The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 476

Zeng Qi was no ordinary top scholar, but a famous wine scholar. He was extremely knowledgeable about drinking and loved wine to death. Because of excessive drinking, he only lived to be sixty years old.

Most importantly, Zeng Qi was extremely famous for his calligraphy, and his cursive script was vigorous and unrestrained, with the spirit of the Jin Dynasty.

This single jar of wine is worth more than ten thousand gold pieces, and even if countless people racked their brains, they probably couldn't buy it.

Zhou Chu brought out this jar to encourage Wen Zhengming to take the imperial examination.

Zhou Chu carefully opened the seal on the wine jar, and the rich aroma of the wine instantly made Wen Zhengming realize that this jar of wine was of extraordinary value.

"This wine is probably extraordinary."

Wen Zhengming said.

"Of course it's extraordinary. This is a century-old famous wine buried by Zeng Qi, the champion of wine."

Zhou Chu smiled.

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhengming's eyes were immediately glued to the wine jar.

He wanted to say that the wine was far too expensive, but he was afraid that if he said that, Zhou Chu would stop him from drinking it.

Wen Zhengming, who was known as one of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan alongside Tang Bohu, was also a heavy drinker in his youth, but he gradually controlled himself as he grew older.

But upon suddenly seeing such a fine wine, how could Wen Zhengming resist? For a moment, he couldn't even utter a word of refusal.

Seeing Wen Zhengming's drooling expression, Zhou Chu chuckled and took a wine cup made of mutton fat jade from Chunlan beside him.

The material used to make the wine jar is very particular; different wines require different jars.

Because different wines have different yin and yang properties, the wines brewed by Zeng Qi are all yellow wines. Yellow wine is yang in nature and has a strong yang energy. The most suitable wine cups and saucers for holding yellow wine are made of the finest mutton fat jade.

Because jade is considered yin, it can neutralize some of the yang energy in rice wine.

Zhou Chu used a wine flask to pour out the wine, and before Wen Zhengming could even catch his longing gaze, he filled the wine cup in front of him first.

Zhou Chu then poured himself another drink.

"Teacher, today I would like to offer this as a token of my best wishes for your success in the imperial examination."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he raised his wine cup and toasted Wen Zhengming.

For Wen Zhengming at this moment, nothing was more important than the cup of wine before him, even if he were to pass the imperial examination with flying colors or become the top scholar.

Wen Zhengming first took a small sip, and the rich taste made his eyes light up instantly. Then, unable to resist, he raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

While Zhou Chu and Wen Zhengming were drinking, the scholars in the capital were thinking about whose connections they should try to get close to.

The imperial examination system was all about connections. If one could establish a relationship with the chief examiner before the exam and become his student, the chances of passing the exam would greatly increase.

This is how the Jiangnan school of thought gradually took shape.

Now that the Jiangnan faction is on the verge of collapse, a new group of civil officials is gradually taking shape, and these scholars are flocking to the residence of Yang Lian, the Vice Minister of Rites, to curry favor.

It wasn't that they didn't want to visit Minister of Rites Xia Yan, but rather that Xia Yan refused to see them. As Minister of Rites, he should have avoided suspicion at this time, but Xia Yan's actions seemed somewhat strange. After all, the officials on Mao Ji's side were currently at the height of their power, so Xia Yan didn't need to be so cautious.

However, these are not things that scholars should consider. There are also many tricks to using connections. It cannot be too obvious. It is best to ask relatives or friends to help mediate. If you have a middleman who knows each other, the matter will be more or less settled.

However, at this time, Yang Lian, the Vice Minister of Rites, was at the height of his power. Although Yang Lian was only the Vice Minister of Rites, his power was unparalleled. Even Han Jie, the Minister of Personnel, had to call him Lord Yang.

This greatly satisfied and inflated Yang Lian's ego.

Yang Lian never turned away any scholar who came to him seeking a better future.

"Zisheng, aren't you going to Lord Yang's residence?"

One of Xu Jie's friends, a scholar from Suzhou Prefecture, looked at Xu Jie with some confusion.

Both he and Xu Jie were natives of Suzhou. If they wanted to use connections, they would naturally follow the original Jiangnan lineage. Mao Ji and Xia Yan were originally from the Jiangnan lineage. Although neither of them were from Jiangnan, the position an official ultimately reaches is often not determined by themselves.

Xu Jie shook his head.

"I'm not going. I have a feeling that the situation in the capital is a bit strange right now. I'll wait and see."

Xu Jie said.

"If you ask me, you're just overthinking it. Everyone knows that Grand Secretary Yang is on his last legs. I heard that His Majesty suspended court for a month to settle scores with this Grand Secretary. After he falls from power, Minister Mao will naturally fill the position of Grand Secretary."

“Mr. Yuehu is Lord Mao’s prized student. Although he is only the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites now, even those second-rank officials probably do not have as much power as him. Going through Mr. Yuehu’s connections is definitely the right thing to do.”

This person spoke with great conviction.

Xu Jie remained unmoved by these words. He always felt that things were not so simple, but the information he had was very limited, and he could not draw any conclusions. There were just many things that he found very unreasonable.

Why did Grand Secretary Yang Yiqing remain secluded at home? Logically, after the emperor suspended court for a month, this Grand Secretary should have tried every means to save himself, but the opposite was true; it seemed that the Grand Secretary did nothing at all.

This is extremely unusual.

Of course, this wasn't the only unusual thing; Xu Jie felt something was off in many places, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Xu Jie was able to see the problem not because he was much smarter than Mao, Ji, and Yang Lian, but because bystanders see things more clearly than those involved. Now that Mao, Ji, and Yang Lian were already caught up in the situation, they naturally wouldn't be so rational.

While Yang Lian was becoming increasingly arrogant, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was secretly taking action, activating its long-established moles. All the Rongmen disciples in the capital were mobilized under the Embroidered Uniform Guard's orders.