Chapter 33 033 "...Never mind, it's definitely not a good poem..."
Xiao Yu had just joined the Censorate and had been doing simple clerical work to familiarize himself with the affairs of the Censorate for the past few days. So when it was time to leave at dusk, Xiao Yu tidied up the documents on his desk, said goodbye to the other three censors, and prepared to leave.
Including Xiao Yu, there are a total of six censors in the Censorate. The two who are not on duty are currently on official business outside the Censorate. One is responsible for patrolling and rotating duty in various government offices in the capital, and the other is supervising and adjudicating cases at the Court of Judicial Review. They come to the Censorate early in the morning to show up and then set off with their junior officials. They are really just nodding acquaintances with Xiao Yu.
The three on duty were all over thirty years old, not of the same generation as Xiao Yu. Apart from giving instructions and answering Xiao Yu's questions, the three were busy with their own things and rarely took the initiative to talk to Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu was not the type to gossip either. He silently watched, listened and learned. Even if he found that someone's desk was too messy or that there was ink stain on their cuff, Xiao Yu would at most take a second look. He would never speak rashly before he was familiar with the person.
He could correct his parents, brothers, nephews, maids, and servants at home, but he had to maintain basic etiquette towards outsiders. Unless someone provoked him first, Xiao Yu believed he rarely offended anyone.
After his three colleagues gave brief responses, they continued to work with their heads down, just like the previous days. None of them left on time. Xiao Yu wondered to himself, was the Censorate really that busy? But he clearly saw Censor Cai take a long nap at his desk in the afternoon, and Censor Chen was leisurely sipping his tea two quarters of an hour earlier. Only the thirty-four-year-old Censor Liu was truly busy the whole time.
Xiao Yu walked out with a normal expression. Just as he was about to lift the curtain, he turned back as if he remembered something. He saw that the Imperial Censors Cai and Chen, who were sitting on the same side, quickly lowered their heads and pretended to look through the documents.
Xiao Yu frowned slightly, disliking the situation where his colleagues seemed to be spying on him as an oddity, even though he was the most normal one.
Stepping out of the duty room in the Taiyuan Courtyard, across the central courtyard are the duty rooms in the Dianyuan Courtyard.
Like the Six Ministries, the Censorate was a four-courtyard complex. On the Censorate side, the first courtyard was the office of the clerks and clerks, the second courtyard was used by the Censorate, which had the largest number of staff, and the main building on the north side of the third courtyard was the council hall and the office of the Censor-in-Chief and the two Vice Censors-in-Chief. The east and west side rooms were given to the Censorate Courtyard and the Palace Courtyard, respectively.
As Xiao Yu emerged, the fifty-year-old Dean He from the Imperial Academy was just coming out of the duty room of the three Imperial Censors on the north side. When he looked up and saw Xiao Yu, the only newly appointed top scholar standing outside in the entire three-courtyard compound, Dean He's face immediately showed anxiety. Glancing behind him, Dean He quickened his pace and walked over, pulling Xiao Yu to the eaves on the Imperial Academy's side, and whispered, "Is something wrong at home? Why are you leaving so early every day?"
Xiao Yu: "...I have finished all my official duties for today. Now that I am off duty, I should leave."
The young man had a matter-of-fact attitude, so Dean He shook his head and reminded him, "Our Doctor Fan is very diligent. He doesn't leave work until noon every day. He has instilled the virtue of diligence in all the officials of our Censorate. If Doctor Fan finds out that you're leaving so early, it might not be good."
Considering Xiao Yu's background, Dean He's guidance was quite obvious.
In addition to solid political achievements, officials' promotions also depend on daily evaluations from their superiors. Which official in the Censorate wouldn't try every means to earn a word of praise from Doctor Fan?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu immediately understood why Imperial Censors Cai and Chen were procrastinating even though they had nothing to do. With such feigned diligence as a precedent, Xiao Yu was even more disdainful of such perfunctory flattery and said directly, "Diligence is indeed a virtue, but I have already finished the official documents that you instructed me to organize today. Staying in the duty room is just a waste of time. It would be better to abide by the court's original intention of allowing officials to combine work and rest, and to finish my shift on time to rest and recharge for tomorrow's tasks."
Dean He: "This..."
Xiao Yu cupped his hands in farewell: "This humble official takes his leave."
As we walked along the covered walkway to the second courtyard, the Censorate was indeed quiet and no one was off duty. Even the minor officials in the first courtyard were sitting in their duty rooms. The young eunuch guarding the gate sat on a wooden stool with his sleeves tucked in, smiling and nodding at him with a hint of flattery and admiration.
Xiao Yu stopped and asked him, "What time do you finish your shift each day?"
The young eunuch smiled wryly and said, "It's hard to say; it depends on when Doctor Fan finishes his shift."
Xiao Yu understood and stepped out of the outermost threshold of the Censorate.
On a warm spring day, Xiao Yu rode his horse to the imperial city. At the city gate, there were palace servants specifically responsible for leading the horses for the officials.
While waiting, Xiao Yu watched as a group of officials left, some on foot, some on horseback, and some in carriages. Those in carriages were all picked up on time by carriages arranged by their respective residences, since there wasn't enough space in the capital to park their vehicles. Of all those officials, not a single one was from the Censorate.
The palace servants brought the horse, and Xiao Yu mounted it and set off. He let the horse trot slowly on the less crowded sections of the road, and then slowed down once he entered the neighborhood. In this way, he arrived at the Marquis's residence in less than a quarter of an hour. After dismounting, he went to Wanhe Hall to pay his respects to his mother as usual.
Mrs. Deng laughed and said, "You always come home early, unlike your father and the others who go out drinking with people all the time."
The husband and the second son both work in the city, while the eldest son works in Xiying outside the city. Even if he doesn't drink, he still has to walk more than 20 miles to get back.
"Is the Taiwan Academy busy today? Are they still getting familiar with the procedures?" Deng asked with concern.
Xiao Yu agreed, saying there was nothing to say since there was no work to do. He drank a couple of sips of tea, returned to Shensi Hall, took a bath, changed his clothes, and then went to the central courtyard.
Luo Fu sat under the eaves on the east side of the main room, with four pots of blooming peonies and peonies in front of her. Both she and the flowers were bathed in the bright yet gentle sunset.
Seeing her husband return from his shift, the seventeen-year-old wife smiled and waved, her eyes full of joy.
Xiao Yu always loved seeing his wife smile, and after those few days of neglect at the end of March, he cherished his wife's smiles at him even more.
"Is this a gift from the Empress?" Xiao Yu walked over and sat on the half of the chaise lounge that his wife had given him. Four pots of famous flowers were placed in front of him, but he kept looking at his wife, who was a head shorter than him.
Luo Fu said with some pride, "Yes, the Empress seems to like me very much. She gave me four pots in one go. My eldest and second sisters-in-law said that when they attended the Empress's flower banquet in the past, they would only get two pots at most."
Of course, it's also possible that Empress Gao knew her two sisters-in-law had plenty of fine peonies and peonies to admire, so there was no need to bestow so many as gifts.
Xiao Yu then lowered his head to admire the four potted flowers.
Luo Fu put her knowledge to use and explained it to him in a serious manner. Although Xiao Yu was very knowledgeable, he did not have many opportunities to appreciate flowers. Even when he did, he would just look at them and never bother to remember their names.
As soon as she spoke, Xiao Yu's gaze returned to her face.
Luo Fu couldn't stand him like this anymore and said with a light scolding, "What's so interesting about watching it every day?"
Xiao Yu smiled generously: "I thought of four lines of poetry."
Luo Fu's eyes flickered: "What?"
Xiao Yu: "The peony, a rare beauty in spring, leans against the vermilion railing, about to bloom."
Luo Fu hadn't read the poem before and was gazing at the peony blossoms, savoring the beauty, when suddenly she felt a warmth near her ear. It was Xiao Yu leaning close, almost touching her earlobe, saying, "Just now, when I came around, the lady under the eaves was half-leaning against the vermilion railing, about to bloom."
The beautiful verses, when spoken by him in this manner, sounded both like a compliment and a hint of lewdness. Luo Fu, realizing what was happening, felt not only her ears burning, but her cheeks, which were pressed against Xiao Yu's, turned pink.
Xiao Yu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he refrained from taking the opportunity to steal a kiss because he was mindful of the maids waiting in the courtyard.
Luo Fu didn't give him a chance, glaring at him while creating distance, and directly asked the remaining two questions.
Xiao Yu refused to say anything more.
After dinner, night fell. Luo Fu lay down on the bed and couldn't help but tell Xiao Yu about what she had seen and heard during the day: "I spent some time alone with my sister-in-law this afternoon and learned that Princess Kangping's husband actually died on the battlefield during the Emperor's second campaign against Yin. Yin only occupies a small area of one state, so how could they be so fierce in battle?"
The Great Zhou Dynasty possesses the land of nine provinces and has a well-trained and brave army. When the Emperor launched his northern expedition last time, Luo Fu was only interested in playing around and did not think deeply about why the dynasty had failed.
Xiao Yu explained, “It is said that the Yin Emperor loved his people like his own children and was very popular. He ate and lived with his soldiers on the battlefield. The Emperor’s purpose in attacking Yin was to achieve the great feat of unifying the world. The soldiers below did not have such lofty ambitions. They were only after military merit and pay, and they were more afraid of losing their lives in battle. The Yin army resisted our dynasty to save their country. The anger of national subjugation forced them to unite as one and vow to resist the enemy to the death. The morale of the two countries is worlds apart.”
He also told his wife several stories of how the Zhou Dynasty, despite having the advantage, was defeated by the Yin State. He said that the situation on the battlefield is unpredictable and that victory is not guaranteed simply because the general is resourceful and the soldiers are brave. Although the concept of national destiny is mysterious, sometimes it can only be explained by the will of Heaven.
This real war sounded more captivating than the storytelling in the teahouse. Luo Fu was so engrossed that she was completely absorbed. When Xiao Yu got up to get a drink of water, she was still listening with great interest. When Xiao Yu finished his tea and walked back, looking at her handsome husband, the top scholar, under the lamplight, Luo Fu felt that he was even more charming than before.
"Aren't you supposed to be focused on your studies? How come you're so familiar with battlefield situations?" Luo Fu asked, lying in bed and looking up at him.
Just as the peonies were unaware of their own beauty, Luo Fu, with her flowing black hair cascading down the brocade quilt, was also unaware of the allure she exuded. Xiao Yu, looking down from above, saw everything clearly. Reaching the bedside, he leaned over and covered his wife, kissing her neck as he casually replied, "I read Confucius and Mencius, and I also read Sun Tzu and Wu Qi."
It was a very simple sentence, mentioning only four famous figures, yet it made Luo Fu's bones go weak, even more so than when he said "leaning against the vermilion railing".
"Wait, you haven't mentioned the other two lines of poetry that came to mind while admiring the flowers."
Luo Fu, supporting his shoulder, said, "The most hateful people are those who only say half of what they mean."
Xiao Yu smiled, raised his head, looked at his wife, and asked, "Do you really want to hear it?"
Luo Fu: "...Never mind, it's definitely not a good poem."
Xiao Yu: "The poem is a good poem, but you have a different interpretation of it, Madam."
Luo Fu immediately closed her eyes and covered her ears, demonstrating that she really didn't want to listen, and finally realized the downside of her husband reading too much.
Little did she know that she was using both hands to deceive herself, which conveniently benefited her top-scholar husband.
Xiao Yu propped himself up with his right hand and unbuttoned his wife's inner garment with his left. As his hand slipped through the thin silk robe and reached behind his wife, he recited the third line in his still clear but slightly hoarse voice: "Black ants steal fragrance by slanting through leaves."
Luo Fu: "...Your hands aren't black at all, so using that term here is completely inappropriate!"
Xiao Yu smiled, and after a while, he whispered the fourth line into his wife's ear, whose cheeks were flushed: "The yellow bee hangs upside down on the branch, peeping at the pistil."
Luo Fu: "..."
She covered her face with one hand and reached behind the top scholar with the other, pinching him hard several times. What a scholar! He's clearly a dissolute!
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Author's note: Ahem, actually, given the character of a top scholar, I should have written a poem myself, but I just don't have the talent, so I'll just use a quote instead.
The poem is "Peony" by Gui Ren, a poet-monk from the late Tang Dynasty. He truly praised peonies, my apologies!
100 little red envelopes, see you tonight~
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