Chapter 4: Father and Son
Today's Qing dynasty is known as a prosperous world, with ten consecutive years of favorable weather and abundant harvests, the people are rich and at peace. There is what is called the greatest wise ruler in history, the greatest governing era in history, and many other titles. But what is interesting is that along with this, there also exists what is known as the most corrupt officialdom in history, the most treacherous prime minister in history.
This treacherous minister is none other than Prime Minister Lin Ruofu. Lin Ruofu came from a humble background and was not born into a noble family, but rose through the ranks of officialdom by passing the imperial examination, starting as an assessor in Suzhou, then being transferred to the capital to serve as the chief clerk of the Imperial Censorate, next being appointed to the South Palace's Twelve Guards, then entering the old capital's Censorate as a supervising secretary, and later becoming a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. During the previous new policy, he was transferred to the Six Ministries to handle specific affairs, serving as the Vice Minister of Personnel and Minister, rising all the way to his current position as the highest-ranking civil official - the Prime Minister, who is second only to the Emperor and above all others.
People carefully observed the official positions that the prime minister had held, and found that he had been a civil servant, a military officer, a censor, and an inspector, although his position had risen and fallen many times, but he had actually experienced all the places in the officialdom of Qing Dynasty, and his position was always slowly and steadily moving up.
It is rumored that Lin Ruofu has no backing in the inner palace, nor does he have a complex web of relationships, yet he can rise and fall in the complicated officialdom of Qingguo without falling, which makes many people feel very surprised.
This prime minister appears to be clear and bright on the surface, but inside is sinister and venomous, taking countless bribes. Moreover, in the struggle between the civil officials system and the royal nobles, he offended many people, so he ended up with a reputation of being disliked by both the powerful and the common people.
It was the result of his decades of efforts, which had already grown countless branches in the literary official system of Qingguo, and the big tree stood unshakeable. Often, imperial historians would impeach the prime minister, but there was never any solid evidence, so they could only give up. The upright scholars in Kyoto hated him to the bone, hating that they couldn't eat his flesh, but on the surface of officialdom, no one dared to provoke him face-to-face.
In the entire Qing Guo, except for His Majesty the Emperor who can take the life and position of the Prime Minister, no one else is allowed to do so, this is a consensus among all officials. In the entire Qing Guo, except for the Director of the Supervision Office who can spit in the face of the Prime Minister, no one else has such great courage, this is a consistent view among all the powerful and noble people.
The director had paid the price of three years' salary for spitting at the prime minister on the street, and this punishment was personally imposed by Your Majesty.
……
……
When people found that the emperor's trust in the prime minister had never wavered, those self-proclaimed upright officials and scholars began to feel a little desperate. At this time, no one expected that the newspaper would actually publish the news that Prime Minister Lin Youfu had an illegitimate daughter!
In any prominent family, it's normal for the master of the house to have several concubines. If there's only one woman in your backyard, sorry, but it's really embarrassing to attend gatherings. However, the most important thing is bloodline and etiquette. For example, although everyone knows that Prime Minister is cunning and ruthless, he has always claimed to be a noble gentleman. But having an illegitimate daughter outside is a breach of moral integrity. And that daughter is already in her teens, yet she hasn't been brought back to the mansion, leaving her to live alone on the outside. As a father, this is also proof of lacking benevolence.
Because the news came from the imperial palace, it caused a small earthquake in the Kyoto officialdom, and people speculated that the emperor was tired of looking at the prime minister and preparing to replace him, which led to the later event of the Grand Councilor's collective memorial.
Against everyone's expectations, His Majesty the Emperor personally intervened and suppressed the matter. As things gradually subsided, the private daughter of that prime minister became the focus of attention for all.
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Fan Xian smiled wryly, never expecting that the woman he was about to marry would have such a background, and one so similar to his own. Just then, the commotion outside grew louder, and the brother and sister knew that the person had returned to the mansion. They exchanged a glance, and said no more. Fan Xian merely used his eyes to ask his sister to take him out for a stroll when things were quiet, and Fan Ruo Rou nodded slightly.
The candle flame rose, but the sky outside was not completely dark, so the candlelight looked very dim.
In the hall, a table of sumptuous dishes was set out, with five people seated around it. Many maids and servants were waiting on them. Fan Xian noticed that Mrs. Liu did not, like the wives in ordinary families, first wait on the master of the house at meals, but instead sat beside the middle-aged man, calm and composed.
That middle-aged man was his own father? Thinking of this, Fan Xian's eyebrows involuntarily furrowed slightly, with a small wrinkle forming between them.
Sīnánbó's face was dignified and solemn, with regular features. His chin had a four-inch beard, which was the most popular style at that time. Just by looking at him, you could tell he was serious in nature and not one to speak or laugh lightly.
They quietly finished their meal, and then Shi Nanbai walked ahead while Fan Xian followed behind him, arriving at the study.
This was Fan Xian's first time alone with this "father", he smiled, not particularly excited, because deep down in his heart, he had never truly regarded the other as his own flesh and blood.
Xiananbo gazed at the young man in front of him, looking at the young man's elegant and refined face, as if he was deep in thought. After a while, he let out a gentle sigh and said, "You really look like your mother."
Fan Xian remained silent, for he had never seen his mother before. However, he had countless questions about the father in front of him, but knew it wasn't his turn to ask first.
"How have you been in Danzhou all these years?" Si Nanbo looked at him, his eyebrows and eyes seemed to be somewhat tired, but still couldn't hide the remaining marks of his handsome appearance when he was young.
"It's fine."
"On your way here, I believe that with your personality, you must have already found out from Tōko Kyō the reason why I was in such a hurry to get you into the capital this time."
"Yes."
"Don't you feel wronged."
"I won't." Fan Xian smiled and replied: "I just hitched a ride to Kyoto, I didn't say I must marry that Miss Lin."
As soon as these words came out, the study fell into a dead silence. After a while, Si Nanbo said coldly: "Do you know what it means to marry her?"
"Does it mean that apart from the unwavering sacred authority, Fan Fu can also hold onto a big leg in the imperial court?"
Fan Xian sneered with a full flavor and replied, originally he didn't have any feelings towards the middle-aged man in front of him, logically speaking, he should be able to maintain the calmness of an onlooker - but thinking that the other party was after all his own father, who had actually turned his children's marriage into a political alliance, although he understood and accepted it, it didn't mean he wasn't angry - it's just that this anger had been well hidden by him in the past few days.
