Yan Qingqing immediately opened the box, inside was a jade plaque with the words "Mingzhao" carved on it.
Yan Qingqing touched it with her hand, and it was surprisingly warm to the touch.
Yan Qingqing asked in surprise, "Is this warm jade?"
Xiao Mochen nodded and said, "I've heard that warm jade is very good for a person's health, especially for women."
Furthermore, with her aunt's rank rising higher and higher, using this jade pendant as a personal keepsake is the perfect choice.
Moreover, I carved the words on it myself; I hope Auntie will like it.
Yan Qingqing was deeply moved. At least Xiao Mochen cared about her, and their relationship wasn't entirely about exchanging benefits and power.
Yan Qingqing closed the box and looked at Xiao Mochen, saying, "Mochen is so thoughtful, much better than Xiang Ping and the others. Auntie likes him very much."
Xiao Mochen smiled even more gently upon hearing Yan Qingqing's praise.
I thought to myself that this is the proper response an elder should give when a younger person presents a gift.
He recalled that when he used to give gifts to his mother, if the gift was expensive, she would scold him for being extravagant, and if the gift was cheap, she would not like it.
But the eldest prince was different. No matter what gift he gave, the Empress Dowager thought it was good and regarded it as a treasure.
His gifts were either carelessly discarded or locked away in the storeroom, waiting to be given away.
Yan Qingqing chatted with Xiao Mochen for a few more minutes, and after learning that he had gone to the prefectural city to handle some matters these past few days, she changed the subject and said, "Mochen, your aunt would like to ask you something."
Xiao Mochen smiled and said, "What is it? Please ask, Aunt."
Yan Qingqing then recounted how the emperor had bestowed upon him the title of Mingzhao Shuoren, but also granted him the rank of a third grader.
She had no experience with the imperial court and didn't quite understand the situation in the Great Yan Dynasty.
As the emperor's legitimate son, Xiao Mochen's political acumen is certainly much stronger than hers.
Moreover, given Yan Qingqing's current rank and the fact that she will be going to the capital in the near future, it wouldn't hurt to ask Xiao Mochen for information.
Xiao Mochen laughed after hearing Yan Qingqing's words, "It's rare for the old man to be so generous, so Auntie, you can rest assured."
Given my aunt's merits, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to bestow upon her the title of a third-rank lady. I suspect that someone in the court is against it, feeling that it would be unreasonable not to reward my aunt for such great contributions.
That's why they came up with this compromise: giving her the rank of a third-grade official but the title of a fourth-grade official.
In truth, Xiao Mochen was also somewhat conflicted. He wanted the emperor to bestow upon Yan Qingqing a higher honor, but he was also afraid that if the emperor granted her too high a rank now, there would be no room for him to further elevate her status in the future.
Finally, Yan Qingqing inquired about the situation in the Great Yan Dynasty from Xiao Mochen.
I learned that the capital city is currently divided into four major families: the Pei family, the Ling family, the Ji family, and the Qian family.
These four families all contributed to the founding emperor's rise to power.
The Pei and Ling families are both military families, and this lineage has continued for three generations since the time of Emperor Taizu.
The Pei family was Xiao Mochen's maternal family, and they were military generals for generations. In particular, Xiao Mochen's maternal grandfather had been guarding the southern border for many years and commanded an army of 300,000.
When Xiao Mochen's mother was made empress, the royal family also intended to win over the Pei family.
The Ling family is also a family of military generals, but the Ling family is different from the Pei family.
The Ling family also produced civil officials, but none of them held important positions in the court. Most, like Ling Ziyuan, were simply demoted to minor county magistrates. The highest-ranking among them was only a third-rank official, serving as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Personnel.
This is also where the head of the Ling family is clever.
Not to mention the historical rivalry between civil and military officials, if a family as large as the Ling family had high-ranking civil and military officials who controlled the government, even the emperor would probably not tolerate them.
Both the Ji and Qian families were civil officials; most of the high-ranking officials in the six ministries of the imperial court, and even the imperial tutors and prime ministers, came from these two families.
Not only in the previous dynasty, but even many of the concubines in the imperial harem came from the Ji and Qian families.
However, in recent years, the ambitions of the Qian and Ji families have grown, and their control over the government has led to numerous cases of corruption.
What angered the emperor most was that some of them had even started to take sides.
The reason why the eldest prince and Consort Yu dared to act so blatantly was undoubtedly due to the support and instigation of these two families.
The emperor was willing to reform them, but it was not something that could be done overnight. In addition, there were past favors between them, so his attitude towards them softened considerably.
However, in Xiao Mochen's opinion, the emperor should act swiftly and decisively to eradicate them completely.
After listening to Xiao Mochen's analysis of the political situation, Yan Qingqing gained a general understanding.
Even if she goes to the capital later, at least she will be mentally prepared.
After chatting with Xiao Mochen, Yan Qingqing took the gifts and returned to her own courtyard.
Back in her room, Li Xiangping and Li Xiang'an were both there, enjoying themselves immensely as they chatted and drank tea.
Seeing that the two brothers were able to get together, Yan Qingqing smiled and teased, "What brings you two here today? Did you come to my room just for tea?"
Li Xiang'an smiled and replied, "Mother is right. It's all because of the good tea here. We secretly asked Ruyi to brew a pot for us when Mother wasn't around."
Yan Qingqing glanced at him disdainfully upon hearing this. Li Xiang'an had always been glib and smooth-talking since he started doing business, and he just spouted off without thinking.
Li Xiangping scratched his head and replied honestly, "I just wanted to talk to Mother about something, and I happened to run into my second brother, so I thought we'd come together to see Mother."
Why did Mother take so long to go to Dayang Village to check on the laundry workshop?
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Actually, I came back a long time ago, but when I just entered the house I heard that Mo Chen was back, so I went to the road to see him."
Li Xiangping echoed, "Yes, I'll have to go and thank Mo Chen properly later."
As soon as he returned, he sent someone with a jade peace lock as a full-month gift for Dazhuang.
Although I don't know much about jade, the texture and color of that jade are of excellent quality.
Moreover, the carving was exquisite; Hui Niang was captivated by it and said the gift was very valuable.
While gold has a price, jade is priceless; some things cannot be measured by money.
Although Li Xiangping wasn't entirely sure of Xiao Mochen's true identity, he wasn't stupid, and having served as an official for so long, he was quite adept at reading people.
Therefore, he knew that Xiao Mochen's identity was definitely not simple, and that his family was not someone they could afford to associate with at present.
Yan Qingqing laughed and said to Li Xiangping, "Since Mo Chen is giving it to you, just accept it without worry."
It's only natural for him, as an uncle, to give his nephew a small gift; there's no need for endless thanks.
Yan Qingqing understood perfectly that what Xiao Mochen lacked most right now was not power or money, but the love and care of his family.
What he wanted was for the Li family to treat him like one of their own.
Li Xiangping was used to listening to Yan Qingqing, so upon hearing this, he nodded and didn't bring it up again.
He then went on to talk about the purpose of his visit to Yan Qingqing.
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