Volume Two: Adults and Small Men - Chapter Ninety: A Kindred Spirit

"Young master, I don't even know Lord Zhang Cong. How am I supposed to invite him?"

"Simple. Just wait by the entrance of the Ministry of Rites. The moment a disheartened middle-aged official walks out, chances are that's him."

Huang Ming's judgment proved accurate. Yumo successfully located Zhang Cong and escorted him to Huang Ming's carriage.

At that moment, the frustrated man, having just been expelled from the Ministry of Rites, was still in a daze and showed little reaction upon seeing Huang Ming.

Seeing this, Huang Ming smiled and invited, "Would Lord Zhang care to board the carriage? Shall we head to a nearby restaurant, sit down, and talk over some drinks? To be honest, I hold Lord Zhang in quite high regard."

The last remark made Zhang Cong pause once more. He then boarded the carriage with some hesitation; after all, in broad daylight, no one would dare to do him any real harm.

They headed to the nearby Hongbin Restaurant. Huang Ming had already reserved a private room and ordered wine and food. Aside from the two of them, only Yumo remained to serve nearby.

Zhang Cong was filled with worries at the moment, and upon seeing the wine, he stood on no ceremony. Without waiting for Huang Ming to prompt him, he poured and drank three cups in a row. Only then did his spirits lift slightly, and he praised, "Fine wine!"

Huang Ming chimed in playfully, "Can Lord Zhang tell what kind of wine this is?"

"It's Shaoxing rice wine, eighteen-year-old Top Scholar's Red!" he declared without hesitation after savoring the taste for a moment.

"Truly impressive. You could tell the moment you tasted it."

"What's so impressive about that? I am originally from Yongjia County, Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang. I am naturally quite familiar with this fine wine from my home province. It's just that having served as an official in the capital for the past year, I've rarely had the chance to drink it."

At this, Zhang Cong glanced at Huang Ming. "As for you, Young Master Huang, you are the truly impressive one. Not only did you find me, but you even figured out my native place and prepared this spread of Jiangnan delicacies and fine wine to entertain me."

"Haha, just a minor token of my sincerity. As I said, I admire Lord Zhang's character, and since I wanted to invite you for a drink, I naturally had to put in a little extra effort." Huang Ming showed no trace of embarrassment and smiled as before.

"That being the case, why has Your Excellency refused to reveal your identity until now? And why, just now outside the Ministry of Rites, did you only send a servant to invite me instead of coming in person?" Zhang Cong's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light as he fixed his gaze on Huang Ming and asked.

Although he had wasted decades stumbling through the imperial examinations and still achieved nothing to this day—having now even lost his lowly post as a probationary official at the Ministry of Rites—

this did not mean he lacked ability, nor did he possess a simple mind that could be easily manipulated. Had that been the case, he could not possibly have been supported by the Jiajing Emperor in the near future to firmly secure the position of Senior Grand Secretary for years and carry out profound reforms in the court.

***

Faced with such questioning, Huang Ming neither grew angry nor flustered. He merely rose slightly, poured another cup of wine for the other man, raised his own cup in apology, and said, "I didn't go to the Ministry of Rites to find Lord Zhang in person because I actually had unavoidable difficulties. After all, my reputation within the Ministry of Rites is not very good; it might have brought you even greater trouble."

"Oh? And you are?"

"I am Huang Ming, style name Mozhi. My father is Huang Jin of the inner court."

"It's you! The Huang Ming who made Yang Shen lose face at the Imperial Lectures last year and stirred up quite a commotion in the capital alongside various brothels?"

"It is indeed I... absolutely no doubt about it." Huang Ming nodded solemnly.

That explained it. Zhang Cong nodded in recognition.

After all, this fellow could be considered the Ministry of Rites' greatest enemy in recent years. Daily, he had heard his colleagues criticize and express contempt for Huang Ming.

Yet he never expected that the person capable of arousing such deep-seated hatred throughout the Ministry of Rites was merely a young man yet to reach adulthood!

At this, Zhang Cong did not dare to be negligent. He hurriedly raised his cup to drink and poured more wine for Huang Ming. "I have long heard of Young Master Huang's name."

"Haha, Lord Zhang is my senior, just call me Mozhi."

"Very well. And you shouldn't call me Lord either—what kind of lord am I? Look, although there is an age gap between us, we share similar aspirations. Let us become friends across generations, and you may simply address me by my style name, Bingyong."

"That would be too discourteous... Do you have an alternative style name?"

When peers befriend one another in a position of complete equality, addressing each other by their style names is entirely appropriate. However, if one party is of higher status or older, addressing them by their alternative style name is also a way of showing respect.

Zhang Cong looked at Huang Ming with some gratitude. This youth was the first person in many years to show him such deep respect. "When I was studying back in my hometown, I did go by the name Luofeng."

"Then please forgive my discourtesy in addressing you as Brother Luofeng."

"Haha, come, let us have a drink to our meeting as old friends at first sight."

With that, the two smiled and clinked their cups together. After drinking, their bond seemed to have grown much closer.

***

This courteous probing and sparring left even Yumo, standing nearby, feeling dizzy. So this was how adults interacted—the ways of officialdom? It was so complex and strange; he couldn't make sense of it at all.

Since the two could now be considered friends, certain topics became much easier to discuss. Huang Ming immediately said, "I also read the memorial Brother Luofeng submitted to the court yesterday. It is truly full of reason and every word is like a pearl!"

"Do you really think so?" Zhang Cong's spirits lifted even further, and he asked eagerly.

The hesitation of these past few days and his encounter at the Ministry of Rites today had made him lose confidence in himself, even causing him to regret his reckless gamble.

Yet Huang Ming's affirmation awakened a completely different feeling within him. Naturally, he gazed intently at the other man, hoping to hear more agreement.

Huang Ming nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, why would I have made a special trip to the Ministry of Rites to find you? Especially the point in your memorial where you state that the outcome of the Puyi controversy regarding Emperor Yingzong of the Song dynasty cannot be used to determine whether the current Emperor should succeed the lineage or succeed the throne—that is truly refreshing and makes one want to slam the table in applause!"

This time, Zhang Cong truly felt he had met a kindred spirit. His face turned flushed with excitement. "Exactly! Those officials at the Ministry of Rites always brought up past precedents from the previous dynasty to argue that the current Emperor should inherit the throne as the son of the Xiaozong Emperor, and that argument has numerous flaws.

"I tried to remind them, but they simply refused to listen. They even claimed I was worrying needlessly; since there was a precedent to follow, why fuss over such minor differences? It truly is... sigh..."

"Their mistake is a blessing! Without that mistake of theirs, how could Brother Luofeng have produced this masterpiece today, thereby resolving the current Emperor's immediate dilemma?"

Huang Ming laughed heartily. "Therefore, Brother Luofeng, I dare predict that in just a few days, you will truly soar into the sky and become a heavyweight minister in the court, second to none other than Grand Secretary Yang!"

"How can that be?" Zhang Cong shook his head in disbelief. While he had harbored opportunistic thoughts, he had only intended to leave a good impression in the Emperor's mind to secure a bright future.

As for entering the Grand Secretariat or becoming a high-ranking minister of a ministry?

As a second-class jinshi with no background or seniority, and nearing fifty years of age, how could such a turn of events ever fall to him?