The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, Chapter 45: The Prefect and the Jinyiwei stroll in the evening

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty. 《成化十四年》Chengnian Shisi Nian

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, Chapter 45: The Prefect and the Jinyiwei stroll in the evening

Tang Fan was just thinking about himself, although his body was walking in the street, his mind was still in a trance, the fist in front of his eyes came fast, he consciously took two steps back, his heel hit the small basket of oranges sold in the street when the center of gravity was unstable, he had to fall back.

At this moment, someone reached out and pulled his belt to the side, Tang Fan passively pushed to the side, and dodged it.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing this voice, Tang Fan looked back, only to find that it was Sui Zhou.

He was dressed in official robes, probably just returned from the Northern Administrative Court, or was on his way to the Northern Administrative Court.

"It's okay." Tang Fan waved his hand, although he wasn't as brave as Sui Zhou or Wang Zhi, after all, he was still a big man, so he wouldn't be startled by such a trivial matter, but he was just unprepared, so he was caught off guard.

When he looked back, he realized that the fist wasn't very powerful and that the other person didn't come at him on purpose, but two passersby were fighting, and he was caught in the fight because he wasn't looking at the road he was walking.

The two men were wrestling and arguing, and there was a lot of noise, and a lot of people watching along the way.

Tang Fan understood what was going on after a moment's listening.

At present, it will be closed in recent years. As we approach the New Year's Eve, the 15th day of the lunar month, the streets of the capital are crowded with incense.

This fight between two men, one walking in front, one walking in the back.

As a result, the man in front of him suddenly felt as if he had been kicked around his waist, and was in a panic, hurriedly touched for a while, and found that the bag he had put the money in was missing.

Looking back, there was a man behind him, smiling at him.

The man who had stolen the money immediately quit and grabbed the man behind him, saying he was a thief.

The man at the back was also not willing to show his weakness, and he turned saying that he had been wronged.

They were clamoring and pulling at each other. The man in front said he was going to take the man at the back to see the official, but the man in the back refused to go, and the more they fought, the more the other thought they were being vain.

He only heard the man who had stolen the money yelling, "Look at you, you're so poor, you say you didn't steal it, and now you don't dare to come with me to see the officer, it's that not a guilty conscious!"

Those who fought with him also cursed, "You just fished your mouth out of a shithole, why are you cursing? I didn't steal it, so I'm not going with you to see the officials! I won’t go"

The people next to them were in a circle, following along the fight, most of them were watching crowd, and there were also those who said that Tang Fan was not paying attention, but he was also in the circle, and when they looked at the two parties, they did not notice that Tang Fan was almost killed, and they were still fighting.

They were in the middle of an argument when they heard someone say, "Guys, guys, guys, will you listen to what I have to say?"

Of course, no one was listening, but when a cold light flashed in front of them, and each of them was pushed away and stumbled back two steps, they took a quick look and realized that there was a Jinyiwei standing in front of them, which made them stop.

One of them shouted, "Da-ren, you're just in time, please do justice to the little host, he stole my things, and he won't admit it!"

The other one also said: " Da-ren, don't listen to his nonsense! I was walking in the street, and he grabbed me by my clothes, and said I was a thief, so what could be more wrongful than that!”

Sui Zhou did not speak, it was Tang Fan who spoke.

"What do you say he stole from you?" He was one of them.

He said, "I've got all my money in a silver bag, which I used to buy for the New Year, but now it's all gone!"

The other man then slapped his body in exasperation: "It's none of my business if your money is gone, and I don't have what you want!"

The man A laughed coldly and said, "If you're caught in the courtroom, you'll know, even if you're not a thief, you're definitely one of his accomplices! Why else did you smile at me when I turned my head?"

The man B yelled: "Don't open your lips, and just frame people!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Tang Fan interrupted them and said to A: "He's not lying to you, he's really not a thief."

The man A was unconvinced, Tang Fan ignored him and asked the man B: "What's your name?"

The other side saw Tang Fan talking politely, not like a normal person, and the Jinyiwei beside, busy arching his hand and saluting back: "I dare not be, my surname is Yu, the first name is Hao."

Tang Fan laughed, "So it's Brother Yu."




He asked the man A again, "What is the name of this old brother?"

The man A said: "Well said, everyone, I know calls me "Landlord Luo".

He's well-groomed, chubby, and he can afford to be an extra.

Tang Fan laughed and said to him, "Look at the jade medal on his chest and the jade pendant on his waist, what is engraved on it?

Not only is the Landlord Luo looking at it, but the crowd is also busy staring at them.

There aren't many literate people these days, but there are some who recognize the insignia, and the jade tag on Yu Hao's chest has the word –Yuanxiang- engraved on it, and the jade tag on his waist has the word -Yu- alone.

Even though Landlord Luo was called a Landlord, he couldn't read or write, so his face was a bit sarcastic.

Tang Fan saw it, read the words to him, and explained: "Chu's words are "Chu's words", "Hao is Hao Yuanxiang", and his numbers can match each other, which means the jade pendant and the jade medal are his things, how could a thief carry these things with him? Besides, he didn't hesitate when he gave his name, so he didn't lie, so he couldn't be the one who stole your money bag."

Landlord Luo was unhappy when he heard it, and since Sui Zhou was beside him, he didn't dare to make a scene, but said: "Who is Your Excellency? Or so we have to see the officer, he was not a thief, you say not counted anymore!”

Tang Fan’s face darkened swiftly: "I am the Shuntian Prefecture Prefect Officer, this kind of trivial matter, I can still help to break it up, and also avoid you to cause trouble to the parental officer if I am not wrong, you should also know in your heart that this Yu Hao is not the one who stole your things, but I am annoyed at the disappearance of things, and you seeing him smiling at you, so you want to find someone to take advantage of, yes or no?"

Landlord Luo said, "You, you don't talk nonsense!"

Tang Fan said lightly, "Since you want to see the official so badly, let's go to the official magistrate court, and then you'll accuse Yu Hao falsely and get slapped instead of recovering the stuff, do you think so?"

The man waved his hands and said, "I don't want him to pay, I don't care!"

When he said that he moved back a few steps, turn the head to open the crowd to run, not to mention just still holding each other might as well.

The first thing is that this is a small matter, since it has been resolved, Sui Zhou of course did not bother to chase after the Landlord Luo.

The wronged Yu Hao rushed to say thank you, and the people on the sidelines also applauded Tang Fan's wit and thoughtfulness.

Tang Fan and Sui Zhou squeezed out of the crowd and walked for a while before their ears finally calmed down.

"You're going to the Northern Administrative Court?" asked Tang Fan.

Sui Zhou said, "Nothing's going on today, just going to order some works. Are you upset?"

Tang Fan cocked an eyebrow: "Why ever do you think so?"

Sui Zhou said, "This business of the Jinyiwei is somewhat different from that of your officials, both should be carefully observed, but in terms of quick thinking, I am not as good as you, you are born with this gift that can break the prison."

Tang Fan was walking with his hands full and sighed, "Yes, today I went to see our teacher with Da-ren and had a little argument with him, and he couldn't understand me, and even I wondered if I had done something wrong."

He asked Sui Zhou: " Guangchuan, I don't know what to ask, the Jinyiwei is in charge of the arrests, and can act on its own without going through the imperial court, and there is much torture in the imperial prisons, and you've been through so much, haven't you ever been shaken about this right in your heart?"

Sui Zhou nodded slightly: "There have been some days."

When Tang Fan was curious, he said, "Do you know that although my elder brother (Shixiong) has attacked the Jinyiwei's title, he has been thinking about the matter of the examinations and examinations to get the top position?”

Tang Fan hmmed, "Yes, you said that to me."

Sui Zhou said, "Actually, when I was a child, I also had such thoughts, and I could understand my brother's thoughts, he didn't want to be looked down upon because of his status as a family man and as a military officer, so he wanted to make a name for himself, but the difference is that I recognized the reality very early on, but my brother hadn't."

Tang Fan, was a little bit sighing, it sounds like it's not worth it, but how many years can you have in your life, and you'll maybe be able to succeed in the next generation, it's not just talent, perseverance, and luck that's required for things like the imperial examinations.

Every three years, the number of people in the country who take the exams, who can be few out of an army of a thousand, must have two brushes. Tang Fan had met Sui Zhou's brother the last time and knew from the first glance that he was not easy like that. It would have been a tragedy if he could have lived his life as that man, knowingly, the older brother who honestly studied hard but has not done well as his brother had done, and not wasted his time, not seeing things too well.

He heard Sui Zhou say, "When I first joined the Northern Administrative Court, I handled a case in which an official impeached the Noble Consort Wan for holding the harem and the Jinyiwei, and cursed the Noble Consort Wan and Wan Tong, and Wan Tong was so angry that he arrested him, put him in an imperial prison, and exiled his entire family, young and old, on charges that he had fabricated. I knew their family was innocent and admired their pride and courage to speak out what the masses were thinking, so I took the initiative to ask for the job, escorting them to the local area, and paying for the local officials who were guarding the prisoners' families to take more care of them. And then I was prepared to ask His Majesty to pardon them when this storm is over."

Tang Fan knew that Sui Zhou was cold on the outside and warm on the inside and that his opponent's brothers were very kind to him, but he did not expect that he would still do such a thing as subverting Wan Tong to help the family in the face of the situation, and he was so impressed that he said, "If you had gone to ask for mercy at that time, it would have been like slapping Wan Tong in the face, and by the time it was over, he might not have remembered these people. and when you ask your majesty, it should be feasible.”

But Sui Zhou had no smile on his face, and he said gravely, "But when I returned to the capital, I found that the official had been tortured to death in the imperial prison, and even his family, after two months, I got the news that they had all died of a serious illness in that area."

Tang Fan also lost his smile: “Wan Tong sent someone to do it?"

Sui Zhou said: "I don't know. But after that incident, Wan Tong was so unyielding that no one dared to risk losing his whole family by impeaching him and the Noble Consort Wan, I realized how naive I had been and how unhelpful it was."

Tang Fan said, "It's not your fault."

Sui Zhou nodded: "Since then, I've put away all unrealistic thoughts and will never think of leaving the Northern Administrative Court again, because I know that if I could speak in the Jinyiwei back then even if I could subvert Wan Tong and anger him by not waiting or his anger to subsides, maybe the family wouldn't have to go through that."

Tang Fan asked, "Is that why you stayed at the Northern Administrative Court?"

Sui Zhou said:" the Jinyiwei itself is a double-edged sword, if used well, it can also work for our Great Ming, if not used well, as it is today. There is no right or wrong per se in many things, it all depends on what the person doing it thinks when they do it."

Although they were already good friends, they were busy with each other works all day long, and seldom could they talk as much as they did today.

The surroundings were buzzing and bustling, and Tang Fan gradually calmed down.

He laughed and sighed: "Guangchuan, they say you're cold-hearted, but they also think that a martial artist like you, who only does what you're told, is born a step below the civil servant, but they don't know that you see the world better than anyone else, so I'm no better than you!"




Sui Zhou shook his head, his eyes softened: "You are not worse than me, you are just a good man with a big heart and confused for a moment. When you feel that you're not wrong, then stick with it, it doesn't matter what your teacher or anyone else says, as long as you have a path in your heart, nothing is impossible."

Tang Fan laughed at the idea of "A good man with a big heart", "Nothing is impossible! What about you, will you agree with my view?"

Sui Zhou calmly said, "I also think that we should have fought a war to wake up the morale of the country, but Wang Zhi's actions are not long-lasting, and the more people who look at his displeasure, once he loses the imperial heart, he will fall from a high place, and he will never be able to rise again. There's no harm in dealing with Wang Zhi, but be careful of being dragged into the hole he digs by him, I don't want you to be dragged into it."

He was usually a man of few words, but Tang Fan never underestimated his political wisdom, and it was only now that Tang Fan was able to see Sui Zhou's inner vision and broad-mindedness.

No wonder the emperor would compare him to Sun Jizong, and in Tang Fan's opinion, with time, Sui Zhou's achievement would be even higher than Sun Jizong.

Thinking of this, Tang Da-ren's unorthodox spirit was back in full swing, joking: "I've heard it all along, it's not enough to die soon, Yangchuan’s words made my heart so much happier and clearer, shouldn't I salute you and call you Master?"

General Sui Baihu said, "If you want to, I don't mind."

Today, Tang Fan is on leave again, so he doesn't have to go to the court, and Sui Zhou is just there to take a look around, so he's not in a hurry, and the two of them are talking and laughing and walking slowly.

The weather has changed from autumn to winter, and the cold season is gradually approaching, and the winter in Beijing is coming fast, as we can see that the people on the street were still wearing thin robes a while ago, but now they are all wrapped up in thick.

Tang Fan had just gotten well and was wearing a lot, but his heart was warm, not from his clothes, but from the care and understanding of his friends.

Sui Zhou reached out and bought two bunches of sugar gourds and handed them to Tang Fan.

"Little A-Dong can't eat that much. I'll help her out with the chewing." Tang Fan laughed and then ate.

Sui Zhou was speechless, wondering if you're greedy, eat it, there is no need to go on making up so many excuses.
As a result, he didn't pay attention, and when he turned his head again, he found Tang Fan's hands empty.

Sui Zhou: "..."

Tang Da-ren was a little embarrassed, and pulled him back: "Go on, go back and buy a bunch of bad tasting ones, I just threw them away."

Sui Zhou: "..." Don't think I didn't see two bamboo sticks in your hand.

Tang Da-ren, because Sui Zhou wouldn't expose him, was smiling and talking nonsense.

When Sui Zhou re-bought the sugar gourd, Tang Fan said oops: "I forgot something!

Sui Zhou looked at him sidelong, showing a puzzled look - had just said too much, now he could not say anything.

Tang Fan told Wang Zhi about his last bet with him and finally said: "He still owes me a meal at the Xianyun Restaurant, but he didn't mention it when he came here last time.

Sui Zhou: Is food something that you think about all the time?

He cooled his voice: "You didn't forget what I said to you, did you?"

Tang Fan smiled: "I didn't forget, I didn't forget, keep my distance from him, I know, but can you wait for this meal to be cashed in before I start the social distancing, a meal at the at restaurant cost a pretty penny."

His voice is getting smaller and smaller, his face is getting more and more heartfelt, and finally, he directly flashes away: "I'll take the sugar gourd back to the girl first before the frosting is scratched off, you do your job, goodbye, goodbye!"

He said and took the sugar gourd and disappeared.

Sui Zhou shook his head, a bit helpless in his heart.

Tang Fan's sickness was almost over, and he naturally couldn't get sick anymore, even though his senior brother was the Shuntian Prefecture Yin, he still had to go to work, so he resumed his daily life as "the Shuntian Prefecture - home".

The day Qiu Jun's family left Beijing, he also went to see them off.

Quarrels are quarrels, differences are differences, teachers and students' names and sentiments are already established there, and they can't let the teacher-student relation wither because of a few disagreements.

Qiu Jun also didn't expect that Tang Fan would come over to see him set off, a student who had just disagreed with him a few days before.

He had few students and friends in Beijing, and even fewer could come to see him off.

As the saying goes, it's easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to give charcoal in a snowstorm, and it's not because Qiu Jun's popularity is too bad, but because we all know the times we live in.  [1] It's easy for people to share the good times while hard to lend a hand at the hour of need.
Pan Bin said an excuse to not come to avoid suspicion, although he couldn't come because he had to go to the courthouse, he was actually afraid of offending the Emperor.

Qiu Jun doesn't blame him, as, in the official world, there are always a lot of things he has to do, and Pan Bin already did it once that day, so he did his best.

But then came Tang Fan and Xie Qian and others.

Unlike Tang Fan, who was later accepted as a disciple, Qiu Jun could only be counted as his master.

This made Qiu Jun somewhat touched and not look as badly at Tang Fan as he did that day and patted him on the shoulder for encouragement.

Qiu Jun said: "I've thought about your words that day, and although I don't agree with them, I can still see that you've thought about them from the bottom of your heart, and I can't be an official all by myself, and I won't force my students to be as ignorant as I am, but if you have the people of the country in mind, don't just think about yourself, even if you don't live up to my expectations just be better for the country.”

Tang Fan didn't expect the normally stubborn teacher to be so open this time, perhaps the relegation from the capital made him look away.

He had more than one mentor, but Qiu Jun was a man he respected and naturally did not want his political differences to ruin the relationship between him and his students, so he greeted Qiu Jun with a long humbling, "The students will obey the teacher's teachings.”

After a few more words, seeing that it was getting late, Qiu Jun got into the carriage at the urging of the Qiu family to press on ahead.

Qiu Jun has been in school for many years, his family does not claim to be very rich, a few carriages are not only for people but also for his books.

The whip was drawn on the horse's back, the coachman yelled, and the carriage roared forward, gradually disappearing from the sight of Tang Fan and the others.

Although Pan Bin was the Shuntian Prefecture Governor, this official position was nothing big in the capital, and he couldn't take care of Tang Fan, just like the last time Wang Zhi reached out his finger, he was scared to death, and he pushed Tang Fan out to deal with Wang Zhi.




Qiu Jun may not seem to have a prominent official position, but in fact, he is well known in the official arena and has a reputation as a person, a shadow of a tree, and he can also serve as a backer for the Tang Fan in the capital.

The other people's tutors and teachers were either in the cabinet or in the Sixth Ministries, and Xie Qian and Tang Fan, in this case, had a very bad life.

Waiting until the carriage was completely out of sight Tang Fan and the others started walking back.

Xie Qian patted him on the shoulder: "Why don't you find a way back to the Hanlin Academy after being an inspector? It’s been quiet every day since we've been without you,."

"That's right," laughed Wang Ao, "I was quite happy, at least when we went out to eat, there was one less sinful eater, I thought I could eat more with you gone, I didn't think I wouldn’t be able to taste the wine without your spicy topics!"

Tang Fan glanced at the guys, "you all ganged up against me!"

Xie Qian said, "It's true that Ji Zhi didn't say anything big, but it's true now, especially that guy Liu Jian is full of complaints, saying that we don't know how many more years we have to spend in Hanlin Academy, but I envy you as a person who actually went out!”

As soon as it gets colder, it gets darker and darker, and it's not often that you see sunny days these days.

They sent off the teacher and listened to Xie Qian while complaining about the hardship depression of Hanlin Academy, but Tang Fan did not have a low imagination.

It was only because of a long conversation with Sui Zhou that he benefited greatly.

Once the beliefs are firmly established, it is natural that they will no longer be hesitant to shatter.

A faint smile crept into the corners of his mouth.

As the days go by, New Year's Day comes closer.

It had been some time since the East palace case, and Wang Zhi had left the capital for the north, and there had been no news of his promise to give Tang Fan a mention of his rank as if he had been forgotten by everyone, but Tang Fan did not care and continued to be busy with the Shuntian Prefecture's official duties.

It was in the midst of such a hustle bustle that the courts were sealed.

In other words, from today onwards, Tang Fan will officially take the annual vacation time.

The author has something to say:



Little Theatre:

General Sui Baihu, someone called you the Jinyiwei common, what do you think?

Sui Zhou: Then, what did they called Wang Zhi?

Author: What should they call Eunuch Wang?

Sui Zhou: I think the same name as Runqing is fine.

Author Fungus: Do you want readers to call Eunuch Wang? I didn't expect you to respect Eunuch Wang so much!

Sui Zhou (calmly): No, call him Wang Gong, always remind him of his shortcomings.

Author Bacteria: (so poisonous, most poisonous is paralysis)

[1] Call Eunuch Wang Gong= Well Eunuch wang is a eunuch which means his thing is snipped and to call him a top is a like a smearing jeer. How can a top top-a-bottom without a d.ick



- The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty -


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