Yan Liangrong said, “Aunt, I’ve heard that Mr. Qian’s two sons are very respectful toward you.”
At this mention, Chen Meirong’s lofty spirits immediately sank.
Being a stepmother was no easy task.
Especially when she married into the Qian family, Qian Buping’s children were already quite old—teenagers beyond the age for building close bonds. Now, those two children treated her with much respect but little warmth.
That was also the reason she couldn’t agree to the Zhou family’s offer of ten thousand strings of coins as a dowry. She had come to the Qian home too late.
If that money were earned by her own hands, she could give it all to her daughter as a dowry. But the Qian money, the shops—those were earned by Qian Buping. By rights, most of it should go to his own sons.
If she tried to fight for it, she would be shameless. She couldn’t stoop to such a disgraceful act.
Yan Liangrong carefully observed Chen Meirong’s expression. “Aunt, I heard that the second young master of the Qian family intends to pursue an official career?”
Chen Meirong sighed. “Yes, Liangrong, I won’t lie to you. The Qian family’s silk shop does good business. But the rank of ‘scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant’ shows that merchants are always looked down upon. The eldest son is twenty-six this year, steady in temperament, already married with children, and the couple gets along well. My husband plans to gradually hand over the silk business to him and put all his effort into supporting the second son for the imperial examinations. But, alas…”
She grew worried.
The imperial examinations were no easy path.
The second son had failed twice, still just an ordinary student who had passed only the prefectural exam.
Unable to pass the metropolitan exam and with no family assets in his hands, the second son had grown increasingly resentful.
Chen Meirong sighed. “This year, the new emperor has taken the throne and decreed an extraordinary session of the imperial exams. We’ve hired three tutors at home, hoping he might pass this time.”
If he failed again, the conflict between the two brothers would be irreparable, and the household would surely fall into chaos.
A glint of shrewdness shone in Chen Meirong’s eyes. “Ordinary tutors just won’t do.”
She grew sorrowful again. “But there’s no other way. We’ve already hired the best tutors possible. One of them even served in the Hanlin Academy.”
Yan Liangrong said, “That tutor might be a bit old, no?”
Chen Meirong replied, “Over fifty.”
Yan Liangrong continued, “The imperial exams change every year. One must understand not only the examiners’ preferences but also the emperor’s political ambitions. Older tutors often can’t keep up with the court’s shifting winds. If a younger teacher could guide him, perhaps the second young master would pass this year.”
Chen Meirong pouted. “All the young ones have become officials themselves. Who’s left to be a tutor?”
Having sufficiently set the stage, Yan Liangrong finally made her move. “Aunt, what do you think of my husband, Zheng Chun?”
Chen Meirong’s eyes lit up instantly. “That would be wonderful! Zheng Chun placed among the top twenty in his year as a jinshi—truly outstanding.”
Seeing Chen Meirong’s interest, Yan Liangrong quickly added, “But, Aunt, there’s currently a vacancy in the position of Court Gentleman for Promotions. For my husband to advance further, we need some greasing of the wheels.”
Chen Meirong eagerly said, “Leave that to me. I’ll go back and speak with Old Qian about providing some silver. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement; he’ll surely agree.”
With that, Chen Meirong boarded her carriage and rushed home to share the good news.
Yan Liangrong breathed a sigh of relief. This trip hadn’t been a waste, after all.
She hoped Yan Tongshu’s official career would flourish, so that she and Zheng Chun could follow in smooth steps.
Yan Liangrong then gracefully boarded her own carriage and returned to the Zheng residence.
As soon as she entered the gate, servants one after another rushed to the study to announce her arrival.
“Oh no, the tigress is back!”
Her son Zheng Ke shouted, quickly hiding his picture books.
He sat up straight, trembling nervously in his chair, holding a book correctly in his hands.
Zheng Chun sat beside him, a disciplinary ruler in hand.
Yan Liangrong walked in to inspect.
Both Zheng Chun and Zheng Ke held their breath.
Yan Liangrong swept her gaze across the study, fixing her eyes on Zheng Ke. “How was Ke’er’s work today?”
Zheng Chun quickly answered, “The moment I got home, I checked his lessons. He’s been very diligent and has already studied half the material.”
Yan Liangrong nodded. She looked around, her gaze landing on the sweet pastries on the table.
Both Zheng Ke and Zheng Chun broke into a cold sweat.
Zheng Chun spoke first. “I ate those.”
Yan Liangrong shot him a sharp glance. “You’ve just recovered from a cold; you shouldn’t eat these.”
Zheng Chun helped his wife sit down. “It was just to get rid of the bitter taste after medicine, madam. Look, now it’s fine autumn weather, with kite festivals held in many places. Ke’er has been studying hard lately. Perhaps we could take him out for some relaxation? Keeping him cooped up at home studying all day will make his mind go dull.”
Yan Liangrong cast a cold, indifferent glare in his direction. Zheng Chun shuddered and promptly changed his tune: “Idleness ruins ambition. Children should focus on their studies first.”
Zheng Ke’s expectant little face instantly fell.
Yan Liangrong’s gaze swept over him like a fierce wind, and Zheng Ke immediately straightened his back and returned to reading.
…
At the Yan residence.
Yan Tongshu finished washing up, changed into her red official robe, donned her official hat and boots, and checked herself repeatedly before the bronze mirror. Confident she wouldn’t commit any impropriety before the throne, she took pearls and gold treasures and boarded the carriage to enter the palace and express gratitude.
Led by a eunuch, Yan Tongshu arrived at Chuigong Hall, which she had not visited in eight years.
The hall remained as majestic and solemn as ever.
But the former master was no longer there.
To express gratitude, one had to perform great rites—upon entering the hall, kneeling and bowing three times with nine prostrations.
Yan Tongshu gritted her teeth and knelt to perform the ceremony.
Ah, she’d grown too used to the good life to remember to put on that pair of “knee pads for easy kneeling” she’d had eight years ago. A mistake, a big mistake.
The kneeling ended. The head eunuch, Lu Xi, slowly descended the steps and stopped before Yan Tongshu, silently waiting for her to present the “Memorial of Gratitude” with both hands.
An odd silence fell over the hall.
After a moment, Lu Xi called softly, “Secretary Yan?”
Yan Tongshu hummed in response and looked up, her bright eyes clear as water, full of innocence and confusion.
Lu Xi opened his mouth, then closed it again.
A Memorial of Gratitude—by definition, a document expressing heartfelt thanks to His Majesty. How could he, an inner court servant, demand it outright in front of the emperor?
Lu Xi bowed and retreated to Qin Yi’s side, standing in silent attendance.
The corner of Qin Yi’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. “Rise.”
Yan Tongshu replied, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
She stood up, fixed her gaze on the ground, and stayed still.
The floor of Chuigong Hall was paved with specially made golden bricks from the imperial kilns—smooth as a mirror, dark as jade, hard and cold.
Qin Yi’s gaze rested on Yan Tongshu as he silently assessed her.
The young person stood about seven feet tall.
The red court robes were bright and loose. The hand that held the scepter had distinct knuckles, fair and slender, like fine white jade carved with care.
The young person kept their head lowered, appearing quite respectful, but the back was neither straight nor bent, bearing an air of stubbornness—matching the reputation of being “excessively upright.”
Qin Yi’s voice was low. “Lift your head.”
Yan Tongshu raised her head with a stern expression, meeting Qin Yi’s gaze.
During the coronation ceremony before, she had been placed among the officials in the farthest corner spot. From that distance, she hadn’t been able to see the new emperor’s face at all.
Now that they were meeting face to face for the first time, Yan Tongshu thought viciously that he really did have the face of a damn emperor.
His eyes were cold and aloof, deep and obscure, holding no warmth when he looked at anyone—only the scrutiny of one who sees through everything and the oppressive authority of one long accustomed to power.
The bridge of his nose was as steep and arrogant as a mountain ridge.
His lips were thin and pale, fitting the appearance of a man of little affection and shallow loyalty.
Every contour and angle of his face seemed to contain the annihilation-bent force of a subterranean dragon lurking beneath a mountain range.
In short, he was a thoroughly detestable damn emperor.
Yan Tongshu’s blatant and uninhibited staring made Qin Yi extremely displeased.
Dull and wooden.
Utterly lacking the refined, scholarly air of a man of letters.
To be precise, what he saw was completely different from the impression given by Imperial Tutor Chang Zhengzhang’s description.
When Chang Zhengzhang described him, the image that formed in Qin Yi’s mind was that of a slender, elegant, sharp-eyed, and upright young top scholar.
But the Yan Tongshu before him—
He was like a dull-witted goose.
He had no sense of propriety whatsoever.
From the moment he entered the hall, he had made repeated small mistakes, without a trace of the deference expected of a subject.
He was not slender in build, nor was his face lean; instead, his eyes were round and soft, and his cheeks were full, making him resemble a... dull-witted fat goose.
The kind that was gluttonous.
Qin Yi suspected that Yan Tongshu was not overly upright, but rather dim-witted, unable to catch subtle cues, and thus repeatedly provoked the late emperor’s wrath, leading to his apparent promotion but actual demotion to the Xianlin Pavilion.
Qin Yi narrowed his eyes, his voice low. “Yan Tongshu.”
Yan Tongshu: “Your servant is here.”
As he answered, Yan Tongshu lowered his gaze slightly to show respect, and his eyes happened to fall upon the inkstone from Huizhou on the imperial desk.
A fine Huizhou inkstone, rock-hard.
If he could smash that inkstone onto Qin Yi’s head, it might just crack his skull and kill him on the spot.
Qin Yi spoke in a complicated tone: “Do you know the duties of a magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture?”
Yan Tongshu lowered his head and replied, “The magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture oversees the entire office, managing the prefecture’s civil affairs, justice, taxation, corvée labor, and must plead for the people and protect oneself...”
As he answered fluently, Yan Tongshu’s mind wandered—he heard that a heavy rain was due tonight.
This season, lightning writhed like snakes.
If a bolt of lightning could strike the new emperor dead, then she could happily return to the Xianlin Pavilion.
