Chapter 39 July Prime Minister: Are you planning to hide in the duty room for the rest of your life?

While Fu Sui was recuperating in seclusion, Qian Tingzhi's memorial to the throne caused an uproar in the court. This young man, who was being raised in a Taoist temple, began his official career with earth-shattering force.

On the eleventh day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Zhenming, Qian Ting submitted a memorial requesting that officials be appointed based on the principle of mutual avoidance within the five degrees of kinship and that a system of appointing officials by post be implemented. Officials were not allowed to serve in their place of origin, and relatives within the five degrees of kinship were not allowed to serve in the same government office, nor could they be in a superior-subordinate or supervisory relationship. The emperor discussed this matter with all officials at a grand court assembly on the fifteenth day of the sixth month.

The reason why powerful families could remain standing was due to their intricate local relationships and mutual support in officialdom. The system of appointing officials in different regions and the five degrees of mourning for relatives were almost a blow to the foundation of these families. There were many opponents in the court, and the discussions lasted for two reigns without any result. For a time, Qian Tingzhi and the Qian family of Boling were both at the center of the storm.

During the third court discussion of this memorial, Gao Ye, the Minister of Ceremonies from the Gao clan of Jingzhao, one of the four prominent families, unexpectedly expressed his approval. The defection of the Gao family threw the opposition party into chaos.

On July 23, the debate over the appointment of officials to temporary posts, which had lasted for more than a month, came to an end. That afternoon, the emperor summoned the Secretariat and the Chancellery to discuss the specific implementation rules and the differentiated management of border regions.

On the thirteenth day of the eighth month of the ninth year of Zhenming, the system of official appointments and the five degrees of mourning were officially proclaimed to the world with layers of official seals.

Yue Shanling was indeed busy, and hadn't been home for several days in a row. Fu Sui had someone secretly inquire about him. The Yue family assumed he was staying in Xinghua Lane and didn't think much of it. The Zhou family in Xinghua Lane didn't care where Yue Shanling was at all. If he came back to stay, they would cook an extra meal; if he didn't come back, they wouldn't ask any questions.

Fu Sui made an excuse to look for Tian Ganyou, but Tian Ganyou wasn't home either.

Fu Sui asked the Grand Princess of Linhai and learned that Consort Feng had actually sent someone to the princess's residence, asking about Tian Ganyou's marriage.

Princess Linhai understood perfectly well. Although she hoped Tian Ganyou would get married and didn't care about the other party's status, she only considered families of upright character. How could the Feng family possibly meet her standards? Therefore, she made up some excuses and even told Tian Ganyou to avoid the Feng family.

Tian Ganyou figured that if he was prepared, he would eventually run into the Feng family. So he packed his things and moved back to the Qianniuwei guard post. The Feng family couldn't very well come looking for him in front of the emperor.

Thus, Tian Ganyou, who had been hiding, was dragged out of the Thousand Ox Guard by Fu Sui.

Are you crazy?!

In the private room of Shiweizhai, Tian Ganyou had just entered when he asked in a forceful tone, "You could have just told Nan Ya that you wanted to talk to me. Why did you have to ask the Sage to convey your message? When the Sage summoned me, I thought I had done something wrong and had been caught red-handed. I was almost scared to death."

Fu Sui ate the sweet fermented rice slowly and deliberately, and joked, "Why don't you wish it were a marriage bestowed by the sage?"

Tian Ganyou got angry as soon as he heard the word "marriage" and slammed his fist on the table: "I might as well just kill myself in the main hall. What is the Feng family anyway? I would rather die than have anything to do with them."

With the Feng family newly elevated to power and Consort Feng enjoying favor, many people want to establish a connection with them. If the Feng family didn't seek to climb the social ladder, Feng Xiang'er wouldn't have to worry about finding a husband.

Consort Feng put a lot of thought into choosing Tian Ganyou. Although Tian Ganyou's official position was not very high, he was a close minister of the emperor, and his mother was the Grand Princess of Linhai, who took good care of her younger brothers and nephews.

The Tian family ancestors had compiled military strategies and were quite prestigious in the army. Although they are not very prominent now, they still hold a noble title. They never get involved in factional disputes. Marrying into such a family would bring them wealth and stability.

The emperor was right; if Tian Ganyou didn't want the marriage, no one could force him. Fu Sui asked Yue Shanling, "Is the Left Guard so busy? Even a third-rank official like him lives in the Southern Office every day?"

Tian Ganyou didn't stand on ceremony with Fu Sui. He propped up one leg and sat down, eating his food and wine. "What serious business are we busy with? The position of Left Guard General originally belonged to Yuan Shenquan. After Shuhe returned to the capital, Yuan Shenquan was transferred to the Yanran Protectorate as Deputy Protector."

"Yuan Shenquan had been operating in Weizhong for many years. After Shuhe took office, some people said that Yuan Shenquan was forcibly removed in order to make room for Shuhe. The Weizhong officers who were originally on good terms with Yuan Shenquan had a lot of complaints about Shuhe, and the military officers promoted and trained by Yuan Shenquan also paid lip service to him in every way."

"Shuhe had to navigate the complexities of both superiors and subordinates, as well as sow discord among the people and factions left behind by Yuan Shenquan, and reorganize the affairs within the garrison. Since he took office, I haven't seen him much."

The current Protector-General of Yanran, Huge Chiyuan, was originally a slave who rose to his current position through military merit. He possesses unparalleled bravery but is narrow-minded. Furthermore, Yanran is located far on the frontier, leaving Yuan Shenquan with no opportunity to exert his influence, no matter how adept he is at maneuvering.

Fu Sui slowly stirred the sweet fermented wine. Yuan Shenquan's wife came from the Wang family of Hedong. Rather than saying that Yuan Shenquan moved Yue Shanling to a different position, it would be more accurate to say that Yue Shanling was transferred back to the capital to get rid of Yuan Shenquan.

"Are you planning to hide in the duty room for the rest of your life?" Fu Sui asked.

Tian Ganyou tilted his head back and gulped down a glass of wine, slamming the glass heavily on the table. He said dejectedly, "I didn't want this either. Whenever I'm home, Consort Feng sends people over every few days under some pretext. I could have gone to Uncle He's place to hide, but Uncle He doesn't come home either. When Uncle He is home, Zhou's wife's cooking is terrible, but at least there's something to order. When he's not home, it's practically swill. I'm afraid I'll be poisoned if I eat it a couple more times."

Fu Sui knew that Zhou Zhuang's wife was in charge of cooking. Seeing how strong and capable Zhou Zhuang's wife was, she thought she was good at managing household affairs, but she didn't expect her cooking skills to be so bad.

She comforted Tian Ganyou, saying, "Don't worry, I've already inquired for you. It's not going to work out between you and Feng Xiang'er. Why don't you just go home and stay here?"

Tian Ganyou never thought he and Feng Xiang'er would get married, so he wasn't happy about Fu Sui's statement that "it won't work out." He just casually asked Fu Sui what she had found out.

"Marriage is a major event that requires the consent of parents and the words of matchmakers. It is only Feng Fei's wishful thinking to propose marriage to you. The Earl of Yuyang and Lady Ma dislike the Tian family because they are powerless and insignificant now. You are just a guard officer and you are insignificant in the court. They don't even look at you."

Tian Ganyou chuckled upon hearing this. He tilted his chin up at Fu Sui and winked at him, "Where did you find out from?"

Fu Sui snorted contemptuously: "Feng Man and Feng Xianyi are two lecherous bastards. They're so shameless that you could find out how many times they get up at night if you just spend a little money."

Tian Ganyou gestured to Fu Sui to stop talking, saying that he wouldn't be able to eat if he kept talking.

Fu Sui, unusually obedient, kept quiet and waited for Tian Ganyou to finish his meal, pat his belly, and drink water before resting his chin on his hand and looking at Tian Ganyou softly, saying, "Remember to pay the bill later."

"What?" Tian Ganyou almost choked on his water, his face filled with disbelief: "You called me out, and you're asking me to hand over my money?"

Fu Sui bit her lip, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, forming a pitiful arc: "As the older brother, do you expect your younger sister to pay for your meals?"

Tian Ganyou was most afraid of this brother-sister rhetoric, which always left him speechless. Since he was going to pay for the meal anyway, wouldn't it be a loss if he didn't get his money's worth in tea? Anyway, Tian Ganyou wasn't in a hurry to return to Qianniuwei in the afternoon, so he simply slumped in his chair with his protruding belly and sipped his tea slowly.

"Let's talk about going home later. I've been busy lately anyway, so staying in the duty room will be more convenient." Tian Ganyou was feeling a bit sleepy from eating too much, so he leaned back in his chair and yawned lightly. "The Emperor issued an edict for blessings; what a grand affair! Do you want to go see it?"

Fu Sui shook her head: "The sage asked me, and I said I wouldn't go." Fu Sui had little interest in Buddhist and Taoist matters. This kind of blessing activity was very boring, full of mysterious and esoteric sayings, and you couldn't just walk or sit anywhere. She didn't want to go.

"Has anyone in the palace fallen ill?" The emperor was not a devout follower of Buddhism or Taoism; there must be a reason for holding the ceremony. Fu Sui subtly inquired of Xu Zhiyi, who only replied that the emperor was in good health.

Tian Ganyou had not heard of any prince or princess being unwell: "There shouldn't be any, but it seems that the Emperor ordered the Imperial Observatory to calculate the celestial phenomena. I guess the Dharma assembly is related to the celestial phenomena."

Calculating celestial phenomena? After the Gao family's defection, the aristocratic clans have become increasingly powerless in opposing the system of appointed officials, and it seems that the matter is about to be settled. It doesn't count during the autumn harvest and spring planting, nor does it count when the entire court is in chaos. What celestial phenomena can be calculated now?

Fu Sui mentally made a list of the emperors. Knowing them as she did, she was sure they were up to no good. She wondered which one of them would be unlucky this time.

After resting for a while, Tian Ganyou got up to leave, but when he reached the door, he realized something was wrong and turned back to ask, "What do you want with me?"

Fu Sui originally wanted to find out what Xia Yueshanling was busy with. The reason she sought out Tian Ganyou through the Emperor was twofold: firstly, he had been staying in the palace recently, and finding him required going through layers of eunuchs and guards; secondly, there was constant infighting in the court and outside the court as well. Not to mention the Secretariat and the Chancellery, even the Chongwen Academy was bustling with activity every day. During such a sensitive period, it would be difficult for her to pass on messages in the palace without being suspected of spying on the Emperor.

But how could she say such a thing to Tian Ganyou? Fu Sui blinked her innocent eyes and a naive smile appeared on her face: "I'm just telling you that the Feng family has no intention of forming a marriage alliance. You just need to avoid Consort Feng. There's no need to hide outside and not go home."

Tian Ganyou was speechless. He'd gone to all that trouble to get him out for such a trivial matter. If it were someone like Chen Jingyang, he'd at least curse them out. He hovered one hand in mid-air, pointing at Fu Sui, hesitating several times before finally lowering his hand in exasperation, feigning anger, and said, "I'm not paying for this meal, you pay for it yourself!"

Early on the morning of Qixi Festival, Fei Qing led the old women and servants to open the storeroom and study, and took out the books to air them out by category.

Fu Sui stretched and came out, took a stroll in the courtyard, and seeing that the weather was fine, she personally fetched a basin of water and placed it under the flower trellis. Dai Ling and the others, having tidied their rooms, also brought their own water and placed it together with Fu Sui's, preparing for the needle-injection that evening.

“Princess, look.” Dai Ling showed Fu Sui her hand.

On Qixi Festival, there's a folk custom of using balsam flowers to dye fingernails. Fu Sui doesn't like to dye her nails, thinking they won't look good once they grow out. Dai Ling and the others, however, really enjoy it; Doumiao has been helping them dye their nails for several days now.

Not only them, but other maids were also dyeing their nails. In addition to needlework, these past few days, maids often wrapped their fingers like radishes at night, and in the morning they would be working with ten bright red fingers.

It takes many applications of balsam flower to dye nail polish to achieve an even red color. Last night, Doumiao dyed Dailing's nail polish for the last time. Before going to sleep, Dailing held up her ten radish-like fingers to show Fusui.

Fu Sui held Dai Ling's fingers to examine them. The pea shoots were dyed carefully, the nail polish was an even, vibrant red, and the fingers remained clean and white. Kou Yun and Yi Hong also held out their hands for Fu Sui to see. The three pairs of slender, fair hands were placed together, and Fu Sui touched one here and pinched the other, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Princess, the people who went to Xinghua Ward have returned," a maidservant reported.

"How so?" Fu Sui asked.