Gao Yang Works Series -- Sealed Heart Stone

Author: Gao Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the impoverished scholar Tao Shu and the daughter of the tutor Sun Bokui, Qiao Jun, were about to marry as arranged by their parents. However, the local wealthy Wu family interfered and snatched her away. The Sun family father and daughter, greedy for wealth, readily went along with it. Tao Shu had no choice but to break off the engagement, and with the help of Sun’s mother, he instead married Qiao Jun’s maidservant, Qiu Ling, who was also an adopted daughter of the Sun family. Later, Tao Shu passed the imperial examination and rose to prominence, becoming the Governor of Jiangsu. Meanwhile, the Wu family fell into ruin. The once “beautiful lady of Anyan” Qiao Jun failed in her suicide attempt and ended up spending her remaining days in seclusion with books. Truly, life is like a play, and a play is like life. While the performers on stage were still celebrating promotions, the head of the Chunxi Opera troupe, Lao He, had already put on his red-tasseled hat and was quietly asking his follower from the provincial governor’s office, “Second Master, when it comes to lighting the red lantern, should we first invite the governor or the guests?” “Of course, the guests.” “The guest’s surname is Zhu. Should I call him Lord Zhu or Grand Secretary Zhu?” “Grand Secretary Zhu. He is currently the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, just like the governor, who also wears a red hat, so naturally, he is called Grand Secretary Zhu.” “Isn’t the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War an imperial official? How could he have been in Zhejiang for so long?” “You don’t understand this! This Grand Secretary Zhu—” This “Grand Secretary Zhu” is Zhu Shiyun, styled Xiucheng, also known as Yongzhai. He is from Baoying, Jiangsu, and was the third-place graduate in the Wuxu year of the Jiaqing era. Currently, he holds the position of Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of War and was appointed as the Education Commissioner of Zhejiang in the fifth year of the Daoguang era.