Xie Hongdao just went in and saw a pole for drying clothes in the courtyard. On one side was a row of low side rooms for servants to live in. Several maids and women were cleaning the courtyard.
Walking through, not only did he not notice the door, but Xie Hongdao went inside and passed the flower hall on the corridor. He saw two people coming over to talk from a distance, but he didn't notice either.
"Alas, I have been demoted."
"Yes, Madam was very uncomfortable and cried a lot."
"Not to mention Madam, I locked myself in the study and didn't come out all day."
Xie Hongdao smiled silently and walked along the corridor. He also met several servants one after another, but he also didn't notice them.
In the eyes of those people, I may no longer be a human being, but a small flying insect, or even a fallen leaf blown by the wind.
It's not that the person disappeared, but that in their eyes, Xie Hongdao's presence dropped to the lowest level at this moment, as if he had been replaced by something else.
When I looked up, I was at the end of the corridor, where the study room was obviously.
The decoration was good, the lacquered columns were painted vermilion, and there were two bird cages hung on the corridor. When I arrived at the study door, I opened the door and went in. The door opened with a creak, and a woman came out.
The married woman is dressed up. She is not too young. She looks like a royal wife at first glance. She is more dignified. Her appearance is not very outstanding. Her face is pale with some tear stains. There are also slight fish scale lines at the corners of her eyes. She frowns slightly, as if
Very worried.
"..." Xie Hongdao took advantage of not being directly seen, and ducked to the side of the rockery, retreated slightly, and avoided, not daring to take a closer look at her appearance.
"This must be the mistress of this mansion. With my magic, the most taboo thing is to be in front of the nobles. It's better not to cause trouble."
Xie Hongdao watched her go away, thinking to himself.
Although it is not unusual for a couple to come to the master's study, but when they came and walked out at this time, their expressions were dignified, and it didn't look like they were just coming here casually.
When this lady enters the study, she has business to attend to.
With Xie Hongdao thinking this, he walked to the door and pushed it in. The door creaked open and he closed it gently.
Because of the spell he cast, the opening and closing did not attract the attention of the man in the study. As soon as he entered the room, Xie Hongdao immediately understood that the spell had failed.
Or he was absorbed in contemplation, so the officer didn't notice. Looking carefully, he looked like he was in his early forties, probably less than forty-five years old. If he could become a Chunwei examiner at this age, he could be regarded as an official with potential and future.
, not an ordinary product.
Xie Hongdao came closer and saw that the official he was looking for was looking down at a letter in his hand, deep in thought.
Xie Hongdao didn't bother him, pulled out a chair next to him, sat down, and watched him meditate.
After a while, the official sighed.
Xie Hongdao stood up quietly and glanced at the letter in his hand behind him. With just one glance at the content, Xie Hongdao recognized that the letter should have been written by the official's father-in-law, and he could tell from the words.
It is understandable that my father-in-law sent a letter to give advice. After all, something happened in the imperial examination and this official was implicated. This matter is not a trivial matter. Most people have to avoid danger, but no matter what, it is indeed a safe way for the female family members to deliver the letter.
.
As Xie Hongdao thought, this letter was indeed written by the official's father-in-law.
Although my father-in-law has become an official, his eldest brother-in-law, second brother-in-law and others are all officials. One of my father-in-law's sons-in-law is also an official in the Ministry of Personnel. When I heard the news this time, I was a little worried about his affairs.
"...This matter is very dangerous. Brother Xing is still lucky and can get through it safely, but it has also damaged the foundation. He should hide his strength and bide his time for the future..."
The meaning of the letter is also very clear. This time something happened in the examination room, and no one like my father-in-law received any news beforehand, which shows that it is dangerous.
Fortunately, the fraud was not really successful this time, so the final solution was settled. Even the downgrade was acceptable, and it was a blessing in the misfortune. Let him wait with peace of mind, and don't do anything because of it, lest he fall into the eyes of the emperor.
, and then punished.
"Let me, Li Hong, accept it with peace of mind?"
The officer read the letter several times, but when he read the letter again and saw the final instructions, he still couldn't help but feel angry and angry.
Li Hong was originally a fourth-rank official. When others saw that he had become a fourth-rank official before the age of forty-five, they all thought that he was successful in his official career and that it was easy to reach this point.
But when he was in his early twenties, he was selected as a Jinshi and entered the Hanlin Academy as the fourth ranked scholar. He stayed there for more than a year. He unexpectedly got the opportunity to be sent to other places and made meritorious deeds, and then he slowly rose up.
There was also luck in this. If the princelings hadn't been wiped out more than 20 years ago, leaving some vacancies both in Beijing and in other provinces, he wouldn't have been so lucky to get the opportunity to work abroad.
Twenty years have passed, from being a minor official in the seventh-rank Hanlin Academy to being a fourth-rank official now, as the son of an ordinary small family, how can someone who was born rich understand this?
Now that he was innocently implicated, he was demoted to the fifth level. Even though he was only demoted by three levels, many people climbed from the fifth level to the fourth level in half a lifetime.
Some even stay at the fifth level throughout their lives and can never be promoted to the fourth or fourth level because there is an invisible threshold between the fourth and fifth levels.
Those who cross the border can become high officials in the feudal territory and have unlimited future.
Those who cannot cross will be county officials for life, and their official career will stop here.
It can be seen that this relegation has dealt him a huge blow.
In fact, this is nothing. Since he was able to pass the exam from the son of a small family and climbed from the seventh rank to the fourth rank, he has already developed a strong heart. It is not unacceptable to climb up again.
He is only in his early forties, so he still has a chance!
The most important thing is that if you are implicated in this matter, you will be marked with a black mark. This is the most terrible thing!
For a civil servant who came out of the Hanlin Academy, the biggest goal is to join the cabinet and become the prime minister.
A soldier who does not want to be a general is not a good soldier, and a civil servant who does not want to be in the cabinet also has no political ambition.
He naturally had political ambitions, but his political ambitions were crushed to pieces.
"It was related to the imperial examination fraud and was marked. I will never be an examiner in the future."
"It is difficult for civil servants who cannot serve as examiners to have party members among civil servants. After all, everyone is an official. Being able to obey the party in a legitimate manner is a teacher-student relationship."
"Because of this incident, I left my name with the emperor, and I'm afraid I will never be able to get over it."
"After all, this matter not only involves imperial examination fraud, but is also involved in a terrible conspiracy..."
Li Hong couldn't help but feel angry when he thought of this key point.
“It’s really a disaster that comes from heaven.”
For the common people, this matter is somewhat black and white. Because the common people are at the lowest level and cannot get useful information and do not know the relationship between high-level officials, they have no idea what kind of inner story is hidden in this simple conclusion.
.
But for these officials of rank five or above who are at the center of the imperial court, it is not difficult to analyze some things clearly.
The emperor set up a trap and took advantage of the situation, so almost everyone at that time was treated as pawns by the emperor.
This is also easy to understand. If a person calculates with intention but without intention, this person is still the most powerful person, and everyone else is a subordinate. It is too easy to be fooled for a while.
But the human heart cannot be deceived.
No one guessed it at the time, because it happened too quickly, and they were not alert and did not react at the moment. But ordinary people can still think about it after the fact, let alone these ministers who are already in high positions.
It didn't take long for the adults in the court to understand the key. But because they understood this, the people who were implicated in the imperial examination fraud became even more desperate.
"I have been punished by God, and I have nothing to pray for. No wonder my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and brother-in-law of the same age all hinted tactfully, asking me to hide and be patient, so as to relieve their doubts and calm their minds."