Chapter 86 She Didn’t Want to Be an Official

Duan almost blurted out the words "Can you help me dream about when my unfilial son will be able to get married?"

She was very conscious of the importance of things, and at this moment she said with emotion: "Her Royal Highness the Princess and the late Crown Prince are twins, and they are connected to each other... Madam Chang and Her Royal Highness the Princess are also destined to be together."

Madam Chang and Her Royal Highness the Princess have a special affinity. She had mentioned this before when she saw the handwriting in Dayun Temple.

Perhaps because of this reason, the more Duan looked at the girl in front of him, the more he felt that they were compatible.

Then he asked softly, "Besides this, what else did you dream about Her Royal Highness the Princess?"

"They are all irrelevant..." Chang Suining hesitated, as if he was worried that telling her about these irrelevant dreams would offend Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Duan smiled indifferently: "There is no outsider here, it's just a dream, just a casual chat!"

Chang Suining paused for a moment, then said, "Her Royal Highness the Princess said that she is down there now and can't even find anyone she can fight with."

Duan was stunned: "..."

This is too much like His Highness! It's too orthodox! Chang Suining seemed to find it absurd: "But Your Highness is weak, how could he like to fight with others?"

Duan smiled and did not comment.

He only asked again: "Did Your Highness say anything else?"

Chang Suining nodded: "In my dream, His Highness gave me something that I need to convey to Madam, so I came to visit you today."

"It's related to me?" Duan immediately sat up straighter, her eyes full of expectation - after all, what the little girl said before was so true!

Chang Suining: "His Highness asked me to prepare more chestnuts so that I can bring them to Madam when she goes to offer sacrifices."

Duan opened her mouth and said, "...the kind that has been peeled?"

Chang Suining nodded: "That's right."

Duan immediately showed a look of regret: "Look at how careless I am. I never thought of bringing some chestnuts with me during the sacrifices in previous years..."

Your Highness was so greedy that he had been so wise and brave all his life, but in the end he had to resort to sending dreams to beg for chestnuts from the younger generation!

Duan immediately called the maid over: "Hurry up and go to the kitchen to ask if there are any chestnuts in the mansion. If there are, steam them and bring them here. If there are no chestnuts in the mansion, find a way to buy some back. The sooner the better!"

Duan was heartbroken and blamed herself for a moment: "Your Highness must think I'm so stupid that he didn't even come to my dream to explain it directly."

Chang Suining: ...Isn't this a direct confession? It's hard to say such shocking words, so she flatters herself. Anyway, the gold is her own: "Perhaps it's just like what the lady said, there is some fate between me and His Highness."

Duan sighed and nodded: "Although many things seem illusory, they are not necessarily unbelievable... I really want to meet Her Highness in my dream so that I can talk to her."

As he said this, he looked at Chang Suining expectantly: "If Madam Chang dreams of His Highness again, can you help me convey one thing?"

Facing those eyes full of nostalgia and attachment as they recalled the past, Chang Suining felt a little sad, so he nodded: "Madam, please go ahead."

Duan said softly, "When I was young, Your Highness and I made a bet for fun. We buried a box in the Princess's mansion. Your Highness and I each contributed half of the contents of the box. At that time, Your Highness said that whoever's embroidery won the praise of the nanny next month would own the box—"

Hearing her mention this, Chang Suining's feeling of being touched instantly disappeared. With the mentality of "let me see if you can behave like a human being", he asked tentatively: "...So who won?"

Duan sighed softly: "I narrowly won that time."

Chang Suining: “…”

Sure enough, when it comes to being an inhuman person, Duan Zhenyi rarely disappoints her.

The reason for the bet was that both she and Duan Zhenyi were terrible at embroidery. She was too busy with the war to take care of it, while Duan Zhenyi was a complete idiot with no talent.

I still remember the time when their embroidery was delivered to the new needlework nanny in the princess's mansion. The nanny remained silent for a long time, as if she had encountered the biggest challenge in her life.

Duan Zhenyi asked the nanny, who embroidered better? Faced with such a shameless question, the nanny's eyes twitched uncontrollably, and she had no choice but to give four words - it's hard to tell the difference.

This is a difficult situation.

As a result, the box was not dug out, and the two agreed to gamble again next time.

But later Duan Zhenyi got engaged, and she was busy with the war for several years and could not return to Beijing, so the matter was forgotten.

Now it seems that Duan Zhenyi is very obsessed with this, and even in her dreams she wants to ask her where the box is buried.

"The things in the box are not valuable. They are all old things from our childhoods. They can be considered as memories..." Duan said with a somewhat sad look on her face.

"..." Chang Suining's excellent acting skills accumulated in his previous life prevented him from revealing any unusual expression.

The gamble was huge that time. In order to induce her to bet more, Duan Zhenyi bet half of his fortune, so the box was full of gold and silver jewelry, as well as some rare and beloved novels.

This is what Duan Zhenyi called “not expensive”, “an old item from childhood”, and “a thought” at this moment.

It was difficult for Chang Suining not to remain silent.

Duan finally reminded, "So if you dream of His Highness again, please ask Miss Chang for me."

After a moment, Chang Suining nodded in agreement.

"Tomorrow is His Highness's birthday. I had been planning to go back to the Princess's residence to offer sacrifices. Since Miss Chang has been dreaming about His Highness recently, why don't we go together?"

This was exactly the purpose of Chang Suining's visit. Those weird and spooky nonsense were just a prelude.

It was the best thing that Duan took the initiative to propose it at this time.

But Chang Suining always felt... that this guy had impure intentions, and might be trying to strengthen the fate between "her and the eldest princess" so that they could meet in dreams and ask her where the box was.

Regardless of whether the cook had selfish motives or not, he still had to eat the food that was handed to him. Chang Suining seemed to happily agree and chatted with Duan for a while. Since his goal had been achieved, he planned to leave.

But who would have thought that at this time the maid came back and reported to Duan that there were two baskets of chestnuts in the house and she had ordered the kitchen to cook them.

Duan smiled and said, "Since this dream is the work of Miss Chang, there is nothing else to do. Why don't we peel chestnuts together to prepare for the sacrifice tomorrow?"

Chang Suining: “……?”

There are three things she hates the most in her life. The first is the instability of the country, war, famine and displacement of the people. The second is that people who are not as good as her stand higher. The third is why chestnuts have to be left in shells.

But she was the one who suggested it, and it was difficult to back down.

So, Chang Suining endured half a day of torture in Duke Zheng's mansion and almost peeled back all the chestnuts that he had not peeled in his previous life.

Also, because it was a sacrifice prepared for the "Eldest Princess", out of reverence, there was no possibility of tasting or eating it. It could only be peeled but not eaten, which was the most torture of all.

Moreover, Duan often slacked off openly. Sometimes she would call the steward to inquire about the affairs of the mansion, sometimes she would order the kitchen to prepare lunch. She would spend a long time to consider each dish, and sometimes she would sigh that her shoulders hurt because she was old and needed someone to massage them... She was just like her childhood friend when she was covered with thorns while doing homework with her children.

But as a junior at this time, she had no right to offer any opinions.

It turns out that it is useless to take care of it for a thousand days.

After such torment, after leaving Duan's courtyard in the afternoon, Chang Suining felt relieved as if a donkey had finally been put out of the millstone. However, on the way out of the house, he met Wei Shuyi who was returning home from work.

"When I saw the Chang family's carriages and horses outside the mansion, I knew that Madam Chang had arrived." Wei Shuyi, who was wearing an official robe, asked with a smile, "I wonder if the food in the mansion suits Madam Chang's taste?"

Chang Suining, who was so exhausted from peeling chestnuts that he doubted his life, nodded perfunctorily: "Very good."

"That's good." Wei Shuyi smiled and turned around, walking with Chang Suining, and made a "please" gesture: "As a thank you, please allow me to take Madam Chang away."

Chang Suining walked forward and asked: "Why do you want to thank Minister Wei?"

Hearing the word "again", Wei Shuyi laughed, but did not rush to answer. Instead, he praised and sighed: "Mrs. Chang is really a god. She has such a keen and unique foresight——"

Chang Suining understood: "Has the person who will take over as the Minister of Rites been chosen?"

Wei Shuyi's smile deepened: "Yes, it is Master Chu."

"The court has been arguing about this for more than half a month, and the situation has been deadlocked. No one is willing to give in..." Wei Shuyi said slowly as he walked, "Until today, when the sage proposed that Master Chu take over, there was only one person who voiced opposition worth mentioning in the court."

Chang Suining said without hesitation: "That must be Master Chu himself."

Wei Shuyi laughed in surprise: "Mrs. Chang is really amazing."

I often smile without saying a word.

After all, when her teacher taught her, he often imagined the leisurely vision of resigning from office and retiring to the secluded world, playing the piano while listening to the breeze, and watching the waves while fishing - the teacher prepared for this for a long time, but because the court refused to release her, it remained in the preparation stage.

This delay lasted until he was sixty-seven years old. When both dawn and dusk were approaching, he suddenly became the Minister of Rites.

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There are no more gentle breezes and waves, but there are plenty of stormy waves.

"However, it is difficult for Master Chu to refuse the request as everyone is looking forward to it." Wei Shuyi said with a smile, "The current stalemate has been resolved, and this method was privately presented to the saint by Wei, so I would like to express my gratitude."

Since he was so frank, Chang Suining was not polite: "Then Minister Wei owes me one more time."

Wei Shuyi nodded calmly: "Wei will remember it, and wait for Madam Chang to ask for it anytime."

Chang Suining looked ahead at the lush greenery. It was indeed the Duke of Zheng's Mansion, a house built in the garden. Everything he saw was full of vitality.

She said, "Next year, all the poor candidates can go all out in the imperial examination without worrying about being let down."

Wei Shuyi's smile faded a little, but he became more serious: "That's exactly the truth."

The sage chose to take action against the Pei family, and Pei Min's position was a major inducement - the sage wanted to promote children from poor families to enter officialdom to compete with the gentry, so he promoted the system of imperial examinations to recruit officials. However, the imperial examinations have always been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and important positions such as the Minister of Rites have always been held by officials from the gentry. With them blocking the emperor's door like a hand covering the sky, this road is doomed to be blocked.

The prince was getting older and the sage could no longer wait.

But removing Pei Min was only the first step.

The next step is to select a new Minister of Rites.

The sage would naturally choose trusted officials who came from humble backgrounds, but those aristocratic families had just experienced the decline of the Pei family and were filled with a sense of crisis, so they naturally refused to give in.

Even a saint cannot give up this step. Once he gives up, all previous efforts will be wasted.

If the situation between the two sides is as incompatible as water and fire, then Master Chu is a mountain.

Even though this mountain is just a pile of earth when viewed from close up, it can effectively block water and fire.

Counting back three generations, Taifu Chu could be considered to be from a small aristocratic family, but his family had long since declined and was far away from the sphere of influence of those large aristocratic families whose interests were closely linked to his. He had no place to go.

The wife of Master Chu came from a poor family, and his children and grandchildren did not even enter officialdom.

He has never formed a clique with anyone, nor is he a minion of the empress. What is even more commendable is that he is already old, and has reached an age where an accident could easily happen if nothing unexpected happens.

Even if you are lucky and retire at the age of seventy, you only have three years left.

In this way, the aristocratic forces still have three years to plan, and when the time is right, they will have the opportunity to retake the city in one fell swoop.

The same is true for the empress.

Power struggles involving deep and wide-ranging issues are never accomplished overnight. This time, it is equivalent to both sides taking a half step back to maintain a superficial balance, but the competition will not stop under this balance.

Wei Shuyi did not say these things explicitly, but there was no need to say them explicitly in front of the girl who had anticipated the outcome of everything from the very beginning and directly pointed out the answer to the mystery.

He could not help but ask again: "Madam Chang, do you really have no intention of attending the imperial court?"

This question was more genuine than the last one, which seemed like a casual chat.

"Not even close." Chang Suining was rarely modest: "At my age, I should just study more."

Wei Shuyi looked at her with interest: "What do you mean by reading, Madam Chang?"

I always feel that her "reading" is not too ordinary——

"I plan to study at the Imperial College." Chang Suining said casually.

Although he was prepared for something unusual, Wei Shuyi was still surprised at this time, and more of a puzzlement: "Madam Chang, you should know that there are different schools in the Imperial College, and the students can be roughly divided into three categories. The first is officials above the third rank or the children of the third or fourth rank royal family. The second is people who have at least passed the provincial examination and have a good reputation. The third is the children of ordinary common people. They need to pass three examinations before they can be listed as students—"

He finally said: "Of course, these are not the most important things for Madam Chang. The most important thing is that no matter what way you enter the Imperial College, being a man is the most important thing."

This has not changed even though the current saint is a woman.

Today's Imperial College is tied to the imperial examination, and since it is impossible for women to enter officialdom through the imperial examination, female officials have traditionally only been selected by the inner court.

Chang Suining said: "I didn't intend to be a student of the Imperial Academy. I just wanted to study under a master in the Imperial Academy."

Wei Shuyi was a little confused, so he just followed her and asked, "Then how does Madam Chang become a disciple?"

Chang Suining walked forward with his hands behind his back: "Please take my third father as your master."

Wei Shuyi: "...Third father?"

"Qiao Jijiu from the Imperial Academy——"

Wei Shuyi smiled in understanding: "So this is what Madam Chang meant by studying at the Imperial Academy."

At this point, he couldn't help but remind her: "Even if she takes Qiao Jijiu as her teacher, Madam Chang is not a student of the Imperial Academy and she is a girl, so there is no possibility for her to become an official."

"I said I don't plan to be an official." Chang Suining said again: "I just want to study."

Wei Shuyi smiled and sighed, "Mrs. Chang's heart for learning is pure, which makes me, Wei, who always talks about becoming an official, look too utilitarian."

There was a hint of regret in his sigh.

Chang Suining did not explain.

Purity has nothing to do with her, and studying is just a cover.

After all, she just said she didn't plan to be an official.

But I didn't say I didn't plan to do something else.

…

The next day was the day when Chang Suining followed Duan to Princess Chongyue's mansion to offer sacrifices.

Good night everyone 　　 　 (end of this chapter)