The news of Fan Xiuwen's death sent shockwaves through the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
Some said she had spoken at great length in the imperial court, yet not a single word she uttered had ever been passed down, for none of the court officials were willing to mention what exactly she had said.
Some claimed Fan Xiuwen had exposed her identity of her own free will, deliberately revealing that she was a woman and seeking death on purpose to atone for the crime of deceiving the emperor.
Others said Fan Xiuwen's identity had been discovered by others, and she had been coerced into exposing her real identity as a woman.
In short, all sorts of rumors were running rife, and no one dared to speak of her lightly after her death.
There were even whispers that several court officials had fainted from anger at Fan Xiuwen right in the middle of the imperial court session.
Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming had even spat out a mouthful of blood in the court, before he submitted his resignation to return to his hometown and never set foot in the officialdom again.
Is this the very beginning of everything?
Rongyao's eyes flew wide open. She glanced at her father the Emperor, then at Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming, then at Minister of Personnel Feng Zhiyi. After that, her bright eyes were fixed intently on the register in the Emperor's hand.
Fan Xiuwen! She ached to see her. How could she meet her? Fan Xiuwen must not die!
She was a princess, and she was very capable. She would definitely protect her well!
She could not help but wonder, would the Grand Secretary really spit out blood like the rumors said?
Dantai Ji, having finished dealing with those two old rascals, wanted to rest his eyes by looking at his soft, sweet little daughter.
But this glance made him realize something was off. His daughter had stood up at some point, looking exceptionally excited, her eyes shining bright as if she had spotted her most favorite treat.
Dantai Ji asked curiously, "Yao Yao, what makes you so happy?"
Rongyao looked at her father and said, "This is really fun."
Dantai Ji paused for a moment and asked, "What is?"
Rongyao's soft, wispy voice rang out, "What the Grand Secretary said is fun, and what the Minister of Personnel said is also fun."
Hearing his daughter's somewhat befuddling remark, Dantai Ji could not help the corners of his mouth turning up. He had long wanted to scold those two old rascals, and now his daughter had spoken up to tease the two old fellows for him.
When the Grand Secretary heard Rongyao's words, he did not catch on at first. Once he realized what she meant, his old face flushed bright red. He held back for a long time before saying, "Your Highness the Princess, please be careful with your words."
Over on the other side, Minister of Personnel Feng Zhiyi also reddened, and echoed Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming, "Your Highness, do not tease us old officials."
Dantai Ji waved his daughter over to his side, patted her on the head, and coughed lightly before saying, "My young child is still too little to understand anything about state affairs. You two must not hold it against her."
Now the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Personnel's faces turned even redder. If they pressed on any further, they would look like petty, unseemly elders picking on a little child.
Dantai Ji leaned down and pinched his daughter's soft, chubby little cheek, a flicker of admiration flashing across his eyes. Then he looked up again, his expression turning serious as he said to the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Personnel, "My two dear lords, do you have any other important matters to report? If there is nothing urgent, you may take your leave now."
Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming: "This old official takes his leave."
Minister of Personnel Feng Zhiyi: "This old official takes his leave."
After that, the two of them said no more and withdrew from the hall.
Seeing the two men leave, Dantai Ji picked Rongyao up and stood up, walking out with a wonderful mood. "Are you hungry? Father knows you are hungry. Come, let's go find your mother Consort Cui. She must have prepared all kinds of delicious food for you."
Rongyao opened her big bright eyes, tugging urgently at the sleeve of her father's imperial robe. "Father, Fan Xiuwen. Can Yao Yao meet Fan Xiuwen?"
Dantai Ji froze for a second. "Fan Xiuwen?"
Rongyao nodded her head so hard her whole body wobbled, "Uh-huh, uh-huh!"
Dantai Ji looked at his daughter and let out a soft chuckle, assuming that since they had just been talking about Fan Xiuwen, the little girl was simply curious about who that person was.
"He is the new third-place graduate of the imperial examination, and not a native of the capital. I'm afraid he will have to return to his hometown in a few days, so it would not be proper for me to summon him to the palace alone. Besides, it's already getting late, and your mother is still waiting for you at the Two Halls of Harmony."
Rongyao's eyes suddenly widened as if she had remembered something, and she tugged at her father's robes urgently. "Hurry! Let's go back quickly, go see Mother!"
Dantai Ji was a little confused, but he did not ask any further questions.
When the father and daughter returned to the Two Halls of Harmony, they found the palace servants inside bustling about in a mess, as if they were searching for something.
Rongyao quickly buried her face in her father's chest.
Daoxiang, who had just stepped out of the Two Halls of Harmony, caught sight of the Emperor and the little princess in his arms. Without even having time to curtsy, she ran back inside and shouted at the top of her voice, "Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship, the princess is found!"
Dantai Ji looked down at his daughter in his arms, who was looking utterly guilty, with a puzzled expression on his face.
It suddenly dawned on him what had happened.
He carried her helplessly into the inner chamber.
The moment he stepped across the threshold, he saw Consort Cui's anxious face, her eyes already red from worry.
Rongyao peeked back at her mother over her shoulder. Seeing how distraught her mother looked, she quickly wriggled out of her father's embrace, ran towards Cui Huaiyin, and charged at her like a little calf, wrapping her arms tight around her mother's legs.
"Mother, Mother, don't be angry. Yaoyao knows she was wrong."
Cui Huaiyin looked down at her unharmed daughter, her heart a tangle of frustration and relief. She squatted down and pinched her daughter's cheek gently but firmly.
"Did you really sneak off to the outer court to see the top graduates of the imperial examination?"
Rongyao nodded her head rapidly like a little pecking chicken, wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, and said in her soft, sweet little voice, "Yaoyao just went to take a look, and I didn't cause any trouble."
Cui Huaiyin patted her daughter's back helplessly, then glanced up at Dantai Ji. "Your Majesty, are you sure she really didn't cause any trouble?"
Dantai Ji spoke up immediately. "No trouble at all! Yaoyao was perfectly well-behaved."
Cui Huaiyin felt a mix of exasperation and joy. Looking at her sweet, adorable daughter, she could not bring herself to say anything harsh. "You must never do that again..."
"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Eager to cheer her mother up, Rongyao beat her father to it and told her the news about her maternal uncle. "Mother, Yaoyao heard a wonderful piece of news!"
"Grand Uncle is the second-place graduate of the imperial examination!"
Cui Huaiyin's eyes lit up. She looked up at Dantai Ji excitedly and asked tentatively, "Is my elder brother really...?"
Dantai Ji gave the little girl in front of him a helpless glance. "It's true. Cui Huaiji has exceptional literary talent, and he also bears a heart that cares deeply for the people. His policy essay was profound and full of far-sighted insights. He more than deserves the rank of the second-place graduate in the top tier of the examination results."
Cui Huaiyin was genuinely overjoyed. She had known all along that her elder brother was capable, that he would surely be recognized for his talents.
Cui Huaiyin stood up and looked at Dantai Ji. "Your Majesty, did you grant my elder brother the rank of the second-place graduate because of me and Yaoyao?"
Dantai Ji said, "Cui Huaiji earned this position entirely on his own merit. The list of successful candidates was finalized by me together with Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming."
Hearing Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming's name, Cui Huaiyin felt completely at ease. Everyone knew that Grand Secretary Zhang Jianming was a fair and unyielding upright official, a worthy and virtuous senior statesman who would never show favoritism to anyone.
That meant her elder brother had earned the rank of the second-place graduate entirely through his own abilities.
"Grand Uncle has been appointed by Father as an editor at the Hanlin Academy, a seventh-rank official!" Rongyao, seeing how happy her mother was, quickly shared the even better news with her.
Cui Huaiyin was even more delighted when she heard that.
Thank goodness he was not being sent to a post outside the capital. Her elder brother would get to stay in the city! This was far better than what she had hoped for.
Dantai Ji could clearly see how happy both Cui Huaiyin and their daughter were, and the sight of their shared joy filled his own heart with immense satisfaction.
Dantai Ji took Cui Huaiyin by the hand and led her toward the inner palace hall, issuing an order as he went.
"Bring in the meal!"
Wang Zhong: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
That day, after eating and drinking to her heart's content, Rongyao went to the side hall to rest.
As for Dantai Ji, he held the soft, fragrant beauty in his arms and hurried toward the bedchamber, his eagerness palpable.
