Chapter Ten Prospects

  Still the flower hall.

  Others have already left, and only Wang Gonggong stayed behind with Xu Qian. He showed a few signs of fatigue, but the joy was still overflowing from his words. On the wall behind his chair, a calligraphy hung high again, which had been recovered intact. Jiang Kun couldn't bear the torture and soon confessed the whereabouts of the true treasure.

  As for who Jiang Kun was instructed by, it's no longer something that Xu Qian needs to ask about.

  Sit.

  Wang Gong's tone was flat, but he couldn't help but appreciate Xu Qian. He even rarely showed a gentle smile.

  Xu Qian didn't stand on ceremony either, sat down and said: "Congratulations, Your Excellency."

  Wang Gong picked up his teacup and said slowly, "It's true that there is good news, but we've also had a false alarm. In any case, thanks to you."

  He dipped his fingernail into the tea and picked out a speck of tea dust, then said: "Since you understand painting, I suppose you've also read books?"

  Xu Qian was extremely indignant in his heart. He had read the book, and as someone who worked in a museum in his past life, he had done some research on ancient culture. Whether it was antiques or calligraphy and painting, he had some skills. Moreover, the owner of this body was even more of a bookworm, spending every day reading the Four Books and Five Classics with Zhu Xi's annotations. As a result, Xu Qian had inherited a belly full of knowledge, but Wang Gonggong happened to mention the one thing that touched Xu Qian's sore spot - after all, he was from a lower social class, and people from lower social classes couldn't read books or become officials. What use was it to read so many books?

  Xu Qian replied: "I've read some, but it's actually been ridiculed by my father-in-law."

  In front of Wang Gonggong, Xu Qian felt that it was better to be low-key. This was a cultured eunuch and also a half-baked literati. He himself was a cultured rascal and also a half-baked literati. Since ancient times, literati have looked down on each other, and half-baked literati are no exception. Therefore, being humble and cautious would never go wrong.

  Wang Gong sighed and said: "He has read books, unfortunately he is the son of a minor official, which is a pity."

  In Xu Qian's view, Wang Gonggong seemed to have a tendency to repeatedly rub salt into his own wounds, so he decided not to speak up.

  Wang Gong got up, walked a few steps in the hall with his hands behind his back, and then raised his eyes, saying: "The accounts of the past, you and I will cancel them. Our family thinks you are clever and resourceful. If there is an opportunity in the future, you may have some prospects. There is indeed a prospect here, but I don't know if you are interested."

  The future... for the current Xujian, it's simply like a fantasy, elusive. This life is destined to take over his father's position in the future, wearing a blue robe, every day listening to the differences in the county government, the greatest future, at most, can only be a catcher.

  Now Wang suddenly blurted out two words "front path", making Xu Qian's eyes light up.

  But then he shook his head again in his heart.

  It's easy to say, but changing one's household registration is not that simple. Even if Wang Gonggong is willing to help, it's not necessarily possible to change his current situation. The upward mobility of the humble-born in the Ming dynasty is severely limited, and even with the assistance of high-ranking officials, there may be no way out.

  Moreover, although it's a humble origin, the Xu family has been relying on this door to make a living for generations. If they really take away this humble origin, will the entire Xu family go hungry? Xu Qian still relies on his old master to support him for life, buying him a house and marrying him off, if he loses his rice bowl, how can he live?

  Xu Qian was thinking in a muddled way, suddenly realizing that he was somewhat embarrassing himself. In his past life, he seemed to be someone who just went with the flow and waited for death, and after transmigrating, he didn't even have any awareness as a transmigrator.

  Wang Gonggong was not Xu Qian's parasite, he seemed to be weighing something, his eyes narrowed into a line, and after a moment of silence, he said: "During the Tian Shun years, with Yu Qian as the first, a group of court officials were guilty, their families were implicated, and dozens of people had their property confiscated...

  The king sat back in his chair, his face calm as a still autumn lake, and said: "This case has always been controversial. In the Hongzhi years, Emperor Xiaoping issued an edict to clear his name and grant him amnesty." The king paused for a moment before continuing: "At that time, there was an official named Xu in the imperial court who had also been affected by Yu Qian's case. His descendants were either serving as teachers or exiled to various places. After Emperor Xiaoping granted amnesty, he repeatedly asked his subordinates to find their descendants and remove their humble status, so they would no longer be wandering around."

  Xu Qian was thoroughly disheveled.

  He soon understood the meaning of Wang Gonggong, wanting to remove the household registration is generally impossible, unless... unless there is an opportunity, Wang Gonggong provided himself with an opportunity. To know that Yingzong has been nearly a hundred years old, and for a hundred years, the descendants of the Xu surname official who was guilty have all been downgraded to a lower status, now they have also branched out and scattered. However, since they want to rehabilitate, those descendants naturally cannot be downgraded again, at least they should become ordinary citizens. But the biggest problem is, who are the descendants of that Xu surname official? At this time, there was no DNA, and family trees seemed unreliable, after all, when someone in the family was guilty, it was common for scattered descendants to change their ancestral home or even their surname.

  In the end, only officials have the final say. If they say you are related to someone surnamed Xu, then you are, even if you're not related by blood or marriage, maybe just a distant relative of his son's cousin's aunt's nephew.

  As for someone like Wang Gonggong, it's clear that he belongs to the kind of person who has the final say. Although this matter is not under his jurisdiction, with his identity, just a casual greeting would allow Xu Qian to establish a connection with others. As a descendant of a loyal and good official, how could the imperial court let you engage in a humble occupation? After all, the emperor personally issued an edict, proclaiming it to the world.

  It turns out... games can be played like this too, indeed there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

  Xu Qian, who had a clear understanding of the situation, felt deeply moved and even suspected that those officials like Yu Qian who were in charge of rehabilitation cases, their so-called descendants and clansmen were mostly local officials who had been stuffed into these positions, and it would be good if there was really one-tenth of the true bloodline of the Yu or Xu family. If the emperor knew that his subordinates were cheating him like this, he would probably be furious.

  Xu Qian knew that as long as Wang Gonggong was willing to help this time, the Xu family would immediately become a loyal and good family, not only able to get rid of their humble status, but also likely to gain some preferential treatment from the imperial court. The question was what specific preferential policies they would receive.

  Moreover, he had accumulated a bellyful of knowledge, and if he could get the opportunity to pass the imperial examination as a Xiucai, that would also be considered a person with a good reputation. Having a good reputation in Qiantang County is nothing, but in the lower villages, it is absolutely an extraordinary figure. In the past, when Old Master saw the superior officials in the county government office, he had to nod and bow, but even if he was just a Xiucai who entered the county government office, he could still leave a seat in front of the county magistrate. The benefits of this are naturally not necessary to elaborate.

  There are also disadvantages. Since they have left the humble register, their father's errands may be gone, and the entire Xu family no longer belongs to the humble register. The whole family has more than a hundred people, and seven or eight out of ten are miscellaneous workers. This is an ancestral business, and it will definitely cause trouble when the time comes.

  For most of the Xu family, their native place was secondary, but the difference in treatment was related to the iron rice bowl. Mr. Wang's idea was a good thing for Xu Qian, but for the entire Xu family, it was a mixed bag of joy and worry.

  Wang Gong saw Xu Qian's calm demeanor and couldn't help but add some good feelings towards him. At such a young age, he could remain unflappable in the face of honor or shame, and it seemed that he hadn't misjudged him after all. He nodded his head slightly in approval. Little did he know, Xu Qian was struggling between his iron rice bowl and his future prospects.

  After careful consideration, Xu Qian finally figured it out. After crossing over for a year and achieving nothing, the current opportunity is now in front of him. Although there may be temporary sacrifices, once he can obtain honor and fame, the benefits will be extremely great. Therefore, Xu Qian made up his mind to make a desperate effort.

  "Thank you for your support, sir."

  The king's cold face finally flashed a hint of a smile, he pressed his hand and said: "It's just convenient for people to be convenient, you're cautious and knowledgeable, our family is just a matter of raising hands, this thing needs to be done. It's still necessary to go to the Nanjing Hubu Department, I'm afraid it will take some time, you should prepare early, since you plan to seek fame, you should have some preparation, can't waste your studies."

  Xu Qian hastily said: "Yes, yes, I will definitely not disappoint the public's expectations." But in his heart, he had some doubts. Who was Wang Gonggong? If he really took a liking to himself, it wasn't impossible, but their identities were like heaven and earth, and using so much energy didn't seem quite right.

  No news is good news; no news means someone is up to no good.

  Xu Qian considered the heart of Wang Gong and immediately asked tentatively: "May I ask, sir, is there anything else that can be done for you?"

  Wang Gong smiled and said calmly, "It's not the right time yet, you should focus on studying for now."

  As expected...

  Xu Qian felt a little apprehensive in his heart. This eunuch said it was not the right time, which meant that he would still be used by himself in the future. He would be a scholar in the future, and getting too close to this dead eunuch would ruin his reputation.

  Xu Qian thought about this and felt that he was being a bit too petty. This scholar hadn't even succeeded yet, but had already harbored ulterior motives.

  After bidding farewell to Wang Gonggong, Xu Qian came out of the Wang Gonggong's mansion and saw that Xu Chang had been waiting at the gate. As soon as Xu Chang saw Xu Qian come out, a huge stone fell from his heart, and he hurriedly welcomed him, saying: "I was afraid that Wang Gonggong would go back on his words and make things difficult for you, how did it go? What did Wang Gonggong say?"

  Xu Qian looked around and said, "Dad, this isn't a place for talking, let's go home and talk."

  Xu Chang also became cautious, looked at his son with appreciation, who was different from the past, nodded and said: "Not bad, let's talk about it when we get home. By the way, is your arm still painful?"

  Xu Qian rubbed his arm, which was indeed a bit painful, but shook his head and said, "I'm so young, this little pain is nothing."

  "Go home and I'll apply some medicine for you."