Chapter 32 Section 32 Do not violate the laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty for private matters

In a single room in Zeng's mansion, three imperial scrolls were hung up at once, and this room became a forbidden place for servants.Two family letters announcing the good news were also sent to Heyetang and Hengzhou respectively in the afternoon. That night, the sacrificial hall in the Zeng Mansion was filled with cigarette smoke. Zeng Linshu led the whole family in Beijing to pay homage to the gods and then to the ancestors. After paying homage to the ancestors, they prayed to the gods.After working for more than ten days in a row, Zeng's mansion gradually became quiet. But Zeng Linshu couldn't calm down. He still had an unfulfilled wish, which was to visit the Imperial Academy, which is admired by all the scholars in the world.Zeng Linshu is also a scholar, although he knows that with his own ability, not to mention that he is not destined to be a Jinshi, he may not even be able to get a scholar, but he especially wants to see what the Hanlin Academy is like, so it is not in vain. one time.If you continue to sit in the library in the future, you can also increase your capital.Of course, this latter point is his own little secret.

After holding it in for a few days, he couldn't hold it anymore, and then he brought up his thoughts while chatting with Zeng Guofan after a meal one day.He thought that as long as he said his thoughts, not to mention the Hanlin Academy, even the military computer room, his son could let him go; maybe when his son was happy, he could lead him to Long Live God!Doesn't the son often see the emperor?My son is a majestic fourth-rank official!A fourth-rank official is an official who is several ranks older than the magistrate, is there anything he can't do? Zeng Guofan was stunned suddenly, he didn't expect his father to read to such an ignorant level!According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, not to mention that the relatives of officials are not allowed to enter the office, even if the imperial concubine wants to see her own father, she can only be summoned by the order of the Long Live Lord.Why doesn't my father even understand this basic common sense? You know, it is a crime of beheading for an official of the Imperial Academy to bring relatives into the office without authorization!

In front of his two younger brothers, Zeng Guofan fell to his knees and said: "My father's request violates the Qing law. My son dare not agree. Please forgive me." After finishing speaking, he gave a heavy knock .Zeng Guohuang and Zeng Guohua hurriedly helped the elder brother up. Zeng Linshu never expected that his son's "violation of the law" would completely reject his little wish.His face was flushed, and he couldn't get off the stage for a while. He called Zeng Guofan by his childhood name and said, "Kuan Yi, although your father has no fame, he is still a scholar. Your father just wants to use your name to visit the Imperial Academy, and he is worthy of the three 'scholars'." Words. Cough! Why do you have to do this.” After finishing speaking, he sighed heavily.

Guohuang persuaded at this time: "Father, according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, officials of the Imperial Academy who bring relatives into the Imperial Academy will be beheaded! Who dares to do this? Don't make things difficult for your elder brother when you are old." Zeng Linshu said: "Why didn't dad know this? If you don't understand the laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty, can dad be a scholar? But your elder brother is a dignified fourth-rank official! The fourth-rank official is several levels older than the county magistrate, and the whole Hunan To put it bluntly, it’s not much! The father of a fourth-rank Beijing official, let alone a third-rank Zhongxian doctor, can’t you even want to see what the Imperial Academy is like?”

Zeng Guofan knelt on the ground again: "Father, you always use family law to punish unfilial sons and men! Even if you kill me, I will never obey your orders! Father's orders must not be violated, and king's orders must not be violated!" Guohuang and Guohua rushed to help the elder brother again, but Zeng Guofan made up his mind and couldn't get up.Zeng Linshu had no choice but to say: "Kuanyi, get up, dad is not going to the Imperial Academy anymore. Think about it, now that you are an official of the Imperial Academy, it doesn't matter whether dad sees the Imperial Academy or not! "After speaking, with two tears in his mouth, he put his hands behind his back and walked into his bedroom.

Only then did Zeng Guofan kowtow to his father's back and get up. On this day, Zeng Guofan happened to be on the night shift, and Chen Gongyuan and Jiang Zhongyuan came to Zeng Mansion to visit Zeng Linshu in two small sedan chairs. After talking about food and daily life for a while, Zeng Linshu suddenly asked Chen Gongyuan: "Chen Hanlin, the Imperial Academy is a big courtyard, right? Is there a Gongyuan University in Changsha, Hunan?" Chen Gongyuan clasped his fists and replied: "As Master Zeng said, the Hanlin Academy is more than bigger than the Changsha Tribute Academy! The Changsha Tribute Academy is just a township examination center, and the head of the Hanlin Academy is a dignified second-rank Beijing official, whose rank is equivalent to the governor of Hunan! How can that be? Compare!"

"Oh, it's so big!" Zeng Linshu said loudly, "No wonder scholars want to make money in the Imperial Academy!" Suddenly he smiled wryly: "I can't make it into the Imperial Academy in this life, but I'm satisfied if I can see the Imperial Academy! Sigh!" Jiang Zhongyuan said at this time: "Master Zeng, why don't you ask Zeng Hanlin to take you to the Imperial Academy and then you will know everything?" Chen Gongyuan hastily kicked Jiang Zhongyuan with his foot, Jiang Zhongyuan suddenly came to his senses, recalled the laws of the Qing Dynasty, and hastily added: "Actually, the Hanlin Academy is just for nothing. Even if you are appointed to the Hanlin, wouldn't there be people who will be alternate magistrates for a lifetime? So poor!" Zeng Linshu was still in a daze.

After leaving, Chen Gongyuan was still complaining about Jiang Zhongyuan: "Master Zeng has read books for most of his life, and he has never won a single one. It is natural to have the idea of ​​entering the Imperial Academy to see him. But this is against the laws of the Qing Dynasty. How can Sheng do it? Master Zeng is an old man, once he gets phlegm, how can he explain to Di Sheng! Di Sheng has been like a day for several years, don’t say that it’s just a wrong thing, so why did he ever say a word?” Before getting into the sedan chair, Jiang Zhongyuan said: "Why don't we carry Mr. Zeng behind our backs and fulfill this wish for Mr. Zeng? It can be regarded as a filial piety for his life, isn't it good!"

Chen Gongyuan was shocked: "Quickly close the big beak! How can such a decapitation be done!" Jiang Zhongyuan sat in the sedan chair and said: "Let Zhongyuan think of a way..." Then he stomped on the pedal: "Get up the sedan chair and go back to Baylor's Mansion." Waking up early this day, Zeng Guofan went to his father's room first as usual to say hello.This is the rule set by Zeng Guofan. After getting up, he must first go to his father's room to greet him. After greeting him, he can wash up before eating.For a period of time after the meal, Zeng Guofan was able to read an article for his disciples, and then he got up in his sedan chair to go to the Imperial Academy to do business.Despite this, he was still the first to step into Zhan Shifu's threshold every day. After the officer on duty brought him tea, he drank it for a while before other officials began to come in one after another.

Waking up early is a family rule of the Zeng family that has been passed down for several generations, and Zeng Guofan has maintained this tradition in the past few years in Beijing.Usually, he would first ask outside his father's bedroom door: "Has Dad ever gotten up?" If he said inside: "Come in." He would open the door and go in and then ask: "Did you sleep well at night?" When Lin Shu replied "yes", Zhou Sheng had already brought over the cleansing water, so he rinsed his face and ate his breakfast. Today is very strange.Zeng Guofan asked twice outside the door: "Has Dad ever gotten up?" There was no response from inside, Zeng Guofan's heart beat violently, and he began to think wildly: Could it be that Dad is suffering from gas pain?Could it be that father is really angry with himself?

"Master!" Zhou Sheng stood behind Zeng Guofan at some point, which startled Zeng Guofan. "Where's the master?" He hurriedly asked Zhou Sheng. Zhou Sheng said: "If you go back to the master, Chen Hanlin and Jiang Xiaolian carried the master away in a sedan chair before dawn, and they agreed to come back before breakfast. The little one has been looking outside the door, and forgot to tell the master." "Didn't Chen Hanlin and Jiang Xiaolian tell the master what to do?" Zeng Guofan asked suspiciously. Zhou Sheng shook his head, and said, "I never said this, and I didn't dare to ask, so what else could Chen Hanlin and Jiang Xiaolian do besides treating the master to a drink?" The master and servant were talking with each other, but Zeng Linshu opened the door and walked in with a smile.Zeng Guofan hastily greeted him with his hands, while Zhou Sheng hurriedly went to the kitchen to wash the master's face. During breakfast, Zeng Linshu was still full of joy, which made Zeng Guofan even more puzzled.After coming down from the office, Zeng Guofan didn't go back to the mansion, but went straight to Chen Gongyuan's mansion.As soon as he got off the sedan chair, Chen Gongyuan greeted him early as if he knew something in advance.Chen Gongyuan took Zeng Guofan's hand, and the two walked into the living room of the Chen residence. Before Zeng Guofan could ask, Chen Gongyuan had already said: "Disheng, don't ask me about the master's going out in the morning. I don't have the guts to do it. I'll leave it to Min Qiao." Zeng Guofan laughed and said, "I'm not going to beat you, you just tell the truth, you're not eating wine, why did you coax the master out early in the morning? Where do you think you are in Hunan?" "Don't worry about what you're doing, I'll ask you first, is the old man happy to go back?" "This is exactly what I'm wondering about. Shouldn't I take the master to visit the Imperial Academy?" Chen Gongyuan finally laughed: "As expected of Mu Zhongtang's disciple, I guessed it right!" It turned out that after Jiang Zhongyuan returned to Baylor's mansion, he went to Xiao Beizi that night and said, "A relative came from the countryside. He is an old judge. He will go to Beijing to take part in the big exam next year. He wants to go to the Imperial Academy to take a look, but he knows it's against the law." He sighed in the guild hall all day long about the activities of the Qing Dynasty's laws and regulations, and my teacher was anxious for him, but he couldn't help him, and he was going to be sick in a hurry, how could my teacher be worthy of his relatives?" Without even thinking about it, Xiao Beizi called the butler in, and ordered: "Take my famous assassin and go to Commander Fu, the guard of the Imperial Academy, and tell him that a relative of our family wants to visit the Imperial Academy, and ask him to arrange a visit." time." The housekeeper agreed with a "Yi", walked out with the name badge, and came back before lunch to report, saying: "Commander Fu asked our family to send relatives there before the Hanlin office tomorrow morning. After our relatives have finished shopping, he will send them out." , Guaranteed that no one will notice." When Jiang Zhongyuan heard this, he rushed to find Chen Gongyuan excitedly.Zeng Linshu's wish was finally fulfilled. Zeng Guofan's heart began to pound from the moment Chen Gongyuan told the story. After Chen Gongyuan finished speaking, Zeng Guofan's official uniform was already wet with sweat.He was both moved and disturbed.What moved me was that the two old friends, Jiang and Chen, finally had something on their minds; what made me uneasy was that once this matter got out, what would happen! Zeng Guofan frowned and said, "Zhongyuan is so confused. Once outsiders know the truth, do we still want to have someone to eat? Find a time to ask him out and see how I can train him!" Chen Gongyuan suddenly burst out laughing: "Dasheng, why do you insist on saying 'thank you' as 'training'? Thanking him well for coming to you becomes scolding him severely!" Zeng Guofan finally couldn't help laughing.He knew very well in his heart that many laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty were aimed at the Han people, and they were useless to some princes, Baylors, and Manchu scholars.Even if it is investigated, the punishment is much lighter, and some of them are almost symbolic. After Zeng Guofan came back, he saw Zeng Linshu walking up and down the courtyard with a smile on his face.Li Hongzhang, Guo Songtao and his group gathered around, obviously listening to him talk about the scene in the Imperial Academy.Seeing Zeng Guofan get off the sedan chair, Zeng Linshu hurriedly stopped talking, and his disciples rushed forward to help him. After getting off the sedan chair, Zeng Guofan greeted his father first, and went straight into the study without saying anything. Tang Xuan, who was introduced by Tang Jian from his hometown, was the housekeeper of the Zeng Mansion at this time.Before this, Qi Yuzao, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, had recommended a housekeeper for Zeng Guofan, who was the senior brother of the ninth concubine of the Qi Mansion.Because this nine aunt was born in an opera house, she can sing Beijing opera well, she has a thin waist, a thin face, and she can coax people, Master Qi dotes on this little wife very much.Hearing that there was a shortage of housekeepers in Zeng's residence, he didn't care about anything, so he recommended his concubine's brother.However, besides singing a few good songs, this little boy is extremely confused. Although he remembers the account, he forgets everything. He is not expected to be a housekeeper at all.Later, when Zeng Guofan inquired among his colleagues, he turned out to be an actor.What Zeng Guofan tabooed most in his life was dealing with opera actors. In the past few years in the capital, he rarely set foot in theaters except as a last resort.So as soon as he returned to the mansion, he immediately found a reason to resign the actor.For this matter, the nine aunts of the Qi Mansion and Situ Qi didn't speak for a few days.This clearly showed that the two had an affair, but Qi Yuzao didn't realize it, and always thought that Zeng Guofan looked down on him; although he still greeted him every day when he went to court, the hatred was buried in his heart. Tang Xuan has a good abacus, but has a stubborn temper. He once worked as a housekeeper for several adults, and because of his meticulousness, it was difficult to get along with the subordinates. Because he ranked fourth in the family, he was called "Tang Four stubborn eyes". On the night Tang Xuan arrived at the Zeng Mansion, he laid out all the accounts and re-recorded them one by one. He worked until midnight without even taking a sip of water.The next day, when the ledger was put in front of Zeng Guofan again, it was already classified into categories, which couldn't be more clear.Zeng Guofan praised a few words, and since then he has given everything in the house to Tang Xuan to take care of. Soon, Guo Songtao's family also moved to the capital, and Zeng Guofan rented a house for him.Since then, Guo Songtao has not stayed at Zeng's house, but the article has to be sent to Zeng Guofan for correction.Another day later, Ouyang Xiaocen, Zeng Guofan's old Taishan, also came to the capital to see his daughter. When Zeng Linshu saw his father-in-law, he seemed to drop a big ingot out of thin air. He took his father-in-law to watch a play, and forced Ouyang Xiaocen to go to an antique shop near Liulichang to watch calligraphy and paintings. He bought a lot of broken copper and iron, and was excited Incredibly. Hearing that Mr. Zeng's old Mount Tai is here, some officials also came to visit, just using this excuse to make friends with Zeng Guofan.The Zeng Mansion was bustling again for several days. Zeng Guofan had already greeted Tang Xuan. No matter who came to visit, he was absolutely not allowed to accept gifts. All the officials who came would see off the guests after drinking a cup of tea.These unkind rules of the Zeng Mansion made most of the officials come here in good spirits and return in disappointment.Everyone agreed that Zeng Disheng was playing Shen Shen.What's so great about a fourth-rank official! The front of Zeng's mansion gradually became deserted, cars and sedan chairs became less and less, and the Zeng's family returned to their former peaceful life.However, this peaceful life lasted less than half a year before it was broken by a text case that caused a sensation all over the country.