Su Rong, beautiful as she was, looked even more stunning in the ceremonial attire of the Princess.
Zhou Gu thought to himself, fortunately, there was already a marriage agreement, or else he’d feel very insecure. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink, because he knew all too well the allure and power of beauty. If he didn’t have the status of being her fiancé, numerous young lords and court officials would be drawn to her.
After breakfast, Zhou Gu reached out for Su Rong’s hand as they left the room.
Su Rong turned to him, saying, "Who was it that just said that holding hands in court was improper?"
Zhou Gu readily admitted, "I said that."
"So...?"
"But I think you’re right. It’s necessary. I’ll follow your lead."
Su Rong: "..."
Are men really this fickle?
She let Zhou Gu lead her towards the Jinluan Hall, bathed in the soft light of the breaking dawn.
With Zhou Gu’s urging, they managed to arrive not too late. There was still some time left before the morning court session, but the court officials were already there.
Compared with the officials who welcomed them at the city gate earlier, today’s imperial court had a few additions - officials brought back from Heiya Pass by Su Rong. On their way back to the capital city, Ye Xiang and Nanchu King received the list of meritorious officials. Ye Xiang spent the previous day discussing the official positions with a few senior ministers. When Su Rong was sleeping in the afternoon, the list was carefully examined and confirmed by the King.
Seeing the couple arrive hand in hand, the normally chatty officials fell silent and bowed to Princess and Lord Zhou.
Su Rong waved them off with a light laugh, "No need for formalities, gentlefolk."
She had not taken close notice of these court officials yesterday. Today, she noted half of them had gray hair due to old age. Mid-aged officials were quite few, with the younger ones mainly led by Ye Guixue and Ye Guiyan, with Qin Ruo leading the group of officials promoted by Su Rong.
Cui Yanjin, being too young, was not officially appointed and did not attend court.
Zhang Yun, Zhang Mao, Ning Ze, Cui Xingzhi, Jiang Zhu, and other military leaders remained on the frontline to accept surrender and perform other follow-up tasks. After returning to the royal capital, they would add at least a dozen more people to the imperial court.
Yet, considering the age of the older group of officials, they might only last a few more years before retirement. Su Rong realized the future of Nanchu was laden with heavy responsibilities. No wonder her father was so determined to hold onto the old Minister of Rites.
The elderly minister stood among the others, his hair white. Even she felt uncomfortable making use of someone so old. No wonder he wanted to retire. And it was no wonder Zhou Gu said that if the old minister retired, it would be hard for him to leave as well.
She took the time to survey the court officials, making note of their stance and corresponding positions. She had studied the notable court officials in Nanchu while being in the Eastern Palace as Crown Prince’s consort. After arriving in Nanchu, she hadn’t had much time because of the warfare. However, after they had negotiated peace with Dawei and on the way back to the capital, Ye Guixue had given her a detailed account of the conduct of each official. Now that she could match faces with positions, she had a fairly clear grasp of matters.
After the purge from Nangong Family and Liu’an Prince’s rebellion, those who could stand in this court, even if they hadn’t properly done their parts, at least they hadn’t revolted.
After taking a good look at everyone, Su Rong, still smiling, led Zhou Gu forward.
Zhou Gu thought his rightful place should be behind the Minister of Rites, but Su Rong dragged him forward even as he was trying to let go of her hand.
Zhou Gu whispered, "Su Rong, we’ve passed where I am supposed to stand."
"No, we haven’t." Su Rong reminded him, "Don’t forget, you are first a princess’s husband-to-be, then the Assistant Minister of Rites."
Zhou Gu: "..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Is that how it works?
But being the Princess’s husband is not an official position, right?
Regardless, Su Rong believed that her husband-to-be should stand by her side, at the front, so that the court officials could fully understand Zhou Gu’s importance to her. Once she ascended the throne, the King’s Consort would also share the responsibility of governing the kingdom, taking a place up there with her. It was better for all of them to adapt to this sooner.
So, everyone witnessed Zhou Gu being pulled to the front by Su Rong. Su Rong personally escorted Zhou Gu to Ye Xiang, who stood at the head of the court, smiling as she said, "Ye Xiang, I entrust my fiancé to you for guidance."
Being the man he was, Ye Xiang immediately understood what Su Rong meant. He immediately responded, "Princess, where is this coming from? I am old, and Fourth Lord is young and talented, I dare not comprehend this guidance."
"No problem, just go ahead and guide him." Su Rong stuffed Zhou Gu behind him.
Ye Xiang: "..."
Is this really how it’s done?
Zhou Gu’s ears turned red. While he subtly wanted everyone to know his status as Su Rong’s future husband and reinforce this recognition, he did not anticipate that Su Rong would so blatantly install him behind Ye Xiang. He was uncertain who previously occupied this seat, maybe Liu’an Prince or one of Nangong’s party. After all, apart from Ye Xiang, who was the head of all officials, there was the powerful Nangong Yin from the in-laws. If one person occupied the top rank in both columns, the second rank must belong to a significant court official.
Now, since there was no suitable person to occupy the position behind Ye Xiang, it was vacant. Thus, Su Rong placed him there.
Alright, he admitted, his position as an Assistant Minister of Rites with a fourth rank may not have been enough to merit this particular place, but his position as Princess’s husband did fit the spot.
All he could do was bow to Ye Xiang formally, "Ye Xiang, I look forward to your guidance in the future."
Ye Xiang cringed inwardly but had no choice but to respond on the surface, "Lord Zhou is too modest, no problem."
When facing Zhou Gu, his answer shifted from ’dare not’ to ’no problem’, hence acquiescing to Su Rong’s proposition.
Upon securing Zhou Gu’s place, Su Rong took her place at the first oppositional spot, once occupied by Nangong Yin.
Nanchu King arrived soon after. He used to be late to the morning court sessions as he disliked participating in them, however, today he arrived much earlier. As the herald announced his arrival, Nanchu King entered the Jinluan Hall.
Upon entering, he immediately saw Su Rong standing in the lead position, and Zhou Gu behind Ye Xiang. Nodding approvingly, he took his seat with a smile.
Today, Nanchu King was in high spirits. After he was seated, he first told the court officials they were dismissed, and then addressed the Minister of Rites, "Minister, shouldn’t the Ministry of Rites have made ceremonial robes for the Princess’s husband as well?"
The Princess’s husband-to-be, standing behind Ye Xiang, should not only wear the robes of a fourth-ranked official. He should wear his Princess’s husband robe.
The Minister of Rites responded, trembling, "Your majesty, it has been prepared. However, in the absence of your royal decree, the Ministry has not instructed anyone to deliver it to Lord Zhou."
Nanchu King nodded, "As long as it’s ready. I will issue the decree right away and you may deliver it to Zhou Gu once the court adjourns today."
The Minister of Rites agreed.
Having settled that, Nanchu King waved his hand, "Li He, read out my royal decree!"
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