Chang Suining followed the palace maid into Ganlu Palace and first saw Ming Luo, who was wearing a female official's robe.
"Come with me." Ming Luo walked in front without looking at Chang Suining much.
Chang Suining followed her into the inner hall.
There was an ice basin in the hall, and palace maids were holding curtain fans to bring coolness. After just a few moments inside, one could get rid of most of the scorching heat.
Chang Suining saw the saint who was sitting on the dragon throne, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and with gray hair.
Just like she had done countless times in this palace long ago, she saluted him, but she changed the address -
"Your humble servant Chang Suining greets His Majesty."
The Holy Cemeter Emperor's voice sounded from above, and it was considered casual: "Stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chang Suining stood up, lowered his eyes and stood quietly.
"Although I have seen her several times in Dayun Temple before, I have never had the chance to take a closer look at the Chang family's lady." The Holy Ce Emperor looked at the girl and said, "Raise your head so I can take a good look at you—"
The girl looked up at her. Her fair face was slightly reddened by the sun, and there were traces of sweat on the hair on her forehead. Her eyes were exceptionally dark and bright, as if they had been washed with spring water.
But the expression on that face was calm and composed, without any emotion.
The Holy Seal Emperor, who was sitting on the dragon throne, looked down at those eyes and asked slowly, "Are you not afraid of me?"
"The sage is fair, and I am innocent." The girl's tone was also calm: "So I treat the sage with respect and not fear."
"You are so respectful and fearless." There seemed to be a faint smile in the eyes of the Holy Ce Emperor, "I am so fair and you are innocent - it seems that you guessed that I summoned you to the palace to ascend the Tai Tower."
Chang Suining did not deny: "Yes."
The Emperor of the Holy Ce did not rush to talk about Dengtai Tower. Instead, he looked at Chang Suining and nodded, saying, "She is worthy of the title of the most beautiful woman in the capital... It is rare to see such a combination of talent and beauty."
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise."
The Holy Ce Emperor took in her calm reaction and said, "I heard that you were saved by the late Crown Prince Li Xiao when you were young."
"Your Majesty, that's right."
"Ah Xiao is my own daughter..." The empress's voice seemed to be a little lighter: "In this case, you and I also have some fate."
Chang Suining lowered her eyes again: "This minister was only saved by the late Crown Prince by chance. I regard the late Crown Prince as my benefactor and would not dare to pretend to be related to him."
Ming Luo raised his eyes and looked at her.
The heart of a saint is unpredictable. It is a great honor to have a saint say the word "fate". However, if the other party takes the opportunity to accept it and responds with eager flattery, it is impossible for the saint to think highly of him.
Chang Suining knows how to advance and retreat.
In the past, she was deceived by the other party's tendency to fight with others, but now she gradually realizes that the other party may have a very deep mind.
"You are a grateful person." The Holy Ce Emperor praised him, and did not say anything more about the so-called fate. He just said, "Sit down and answer the question."
Chang Suining followed instructions and retreated to the drum stool beside him and sat down.
But the Holy Ce Emperor asked, "What do you think should be done about Madam Jie's matter?"
Chang Suining said calmly, "Madam Jie is a lady of the first rank conferred by the sage himself. It is not your turn to speak nonsense about her."
The saint asked this question, but it was impossible that he really wanted to leave it to her to deal with.
If you only listen to the surface of what he says, you may not even know how you died when you turn around.
"She has completely lost face and her prestige is irreversible. In fact, for her, this is already a heavy punishment." The Emperor of the Holy Book said in an ambiguous tone.
Chang Suining: "But I don't think it counts."
The Holy Seal Emperor looked at her.
"I believe that his loss of face and prestige is the inevitable result of his sinister intentions being exposed. At most, it can be said that he has accepted the truth, not been punished."
The Holy Seal Emperor looked at her and said, "So, do you think this is not enough?"
"It is not enough." Chang Suining said, "But it is not me who thinks it is not enough, it is Your Majesty who thinks it is not enough."
The Emperor of the Holy Ceremonies' eyebrows twitched slightly.
The young girl continued, "This matter is now known to everyone. The saint is wise, and this wisdom should not be damaged by Xie's mistake."
The eunuch who was bowing his head beside him had already changed his expression when he heard this - this lady from the Chang family...how could she speak so boldly? At first glance, it sounded like she was threatening the emperor to deal with Madam Jie! Chang Suining didn't realize how bold his words were.
Whether it is a threat or not, the Emperor of the Holy Ce will be able to tell.
The other party brought up this topic, and it was obvious that he wanted to hear her answer. If the other party was someone who would be unhappy because of just two sentences from her, then someone else would be sitting on the dragon throne at this moment.
After all, these questions and answers were just testing her.
But what happens after the temptation?
She still didn't know the Queen's intention.
Normally, since the other party's intentions were unclear, she should have played dumb and said nothing, which would have been a wise move - but everything she had done was already known to the other party. How could the other party not be able to tell whether she was dumb or not?
If you continue to play dumb at this moment, it will only arouse suspicion, which will lead to more endless temptations and unnecessary unknown troubles.
Therefore, she could have been a little smarter and bolder, at least in line with her past style.
After a moment's gaze, the Holy Cemeter Emperor nodded slightly and said, "You are right. I need to give an explanation to the world. I cannot let justice stop at revealing the truth."
The Xie family incident has become too big a matter.
Xie wanted to use the much-watched poetry reading to ruin the girl's reputation, but in the end the influence of the attention was like a knife, falling back on Xie himself.
The Emperor of the Holy Ce said solemnly: "Send someone to convey my order - Xie's behavior is immoral, and her behavior is no longer worthy of being a role model for women. I will remove her status as a first-rank lady of the state, and in consideration of her past noble deeds, I will temporarily demote her to a fifth-rank county lady, and order her to reflect on her mistakes and wait and see what happens next."
"I obey your command." The eunuch serving at the desk responded and retreated.
There was a brief silence in the hall.
Ming Luo looked at Chang Suining.
After a while, I finally heard the girl say, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"You don't need to thank me." The Holy Ceremonial Emperor said, "As you just said, I need to do this."
Ming Luo felt a chill in his heart.
The aunt's words were not meant to blame the other party for inappropriate words and deeds, but were obviously "frank" out of admiration for the emperor...
Because you appreciate each other, you no longer need those meaningless superficial words of favor.
This answer suddenly gave Ming Luo a bad feeling.
And the next moment, this premonition was confirmed.
"As expected, you grew up with Chang Kuo and his family. You are different from ordinary girls in the boudoir... You have more knowledge and courage, and some rare talents. I like smart girls. If I had met you earlier, I might have brought you to the palace to educate you like Gu An did."
Chang Suining didn't respond for a moment.
Was he brought up in the palace? Fortunately, Ah Li's temperament was not very eye-catching before.
"But it's not too late now." The Holy Ce Emperor looked at the girl sitting on the drum stool and asked, "I am in need of a female official to serve as a scribe next to my desk. Are you willing to come to the palace?"
Ming Luo was slightly surprised.
A female attendant?
To become a female official, one must go through a very strict selection, let alone such an important position as a female official in charge of the case...but her aunt just gave it to Chang Suining without thinking? Chang Suining finally understood.
She then asked why he had said those probing words just now, and it turned out to be because of this.
The emperor was not someone who needed a young girl to entertain him in his spare time. There were only two possibilities for him to summon her into the palace and waste so much time talking about her: one was that he thought she was harmful, and the other was that he thought she was useful.
Now it seems to be the latter.
Harmful things must be eliminated as soon as possible, and useful things should be used well. This is the case for all rulers.
"You can think about it carefully." Seeing that she didn't say anything for a while, the Emperor of the Holy Ce said, "You may discuss it with Chang Qing after leaving the palace, and then make a decision."
This little girl is courageous and intelligent.
What is even more rare is that although he is young, he has become famous among scholars after climbing Tai Tower.
If she met a useful woman, she would be very willing to use her. The selection of female officials was even simpler. As long as the number was within the rules, the officials of the previous dynasty would have no right to interfere.
Women were in difficult situations. Although it was honorable for women to be officials, it was more difficult and it was not easy for them to form cliques with other officials. Therefore, the emperor only needed to give them a little trust, and they would often be more loyal than the officials of the previous dynasty and would not easily betray them.
This young girl in front of me, who is unwilling to stay in the rear house, is undoubtedly an excellent candidate.
In her sight, the girl stood up from the drum stool and bowed to her.
Just when everyone in the hall thought that the girl was going to express her gratitude with great trepidation, they heard the voice say:
"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your kindness, but I do not have such ambitions."
There was not much hesitation in Chang Suining's tone, and the brief hesitation when he sat there just now was all pretended.
Wei Shuyi had talked to her about being a female official before, but it was true that she had no such ambition.
Ming Hou's proposal could not have come from his so-called love for her. In the final analysis, he just felt that she was useful. To put it bluntly, she was nothing more than a chess piece.
Where and how a usable chess piece is used all depends on the owner's words and thoughts.
As female officials, they were different from the officials of the previous dynasties. Their dependence on the empress would be even stronger, which meant that they had almost no room to say "no".
Why would she be so eager to become a bird in a cage when she hasn't accomplished her revenge yet?
Although the world is ruled by emperors, and this world is a huge cage, it is better to stay in the big cage first.
And then there is——
If they were together day and night, she was afraid that she would accidentally reveal some flaws and be caught by the queen.
By then, she would no longer have to be a bird in a cage, and would soon become a dead sparrow.
"Are you rejecting me just like that?" There was no anger in the Holy Cemeter Emperor's voice.
It is not right for an emperor to get angry because of a little girl's rejection.
"I just came of age last year." Chang Suining said, "I just became a disciple of the Emperor, and I haven't had time to read many books. I am impatient and unsettled, and I feel that I need to improve a lot. If I enter the palace now, I will not be able to perform this job, and I will only disappoint your majesty."
The Holy Ceremonial Emperor smiled slightly.
Of course, she couldn't believe all of these humble words.
This little girl has a certain dislike for restraint, and she can't hide it well...
Don't you want to be constrained by the palace? Don't you want to be restricted everywhere? It's human nature to want to be a free bird.
"It's a good thing that you are modest and willing to improve yourself." She said leniently, "I shouldn't force you. When you feel you are capable of taking on this responsibility, you can come back to me."
If at that time, she still needed this overly flexible-minded little girl.
After all, the situation in this world is changing rapidly.
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."
"Get up."
Chang Suining responded and stood up.
The Emperor of the Holy Ce sent someone to fetch the reward that had been prepared in advance to comfort the girl who was frightened by the incident in the Tai Tower.
Ming Luo stepped forward and handed the box containing the rewards to Chang Suining.
Chang Suining took it after thanking him.
As the hand was handed over, Ming Luo's gaze seemed calm and lingered on Chang Suining's face for a moment.
She was surprised that her aunt was willing to employ Chang Suining as the imperial court lady.
Chang Suining refused this, which surprised her even more.
What exactly did the other party want to do? Didn't he spend so much time imitating Princess Chongyue just to attract the attention of the saint?
If she didn't want to be a court lady, then what was her purpose? At this moment, she felt that she couldn't see through the other party's intentions at all.
At this time, an eunuch announced: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is outside seeking an audience."
The Emperor of the Holy Ceme nodded, and then looked at Chang Suining.
Chang Suining understood and bowed and took his leave.
The Holy Book Emperor looked at the figure of the girl who retreated.
If you are unable to protect yourself and are unwilling to accept the constraints of being under the protection of others... it is not easy to be a free bird with a loud and clear singing voice.
Chang Suining met a young boy who walked in the outer hall accompanied by a eunuch.
The robe that the young man was wearing was the one she used to wear.
Chang Suining stepped aside.
The young boy's gaze lingered on her for a moment as if out of curiosity, but he walked into the inner hall without stopping.
Chang Suining then raised his eyes and looked at the young man's back.
This is Crown Prince Li Zhi.
Although he was only thirteen years old, he was tall and thin, not much different in height from her, a sixteen-year-old girl.
I couldn't see his face clearly, but his skin was fair, and there were few ugly people in the Li royal family.
Chang Suining did not stay for long and left the Ganlu Palace accompanied by the eunuchs.
When they were halfway along the palace road, they saw a sedan chair approaching, so Chang Suining and the eunuchs stepped aside.
“Stop.”
When the sedan chair passed in front of Chang Suining, the person on it suddenly said.
It was the voice of a young man.
Moreover, Chang Suining had heard this voice before, so she looked up and saluted, saying, "Prince Rong."
"It is indeed Madam Chang. I thought I had seen it wrong just now... Madam Chang still remembers me." The Prince of Rong on the sedan chair revealed a smile. He seemed to want to get off the sedan chair and talk to Chang Suining, but when he glanced at the palace servants who were carrying the sedan chair, he seemed to be afraid that he would trouble them by going up and down repeatedly, so he stopped.
So he sat on the sedan chair and said, "I have also heard about the climb to Tai Tower the day before yesterday. I went to see the painting of tigers walking in the forest last night. It is really like a masterpiece of God. It really makes people..."
While he was speaking in a gentle voice, Chang Suining suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Gong Dao behind him.
The next moment, there was a burst of hurried horse hooves approaching.
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