attracted some discussion. Everyone said that after Zhou Da followed Sun Shaozong, he gained a lot of benefits - that's why Sun Shaozong made such indirect attacks.
Unfortunately, Zhou Da did not understand the real meaning of these words. Instead, he thought that Sun Shaozong was concerned about him and was so moved that he burst into tears.
Then he fell to his knees with a thud, choking with sobs, "My Lord... My Lord is truly like my second parent!"
Yes~
Judging from this, if Sun Shaozong was interested, he would recognize him as his godfather on the spot!
Judging from his cunning and vision, it seems that this guy is at most an eighth or ninth grade material. If he tries to raise him higher, he will only bring disaster to himself.
