Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 59 Deer Ming Banquet

Zhou An was puzzled upon hearing this. He wanted to ask, but he was worried that there might be some inside story that would put Guan Yan in a difficult position.

Guan Yan seemed to sense Zhou An's concerns and took the initiative to explain.

"If this matter involved others, Li Mu's father would have submitted a petition. But Scholar Hu is different; he enjoys the Emperor's deep trust."

Guan Yan whispered, "My father told me that when Scholar Hu retired to his hometown, the Emperor personally summoned him to try and persuade him to stay, wanting him to serve as the prince's tutor."

Because the prince was still young, and Scholar Hu also wished to return to his hometown, he was allowed to retire.

"I see!"

Zhou An nodded in realization.

Given Hu Xueshi's position, he personally participated in setting and grading the provincial examinations. If he submitted a memorial without any evidence, the officials would simply ignore it.

This would only make the officials more dissatisfied with the person who submitted the memorial.

"Li Mu's father wants my father to panic and submit a petition. If my father does that, no matter what the outcome, he won't get away with it," Guan Yan said.

His father is a high-ranking official in Tongzhou. If he can't even handle this kind of thing, it will expose his incompetence.

However, involving Hu Yuan would displease the emperor, so this scheme was extremely cunning.

Hu Yuan's identity is special, and dealing with him is inherently difficult. If his father fails to remain calm, the consequences could be disastrous.

"My dad always says that officialdom is treacherous, and I'm tired of hearing it."

Guan Yan sighed, "Only now do I understand how treacherous the officialdom truly is. Ah, why must one become an official?"

For ordinary people, becoming an official is an unattainable dream, and many wouldn't even dare to imagine it.

But for sons of officials like him, no matter what they thought, their parents' expectations for them were to study hard and become officials.

"My family has always been ordinary people. Does Dekuan know what ordinary people have to face?"

Zhou An said to himself, "Any constable you have to smile and be extremely careful when you see them, for fear of offending them."

When the constables went to the countryside to collect taxes, they knew that the standard amount was acceptable, but they always paid the extra amount.

Fortunately, the constables only went to the countryside when collecting the two taxes, and not at other times, so they just had to be careful to get by.

But the local landlord clans were the most despicable. During the spring planting season, they would release water, and others could only draw water to irrigate their fields after their own fields were irrigated.

Ordinary people are like roadside weeds, left to be trampled on without any resistance.

Although there are various troubles and unpleasant things after becoming an official, one doesn't need to be constantly on guard.

No matter how complicated the officialdom is, as long as you are tactful and have little ambition, even if you are just a minor official, you can live a very comfortable life.

Without any conflict of interest, no one will scheme against you.

But ordinary people are really like roadside weeds, trampled on by pedestrians; they've probably already gotten used to it.

But there are always some people who find the weeds an eyesore when they pass by and want to pull them out.

"Do ordinary people really have such a hard life?" Guan Yan asked incredulously.

"It's tough, but you'll get used to it eventually."

Zhou An said in a deep voice: "I once saw a commoner who was beaten up by a young master who was passing by simply because he smelled of sweat. The young master said that the smell of sweat bothered him."

I also witnessed commoners who failed to make way in time having their legs broken by the entourage of spoiled brats.

"Is there no law anymore?"

Guan Yan said angrily, "Although there are some spoiled brats in Tongzhou, none of them have committed such an evil deed."

"It's not that such things don't happen, but rather that the more prosperous the place, the more deeply these kinds of things are hidden."

Zhou An shook his head and said, "There are many officials in Tongzhou, and they are bound to have disagreements with each other. This will actually restrain their offspring from doing evil in the open."

I live in a small county town, and those who are bullied are just ordinary people. If the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate; who will care?

"A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study."

Guan Yan said self-deprecatingly, "When I was reading the Book of Jin, I even laughed at Emperor Hui of Jin for being foolish. What I just said was no different from 'Why don't they eat meat porridge?'"

I don’t know if Emperor Hui of Jin was stupid or not, but his question, “Why not eat meat porridge?” wasn’t actually wrong.

Zhou An shook his head and said, "For an emperor, minced meat is just an ordinary thing."

As the sage said, "To learn and practice what you have learned is a joy indeed."

"Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles; only in this way can one truly understand the myriad aspects of life."

When I was studying the Analects in my previous life, my teacher said, "To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned, is it not a pleasure?" This means that after learning something, one should frequently review it.

But after returning to school, he realized that the "xi" in "xue er shi xi zhi" (learning and practicing at appropriate times) did not mean that.

The traditional Chinese character for 习 is “习”. According to the Shuowen Jiezi (a dictionary of Chinese characters), 习 means to fly frequently.

This refers to birds flapping their wings multiple times a day to practice flying when they are learning to fly.

Therefore, "习" means practice or exercise.

The true meaning of "learning and practicing regularly" is to put what you've learned into practice in your daily life, applying what you've learned, which naturally brings joy.

"Huai De's words are thought-provoking, and I have learned a great deal!" Guan Yan solemnly bowed to Zhou An.

"What is Dekuan doing!"

Zhou An quickly helped him up, patted him on the shoulder and said, "I think wanting to become an official is about solving one's own problem of making a living."

Once you've solved the problem of establishing yourself, then you can start thinking about why you want to become an official!

"You're right!"

Guan Yan laughed and said, "Those who constantly spout benevolence, righteousness, and the greater good of the world are too hypocritical. I hate these kinds of people the most, and I'm ashamed to associate with them!"

As the son of the prefect of Tongzhou, he had many young men eager to curry favor with him.

If he wanted, there would be even more people surrounding him than around Li Mu.

He used to have some sycophants around him, and he enjoyed being flattered and praised.

It wasn't until he overheard their private conversation that he realized they had often mocked him for being a glutton.

He even said that he must have been a starving ghost in his past life, otherwise why would he be like those ordinary people, thinking about food all day long?

After that, Guan Yan's personality changed drastically, and he never associated with those people again.

Even after following his father to Tongzhou, he remained the same, completely ignoring the young masters who tried to curry favor with him.

Over time, rumors began to circulate that he was aloof and withdrawn.

The reason I struck up a conversation with Zhou An that day was because Zhou An was asking the waiter about the origins of the tofu shop.

He felt that Zhou An, like him, was also a smooth talker.

The invitations were indeed extended several times, and Zhou An, like him, really enjoyed eating.

That kind of love for food can't be faked.

Most importantly, Zhou An never asked about his identity or family situation.

He could sense that Zhou An didn't just see him as a casual acquaintance, which was why he hadn't asked those questions.

Instead, they guessed something and that's why they didn't ask.

This feeling was very comforting, and he also regarded Zhou An as a true friend.

"By the way, the prefectural government will be hosting a Deer Cry Banquet at the Climbing Tower tomorrow; the invitations should arrive later tonight!"

Guan Yan cautioned, "Although Li Mu didn't participate in the provincial examination, given his status, he'll definitely go. He saw you and me together before we went to the top tower; he might try to make things difficult for you at the Deer Cry Banquet!"

"With everyone watching, he wouldn't dare to do anything reckless!" Zhou An didn't care.

The Deer Cry Banquet was a celebratory banquet held by the prefectural governor for the newly successful candidates after the results of the provincial examinations were announced.

The provincial examinations were usually held the day after the provincial examinations.