Chapter 210 Mei Hanlin
The two hit it off immediately, the Mei family made the deposit, and Baoqin's father also gave the gift. Then, Mei Hanlin delivered the several thousand taels of silver sent by Baoqin's father directly to the chief official of the palace of the second son of the emperor, the King of Nanyue.
This senior official helped the Second Prince to find a real position for the Mei family.
But Baoqin's father passed away the second year after the engagement, and her mother was seriously ill. Although Xue Ke was somewhat capable, he was still young and had to take care of his mother and sister, so his business naturally fell into decline.
In this way, the Xue family had lost their last bit of use to the Mei family. Naturally, the Mei family looked down on this girl from the second branch of the Xue family, which was why they avoided seeing Xue Ke when he came to visit them before.
Originally, he wanted to drag the Xue family to cancel the engagement, but unexpectedly, someone from the Ministry of Personnel sent a message, telling him not to cut off his career path. After all, he was a Hanlin scholar, and what was the point of bullying a family of orphans and a widow?
If it was anyone else, the Mei family would have turned a deaf ear to it, but the person who delivered the message was none other than the official in the Ministry of Personnel who was in charge of his seal of office.
As a result, the Mei family had no choice but to bite the bullet and cancel the engagement.
And there is a saying that goes, if we break up, I won't allow you to live better than me, and now Mei Hanlin has this mentality. Moreover, he also hates the Xue family in his heart, why didn't he say earlier that he wanted to recognize Guanjun Hou as his godparents? If he married Guanjun Hou's goddaughter, what would he need to go through to get an official position?
"What a great Xue family! It turns out they have climbed up the social ladder!" Mei Hanlin said gritting his teeth.
However, he rolled his eyes and said, "Go prepare a generous gift."
After the servant prepared the gifts, Mei Hanlin went out and headed straight for the Palace of the King of Nanyue.
When they arrived at the palace gate, Mei Hanlin smiled and stuffed a small piece of silver into the doorman's pocket before saying, "I know the official Cheng in the palace well. Please help inform him."
Because Mei Hanlin had been here twice before, the man knew him. After receiving the money, he immediately said, "Wait over there. I'll pass the message for you."
After waiting for about half an hour, an official in a green official robe came out.
Mei Hanlin hurried forward and said, "I am Mei Dexing, your humble servant. I greet the chief official!"
The official nodded his chin and said, "Mr. Mei, what's the matter with you? If it's about your official position, then you don't have to worry. It's just that the Ministry of Personnel can't intervene directly. But the Ministry of Personnel has to give face to the prince. You've been waiting for many years anyway, so there's no need to rush in the next few days."
"Since the chief official is helping to explain this matter to His Majesty, I am naturally not worried. I came here today because I have been wronged and I want to ask the chief official to make a decision."
"Oh?" The official raised his eyebrows. "Could it be that someone else can bully your Mei family?"
Mei Hanlin is indeed an old actor. When he heard the question from the official, he burst into tears and said, "Your Excellency the official also knows that my son was engaged to the daughter of the second branch of the Xue family in Jinling. But I never thought that the Xue family would climb up the social ladder. The Xue family girl who my son was engaged to called the Marquis of Guanjun her brother."
"You are just looking down on my Mei family. You asked Lord Xin, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, to pass on a message, saying that if my Mei family does not take the initiative to cancel the engagement, then the official position will never be granted, not to mention the message from Lord Xin, even if the prince himself asks for it."
"My Mei family is a small family, how dare we offend the Marquis of Guanjun? Even if we immediately cancel the marriage, it will bring shame to the Lord Changli and the prince. Therefore, I have come to apologize to the Lord Changli!"
I have to say that apart from turning things upside down, Mei Hanlin guessed the process pretty well.
Cheng Changli narrowed his eyes, "Marquis of Guanjun? He seems to be favored by the emperor."
"Master Mei, please come in with me first. I will go and report to the prince first!"
The two men entered from the corner door, then went straight forward. After a while, they arrived at the front yard. Cheng Changli asked Mei Hanlin to wait in the side hall, and he went forward again.
The layout and area of this palace are even larger than those of the Ning and Rong palaces. After walking for nearly a quarter of an hour, Cheng Changli entered the front hall.
"Eunuch Zhao, I have something to ask the prince. Please let him know on my behalf."
A young eunuch nodded, and then went straight to the inner house!
After an unknown amount of time, the young eunuch returned and said, "Official, please follow me!"
Soon after they passed the front hall, they arrived at the outer study, where the emperor's second son, Li Wei, was sitting.
"Your subordinate greets His Majesty!"
Li Wei put down the book in his hand and asked, "What's the matter?"
Then, the official recounted what Mei Hanlin had said! After listening, Li Wei raised his eyebrows and smiled, "It is said that it is better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage. This Guanjun Marquis is a bit too overbearing. However, this Guanjun Marquis does have some means. Not only does he please His Majesty, but even the Queen is very close to him."
"But a minister is a minister, and a king is a king. It is not good to cross the line!"
"Come closer and listen!"
Cheng Changli came forward, and Li Wei whispered something in his ear. Upon hearing this, Changli said solemnly, "Your Majesty, this Guanjun Marquis is now deeply loved by His Majesty, and he is also in charge of the Beijing Camp. If there is a stalemate, wouldn't it implicate Your Majesty and offend His Majesty?"
"Hahaha!" Li Wei raised his head and laughed, "I am your Majesty's biological son. Do you think your father would blame me, your most promising son, for these trivial matters and for the sake of a minister?"
"Even if he is the Marquis of Guanjun, he is only a marquis. Even if Jia Cong is granted the title of duke or king, he is still a subject of my Li family!"
"This time, I will tell him what the difference is between a ruler and his subjects!"
Cheng Changli then bowed and said, "I was mistaken. I will go there immediately."
…
Baoyu and Xue Pan went all the way to the restaurant and started drinking. Xue Pan was in high spirits, but Baoyu was unhappy and kept drinking in silence.
"Hey? Isn't this Mr. Xue and Mr. Bao from the Jia family?" Three young men walked up and greeted them.
Xue Pan thought about it and remembered that these were all "brothers" with whom he had drunk before, and although their family backgrounds were not prominent, they were also sons of officials.
He immediately said, "What a coincidence today, brothers, sit down and have a drink together!"
They didn't refuse and sat down immediately. With more people, the atmosphere became more lively and Baoyu felt better! Especially when some topics that men like were mentioned, they became more interested in talking.
"If you ask me, Sayuri should be the best. Her figure and charm are enough to make people obsessed just thinking about her."
"How can Sayuri compare to Miss Fengxian? She is proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Even the great scholars in the court have commented on her poems, saying that they are not inferior to those of men!"
Several people were bickering and gossiping, when suddenly one of them spoke to Baoyu, "I remember Mr. Bao said that all the sisters in the family are very talented. I wonder if any of them can compare to Miss Fengxian?"
