kvmb Chapter 404
Chapter 404
Ji Hongming secretly gritted his teeth. He had personally sought the Emperor's approval to transfer this man to the capital, putting in extra effort only because the recommender was a fellow graduate and a good friend of his.Who knew this guy was so stubborn and reckless? Having been in the court for three or four months, he had seemed honest and well-behaved. How could his very first remonstrance be aimed directly at the untouchable Grand Preceptor!
He had been in the capital for over half a year, after all. He might not have heard much about the Grand Preceptor while in the provinces, but he should have heard plenty of rumors since arriving in the capital. Did he really lack a clear understanding of this living ancestor's status?
Ji Hongming's thoughts were spot on. Ever since Ye Lin entered the capital, his ears had been filled with all kinds of praise and admiration for this Grand Preceptor.
For Ye Lin, who had always looked down on women and considered himself extraordinary, this triggered a rebellious mentality. The more good things he heard, the more annoyed he became, as if he had entered a rebellious phase.
Ye Lin believed he had seen a lot in the provinces. He felt Yue Fuguang's achievements were suspiciously obtained, convinced that the Yu family had orchestrated them. He thought she was merely a person fishing for fame and compliments, and that the folk rumors were largely fabricated.
As for the matter of the improved seeds, it must have been the Yu family's doing to create a god. Otherwise, how could a little girl who never left the house come into contact with such things?
It could be said that, according to common sense, Ye Lin wasn't entirely wrong. If it were a native young girl of this era, she indeed wouldn't have had the chance to access these things. But what he didn't know was that Yue Fuguang defied common sense—she had a cheat system!
"Is he deliberately targeting me, or is he just straightforward?"
[Master, this man looks down on all women. He has had a problem with you for a long time, thinking you are just fishing for fame. If this matter hadn't touched upon his interests, he wouldn't have chosen to jump out. So, the reason this selfish man chose to stand up and object at this time is also to back up his future father-in-law, Old Man Song.]
Yue Fuguang heard Wu Yong finish his sarcastic scolding and begin to enumerate her public achievements.
Treating her own great achievements as background noise, Yue Fuguang adopted the attitude of a spectator enjoying a show. Eating pastries and drinking tea, she asked the system, "These two are father-in-law and son-in-law? Then it makes sense!"
Little did she know that her dismissive attitude of casually eating and drinking deeply pierced Ye Lin's fragile and sensitive ego.
Yue Fuguang didn't know that when the system said Ye Lin was uncorrupted, it was true. It wasn't just a superficial act. This man was truly the hope of his entire village. Having tested out of a poor, backward village to become the only advanced scholar within a hundred miles, he naturally had his own pride and arrogance.
While serving in the provinces, he couldn't get along with colleagues from prominent families. It wasn't because he was overly upright; it was purely driven by a hatred of the rich.
He envied the privileged class. In his heart, he wanted to become someone who was supported by others, someone who could spend money like water and easily decide the fate of those at the bottom. However, because he wasn't one of them, he resented those who were.
Not only that, but he also couldn't get along with colleagues who, like him, came from humble, grassroots backgrounds. The root cause was that they had no foundation and couldn't provide him with any assistance. In his eyes, interacting with them was ineffective socialization.
After enduring for a dozen years, he eventually, by a twist of fate, made his way to the imperial court due to his reputation for poverty and filial piety. One could only say it was a matter of timing and destiny.
[Master, look, this Old Man Song is almost seventy years old, nearing the age of retirement. Despite his poor health, he clings to power and refuses to retire to his hometown, all for the sake of finding a successor.]
"What do you mean by finding a successor? If I remember correctly, Song Nian holds the position of Director in the Ministry of Rites, responsible for the Department of Banquets, which is a fairly lucrative office. Is he treating the position as his family's property, even looking for a successor?"
[Master has a good memory. Song Nian has worked in the position of Director for over a decade, and he actually inherited it from his former father-in-law. So he wants to imitate his father-in-law and pass this Director position to his own son-in-law.]
"Why pass it to a son-in-law instead of a son? Is a son-in-law closer, or is this just their family tradition?"
[Song Nian's old father-in-law had no biological sons, and the adopted youths from his clan were not cut out for studying. So, as he was about to retire, he promoted his son-in-law to the position of Director. He also hoped that Song Nian would treat his daughter better out of gratitude for the promotion. That happened back when Emperor Mingxi's father was on the throne.
Unfortunately, less than two years after the old father-in-law retired to his hometown, Song Nian's first wife passed away from illness. Following that, he elevated his current wife from a concubine to the main wife. That was during the time when the favored concubine and her son were fighting most fiercely against the Empress Dowager and her son.
Otherwise, he would never have dared to do such a thing during the Mingxi reign.
As for Song Nian, he doesn't lack sons. He has three sons in total. The eldest was born to his first wife. After she passed away, he sent this son far away to the provinces to serve as a minor official.
His second wife bore him two sons and two daughters. Neither of the sons is cut out for studying. The eldest took the exams for over twenty years before barely passing as a provincial graduate at the very bottom of the list.
He then took the metropolitan examination three consecutive times without passing. If nothing unexpected happens, Master might even run into the second Song son in the examination hall this time.
As for the third Song son, he is still only a junior scholar.
Therefore, Song Nian wanting to imitate his old father-in-law is similarly a move made out of helplessness. Of the two daughters born to his second wife, the eldest was widowed early on and wanted to remarry, but she never met a suitable match.
This was right until she encountered Ye Lin, who had been transferred back to the capital and also served in the Ministry of Rites.]
Ji Hongming and Zhang Zhongping both felt their faces burning. One was an executive of the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of the promotion and assessment of officials at all levels.
What happened during the tenures of his predecessor and the previous emperor had nothing to do with him, but now Song Nian's dangerous idea was inextricably linked to him.
As the Minister of Rites, Zhang Zhongping didn't even know he had such a person among his subordinates. Were Song Nian and Ye Lin trying to play tricks right under his nose, thinking he was a pushover?
"Worthy of being from the Ministry of Rites, they all want to use rites to suppress me."
This remark made Zhang Zhongping instantly shrink three inches, wishing he could bury his head into his official robes.
"Wait, isn't Ye Lin's wife still alive? Is Ye Lin trying to climb the social ladder by suspending his marriage to take a new wife? His wife has borne him two sons and three daughters, and she hasn't committed any faults. Surely his first move upon coming to the capital wouldn't be to get rid of his faithful wife?"
There has never been a shortage of Chen Shimei (a heartless husband) throughout history. Let alone in ancient times, even in the modern era, once men became successful, weren't there many who first changed their cars and houses, and finally changed their wives? Even those who didn't change their wives kept their main household intact while maintaining affairs on the side.
Take her father, Yue Qi'an, for example. It was the system that told her he had illegitimate children outside, who would have the same inheritance rights as her in the future.
Yue Fuguang was surprisingly not that shocked when she heard the news back then.
Coming back to Ye Lin, if he wanted to divorce his wife, given the current social climate, people would only say he had character flaws and moral deficiencies, which would incur the displeasure of the Emperor and his colleagues and somewhat hinder his career, but it wouldn't affect his current official position.
[Master, Ye Lin has no intention of divorcing his wife. He wants to become a widower!]
A widower? This bastard really wants to murder his wife to remarry!
Yue Fuguang felt her fists clench, and her voice instantly dropped a few degrees. "Little Zhu, Ye Lin can't possibly be unaware that the laws of Great Yan have been amended and that murdering one's wife is a major crime."