29. Famous Ministers

"wait……"

Yun Zhihe was stunned. She wanted to stand up and retort, but was held down by Prime Minister Wen again.

She watched the palace servants leave, and the others looked at each other in confusion, staring at Prime Minister Wen holding the imperial edict in his hand.

"Master Wen... what's going on?!"

"This imperial edict..."

"You, what's wrong with you?!"

Everyone looked at her in disbelief, their voices rising and becoming shrill.

Prime Minister Wen single-handedly withstood the pressure and fought for them to amend the law, benefiting millions of people. Everyone knows his heart for the people, so how could he be charged with such a huge and false crime?

It must be a false accusation and slander!

They work with Prime Minister Wen, how could they not know what a brilliant and handsome man he is!

Yun Zhihe was also confused, and with trembling lips, he looked at Prime Minister Wen stubbornly.

Why could he calmly accept the order, and why did he stop the stigma?!

We are all about benevolence and righteousness, why is it like this?

Prime Minister Wen looked at the imperial edict in his hand as if he didn't care, then smiled at them.

Bend down and raise your hand to salute.

She has a clear voice.

"Today we are rushing east and west. I wish all the ladies to rise step by step, be successful in the spring breeze, have a bright future, and climb to the top of the world with blooming flowers—"

"grown ups--"

All the ladies came around, some with tears in their eyes.

"This is definitely a false accusation. Don't be disheartened, sir. We will seek justice for you!"

She smiled calmly again and shook her head, stopping the ladies from exclaiming in surprise. She then looked at Yun Zhihe and said, "Madam Yun, come with me."

As she spoke, she took off her official hat and put down her official seal.

It's like taking off the shackles, being alone and relaxed, sad and free, but with the back straight, and the moon and breeze in the sleeves.

After saying this, she turned and left, ignoring the clamor and noise behind her, leaving the women looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Lord Wen——"

Yun Zhihe chased after her and followed her to the carriage.

She looked surprised, as if puzzled. She pulled Prime Minister Wen's sleeve, pursed her lips, looked up and asked, "Master Wen...what's going on?"

Prime Minister Wen was her teacher in the officialdom, and he never treated her unfairly even though he had grudges against her mother.

In her heart, she already regarded her as her teacher.

Prime Minister Wen paused, narrowed his eyes slightly at her, looked out the window as if indifferent, and sighed slightly.

She spoke calmly and asked softly.

"Do you think the world today belongs to Xuanyuan Ying or the Xuanyuan family?"

She addressed His Majesty's name casually, as if she didn't care at all.

Yun Zhihe paused and spoke.

"Your Majesty and the Xuanyuan clan are one. We prosper together and suffer together."

"Um... really?"

Prime Minister Wen raised his eyes lazily, his fox eyes seemed to be teasing her innocence, and there was a smile in his eyes.

“…Wrong.”

"Why Your Majesty sits in this position... I know it better than anyone else." Prime Minister Wen was wrong. Wen Youzhi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"He is the most suitable candidate, promoted by the Xuanyuan clan."

"During the time of the previous emperor, the Xuanyuan clan and the Shen clan maintained a check and balance between them, leaving the humble family with a place. However, the entire Shen family was executed, and the humble family declined, leaving the Xuanyuan clan to dominate."

She opened her eyes and looked into Yun Zhihe's eyes, her voice ending in a tone of helpless disappointment.

"Why do you think...she found a place so quickly when she was a slave?"

Yun Zhihe was stunned, his eyes widened, and he gradually understood the reason.

...is the price.

"…An ant trying to shake a tree; one must proceed step by step, not just in one moment."

How could she alone change a century-old system?

She scoffed, as if mocking herself, "How can you shake a system that has existed for so many years with your own strength? How can it be without cost, how can it be easy, and how can it be done with just your life?"

"Naive and stubborn."

"This time it was Xuanyuan who relented."

Wen Youzhi's eyes were deep, "The Xuanyuan family has a foundation that has been intertwined for hundreds of years. It is a century-old family with many talented people. It is not something you and I can fight against alone."

She seemed tired, and muttered to herself as if she remembered something.

"You have the same personality as your mother, no wonder you are like this..."

"Prime Minister Wen, I..."

Yun Zhihe thought about his decisive action at that time. He knelt in the hall at the risk of his own life, thinking that he was going forward alone.

At this time, Wen Youzhi revealed the truth in front of her, which was cruel and real.

She was just a teenage girl who had just entered the officialdom... She pleaded for the people with her ridiculous frivolity and the nobleness of a scholar, but she had not seen the ups and downs of the officialdom.

But I didn't expect that the place of fame and fortune was just a few feet above the cliff.

The wind was strong and the rain was heavy, blowing away the proud bones and cold clothes.

The intellectuals drifted in it, feeling suffocated by helplessness and the pressure of fame and fortune.

Wen Youzhi paused, his voice hoarse.

"Don't blame yourself. I've had this idea in mind for a long time and have been planning it for a long time. I wanted to wait until I was 16 years old... You're just braver than me."

"I know the suffering of being a lowly person."

He shook his head gently again.

"I have no regrets. I was in my position, fulfilling my duty. Despite holding the high position of Prime Minister, I never bravely spoke up for the people... Now, entangled in a battle with the Xuanyuan clan, trying to control the court, I've forgotten my original intention."

No wonder you are... estranged from your mother.

She has a strong character and the demeanor of a pine or bamboo, moving forward for what she wants and what she insists on.

She murmured these words to herself in her heart, and then disappeared, with a sense of melancholy.

In a trance, Yun Zhihe and Yun Qianli's appearance overlapped.

Yun Zhihe lowered his eyes, laughed bitterly at himself, and felt lost and helpless.

It was her stubbornness that caused the trouble.

My vision is too narrow, which led to... the current situation.

Wen Youzhi seemed to understand what she was thinking and narrowed his eyes. "Solving it a year earlier means saving lives a year earlier. Official positions are nothing compared to that."

She lowered her eyes to look at Yun Zhihe, her voice low and hoarse, with a deep tone.

"Yun Zhihe, the poor family has no leader... Yanhe is the poor family's handover that Your Majesty had planned long ago."

By the way, it is no coincidence that Prime Minister Wen was dismissed but Wen Yanhe is still in the palace.

Yun Zhihe was suddenly awakened.

She suddenly remembered what Azhi said after she knelt down and fainted.

Your Majesty only conferred the title of Wen Yan and the male official when she was in a coma.

That is... He had long expected that Prime Minister Wen would be dismissed from office one day.

At that time, we must make up our minds to solve the issue of slavery.

If he wanted a male official, he wouldn't have to appoint Wen Yanhe directly. He should have kept him by his side and promoted him when the time was right. His haste had caused Wen Yanhe to attract criticism...

——Simply because time is too tight.

The day she knelt down, Xuanyuan Ying thought that Prime Minister Wen would be dismissed from office.

Xuanyuan Ying and Prime Minister Wen had planned everything early on and were balancing the Xuanyuan court in secret.

Prime Minister Wen has been the head of the poor families for many years. In order to prevent the imbalance of power between the poor families and the aristocratic families, Xuanyuan Yingcai promoted Wen Yanhe as a way to appease and explain to the poor families after Prime Minister Wen was dismissed.

The head of a poor family in the world, his reputation was ruined by a ridiculous imperial edict.

I don’t know how many people were disappointed.

Yun Zhihe was in a trance.

Her thoughts are not worth mentioning in such a huge situation.

Seeing that she had figured everything out, Wen Youzhi continued to speak, his eyes fixed on her, his voice hoarse.

"Yun Zhihe, even if I don't get fired for this, this day will always come."

"Either due to corruption or death from illness."

"...This world does not belong to Xuanyuan Ying, but to the Xuanyuan clan."

"Xuanyuan Ying is nothing more than a puppet in their hands. From bottom to top, they are all members of the Xuanyuan clan."

"From the far reaches of the Jianghu, to the high places of the government."

"...You should understand now."

Xuanyuan Ying was in a balance between the two. He promoted the humble as his trump card, relied on the obedient Xuanyuan family, and checked and balanced the Xuanyuan family to prevent them from pulling him down and taking the throne himself.

Over the years, he carefully maintained the balance of the court, from the empress of the previous emperor to the emperor.

He resisted the erosion of the Xuanyuan clan on the imperial court and himself, and walked alone in it with pride. He could not be relied upon or entrusted with anything, and became an emperor whose name will be remembered through the ages.

Wen Youzhi leaned over to look at Yun Zhihe, breathing close to him and appreciating each word.

“Yun Zhihe, I want you to be the head of the poor family.”

Yun Zhihe looked up at her eyes, as if surprised by her words, and he could also see the fine lines and time at the corners of the woman's eyes.

I can vaguely see what she looked like when she was a girl.

She also ignited a wild sense of freedom, her fox eyes full of ambition.

"I want you to be tolerant yet bold, like you were at the imperial examination, and stand up to injustice."

She looked at the girl's slender and clear figure kneeling in the hall with her back straight.

Like her mother, her clear eyes burned with hatred for injustice.

"I want you to plead for the people, protect the people's well-being, protect the stability of the temple, and protect the tombs and the Qingming Festival."

She is kind-hearted and righteous, sharing the pain of the people. She cries as she watches tragedies, and braves the heavy rain and cold wind.

It's like moonlight shining on the world.

Her voice was hoarse.

Yun Zhihe thought of her standing firm in the court.

Determined and independent.

"I want you to witness peace and prosperity, clean up the mountains and rivers, and establish a life for the people."

She spoke more and more anxiously, her voice getting heavier, as if she could already see the magnificent scene.

She closed her eyes.

"I want you to be fearless in presenting your petitions and fearless in public opinion."

"I do not envy the title of a prince, nor do I desire wealth and splendor."

"...I want you to be a famous minister through the ages, your name etched in history books, a magnificent scene—"

"And then in history books..."

She scoffed, as if remembering her youth, tears welling in her eyes.

"Write your name."

The author has something to say:

Ding, the career line is open

In fact, there is a small setting. The heroine did not drink the Mengpo soup clean. She has the open-mindedness of a modern person and understands some jokes, but she is still a teenage girl in essence.

He always wanted to be a famous official who would be remembered throughout the ages, the kind that would be worshipped by future generations.

"A gnat trying to shake a tree" is a metaphor used to describe trying to elevate oneself by putting others down.

"Ants trying to shake a tree" means that ants are trying to shake a big tree, which is a metaphor for overestimating one's own abilities.

In yesterday's comment, I said something like a mayfly trying to shake a tree. I apologize.