Niao Ni
Chapter 650: Feigned Impudence at the Banquet
Today, Sun Jingxiu was celebrating his old mother's birthday, so it was much more important to him than himself, and it was precisely because of this matter that he had the courage to invite Fan Xian. However, when Lord Fan, accompanied by the Princess of Chen, really stepped into the main entrance of the mansion, Sun Jingxiu was still unable to suppress his excitement.
He had been living a precarious life for the past few months. It seemed that in an instant, all the officials and yamen had begun to stare at him, making him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. After thinking about it, he eventually thought of Fan Xian, but the Sun family and the Fan family did not actually have a deep relationship, and he did not know if it would work.
It worked. Although Sun Jingxiu's lips tasted bitter and dull, and he felt a lot of guilt towards his daughter, he still bowed to Fan Xian's handsome face with great respect and welcomed the beautiful couple into the mansion.
Everything had been arranged properly in the mansion. All the female guests were in the back garden, and the main officials of the Kyoto Prefecture were seated in the front residence. The front and back three halls, specially reserved for the senior officials of the court, were empty and glaring.
Fan Xian followed Sun Jingxiu inside, and couldn't help but smile as he looked at the empty long tables. Lin Wan'er whispered something in his ear, and then, accompanied by the nannies and carefully served by the women of the Sun family, went to the back garden.
Turning to the west wing, Fan Xian followed Sun Jingxiu into the study. He already knew that Prince Jing and Duke Liu had arrived. The two venerable old men were chatting with Master Sun's mother. At their age and seniority, there was not much to be particular about.
The study was very quiet. Fan Xian looked at Sun Jingxiu and said with a smile, "Master Sun, you are really not a clever person."
It was not yet time for the banquet to begin. Sun Jingxiu was afraid of neglecting Lord Fan, so he personally accompanied him into the study. The tea had not yet been served by the servants, but the other party had already spoken this sentence extremely calmly and directly. Sun Jingxiu could not help but be shocked and at a loss for words for a long time.
"I am a little curious." Fan Xian looked at him and said gently, "You have never engaged in these methods of guessing the Emperor's mind in the past. Why did you go against the grain this year and want to borrow my momentum to see the movements in the officialdom? You are not a person who is obsessed with power and influence, which is really a surprise to me."
After a long silence, Sun Jingxiu bowed and saluted very sincerely, saying, "Jingxiu asks himself that he has been a conscientious magistrate of Kyoto Prefecture. Please have mercy on me, my lord."
Fan Xian tapped the table lightly, seemingly pondering the propriety of the matter. He had not expected that Sun Jingxiu would make such a direct request. However, he also preferred more direct negotiations. After a moment, he nodded slightly and said, "I will speak for you in the palace."
"What about Lord He?" Sun Jingxiu was overjoyed, but he was still able to maintain his composure on his face, and asked in a slightly trembling voice.
Fan Xian lowered his eyes slightly and said, "He is the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. I can't control him."
Sun Jingxiu's heart trembled slightly.
Fan Xian raised his head and said with a smile, "But he is only a scribe under the Chief Grand Secretary. If Grand Secretary Hu does not nod, what can he do to you, the magistrate of Kyoto Prefecture?"
The conversation in the study was very brief and ended quickly. Fan Xian did not allow Sun Jingxiu to utter any nauseating words of loyalty and devotion in front of him. They both knew very well that since Fan Xian was willing to do Sun Jingxiu such a big favor, Sun Jingxiu's life could only be sold to Fan Xian. The position of Kyoto Prefecture Magistrate was not an idle one, and when Sun Jingxiu looked towards the officialdom, he could only see the back of Fan Xian's head. He had no other choice.
While Fan Xian and Sun Jingxiu were chatting idly, the stewards and servants of the Sun mansion watched in stunned silence as the official sedan chairs kept arriving outside the mansion, and watched the famous officials in the court come to pay their respects with smiles on their faces and very gentle greetings... They couldn't help but think to themselves, where had these officials gone before?
A servant came to the study to inform him, and Sun Jingxiu couldn't help but smile wryly. He knew that the reason why these officials' attitudes had changed so quickly was entirely because Lord Fan had personally arrived, and had also invited Prince Jing and Duke Liu to pave the way.
Fan Xian saw the bitterness in his heart and said with a smile, "Things in the officialdom are so shameless. You have been in Kyoto Prefecture for so long, you should get used to it. Otherwise, you will always be so sullen, how many more years can you last?"
Sun Jingxiu nodded and accepted the lesson.
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Only three tables were set up in the main hall. All the female guests were freely and thoughtfully arranged in the back garden. Fan Xian only went with Wan'er to say a few words to the old Mrs. Sun, and then retreated.
The main seat in the middle of the upper seat was temporarily vacant. Prince Jing naturally sat in the most honorable position without any politeness, while Duke Liu sat in the diagonally opposite second position. The two elders had known each other for a lifetime. Although they were sitting a little far apart, they spoke in very loud voices, and the chat turned into an argument.
Prince Jing was as usual full of vulgarities, and every sentence had several xxx's in it, making the officials at the three tables in the hall feel a little uncomfortable. However, Duke Liu was also a figure who had retired from the army, and he was used to this set.
Sun Jingxiu was currently entertaining the other officials. Fan Xian sat between Prince Jing and Duke Liu, accompanying them with smiles, chatting, eating and drinking, and was quite at ease. Prince Jing and the Fan family were old friends, so their friendship was naturally not to be mentioned. Duke Liu was the biological father of Lady Liu, and from the point of view of seniority, he was Fan Xian's maternal grandfather. Fan Xian was naturally respectful.
He talked to Duke Liu about the affairs of Danzhou. Lady Liu was living very well now, so the maternal grandfather was naturally very relieved. Moreover, with Fan Xian taking care of things, the children and grandchildren in Guogong Alley all had their own world.
Chatting with Prince Jing was a bit of a headache, because the old Prince would invariably bring up things like the medical clinic every three sentences. Fan Xian sighed inwardly, wondering if there was any possibility between Hongcheng and Ruoruo.
Speaking of the heir, Li Hongcheng, after the New Year, as the General of Dingzhou, it was impossible for him to stay in Kyoto all the time and fight with the grand scholars. He reluctantly returned to the west, but left a team of personal guards outside the Danbo Medical Clinic, watching its every move every day. The Emperor Your Majesty knew that he was being mischievous, and was very angry, but there was nothing he could do.
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The guests gradually arrived. Three ministers, two vice ministers, and seven or eight assistant ministers. Most of the important ministers in the entire Qing Kingdom's court had actually arrived. With the face of the Kyoto Prefecture Magistrate, it was naturally impossible to gather so many important figures, but Fan Xian's face had this kind of lethality.
However, as time passed, Fan Xian began to have a headache. When these ministers and assistant ministers came to pay their respects, he naturally had to get up to greet them and accept their thoughtful greetings. After seeing three tables of people, he was a little tired. However, this was not the end. There were still so many officials in the outer courtyard who took turns coming in to pay their respects to him, not willing to miss this rare opportunity to meet Lord Fan.
After a round, the entire hall was filled with the sound of flattery. Fan Xian's face changed several times from being flattered. Being flattered by dozens of officials was not a pleasant experience.
After three rounds of wine, another minister began to mention Fan Xian's unparalleled achievements in Dongyi City. Everyone's eyes on him became fiery. By now, there were few people who would care about Grand Scholar He Zongwei. After all, this young duke was the Emperor Your Majesty's own son, and he had made so many contributions to Southern Qing over the years. He was truly a red-hot character. What could a prime minister do? It was not impossible to be granted land and become a king!
Fan Xian had a headache, thinking, were these officials here to celebrate the old Mrs. Sun's birthday, or were they here specifically to flatter him? But in the end, he understood. If they were not here specifically to flatter him, why would these officials come?
Prince Jing was obviously very interested in the affairs of Dongyi City, and pulled him to his side to ask about some confidential matters in detail. However, the treaty would not be finalized for at least another half a year, and Fan Xian could not say anything clearly. He only told the old flower farmer some unimportant things in secret.
Officials of lower ranks could not care about the appearance of flattery, but those sitting in the main hall, the ministers and senior officials, still had to put on a calm appearance, only occasionally glancing at Fan Xian's face.
Fan Xian pretended not to see it. He knew that these people were waiting for him to lose his temper, and then they would prepare to see how he would handle the subsequent matters.
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The sun gradually shifted, and the sound of drinking outside also stopped. After Prince Jing and Duke Liu had drunk a few cups of wine, they felt a little dizzy and tired, and they were too lazy to watch what would happen next, so they made an excuse and left.
Sun Jingxiu respectfully sent the two dignitaries out the door, and then returned to the main hall. After thinking for a moment, he ordered the servants to guard outside the main hall and pay attention to the movements.
He stepped in, apologized to the dignitaries at the three tables in the hall, chatted with a smile, and declined for a while before finally sitting back in the main seat at the head table.
At this time, the main hall gradually quieted down. Everyone subconsciously stopped eating and drinking, looked at the various dishes in front of them, and used the dignified smiles on their faces to show their officialdom bearing, waiting for what would happen next.
First, Sun Jingxiu very sincerely expressed his gratitude, and so on. Then he also stopped talking, sat beside Fan Xian, and remained extremely calm.
Fan Xian lowered his eyes slightly and slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand. The ivory chopsticks rested on the celadon chopstick rest, making a light clinking sound.
The sound struck the hearts of all the officials.
There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence. The entire main hall was quiet, which, compared to the liveliness in the courtyard and the sound of silk and bamboo in the back garden, was even more extremely quiet.
"This official will not elaborate on Master Sun's reputation as an official." Fan Xian raised his head, opened his thin lips slightly, and said slowly, "His Majesty has also privately commended him many times."
The officials at the table found these words very ironic. If His Majesty really liked this Kyoto Prefecture Magistrate, how could Lord He have spread that rumor? But... Lord Fan said "privately"? Alas, who would know what the father and son said privately? Would anyone dare to ask anything in front of His Majesty?
"You gentlemen are officials in the same court. Everyone has times when things don't go smoothly. I hope you can help each other." Fan Xian's words were of extremely poor quality. First, he exposed Sun Jingxiu's predicament, putting him at a disadvantage from the start. Moreover, he even used the language of merchants, such as "help each other," which made him seem a bit greedy.
However, quality always depends on the role. Even if Emperor Your Majesty wrote a vulgar poem about a white dog with a swollen body, the court officials would still praise it greatly. Therefore, when Fan Xian said this, all the senior officials at the table stroked their beards and nodded, deeply believing that Lord Fan's words were simple but not simplistic, and very reasonable.
Fan Xian turned his head and looked at the official on his right, saying, "What does Minister Wei think?"
The current Minister of Revenue, Wei Dongxing, was also a cunning official who had been in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time. In the past, he had met Fan Xian countless times when he discussed matters with Fan Jian at the Fan residence. However, the reason why he was able to take over Fan Jian's position was not only because of his performance in the Ministry of Revenue, but more accurately, because he had completely leaned towards Emperor Your Majesty and single-mindedly followed His Majesty's wishes to pull the Ministry of Revenue out of the quagmire of the Fan family's independent kingdom.
Minister Wei certainly knew that his actions over the past two years had offended Lord Fan, but with Emperor Your Majesty directly behind him, he was not too worried. In the past two years, Fan Xian had not expressed any dissatisfaction with him, as if he understood his difficulties. It was precisely because of this that when the Sun family invited guests today, he knew that Fan Xian had arrived, and after thinking for a long time, he still came.
He had not expected that Lord Fan would really choose to make things difficult because of the Kyoto Prefecture matter, and would choose him as the first target. His heart trembled slightly, knowing that Lord Fan did not like him, otherwise, he would not have chosen to target the Ministry of Revenue first at this banquet.
A faint chill surged into his heart, but Minister Wei had no other choice. After thinking for a moment, he said in a gentle voice, "What Lord Fan said is reasonable. The Ministry of Revenue acts according to His Majesty's decree and the Qing law, and will never act recklessly."
The people at the table were all old foxes who had been in the officialdom for a long time. Of course, they knew what Lord Fan's intention was in singling out Minister Wei, but since it was none of their business, they naturally wanted to stay out of it. However, they did not expect that Minister Wei's words would actually push Fan Xian back, without even making a vague promise of goodwill.
The officials admired Minister Wei's courage on the one hand, and were also a little worried about what would happen next on the other hand. They all remained silent, and the other two ministers raised their chopsticks, signaling to the several officials beside them to eat slowly.
"I am a very peaceful person." The smile on Fan Xian's face became even more beautiful as he stared into Wei Dongxing's eyes and said in a gentle voice, "If there is an imperial decree, I will naturally act according to the decree. But if there is no imperial decree, this official wants to see what kind of ending those villains will have in the end."
The Censorate and the affairs of the court were two separate systems, and they did not interfere with each other. Fan Xian's words were already a bit taboo. And the word "villains" undoubtedly stripped Wei Dongxing of his face. His face suddenly turned cold, and he looked at Fan Xian and said, "I wonder what Lord Fan means by this?"
Fan Xian still did not get angry, but said with a smile, "It doesn't mean anything. This official is just going to enter the palace tonight to ask His Majesty what kind of decree he has given to the Ministry of Revenue recently, that the Ministry of Revenue is not doing its proper business and is staying in the Kyoto Prefecture every day."
"This official is in charge of the Censorate, but I dare not investigate officials above the third rank privately." Fan Xian's expression was still so gentle. "Originally, today is the old lady's seventieth birthday, and I shouldn't say these grim and unpleasant words, but I can't stay in Kyoto for a few days, and I'm going to Dongyi soon. And I'm thinking that the Kyoto Prefecture is a matter of great importance, so I'm a little anxious. I hope you gentlemen won't laugh at me."
The ministers at the table laughed dryly, but dared not really laugh. Lord Fan's words had already made it clear. He was the Director of the Censorate, and he would officially become the second Director of the Qing Kingdom's Censorate in three days. As for his other identities, there was no need to mention them. And... return to Dongyi City? This was also reminding these ministers that the Fan Xian of today had enough merit to ask His Majesty for something, even an imperial decree.
Wei Dongxing's heart trembled, and he chewed out the meaning of these two sentences.
Fan Xian raised a glass of wine and said to the ministers at the table, "Gentlemen, let's make the Kyoto Prefecture a little quieter."
As soon as these words came out, everyone knew that Fan Xian had officially stood up. After an awkward silence, people slowly raised the glasses in front of them, some unevenly, but basically all the ministers raised their glasses.
Wei Dongxing was still staring at the glass in front of him in a daze. He was indeed very embarrassed, because he knew that Fan Xian was an extremely vengeful person, and he had smiled so gently before, he was afraid that he was extremely angry in his heart. Even if he begged for mercy and took a step back today, would Fan Xian let him go in the future? Moreover, he was, after all, a minister of the court, with status and dignity here, and with the full support of Emperor Your Majesty and He Zongwei, it was really a bit unreasonable to give in.
Fan Xian didn't even look at him, and said with a gentle smile, "Although we are all officials in the court, we are actually some poor people. We just want to seek a good future for our children, grandchildren, and relatives."
"His Majesty once said that people who live in the world need to have a sense of awe." He looked at the people at the table and said with a gentle encouragement, "This official walks between heaven and earth, and only has a sense of awe for two things."
The Minister of Rites frowned slightly. He was the first to raise his glass earlier. He was different from Wei Dongxing. He had not offended the Fan residence, so he had a chance to make amends. Moreover, he secretly ridiculed in his heart that Wei Dongxing still did not know what kind of character Lord Fan was, and what kind of methods he had.
He knew what Wei Dongxing was thinking. The Censorate could not control officials above the third rank at all. As long as His Majesty did not speak, Lord Fan seemed unable to threaten him at all. But he knew that Wei Dongxing seemed to have forgotten history – when Fan Xian was still a commoner, he had sent the former Minister of Rites, Guo Youzhi, to his death. Later, he did not know how many ministers he had brought down. This was a ruthless person who dared to force even the Crown Prince to his death. Why should you, a mere minister, confront him face to face?
At the thought of this, the Minister of Rites smiled and asked, following Fan Xian's words, "I wonder what Lord Fan's awe is?"
"First, I revere His Majesty, and second, I revere my parents." Fan Xian gently turned the small wine glass in his fingers and said with a smile, "His Majesty said it well, without a sense of awe, one's actions will tend to be rash... My actions have been a little rash in the past. Please forgive me, gentlemen."
There was another burst of laughter at the table, but everyone heard the meaning of these words clearly. Awe? Lord Fan was clearly telling everyone that in your sense of awe, in addition to heaven, earth, parents, and Your Majesty, don't forget yourself! Rash? Lord Fan's actions were more than rash; they were simply sinister!
It was still the old saying, a threat of very poor quality, but because the person making the threat was too powerful, it seemed to be resounding. Especially the words "children, grandchildren, and relatives" that Fan Xian had said earlier finally reminded some people that even if the Censorate could not touch the ministers and assistant ministers, it would be easy to throw the rest of your family into hell.
This was a very arrogant, very flamboyant, and very presumptuous act, but unfortunately, His Majesty favored Fan Xian, and no one could change this fact. Wei Dongxing's face gradually darkened, and his fingers trembled. He felt that Lord Fan was too unreasonable. Just because of his own affairs, would he dare to attack his family?
But everyone knew that Fan Xian dared to. Although Lord Fan had the reputation of being a poet immortal back then, he had always walked the dark and ghostly path and was never reasonable.
Wei Dongxing finally slowly raised his glass, drank it all in one gulp, and did not know the taste of the wine.
Fan Xian nodded and raised his glass again, saying the last sentence: "Everyone, eat well and drink well."
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I don't know if those ministers who stayed behind, especially the Minister of Revenue who was threatened and scorned by Fan Xian so blatantly, were in the mood to eat well and drink well, but Fan Xian was in a good mood. He left the Sun residence early, and did not go home with Lin Wan'er, but sat in a black carriage and drove towards the direction of the northern city.
"Go to the Imperial College." He instructed Mu Feng'er, "Grand Secretary Hu is not on duty today, and is giving lectures at the Imperial College."
Mu Feng'er responded, and did not think about why Lord Fan was in such a hurry to see Grand Secretary Hu.
Fan Xian rubbed his tight brow in the carriage. In fact, his actions in the Sun residence were not appropriate, but he had to put on this kind of attitude. And this attitude would definitely spread throughout Kyoto soon, so he had to rush to the front to handle the subsequent matters.
He would enter the palace tonight, and before entering the palace, he had to meet Grand Secretary Hu. If he could persuade this chief grand secretary, he would have more confidence when arguing in front of His Majesty.
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(Lack of time, poor condition, writing is a bit rough, I'm really sorry...)