Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 95 Anger
Feng Deguang glanced at the box on the table and smiled, "Zhang Shaoqing, what are you doing?"

"This is some specialty sent from my hometown. I'll give it to Cheng Feng to try." Zhang Yuanzhen said with a smile.

"Haha, I'm in charge of the Censorate, and I hate to see officials giving gifts to each other. Zhang Shaoqing, aren't you afraid that I will impeach you in front of the emperor?" Feng Deguang said indifferently.

"Mr. Feng, you are joking. They are just some local specialties. They are not worth much."

Zhang Yuanzhen had a smile on his face, but he was cursing in his heart. If he hadn't brought the gift, he wouldn't have been able to get in the door.

"Haha, since they are just some local specialties, I will accept them." Feng Deguang said with a smile.

"Central Prime Minister Feng, please try it. If it suits your taste, I will have someone bring some over from my hometown next time," said Zhang Yuanzhen.

Feng Deguang nodded slightly and said with a smile: "The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites is seriously ill and has submitted a petition to retire. I heard that Zhang Shaoqing has a good chance, so I would like to congratulate him first."

"No matter what official position you hold, you are serving the emperor and the court. Besides, Xie Chuanjian has more seniority than me, so it is not my turn." Zhang Yuanzhen said with a smile.

A few days ago, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites fell seriously ill. Although he survived after being recuperated for such a long time, he can no longer speak clearly.

I can only submit my resignation in writing, and the government has approved it.

There is a hole for every carrot, and now that such a big hole has been vacated, naturally countless people want to jump in.

After discussion among the ministers, two candidates were selected, namely him and Xie Chuanjian.

Zhang Yuanzhen had been sitting in the position of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple for five or six years. He should have been moved last year. However, another person competing with him was much inferior to him in every aspect. He thought he had the position for sure, but he was impeached by the Censorate at the critical moment. In the end, the other person was promoted.

Afterwards, Zhang Yuanzhen found out through investigation that his competitor had given gifts to Feng Deguang.

Zhang Yuanzhen was not stupid. The Censorate did not impeach him earlier or later, but at the critical moment of his promotion.

Although he hated Feng Deguang to death in his heart, the officialdom is like a pyramid. The higher you go, the fewer positions there are and the harder it is to get promoted.

If he missed this good opportunity, the fourth rank might be the end of his life.

Therefore, no matter how much he hated Feng Deguang, he knew that Xie Chuanjian was an upright person and would not give Feng Deguang a gift. In order to be on the safe side, he still had to give Feng Deguang a gift.

"I don't agree with what Shaoqing Zhang said. What matters in officialdom is ability, not seniority. Otherwise, why are some people only minor officials of the sixth or seventh rank after serving for decades, while others can become prime ministers? You are Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, and what you do is somewhat similar to that of the Ministry of Rites. I have also heard of your reputation as an official. I think you have a better chance this time." Feng Deguang said with a smile.

"Then I'll take advantage of Prime Minister Feng's good words." Zhang Yuanzhen heard this and knew that he was safe this time, and he smiled happily.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yuanzhen said goodbye and left.

Feng Deguang sent Zhang Yuanzhen out the door, returned to the main hall, opened the box Zhang Yuanzhen had brought, and saw ingots of gold inside.

Seeing the gold, Feng Deguang was not at all happy. Instead, he curled his lips and said, "No wonder he is still a fourth-rank official at such an old age."

Zhang Yuanzhen didn't know that the gift he sent was rejected by Feng Deguang, otherwise he would definitely complain about it.

Even giving him this gold made him feel painful.

Although he was a fourth-rank official, he worked in the Taichang Temple.

The Taichang Temple was in charge of sacrifices and some ceremonies, and normally there was no money at all from it.

Officials from the six ministries can also receive gifts from local officials. After all, they are powerful departments and have no shortage of people who curry favor with them.

Although the Taichang Temple was not a poor government office, it was not much better either.

After all, the current government is very frugal. They try to save as much as possible when holding sacrifices or something like that. The benefits that these officials can make are very limited.

"father."

Just then, Feng Mingsong walked in listlessly, yawning.

"Look at what time it is now. Where did you go last night? You still smell of alcohol?" Feng Deguang frowned.

"I went to Guangyuntai with some friends." Feng Mingsong sat down with a nonchalant look on his face. Seeing the gold in the box, he sneered, "Who is this? He actually sent gold. How much can such a big box hold?" You can't carry a big box to give a gift. Usually it's a small wooden box with some silver bills or valuable treasures.

Given the size of this box, it can only hold a few hundred taels of gold. Even if it is gold, it is only worth a few thousand taels of silver.

Feng Deguang was helpless about his son's attitude, but he only had this one son in front of him, and he was old when he got him, so he doted on Feng Mingsong so much that he couldn't bear to scold him. Hearing this, he said, "The Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple gave it to him."

"Dad, please don't help him. This little money is just for beggars." Feng Mingsong said.

"When will it be your turn to teach me how to do things? You look so listless, go back to sleep." Feng Deguang scolded.

If it were someone else, he would really have asked someone to return the items.

But he and Xie Chuanjian did not get along well, and he also cut off Zhang Yuanzhen's opportunity last year. It would not be good if he went too far.

Even if Zhang Yuanzhen didn't give a gift this time, he wouldn't let Xie Chuanjian go up, so there was naturally no reason to return the money.

However, he didn't intend to tell Feng Mingsong about this.

He still knows what kind of person his son is.

"I'm not going to sleep anymore. I have an appointment at noon today, so I'm leaving first." Feng Mingsong yawned, got up and walked out.

……

"Your Majesty, this is a secret report sent by the Imperial City's life officer." Eunuch Liu came to the emperor's side, holding a wax-sealed letter and said.

Upon hearing this, the emperor put down his imperial pen, took the letter, opened it and began to read.

The more he looked at the official's face, the uglier it became. The content of the letter was about Zhang Yuanzhen bringing gifts to the Feng family. In addition, there was a record of Zhang Yuanzhen's eldest son going to gold shops to exchange gold in recent days.

Although gold was used as currency in the Song Dynasty, in reality, due to the high gold production and the demand for jewelry and various gold and silver utensils, gold was rarely used as currency.

In order to give a gift to Feng Deguang, Zhang Yuanzhen asked his son to exchange a lot of gold.

Yin Hanzhang had been struggling to find evidence, but when he learned that the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites had resigned, he knew his opportunity had come, and he kept a close eye on the Feng family and the two candidates.

God helps those who work hard, and he soon found the evidence.

Although there was no direct evidence that the gold was given to Feng Deguang, the government would naturally be able to make a judgment as long as the Censorate impeached Xie Chuanjian.

After a long while, the official put away the letter, handed it to Eunuch Liu, and said, "Burn it."

"Yes." Eunuch Liu took the letter, took it to the candlestick beside him, lit it, and threw it into the spittoon.

The official continued to look at Zhazi calmly, but his gloomy face proved that he was filled with anger.

……

"I will pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

The next day, just as the sky was getting light, the sounds of civil and military officials paying homage could be heard in the Daqing Hall.

"My dear ministers, please stand up." The emperor glanced at Feng Deguang in the crowd, then withdrew his gaze and said calmly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After expressing their gratitude, all the civil and military officials stood up straight.

After Feng Deguang stood up, he felt his heart pounding, as if something bad was going to happen.

However, when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't figure out where this feeling came from.

Thanks for the reward from Rulan.

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(End of this chapter)