Wei Shaoqing had been unemployed in the capital for many days, and the Ministry of Personnel finally notified him to attend court.
He was originally sent to Beijing to report on the snow disaster, but after he returned to Beijing, Crown Prince Yuancheng, who was in charge of disaster relief, was punished, and His Majesty never summoned him.
Now that the snow disaster is almost over, Wei Shaoqing can only sort out some disaster relief matters and prepare to report them one by one in the court.
But when he went to court, Wei Shaoqing realized something was wrong.
His Majesty had indeed been talking about the snow disaster, from disaster relief to post-disaster matters, from resettlement of disaster victims to epidemic prevention, but from beginning to end, there was hardly any room for him to interrupt.
As a prefect, he was only a fourth-rank official, but there were many officials of the first, second, and third ranks above him in the court.
Everyone was talking at the same time, and Wei Shaoqing wanted to interrupt but couldn't.
Wei Shaoqing had not attended court since he went to Yangzhou ten years ago, and had long forgotten this feeling.
Ten years ago, he was at least the newly crowned top scholar and the son-in-law of the emperor, and at that time, there were still many people in the court who praised him.
But now, ten years have passed, and the people in the court have changed.
Some new officials even don't know who he is.
I only saw his crimson court robes and glanced away.
Wei Shaoqing stood in the crowd, feeling embarrassed.
He was holding his breath and just wanted to get it over with quickly so that he could return to his Yangzhou.
Yangzhou is still the best.
In Yangzhou, everyone listens to him, which is much more comfortable than in the capital.
Wei Shaoqing endured two hours of agony and finally made it to the end of the court session.
At this time, the Minister of Personnel came forward and said:
"Your Majesty, post-disaster recovery urgently requires manpower. Furthermore, with the imperial examination approaching, officials at court are overwhelmed with work. Please issue an order to fill some of the critical vacancies..."
Another point that the Shangshu did not mention was, of course, that Emperor Xuan had raided the homes of many important officials some time ago and dismissed many of their sons, leaving many positions vacant in the court.
Wei Shaoqing had also heard about Emperor Xuan's recent actions. When he heard that many secrets of his ministers had been uncovered, he was a little frightened.
But seeing that Yuan Zhao had behaved normally these past few days and was just busy preparing for the hundred-day banquet, he felt much more relieved.
Emperor Xuan sat at the head of the table and asked, "Do any of you have any recommendations?"
The Minister of Personnel listed some important vacant positions, and the ministers also recommended some.
Wei Shaoqing thought that nothing happened to him and stood there feeling drowsy.
At this time, a voice sounded:
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Princess Zhaohe's consort, the Yangzhou prefect, Wei Shaoqing, has served in Yangzhou for ten years. He is known for his strict conduct and treats his subjects like his own children. I believe that you can recommend Wei Shaoqing to take over the position of Chief Censor."
The person who made the recommendation was Lord Zhou, the Minister of the Dali Temple.
The ministers were secretly complaining in their hearts. Lord Zhou has always openly supported His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Now that he has stood up to recommend Wei Shaoqing, is that what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants?
Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince going to support his brother-in-law?
The Censorate is an important position, and there are a bunch of old men in it who monitor and impeach everyone every day.
Is Wei Shaoqing capable of doing the job?
Everyone's eyes were focused on Wei Shaoqing.
He shuddered when he heard his own name. A bureaucrat next to him nudged him with his elbow, and he came to his senses and took a step to the side.
"Your Majesty...your Majesty...the disaster in Yangzhou has not yet been resolved. As the governor of Yangzhou, I would rather return to Yangzhou to deal with the disaster."
The ministers around frowned again.
Wei Shaoqing was Princess Showa's consort, and the princess and the crown prince were good friends. Shouldn't Wei Shaoqing have agreed immediately? Why did he refuse?
The ministers did not understand the situation and did not dare to say much, so they just watched and waited.
Lord Zhou glanced at Wei Shaoqing and continued, "Your Majesty, the Censorate is an important position in the court. It is responsible for supervising all officials and investigating illegal activities. Officials must be honest and impartial, and maintain a clean conduct."
"Lord Wei has served in Yangzhou for ten years and has no vested interests with most officials in the capital. Furthermore, his conduct has always been praised. I believe Lord Wei is well qualified for this position."
Emperor Xuan did not say anything, and seemed not to be very optimistic about this proposal.
Wei Shaoqing wanted to say something else, but he couldn't find any other reason to refuse.
For him, the position of Chief Censor was a promotion. Which official in the court didn’t want to be promoted?
He couldn't deny what Mr. Zhou said about his poor character and incompetence...
Emperor Xuan's gaze swept across the ministers below, "What do you think, Grand Censor?"
The Imperial Censor was an old official who was nearly sixty years old. He had always been upright and unsympathetic.
Wei Shaoqing secretly hoped that he would reject him.
He stood up, pondered for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Lord Wei personally went to provide disaster relief during the snowstorm, and the princess also went to the Big Buddha Temple to worship Buddha. In Yangzhou City, Lord Wei and the princess also continuously distributed porridge to the victims during the snowstorm..."
"It is clear that Lord Wei has outstanding character. I believe he is worthy of the position of Chief Censor."
The Chief Censor had said so, and other ministers also stood up and praised Wei Shaoqing for his excellent character.
Wei Shaoqing's heart sank to the bottom, but he still wanted to fight for it, so he said, "Your Majesty, I originally came to the capital to report on my work. Yangzhou has a lot of disaster matters to deal with. If I am transferred at this time, I am afraid that disaster relief will be hindered."
Before Emperor Xuan could speak, Lord Zhou smiled and said to Wei Shaoqing, "Lord Wei, don't worry about this. I heard that Lord Zhao Ping has handled the disaster affairs very well since Lord Wei returned to the capital."
Zhao Ping? Wei Shaoqing almost forgot about this person.
Emperor Xuan's gaze fixed on Wei Shaoqing. Some old ministers could see that His Majesty did not seem very happy.
Emperor Xuan was naturally unhappy. The things that the old man, the Imperial Censor, mentioned were clearly done by Zhao Zhao. What did it have to do with Wei Shaoqing?
But in the end, Emperor Xuan made the final decision: "From now on, Wei Shaoqing, the prefect of Yangzhou, will be appointed as the Chief Censor, and Zhao Ping will take over the post of prefect of Yangzhou."
…
Wei Shaoqing was a little dazed when he walked out of the Qinzheng Hall.
How come I got promoted after just one day in court? How come the officials in Yangzhou just disappeared like that?
Colleagues kept coming to congratulate him:
"Congratulations, Master Wei!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Now we can hold our promotion banquet together with your daughter's hundred-day celebration!"
"I will definitely bring my family to show my support to the Prince Consort!"
…
Wei Shaoqing was chatting with his colleagues, but he always felt that something was wrong.
But he felt a little groggy, his mind seemed to be in a knot, and he couldn't figure out many things.
Maybe I got up too early today...
At this time, a man walked out of the Qinzheng Hall. The man was tall and several people surrounding Wei Shaoqing immediately made way when they saw him, as if they were intimidated by his aura.
Wei Shaoqing instantly woke up when he saw the person coming, and unconsciously straightened his back and straightened his body.
Even after so many years, Wei Shaoqing still felt upset when he saw this person again.
He met the man's gaze, a hint of competition in his eyes.
But when his eyes fell on the dark purple court robes of the person opposite him, Wei Shaoqing felt a surge of resentment in his heart.
I only heard the people around me shouting in a tone that was very flattering:
"General Huo!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
