Chapter 46 Seeking Advice
At the beginning of the new year, officials of the Great Zhao Dynasty had a five-day holiday.
Last night, an accident occurred at Chaoyang Palace. Shen Yanyu never expected that his wife would be set up by the heir of the Marquis of Ningde, and almost lose her reputation. Fortunately, the Crown Prince rescued her in time, thus preventing a terrible outcome.
Although they were moved in time, his wife still inhaled a small amount of aphrodisiac. Jiang Qingci, who came from a noble family, usually adhered to etiquette even in the bedroom, but last night she was more passionate than ever before.
Shen Yanyu liked her like this, soothed her emotions, and even indulged herself for a rare night.
I thought that since something happened last night, my elders would understand and I could take a break this morning. But I didn't expect to be summoned by His Highness the Crown Prince so early in the morning.
Shen Yanyu had no choice but to leave his beautiful and clingy wife behind, put on his official robes, and hurriedly enter the palace.
Today was a day off, and the Crown Prince did not summon officials to the Chongming Hall, where they usually held meetings. Instead, he set up a chess game in a side hall of the Chengguang Hall, waiting for him to arrive.
Shen Yanyu entered the hall, bowed deeply, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Highness."
The Crown Prince, dressed in a dark blue casual robe, slightly raised his hand and gestured for people to rise. "My summons was ill-timed. Has it disturbed Shen Qing?"
Shen Yanyu hurriedly replied, "It is my honor to share Your Highness's burdens; how could it be considered a disturbance?"
"You know it's not the right time."
"Qingci still wouldn't let go before I left."
The Crown Prince coldly curled his lips. If he hadn't been able to hear the inner thoughts, he would have thought that the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, whom he had personally promoted, was a self-disciplined and upright man. It turned out that he was just a worldly person who was indulging in the pleasures of the mortal world.
Shen Yanyu came from a humble background and was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination. The Crown Prince valued his uprightness, composure, and steadiness, which is why he was secretly promoted. Now, before he even turned thirty, he has already become one of the Nine Ministers.
Originally, all memorials from various parts of Dazhao were compiled and submitted by the Office of Transmission. However, now that the Grand Secretariat has become the administrative center, and since Emperor Chunming ascended the throne, he has also made good use of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, no longer relying on the Office of Transmission to convey the situation of the people and report on matters of state. The status of the Office of Transmission has been greatly diminished.
Although Shen Yanyu was not highly regarded, he was able to use his position to collect reports from all directions, broaden channels for communication, understand the situation below, and promptly investigate various acts of deception and concealment among officials and nobles under the rule of Emperor Chunming.
Outsiders only know that Shen Yanyu and Marquis Wuning are father-in-law and son-in-law, but they don't know that Shen Yanyu has long been his confidant.
Putting everything else aside, Xie Huaichuan's use of Lady Shen to sow discord between the ruler and his subjects was a brilliant move.
The Crown Prince glanced at him discreetly. Indeed, appearances can be deceiving. Dressed in court robes, Shen Yanyu was aloof and dignified, untouched by worldly dust. It was hard to reconcile this image with the gentle and passionate one in Yun Kui's dream.
The Crown Prince raised his hand, "Sit, Shen Qing."
Shen Yanyu nodded in agreement, and the two sat down to play chess.
The Crown Prince held a black chess piece, his phoenix eyes fixed on the chessboard. As he made his move, Shen Yanyu reported on the management of major disasters in several parts of Da Zhao last year, mentioning the names of several corrupt officials whose crimes had been proven. He also briefly mentioned the major cases handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the past two years.
The Crown Prince listened casually, and finally smiled and said, "Alright, let's not talk about official business today, let's just chat about family matters."
Shen Yanyu: "..."
"On such a festive occasion, you've come to the Eastern Palace to chat with the Crown Prince?"
The Crown Prince ignored him and casually said, "By the way, if I remember correctly, Shen Qing is twenty-eight this year?"
Shen Yanyu: "Yes."
Crown Prince: "Why did you wait until last year to get married? I remember that when you were the third-ranked scholar, you paraded through the streets with flowers in your hair. You were the object of many noble families' search for a husband, and even His Majesty's two princesses were interested in you."
Shen Yanyu's expression turned serious.
"So they were testing my loyalty."
He picked up a chess piece, pondered for a moment, and said, "I have been delaying marriage for two reasons. First, I am too busy with official duties to think about marriage. Second, I have not met anyone I like. I come from a humble background and entered the court only to realize my ambitions and benefit the people. Fame and fortune are secondary. I would never marry a princess or curry favor with the powerful and forget my origins in order to rise to the top."
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "So, Lady Shen is the one that Shen Qing admires?"
Shen Yanyu felt that the Crown Prince's words had a hidden meaning, and she didn't know why he suddenly mentioned his wife.
"Your father-in-law and brother-in-law both serve the Crown Prince. Could it be that Qingci originally intended to be chosen as the Crown Princess? And is it because of this that the Heir Apparent of the Marquis of Ningde deliberately used Qingci to frame the Crown Prince?"
However, he was certain that his wife and the crown prince had no past relationship that violated any rules.
Crown Prince: "..."
I never expected that a casual question would cause such a misunderstanding.
"Shen Qing, there's no need to be nervous. I was just asking casually."
The Crown Prince, not wanting to make things worse, simply changed his approach, saying, "It is I who am choosing a Crown Princess, but these years of fighting in the north and south have left me with no time for romance. I have heard that Shen Qing and her husband are very loving, so I wanted to ask for their advice."
Shen Yanyu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "My encounter with her was a matter of fate."
The Office of Transmission broadened channels for expression, allowing all subjects and citizens to petition for justice and report illegal acts.
When he served as a councilor in the Ministry of Justice, he received a complaint from the public, which exposed various crimes committed by the officials in charge of the almshouse, including holding their positions without performing their duties, embezzling government grain supplies, and abusing the disabled to death.
He presented the indictment to the Emperor, and after the truth was uncovered, the officials received the punishment they deserved.
Not long after, he received another thank-you letter, written by the same person as the previous indictment. The woman's calligraphy was delicate and elegant, and the paper was made with orchid juice and covered with orchid patterns. He held it to his nose and sniffed it, and he could smell a faint orchid fragrance.
In fact, he had already secretly investigated her identity when he received the charges earlier.
The origin of the stationery, the handwriting, and its connection to the almshouse... there are too many clues to find out easily.
He held the letter in his hand, sat silently all night, and confirmed his feelings.
Over the next three months, several families who intended to marry into the Marquis of Wuning's household were secretly plotted against by him. Some were exposed for having mistresses who were heavily pregnant, while others had distant cousins come to ask for a formal title. Upon learning the news, the Marquis of Wuning's household naturally would not let their daughter step into the fire and rejected these high-ranking families one by one.
Three months later, he personally went to propose marriage.
Shen Yanyu then told the Crown Prince about the letter, but as for how he secretly plotted against those families, he said it was unnecessary to tell outsiders.
Crown Prince: "..."
He had long known that Shen Yanyu was quite shrewd, but he never expected that even his marriage was something he had planned himself. Madam Shen was probably still kept in the dark by him.
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Madam Shen is kind and generous, and has a beautiful and intelligent heart. Minister Shen is very fortunate."
When he spoke of his wife, the young Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review's eyes softened with tenderness. He recalled the enchanting moments in the bedroom the previous night, his wife's shy and bashful demeanor, and her exquisitely beautiful face, which he had never seen before.
Especially when those slender, snow-white legs wrapped around his waist, even if he were to die on her body... he would gladly accept it.
The prince listened calmly to the filthy thoughts of this hypocrite, his fingers deftly placing a chess piece, his expression unchanged.
On the contrary, Shen Yanyu's chess moves were noticeably more impetuous.
"Let's finish downloading quickly and leave."
He was willing to give way, but the Crown Prince did not want him to have his way. The game of chess was so bad that it did not end until noon. The Crown Prince also overheard all the vivid and exciting scenes in his mind.
In the end, the Crown Prince narrowly won the round and finally stood up and said with a smile, "I have seen that Shen Qing and his wife are very happy together. Today I am the one who has disturbed Shen Qing and his wife's reunion."
Maintaining composure before Shen Yanyu, he cupped his hands and said, "Your humble servant is apprehensive."
"Finally, I can leave. I still need to buy two pieces of jewelry to take back to Qingci as an apology."
"Oh, right, we should buy some more sausage casings and ointment too."
The prince pondered the two unfamiliar objects without showing any emotion.
Back in the bedroom, the little girl was still fast asleep.
The two maids serving outside the door were worried about her life, fearing that her arrogance and favor would displease the Crown Prince.
"She made a huge scene last night, not only refusing to serve His Highness, but also daring to make him serve her while she washed. This morning, she didn't get up to serve His Highness his washing and meals, and actually slept until noon! How dare she..."
"She's not even an empress yet! If she behaves so rudely when the Crown Princess enters the palace, she'll be beaten to death, which would be the least of her worries."
"I wonder what rank Your Highness intends to assign her."
"If he were so favored, how come he doesn't even have a rank yet?"
The crown prince frowned slightly, coldly dismissed the man, and stepped into the hall alone.
Just as he was about to lift the lazy little girl up, he suddenly remembered Shen Yanyu's inner thoughts that he had overheard while playing chess earlier—
"If she's still not awake by now, gently kiss her along the ticklish spots on her ears and neck; that should wake her up..."
The crown prince glared angrily.
What a frivolous and dissolute fellow!
The finger bone lifted the curtain, revealing a soft, cuddly girl curled up in a ball, her small body nestled in the blankets. Her long, curled eyelashes covered her lower eyelids, her cheeks were rosy, her nose was delicate, and her lips were bright red.
The prince swallowed hard, leaned forward, brushed aside the stray hairs by her ear, and gently kissed the flawless white skin of her earlobe.
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