On the day Yunmo got married, the weather was fine and the sun was shining brightly.
Shen Wan was pregnant and could not go to the Yun family to see her off at her wedding. She felt a little melancholy, but she was still happy for Yun Mo.
Having experienced the misfortune of marrying the wrong person in her previous life, Yun Mo's marriage in this life is full of twists and turns. Fortunately, God is kind to Yun Mo in the end, and she marries a good man. Young Master Chen is a good person, and Shen Wan believes that he and Yun Mo can live in harmony and grow old together.
With nothing to do, Shen Wan sat on a small couch, embroidering a little bib for her unborn child to pass the time. Just as she was embroidering, Dong'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the servant who accompanied the Prince to the Chen family to deliver the wedding gifts has returned and says that not many people are going to the Chen family for the wedding banquet today..."
The fact that there weren't many guests at the Chen family's wedding banquet was actually expected by Shen Wan. In officialdom, people are always forgotten once they leave. Chen, the Vice Minister, was an upright official who did not participate in factional struggles. Once such an official went into mourning for three years, he would be forgotten somewhere. It was unlikely that he would return to the court as the Vice Minister of Rites after three years. Nine times out of ten, he would be given a similar position to fill. Without the help of important officials, the most likely outcome was that he would be sent to a post outside the capital.
After Madam Chen passed away, not many colleagues went to the Chen residence to offer their condolences. The fact that Madam Chen's funeral was so grand was only because Xie Jingyan asked the Eighth Prince to offer condolences on his behalf, which alarmed the Emperor. The Emperor sent Eunuch Yuan to deliver a condolence gift, and only after hearing about it did all the officials come to offer their condolences.
Now that Minister Chen has been away from the court for almost three months, and given that Young Master Chen is marrying a daughter of the Yun family, the relationship is even less favored by the public. Even fewer people will personally attend the wedding banquet at the Chen residence. Let alone attending the banquet in person, it would be considered generous of them to send a steward with a congratulatory gift.
However, it doesn't matter if the wedding banquet wasn't lively enough. The most important thing is to live a comfortable life. In his previous life, Lord Chen was Xie Jingyan's trusted minister. If Xie Jingyan could succeed, Lord Chen's future would be limitless. Sooner or later, these people would regret it.
Yes, Shen Wan was certain that Lord Chen would one day make those who looked down on him regret it, but Shen Wan did not expect that day to come so soon, today.
Almost as soon as Dong'er finished her report, Chun'er rushed in and said, "Your Highness, the Chen family has double joy today! Lord Chen has been reinstated after being released from mourning!"
Shen Wan was taken aback at first, and then, incredulous, asked, "Is this really true?"
"Such a big event, who would dare to spread it around?" Chun'er nodded repeatedly. "Just as Young Master Chen and Miss Chen were about to get married, Eunuch Yuan arrived at Minister Chen's residence with the imperial edict to sever ties with the deceased. In order not to delay the auspicious time for Young Master Chen and Miss Chen's wedding, Eunuch Yuan waited until the two had finished their ceremony before reading the edict. Moreover, after reading the edict, Eunuch Yuan stayed at the Chen residence to drink the wedding wine."
Shen Wan really didn't expect the Emperor to take away Minister Chen's position. After all, the court governs the country with "filial piety" and there are so many ministers in the court at the Emperor's beck and call. It's not like the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites has to be Minister Chen.
In the more than ten years since the emperor ascended the throne, this was the first time he had disregarded the wishes of his ministers. Shen Wan's intuition told her that something was amiss.
Not only Shen Wan found it unusual, but almost everyone in the court, including Xie Jingyan and Shen Jing, was surprised.
Civil officials observed three years of mourning, while military officers observed one hundred days.
Lord Chen, a mere civil official, was reinstated by the Emperor before he had even completed three months of mourning.
This clearly shows that Lord Chen is going to be given an important position in the future.
Today, I personally went to the Chen residence to deliver congratulatory gifts. The ministers who were attending the wedding feast all raised their glasses to congratulate Lord Chen. They were extremely glad that they hadn't been so obsequious and short-sighted, but had come to the Chen residence in person to attend the wedding feast. Now, those colleagues who didn't come in person, or even those who were stingy enough not to send congratulatory gifts, must be feeling uneasy when they receive the news that Lord Chen has been reinstated after being stripped of his mourning period.
Once the emperor appoints a minister to a high position, that minister will rise in rank very quickly. Minister Chen is already a vice minister, which is not a low rank. If he rises further, no one can guess what position he will be able to reach in the future.
Madam Chen anticipated that there wouldn't be many guests at the wedding banquet, so she only prepared sixty tables. Even then, she overestimated the number, and only forty-eight tables arrived.
The wedding banquet left Madam Chen with mixed feelings. Who would have thought that things would take such a dramatic turn for the better, with the Emperor giving the Chen family such a wonderful surprise? It was like a dream, as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky and landed right on their head.
The wedding banquet had already begun, and the officials, having received the news, were unable to attend. Those who hadn't sent gifts quickly sent their stewards to deliver them.
The wedding banquet still only had 48 tables, but it was more lively than other families with hundreds of tables.
After Shen Wan finished her afternoon nap and drank a cup of tea, Xie Jingyan returned. Seeing him enter the room, Shen Wan went up to him and asked the question that she had been holding back for a long time, "Why did His Majesty deprive Lord Chen of his leave?"
Xie Jingyan habitually hugged Shen Wan and said, "I don't know if it was Lord Chen's good luck or His Majesty's intention."
Xie Jingyan had been drinking, and Shen Wan turned her face away in disgust, but then, too curious, she turned her face back and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xie Jingyan said, "This morning at the court session, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites said something wrong, which displeased the Emperor, and he was demoted one rank."
"After court, the Emperor summoned his eighth brother to the Imperial Study to inquire about his studies and punished him by making him copy texts. The eighth brother begged the Emperor for forgiveness, saying that he and the Emperor had agreed that he would go to the Chen Vice Minister's residence for a wedding banquet that day, and he would copy the texts after returning from the banquet. The Emperor scolded him a few times and then agreed..."
After the Eighth Prince left, the Emperor was worried about who to promote to the position of Right Vice Minister of Rites. Eunuch Yuan said, "The position of Right Vice Minister of Rites has been filled by three people in just over two months, and all of them were recommended by the officials as the most suitable candidates for the position. Before Lord Chen went into mourning, he served as Right Vice Minister of Rites for two years and never made such a mistake as Vice Minister Liu. It's a pity that he will not be reinstated for long. He can only continue to serve the court and share the Emperor's burdens after his mourning period is over."
The Emperor said, “When Minister Chen was in the Ministry of Rites, I was indeed very worry-free. I can only ask him to prioritize the affairs of the court.”
Then the Emperor ordered the Hanlin Academy to draft an imperial edict to revoke the emperor's favor, which Eunuch Yuan personally read aloud at the Chen residence.
Shen Wan listened in a daze. It sounded like Lord Chen was just lucky. It just so happened that the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites committed a crime, and the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites became vacant. It just so happened that the Eighth Prince mentioned Lord Chen in front of the Emperor, and Eunuch Yuan also made a few remarks at the right time. But every step was just so coincidental, so it was more than just a coincidence.
Eunuch Yuan is the emperor's confidant and is best at understanding the emperor's thoughts. Lord Chen is not related to him and has no personal relationship with him. Eunuch Yuan has no reason to help him. Eunuch Yuan must have guessed the emperor's intention and is giving the emperor a way out.
But why is the Emperor in such a hurry to have Minister Chen return to his position as Vice Minister of Rites?
Lord Chen is neither one of the Crown Prince's men nor has he been won over by Xie Jingyin. Only Xie Jingyan values him. Now that the Chen family and the Yun family are forming a marriage alliance, Lord Chen is even less likely to participate in the struggle for the crown prince position.
A bold guess flashed through Shen Wan's mind, and she stared wide-eyed at Xie Jingyan, "Is the Emperor paving the way for you?"
Xie Jingyan frowned deeply, pinched Chen Wan's cheek, and said, "Is that possible?"
Before Shen Wan could speak, Xie Jingyan changed the subject, saying, "Tomorrow, your father-in-law will help your cousin go to the Prince of Yanping's mansion to propose marriage."
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