There are two stone lions in front of the Zhou Mansion, and big red lanterns are hung high on the door, illuminating the surroundings with a bright red glow.
The door was locked. Fang Yun walked to the door, grabbed the copper ring and knocked three times.
"Wait a moment." A voice came from inside, and then the door opened, and a middle-aged man in his forties appeared behind the door.
Fang Yun handed over the letter and said, "My name is Fang Yun. This is a letter that Cai He, the magistrate of Ji County, asked me to deliver to Zhou Zhubu. I should have come a few days ago, but something delayed me, so I only arrived today."
When the doorman saw Fang Yun was wearing a student's uniform, he immediately took the letter with both hands and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll give it to the master right away."
The doorman was about to close the door, but after hesitating for a moment, he did not close it and instead hurried inside.
Fang Yun heard him whisper as he walked: "Fang Yun? I seem to have heard the master mention it."
After a while, a loud shout was heard from inside: "Fang Shuangjia is here? This officer is so angry!"
When Fang Yun heard this, he thought to himself, this person smells so much like firecrackers, is it possible that he has a bad relationship with Cai He, or has something happened
Fang Yun pinched the thick manuscript paper in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and stood still.
Passing through the half-open door, Fang Yun saw a middle-aged man in casual clothes striding towards him.
When the man saw Fang Yun, his expression changed. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said, "Fang Shuangjia, you are such a jerk. The court is in chaos because of you. How can you be so calm and composed?"
Fang Yun looked confused. The imperial court? The palace where the king of the capital summoned his ministers? The ministers were in chaos because of him? This must be fake, right
The man was amused when he saw Fang Yun's look and said, "Don't stand there, come in and talk. You!" He shook his head.
Fang Yun bowed and said, "Student Fang Yun greets Master Zhou."
This powerful sixth-rank official did not have any official authority. He patted Fang Yun on the shoulder, as if he was an elder meeting a younger person, and said with a smile: "Since it is the double armor ordered by Cai He, then we are family. Don't be polite, come in and talk."
Fang Yun knew that a powerful sixth-rank official would never be so enthusiastic towards someone he met for the first time. Something must have happened, so he thanked him and said as he walked away, "Sir Zhou, I have been busy these days and have not had any contact with the outside world. May I ask what happened?"
Zhou Zhubu smiled and said, "What else could it be? Of course it's your poem. After Cai He got your poem to protect the country, he immediately sent it to the Lord of the Court. After reading it, the Lord clapped his hands and praised it. Then he sent it to the Holy Court and the Minister of Literature. But he immediately regretted it and should have sent it later."
"Then there was a commotion?"
"It was calm that day, but something happened during the morning court session the next day. The president of the academy requested a title for you in the court, saying that you are not only the first student in Jing State to rank double-A, but also the first student in Jing State to publish an article in the "Sacred Way", the first student in the Ten Kingdoms to write poems about Dafu, Mingzhou and Zhenguo, the first person in the Ten Kingdoms to have three poems published in the "Sacred Way", and the only talented person in the Ten Kingdoms who, although he is a student, has angered the university scholar to the point of shaking his literary courage. No way, you have made great contributions to both Jing State and the human race, and you should be conferred the title of the ninth-generation county earl."
Fang Yun was surprised. In Shengyuan Continent, although the titles and ranks were different, they also had a corresponding relationship. The lowest village man was equivalent to the ninth rank, and the highest prince was equivalent to the first rank. The county earl was equivalent to the sixth rank, which meant that if he was awarded the title of county earl, County Magistrate Cai would have to greet him as a lower official.
If he could really be granted the title of county earl, Fang Yun wouldn't have to be timid in doing things, and his life would be much better in the future. He wouldn't have to involve the Fang family even to open a bookstore.
The ninth-generation county earl means that all descendants within nine generations can inherit this title, which is extremely prominent in a prefecture.
"But things are not going well?" Fang Yun asked.
"The people of the Left Prime Minister object. To confer a title requires recommendations from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and then the decision is made by the Cabinet and the monarch. But 90% of the people in the Ministry of Personnel are the Left Prime Minister's people, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is also the Left Prime Minister's people, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is in charge of the conferring of titles. Therefore, if the Left Prime Minister disagrees, no one can confer a title on you unless the Queen Mother overrules all objections."
"Why is the Left Prime Minister stopping me?" Fang Yun said as the two men walked into the main hall and sat down on both sides of a table.
Zhou Zhubu glanced at Fang Yun and said, "Of course the left prime minister himself would not come forward. It was Minister Hong from the Ministry of War who came forward. His excuse was your poem "Year End". He said that you should have written this poem before you became a student. If you are so young and have no experience and you are making comments on state affairs, you will definitely not be able to be of great use in the future."
"No one refutes this ridiculous reason?"
"Of course, some people objected, saying that you only wrote half of the poem in the examination hall and then stopped, and only wrote the whole poem after you got the literary rank. You know when to advance and when to retreat, and you know the rules, so you must be reused. But neither side could convince the other. Some people praised your poetry, but the left prime minister's faction said poetry was a minor art; some people said that you made the enemy country's university scholar shake, but they said there was no evidence; some people said that you must be rewarded for your three poems, but the left prime minister's people said that you were too young and should not be forced to grow, but should be tempered, only in this way will you know how to serve the country in the future."
Fang Yun sneered and asked, "Have you heard any rumors? In my opinion, there is no need for the Left Prime Minister to target me because of a poem."
Zhou Zhubu pondered for a moment and said, "Then I will tell you the truth. The Left Prime Minister will not target you just because of a poem, but if you are the top of the double-class case selected by Cai County Magistrate, and Cai County Magistrate is the student of the Minister of Literature, and you are very likely to become a university scholar or even a great scholar, then he has enough reasons to target you. What's more, you are at odds with the famous Liu family? The news I got from the capital said that Liu Zizhi of the Liu family seemed to have some negative comments about you, and some of his words were almost slanderous."
"What did he say?"
"They say you are lazy and rely on women for support, that's probably what they say. In short, the reputation of you in the capital is very bad." Zhou Zhubu did not elaborate.
Fang Yun's face turned pale, and he asked, "Just because he was born into a wealthy family, does that mean he can slander children from poor families like us?"
"Alas, there is nothing we can do. The Left Prime Minister is powerful, and no one dares to offend the Liu family now. I suspect someone deliberately said something about you in front of the Left Prime Minister, deliberately linking "Year End" with him, so the Left Prime Minister will not speak against you personally, but if he does not speak, it is tantamount to tacitly approving the attack on you."
"What was the Queen Mother's reaction?" Fang Yun asked.
"The Queen Mother naturally wants to confer a title on you, but now that the Left Prime Minister has the upper hand, she cannot risk public anger. However, your contribution cannot be taken away, so both parties will negotiate a result that is acceptable to both sides."
Fang Yun said: "You have been in the officialdom for a long time, can you guess the final result?"
"Well, in fact, many people can guess it. It's not like this hasn't happened before."
"Please tell me about it." Fang Yun said.
"First, we will grant you some gold, silver, antiques, or silks and satins; second, we will posthumously confer titles on your parents. Third, we will convert your merits into literary achievements. Once you pass the imperial examinations and become an official, your rank will be directly raised. But as long as you are not an official, your literary achievements are just empty words."
Fang Yun asked: "Aren't Zuo Xiang and others afraid that I will be promoted again and again after becoming an official?"
Zhou Zhubu said, "Once you are conferred a title, the Left Prime Minister cannot punish you unless you commit a serious crime such as treason or treason. But if you are just a civil servant, the Left Prime Minister has countless ways to target you. Even if you are a fifth-rank official just after becoming a Jinshi, so what? The Ministry of Personnel is in the hands of the Left Prime Minister, and he can easily banish you to a cold government office. Besides, when will you become a Jinshi? Ten years or twenty years?"
Fang Yun did not understand the affairs of the Jing State officialdom. After hearing what Zhou Zhubu said, he suddenly understood and completely understood the sinister intentions of Zuo Xiang and his faction.
Fang Yun lowered his head and said nothing, lost in thought. The Minister of Literature couldn't defeat the Minister of the Left, let alone him. His position in literature was too low, so he could only endure it. However, the Minister of the Left could only affect his official position, not his position in literature. There was no need to fear him. At most, he could not be a civil servant. When his position in literature gradually increased, he would find a way to take revenge. Instead of keeping silent, he might as well take this opportunity to gain a good reputation and unite those who opposed the Minister of the Left.
After a while, Fang Yun looked up and said, "Sir Zhou, can you write a memorial to express my feelings to the emperor and the queen mother?"
"Of course." Zhou Zhubu looked at Fang Yun curiously.
Fang Yun said righteously: "As a citizen of Jingguo, I naturally have to understand the difficulties of the officials in the court. I took the initiative to request that my merits be converted into literary merits, so as not to hurt the harmony among my own people under the watchful eyes of the barbarians. I am deeply grateful to the adults who petitioned for my title. If there is a chance, I will definitely thank them. But I am even more deeply grateful to the adults who prevented me from being titled. They are truly working for the country, the public, and the people. If there is a chance, I will thank them a hundredfold!"
Zhou Zhubu was secretly shocked. He never expected that the words of a young boy could be so powerful. He was amazed at his decisiveness and choice. Since he knew he could not be granted a title, he took the initiative to step down and left behind a good reputation of being sensible. At the same time, he ridiculed the people of the Left Prime Minister for fighting among themselves at this time.
"Isn't this wording too direct?" Zhou Zhubu naturally knew how Fang Yun would "repay his gratitude a hundredfold".
"Then I can't say that I, Fang Yun, will take back the credit that belongs to me at a speed they can't even dream of, and then make them regret obstructing me!" Fang Yun said with a little anger.
Zhou Zhubu sighed and said, "After all, you became famous at a young age. You should fight back against such an insult. It would be strange if you remained calm. How about this? I will write a memorial according to your original intention, but I will change the wording a little. Of course, I will not bring down your momentum. After all, you have made contributions and no faults."
Fang Yun took a deep breath and said, "Then I'd like to thank Master Zhou first. By the way, since I've written so many good poems, will our state academy of literature give me some rewards? How about one thousand taels of silver?"
Zhou Zhubu laughed and said, "You want a double reward?"
Fang Yun immediately said, "If the Academy of Literature is in trouble, then I won't force it. I have written two novels recently and I want to sell them to make money to support my family, but publishing a book requires the review of the Academy of Literature, so I would like to ask you to do me a favor. In addition, if you like it, why not write a preface for my novel."
Zhou Zhubu listened to half of it and thought that Fang Yun was really smart. He came to ask for an early review, but he first asked for a reward from the State Academy of Literature, and then he would settle for the next best thing. He couldn't refuse. When he heard about the preface, he was about to refuse, but something moved his mind.