Chapter 559: The Emperor's Lie Exposed
early morning.
Cheng Wanwan got up early and sat in the courtyard writing the articles of association.
She had a rough idea in mind about donating books to the reading room. She needed to list out the details and then implement them one by one.
Ning Lan was grinding on the side, amazed in her heart. When she first followed An Ren last year, An Ren's handwriting was only average. Now his handwriting is getting more and more beautiful, fresh and elegant, flowing like water, with a bit of the style of a master.
As I was writing, there was a knock on the yard door.
Cheng Jia put down his broom and walked over to open the door. He was immediately startled and quickly saluted: "Greetings, Eunuch Ming!"
"This place where the people of Sui'an live is really hard to find. We walked around for ages before finally finding the entrance." Eunuch Ming swung his long Buddha statue as he walked in, bowing slightly. "I pay my respects to the people of Sui'an!"
Cheng Wanwan quickly put down her brush and stood up to greet him. "Eunuch Ming, it's been a long time since we last met. What brings you here? Is there something important?"
Lord Zhang had given her a heads-up before, and actually he already had some guesses in his mind.
"Last year during the Emperor's birthday celebration, the birthday gift from Sui'an is still fresh in our family's memory. The Emperor has always wanted to summon Anren, but unfortunately, the mountains are high and the roads are long, making it inconvenient to summon her, so the matter has been put on hold." Eunuch Ming said with a smile, "Yesterday during the court session, the Emperor heard from Lord Zhang that Sui'an had come to the capital, so he asked us to invite Sui'an to the palace for a chat. Sui'an, hurry up and get ready and come with us to see the Emperor."
Cheng Wanwan then showed a flattered expression and nodded, saying, "Please wait a moment, sir."
She went in to bathe and burn incense, then changed into a long brocade dress and put on a complete set of red gold headgear. Then she came out and said, "Eunuch, let's go."
If she had known she would be meeting the Emperor in the capital, she should have brought her court robes. But the outfit she's wearing now isn't bad, so she shouldn't embarrass herself as a sixth-rank lady.
In the past two days, Granny Qi taught her some palace etiquette, such as how to greet a person of high rank, how to greet a concubine or the empress, etc. Just in case, she took Granny Qi with her to the palace.
The old women that the emperor bestowed upon her were all maids who had served in the palace for many years. They mainly served the newly entered ladies-in-waiting and the late emperor's concubines. They had no specific masters and no family to worry about, which is why they were assigned to Dahe Village.
After being away for more than a year, Mrs. Qi returned to the palace with great emotion.
These unmarried old women would stay in the palace until they were sixty years old, and then leave the palace to live out their old age. She thought that would be her life, but she never expected that the Empress would arrange for her to go to Dahe Village. In that remote village, she experienced a different life. Now that she has returned, it is like a free bird returning to its cage.
With Eunuch Ming leading the way, the carriage entered the palace and stopped at Taihe Gate.
Mrs. Qi whispered, "This is the Taihe Gate. Early in the morning, the court goes through this gate and into the Taihe Hall. The hall behind it is the Zhonghe Hall..."
Cheng Wanwan looked up and saw the vast white jade square, with countless dragon, tiger, and lion stone pillars and a magnificent palace shining in the sunlight, appearing grand and inviolable.
At this moment, she felt the imperial power.
This is completely different from the feeling of visiting the Forbidden City in my previous life.
"Huian people, please come this way."
Eunuch Ming made a gesture and led them through the long palace corridor. After walking for half an hour, they finally arrived at the imperial study.
Eunuch Ming stood at the door and said softly, "Your Majesty, the people from Sui'an have arrived."
A majestic and steady voice came from the room: "Come in."
Cheng Wanwan took a deep breath, stepped over the threshold, and walked in with her head down. When a pair of yellow boots came into view, she immediately knelt down.
She placed her hands on the ground, resting her forehead on the back of her hands, and said respectfully: "Your Highness, your Majesty, your humble servant Zhao Cheng pays respect to you."
"Get up."
When the emperor's voice sounded, Cheng Wanwan kowtowed and thanked him, then she dared to stand up, but she did not dare to look up.
She was merely a wandering soul who had strayed into this era. In the past, she could talk at length about the emperors of various dynasties and comment on their merits and demerits, but now, being among them and feeling the awe-inspiring power of the emperor up close, she dared not be the slightest bit disrespectful.
"Sui'an, the emperor summoned you because of the Asab matter."
Upon hearing this voice, Cheng Wanwan realized that Lord Zhang was also there, and that there was a third person in the Imperial Study. She immediately felt much more relaxed.
She bowed her head and said, "This humble woman is willing to contribute her meager strength to the exchanges between the Great Yu Dynasty and Asab."
"The people of Sui'an have indeed not disappointed me!" The Emperor laughed. "Zhao Chengshi, I have some doubts. How did you learn the Assab language? I heard from Minister Zhang that you once met an Assab person in another place and got along very well with that person, which is how you learned some Assab language... But in the hundreds of years since the founding of the Dayu Dynasty, the Assab people have never been allowed to enter the country. How did you recognize the Assab people?"
Cheng Wanwan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
She had just made up an excuse to fool Lord Zhang, but she had never expected that the Dayu Dynasty would have such a policy. Her lie was self-defeating.
As the saying goes, "He who walks by the river will eventually get his shoes wet." Her first mishap was exposed by the current emperor, and she was completely convinced of her mistake.
No wonder Lord Zhang was only a third-rank official, while the Emperor was able to become the Emperor.
Lord Zhang also suddenly stopped.
He had been preoccupied with translation and hadn't given this matter much thought, but now, upon reflection, he realized that the Sui'an people's words were full of inconsistencies.
The Dayu Dynasty maintained good relations with neighboring small countries and allowed their merchants to enter the country to do business. However, countries like Asabbani were very powerful, and fearing that these countries might harbor spies, the Dayu Dynasty prohibited their people and merchants from entering the country. Otherwise, Asabbani's envoys would not have obediently waited outside the northern border. In other words, the Sui'an people would have had no chance to meet Asabbani's people.
Lord Zhang asked, "What exactly is going on?"
Fortunately, Cheng Wanwan kept her head down, so her expression went unnoticed. She quickly calmed down and began to speak: "When I went to Nanyang, I did meet a merchant who claimed to be an Assab. She was from the northern border region, and because of occasional wars there, her whole family moved there, making a living by doing business. Her grandmother was an Assab woman, and her father was a farmer from the northern border, so everyone in her family spoke the Assab language... Although the Great Yu Dynasty forbids Assab people from entering the country, the farmers who make a living on the border are too poor and miserable to find wives. Many local farmers intermarry with Assab people because the Assab do not have the custom of demanding dowries or bride prices..."
Cheng Wanwan's words were half true and half false. She was not familiar with the customs of the northern frontier, but she knew that historically, it was customary for villages and towns on the border to intermarry with neighboring small countries. This had become a common practice, and the local government generally did not interfere. For hundreds of years, there had been no major problems.
"Your Majesty, this custom does exist," Lord Zhang said with a bow. "However, the Assab people will not easily leave the border. This family's relocation is very strange. I will have someone investigate this matter."
Cheng Wanwan kept her head down very low.
You can search as much as you want, but you will never find anything because this family was made up by her.
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