The patrol guards who passed by and saw that figure all looked as though they had seen it countless times before. They merely shook their heads and walked on, pretending not to notice.
Princess Fuxi loved coming to the outer court. Sometimes she went to the Hall of Golden Chimes to listen to the old ministers argue; other times, she went to the Wenyuan Pavilion to flip through memorials.
In short, there was nowhere in the outer court that Princess Fuxi would not visit.
At first, the Left Censor-in-Chief, who specialized in impeaching civil and military officials, had even impeached Princess Fuxi during morning court.
The emperor had simply brushed it aside, saying that the princess was still young.
After all, she was only a princess. Once the ministers realized that Princess Fuxi merely liked wandering around and had done nothing truly outrageous, they chose to turn a blind eye.
By now, Princess Fuxi even dared to stroll openly into the Grand Secretariat and watch the Grand Secretary review memorials.
Rumor had it that the Grand Secretary had driven Princess Fuxi out several times already.
Rongyao nibbled on a sweet apricot while secretly peeking through the folding screen at the scene inside.
She saw Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming covering his ceremonial tablet with both hands. He stepped forward and spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
“Your Majesty, Fan Xiuwen, the magistrate of Xinghua County in Lingzhou, has treated the people as though they were his own injured kin and loved them as his children during his five years in office. Throughout his years as a magistrate, he has remained incorruptible and beyond reproach. He has worked tirelessly, attended to every matter personally, left no case unresolved, and ensured that no worthy talent in the countryside went unnoticed. The entire county has relied on him to live in peace.
“He is also a brilliant judge who neither deceives nor oppresses the common people. Not only that, he even had canals constructed in Xinghua County! Even when heavy rains continued for months two years ago, the crops in Xinghua County were spared, preserving the foundation of the entire county!”
“These are merely the first of his accomplishments. The magistrate of Xinghua County, Fan Xiuwen, even established village schools beneath the county school system! These schools were built within the villages and staffed by scholars and old examination candidates as instructors, allowing the children of every village in Xinghua County to attend school without having to travel nearly a hundred li to the county seat!
“An official who loves the people as his own children has spent five years gaining experience in the provinces. That is more than enough. He ought to return to the capital and assist Your Majesty!”
Dantai Ji gazed at the Grand Secretary, who stood in the hall with his ceremonial tablet in hand, making an impassioned case. A flicker of surprise crossed his face.
Fan Xiuwen truly possessed such ability?
If the Grand Secretary’s words were accurate, then Fan Xiuwen was indeed a rare and valuable talent.
He had actually managed to govern Xinghua County so well.
Two years ago, Lingzhou had been battered by months of torrential rain, which had flooded the crops. At the time, Xinghua County had been the only place whose magistrate had not submitted a memorial complaining of poverty.
So that was how the magistrate of Xinghua County had found a way to deal with it.
Dantai Ji said, “The Grand Secretary is right. Such a talent must not be left buried. Convey My decree: Since taking office, Fan Xiuwen, magistrate of Xinghua County, has loved the people as his own children, worked diligently, governed incorruptibly, and eliminated outdated abuses. He is hereby promoted to Right Associate Censor of the Censorate. Upon returning to the capital, he is to assume his post immediately.”
The moment the emperor finished speaking, the hall erupted in an uproar.
The Right Censor-in-Chief, his ceremonial tablet raised, stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Censorate does indeed have a vacancy for a Right Associate Censor. However, that is an official of the fourth rank and should be entrusted to a capable man. I hear that Fan Xiuwen is not yet thirty. Though he may be young and promising, he is still too inexperienced. How can he be promoted in a single step from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fourth-rank Right Associate Censor? I believe this young man is not yet capable of shouldering such a heavy responsibility!”
“Your Excellency is mistaken. It is precisely because he is young that he possesses more courage and fearlessness than old ministers like us. Once he enters the Censorate, he will surely be able to purge the court of its corrupt practices for His Majesty!”
The Right Censor-in-Chief hid his face behind his ceremonial tablet.
“Anyone the Grand Secretary recommends so earnestly must have exceptional qualities. But the rules cannot be broken.”
Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming let out a cold snort and rebuked him, “The rules? In all these years, how many truly corrupt officials have you people in the Censorate impeached? Let me count—why, I could not even raise all ten fingers! Aside from hiding behind the rules and saying this does not conform to regulations or that does not conform to regulations, all you have left is cowardice. You are too afraid to offend the evil spirits lurking in the shadows!”
The Right Censor-in-Chief’s aged face flushed red. “The empire is peaceful, the people live and work in contentment, and the officials all fulfill their duties with integrity. That is why we have so few impeachments!”
Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming raised his ceremonial tablet and bowed toward the emperor.
“In the presence of the Son of Heaven, do you dare swear upon the lives of your entire family that you have never let a single evildoer go free?”
Sweat covered the Right Censor-in-Chief’s forehead, and his entire body seemed to sag.
The court descended into chaos. Some ministers took the Grand Secretary’s side, while others supported the Right Censor-in-Chief. Behind the folding screen, Rongyao ate her sweet apricots and could not help laughing.
Fan Xiuwen was coming back. That was wonderful!
Once he returned, court would surely become even more entertaining!
As court was about to end, Rongyao left the Hall of Golden Chimes ahead of everyone else. She did not want any of the civil or military officials to see her and make things difficult for her father, preventing her from ever coming to the outer court again.
Today was her birthday, so she had the day off and did not need to attend Wenchang Academy. Yesterday, she had begged her imperial father and mother, and they had agreed to let her leave the palace for the day!
She had already arranged to meet Wu Wanning outside the palace.
The appointed time had arrived.
Like a swallow in flight, Rongyao ran freely through the spacious palace corridors.
When she passed the South Third Residence, she casually glanced inside. The moment she saw someone, she came to a stop.
It was Gu Shen'an.
Gu Shen'an was only fourteen, yet he was already very tall—nearly eight chi, much taller than he had been in her previous life.
So this was how tall Gu Shen'an could grow if he did not become a eunuch.
Today, he wore a white robe and a jade crown that held his hair in place. He was standing outside Wenchang Academy, holding an enormous chest in his arms.
He had seen her too and was smiling in her direction.
What a beautiful smile.
He walked toward her at an unhurried pace.
“Greetings, Your Highness, Eldest Princess.”
Rongyao shifted her gaze away from Gu Shen'an's face and took a step closer to him.
“You may rise. What are you doing here?”
Gu Shen'an stopped one step away from Rongyao. A smile played at the corners of his lips. When his gaze met Rongyao's bright eyes, his cool eyes trembled slightly before he quickly looked away.
“I am waiting for Your Highness.”
With that, he held the chest out toward Rongyao.
“It is Your Highness's birthday gift.”
Rongyao regarded the enormous chest strangely.
There was no need to guess what it contained. It was certainly filled with stacks of gleaming silver ingots!
Every year, Gu Shen'an had troubled Wu Wanning with delivering silver to her. Each year, he sent more than the last. This was the first time he had brought it to her himself.
Rongyao had once asked Gu Shen'an why he kept sending her silver and where he had gotten so much of it.
But every time, Gu Shen'an merely smiled without answering, then stuffed her arms full of unusual snacks he had found outside the palace to distract her.
“The chest is too heavy. I will carry it back for Your Highness,” Gu Shen'an said.
Rongyao hesitated for a moment. “All right.”
The two of them set off together toward Changle Palace.
Along the way, Rongyao still could not resist asking, “Where exactly did you get so much silver? You didn’t move all the money in the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence to me, did you?”
When she was younger, she had not known how heavy a thousand taels of silver were. Some time ago, she had visited the Ministry of Revenue and looked through several of its financial records. Only then had she learned that even a first-rank duke received no more than roughly a thousand taels of silver a year.
She could not help suspecting that Gu Shen'an had stolen the entire fortune of the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence for her. If that was truly the case, she needed to return all the silver he had given her over the years at once.
Rongyao stopped and looked at him solemnly.
“I haven’t spent any of the silver you gave me. If you really stole it from your family, then hurry and return it.”
“All of those are my personal properties and have nothing to do with the Duke of Zhenguo,” Gu Shen’an explained softly, a hint of shadow in his eyes as he gazed at the noble princess. He spoke again in a gentle voice, “What belongs to me belongs to you, Princess. You may spend that money however you please. Even if you spend it all, I will offer you more.”
Rongyao stared blankly up at Gu Shen’an.
