Chapter 44: He Was a Bit Afraid

Li Yu nodded heavily: "The ideal state is indeed like this, but we can't be certain about such matters after all."

He felt somewhat worried for Wang Zhiqiu, wondering how much longer Grand Secretary Wang's iron-clad impartiality could hold out.

Wu Jingcheng had no solutions either; such matters ultimately depended on the will of the Ministry of Personnel.

All one could do was pray to the deities and wish his good friend the best of luck in his heart.

Before the examinations, Li Yu had moved in to live at Ning Yuan's residence. Since the Ning family lived closer to the Tribute Examination Hall, staying there allowed him to sleep a little longer.

That young fellow Ning Yuan was quite blessed in romance, having married an exceptionally beautiful wife.

Yet he seemed hardly to know how to enjoy such fortune, wishing he could live inside his study day in and day out.

When discussing the political situation at court, Ning Yuan actually leaned somewhat toward Fan Chengyuan.

"Grand Secretary Wang governs with excessive harshness. The harm of a harsh government is fiercer than a tiger."

Moreover, Wang Zhiqiu was not only harsh toward the common people, but equally harsh toward officials and nobility. Serving as Grand Secretary in this manner would sooner or later lead to his head rolling on the ground.

Hearing this, Li Yu expressed some disapproval: "Is simply increasing taxes in the prosperous regions of Jiangnan considered a harsh government? How did such talk spread?"

He had heard that the tax increase policy proposed by Grand Secretary Wang was determined according to the amount of grain produced in various regions, with no instances of arbitrary taxation.

"Never mind how this talk spread," Ning Yuan shook his head and said. "In short, I feel that Grand Secretary Wang's days are unlikely to be long."

Li Yu had a similar premonition in his heart, yet he still wished to understand the situation more clearly.

Ning Yuan sighed: "His Majesty is only twelve or thirteen this year, right at the age most fond of play. Aside from His Majesty's birthday and New Year festivals, Grand Secretary Wang forces His Majesty to study books and practice martial arts."

The study schedule is packed to the brim. If His Majesty were to follow it, he would naturally become a brilliant monarch accomplished in both civil and military arts in the future, and he would also feel grateful to Wang Zhiqiu.

The problem is that the Emperor is actually just an ordinary person. He wants to play, yet you insist on making him sit in a classroom and mount a horse.

Even if it is for his own good, he will not feel grateful to you.

A child will feel grateful when parents treat them strictly, but you, Wang Zhiqiu, are not the Emperor's parents. Managing everything here and there, how could the other party not harbor a grudge?

"Compared to Grand Secretary Wang, Grand Secretary Fan is much more flexible. He always follows His Majesty's wishes and never forces His Majesty to do anything."

"After the late Emperor passed away, His Majesty initially favored closeness with Grand Secretary Wang, but now he is much closer to Grand Secretary Fan. The Empress Dowager's side is the same."

Ning Yuan continued: "The Empress Dowager loves the cherries from our region. Although cherries are difficult to transport and consume much time and effort, so what if the Empress Dowager wants to eat them and it requires more effort?"

"For this reason, Grand Secretary Wang even submitted a memorial stating that the Empress Dowager should not act thusly merely for the sake of culinary desire... The Empress Dowager's face remained dark for several days."

Having said all this, Ning Yuan shook his head like a rattle-drum and added:

"It is not that I think Grand Secretary Fan is right; I merely feel that Grand Secretary Wang is only suited to be a Censor, not a Grand Secretary. That is not how a Chief Councilor should act."

The late Emperor had ruined Wang Zhiqiu!

For no good reason, why did the late Emperor push such a person onto the position of Grand Secretary?

Wasn't this making it blatantly obvious that he wanted the man to come to a bad end?

What a sin!

Spring in the capital was colder than winter, and Li Yu's heart grew cold along with Ning Yuan's words. He had originally thought that if he could rely on Grand Secretary Wang to rise all the way up,

entering the cabinet to become a Grand Secretary and leaving a renowned name in history, then his decades of poring over books by the window in hardship would not have been in vain.

Who would have thought...

Now it seemed he should thank the blessings of his ancestors just to avoid being branded as part of the Wang faction and escaping future political purges; how could he dare entertain any thoughts of entering the cabinet and becoming a Grand Secretary?

Should he perhaps return home to rest for another three years, and come back after the dust settled and they decided the victor?

The moment this thought arose, it was shattered by a single sentence from Ning Yuan.

"Zixuan, so many people are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself. You must definitely pass this time."

Indeed.

So many neighborhood residents, so many envious people wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

He himself didn't care much.

But the honor of his father, mother, and wife—these were also vitally important. Therefore, he still had to give it his absolute all this time.

After the examinations concluded, he would figure out a way to see if he could secure a post on an external assignment.

In the second year of Xing'an, on the ninth day of the second month, at the capital Tribute Examination Hall.

Li Yu felt everything was extremely familiar—the familiar formula, the familiar scenery, even the examination booth he drew was identical to the last one.

It was just that because the Emperor had changed, the power of the ministers had also shifted.

During this metropolitan examination, Li Yu's answers were much more moderate, placing greater emphasis on the accumulation of ornate phrasing and displaying his technical skill in essay composition.

As for current affairs, he remained impartial, striving to ensure that the two major factions at court would have no major objections to his essay.

After nine days and six nights, Li Yu emerged from the examination hall with a pale face. Before he even had time to board the Ning family carriage, a young boy bumped into him and slipped him a slip of paper.

Once inside the carriage, Li Yu unfolded it and saw a line of sweeping, dragon-flying script: "At the third quarter of the midnight hour, please visit the manor for a conversation."

There was no signature on the slip, nor any indication of which manor to go to or how to get there.

Fortunately, Li Yu recognized this handwriting; he had seen it in Wang Zhiqiu's study.

Should he go or not?

If he didn't go, Grand Secretary Wang had shown him the grace of appreciation, and he truly liked this person Grand Secretary Wang, feeling that this man was the true backbone of the nation.

If he went...

Grand Secretary Wang's current predicament... he didn't know whether it would implicate him in the future.

Better go after all!

Li Yu ultimately decided to go. The other party hadn't asked him to go openly; if he lacked even the courage to go secretly, could he still be called a man?

The grand secretary's manor bestowed by the late Emperor was already overgrown with weeds, and of the dozen or so servants from before, only two elderly ones remained, making the place appear even more austere than it had three years ago.

That Grand Secretary Wang who used to work overtime until the early hours of the morning, yet remained spirited with light radiating from his eyes, now had a head full of gray hair and lifeless eyes.

If the late Emperor were still alive, Grand Secretary Wang would probably be as glorious as ever.

A virtuous minister needed a brilliant monarch to match him; what a terrible pity.

Li Yu bowed with cupped hands and said: "Grand Secretary Wang, please take good care of your health."

He felt his brother-in-law was entirely right; it was the late Emperor who had harmed Wang Zhiqiu.

This person was only suited to be a Censor, not a Grand Secretary, unless there was a good monarch.

Wang Zhiqiu wearily sat up, looked at the young man who had become even steadier after three years apart, and after a long silence, asked bluntly:

"Do you wish to stay in the capital, or do you seek an external provincial post?"

Though he was currently unable to protect even himself, arranging an official post was still an easy matter for him.

After all, he was an appointed statesman entrusted with imperial orphans by the late Emperor. For the time being, there was no grave crime of treason, and Fan Chengyuan and the others could do nothing to him.

Li Yu asked with perplexity: "Grand Secretary Wang, the metropolitan examination results haven't been posted yet, have they?"

To be considering staying in the capital or taking an external post now—wasn't that a bit too early?

Wang Zhiqiu asked again: "If you pass, whether staying in the capital or taking an external post, how will you choose?"

Since the superior asked so earnestly, Li Yu naturally would not respond with frivolous smiles.

"Grand Secretary Wang, this student wishes to go to the provinces to temper himself."

It was the expected answer. Wang Zhiqiu paced back and forth for a long while before finally making up his mind.

"I intend to send you to the territory of Prince Lu. There is currently a vacancy for the magistrate of Zhangqiu."

It wasn't that he couldn't send someone else, but doing so would make the target too large and risk attracting attention. After careful thought, a newly successful junior jinshi jinshi was best able to pull the wool over people's eyes.

Li Yu was stunned: "...What does Grand Secretary Wang mean by this?"

Being the magistrate of Zhangqiu was fine, but why single out Prince Lu?

Prince Lu was the legitimate son of the late Emperor, and the best candidate for succession after the demise of the late Emperor's crown prince.

For Grand Secretary Wang to suddenly bring up this person at a time like this, a trace of fear stirred in his heart!