sbdcsierra Chapter 323 Yue'er, You Did It
Chapter 323 Yue'er, You Did It
As soon as the fifth watch drum sounded, Su Yue stood outside the palace.
The imperial city in the morning mist was like a dormant giant beast, and the gilded copper nails on the vermilion palace walls shone coldly in the morning light.
She straightened her Jinshi robe, her fingertips still lingering with the heat of the past few days of frantically cramming on the tablet to learn about the palace examination.
"Su Yue of Yangzhou, Lü Lingyun of Qingzhou, and Liu Wenyin of Bingzhou—come to see you!"
The sound of calling out names penetrated through the numerous palace gates, and Su Yue followed the eunuch leading the way into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The ground is paved with gold bricks, and every step you take echoes with clarity.
She glanced at both sides - the top three students of this year's imperial examination and the thirty-six Jinshi candidates were lined up on both sides of the jade steps, and half of them were from poor families.
The tall and thin woman named Liu Wenyin stood at the end, with the patched edges of her inner garment showing under her coarse official uniform. At this moment, she was pinching her palms tightly to stay awake.
"Stand up."
The Empress' voice came from above the ninth level.
Su Yue looked up and saw the woman sitting on the dragon throne. She was wearing a bright yellow court dress, and her eyes behind the twelve tassels were as calm as an ancient well.
The hall was suddenly silent.
The empress spoke: "Lü Lingyun."
"I am here!"
"In your "On Border Trade", you mentioned 'exchanging tea for horses and controlling the Tibetan salt route'..." The empress suddenly asked in Tibetan.
Lu Lingyun was stunned for a moment, then responded fluently.
Su Yue saw the toes of her official boots digging into the ground - when she was drunk that day, the girl said that she worked as a cook at the Snow Mountain Post Station for three years in order to learn Tibetan.
"Good!" The Empress clapped her hands. "What about Liu Qing? I heard that you walked 3,000 miles to take the exam, and wrote "Records of Famine in the North" on the way?"
Liu Wenyin, who was the last one, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is just recording the truth..." She choked with sobs as she described the tragic scene of the barren land. When she mentioned "eating one's own children", all the officials in the court changed color.
Su Yue took the opportunity to observe the empress.
The corners of the man's lips tightened slightly beneath his crown. Yes, the disaster in the northern border was severe, and the Zhao family had just fallen, so the military rations supply...
"Su Qing," the Empress suddenly called out, "If I assign you three to manage the canal transport, how will the work be divided?"
This is a trap. Su Yue was instantly alert—the empress was testing her to see if she was forming a clique.
"Lü Lingyun speaks the Tibetan language, so she should be in charge of customs duties; Liu Wenyin understands the suffering of the people, so she should be in charge of granary arrangements," she said frankly. "I am willing to repair the dike."
The empress suddenly burst into laughter, and her laughter made the tassels of her crown jingle: "What a 'cement worker'!" When she stood up, Su Yue clearly saw a corner of yellowed paper sticking out from the wide sleeves of her dragon robe - it was the remaining page of Prince Ning'an's memorial that year.
The sunlight suddenly became blinding.
Su Yue was surprised to realize that this skinny scholar from a poor family in front of him might have truly reached where he is today on his own.
And she is just a stowaway standing on the shoulders of giants.
A few days later, the Su Mansion was filled with people inside and outside.
"The Emperor, by the grace of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: The newly crowned number one scholar, Su Yue, possesses extraordinary talent and knowledge, and is hereby appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and concurrently as Director of the Ministry of Works' Dushuiqingli Division. This is my decree."
The shrill voice of the eunuch announcing the imperial edict echoed in the main hall of the Su Mansion. When Su Yue respectfully took the imperial edict, his fingertips touched the undried cinnabar seal on the silk - this edict was probably drafted this morning.
"Congratulations, Lord Su." The eunuch smiled and handed over the fish bag. "Your Majesty has specifically instructed that the Du Shuisi be in charge of all river works, which is a perfect match for your 'cement'."
Su Yue was clear-headed.
Although the Hanlin editor was only of the sixth rank, he was a close minister to the emperor; although the director of the Du Shui Si was only of the sixth rank, he was in charge of the money and grain of the river workers.
The empress gave both nobility and real power.
"My lord, thank you for your kindness."
As she leaned over, she caught a glimpse of a small official in a green robe standing at the end of the team announcing the imperial edict, holding a rosewood box in his hand - it was a blueprint box of the Ministry of Works, usually only used for major projects.
Shen Yunyan stood in front of the mansion holding a box of wedding candy with a warm smile on his face.
He specially wore a festive crimson gown today, with lotus patterns embroidered on the cuffs, which made him look as warm as a spring breeze.
"Your Excellencies, thank you for your hard work." He said in a clear voice, handing the exquisitely packaged candy boxes to the officials announcing the imperial decree one by one. "This is the sweet osmanthus candy that I just made in my shop. It's sweet but not greasy. I hope you will accept it."
The leading eunuch took the candy box, weighed it with his fingertips, and realized there was a banknote inside. He immediately smiled and said, "Mr. Shen, you are too polite! Lord Su has a bright future. We should visit each other more often in the future."
When the last official sedan turned the corner, the smile on Shen Yunyan's face gradually faded.
He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and went back to the mansion, handing the remaining wedding candy to the gate servant: "Take it and divide it up. Everyone in the mansion will share in the joy today."
When Shen Yunyan returned to the main hall, Su Yue had already changed out of her official uniform and was only wearing a plain, everyday skirt. A white jade hairpin held her long black hair loosely in place.
She sat at a round table with the imperial edict spread out on the table, surrounded by her husbands.
Shangguan Haomu's slender fingers gently stroked the red seal on the imperial edict, his eyes filled with pride: "In just one year, from a peasant girl to a Hanlin editor, Yue'er, you did it."
"Yes." Shangguan Haochen smiled and pinched Su Yue's shoulder. "When we were in Yangzhou, who would have thought that our family would have an official?"
Mu Feng, with her pregnant belly, carefully touched the edge of the imperial edict: "This material is really good, even finer than the most expensive silk in our shop."
"Don't touch me." Shen Yunyan walked in and placed a cup of warm pregnancy-preserving medicine in front of Mu Feng. "I just sent those people away. I'm exhausted."
Su Yue reached out and pulled Shen Yunyan's sleeve, asking him to sit next to her: "Thank you for your hard work, Yunyan. You are the one who always takes care of all the personal relationships in the officialdom."
"What's so special about this?" Shen Yunyan smiled and took out a small wooden box from his sleeve. "This is it. You have to take a look."
Inside the box was an exquisite copper key with a red rope wrapped around it.
"The key to the new house in the south of the city." Shen Yunyan explained, "I thought that since you are an official now, you should have a decent mansion.
This house is close to the Hanlin Academy, and there is a medicinal garden in the backyard for Ah Xuan to grow herbs.
Su Yue felt warm in her heart.
"You..." Her voice choked, "You've spoiled me."
"Nonsense." Mu Feng gently held her hand, "You were the one who spoiled us first, Yue'er."
I remember last winter, when Mu Feng caught a cold, Su Yue braved the heavy snow to gather herbs on the outskirts of the city. For Shangguan Haochen's birthday, she made a revolving lantern depicting the night scene of Yangzhou when they first met. Even the calmest Shangguan Haomu was caught late one night by her secretly practicing a folk song from her hometown, just to cheer him up...
"Okay, stop being so cheesy." Shangguan Haochen suddenly slammed the table. "It's such a happy day, we should have a drink!"
"No." Shen Yunyan immediately retorted, "You and Mu Feng can't drink. Yue'er has to report to the Hanlin Academy tomorrow."
Everyone laughed.
Dusk gradually deepened outside the window, shrouding the Su Mansion in warm orange light.
The imperial edict lay quietly on the table, its cloud patterns woven with gold thread sparkling in the setting sun. But what was more precious than the imperial edict were the smiling faces sitting around it.
In a world where having three husbands and four concubines is taken for granted, they support each other like an ordinary couple - this is Su Yue's proudest achievement.