Chapter 582 Attending a State Banquet for Foreign Guests
When foreign envoys come to the court, a special state banquet is held.
Those attending the state banquet included imperial relatives, high-ranking officials of the first and second ranks, and officials from the Court of State Ceremonial.
Cheng Wanwan entered through the palace gate and was led to the Imperial Garden by Eunuch Ming. Seeing that everyone present was a high-ranking official, as well as princes and marquises, she understood why the Emperor had bestowed an official title upon her.
If I come to attend the state banquet as a sixth-rank Anren, I don't know how many people will criticize me.
Now that she has become a sixth-rank official, she is entitled to receive foreign guests. This is an honor bestowed upon her by the Emperor, but it is also a test.
If she hadn't made any significant contributions at the state banquet, her position as a sixth-rank official might have remained unchanged until today.
"People from Sui'an... oh no, now it's time to call you Master Sibin." Master Zhang came over, stroking his beard. "People from the Honglu Temple are sitting here. This is your seat. You can sit here after the banquet begins. If the Assab envoy speaks, Master Sibin will be needed to translate to facilitate communication."
Cheng Wanwan's position was at the very bottom of the Imperial Garden, about twenty or thirty meters away from the Emperor and Empress's seats, which was quite far away.
However, even though she was in a corner, she attracted the attention of many people.
Because when the court was in session today, there was an argument over her. A woman became a serious court official, starting from the sixth rank, and few men could tolerate it.
If it weren't for the Emperor's insistence on granting official titles, and if it weren't for the support of Grand Tutor Lin, Minister Zhang, and Minister Jin of the Ministry of Revenue, this matter would very likely have been nipped in the bud.
Several veteran officials gathered together, still somewhat indignant.
"The Emperor has truly been deceived. How could a country bumpkin from the countryside be fluent in the Assab language? It's absurd."
"But I heard that she translated a thick volume of Assab's history, which is undeniable."
"Even Lao Zhang couldn't translate this book, yet she managed to do it successfully. Don't you guys think that's outrageous?"
"That's a bit outrageous..."
Cheng Wanwan vaguely heard these words and silently drank her tea.
If she were an outsider, she would also find it outrageous, utterly outrageous.
However, she has already been acquainted with the Emperor, so she is not afraid of these people's doubts. We'll find out what she's made of later.
"You lot enjoy the benefits others receive, yet you speak ill of them behind their backs. You're supposed to be high-ranking officials, don't disgrace our Great Yu Dynasty," Minister Gong of the Ministry of Works suddenly spoke up. "See this human-powered fan?"
It was the sweltering heat of July, and even in the afternoon, the Imperial Garden was unbearably hot. Large hand-held fans were placed in the corners, with a basin of ice in front of each fan. Cool breezes came from all directions, dispelling the heat of the Imperial Garden.
Lord Gong snorted and said, "This human-powered fan was made by the people of Sui'an. If it weren't for their ingenuity, we would all be drenched in sweat by now."
Even with palace maids fanning the area, it wasn't as refreshing as this human-powered fan that brought a cool breeze.
The high-ranking officials fell silent. This human-powered fan did not originate from the capital; it came from the distant Huzhou. Even if they didn't believe it was made by someone from Sui'an, they had to admit that this human-powered fan came from the common people. Perhaps, there really were masters among the common people...
Being able to design a human-powered fan and knowing some foreign languages seems... reasonable... right?
While everyone was talking, the foreign envoy was led into the imperial garden by a eunuch.
The envoy from Serso Kingdom exclaimed as soon as he entered, "The Royal Garden is so cool! Oh, what is this?"
Lord Zhang was extremely fluent in the language of Serso, and immediately went to greet him, saying in Serso, "This is a cooling device from our Great Yu Dynasty, called a human-powered fan..."
The envoys from Asab also joined in, rattling off a bunch of things in their own language, but Lord Zhang couldn't understand them and couldn't respond. The envoys were getting increasingly anxious.
Cheng Wanwan walked over, cupped her hands and said, "Esteemed envoys, you have come from afar. You must be tired. I am the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, here to receive Envoy Asab. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."
"Greetings, Master Sibin. My name is Kenny, and I have a question." The man scratched his beard, "In your country of Dayu, can women also serve as officials?"
“Of course.” Cheng Wanwan smiled. “The emperor of the Dayu Dynasty is extremely enlightened. As long as someone is talented, regardless of age or gender, they will be given important positions. I am a living example of that.”
She would never tell these envoys that there was no precedent for women holding official positions in the Great Yu Dynasty before her.
Moreover, she would never say that she, the Sibin Lord, was just a nominal position and had no qualifications to enter the palace to attend court.
Diplomacy is about demonstrating one's national prestige invisibly, letting the other party know that the country is strong and prosperous, and cooperation will naturally come to fruition.
She smiled and pointed to the hand-operated fan, saying, "This was originally a ventilation device used in coal mines. Because it could generate a strong wind, the imperial court promoted it to the common people. Now, almost every household in the capital has one of these hand-operated fans. This fan looks simple, but it actually has a hidden mechanism. Look at the pedal that drives it, and the shaft here..."
"
Kenny exclaimed, "You know so much."
“Because I designed this fan.” Cheng Wanwan smiled. “Fortunately, your country Assab is located in the north, so there are fewer times of extreme heat, and you don’t need this thing.”
Kenny continued to marvel: "How can a woman like you design something so complicated?"
"Ahem, actually this thing isn't that complicated. In our country, there are many more complicated things." Cheng Wanwan began to speak modestly. "I am just a sixth-rank official. Above me, there are many first, second, third, fourth, and fifth-rank officials. They are the truly talented people in the Great Yu Dynasty and the pillars of our Great Yu Kingdom. The things they research are truly amazing."
The Assab envoys were completely stunned.
They knew that the Great Yu Kingdom was powerful, but they didn't expect it to be this powerful. It seemed that even a random woman was more powerful than their courtiers.
Seeing this scene, even the high-ranking officials of the first and second ranks not far away were stunned.
It turns out that the people of Sui'an really do know the Assab language, and they seem to be having a very pleasant conversation with these envoys.
They could not understand the gibberish at all, but they could figure out from the expressions of the Assab envoys that the Sui'an people must have said something that shocked these envoys. Their green-blue eyes were wide open and looked a little creepy.
Following Cheng Wanwan were two minor officials from the Honglu Temple, who were the young men who had helped her translate books.
The two young men could only understand three or four parts of the meaning. While they were still struggling to understand the meaning of the previous sentence, the next sentence had already been spoken. They looked at each other and decided to give up.
When the time was almost up, with Eunuch Ming announcing "The Emperor has arrived," a figure in bright yellow finally appeared in the Imperial Garden.
Following them were the Empress, the current Crown Prince, the second, third, and fourth princes, and their consorts—a large group of people who all came over and filled the top seats.
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