Zhou Gu was right in his guess. As soon as Cui Yanjin got to the Nanchu Capital, its bustling scenes dazzled him.
He was quite a playful character and ran to the streets on the night of his arrival, taking a tour of three streets in Nanchu Capital before returning to his residence to sleep. The next day, he was out playing all day again, and it was the same today. Despite the darkness of night, he was still outside playing and hadn’t returned home.
Fen Ling and Ziye went to the Cui Residence only to find it empty, so they had to go outside to search for him.
Although finding someone in the massive Nanchu Capital wasn’t an easy task for others, Fen Ling and Ziye had no problems with it. They quickly found Cui Yanjin in a restaurant.
Despite his young age, he didn’t come to drink alcohol, but the storytellers in the restaurant attracted him. He was tired from playing in the streets and went into the restaurant for a rest while listening to the stories.
Of course, there was a type of alcohol in the restaurant with low alcohol content suitable for women and young people, and he had a serving of it. He felt satisfied sitting in the lively atmosphere of the restaurant.
When Fen Ling and Ziye came to find him, the storyteller was at the climax of the story. In the story, Dawei was fiercely attacking Heiya Pass, and as the city was about to fall, the Princess ordered the Second Young Master Ye to protect Lord Thursday. Just at the critical moment, the two sons of the Cui family descended like heavenly soldiers and saved the Princess from the crisis, which was told in a very vivid and atmospheric way, as if the storyteller had witnessed it himself.
There were men and women, both old and young, in the restaurant, and everyone was fully absorbed in the story, exclaiming in surprise from time to time.
Since ancient times, when royal supremacy was hooked up with romantic wistful elements, all genders and ages loved to hear. The deep companionship between Su Rong and Zhou Gu is just such a fascinating drama. This story has been told all over the world for so long now, people still like to talk about it. Neither the storyteller was fatigued nor were people tired of listening to it.
Neither Nanchu King nor Ye Xiang interfered as they also loved this play and did not consider it disrespectful to the Princess.
Cui Yanjin liked listening to this even more. He seemed to find fun all at once, planning to come back the next day to listen again. After all, wasn’t he and his cousin descending like heavenly soldiers that day, saving his cousin’s wife in a heroic way. He could brag about it for his entire life.
Needless to say, Fen Ling and Ziye also heard the story, gave each other a glance, found it precious, and sat down across from Cui Yanjin.
"Hey hey, you two are blocking my view," said Cui Yanjin. As soon as he finished speaking, he recognized Fen Ling and Ziye and grinned immediately, "Oh, it’s you two, brother Fen, brother Ziye."
"Little Yanjin, you’re having quite a lot of fun," Fen Ling moved his stool and hooked Cui Yanjin’s shoulder. "If I had known you were such a fun boy, I would have left the Royal Palace to play with you long ago."
So that he wouldn’t be caught by his brother-in-law, who now detests him for being too idle and unable to share the burden of court affairs with his sister, and kicked him to the Ministry of Rites to replace him.
"Hehe, brother Fen, brother Ziye, you guys are here too, right? Isn’t the play that the professor is talking about good?" Cui Yanjin whispered, "Shush, let’s not speak too loudly, or disturb the professor and hinder his performance."
Fen Ling nodded, thinking that it was fine to let him enjoy himself a little longer first. Otherwise, once he found out that he had to be on duty at such a young age, he would cry.
So, Fen Ling and Ziye joined Cui Yanjin for a meal and a drink, listened to the play for the day, and didn’t leave the teahouse until late at night.
"I’ll come here again tomorrow. Brother Fen, brother Ziye, will you come here tomorrow?" asked Cui Yanjin.
Ziye gave a sympathetic glance at Cui Yanjin but didn’t say a word.
Fen Ling, hooking Cui Yanjin’s shoulder, said, "Not coming. Do you know why we came to this restaurant to find you?"
Cui Yanjin, completely filled with thoughts about his and his cousin’s heroic rescue of the Princess, and how the Qinghe Cui family was greatly praised by the storyteller for nurturing talents and how powerful the two sons of the Cui family were, naturally couldn’t think of anything else. He naively asked, "I don’t know. Why? Don’t tell me you knew that the storytelling master here is good and you specifically came to listen to the stories?"
"No, we’re here to catch you," Fen Ling stated.
"Huh? Why are you catching me? I did nothing wrong," Cui Yanjin was dumbfounded. Was he breaking the law by listening to stories?
"The Imperial Court is currently in need of people and is short of staffing. Don’t you think you’re too idle? You’re not that young anymore," Fen Ling asked.
Cui Yanjin didn’t think so and replied, "I’m still a child."
"Don’t even bring up the word child, you’re much older than a child," Fen Ling purposely said, "If people knew that one of the young masters of the highly-praised Qinghe Cui family did nothing except play, don’t you think it would be too humiliating? What do you think?"
Cui Yanjin: "..."
Seems like it.
He looked at Fen Ling and asked, "Brother Fen, just tell me straight, what do you guys need from me?"
He wasn’t really stupid. Hearing this, he understood that something was off.
"The Princess’s husband, oh, in other words, my brother-in-law, your cousin, asked us to tell you that you will be working with me from tomorrow," Fen Ling finally revealed his intentions.
"Doing what?" Cui Yanjin naturally knew that his cousin had been promoted to the Princess’s husband. The announcement was posted all over the place, it was no surprise.
"Go to the Ministry of Rites. I’m replacing my sister’s husband as the fourth-ranking Assistant Minister. I’ve secured a sixth-ranking official post in the Ministry of Rites for you, mainly to follow me," explained Fen Ling.
"What?" Cui Yanjin’s mouth gaped open; he could swallow an entire egg, and his eyes widened. "You’re kidding, right? I am still a child."
"You’re over ten years old," Fen Ling reminded him. "Only those before ten are called children."
Cui Yanjin stuttered in shock, "Brother Fen, are you serious? Who has ever heard of a teenager entering the Imperial Court? And as a sixth-ranking official? You’re joking, right?"
He knew that a new Number One Scholar, if not highly valued and posted elsewhere, was but a seventh-ranking Sesame Official.
"I’m not joking," Fen Ling responded. "Before I came to find you, I specifically asked. The Ministry of Rites lacks a sixth-ranking official, and based on your military merit in resisting Dawei, you are more than qualified to fill this vacancy. The only downfall is your young age, setting a precedent for such a situation. Otherwise, considering that you saved my sister in a critical situation, you could even secure a fifth-ranking official position. Although there is no precedent, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. The Princess is newly established, everything is a new situation, and the court is not stuck in the rut when it comes to selecting and appointing talents."
If his brother-in-law entrusted someone to him, he naturally had to find a position for Cui Yanjin. He couldn’t treat him like a student. Doing all the work without any benefits, how could that be acceptable?
Cui Yanjin looked at Ziye and said, "Brother Ziye, can you pinch me? Can I really do it? I haven’t read many books."
"That’s not a problem. You just need to follow Fen Ling. Do whatever he tells you, as long as you don’t mess around, you won’t make any mistakes," Ziye thought Cui Yanjin could do it. Even though he was young and had little education, he was quite smart. With his friendly personality, he could easily connect with others, becoming close in no time. Once he entered the officialdom, he would just be transferring to a more formal play place, he would surely manage.
He added, "Besides, you could also make time to read more. Once we get back and meet the young master, I’ll ask him to hire a tutor for you, to read for an hour every evening after work."
Cui Yanjin: "..."
No! He had never exerted himself in school before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
