Yao Ran came here for this very purpose.
Although she lived in the Buddhist temple, the fact about the lady from the Chang family was too sensational, and the servants living near the temple were also discussing it secretly.
She heard some things in bits and pieces. Although they were not complete, they were enough to make her surprised and curious. She couldn't help but want to verify their authenticity.
Seeing her cousin's reaction, Yao Xia immediately smiled and walked over to pull Yao Ran over: "Then cousin, please sit down quickly!"
Next, she also turned into a storyteller, and her story was even more vivid than Wei Shuyi's. Finally, to prove the credibility of her words, she took out Chang Suining's letter and read it with great emotion.
The beauty of this situation is that ordinary people would never know about it. If they knew, this casually written letter would never have a chance to be published.
Yao Ran was so stunned that he seemed to have forgotten to even blink.
Her hands folded in front of her body unconsciously clutched her dress, her heartbeat thumping in her chest, as if she had suddenly glimpsed a new world she had never imagined, and an overwhelming amount of new scenery surrounded her.
After leaving the dining hall, even though Yao Yi had a myriad of emotions in his mind, he still personally sent his daughter back to the Buddhist temple.
Although he worked very hard as a mistress's father, he never neglected his duties as a father at home.
In the past, Pei looked down on the Yao family and also looked down on him, so she didn't want her daughter to be too close to him. There was always regret in the father-daughter relationship.
Later, seeing his daughter bear the fault of Pei and live such a hard life of atonement, he couldn't help but feel distressed and wanted to make amends. No matter how busy he was at work, as long as he could return home before dark, he would go to the Buddhist temple to talk with his daughter and exchange Buddhist scriptures and Dharma.
His action is to accompany and guide.
As a father, who would have the heart to see his own daughter spend the rest of her life in seclusion?
On the way back to the temple, Yao Yi smiled and asked his daughter, "…Did you figure out the true meaning of the things you didn't understand when you were reading the sutra the day before yesterday?"
The Buddhist scriptures he read and talked about also reflected Yao Ran's state of mind.
She said at this time: "I haven't figured it out yet, but after listening to Madam Chang's story just now, it seems that I have suddenly realized it."
"Oh?" Yao Yi looked at his daughter and was about to say something, but he heard her say in front of him: "Father, can I ask you a question?"
"Ran'er, just ask."
The girl's words were very straightforward: "Why do you treat Madam Chang so specially?"
She knew that there were still rumors in the community that Madam Chang was her father's illegitimate daughter. The reason why this rumor was like a fire that could not be extinguished had a lot to do with her father's failure to avoid suspicion.
In her opinion, her father's willingness to show respect was enough to show how special Madam Chang was.
The father and daughter were chatting, and the servants followed them from a distance. Yao Yi smiled and said, "Do you remember that father said before that he was looking for the daughter of an old friend..."
"My daughter remembers it, but didn't father say at the time that he had found the wrong person and had misunderstood her? The person he was looking for was not the extraordinary lady?"
"That's because it's inconvenient to tell outsiders..." Yao Yi did not hide it from his daughter, but he did not elaborate. Instead, he said frankly: "Father does not want to hide it from you, but before a person speaks out about her background, even though father is an old friend, he is still an outsider, so it is not appropriate for him to take the initiative and speak for her..."
Yao Ran heard this, thought about it and nodded slowly: "My daughter understands."
She stopped asking questions and just said, "Ms. Chang is really different from ordinary women."
"Everyone is different." Yao Yi said, "So is our Ran'er."
Yao Ran smiled: "Father, you don't have to comfort me all the time..."
She looked at the night sky and the stars and the moon ahead and said, "Madam Chang is unique in a million miles. She is rare in the world and it will be difficult for one person to be so different in a hundred years."
yes.
Yao Yi also looked up at the countless stars in the night sky. Each star was different, but it was undeniable that the one that everyone could see at a glance was always the bright moon.
But she is not as quiet and steady as the moon...she causes a sensation wherever she goes.
When she was in Beijing, he would always be worried whenever she fought with others...After leaving Beijing, he even went directly to the battlefield to fight with others, but he didn't beat people up, he killed people instead!
If this continues, Yao Yi feels that he will be scared to death sooner or later.
But compared to the unchanging stability, the thrilling experience always makes people see more unknown possibilities...
Yao Yi's mind was in a state of confusion until he arrived outside the Buddhist temple and stopped.
Looking at the deserted and simple Buddhist hall, Yao Yi sighed in his heart and said, "Ran'er, since you have comprehended that Buddhist scripture, you should know that there are thousands of kinds of predestined relationships in this world, and the choice before you is not just this one."
Yao Ran stood still for a moment, as if thinking about something. He seemed to have made up his mind. He raised his eyes and asked, "My daughter wants to write a letter. I wonder if your father can help her send it to Madam Chang?"
Yao Yi was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he didn't refuse.
…
At the morning court the next day, Yao Yi listened to the story of Chang Suining again from Wei Shuyi. Although he heard it again, he was still shocked - after all, his niece was a complete eye-catcher, and the way of expressing it would relatively reduce the audience's nervousness.
But Wei Shuyi was different. He just spoke straightforwardly, repeating the most incredible facts in the most objective words.
In the hall, the officials had different expressions, some were surprised, some were puzzled, and some were questioning.
It's not that all the civil and military officials in the court have nothing to do, and they are all paying attention to the affairs of a little girl and making a fuss about it, but that what the little girl did was too eye-catching, and this was not a private or family matter, but a state affair.
This little girl not only made a stunning debut, but also cut the chasm between ordinary girls and the court with one sword.
Li Yi's rebellion was complete, and he would be rewarded according to his merits afterwards. Her contributions were real and there was no way to get around it - if these contributions were true.
After some officials finished talking in private, they could not help but step out and say, "I wonder if what Minister Wei said is true? It is said that General Chang dotes on his daughter excessively. Is there a possibility that this is exaggerated?"
He Wei's death made people angry, and everyone knew He Wei's ability...but how could a little girl do something so easily that even He Wei couldn't do?
Could it be that Chang Kuo was intentionally trying to attribute all the credit for himself and his subordinates to his daughter?
"Madam Chang captured and killed Li Yi. I witnessed it myself." Wei Shuyi smiled and replied to the official, "I was not the only witness. There is no possibility of exaggeration in this."
Amid the discussion, someone asked, "Then...what about the killing of the general named Ge Zong under Xu Zhengye? Minister Wei certainly didn't see it with his own eyes, did he?"
If you didn't see it with your own eyes, why did you sound so confident when you recounted it just now?
The person who spoke this time was no longer Wei Shuyi, but the Holy Book Emperor who sat high on the imperial steps and had never expressed his opinion.
"This matter was clearly stated and confirmed in the memorial submitted to the capital by the son of the governor of Hezhou and the officials of Hezhou." The empress said slowly, "Ge Zong was indeed killed by the knife of the girl from the Chang family. Not only was Ge Zong beheaded, but her many contributions to Hezhou were also witnessed by everyone in Hezhou."
Finally, he said, "I have already sent someone to Hezhou secretly to verify the facts. This is true. The Chang family girl played an indispensable role in the preservation of Hezhou City."
The empress's voice was level, sounding only majestic and fair.
"This..." The official was speechless.
If she captured and killed Li Yi, or if Li Yi was injured on the way of escape and she was lucky enough to get the credit... then how do you explain the killing of Ge Zong?
It is said that Ge Zong is extremely brutal and brave. How could he possibly "get credit" when facing such a fierce enemy and in such a dangerous battlefield?
But if all of this is true, then how could a girl like her have such extraordinary abilities?
The discussions in the hall continued unabated.
The Emperor of the Holy Ceremonies watched this scene quietly, without the slightest fluctuation in his expression.
She could understand the uproar before her and the shock of these civil and military officials.
This kind of general who almost appeared out of nowhere, and is a woman—
Historically, in the court and on the battlefield, women's actions would always attract more doubts and face more resistance. She has always been very clear about this... This is also one of the reasons why she chose to turn A Shang into A Xiao.
Ah Shang, who disguised herself as Ah Xiao, ascended to the throne of crown prince. Although she encountered many obstacles along the way, at least no one could use the gender difference as an excuse to question all her achievements.
And now, she just used her original identity as a daughter and did exactly the same thing as before.
As a daughter...
So, did Ah Shang want to use this to prove to her that she was wrong before? Under the crown, the empress, whose hair had turned white in just a few months, closed her eyes for a moment, and when she spoke again, she interrupted the noise in the hall.
The empress had no intention of dwelling on this topic for too long. Today, political affairs were complicated, the situation was precarious, and there were more and more voices calling for uprising. Her mind was destined not to stay on just one thing.
So she brought up the issue of rewarding people based on their merits and asked the officials for their opinions.
Among the many different voices, there were also many people who spoke in an impartial manner: "General Chang and his daughter spared no effort to protect Hezhou, and put down Li Yi's rebellion in time. These two deeds are both great achievements and should be rewarded generously!"
As for how to reward, for a general like Chang Kuo who has already held the rank of first-rank general of cavalry, the reward is nothing more than gold, silver, land and houses. If it is higher, it is a title.
However, some people euphemistically said that Xu Zhengye's case had not been resolved and it was too early to confer a title on him at this time.
After talking about Chang Kuo, we naturally have to talk about the girl from the Chang family.
Someone suggested that she could be granted the title of county lord as a reward.
"County Princess?" Master Chu, who had been silent, raised his eyebrows and looked at the man. "Since he had made great contributions on the battlefield, even if he was to be given a title, it should be a military commander. What kind of irrelevant title is County Princess?"
Today she is a county princess, and tomorrow she will become a princess who is married to a foreign country!
This is the biggest reward for a girl who made great contributions on the battlefield? It's a joke!
"The position of a military commander... How can a woman take the position of a military commander?"
"Moreover, this girl from the Chang family is not a military member, and has never joined the army..."
"What army do you want to join?" Master Chu sneered, "I remember that the emperor issued a notice, which clearly stated that anyone who presents the head of the traitor Xu Zhengye, regardless of whether they are from a scholar or a commoner, will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of gold and be promoted to the third rank. Anyone who presents the heads of other culprits under his command will also be promoted to the fifth rank."
"How can Ge Zong not be considered one of the culprits under Xu Zhengye's command?"
The old voice of Master Chu spread throughout the hall: "It is clearly written on this notice that no matter whether one is born in the gentry or commoner family, it does not matter whether one has military status or is a man or a woman. Regardless of the merit of the Chang family girl in capturing and killing Li Yi, the head of Ge Zong alone is enough to confer the title of a fifth-rank general!"
The officials in the hall had different expressions and exchanged glances with each other.
Wei Shuyi's eyes moved slightly, as if there was a hint of smile in his eyes.
He was a close minister to the emperor, so he should not say too much when the emperor's attitude was unclear.
But with Old Master Chu here...why couldn't he help her get back the military position she deserved?
so……
Did you not want to be a court lady because you wanted to be a military commander? Well, if you don't want to be a court lady confined within the palace walls, then you can be a military commander who gallops freely on the battlefield.
Just as Wei Shuyi had expected, every word and sentence that followed from Master Chu was intended to "fight" for Chang Suining.
"Since ancient times, there have been very few people with great talents! Since it is a gift from heaven, why should it be divided by gender?"
"At this extraordinary time, this extraordinary talent has appeared. Isn't this a sign of God's blessing and great prosperity?"
"In my opinion, we should not only give rewards, but also give generous rewards. This will encourage talented people in the world to contribute their hearts to serve the country!"
"On the contrary, if merits are not rewarded, it will only make people's hearts wither. If such a serious mistake is caused, can those of you who oppose it because of your own prejudices afford it?"
“…”
Although the Taifu is old, he is still able to fight.
In other words, it was normal for the Taifu to "go crazy" in the court... The signs of this illness started when he took over as the Minister of Rites.
No matter whether the other party is an enemy or a friend, he will directly rebuke them if they say something he doesn't like.
Rather than saying "a new official starts with three big moves", it's more like "who cares? I'll just be demoted."
And enemies without weaknesses are often the most terrifying.
Since the Grand Tutor started going crazy, no one has been able to gain any advantage from him.
Besides, although the Grand Tutor is crazy, he can always give people the feeling that he can make sense out of his fallacies and argue head-on based on his fallacies... Often his opponents will be confused by him and can't help but reflect on themselves in the middle of an argument.
Furthermore, his prestige and reputation are here. He has the same length of experience as others and has countless students. His every word and action carries great weight. Moreover, the more stubborn he is that “we, the literati, will never go along with this corrupt world”, the more support he gets from the literati, officials and students.
Someone even compiled the old Taifu's controversial remarks into a book, which was widely circulated in the literary world. What was the collection? I can't remember the name... but it should be called "The Daily Life of the Taifu"! Whatever!
After all, she was just a little girl and a military officer. She might be like a flash in the pan and soon no one would notice her anymore. There are many examples of people who suddenly appeared in the world with a great success but then disappeared without a follow-up.
Now that things have come to this, if they continue to argue about it, it would appear that they are narrow-minded.
Those officials who held opposing attitudes sighed, bowed their hands, returned to their original seats, and stopped talking.
The dispute died down for a while, but the Emperor of the Holy Ceme did not immediately finalize the reward.
In other words, the arguments and opposing voices just now were exactly what she tacitly approved.
When the emperor does not want to make a decision immediately, he needs different voices.
Chang Kuo must have developed a rift with her, and it is even possible that he has already recognized his old master, A Shang. He no longer has any weak points in the capital... She still needs to think carefully about rewarding him and not be careless.
Preview of the next chapter: Taifu looks at paintings, Xiao Cui reads letters ~ Good night!
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