Chapter 27 Reputation and Echoes

  The advantage of being reborn is knowing what will happen in the next few hundred years, and clearly understanding the experiences and lessons from it. The advantage of having been a civil servant in one's past life is being able to gauge the situation, guess people's intentions, and make wise choices. As for saying that one was a young leading cadre in their past life, the advantages are even greater, being familiar with the rules of officialdom, knowing what to do and what not to do.

  Su Tiancheng has so many advantages, the journey of crossing should not be simple.

  Those things that happened before, including facing Lai Wen Tong and Lai Guo Kui, are not a big deal. Lai Wen Tong is just a merchant. If it were several hundred years later, the situation would have changed greatly, and such merchants would indeed be formidable. However, in the Ming Dynasty, no matter what, the status of merchants was always the lowest. Although they had money, they were still restricted in their use of it. In the early Ming period, even residential areas were restricted. Only by the late Ming period did commodity economy develop greatly, and cases of officials colluding with merchants increased, so nobody followed the rules anymore. As a result, the residences of merchants gradually became more luxurious and grandiose.

  Lei Kui is nothing, before crossing over, Su Tiancheng didn't know how many small-time hooligans he had seen, these small-time hooligans, in front of him, were all obedient and submissive.

  The real test has yet to come; all of this is just initial adaptation.

  Su Tiancheng was very aware of this, so he didn't show any signs of self-satisfaction.

  Lei Wentong's visit to Su Fu, including some of the things he said and Su Tiancheng's responses, had already been leaked out.

  Lei Wentong was a merchant of some standing in the city of Pingyang Prefecture, and it was somewhat condescending for him to go to the Su Mansion. As people were guessing at Lei Wentong's purpose, they were delighted by Su Tiancheng's response, which was truly sharp and hit the nail on the head.

  I don't know how these messages were spread, it's said that only the servants brought by Leiyin Tong and those from the Su Mansion were present on that day, but it's just so strange, all the conversations were transmitted word for word.

  Lei Wentong walked back and forth in the reception hall, relying on his nephew's Huiren identity, he could also set up a reception hall in the mansion. According to the imperial court's requirements, only fourth-rank or higher officials' mansions were allowed to have a dedicated reception hall. But now, everything was somewhat out of order, and such things were no longer questioned by the authorities.

  The news spread all over the city, making him extremely angry.

  The fact that he went to the Su Mansion himself and spread it out would be detrimental to him. A discerning person can understand the subtlety of this matter. What is his identity, Su Tiancheng is only a 17-year-old student, his father Su Huawen has moved to Taiyuan Prefecture, and there is no one in charge at home, but he went to the Su Mansion himself, and left with a sullen face.

  Lei Wentong gritted his teeth in anger, but he didn't dare make any big moves. After all, Su Tiancheng was a scholar and a respectable person with a noble status. In front of him, Lei Wentong could only put on the airs of a superior. Besides, Su Tiancheng really hadn't done anything wrong, and for now, Lei Wentong had no way to take action against him.

  Found the Magistrate, maliciously framed Su Tiancheng, might be a way, unfortunately such a method, has not had time to implement, himself to Su Fu things, has been spread all over the sky, in this situation, himself went to see the Magistrate, estimated is courting death.

  Lei Wen Tong was furious when he saw Lei Guo Gui return home.

  "Son, go to the study."

  As soon as they entered the study room, Le Wen Tong started yelling before Lei Guo Gui could even react.

  "Still not kneeling down for me? Last time you said something, what's going on with that? Honestly tell me, didn't you say Su Tiancheng is useless, cowardly and weak, can't withstand a blow?"

  Lei Kui Gui did not kneel down, in front of his old man, he had always been somewhat arrogant.

  "Father, I am already a scholar, I cannot kneel down casually."

  "You're really something, you think you're a scholar, but in front of Laozi, you'd still have to kneel down. What kind of books have you been reading?"

  Heaven and earth, ruler, parents, teachers. In front of his parents, he needs to show filial piety, which is the essence of Confucianism. Leigonggui also understood this, seeing that Leiwentong was really angry, he reluctantly knelt down.

  "Father, isn't it just a matter of a few words? That Su Tiancheng, don't think he can get away with it. Another day, I'll find a few people to properly deal with him and see if he's still so arrogant."

  Lei Wentong was almost fainting, he didn't even dare to find the county magistrate, and behind his back, he slandered Su Tiangcheng. He couldn't believe that his own good-for-nothing son would actually think of finding someone to collect debts from Su Tiangcheng. This wasn't openly telling everyone that the Lei family looked down on Su Tiangcheng and was just waiting for an opportunity to take care of him?

  If the Magistrate knew, what would he think? The Magistrate is not satisfied, and with any excuse, the Lei family will be finished. Don't look at your own nephew being an official in Huguang, but in the eyes of the Magistrate, what does a chief clerk count for?

  Lei Wentong felt a bit desolate, why was the young master of the Su family so formidable? He spoke and acted with such careful consideration, while his own son didn't understand anything. If he really became enemies with Su Tiancheng, what would happen to the Lei family in the future when Su Tiancheng rose to prominence?

  After many years of doing business, Le Wen Tong has gone through too much wind and rain, relying on caution, being able to identify people, and taking one step at a time to get to where he is today. If Lei Kui Gui doesn't behave himself, it would really bring trouble to the family, and downfall can happen overnight.

  "You little scoundrel, if you dare to have such thoughts again, I'll break your legs and make you sleep at home. It's better than having you go out and cause trouble."

  Lei Guigui was taken aback and looked up at Lei Wentong, why did his own father say that too.

  Looking at Leigui's astonished expression, Lewen Tong shook his head.

  "You scoundrel, when doing things, you should use your brain. You're a scholar, how can you not understand such simple principles? Others have said 'borrowing a knife to kill someone' and 'framing others', these principles, you used to understand them, but why don't you know them now? Fighting and killing is not something you should be doing."

  News spread quickly, but Su Tiancheng, who was called a prodigal son, remained calm.

  Scholars visiting Su's residence increased gradually, the vast majority of whom were students from Pingyang Prefecture, some of whom were fellow students with Su Tiancheng, while others had studied together at the prefectural school.

  Everyone is curious about what happened to Su Tian that caused such a big change. Was the silence before all just an act?

  Su Tiancheng was calm and composed, welcoming his fellow students who came to visit him at home. He also spoke in a very low-key manner. Some of his fellow students who were close to him always wanted to ask about the situation with Le Wen Tong coming to the Su residence, but Su Tiancheng would always respond with just a few words and never mention this matter again.

  In just a few days, Su Tiancheng's reputation slowly came out. Everyone's consistent view was that Su Tiancheng was very low-key and humble. Although Lei Wentong came to the door with anger, as an elder, there was some taste of bullying the younger generation, but Su Tiancheng's attitude was still good, polite and courteous.

  No one knew that Su Tiancheng, the mastermind behind it all, had been closely monitoring the development of the situation.

  He had to be more careful, the news was spread by Su Er Tong and others, and some seasonings were added in between, with the purpose of making this matter public and completely blocking Lei Wen Tong's road to revenge.

  Lei Wentong is not an ordinary person, and the influence of the Lei family is also considerable. If Lei Wentong gets angry and decides to take action secretly, it would require a lot of effort to be on guard. By telling Lei Wentong to "sweep the snow in front of one's own door", the implication is actually to live in peace and quiet.

  At least for now, Raven Tong's family is still somewhat disadvantaged. His three sons are a monitor, two are xiucai, and such a family, in the eyes of those aristocratic families, is not worth mentioning. However, among merchant families, it is considered quite good. Moreover, Raven Tong's cousin is also a juren.

  It's always better to take precautions before things happen.

  The situation is developing in a direction that is favorable to oneself. The Ming dynasty was controlled by bookish officials, and for hundreds of years, the bookish have always been biased towards scholars. Public opinion also favors scholars, and in everyone's eyes, Lei Wentong occupies the strong side. By doing so, he has turned weakness into strength, made the situation public, and forced Lei Wentong to swallow his pride.

  Of course, it can't always be like this, taking shortcuts is only temporary and cannot last a lifetime. The most crucial thing is to enter the officialdom through the imperial examination system, and only by truly grasping power can many problems be solved easily.

  Su Tiancheng began to calm down and started reading the Four Books and Five Classics, studying seriously, relying on the foundation laid by the previous Su Tiancheng, and it was quite interesting.

  Now that the goal is set, he won't hesitate. He will not give up until he achieves his purpose. Without this basic determination and perseverance, don't even think about doing things well.