Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 208: Lord Pei Instructs Hualei

Hualei gave Pei Zhongsheng three thousand taels of silver, sent him off, and happily went to Songhe Hall. Mrs. Pei looked at Hualei's happy look and smiled.

"Don't be too quick to be happy. We still don't know what's going on. And there's a letter here waiting to scold you. Don't cry when you read it." As he said that, he handed a letter at hand to Hua Lei.

Scolding herself? Hua Lei was a little confused. She took the letter from Old Madam Pei and sat beside her to read it. It turned out to be a letter sent by Old Marquis Pei from Mobei. The letter was written to Old Madam Pei, but at the end of the letter, both Old Madam Pei and Hua Lei were scolded.

In his letter, Lord Pei mentioned the issue of the Imperial Examination Hall printing books and sending them to local areas. Lord Pei fully affirmed that Hualei was able to grasp such important information from Gui Jijiu's few words and was able to respond so quickly, praising Hualei for her intelligence and insight.

It's just that Hua Lei was too greedy. It was understandable for him to send letters to the sons of several civil officials who were serving in the Marquis' Mansion outside the capital city. After all, if he could obtain the sales rights and promote them well, it could be considered a political achievement.

However, it was too greedy to suggest opening a bookstore to himself and his two sons who were military commanders in Mobei. Although opening a bookstore could make money, and the Marquis's Mansion did not mind the money, but as a military commander guarding the frontier, it would be a taboo for him to be the first to know the news that the court had not yet released, and to make preparations in advance.

Even if the bookstore was opened by subordinates, if something went wrong, the head of the family who issued the order would still be held responsible. If it attracted the attention of someone with ulterior motives and deliberately discredited the mansion, it would easily bring disaster to the mansion and Gui Jijiu. If it was reported to the emperor, the result would be a loss of the greater for the smaller, and it would most likely lead to dismissal from office and demotion.

Moreover, it is too abnormal and has too great a impact for so many people in the Marquis's Mansion to strive for the right to sell books engraved for the imperial examination, with every son and even grandson-in-law preparing to open a bookstore. Not to mention that the Ministry of Rites will not concentrate the right to sell books engraved for the imperial examination in one or two aristocratic families, even if it is given, it is basically impossible for a military general to obtain this right.

It doesn't make sense to let military officers who are illiterate and only know how to wield sticks and guns to promote the use of imperial examination books, which is a purely civil official's job. Isn't this a slap in the face of the civil officials in the court? In the eyes of the civil officials, all military officers are illiterate, rude and uncouth. How could they possibly be responsible for such an important responsibility as promoting the use of imperial examination books?

The books printed for the imperial examination were distributed to the smallest unit, the state. Therefore, Pei Jingyan, who was the Tongpan, could only remind his superior, the prefect, to strive for the sales rights and assist in doing this matter so as to leave a good impression on his superior. There was nothing else he could do.

As a county magistrate, Pei Jingping had no qualifications to jump the chain of command and strive for the sales rights. Not to mention that he could not get it, even if he did, it would not become his political achievement. Why bother with this useless effort and make his immediate superior hate him, and directly force him to the position of county magistrate? You must know that the annual end-of-year assessment is annotated by the immediate superior himself.

The ones who really need to fight for it are Pei Jingxuan, the prefect, and Tang Yuancheng, the governor. Although they can fight for it with all their strength in secret, they still have to follow the rules and take it step by step. Even if they really win the right to sell, they still have to make political achievements as the main goal. Opening a bookstore is just for supplementary purposes, and earning money is an added value.

Therefore, Ruyi's opening of a bookstore in Chengyun Prefecture must be carried out in a low profile and he cannot act confident and act as if it is a done deal. Tang Yuancheng must also put away his self-righteous and complacent attitude and act carefully and cautiously at every step.

So after receiving Mrs. Pei's letter, she was a little angry when she saw that Mrs. Pei was just like Hua Lei, not considering whether it was appropriate or not, and directly sent letters to each of her sons who were working outside. She wrote several letters overnight to her sons and Tang Yuancheng, instructing them to keep a low profile and be careful when they should strive for it. Those who should assist should choose the right time to make suggestions, so as not to lose more than they gain. Those who should give up should just give up, do their own part well, and don't do useless work and mess up their own character.

Only after receiving definite replies from his sons and grandsons-in-law did he feel relieved and wrote this letter to admonish Madam Pei and Hua Lei.

After reading the letter from Lord Pei, Hua Lei's face turned red. She was indeed too greedy. She wished she could have all the sales rights in her own hands and count the silver every day. This was understandable in a merchant family.

However, as a mansion that started out as a military general and holds the official position of a third-rank marquis, it is not possible to act so rashly. Hua Lei does not have the perspective of old Marquis Pei, and she connects the whole thing with the position of the mansion. She does not think the whole thing through, and thus makes the wrong decision.

Money is indeed important, but you also have to consider what you should spend and what you shouldn't spend. For a marquis's mansion, sometimes, political achievements are more important than money, and reputation is more important than money. Otherwise, not only will it be difficult to get promoted, but it may also bring disaster to the mansion. The official position assessment in the Great Sheng Dynasty was quite rigorous, and the division of labor between civil officials and military generals was also quite clear. You can't fool around just because you want to.

Hua Lei looked at Old Madam Pei and said a little embarrassedly, "Grandma Pei, I was too greedy and almost caused a big mistake to the Marquis' Mansion. Fortunately, Grandfather Pei stopped it in time and my uncles haven't done anything yet, otherwise I would have committed a great sin."

Grandmother Pei smiled and said, "I was a little impatient and made a wrong decision without thinking it over. Fortunately, it did not cause any bad effects. We should think more about it in the future."

Besides, we just gave them the news in advance so that they could have an idea and make the necessary preparations. We didn't ask them to do anything right away. When the Ministry of Rites releases the exact news, they will naturally know whether they can do it or not after hearing the news.

When Yuan Cheng was in Shangjing City, we also secretly inquired about the news, but we didn't do it openly. This stinky old man is getting worse and worse. He is so surprised by a little news that he even wrote a letter to reprimand us. I think the things he did when he was young were much more serious than these, and he never reflected on anything. It was wrong to inform the news in advance. We are not making up stories and deliberately giving wrong information.

Don't worry about him, let's just let it go. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll ask the kitchen to make it. Don't let a coward like a mouse affect your appetite. "Mrs. Pei said with a smile.