Chapter 354
Hearing Jiang Pengji’s question, he pulled himself together and clenched his fist into his opposite hand . He held them in front of his chest in a panicked manner . “If you’re fine, it’s better for you to not get involved . ”
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Mortals suffered when gods fought .
In Shangjing City, there were two groups of people who could not be provoked . One was the relatives of the emperor, and the other was a group headed by eunuchs .
In the court, the two parties fought openly and sniped in the dark . Outside the court, they were like pins against an awl .
“Oh? I’m just asking about what happened . Why does it matter whether or not I offended them?” Jiang Pengji lazily lifted her eyelids . Although the manservant had good intentions, he sounded somewhat arrogant . She was just asking about it . It was her business whether she offended them or not . It was also her business if she was scared of trouble or not . Why would she need a third party to decide for her?
The manservant’s facial expression stiffened . He then realized that what he said was inappropriate, and it had angered Jiang Pengji . He hurriedly patched things up and replied apologetically, “Please forgive me . It was my fault . ”
“All right,” Jiang Pengji responded . Her gaze drifted and fell on the two groups of people in the middle of the hall . They seemed to be arguing as they faced each other . Messy tea sets, the four treasures of the study, and a broken tea table and desk laid around their feet . They looked like they were about to fight physically and create trouble .
The manservant understood her meaning and did not dare to think of himself as smart . He hurriedly explained, “It’s nothing serious . Secretary Huang’s god-grandson got into a conflict with Army General Fang’s son over who is the best painter . They’re dissatisfied with the decision and have gotten into a squabble . Then, they started fighting . ”
Secretary Huang? Jiang Pengji frowned .
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She knew about the situation in Shangyang Palace quite well . Secretary Huang was one of the few competent eunuchs around the emperor . Secretary Huang served the emperor and was quite valued by him . He had a very influential say in the group of eunuchs . He was also the one who sold the most official posts for consideration .
Although Secretary Huang was a eunuch without a penis and was destined to have no children, he had a god-grandson, and he could still carry on his family name . The so-called god-grandson was naturally the child of his godson, whom Secretary Huang had adopted . The child addressed Secretary Huang as his grandfather .
As for Army General Fang…? That referred to the family of the empress’s mother . Army General Fang was the younger brother of the empress’s mother . The family was quite favored . More importantly, the first wife of the emperor was from the Fang family . They were conferred a posthumous title by the emperor . There were already two empresses from the Fang family . They had many riches and honor at one time .
In order to check out and control the aristocratic families, the emperor took back the authority that was in the hands of the aristocrats . He eagerly wheedled the family of the empress’s mother and put them in important positions .
“They fought over who was the best painter?” Jiang Pengji asked .
“Yeah . ” The manservant nodded awkwardly .
The main role of the teahouse was to recruit talented people, and events were often organized to attract talented people to the teahouse to paint . Then, the best painter was picked from all the works . The beautiful paintings could even be hung in the teahouse for the customers to enjoy, and they could promote their names in literature .
The real rich scholars disdained promoting their names in such a way, but the ordinary, poor scholars valued it a lot .
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Moreover, the owner of the teahouse was Prince Changshou, who held real power . The business of the teahouse was generally good .
Being a descendant of a eunuch, although his family was wealthy, people still looked down on him . He had to gild his name in literature . The relatives of the emperor could only be regarded as a new force . To put it bluntly, they were just upstarts and had no heritage at all . They still had to hang their heads in shame in front of the aristocrats .
Secretary Huang’s god-grandson was only 18 years old and was very handsome . Standing there, he looked like a piece of the art himself . However, he was the descendant of a eunuch, and he despised the aristocrats . Some aristocrats with heritage could not go support him .
He knew what he lacked, so he tried to promote his name in literature . He could not change his origin and decide his starting point, so he had to work even harder after his birth .
As for Army General Fang’s son, he was a dandy . His height was almost the same as his body width . So many masters were invited, but he hardly learned anything, even after a few years . He usually did not pay attention in classes and did not work hard . He only knew how to fool around in the inner courtyard, and he violated so many decent girls . However, he thought highly of himself, and felt that his talents had already surpassed the sky . He refused to accept that his champion title had been taken away by others .
Both parties confronted each other because of it . Army General Fang’s son even instructed the manservant to beat them up .
“Bah . You’re just the descendant of a eunuch . Rather than enjoying your wealth and inheriting the lost body of knowledge of your family, you were actually bold enough to make a fool of yourself . ”
Army General Fang’s son raised his hand and wiped his face . His face was oily, making him look extremely greasy and fat . The lost body of knowledge in his family? Was that not a way of asking him to be an eunuch?
“How rude . You can’t beat me in literature, so you’re trying to take advantage of your power to bully me . Do you think that I’m afraid of you?” Secretary Huang’s god-grandson was so furious that his face flushed . However, his body size was really not a threat to the fat boy .
“Who says that I can’t beat you in literature? You clearly bribed the referee and cheated in secret . Bah . How can someone without a penis write a good article? If you can recognize all the words, your ancestral grave can emit smoke . ” The fat boy persistently dissed him by using his title as the descendant of a eunuch . The manservant beside him had already rolled up his sleeves, and was prepared for a big fight . “If you don’t believe me, ask around in Shangjing City . What does the old man with the surname Huang in your family do now?”
Secretary Huang’s god-grandson clenched his fists . He did not like being the descendant of a eunuch, but he really treated Secretary Huang as his biological grandfather . How could he let others humiliate him? “You fat thing . You won’t shed a tear until you see a coffin today, right? Do you really want to fight with the gloves off and get serious?”
“Bring it on . I’ll beat you up till you cry for your father! Whoever’s fearful, he’s the wimp, and he’ll have to take off all his clothes, lay on the ground, and bark like a dog!” the fat boy clamored without fear .
Army General Fang controlled the imperial guards in Shangjing City . To put it bluntly, he did not have to care about anyone except for the emperor and the prince of the royal family .
Let alone the son of a minor eunuch––even if it was Secretary Huang himself, he did not have to be scared .
Both parties were fuming with rage . It seemed like a war would break out anytime .
Clink, clank, clink, clank…
Of course, they did not have to fight themselves . They could just hand the task over to the manservants beside them .
“Beat them up! Use all your strength! Beat them up till they wet their pants in terror! The god-grandson of a eunuch dares to be rough and rude in Shangjing . What a joke!” the fat boy clamored while standing on top of a table . He looked sinister yet excited .
Secretary Huang’s god-grandson hid behind the fighters . He saw an inkstone in a corner . He immediately grabbed it and splashed the ink onto the fat boy .
All of a sudden, the manservants from both sides began to fight, throwing anything that they could find .
The fat boy was too fat; he was not agile enough . Secretary Huang’s god-grandson hid behind people and secretly threw things to attack the other party .
The entire hall on the first floor was full of screams and clanks . Some scholars could not stand it anymore; they simply covered their faces and left . Some hid in the corner and looked on . They enjoyed watching the fight to the full .
In a narrow sense, it was just a dispute caused by personal feelings between the two youngsters . No one was willing to give into anybody . In a broad sense, it was the first time that the group of eunuchs had fought in public with a group of relatives to the emperor .