Chapter 333 The Great Court Meeting
On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head.
At the first grand court assembly after Emperor Jing ascended the throne, all officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital were required to attend.
Even with the Ministry of Rites sending the most urgent documents, they only managed to deliver the princess's ceremonial robes, not Ye Wan's official attire.
The main problem is that there have never been any female officials before, so it's unlikely that the official robes will be delivered anytime soon.
As for whether or not they didn't value her as a female official, the answer is naturally yes.
Ye Wan didn't care; it didn't matter what clothes she wore, as long as her official position was real.
Ye Wan simply dressed up as a princess and went to court with her husband.
The sight of the couple appearing together in the Golden Palace is quite a spectacle.
The good looks of these two alone are impossible to ignore.
As soon as Ye Wan entered, she saw her father, Fang Daru.
Fang Daru is now the Grand Tutor, so he is naturally present at today's court assembly.
The ministers looked at Ye Wan with varying expressions.
This is the Imperial Palace. No matter how much dissatisfaction there is, it must be suppressed before the Emperor arrives.
Of course, crickets are a must.
One of the imperial censors couldn't hold back any longer and said to the person next to him, "A hen crowing at dawn! It's simply outrageous! A woman holding office, what kind of decorum is this?"
"Indeed, this is tantamount to disrupting the imperial court; this is a scourge!"
Ye Wan had just finished greeting her father when she heard this and immediately went over to him.
"The adults are saying that I've been researching greenhouse vegetable cultivation lately. If I can grow it successfully, we can have fresh vegetables to eat in winter. The adults hate me so much, so please remember not to eat them!"
Lord Wei couldn't hold back any longer, "Those were grown by farmers, not by a woman like you. What are you talking about so arrogantly?"
Ye Wan smiled and said, "Oh, does this gentleman know that crops thrive on manure? The watermelons I sent to various prefectures before tasted sweet, didn't they? They were all irrigated with manure from my outhouse! I watered them myself!"
"You, you..." Lord Wei was furious.
When Yu Guangzhong first met Ye Wan, he saw how cunning and domineering he was and frowned, saying, "Lord Wei, why are you arguing with a young woman? You might as well lower your status for no reason."
Ye Wan said, "Did you hear that? You'd better not talk to me, lest I lose face."
Lord Wei took two steps back in anger, and the official beside him quickly supported him. "Lord Wei, what's wrong? What did Lord Ye say that made the great man so angry?"
Ye Wan said, "What's wrong? Are you deaf or blind? Didn't you hear it just now? There's no need to pretend to be confused."
"..."
Arrogant! How dare a mere young woman be so arrogant? The people around Ye Wan glared angrily at her.
Just as they were about to gang up on Ye Wan.
Fang Daru coughed lightly, "This is my daughter's first time in the court. If she has offended you in any way, it is my fault as her father. If you are angry, please take it out on me."
Why are you getting angry? The new emperor is going to hold a special imperial examination.
They were even hoping that Master Fang would give some pointers to their children.
The adults put on their fake smiles again.
The morning court session was almost over, and everyone went back to their positions.
Civil and military officials each formed a row, with new and old officials forming their own factions.
Fang Daru stood alone in a row.
Ye Wan followed behind Fang Daru.
"Attend court—"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
It was Ye Wan's first time seeing the morning court session, and she was quite shocked.
King Jing, wearing a twelve-tasseled crown, sat on the dragon throne and ordered his ministers to rise.
Among the group of men, Ye Wan was the only woman he could spot at a glance.
"Why didn't the Ministry of Rites send Lord Ye official robes? Does it mean they don't respect the official position I appointed, or they don't respect me at all?"
Emperor Jing's voice came from above, and Ye Wan had only one thought in her mind: Emperor Jing is truly a man who can get along well.
She had just had Eunuch Li and his men replace the glass for Emperor Jing, and then he came to support her at court.
It looks like she's going to have to flatter the dragon even more.
The Vice Minister of Rites hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Your humble servant is terrified. The Xia Dynasty has never had female officials, so I really don't know what style to use."
Emperor Jing said, "That's easy. I'll draw it out later, and you can just follow along."
Good grief, there's nothing more to say now, no need to say anything at all.
Emperor Jing was making it clear that he intended to take Ye Wan seriously.
They want to confront them, but they're not in a hurry.
King Jing emphasized only one thing at today's court assembly: to hold a special imperial examination in the spring.
Fang Daru was appointed as the chief examiner, and Lin Anyuan was put in charge of security.
We must select down-to-earth talents to fill positions in various regions, and reject none of those who are all talk and no action.
If anyone dares to cheat in the imperial examinations, let them all go to see their ancestors, from top to bottom, without leaving a single one alive.
No one dared to voice their opinion on this matter. King Jing was an emperor who personally led the army into the capital, unlike those emperors who were all show and no substance.
Anyone who goes against him will have to see how tough they are. If they're not as tough as him, then sorry, they'd better go see their ancestors.
The powerful families have no right to question this; they have been exploited to the point that they dare not show their faces, for to do so would mean certain death.
Ye Wan truly experienced the morning court session.
After the morning court session, she, Lin Anyuan, and several of Emperor Jing's trusted confidants were all kept behind to go to the Hall of Diligent Governance.
These trusted confidants had followed Emperor Jing all the way from Ganzhou. Ye Wan had been providing them with provisions for a long time, and they were extremely grateful. They didn't look down on her at all just because she was a woman.
Ensuring that the soldiers are truly fed and clothed is far better than any fancy decorations.
Led by palace servants, the group walked towards the Hall of Diligent Governance and saw the changes from afar.
"Am I seeing things? What is that? It's so bright, it looks like you can see your reflection in it!"
Upon seeing the windows of the Hall of Diligent Governance, one of the accompanying officials rubbed his eyes.
Another person spoke up: "This... could it be a mirror? My wife has one, and I heard it's the best-selling one on the market. It can reflect people very clearly. If we replace the window paper with a mirror, wouldn't it be pitch black inside?"
What's gotten into the Emperor this time?
The eunuch leading the way explained, "My lords, this is called glass. It was developed by the craftsmen under Lord Ye and is also a gift to the Emperor."
"Glass? I do know what glass is, but what exactly is it?"
Ye Wan smiled and said, "The adults will know once they go inside."
Everyone entered the Hall of Diligent Governance together.
Bow to the Emperor.
"Goodness, this... this is really bright."
"I didn't see anyone inside from outside, but when I came in, I saw how bright and clear it was outside. What a wonderful thing! Not a breath of wind gets in, and it's even warm when the sun shines in. This is truly a treasure!"
Following Emperor Jing's confidants, they disregarded etiquette and started touching him directly.
"Hahaha, that's the magic of this glass window. Those old scoundrels even objected to me using female officials. They should take a piss and look at themselves in the mirror... Humph."
Emperor Jing didn't say anything even harsher.
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