Ch. 17 - When an Ambitious Person Meets a Treacherous Person

Jinling Prefecture Magistrate was the official position of the fourth rank, and the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture was also the official position of the fourth rank. In addition, he has changed from the official seal officer to the Deputy official. It seemed that his real power had been greatly reduced, but these days, the capital's officials were dignified. Even if the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture could barely be regarded as half of the capital's officials, he still deserved the word ”promotion” in the eyes of the people at that time.

However, this position that officials all over the world envy, in the view of the tyrants of the Jia family, was still filled with 70% disdain and 30% envy. They kept saying that a fourth-grade hall official had settled down in a broken place. It seemed that Jia Yucun would have been worse off without the support of family and friends like Rong Guo Fu.

Tch!

Sun Shaozong finally understood the meaning of the proverb ”A dog's eyes that look down on a human.” He also thought that these young fellows should also often make up stories about the Sun family, so he tended to become less close to them.

But because of Jia Lian, it was not good to give Xing'er a face.

So he just answered and went straight to the living room.

Since Jia Lian mentioned him in front of Jia Yucun, he might think it was a good idea to bring them together. Moreover, since he was a person who wanted to go on the journey together, it was better to meet early than later.

When he was walking to the front door of the living room, he heard someone inside vividly said, "The abbot of Jiming Temple didn't like the dirty thatched cottage, so he went to the backyard in the dark for the toilet. Unexpectedly, he was dim-sighted from old age and was stabbed by the tender tips of bamboo shoots into his buttocks. He screamed in pain. When the little monk heard the sound, he couldn't help but put his hands together and say, “Amitabha, it's really retribution! ”

Before his words were over, Sun Shaozong had already arrived at the door. He saw a middle-aged scholar in the hall with his palms placed together. Similar to the young monk who had just put an end to backyard hostility but was worried about being held accountable by the Buddha, his expression was a mix of surprise and happiness, along with a hint of panic.

This performance, which was delivered with role-playing, narration, action, and playing, naturally caused Jia Lian to give a round of applause and laugh. He said straight in his mouth, "What a good retribution! What a good retribution!"

Sun Shaozong was only stunned for one second, then smiled and crossed the threshold. He joked, "I don't think it's retribution. It's clear that the old monk did not have enough extravagance. If he could be like your Second Brother Lian, with three or five lanterns shining every time he goes to the toilet, how can there be such a disaster?"

When Jia Lian saw that it was Sun Shaozong who had come in, he laughed happily again. He got up and poked his finger at him falsely, laughing and scolding, "I don't like the feeling of stomach ache. Erlang can't buckle the excrement basin on me!"

With these words, he affectionately pulled Sun Shaozong to the table and introduced him to Jia Yucun, "Big brother, this is the Erlang of the Sun family. Their family and Rongguo Mansion are old friends of several generations."

He also pointed to Jia Yucun and said, "This old brother is also a member of Jia family. He has a binomial name, Yucun. Erlang, come meet him."

Although Jia Lian used ”big brother” and ”older brother,” he didn't take Jia Yucun seriously in his words and behaviors. Compared with the remarks made by the young servant before, Sun Shaozong had to sigh in his heart. Indeed, like master, like servant.

He sighed in his heart, but his face was like a smiling spring breeze. He arched his hands at Jia Yucun and introduced himself, "I’m Sun Shaozong. Nice to meet you, Prefecture Jia."

Jia Yucun had heard about Sun Shaozong from Jia Lian. If it was only about his background, Jia Yucun would not take the ”impoverished” Sun family into account. But after he saw that Sun Shaozong was magnificent and had a frightening spirit of heroism, he didn't dare underestimate him.

So he hurried to get up, gave a salute, and said with a warm smile, "This is a family banquet. Make yourself at home. Why should we be polite? Come on, Brother Sun, come to the table and tell me about the local conditions and customs of the Kingdom of Qian Xiang so that I can gain more insight and more topics to discuss."

Sun Shaozong replied, "I dare not," and sat down with the two men in the corner and drank a few drinks from the cups.

Not long after, Sun Shaozong saw that Jia Yucun was a figure. He managed to take control of the situation while talking and laughing at the table.

Most of the topics on the wine table were led by him, sometimes witty, sometimes dirty, but leaving room for Jia Lian to show off in all aspects. He even took advantage of the situation to put on a high hat on Jia Lian's head.

However, there was not much flattery or condescension in his words. His tact was amazing.

Moreover, Jia Yucun's views on officialdom, people's livelihoods, and current social malpractices were also unique. It could be seen that he was not only good at communication but also had some subtlety in his mind.

Sun Shaozong recalled that among the officials he had met these days, it seemed that only the Prime Minister of the Qian Xiang State, Ruan Fuzhong, could rival him. It was funny how a ridiculous slave of the Jia family regarded such a figure as an ”impoverished family!”

"Brother Sun."

Sun Shaozong despised the tyrant in his heart, but he heard Jia Yucun's half-jokingly and half-seriously exhortation, "With your insight, being a gallant soldier is a waste of talent. If you have the opportunity, you might as well turn into a civil servant, and you must be able to do something in the future!"

It turned out that when Sun Shaozong was commenting on Jia Yuchu, Jia Yucun was also reconsidering Sun Shaozong.

At this time, Jia Yucun was in control of the conversation of the three people at the banquet and coaxed Jia Lian like a puppet, who went along with his words.

However, Sun Shaozong was still able to stand up for himself. When it came to people's livelihoods and political affairs, it was more meaningful than the rhetoric of young people nowadays.

At such an age and with such a person, it was appropriate to use the word ”promising” to describe them!

Therefore, Jia Yucun could not help feeling jealous but had a love for talents, so he said so.

Sun Shaozong smiled at the speech and was about to say something. Jia Lian shook his head. "Brother Yucun, this is your fault. It will be a pity if Erlang doesn’t use his martial arts skills to fight in the army! You think everyone is as happy as you to spend time on the paperwork."

"Haha..."

Jia Yucun slapped himself on the forehead, laughing, "I’m the one to be blamed. I just think about Shaozong's good knowledge, but forget that he is still a valiant general. Forget it. I'll punish myself first!"

The drinking feast went on till midnight.

Jia Lian was drunk again. Sun Shaozong and Jia Yucun called the servants, carried him back to his residence like a dead pig, and wobbled out of the living room.

Along the way, the two walked side by side and said some drunken words, which they didn't know what they had said to each other.

When they arrived at the northwest guest room of the government office, they said good night to each other because they were not in the same yard. Others assisted them, and they eventually made it to their residence.

With the help of Feng Xin, Sun Shaozong walked more than a dozen steps away. He looked back subconsciously. Unexpectedly, he was caught in Jia Yucun’s line of sight. Their eyes were full of exploration. How could there be any sign of drunkenness?

Both of them were stunned, and then they both laughed.

After laughing for a long time, they arched their hands and walked toward their guest rooms again. This time, they did not stumble at all.

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