Chapter 93 Gathering

  In June of the 27th year of the Ming calendar, it had just entered summer and was unbearably hot.

  But this time, people in Beijing were prepared.

  Because last winter was extremely cold, after extreme coldness usually comes extreme heat.

  In the capital, aristocratic families took advantage of the extremely cold winter to store more ice in their ice cellars. Even ordinary commoners' homes, as long as they had the conditions, also moved ice to store in their ice cellars.

  This winter is really too cold, a snowstorm has passed, and the snow has not melted for a long time. Everywhere is icy and snowy, just like the legendary extremely cold land in the far north.

  The optimistic Daxia people who know their fate and dare to turn disadvantages into advantages take the opportunity to hoard ice blocks for cooling.

  Now the sweltering summer has arrived as scheduled, but in Beijing, there is no anxiety that cannot be alleviated like during the severe winter.

  This is called having ice at home and being clear-minded...

  I remember when the severe cold had just passed, there was a trend of epidemic disease spreading in the capital city.

  The crown prince, who had just taken over the heavy responsibility of governing the country from the empress dowager, was like facing a great enemy, and sent countless people to collect and bury the unclaimed corpses on the streets, and also scattered lime powder in every household to prevent the epidemic.

  Mrs. Zheng proposed setting up a temporary medical clinic for quarantine and treatment of patients with epidemic diseases.

  There is also a free dispensary set up by the Shengguo Gong Mansion, which distributes sweet dew soup for free and has a very good preventive effect.

  So this round of epidemic trend did not rise like a snowball and was quickly brought under control.

  The crown prince was able to pass this level safely, and he became even more grateful to Zheng Dainai, proposing to promote her husband, Wu Guogongfu's heir Wu Changge, by one more rank, planning to let him serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

  But Old Master Wu summoned Wu Changge and said to him, "You are already the heir of the wealthy Wu family. In the future, you will be in charge of managing the finances of Dashan with the Minister of Revenue. However, now you want to go to the Ministry of Revenue as a Shilang, under that Golden Whiskers, I would lose face if this happens. You choose, either be the heir of the Wu family or go to the Ministry of Revenue as a Shilang?"

  Jin Hu Zi is Jin Yin Tong, the current Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He has a big beard, so his nickname is "Golden Beard". He was first in the mathematics department in the imperial examination and later entered the Ministry of Revenue, starting from a small official of the seventh rank to become the current Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

  Wu Changge was taken aback, but then couldn't help laughing and said to Old Man Wu, "Dad, aren't you annoyed when others call our family the Wealthy Wu? Why are you saying it yourself now?"

  Mr. Wu patted the back of his head in surprise, looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, "Forgot forgot, always hearing everyone call me God of Wealth Wu, got used to it." He also said: "Don't know which mischievous ghost is playing tricks on our family, wait till I find out later. Must teach him a good lesson!"

  Wu Changge smiled and said to his father: "Since you say so, I will resign from the position of Minister of Household Administration."

  Old Master Wu saw that Wu Changge was still somewhat obedient, so he said: "You're sensible and know what's important. As for your wife's side, saving people is a good thing, but don't get too close to the Crown Prince's group. She used to be a favorite of the Empress Dowager, and now she's a guest of honor in the Eastern Palace. Let people think about it, what does it mean that she's with Hong Duanbai?"

  Wu Changge nodded and responded vaguely, then went back to mention it tactfully to Zheng Suhui, saying that he was busy with miscellaneous tasks and couldn't take on the position of Minister of Revenue.

  Zheng Suxin understood Old Master Wu's meaning and thought to herself that ginger is still spicy even when it's old. With a hint of a smile, she apologized: "It was my oversight. As the current heir, you indeed shouldn't continue serving as a servant in the Ministry of Revenue. However, Chang Ge, your abilities are exceptional, how can managing household chores allow you to showcase your talents? Why not transfer to the Ministry of Justice instead?"

  Go to the Ministry of Officials, and you can have a general understanding of all officials in the Great Xia Empire from top to bottom.

  Moreover, the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishment have always been directly controlled by the imperial family of the Great Xia Dynasty, and the four major families were originally not related to them.

  However, in the past, the four major families had always been very restrained with their descendants, not stretching out too far, and only operating within their own manageable territory.

  Wu Changge was somewhat moved and felt that as long as it wasn't the Ministry of Revenue, it would probably be fine, so he agreed to let Zheng Suhan make contact with the Crown Prince's people.

  It wasn't until June, when they were going to Zheng Guogong's mansion for his father-in-law Zheng Lao's birthday banquet, that they received an unbelievable piece of news.

  "What? The Ministry of Personnel has rejected the request from the Eastern Palace? They won't let Master be the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?" Zheng Suhui was extremely surprised, "What about the previously agreed-upon position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

  The eunuch who came with the prince's message had his hands tied up and bowed his head, muttering: "It won't do either."

  "How could this be?" Zheng Suhui furrowed her brow, "Now that the Crown Prince is regent, can't those people even listen to His Highness's words?"

  The eunuch hastily waved his hand and said, "It's not like that. The Crown Prince ordered me to pass on a message saying that the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel refused to appoint him because according to the rules of the Six Ministries, one must take office through the imperial examination system and become a jinshi before being appointed. Even those who have passed the provincial examination cannot be appointed to the Six Ministries, and at most can only hold a position in the lower levels of the prefecture or county government."

  "Is there such a rule?" Zheng Suhui raised an eyebrow, "Why haven't I heard the Empress Dowager mention it before?"

  The eunuch just smiled and refused to say anything bad about the Empress Dowager.

  Wu Changge heard it and felt a bit awkward.

  After the inner attendant left, he said to Zheng Suheng: "It seems that there is such a rule. My fifth-grade idle official is also hung under the gate of Jingzhao Yin, which is also at the state level, but this 'state' refers to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region."

  Wu Changgai had once taken part in the imperial examination and obtained the title of juren, but he failed to obtain the title of jinshi after three attempts, so he gave up taking the exam.

  Zheng Suxin sat in front of the dressing table, inserting a five-phoenix hairpin into her bun at an angle, and said lightly: "Since that's the case, then go take the imperial examination to become a scholar."

  "You say it's easy, as if I've never taken the exam before! In the past, I failed three times and spent nine years studying. You think those days were easy to get through?!" Wu Changge said with some dissatisfaction, sitting next to Zheng Suhui and venting his frustrations.

  Zheng Suxin smiled and said, "I didn't know at first that to be an official in the six ministries, one must pass the imperial examination. Now that I know, of course, I will make arrangements for you. Don't worry, today is my father's 60th birthday, let's go celebrate first, and when we come back, there will be a way."

  Wu Changge pulled a long face, "What's the point of coming back? I'm warning you, don't force me to study again. My eyes were strained from studying in the past, and I didn't become human-like at all."

  Zheng Suxin smiled with curved eyebrows. She stretched out her slender fingers and lightly tapped Wu Changge's forehead, which was as smooth as jade. "You silly fool, didn't you think about what my dad does? With my dad around, isn't it easy for you to become a scholar?"

  Wu Changge woke up. Zheng Suhe's father, Old Master Zheng, was the Duke of Zhengguo, in charge of the Supervision Department, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Academy. The schools of Daxia all took the Zheng family as their ancestral teachers, and the imperial examinations were managed by Old Master Zheng, the Ministry of Rites, and the Supervision Department.

  "That's great! If only we could get next year's questions..." Wu Changge was overjoyed, picked up Zheng Sufen from under his arm and spun her around in the air like a little kid.

  Zheng Suxin always smiled without showing her teeth. But this time she was teased by Wu Changge and couldn't help but smile, looking extremely beautiful.

  Wu Changge looked at the endless beauty and couldn't help but feel dizzy, saying foolishly: "The beauties of the world, I think except for your sister Xiang Rong, it's only you, Su Yan."

  "After that, he added: 'In the future, the number one beauty of Daxia will be our family's Juan'er.' Now Juan'er has grown up and is even more beautiful. The last time I took her to Cao Duke's mansion for a banquet, Cao Duke's wife was very fond of her and asked Cao Duke to tell me that she wants to form an alliance with our family."

  "Put me down." Zheng Suhui scolded and patted Wu Changge's hand. "You didn't promise her, did you?"

  "No way, how can I agree so easily?" Wu Changge said with a pleased tone. He sighed again, "It's a pity that our family's daughter can't marry into the royal family, otherwise the empress would be from our family..."

  "Shut up!" Zheng Suhui suddenly stopped Wu Changge, warning him in a low voice, "This kind of talk can't be said again. Are you cursing our Juan'er? Have you forgotten my sister?"

  Wu Changge hurriedly said, "Of course I know, it's just casual talk."

  "It's not even okay to just mention it casually! If you keep thinking like this, one of these days you'll say it out loud in front of everyone and you'll really get us mother and daughter killed..." Zheng Suhui saw that Wu Changge was unmoved and became so anxious she almost cried.

  "Alright, alright, I won't say it anymore. Won't that do?" Wu Changge coaxed Zheng Suyin softly, "Come on, the makeup on your face is smudged. Let me powder you." As he spoke, he picked up an eyebrow pencil and began to draw eyebrows for Zheng Suyin.

  Zheng Suxin snorted with a smile and scolded: "You said you weren't going to put on powder, why are you drawing your eyebrows again?"

  "What's wrong with painting eyebrows? The joy of the boudoir is even better than painting eyebrows, doesn't Big Madam know?" Wu Changge said slyly, his handsome face flushing like a spring dawn.

  Zheng Suxin gently turned her head, buried it in Wu Changge's arms, stretched out her hand to hold his neck, and softly called out his name, "Changge... Changge... Changge..."

  Just calling out his name made Wu Changge's whole body feel hot.

  He wrapped his arms around Zheng Suhui, forcibly restrained himself and kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear with a soft tone, "Good kiss, you're making me hard..."

  Zheng Suxin's face turned red as she pushed him away. "Alright, stop messing around, we need to go. Everyone is waiting impatiently, right?"

  Wu Juan and Wu Zhaokun sat together outside talking.

  Zheng Suxin's personal maid, Yu Gu, heard the rustling sound inside and hastily called out: "Second Miss and Fourth Young Master are already waiting."

  Wu Changge busied himself in the inner room, letting go of Zheng Suhui and smoothing out his thin summer robe. He cleared his throat and said, "You quickly tidy up, I'll go out first." With that, he slipped away.

  Zheng Suxin spat on his back, then went to tidy up in front of the mirror, and only after she was done did she bring Wu Zhuoyuan and Wu Zhaojun to follow Wu Changgong to the Zheng Guogong Mansion.

  The Wu family's three branches all received invitations, but each branch went separately, with no one big family going together.

  Sheng Siyan also followed Sheng Qiye to the entrance of Zheng Guogong's mansion, where she saw Niu Dapeng from the Niu family, accompanied by a plump and beautiful young girl.

  "Who is that?" Sheng Siyan asked strangely, seeing that the girl's profile looked somewhat familiar.

  Sheng Qiye glanced at Zhang Wang and said, "That's Niu Xiaoye, don't you recognize him?"

  Sheng Siyan was surprised to find that Niu Xiaoye's plump figure had slimmed down a lot, and she had become a lovely little beauty.

  This is the first update. Did I forget to ask for pink tickets during the second update yesterday? :-( I'll make up for it by asking twice now, including yesterday's. There will be a bonus update this afternoon with rewards.

  。(。。)

  PS: Thank you to everyone who gave me a peace symbol yesterday. Reminder: pink tickets and recommendation tickets (⊙o⊙) oh. It's really not reminded, so everyone will be more tolerant, if they have voted, let's pretend we didn't see it. Those who haven't voted, hurry up and click on the pink ticket and recommendation ticket places oh.