Ye Panjiu looked at the meat in her bowl, but didn't refuse, and ate it slowly.
She loves meat; she even enjoys eating squab for breakfast!
The two of them ate breakfast for a very long time, which was the longest meal Su Yan had ever had in his life.
Just as they were calling someone in to clear away the dishes and chopsticks and had finished rinsing their mouths, Sheng Ping's voice rang out from outside the tent.
"Brother Su, Sister Panjiu, may I come in?"
Ye Panjiu stood up. Thanks to Shengping's ointment, the blisters between her legs had scabbed over, and the pain was much less.
She walked over, lifted the curtain, and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Sheng Ping stepped forward and took her arm, saying, "Sister Pan Jiu is like Brother Su, always bowing when we meet."
She entered the tent, very happy. "Last night, Yunxin wrote me a letter, telling me that I must do my best to promote the woman to the vacant official position in the Wang family."
Su Yan and Ye Panjiu both looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"This morning at court, I used a provocation tactic to get all the ministers vying to compete against women in three rounds: civil and military affairs, and debate. I'm here to ask you two what suggestions you have for the candidates."
Su Yan replied, "The article must be by Di Yunxin. Her essay on grain tax is very insightful. His Majesty read it and praised it, and adopted many of the methods in the article."
Ye Panjiu hadn't read this article, but she was very curious about this person.
Sheng Ping nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. As for martial arts, Lin Menghuai is skilled. Her martial arts were personally taught by Minister Lin, so I trust her."
"The Lin family's spear technique is formidable. What is the topic of our debate?"
Sheng Ping shook his head. "The topic will be determined by His Majesty, and we'll only know it on the day of the competition."
Su Yan looked at Ye Panjiu, "Panjiu, help me remember this."
Ye Panjiu took out the Xuan paper and put it away, then picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and looked at him.
"First, how should aristocratic families and commoners assist in governance; second, how to avoid the calamities that befell the royal family; third, the gains and losses of women serving as officials and prime ministers;..."
Su Yan listed out the many choices facing the court today, all of which were the kinds of debates His Majesty would like to hear.
Governing a country is never simple; a single decision can have profound consequences.
Ye Panjiu remembered quickly; she knew this was due to Su Yan's keen insight as someone in the imperial court.
Sheng Ping quickly thought about these issues in his mind. Since women were not attending court, they had no real substance to discuss these topics.
After Su Yan finished speaking, Sheng Ping nodded, "Brother Su's topic is very comprehensive. Why not let Yunxin discuss it and Jiang Mengzhou write it down? Her handwriting is excellent."
Ye Panjiu took a piece of paper and listed all the vacant official positions in the Wang family, circling the ones she felt were very necessary.
Su Yan frowned. "The Jiang family is not the same as the Di family. Di Yunxin was ostracized in the Di family and her mother died early, which is why she left the Di family to start her own business without any worries. Jiang Mengzhou is not like that. She should not go to the arena to compete."
Sheng Ping was at a loss for words. "There are still women who can enter the Imperial Academy, but they lack courage or the influence of being raised in a prestigious family."
Among the women who entered the Imperial Academy, very few came from aristocratic families. Every step a family took required the decision of the family head.
Women from aristocratic families are highly valuable, and marriage alliances between these families have always been a very effective means of achieving this.
She came today to see Panjiu's attitude; it would be best if Panjiu could argue her point.
But she sensed that Sister Panjiu really didn't want to appear in public and just wanted to keep a low profile.
Ye Panjiu finished writing and put down his pen. "Why doesn't Your Highness debate it yourself and let Yunxin write it down? Your Highness debates with the ministers every morning at court, and you are most likely to win."
Su Yan nodded, "For this debate, a high-ranking official from the court will definitely be sent to compete. Your Highness is indeed the most suitable."
Sheng Ping's eyes lit up. "That's great, Brother Su. But let me make this clear first, you absolutely cannot go to the arena."
Brother Su alone can win in both literary and martial debates; she definitely can't beat him.
"Your Highness is overthinking it. I can't move at all right now; I'm a patient who has fallen ill," Su Yan said naturally.
Ye Panjiu glanced at him; this man really knew how to make use of his illness.
She picked up two pieces of paper and handed them to Shengping. "Your Highness, I have listed the official positions of the Wang family and circled the positions that require special attention."
Su Yan stepped forward and quickly glanced at it.
Sheng Ping took the document. The position circled by Sister Pan Jiu was one position less than that of Yun Xin. It was the position of the False Historian of the Southeast Army. She immediately pointed to this position and asked, "Sister Pan Jiu, don't you think this position is important? It can be used as a mole to investigate the movements of the Southeast garrison."
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "If His Highness's people were to take up this position, it would be even more difficult to know the movements of the garrison in the southeast. Generals in the field dislike this kind of thing the most. They trust the people they employ."
The southeastern garrison was firmly in Ning Xuan's hands, which deterred the Wang family of Yangzhou from recruiting soldiers and accumulating strength.
Even if one trusts those one employs, it was already a great effort for the Wang family to insert someone into this false historical writing, yet the results were minimal. It would be better to do a favor and win people's hearts.
The conflicts within the imperial court manifested themselves in the positions of officials, both high and low. There was never a lone wolf in the court; relationships were complex and intertwined.
Those in high positions pay particular attention to how to make choices.
Su Yan praised, "Indeed, as Pan Jiu said, General Zhao of the Southeast Garrison has accumulated numerous military achievements and is an excellent troop trainer. It is extremely important to trust such a capable general and soldier."
He had met General Zhao before; he was upright and righteous, and a very good person.
Sheng Ping frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Okay."
She increasingly understood her father's wisdom, but she still had a long way to go in terms of personnel management.
However, she is still young and can continue her studies.
After finishing their business, Su Yan started to shoo people away again.
"I'm sure Your Highness has many important matters to attend to, so it's inconvenient for me to rise and see you off."
Sheng Ping paused for a moment, then looked at Ye Panjiu, “Sister Panjiu, I saw you were able to walk again just now. Haven’t you gone to your Ziling Manor yet? The hot springs there are very good for healing injuries.”
Before Ye Panjiu could reply, Su Yan thanked her, "Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. Panjiu and I will go today, and we will definitely be there for the competition tomorrow."
Sheng Ping glanced at Su Yan, bowed, and turned to leave.
After leaving the main tent, she stamped her foot.
Brother Su is such a person!
Is there such a rush when it comes to love and romance?
After walking a few steps, she suddenly remembered a scene from her childhood.
My father was just a prince at that time, and he only married my mother as his wife. He was ordered to go to Xuzhou, which is near the capital, and it took him half a month to get there.
When her father returned, she excitedly rushed up to him and asked him to hug her.
The emperor picked her up and kissed her. Upon seeing his mother, he immediately pulled her into the house.
She wanted to speak to her father, but was carried away by a maid.
Back then, my father was just as anxious as Lord Su is now.
She suddenly longed for a partner like her father and mother, or like Brother Su and Sister Panjiu.
“Your Highness, the Second Prince just left the palace for Minister Chen’s residence, and Minister Xun also went there,” Jia Er said.
Sheng Ping immediately came to his senses. "Jia Wu, go and keep an eye on Minister Xun."
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