Lu Anhao was speechless for a long while.
Ye Guixue smiled at him. "Lord Lu, what’s this expression of yours?"
Lu An startled awake and immediately clasped his hands together joyfully, "Many thanks to the Princess, many thanks to Lord Ye, your servant is willing, your servant is very much willing to go to the Ministry of Personnel."
Su Rong nodded, "That’s good then."
She smiled and asked Lu An, "So, there are no problems now, right?"
"No, none." Lu An shook his head.
Su Rong stopped concerning herself with him and continued on her way.
Lu An raised his cup in a toast to Ye Guixue, "Lord Ye, a toast to you?"
Ye Guixue nodded with a smile and clinked his cup with Lu An’s.
As Lu An swallowed a mouthful of wine, he saw that Ye Guixue hadn’t walked away immediately, so he leaned in closer to him and said in a low voice, filled with a desire to confide, "Lord Ye, is the Princess so easy to talk to?"
He was shocked, for among the rumors throughout the court and country, there was not one that suggested the Princess was easy to talk to.
Ye Guixue countered with a question, "What do you think?"
Lu An scratched his head, "I think the Princess is truly kind." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Ye Guixue laughed, "The Princess is naturally kind, but being easy to talk to is another matter, it depends on the issue. Like this matter of yours, it’s not a matter of principle in the eyes of the Princess. Considering your talent, she naturally treats you leniently."
Lu An suddenly understood and asked quietly, "May I ask Lord Ye, what counts as a matter of principle? Is it something that would endanger the rivers and mountains? Or maybe...", he tentatively guessed, "is it not allowed to accept bribes? Not allowed to draw court officials to one’s side? Not allowed to use power for personal gain?"
Ye Guixue laughed, "Threatening the rivers and mountains is, of course, a major issue that must not be committed. As for the latter issues you mentioned, it depends on the gravity and extent of the actions. If they are minor indiscretions, the Princess, of course, won’t persist in punishing you, as clear water has no fish. The Princess doesn’t expect everyone to be as clean as a whistle, and of course, being clean as a whistle doesn’t necessarily make one a good official either. Zhou Gu has to see how to conclude. In short, as long as you don’t violate the laws of Nanchu, don’t buy or sell official titles, don’t commit felonies, and don’t harm the common people, even if you have small blemishes, the Princess can be tolerant, for to her, these don’t touch upon matters of principle."
Lu An was half understanding, half confused, but continued to seek knowledge, "May Lord Ye enlighten me further, besides these, are there any other matters?"
"There is, one most important point: do not offend the Princess’s husband," Ye Guixue said: "For example, you or someone in your family wishes to seek favour with the Princess to enter the Royal Palace and serve the King, or, more directly, to seek favour with the Princess’s husband..."
Lu An’s eyes widened, "Stop, stop, stop, Lord Ye, your subordinate wouldn’t dare, what you’re speaking of, I wouldn’t dare even if it killed me."
He just wanted to become a close official to the Princess, not a royal consort.
"That’s good to hear. Since you asked, I’m just giving you a heads-up," Ye Guixue saw that Lu An was so scared that he had gone pale, which he found amusing.
Lu An patted his chest, let out a long sigh, and said in a low voice, "Lord Ye, I understand now, the most important principle of the Princess is the Princess’s husband."
"Hmm."
Lu An whispered again, "Then why didn’t the Princess assign me to the Ministry of Revenue, where the Princess’s husband is?" After he finished speaking, he immediately apologized, "Lord Ye, please forgive me. I think the Ministry of Personnel is excellent, it’s just that—this isn’t just idle talk—after hearing what you said, I became curious and had to ask."
Wouldn’t it be safer for him to cling to the Princess’s husband and mingle in the Royal Capital’s officialdom?
"Because the Ministry of Revenue currently has many capable people, and you, being a second-class postman, would find it difficult to stand out in the short term," Ye Guixue didn’t mind and explained with a smile, "The Princess probably finds you quite agreeable, so she placed you in the Ministry of Personnel where I am, so you could be put to use sooner."
He pointed out, "The Ministry of Revenue doesn’t just have the Princess’s husband, but also Duke Cui’s legitimate grandson, Cui Xingzhi, and Ning Ze, the second son from the Marquis Nanping Residence who followed the Princess from Daliang, as well as Chu Duan from the Royal Family, who is talented and was selected by the Princess, someone whom the Princess’s husband personally tutored, and who didn’t participate in the imperial examination but was directly admitted to court. If you went there, with so many ahead of you in line, you wouldn’t have a chance to rise even if you worked diligently for three to five years."
Lu An understood and was suddenly moved, "Wow, the Princess is really kind."
Ye Guixue watched him and wanted to laugh, "The Ministry of Revenue controls Nanchu Dynasty’s funds. Now that it has enough talent, the Princess naturally prioritizes it. The Ministry of Personnel is also lacking people badly. I’ve asked her for help several times, but she only gave me one Zhang Mao. So now, all those good vacancies in the Ministry of Personnel are on a first-come, first-served basis."
Lu An’s eyes lit up, "Lord Ye, from now on, I will take you as the leader."
Ye Guixue glanced at Su Rong and replied with a smile, "Don’t you want to be a close official to the Princess? Just be loyal to the Princess."
Lu An coughed, "Yes, yes, yes."
Su Rong was talking with Nangong Ya.
Nangong Ya was looking at Su Rong, clearly very excited. With a radiant smile, she shared her feelings at that moment, "Princess, I feel like I’m dreaming. I never thought that one day, I could stand in the Golden Hall just like the men."
Su Rong smiled gently, "I never thought that one day I’d come to Nanchu to be the Princess either."
Nangong Ya’s eyes widened immediately, "Really?"
"Mhm," Su Rong nodded, "My biggest idea before was to run away from home one day and never have to be chased around with a feather duster by my mother every day, or to have her want to twist my ear and preach at me, instructing me not to fight and get injured or to squander my dowry, worrying that I’d end up being married off to the Duke Residence, causing people to laugh at me. At that time, I didn’t even dare to think about marrying into the Duke Residence as the Fourth Young Master Zhou’s wife."
Nangong Ya blinked rapidly, her eyes looking over to Zhou Gu, who was talking with Ye Xiang and Duke Cui at the head seat, thinking about the plethora of rumors about the Princess and the Princess’s husband, including the one where the Princess personally called off her marriage.
Su Rong wanted to laugh, "Back then, I didn’t know my real identity. I was just a little common girl from Jiangning County of Daliang, right? Although I didn’t think poorly of myself and didn’t see my status as low, I still had the self-awareness that I couldn’t possibly match the highly favored Fourth Young Master Zhou of the Daliang Duke of Protectorate’s Mansion. Sooner or later, they were bound to call off the engagement with me. Whenever I argued with my mother, I told her that I would marry a Scholar in the future, a truly suitable match."
Nangong Ya averted her gaze and whispered, "But I heard that later on, you personally went to the Duke Residence to call off the engagement."
It was hard to imagine that the Princess’s initial desire was to marry a Scholar. Nangong Ya’s own dreams seemed similar at one time.
"Mhm." Su Rong sighed with a smile, "Later on, I learned of my true identity, and it would have been better never to have known. Ah, to wear the crown is to bear its weight. Thus, in life, one never knows what the future holds."
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