Su Yan exclaimed, "In my humble opinion, many women are in no way inferior to men; they just haven't had the opportunity to show their skills."
Ning Xuan thought of his birth mother and nodded in agreement, "Then in your opinion, what if I let her be the person in charge?"
Su Yan paused for a moment, then said, "This humble subject does not know; please send an urgent letter to inquire."
Ning Xuan stroked his beard. "What, do you think anyone would refuse this assignment? This is far more powerful than your position as prime minister, who is second only to the emperor. This is truly second only to the emperor."
Su Yan smiled. "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness."
Ning Xuan waved his hand, "It's just the two of us, so let's get straight to the point."
"Power is desirable, but it's not what everyone pursues. Some people are born to regard power as dirt. The happiest life isn't necessarily about indulging in the most luxurious things. Although Yan doesn't know Jiu Niang very well, he has a feeling that she doesn't like the court." Su Yan spoke eloquently.
Ning Xuan paused for a moment, "It was I who was blinded by vanity. I never thought the throne was anything special. I was busy all day long, constantly dealing with people, and I often felt ashamed of my ancestors and the people. I couldn't sleep at night. This is hardly a happy life."
Ning Xuan changed the subject, "In that case, since her advice is known only to you and me, and no one else knows, you are the only one who can take responsibility."
Su Yan lifted his court robes and knelt down. "Your Majesty, after much deliberation, I believe that the most important aspect of intelligence is its direct delivery. Therefore, although I am willing to help Your Majesty in some way, I am unwilling to abandon this responsibility."
Ning Xuan was extremely satisfied; he particularly liked Su Yan's sensible nature. "Very well."
He pointed to the Xuan paper, "This matter deserves a great reward. In your opinion, what would be a good reward?"
Su Yan thought for a moment, "The Ye family has no foundation, and I am in the capital. I am afraid it would be inappropriate to protect them. I hope Your Majesty will grant me privacy and that all my civil and military officials need not know about it."
Ning Xuan understood immediately. No wonder Su Yan chose Chu Guan to go to Qingshui County; it turned out to be to protect his beloved.
He glanced at Su Yan, puzzled.
With Su Yan's looks and status, countless young ladies would be captivated by him. Even his princess would always find a chance to glance at him. Just what kind of woman is she that Su Yan hasn't managed to win over yet?
"Then what do you think of me bestowing a marriage upon her, making her the Prime Minister's wife?"
Su Yan's ears turned even redder. "I suppose my path to winning back my wife will be even more difficult."
Ning Xuan burst into laughter; he really wanted to see that scene.
Upon hearing the laughter, Su Yan pressed his head directly to the ground.
"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. I'll bestow upon her the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady, keep it a secret, and give her one hundred taels of gold and the Ziling Manor on the outskirts of the capital."
Su Yan didn't care much about the previous ones, but he was really happy with the villa that was bestowed upon him in the end.
"Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace!"
Ning Xuan waved his hand, "It's Prime Minister Su, isn't it a bit harder to win him over with this reward?"
A third-rank noblewoman is someone even a prefect of a prefecture would treat with utmost care, not to mention that she is not lacking in gold and silver.
Su Yan smiled and replied, "Feelings gained through material possessions are ultimately unsustainable. I value mutual pleasure more."
Ning Xuan thought of his deceased wife and sighed, "Cherish her. You may leave now."
Su Yan respectfully kowtowed, then got up and left.
The next day, after court, Ning Xuan personally handed over the imperial edict appointing her as a third-rank noblewoman and the gold land deed to Su Yan after dismissing the servants.
He didn't want Su Yan to end up like him, unable to protect the woman he loved, and ultimately left only with unrequited love.
"The more I look at her handwriting, the more I feel that this girl's calligraphy is extraordinary, with a lofty and unyielding style, standing apart from the world and transcending the mundane!"
Su Yan agreed wholeheartedly, "This humble subject also thinks so. I had previously copied it and shown it to Elder Jiang, and then exchanged it for Elder Jiang's calligraphy, 'Qingfeng Fushanggang'."
Ning Xuan smiled and shook her finger, "You really are an old fox."
Su Yan smiled as well, "This humble servant has delivered the calligraphy to her."
Ning Xuan glanced at him, feeling a pang of envy for this kind of relationship. He waved for Su Yan to leave.
Before you knew it, it was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
Ye Panjiu was sitting in the backyard house reading a book.
Since Cuihua arrived, she was relegated to the backyard, where she spent her days idly reading books from the Great Liang Dynasty, listening to the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire.
Daliang is a vast and resource-rich land with a sparse population. It borders the Liao and Western Xia to the north, the Tubo and Dali to the west, and the islands along the southeast coast inhabited by the Japanese or other tribes.
Daliang's shipbuilding industry is exceptionally developed, and a trade route from Yangzhou to overseas has been opened, with various rare and exotic treasures from overseas fetching extremely high prices on the market.
Ye Panjiu read the book with great interest in the strange and interesting stories recorded there.
After the day's braised food was quickly sold out, Mrs. Sun knocked on the door, "Little sister."
Ye Panjiu put down her book and opened the door. "Going home?"
Mrs. Sun took her arm and said, "Yes, you shouldn't sit inside reading all the time; it's bad for your back."
Ye Panjiu nodded, "Okay, I'll pay attention next time and go out more often."
The two went to the outer room, and Liu asked, "Tomorrow is Laba Festival. Mother specifically told us to buy some lotus seeds, lily bulbs, Job's tears, and water chestnut rice to take home."
Ye Panjiu was startled. "Time flies, it's almost Laba Festival. Why don't we give away braised food for free tomorrow, but not say so? Just as a way of giving back to our customers."
Madam Sun nodded, "That's good. I always see wealthy families distributing porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month."
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "After all, it's all thanks to everyone's support that we've been able to earn some money. We'll hang a flag at the entrance later. Sister-in-law, you can go and buy one. I'll write the name on the flag now."
Liu nodded, then took Ye Daniu, Ye Cuihua, and the two children and left.
Sun, who was illiterate, watched Ye Panjiu write with curiosity and asked, "Little sister, tell me what you've written?"
Ye Panjiu then wrote and read aloud, “If you encounter any difficulties in Qingshui County, you can come to our shop. We will give you a free bowl of braised vegetables. We will not charge you any fees. We only hope that when you are able to do so in the future, you can lend a helping hand and do your best to help others.”
In her previous life, she was almost starving to death when she was saved by a small shop that provided her with many free meals.
Later, when she became successful, she went back to the shop, which was still open. She provided financial assistance to help the shop overcome its financial difficulties.
She particularly appreciated this approach.
Sun raised her eyebrows. "Little sister, won't someone just be after this bowl of braised vegetables?"
Ye Panjiu patted her hand, "Our shop has such a long queue. If we weren't desperate, I wouldn't waste this time for just five coins."
Mrs. Sun thought about it and agreed, "That's really a good deed. If we had known about this shop earlier, we would have been able to have enough to eat."
God knows that she sometimes breaks out in a cold sweat when she recalls the days when she was starving.
Ye Panjiu took her arm and said, "It's good to do good deeds, Second Sister-in-law. Many people may not be literate, so you can talk about this flag when the time comes."
Mrs. Sun nodded, "No problem!"
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