LRAB Chapter 138 Pei Rujing: I know what I'm doing.
Chapter 138 Pei Rujing: I know what I'm doing.
The next day
It was a rare occasion for Pei Rujing to get up and have breakfast with Wen Zongji.
Wen Zongji asked, "Is Madam going to the Princess's residence?"
Pei Rujing dislikes Duke Pei, so it's unlikely she would go directly to Duke Pei's residence.
"No, I'm going to the Duke's mansion."
Wen Zongji was taken aback; he had guessed wrong.
"Today is not a day off. By the time you arrive at the Duke's mansion, my elder brother will probably already be on duty."
Pei Rujing took a sip of porridge: "I'm going to see my sister-in-law."
Wen Zongji suddenly realized.
To find out what happened at the Duke of Pei's mansion, you don't necessarily have to ask Pei Shizhao.
Wen Zongji paused for a moment, then said, "When you go, my lady, don't forget to bring more guards from the manor."
Pei Rujing laughed: "No matter how much I dislike that person, I am still the only legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion. Even if that mother and daughter hate me to death, they wouldn't dare to do anything in public."
Wen Zongji, however, was more cautious: "It's never a bad thing to bring more people."
"OK."
After finishing his breakfast, Wen Zongji changed into his official robes and took a carriage to the Office of Transmission.
After entering the office of the Beijing Gazette Bureau, Wen Zongji instructed Changdong to find Yao Maofang to come see him.
"grown ups."
Yao Maofang entered and first greeted the guests.
Wen Zongji waved for him to sit down: "Maofang, do you know Yuan Tianxi?"
Yao Maofang paused for a moment before realizing, "Is that the Mr. Yuan who once topped the imperial examination but was dismissed from his post due to his alcoholism?"
Yao Maofang was not from the vicinity of the capital; his ancestral home was far from the capital. Even he knew Yuan Tianxi, which shows that Yuan Tianxi was indeed famous.
"Yes. I told you before about setting up a 'Recommended Scholars' section, and Yuan Tianxi is a good candidate. You should investigate Yuan Tianxi as soon as possible, find out what he has been doing all these years, especially his activities in recent years."
Yao Maofang responded, "Your humble servant obeys... My lord, Mr. Yuan's reputation seems to be..."
It is true that Yuan Tianxi is exceptionally gifted and erudite, but it is also true that he has made mistakes many times due to alcoholism.
Therefore, Yuan Tianxi has always had a mixed reputation among the public.
Some admired his talent, while others despised his dissolute behavior.
Wen Zongji said, "'Recommendations by Great Confucian Scholars' is a literature section. We only look at the level of literature. Mr. Yuan's talent and learning are worthy of the title of Great Confucian Scholar."
Yao Maofang said nothing more after hearing this, and bowed as he withdrew.
In reality, there weren't many people Wen Zongji could choose from.
Not everyone can become a great Confucian scholar. Every great Confucian scholar must be a person of great learning and talent, and whose reputation is far-reaching.
The more famous a person is, the more they care about their image.
Collaborating with the Beijing Daily to comment on articles, as things stand, does not benefit the scholar himself in any way.
The person whose article is being reviewed can use this opportunity to promote their reputation, and the Beijing Daily can also gain a large number of readers because of this novel model.
The only thing the great scholar could receive was a reward from the Imperial Gazette Office.
Therefore, any great Confucian scholar willing to cooperate with the Beijing Gazette Bureau would inevitably be labeled as "bowing down for five pecks of rice".
Any great scholar who cares about his reputation would not want to be labeled in this way.
Yuan Tianxi is a rare exception among them.
First of all, his reputation was already bad, so Yuan Tianxi probably wouldn't mind having one more.
Secondly, Yuan Tianxi's family was of modest means, and he himself was a heavy drinker, so his family probably didn't have much savings.
The collaboration with the Beijing News Bureau not only offered remuneration but also provided a relatively stable income, which must have been a considerable temptation for Yuan Tianxi.
After considering all these factors, Wen Zongji decided to set his sights on Yuan Tianxi.
However, he still needed to understand Yuan Tianxi's daily behavior and his spirit of contract beforehand.
This is very important!
……
While Wen Zongji was reading the memorials submitted by his subordinates at the Beijing Gazette Office, Pei Rujing arrived at the residence of Duke Pei.
When the gatekeeper of the Duke of Pei's mansion saw Pei Rujing, his eyes widened suddenly and he subconsciously rubbed them.
After confirming that he was not hallucinating, he knelt down with a thud: "This humble servant greets the county magistrate."
His voice trembled, showing how terrified he was of Pei Rujing.
Pei Rujing glanced at it indifferently, ignored it, and stepped straight across the threshold.
In mansions like the Duke of Pei's residence, several sedan chairs are always placed near the entrance for the owner to use when returning home or for guests to visit unexpectedly.
Pei Rujing glanced around casually, then chose a light blue sedan chair and walked over.
The sedan bearers quickly lowered the sedan chair and lifted the curtain: "Princess, please get in the sedan chair."
"Go to Guhuaxuan."
Guhuaxuan was the courtyard where Pei Shizhao and his wife lived.
"Yes."
After Pei Rujing was seated, the sedan chair bearers lifted the sedan chair and walked steadily toward the inner courtyard.
The gatekeeper, who had waited until Pei Rujing was out of sight before getting up, immediately said, "Go quickly and tell the Duke that the County Princess has arrived."
The younger gatekeeper looked puzzled: "The county princess is the Duke's legitimate daughter, isn't it normal for her to come back? Why is Uncle Gui so afraid?"
The man smiled bitterly: "In the past ten years or so, the county princess has visited the Duke's mansion very few times. Every time she comes, she makes a ruckus in the mansion. We should inform the Duke as soon as possible so that we can make preparations in advance."
Why are all the servants in the Duke Pei's mansion afraid of Pei Rujing?
Her record is truly remarkable.
"Besides, didn't you see the guards following behind the county princess? Bringing so many people here, they must be up to no good."
"I'll go tell the Duke right away!"
As news of Pei Rujing's arrival spread throughout the Pei State Duke's mansion, the atmosphere visibly became tense.
As everyone grew increasingly fearful, Pei Rujing arrived at Gu Huaxuan.
Wei had already received news of Pei Rujing's arrival and was waiting at the courtyard gate.
Seeing Pei Rujing alight from the sedan chair, he warmly took her hand and led her into the Guhua Pavilion: "When I heard you were coming, I thought I had misheard."
Pei Rujing wasn't good at small talk, and besides, she wasn't in the mood for it at the moment, so she asked directly, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong with Second Brother?"
Madam Wei's face stiffened. Hearing Pei Rujing's question, she knew she couldn't hide it from her. She sighed and said, "Isn't Mother-in-law recently arranging a marriage for my second brother? After Father-in-law found out about this, I don't know what he was thinking, but he wants to give Aunt Wang's niece to my second brother as a concubine."
"To be a concubine?"
Pei Rujing's expression suddenly turned icy: "Second brother isn't even married yet, and you're already trying to force him into a concubine? Do you think his marriage is going too smoothly?"
Families that value their daughters would never marry their daughters to someone who takes a concubine before marrying a wife.
"Has he lost his mind?"
Pei Rujing's tone was very impolite.
After all, Duke Pei was Wei's father-in-law, and there were some things Pei Rujing could say that she couldn't.
Seeing that Pei Rujing was angry, Wei Shi quickly comforted her, "This was just Father-in-law's idea. Second Brother disagreed, and my husband also objected, so Father-in-law didn't bring it up again."
Pei Rujing sneered, her anger still burning: "I think he's been bewitched by Wang's pillow talk, how could he say such absurd things... Qinghe, go and bring Wang to see me."
"Little sister—"
Wei turned to look at her.
Pei Rujing raised her hand: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I know what I'm doing."
What's the point?
Wei smiled bitterly.
From the moment she met Pei Rujing, those two words had absolutely nothing to do with her.