Chapter 560 The Empress's Summoning
After the matter was explained clearly, the emperor stopped asking questions and Cheng Wanwan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, they discussed the contents of Asab's letters, which involved translating them again. The Emperor was more meticulous than Lord Zhang and would double-check the translation to ensure its accuracy. Only after receiving confirmation from Cheng Wanwan would he allow her to translate the next sentence.
After translating the most recent letter, Cheng Wanwan thought her mission was over. Unexpectedly, the emperor stood up and took a book from the huge bookshelf. "This is a book written in the Assab language that the late emperor came across. Zhao Cheng, take a look and see if you can understand it."
Cheng Wanwan took the book with both hands. It turned out to be a history book about the imperial power of Assab country. It included a large number of place names, personal names, and dynasty names, and the language was purely ancient. It gave people a headache when reading it.
The emperor said calmly, "During his time in the capital, Zhao Cheng translated this book into the Daewoo Dynasty language."
Cheng Wanwan originally planned to return to Dahe Village the next day after meeting the emperor, but that would take at least seven days to translate the book. She couldn't translate too quickly, otherwise it would easily arouse suspicion. In that case, it would take at least a month, meaning she wouldn't be able to go home until July...
The emperor's eyes fell on her: "Eunuch Ming, go and arrange a house for the Sui'an people, and arrange for a few servants to serve them."
“Your Majesty, there’s no need for that,” Cheng Wanwan said repeatedly. “This book can be translated in about a month. I’ll just stay for another month. There’s no need for such a big fuss.”
A smile appeared on the emperor's face: "It might not just be an extra month..."
Cheng Wanwan didn't understand what he meant at first.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Lord Zhang said, "It takes about a month to travel from the capital to the Northern Frontier and back. When the Assab envoy arrives in the capital, the Emperor will arrange a banquet. The people of Sui'an are fluent in the Assab language, so they must attend."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
After receiving Assab's envoy, will she still be needed to handle the details of economic and trade matters, and will she be needed to draft contracts...?
Looking at it this way, we might not be able to return until autumn.
Cheng Wanwan was depressed for only a while before she finally came to her senses.
Cheng Zhao is now an official in the court, Sanniu is a soldier in the army, and Sidan will also pursue a career in politics in the future. If she works harder now, the children will have an easier time in the future.
Moreover, after arriving in the capital, she truly realized that the status of a sixth-rank Anren was too low.
Make contributions to the court, increase your presence in front of the emperor, and it will be easier to get promoted in the future.
“There’s nothing urgent to do back home anyway. Staying in the capital to share the Emperor’s burdens is a blessing for a subject,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “If Lord Zhang has any more letters that need to be translated, you can have them sent over. I’m just idling around all day anyway, and I hope to do more for the court.”
Lord Zhang coughed and said, "I have two young men under my command who are very smart and eager to learn. When the people of Sui'an are translating books, could you let them assist? I secretly hope that they can learn some foreign languages so that there will be successors to the Honglu Temple in the future."
Cheng Wanwan naturally nodded in agreement when someone asked for help with the work.
The two finished talking at the door of the imperial study and were about to part when a maid came in from the palace gate: "This must be Ms. Sui'an, right? This old servant greets Ms. Sui'an."
With a smile, Eunuch Ming introduced, "This is Granny Zhou, who serves Her Majesty the Empress."
Granny Zhou looked up and said, "Her Majesty the Empress heard that the people from Sui'an had come to the palace, so she specially ordered a banquet to be arranged to invite them to dine together."
In this era, the emperor is first and the queen is second. How could Cheng Wanwan dare to refuse?
The nanny serving the Empress was not someone a sixth-rank concubine like herself could afford to offend. She smiled and nodded to Nanny Zhou before heading to Kunning Palace.
Along the way, she was wondering why the Queen summoned her. The Emperor was quite friendly to her, so she thought the Queen was not deliberately looking for trouble.
Kunning Palace was the residence of empresses throughout history. It was magnificent and splendid, with jade towers and carved railings.
Entering through the gate, one is greeted by busy palace servants, and everywhere is blooming flowers, a riot of color. After passing through a garden, one finally sees the Empress.
Cheng Wanwan lowered her eyes and bowed respectfully: "This humble woman greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"Give the Sui'an people a seat." The Empress smiled broadly. "When did the Sui'an people arrive in the capital? I didn't hear a word about it."
Granny Zhou said with a smile, "This year's third-place scholar is the nephew of a man from Sui'an. He got married a few days ago, and the people from Sui'an came to the capital to attend his wedding."
"I see." The Queen nodded. "I have heard that Madam Lin is arranging a marriage for the third place winner, but I didn't inquire about it in detail. If I had known that the third place winner was the nephew of the Sui'an people, I should have arranged the marriage, and the bride's family status would have been higher."
"The Cheng family has been farmers for eighteen generations. My nephew's marriage to Miss Situ San is already a blessing earned in a previous life. How could I dare to expect more?" Cheng Wanwan lowered her head and got straight to the point. "I wonder why the Empress summoned me..."
"Look at me, I've been so busy talking." The Empress smiled. "Zhou Mama, have someone serve the dishes. I'll eat and talk with Sui'an Ren."
The palace maids brought out all sorts of delicious dishes, and the round table was filled with more than forty small plates. After the appetizers were finished, they were cleared away, and then the main courses were served, also with forty or fifty plates. After they had eaten almost all of them, desserts were served, and the table was still full... Cheng Wanwan silently counted in her mind that there were 128 dishes prepared for just the two of them. However, she was mindful of the rules and did not dare to eat much, only about 60% full.
She finally understood why Granny Qi always said she lived too frugally...
"I've heard of Sui'an's name for a long time and have always been curious, so I ordered people to guard the door of the imperial study. After chatting for a while, I learned that Sui'an is truly talented. She is only a sixth-rank Anren, which is indeed unfair." The queen sighed and said, "Although I am the mother of a country, I have never done anything practical for the people or the court. As the queen, I have no sense of existence among the common people... It's not that I don't want to do it, but I have never thought about it and I don't know if I have the ability..."
She had grown up in seclusion, and after marrying the current emperor, her daily routine consisted of giving birth and taking care of the harem. With so many women in the harem, there were always various struggles, and she simply couldn't spare the time to care about the court or the people... As the queen, she was the emperor's queen, the queen of the concubines, not the queen of the people...
She felt uneasy whenever she thought about this.
It was precisely because of this that she admired Sui'an even more. If a peasant woman could contribute her meager strength to the Dayu Dynasty, what was she, the empress, worried about?
From the Empress's soft sigh, Cheng Wanwan sensed the goodwill she was conveying.
This was the first time she had properly looked up and taken a good look at the Empress. As far as she knew, the Empress was thirty-nine years old this year, but because she was very well-maintained, she looked about thirty. She had a head of black hair, adorned with jewels, and had an air of authority between her brows, giving people a feeling of being unapproachable.
She glanced at him and then lowered her head: "Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to His Highness the Crown Prince and raised him to be so outstanding. The Great Yu Dynasty has a worthy successor. This is the Empress's merit. It's not that Her Majesty the Empress has no presence among the people, but rather that the Empress is the mother of the nation, and ordinary people dare not mention her..."
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