The following evening, as the Qin family was having dinner, a servant entered and reported, "Master and Madam, Eunuch Liu from the palace has come to deliver an imperial decree."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Qin immediately led his family out to receive the imperial decree. He strode to the gate, bowed to Eunuch Liu, who glanced at Qin Qianluo and said with a smile, "Second Miss Qin Qianluo, prepare to receive the imperial decree."
Qin Qianlu looked bewildered. Pushed by her sister, she stepped forward and knelt with her family. Eunuch Liu opened the imperial edict and proclaimed loudly: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
Miss Qin Qianluo, the second daughter of Prime Minister Qin, is virtuous and talented, gentle, kind, frugal, beautiful, and intelligent. She has won my heart. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon her the title of Eighth-Rank Imperial Attendant and grant her permission to attend court with her father.
"By imperial decree"
After reading the imperial edict, Eunuch Liu smiled and placed it in Qin Qianluo's hands, saying, "Congratulations, young Master Qin!"
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Although the Qin family members were confused, they could only accept the imperial decree and express their gratitude. Qin Qianlu thanked the emperor in a daze, accepted the imperial decree in a daze, kowtowed and stood up.
Prime Minister Qin chuckled and handed Eunuch Liu a money pouch, inquiring about the Emperor's intentions before seeing Eunuch Liu out. Lin Ruoqing looked at her youngest daughter's dazed expression, feeling somewhat helpless. Was the Emperor going to keep an eye on his youngest daughter or exploit her feelings? Qin Qianyu and Qin Jiyuan exchanged a glance, wondering if their sister's appointment as an official would pose a danger. Qin Qianluo herself was already in a state of collapse, frantically chanting in her mind, "No, I'm only eleven years old! Eleven years old! How can an eleven-year-old start working? This is child labor! I'm not even grown up yet and I have to work? This is outrageous!"
Upon hearing this, the Qin family members agreed, realizing it was indeed a bit early; Luo'er was still too young.
"Luo Bao, Gan Luo was made prime minister at twelve, Liu Zilan was made king at five and prime minister at eight, Huo Qubing was made marquis at seventeen. You're not the first, you're not alone. Does that make you happier?"
Qin Xiang and the others who rushed back, are they all this amazing? So young and already so talented?
"But I'm only eleven years old, I don't want to go to work."
"I'll tell you gossip every day so you won't be bored at work, okay?"
"No, I don't want to go to work."
"Good girl, Luo Bao, an imperial edict can't be taken back."
Qin Qianluo knew, but she was unhappy. She walked silently back to the courtyard with her parents. The Qin family members listened to 001 coaxing Luo'er, feeling both amused and warm. It was so good that Luo'er had so many people protecting, pampering, and coaxing her. As soon as they sat down, Qin Qianluo looked pitifully at Prime Minister Qin and said, "Father, I don't want to go to court. I'm only eleven years old. If I don't sleep well, I won't grow tall!"
Prime Minister Qin was also distressed, but the imperial decree could not be disobeyed, so he could only comfort Luo'er: "Luo'er, be good, your father will take you with him. The emperor's decree has been issued, and we cannot disobey it."
Qin Qianlu nodded helplessly, very angry. But in ancient times, the emperor's orders were paramount, and she couldn't implicate her family. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. When it was time to sleep, she was too angry to fall asleep. It was 001 who told her a bedtime story to lull her to sleep.
Before dawn the next day, Qin Qianluo was taken to court by Prime Minister Qin. She was half asleep in the carriage. When they finally arrived at the palace, she was still asleep when they got off the carriage. Prime Minister Qin carried Qin Qianluo into the hall. The surrounding ministers were shocked. Why had he brought her here? What was he doing? After inquiring, they learned that Qin Qianluo had been appointed as an eighth-rank Imperial Diarist, which was supposed to be a recorder. However, there were already dedicated recorders, so she was not needed at the moment. To put it bluntly, wasn't she here to dig up their secrets? Many officials with guilty consciences trembled with fear, while Right Chancellor Su Jinyun and General Mu Yunxi were delighted. Seeing the little girl looking half-asleep, they were pleased. Everyone took their places, and Chancellor Qin also woke Qin Qianluo, made her stand properly, and hurriedly went to his seat. With a shout of "The Emperor has arrived!" everyone knelt and rose, and the court session officially began. Emperor Ning looked at the drowsy Qin Qianluo, amused. Listening to his subordinates' reports that the Ministry of Revenue was again complaining of poverty, and that the border regions were running out of grain, the ministers were arguing noisily, successfully waking Qin Qianluo completely. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "001, what are they arguing about?"
The hall was quiet for a moment, then quickly returned to normal, though the sound was much softer, and everyone was listening intently.
"Luo Bao's awake. They're arguing about the supply of provisions to the frontier. The Ministry of Revenue doesn't have enough money to supply too much grain, and there's also flooding in Jiangnan that needs disaster relief and river repairs."
"What's there to argue about? Shouldn't the army's food and disaster relief be paid for? How can this Minister of Revenue be so clueless?"
"Luo Bao, you've misunderstood. The Ministry of Revenue really is broke, and your emperor is genuinely poor too."
"So poor? Then just confiscate the property of a few corrupt officials and we'll have money. Making a fuss won't solve anything. 001, investigate and see who's embezzled the most. Tell me, and when I get home I'll write a note and secretly slip it to my dad, who'll then give it to the Emperor. If they confiscate our property, we'll have money."
Upon hearing this, the honest official was delighted, while the corrupt official wished he could sew Qin Qianluo's mouth shut. The Emperor and Prime Minister Qin, on the other hand, laughed heartily. The Emperor thought to himself, "Sure enough, it was the right decision to bring this girl to the court. Look, now we have money."
"Luo Bao, wait a minute. Let me take a look. There are quite a few wealthy people, and quite a few corrupt officials too. It seems that apart from your emperor and the Ministry of Revenue, everyone is quite rich."
The Minister of Revenue's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he listened intently. The Emperor was also waiting, but the corrupt officials were almost kneeling down.
Who are they? How much did they embezzle?
"Luo Bao, look! That Grand Tutor Yu embezzled over a million taels of silver, and his gold and silver jewels filled several warehouses. And that's not all! That Vice Minister of War is even more remarkable; he embezzled nearly ten million taels of silver. He used his gold and silver jewels to throw around and play with people. He owns so many houses and farmlands that you can't even count them all. There's even gold buried under his property! Incredible! He even owns a gold mine!"
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