Chapter 22 Double Ninth Festival - Qi Tai and his wife
When Qi Tai came home from work, his six-year-old daughter Pin'er came up to him and said in a sweet voice: "Father is back." Qi Tai became happy when he saw his daughter and touched her little head.
, said: "Well, I'm back."
Then Yan'er saw the bag containing pastries that Qi Tai was carrying, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "Daddy is buying some pastries."
Qitai said "hmm" and said, "I'll give it to you after your grandpa has tasted it." Qi'er said "hmm".
Entering the house, his father Qi Yu was sitting and drinking tea. His brother Qi Jingzong was not here and should be chopping firewood in the backyard; his wife was busy in the kitchen.
Qi Tai put down the bag he was carrying and took out the pastries. Before he could speak, his father Qi Yu said, "Why did you buy some pastries today? Although it is a holiday, our family is not a wealthy family, so why should we care about this?"
The Qi family is just an ordinary farmer in Lishui County, east of the capital. They can't even afford two scholars. Because Qi Tai was smart and good at reading since he was a child, the family finally decided to send Qi Tai to study, while his brother Qi Jingzong could only work at home. Good.
He was still doing well in Qitai, and he won the Xie Yuan at the age of twenty, and the Jinshi the following year. However, the salary of officials in the Hongwu Dynasty was not high, and Qitai did not take bribes to gain benefits. Although he became an official and had a tax-free land quota, the capital
Everything is so expensive, so life has always been tight. So Qi Yu asked this question.
Qi Tai smiled bitterly and said: "It was His Highness who forced it on me." His father Qi Yu said: "You mentioned it a few days ago, His Majesty sent it to the Ministry of War?" Qi Tai nodded.
His father Qi Yu said: "I don't know much about government affairs, but didn't you say at that time not to get too close to His Highness?"
Qi Tai said: "I also want to stay away from His Highness, but His Highness doesn't want to be like that with me! I have a feeling that His Highness is deliberately trying to get in touch with me."
His father Qi Yu then said, "How can a His Highness try to get close to you? Are you overthinking it?"
"I don't know, but it seems like that. Just like today, I got off work a little early and happened to meet His Highness. I thought he was asking me why I left early, but now that I think about it, I feel like he was actually asking me.
Is there anything you need help with? After knowing the reason, you gave me these snacks."
"Furthermore, His Highness is not very warm to other officials in the Ministry of War, including the Minister of Secretariat. He is just doing this to me, which is really strange." At this time, Qitai was just an ordinary official of only the sixth rank.
, I really feel that there is no reason for Yunxi to approach him.
Of course Qi Tai didn't know that two years later, he would be favored by Lao Zhu and change his name himself, so Yunxi deliberately approached him. And it's not that Yunxi didn't want to discover other outstanding people, but he had never heard of anyone else in the Ministry of War.
, it is very likely that in the next six years, these officials from the Ministry of War will be sentenced to death or have their death sentences suspended. Then wouldn't his efforts be in vain?
Don’t think it’s a joke to all receive lunch boxes. One year, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed 364 officials. One year later, six of the officials were sentenced to death and the other 358 officials were sentenced to suspended death. So in Hongwu
Being an official in court is really high risk and low return.
His father Qi Yu said: "By the way, did you say that another His Highness was also sent to do something?"
"Yes, His Highness is currently working in the Ministry of Household Affairs." Qitai replied.
"Then now it's two people fighting for the throne! I don't know anything about government affairs, but this fight for the throne is the most dangerous thing. If you are not careful, you will be shattered to pieces! It's better not to get involved."
Qi Tai's brother Qi Jingzong happened to walk in and heard his father's words just now, and also said: "Yes, brother, our family will be an official honestly and don't get involved in these things."
Qi Tai smiled bitterly in his heart, can you not participate in this political matter and the battle for the throne if you want not to? But there is no need to talk to the old father about this.
However, Qitai's wife, Mrs. Yu, happened to come in with the dishes and said, "Dad, you can avoid this official business if you want to. Wang Qinian from the next village became a scholar and became a county magistrate in Huguang.
.Wang Qinian is still a relative of my mother's family. I met him when I was a child. He is such an honest and honest person. He never dares to take corruption or bribery. After he became an official, his family's life did not get better. He is just such a person.
, the Kongyin case a few years ago was because the main official lost his head. So, I can’t help myself when I enter the officialdom."
Qi Tai's wife Yu's nickname was Minyue, and her father was a Juren in the former Yuan Dynasty (Note 1). She was deeply influenced by family traditions since she was a child. She was keenly aware of current affairs and could often hit the point in what she said. Qi Tai would sometimes discuss official matters with his wife.
.If Qitai had not passed the Yingtian Township Examination and Jieyuan (equivalent to the first place in the college entrance examination in the three provincial administrative units of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Anhui), he would not have been able to marry such a good wife.
When Qitai's father heard this, he felt that Yu Minyue's words made sense. He sighed and said nothing more. He steeled himself again, picked up a piece of snacks and said to Mei'er, "My dear granddaughter, do you want some snacks?".
Li'er didn't know what they were discussing just now, he just kept staring at the snacks. When he saw his grandpa wanted to give him snacks, he happily took them and ate them. The topic just now was over.
In the evening, when Qi Tai's father Qi Yu fell asleep, Yu Minyue quietly asked Qi Tai: "My father is here today, and it's hard for me to ask. Why would His Highness give you something?"
Qi Tai then told his wife what he had said today again. Yu Minyue thought for a while and asked: "What do you think of these three highnesses?"
Qitai thought for a while and said: "His Royal Highness is just a middle-aged man in terms of ability, and his reaction speed is not fast. Fortunately, he is still diligent and conscientious. However, His Highness sees problems very thoroughly and can often get to the essence of the problem (because he stands as a giant).
on the shoulders of others), and do things fairly; what is even more rare is that he never speaks easily and does not easily judge the authenticity of things. Young people are often frivolous and easy to express their opinions. Your Highness has almost no impetuousness of ordinary young people (
How can a modern pure woman who has been polished by society still be impetuous?"
Yu Minyue said: "For the superior, there is no need to actually do things in the future, just appoint capable people to do things; I guess after the death of the current emperor, the successor must reset the position of prime minister; His Highness sees the problem thoroughly, it is the superior
What is needed by the emperor; moreover, he should be cautious in his words. After the world is governed in an orderly manner now, it will be even more important for future generations. Therefore, these three highnesses may become the masters of the Ming Dynasty, but it is difficult to say at the end."
Qi Tai said: "Then you mean, I surrender to him?"
Yu Minyue shook her head and said: "I'm just saying that based on your current performance and your observations, His Highness the Third is more suitable to be emperor than His Highness the Second, but you can make up your own mind about the rest." After a pause, he added: "No matter what you do
Whatever you decide, I support you."
Qi Tai was quite touched, but he didn't know how to express his gratitude to his wife. He could only hug her hard and keep silent.
Note 1: The Mongol examination was much more difficult than that of the Ming Dynasty, because the test papers for the Mongols and Semu people were different from those for the Han people. They were much simpler. The number of Mongolians and Semu people was small, but the number of admissions was roughly the same.
