Chapter 135: The Old Man in Chen Manor in Capital City
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The sky in the capital city was full of coolness, and the cool autumn was in a steady state. The streets were covered with yellow leaves and there came a rustling as soon as you stepped on it. Hearing the sound, it felt even bleaker.
There were not many people on the road. The sky was not overcast, but gloomy. Cold winds blowing from time to time made people feel a sense of coolness.
There was a street within the capital city called Longhu Street. The biggest difference between it and other streets in the capital city was that it was curved like a snake, winding its way from the side of the straight avenue of Qingyang Gate to Gelao Alley.
Gelao Alley’s original name was Zhongting Lane. The people who lived in this alley were all important officials of Jin. There were three Gelao from the Cabinet, so it was called Gelao Alley. Because of this, the high security of Gelao Alley in the capital city was second only to the Royal Capital. The people who came and went were high officials and n.o.ble lords. Officials under fifth grade were rarely qualified to come here.
There were lots of Grand Mansion Gates in Gelao Alley. One of them was in the first right corner of the alley and its doorhead was not prominent, but the heavy red door’s plaque said “Chen Manor” on the doorhead, showing the extraordinariness of the owner of this manor.
Of course, the two words had no demonic power, but the words “Gu Yue Immortal” in the small print beside the two big words were really deterrent.
“Gu Yue Immortal” was the alias of Jin’s former Emperor. In other words, the plaque was written by the current Emperor’s father. Hence this plaque had such a heavy importance.
Because of this unusual weight, the owner of this house was ent.i.tled to order in the Cabinet, and subsequently was emboldened to denounce national politics. He was the Prime Minister, Chen Yihua, an old minister of three dynasties, known as “the Literary Master of the World”, his literary name was Chen Zhulao.
Chen Yihua had been a Cabinet Minister for 20 years and a Prime Minister for 10 years. No one in the imperial court had ever been able to shake his position or even had this idea. Four of the current five Cabinet Ministers were his students, the last one also regarded him as a teacher.
In fact, Chen Manor was not big and was only a medium-sized house among a dozen Grand Mansion Gates in Gelao Alley. But the authority it represented was more than the rest of the Grand Mansion Gates combined.
Because of this, the entrance guard of Chen Manor was very strict. The door of the house looked old and dappled, and there was only an old and frail gatekeeper. However, if you want to pa.s.s through this door, hmph!
It was hard!
If you were an official under fourth grade, the old gatekeeper was not willing to care for you, nor would he let you in. He would only be willing to greet ministers of third grade or above.
But today was different. Though the old gatekeeper was slouching as usual, he looked out of the alley with the pale eyes every now and then. Especially when he heard footsteps and hooves, he would look up and from time to time show disdain upon his face.
It was not until noon when there was a sound of footsteps in the entrance to the alley, that once again the old gatekeeper looked up with hope and finally saw the man he had been waiting for.
“Oh, my little ancestor, you’re back at last. Come on, go in. The Prime Minister has been waiting for you in the study room!”
“He is so busy every day. Why would he wait for me!” The man didn’t care about it at all. He looked at the old gatekeeper, “You old man, you can also bluff!”
“Oh, my Lord, how dare I bluff you! The Prime Minister seemed to have something important for you to do, he knew you would be back today and told me to wait for you at the gate from early in the morning. He said that as soon as you get back, I should send you straight to the study room!”
“Oh, well!” The man looked a little surprised, but the old gatekeeper didn’t seem to be lying, “See me in such a hurry? That’s interesting. Then I must check it out!” Then he went into Chen Manor, shaking his head behind the old gatekeeper.
Chen Manor covered an enormous area. They entered the manor and walked a long way before reaching the destination. It was a quiet study room.
“The Prime Minister is inside!” The old gatekeeper stopped at the door of the study room and said to the man, “please!”
The man smiled and walked straight into the study room without knocking at the door.
In the study room, he saw an old man in a green robe, half-white hair casually in a bun, with his back facing towards him.
The old man was the Prime Minister, Chen Yifu.
“Second Uncle, I’m back!” He said gently. Though from the outside of the manor he looked unconcerned, as soon as he entered the room, facing the owner of the room, his momentum was lost.
“Good. I thought you should be back in a few days!”
“Second Uncle, you were so anxious to ask me here. What’s the matter?”
“Put down everything you have on hand now. I have something I want you to do!”
“What’s it?” The man was startled, and a slight uneasiness came over him. Now he had several things on hand, which were all very important. Now that he was asked to put them down, it must not be an easy thing this time.
“Actually, nothing big!” Chen Yifu said. Then he pulled out a book from the bookshelf in front of him and sat down at the desk, “It’s about an annoying marriage!”
“An annoying marriage?” He was surprised as if he thought of something, “you mean the Mingyi School and Ma family?”
“Yes, it’s a ha.s.sle!”
“I know it’s a ha.s.sle, but what does this have to do with you?”
“It’s not just with me. It’s with you, with everyone in Jin!” Chen Yifu said, “do you think this is really just an ordinary marriage?”
“If it was the Tian Long Taoism and Governor Ma’s daughter, I would find it strange. But it was the Mingyi School and Governor Ma’s daughter. I don’t think it’s a big deal. The Mingyi School had always advocated for the enhancement of the imperial power, while Governor Ma was the direct line of the emperor. Isn’t it a happy marriage?”
“You know it. Don’t pretend! You are a man of the martial arts world, but you spoke of things from an official point of view. Was it interesting to do so? Yunzhou has always been the territory of the Tian Long Taoism. Now that the Mingyi School wanted to take this opportunity to be a part of it, which is intended to humiliate the Tian Long Taoism, do you think the Tian Long Taoism will agree?”
“Second Uncle, although I’m a man in Jianghu, I can see something clearly. How could this be successful if both sides have not had to make big compromises? If something happens, it must have happened already. It won’t wait until now. Even if Tian Long Taoism objected, they would only resist at the very beginning. Now it has decided. If they were to stop, they would not only offend the Mingyi School and the imperial court, but also Governor Ma!”
“Yes, and Governor Ma!” Chen Yifu gave him a deep look, “didn’t you say that Governor Ma was a direct descendant of the Emperor? Why did you separate him from the imperial court now? Isn’t Governor Ma and the imperial court the same thing in your mind?”
“No!” The man smiled awkwardly, “I just felt that Governor Ma was too independent. In contrast, the majesty of the imperial court in Yunzhou was much weaker than his. Therefore, I unconsciously separated the imperial court from Governor Ma.”
“Yes, he’s too independent. And he performed so strongly that it isn’t easy for the Emperor to replace him in Yunzhou!”
“The Emperor wants to replace the Governor of Yunzhou?” The man heard the overtones and his body shook as if he didn’t believe it, “How could that be?”
“How could that be? Everything is possible in this world!” Chen Yifu said, “It was because everyone thought it was impossible that the Emperor wanted to replace him. But I asked you here not for this. It’s not your turn even replacing the governor. I want you to go to Yunzhou to look after the wedding. If there’s no accident, let it be, but if there’s an accident, you might as well mix it up darkly. It’s better to find chances to make the guys in Mingyi School suffer!”
“The Mingyi School?” The bearer smiled, looked up and said, “Second Uncle, I heard that w.a.n.g Chengyun of Mingyi School was entering the Cabinet. Is it true?”
“w.a.n.g Chengyun? He is just a scholar, not worth worrying about!”
At the mention of w.a.n.g Chengyun, Chen Yifu’s expression slightly changed and then immediately returned to normal, “he is only thirty-six years old. It’s not easy for him to enter the Cabinet!”
“But I heard that w.a.n.g Chengyun is very pushy recently!”
“Being pushy is not always good!” Chen Yifu shook his head and glared at him, “you too. Don’t get too pushy, and get down to business!”
“What’s the matter with me?”
“You are like w.a.n.g Chengyun. You’re about the same age. He is a scholar, and you are a man in Jianghu. Both of you are very pushy!” Chen Yifu said, “Although w.a.n.g Chengyun looks brilliant now, I can tell you right now that he can’t get into the Cabinet or become a Senior Scholar. He won’t be brilliant for a few days!”
The man raised his eyebrows, he did not ask and did not say anything else. He knew that his Second Uncle always kept his word. Since he said w.a.n.g Chengyun could not be brilliant for a few days, then w.a.n.g Chengyun would not be brilliant for a few days. Since he said w.a.n.g Chengyun could not enter the Cabinet, then w.a.n.g Chengyun would not enter the cabinet.
As for becoming a Senior Scholar, w.a.n.g Chengyun was learned, but if he wanted to put a “Senior” before “Scholar”, he would have to get Second Uncle’s consent.
“Go to Yunzhou. Don’t let anyone know or see you. Take a chance to teach the Mingyi School a lesson, but don’t force it. I don’t think it will be smooth!” Chen Yifu gently stroked the short beard under his chin and smiled slightly.
…