The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

Lin Ruhai was right, Wang Ziteng and others' counterattack came fast and fierce. Within two days, Hongqing Palace, where the Supreme Emperor was located, could not wait to convey the decree. The general idea is: Thinking of the late Xue Benshan's hard work and meritorious service, and the fact that Xue's family only had one son left in the house, beheading was changed to exile, and he was exiled for three thousand miles.

It seems right and excusable, right? But Xue Pan's verdict did not include the words never pardon. This alone will be enough for Wang Ziteng, Gu Zaiyong and others to make a fuss in the future.

If nothing else, April next year will be the Emperor's seventy-fourth birthday. As usual, it's such an auspicious day. The imperial court would pardon a group of prisoners from prison to show the emperor's great kindness and universal celebration.

It's November now, and when the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple finish reviewing Xue Pan's case, it will probably be the beginning of next spring. In ancient times, there was a custom of not killing prisoners in spring and summer, which Chen Heng could almost predict.

Xue Pan only stayed in the prison for a few months and lived a so-called peaceful life for the time being. When the time is right, officials from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple will put his name on the pardon list.

It's really annoying, it's really irritating. After hearing Chen Heng's guess, Liu Xianglian felt very angry. But he no longer cared to pay attention to Xue Pan's penalty, and Liu Xianglian herself was in a bad situation.

On the second day after the Shuntian Mansion closed the case, he rushed to the palace as an errand. Liu Xianglian's superior officer tried different ways to find fault with him. Even the smallest mistakes in the past would be caught and beaten these days. Either a fine or a salary, or the hardest work.

Colleagues who were good friends in the past were afraid to talk to Liu Xianglian. Everyone neatly treated Liu Xianglian as a transparent person. The most annoying thing is that every time Liu Xianglian was punished, Jia Rong would stand in the distance tacitly, showing an inexplicable smile.

After suffering like this for the first half of a month, no matter how good-tempered I am, I will still get sick. What's more, Liu Xianglian's salary is only three melons and two dates. In anger, he went directly to his superior to resign. The other party didn't show any mercy, just came up with a sneer and took away Liu Xianglian's badge.

A palace guard would still be treated like this, let alone Chen Heng, the instigator. His situation was even worse than Liu Xianglian's, although Gu Zaiyong and Wang Ziteng did not end up in trouble.

But the officials who were attached to the two men rushed towards Chen Heng. First, a censor spoke up, suspecting that Chen Heng took the opportunity to seek revenge and secretly retaliate against Xue Pan.

The censor who filed the complaint really had a nose and an eye. First, it was brought up that Xue Pan and Chen Heng had a private conflict, and then Liu Xianglian took the opportunity to stir up trouble. In the end, Liu Xianglian and Xue Pan had a fight in the restaurant. Master Chen learned about the situation and encouraged Uncle Wang's daughter to file a complaint.

This censor is really a talented person, and he has done several irrelevant things. It came out of his mouth so well that Chen Heng didn't know what to say. This crime is really very ulterior. Once confirmed, it can almost be regarded as the crime of deceiving the emperor. Of course Chen Heng would not recognize it, let alone recognize it.

After a few days of chatting like this, Lin Ruhai suggested calling in the Wang family daughter for questioning. The censors belonging to Prime Minister Gu turned their guns again and accused Chen Heng of accepting bribes from Hong Maofan. Now the Hong Mao Fan mission has gone back to their governor to ask for instructions. Only the British mission in the capital came forward to testify. How could Chen Heng hear a good word from these people? It would be nice if you don’t add insult to injury.

After staying up like this for a while, Chen Heng was still sitting in the office of Liu Ke every day. But he still clearly felt the impact of the impeachment in the court on him. The colleagues around him avoided him intentionally or unintentionally, and everyone was afraid of being involved in trouble.

Chen Heng was prepared for this, and his mentality was much better than Liu Xianglian's. Busy with your own affairs as usual every day, and you can be considered contented.

Lin Ruhai was very happy with the student's indifference. As a division commander, he naturally had no intention of sitting idly by. After half a month of secret observation, I saw that the Ministry of Punishment was still deliberately delaying Xue Pan's case.

One day around late November, after Lin Ruhai returned home, she took the initiative to call Chen Heng into her study.

As soon as the teacher and student met, Lin Ruhai joked with Chen Heng first: I didn't expect that you would have to encounter this before me, the teacher.

Chen Heng knew that the teacher was talking about being besieged by the censor. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, It can be regarded as a skill that is better than the skill of the master.

He has been keeping a low profile in the yamen recently and doesn't pay much attention to external affairs, but he can't help but have friends. Du Yunjing, who served in the Hanlin Academy, mentioned in private to Chen Heng more than once that Li Zhi's desk was full of memorials to impeach him.

What are you going to do? Lin Ruhai didn't look anxious at all. He was a veteran official. With a pair of sophisticated eyes, he has seen many foolish things, and has witnessed the ups and downs of countless people.

What do you think, teacher? Chen Heng became more relaxed in front of Lin Ruhai after being trained by recent events. Seeing the student taking the initiative to ask himself, Lin Ruhai thought for a while and smiled: Let's write down what we think on paper. Let's see if the two of us can think of a place to go.

Students obey. Chen Heng was delighted to be invited. He took the pen and paper and wrote on the table next to him for a moment, then took it to Lin Ruhai. Teachers and students exchanged things in their hands and saw the word retreat written on each other's papers. Lin Ruhai laughed immediately and said hello three times.

Do you really think so?

Seeing Chen Heng nodding sharply, Lin Ruhai felt relieved a little. He was afraid that he, a student who had achieved his ambition at a young age, would be frustrated for a while and would not be able to bear the changes in circumstances before and after, and would end up feeling like a wandering cloud and a wild crane.

Zhang Juzheng also went through this experience back then. After resigning, he saw too many injustices among the people, and with the help of his mentor Xu Jie, he was finally able to return to officialdom.

Then tell the teacher, what are the benefits of quitting? Lin Ruhai decided to take the test as a student. He hoped that Chen Heng could understand things more comprehensively and look at the predicament with a calmer attitude, so as to solve his own problems. of distress.

Chen Heng didn't hesitate when he got new test questions. Just thinking about it in my mind, I revealed my opinion to the teacher.

Now that Xun Gui has just merged with the old party, it is the time when he wants to show off his power. At this time, the longer you remain frozen in front of them, the more fierce their criticism will be.

Although Li Zhi and Lin Ruhai will always support him, with such a few backers, Chen Hengda can do his job with peace of mind. But there are some things that you can't just think about yourself, just leaning against the big tree to enjoy the shade.

In front of Li Zhi, he received confessions of guilt every day. He couldn't tell which one, but it stayed in his heart. Who knows if that piece of false news will be revealed many years later.

This is similar to the love between a man and a woman, if someone else talks bad things about the other person in one's ears every day. The longer it goes on, the worse the impact will be. What people fear most is not conclusive evidence, but unwarranted associations. Suspicion itself is the greatest malice.

Rather than letting yourself become a thorn in others' eyes or a thorn in their flesh. Chen Heng felt that it would be better for him to leave a general image in Li Zhi's mind.

Besides, once he quits, the new party will have one less point for criticism. Once he retires, Li Zhi will remember his contribution even more. Once you withdraw, the old party will become even more complacent and arrogant. And people only start to make mistakes when they are proud.

Lin Ruhai finally nodded in relief. Heng'er's ability to think this way meant that his official career in the past two years had not been wasted. Lin Ruhai added: It's only one year before the examination. If you step back now, you can prepare with peace of mind.

You don't have to worry too much about other things. Once you leave, His Majesty can remember your talents and show your difference. What you lost today will be doubled after the test. you.

Lin Ruhai's words were entirely based on his understanding of Li Zhi. In official circles, don't be afraid of being wronged. The grievance is not terrible. The terrible thing is that no one knows that you are wronged. You are even more afraid of knowing that the person you have been wronged is just a person worth mentioning.

Chen Heng didn't think so thoroughly, he just felt that Lin Ruhai and Li Zhi were there. As long as I pass the Jinshi exam and find a suitable position, it won't be too much trouble. He is not a saint. It is with this confidence that he can advance and retreat freely.

The teacher and student reached an agreement on this matter. That night, Chen Heng went back and started preparing to resign.

The next day, Chen Heng went to court, and the resignation letter was handed to Li Zhi's court. The latter immediately refused and even refuted Chen Heng. I blame this kid for not being able to withstand the situation and being frightened by a little storm.

Chen Heng was even dumbfounded, and gave three discounts in three days in a row. In the end, it was Lin Ruhai who came forward and said that students should prepare for the examination with peace of mind. Li Zhi nodded in agreement and summoned Chen Heng to Linjing Hall that day. The first thing he said was: I know that I have wronged you in this matter.

When Chen Heng heard this, he knew that he and his teacher had made the right move.

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Recently, my brother has been hiding in the study with his father, talking, although I don't know what the two of them are planning. Lin Daiyu still vaguely felt that something big would happen soon.

Today, when Chen Heng was rushing out to go to court, Daiyu saw that his expression was far more relaxed and casual than before, and she felt even more uneasy. She already remembered her brother, even though both her father and brother deliberately hid the bad news from her. But it's not like Daiyu doesn't have any old friends. As long as she goes out to look for Sister Wei Qijun, everything will be clear to her.

Ha, Du Yunjing is such a big mouth. Because of what happened to Chen Heng, he often complained about Gu Dang's domineering attitude at home. With this tip, although Daiyu could not know the whole story, relying on her intelligence, she could still guess right.

It was past afternoon, and Daiyu was in her younger brother's room, teaching Lin Jue how to read. Suddenly I heard news from outside that my brother was back. She was so panicked that she didn't even bother to put on her cloak, she got up and ran forward.

Walking through the snow-covered verandahs and courtyards. In the corner where the winter wind blew, one could faintly hear the voices of Chen Heng and Xinda talking. Lin Daiyu accelerated a few steps and rushed around the corner. When he saw Chen Heng dressed in Tsing Yi, he was also surprised by her appearance.

Sister?! Chen Heng glanced at Lin Daiyu up and down, and frowned, It's so cold, why do you go out without even wearing clothes properly?

Brother... Lin Daiyu was hesitant to speak. She noticed Chen Heng's dress and appearance. When he comes back from court every day, his brother must be wearing official robes and his face is full of fatigue.

Like today, the relaxed and carefree figure in Tsing Yi can only be seen once or twice when taking a bath. Lin Daiyu had already guessed her brother's situation today, and immediately said with red eyes: Brother is back so early, he must be tired. You go to the house to rest quickly, my sister left some snacks for you, I will go and get them... …”

Seeing that the beauty in front of him was about to turn around and run away, how could Chen Heng let her get her wish, so he directly stepped forward and held Lin Daiyu's little hand. He smiled and said, There's no rush to eat. You come back to the house with me first, and I'll explain this matter to you slowly.

After saying that, Chen Heng ignored the servants coming and going around and directly took Daiyu, who turned from jealous to blushing, and led Xinda and Zijuan back to the house.

The two of them sat down in the house, and Lin Daiyu was already hesitating: Brother...brother..., you...say it!

Although the two of them were often intimate in private, they walked hand in hand like this in public. For Lin Daiyu, it was too exciting. She felt her mind was so groggy that she couldn't care less about her worries just now.

Seeing how funny she looked, Chen Heng couldn't stop being amused and chuckled: Sister, do you want to hear what I have to say?

This is not what a serious person should say. My brother is really becoming more and more courageous. Sister Lin's look was really interesting. Her face was red and red, but her beautiful eyebrows were forced to wrinkle together. She said in a crisp voice, You...if you don't want to say it, then I won't listen.

Hahahahaha. Chen Heng couldn't restrain himself. After laughing happily, he stood up and apologized, Sister, don't be impatient. Let me tell you slowly as my brother.

Wait until the brother finished telling the story and his plans with his father. Lin Daiyu finally calmed down and blinked: So, brother finally doesn't have to get up early to go to court?

Chen Heng said with joy from the bottom of his heart: That's right.

Regardless of whether it is cold or hot, I have to get up at three or four o'clock every day. Chen Heng had had enough of this life for a long time. Now that he thought about it, he would be very happy to have a peaceful sleep at home tomorrow.

Seeing that her brother was not depressed by this, Lin Daiyu hurriedly said: A blessing in disguise is a blessing in disguise. Gongsun Hong ranks before the Three Dukes, and he has made several comebacks. We still have a long time to come, so brother, just slowly compare with them.

Hahaha, what my sister said makes sense. Chen Heng smiled happily at the word we and felt deeply that Daiyu had extraordinary knowledge. But talking about this, there is one thing that still gives me a headache.

What is it? Lin Daiyu asked curiously.

I'm afraid I won't have any salary in the future, so I'll have to hand it over to my sister. Chen Heng sighed in a pretentious manner.

You... Daiyu bit her lower lip, unable to think of how to punish her sweetheart in front of her.

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It's not all bad to resign and stay at home. After getting enough sleep the next day, Chen Heng read a book peacefully in the room. I was only halfway through the book when Daiyu brought some snacks and Jia Min brought some tea.

The Lin family and his wife have reached a tacit understanding and regard Chen Heng as half of their son-in-law. Jia Min heard that his future son-in-law resigned because of Xue Pan's incident. The view of the Xue family in my heart became more and more unhappy.

It was the New Year's Eve soon, and as a rule, she was going to take her husband-in-law and children back to her parents' home to congratulate her elders. Because of this, Jia Min didn't want to go back, lest she have to argue with Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue.

Lin Ruhai also followed her. At this juncture, King Gu's party was very powerful. Although Heng'er has made a political stance for him, it may be beneficial to have less contact with him after all.

The family was busy preparing New Year's goods, but Chen Heng had some free time and took Daiyu and Lin Jue to study together all day long. This was really hard for Lin Jue. Being sandwiched between his eldest brother and sister all day long, what kind words could he hear?

Near the end of the year, around December 18, an unexpected person suddenly came to visit Chen Heng.

When the concierge invited the guests in, Chen Heng was stunned for a moment, and then he immediately turned away the servants on his left and right, rolled up his sleeves and saluted: Your Highness, why are you here?

I'm here to see you for Grandpa Huang! Li Jun laughed happily, looked at Chen Heng's yard again and again, and said teasingly, You are indeed a little too young. I'm afraid I won't be able to live with two ladies in the future.

You even made fun of me, but Chen Heng kept silent. He knows Li Jun. If you treat guests with nice words and smiles, Li Jun will definitely make fun of you.

Hey, Mr. Chen, don't be angry. Li Jun glanced at Chen Heng and said hurriedly, I'm here to give you a house. Don't be ignorant of a good heart. We are about the same age, Grandpa Huang. You asked me to be closer to you.

The common people think that Your Majesty has forgotten this matter. Chen Hengyou complained that this matter has been delayed for too long.

Li Jun laughed: I've been thinking about finding a good condom for you. Master Chen, are you free to go out with me today?

Go and look at your future home, you will definitely have space for it. Excited, Chen Heng nodded quickly and called Xinda from outside the house. The two of them tidied up briefly and followed Li Jun out the door.

Yesterday I was dragging a client to drink, but I really had no choice but to get away. I drank until midnight and was so miserable that I died. . . I forced myself to finish coding today...