Chapter 326: Fourth Rank Lady

Emperor Cheng of the Ming Dynasty read the secret report of Yuan Shangshu.

After reading it, his expression remained unchanged.

No one could guess what he was thinking, but the eunuchs and palace maids serving in the emperor's presence had become more cautious in recent days.

Emperor Mingcheng placed the secret memorial on his desk.

There was more than one secret memorial on the case.

He saw everything that happened in the Yang and Yuan families.

But he never knew these people would be so capable. In just a few days, illegal matters surfaced one after another, and more and more people were involved. The fight between two ministers alone involved half of the court.

After a thorough observation, Emperor Ming Cheng found that there were few innocent people. He had originally disliked Qin Qi'an, but after the comparison, he regarded him as a breath of fresh air.

So he pulled out a memorial from his desk requesting merit sent by the cabinet, which was about rewarding people for their contributions after the Taihu disaster relief.

With a stroke of the brush, he wrote the word "accurate".

Emperor Mingcheng said: "Qin Qi'an's wife also contributed to the relief work for the Taihu Lake disaster. It seems that he has not yet requested a title for his wife. This time, she will be given a title of Fourth Rank Gongren, so that he doesn't have to request another title when he takes up his post at the Dali Temple."

"Your Majesty is so kind to his subjects."

The old eunuch on the side complimented him.

Emperor Mingcheng finally smiled, "I am not an emperor who treats his subjects harshly."

The eunuch who heard it nearby quickly responded.

Those who often paid attention to the developments in the palace were especially dumbfounded.

When the Yuan and Yang families were fighting fiercely, Emperor Mingcheng was as steady as a rock, showing no intention of interfering, and even had the mood to confer a title on Qin Qi'an's wife. In fact, Emperor Mingcheng not only conferred titles on the Qin family, but also on other people who went to Taihu Lake.

Only in the eyes of outsiders.

Qin Chi has become a conspicuous person. If there is any movement, everyone will notice him first.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs in charge of ceremonies came to the Qin family with the imperial edict.

He rewarded Qin Chi with some gold, silver, jewelry, jade, etc., but the most important thing was that he came to read the imperial edict conferring the title on Song Jin.

When issuing an imperial edict, certain ceremonies and rituals are usually held to show solemnity and formality. Therefore, after bathing and burning incense, an incense table must be set up.

Song Jin knelt down with her big belly.

After receiving the imperial edict and imperial edict, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies hurriedly said, "Lady Song is a twin, please stand up quickly."

"Thank you, father-in-law, for your consideration of my wife's inconvenience. Uncle Li is here to celebrate for you." Qin Chi helped Song Jin up while asking Old Li to give him some silver.

Old Li was ready a long time ago.

He stuffed a big red envelope to the eunuch who announced the decree, followed by the official from the Ministry of Rites, and then the accompanying officials and eunuchs.

Everyone was very happy to receive the reward and congratulated Qin Chi and Song Jin.

The group said goodbye.

When they were leaving, there was a young eunuch walking at the end. When he passed by Old Man Hong, he seemed to be tripped by something. He staggered and almost fell. Fortunately, Old Man Hong supported him in time.

The young eunuch thanked Old Man Hong.

After that, he quickly left the Qin family.

That's what it looks like to outsiders.

In fact, the young eunuch took the opportunity to stuff something into old man Hong's hands, and his action was extremely covert.

Old Man Hong put the things away without leaving a trace, his expression never changing at all.

Wait until the people watching the fun outside are sent away.

The Qin family then closed the door and continued to refuse visitors.

The people outside who were watching the excitement were still not satisfied. They walked a little further away and gathered together to talk: "Is there another good thing happening to the Qin family?"

"That's right. It's a conferment from His Majesty. Madam Qin is really enviable. Her husband has only been an official for a short time, and he's already a fourth-rank lady. My husband hasn't even reached the fifth rank." An old lady who was watching the fun was very jealous.

A woman nearby glanced at her and said, "Come on, we are not destined to have that fate."

"There's no comparison. It's incomparable."

Another well-dressed woman said this, then she put her hand on the arm of the maid next to her and walked away with her head held high.

The neighbors said that the person involved was unaware of the situation.

Qin Chi and Song Jin first offered the imperial edict.

Then he went back to his room.

Song Jin looked at the imperial edict with curiosity.

The imperial edict was marked with "Gong Ren".

Only the wives of officials of the first or second rank can be called "Madam", their stepmothers are called "Taishu", the third rank is called "Shu Ren", the fourth rank is called "Gong Ren", the fifth rank is called "Yi Ren", the sixth rank is called "An Ren", and the seventh rank and below are called "Ru Ren".

Those without titles or ranks were called "niangzi".

Qin Chi had not requested a title before, not only because he had not made any achievements, but also because he was concerned about the government's review. Now that he had the imperial edict to confer the title, he had skipped the review process directly. His previous worries were no longer a problem.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

Yinlong brought in a basin of clean water and said, "Young lady, wash your face first, wash off that strange thing on your face."

"Okay, Aunt Long."

Song Jin had never thought about putting on ugly makeup while pregnant.

The imperial edict came, and he had to go in a hurry to meet outsiders. He had no choice but to do so.

Yinlong helped Song Jin wash his face.

Qin Chi watched from the side, and when she finished washing, he asked, "Do you want to let Elder Jing take a look to see if these things can harm the fetus?"

"I don't mind if it takes a short time."

Song Jin himself knows a little about pharmacology, and with Yin Long here, "Don't bother Elder Jing with this little thing. I heard that he spends all day studying the prescription written by Doctor Zhuo."

Qin Chi's heart relaxed a little at once. Seeing her smile, he couldn't help but teasing her, "I haven't congratulated you yet. You've become a fourth-rank lady, which is higher than your husband."

"hehe."

Song Jin covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed secretly, "It's all thanks to my husband."

"This has nothing to do with me. It was my wife who was so kind that she donated the palace's rewards to the victims of the Taihu Lake disaster. Your Majesty saw it." Qin Chi said seriously.

Song Jin was embarrassed for once, "What's that to me? I'm just offering flowers to Buddha."

"My lady is being modest."

Qin Chi had a different idea. "In terms of the Taihu Lake disaster relief, if we really want to talk about the merits, my wife should be the first. Not to mention that you sold grain to the government at a low price and saved countless people, but my wife sold it anonymously, so I can't give you credit. Just for that donation, if my wife hadn't donated to the Ministry of Revenue, the preparation of materials would not have been so smooth."

Song Jin knew this was the truth.

But it's always a bit embarrassing when someone praises me so openly.

Qin Chi added: "It's just that it's hard to give credit to my wife for her contribution, so she was given an additional title today."

Otherwise, if there are many donors and only Song Jin benefits, others will definitely have opinions.

What is worrying is not the scarcity but the inequality.

Therefore, when the cabinet was drafting the memorial to reward the emperor, Song Jin's name was not included.

Emperor Mingcheng also knew this.

This is why the imperial edict to confer a title on Song Jin was reasonable in the eyes of outsiders. The only unusual thing was that Emperor Chengdi conferred the title of fourth-rank Gongren on Song Jin in advance, instead of Qin Qi'an's current fifth-rank official position.

This can also be seen from this point.

Qin Qi'an's position as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple was secured.

The host was in a good mood today, so each person received a reward of one or two taels of silver, and there would be extra dishes in the evening.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they went to rest.