After lunch, the Marquis sent someone to invite Xu Rao to the study in the front courtyard, where he did not return until dinner.
It started snowing outside sometime during the afternoon. A flurry of heavy snowflakes blanketed the ground, covering Xu Rao's cloak with snowflakes. Luckily, the cloak had a hood, so as soon as she entered, she took off the hood and there was a layer of snow on the ground.
Chen Zhaoci helped Xu Rao take off her cloak. Her boots were already soaked with snow. After taking them off, Xu Rao quickly got onto the kang (a heated brick bed), covered her feet under the thick mattress, and groaned comfortably, saying, "It's finally warm. The snow was so heavy that it reached my calves on the road in the back garden."
Chen Zhaoci stood inside the door, looking at the heavy snow still falling outside, and said worriedly, "With such heavy snow, I wonder how many houses will collapse and how many people will freeze because of this snow."
Xu Rao remained silent for a long time before saying, "Yes, many of the houses on the outskirts of the city have been in disrepair for years. I really don't know how many will collapse under the weight of the debris."
Chen Zhaoci closed the door, poured Xu Rao a cup of hot tea, and asked him, "What does the Marquis want with you?"
Xu Rao took a sip of hot tea, shook his head, and said, "Speaking of His Majesty's handling of the Sixth Prince's matter, the Sixth Prince and Wang Xiuyuan have been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison. They said they would deal with them after the New Year. Wang Xiuyuan is a dead man. She poisoned His Majesty. If His Majesty hadn't discovered it in time, she might have succeeded. As for the Sixth Prince, it seems His Majesty intends to give him a lenient sentence."
Chen Zhaoci had spent quite a long time in the palace, and had a deeper understanding of the princes. She felt that the sixth prince was somewhat weak-willed, probably because Wang Xiuyuan was quite assertive, so the child she raised had obvious character flaws. At first, the sixth prince's impressive behavior was actually Wang Xiuyuan's doing behind the scenes. Now, thinking about it carefully, it was all just Wang Xiuyuan's ambition. Therefore, Emperor Liang Cheng wanted nothing more than to get rid of Wang Xiuyuan, who had almost killed him. However, because it was almost New Year's and the whole country was celebrating, it was not good to have bloodshed, so he imprisoned Wang Xiuyuan in the imperial prison, preparing to be beheaded after the spring.
Wang Xiuyuan was killed outright. As for the Sixth Prince, Chen Zhaoci felt that he should be spared. No matter how deep Emperor Liang Cheng's mind was, he was not a heartless person. He was relatively lenient towards the children. However, if the Sixth Prince was left alive, would he pose a threat to Chen Yuyuan in the future?
Thinking of this, Chen Zhaoci chuckled softly and said, "Even tigers don't eat their cubs, let alone our Emperor, who is a kind and benevolent man."
Xu Rao shook his head and didn't continue. Chen Zhaoci knew that Xu Rao was dissatisfied with Liang Chengdi's handling of the matter. However, this was the Xiao family's empire now, and the issue of the sixth prince was, frankly speaking, an internal conflict within the Xiao family. If Emperor Liang Chengdi, as the monarch, wanted to spare his child's life, even Prime Minister Feng and Prime Minister Fu would probably have to show leniency. After all, their actions had not only yielded no results but had also cost them dearly.
Chen Zhaoci smiled and said, "What do you mean by shaking your head? Oh, right, I'll start selecting girls around ten years old from the estate to come to the manor for classes tomorrow. In addition to their professional courses, I'm also preparing some etiquette lessons for them, so that if they are ever invited to a noble family for a medical consultation, they can't make any mistakes in the rules."
Xu Rao smiled and said, "I'm glad you're willing. From now on, our Third Madam will be Professor Chen again. I wonder when I'll be able to pick up my old profession again." At the end, there was a hint of nostalgia in his tone. Being a professor was Xu Rao's favorite thing. He had made many sacrifices for his career. But now, he was busy with government affairs every day. The Ministry of Revenue had a lot of complicated matters, and he couldn't afford to make even the slightest mistake. It was like that joke he once read. The worst thing for someone in finance was when they checked the accounts and found something wrong. If there was a discrepancy, they had to check it all over again until they found the mistake. It really tested one's patience.
Chen Zhaoci thought of the frustrating things Xu Rao had told her about at work when she got home, and said with a smile, "I feel like you still need to improve your work methods. With so many ledgers, you're bound to find a way to improve work efficiency."
Xu Rao scoffed and said, "The current technology is at this level. Even if it improves further, it won't give me a computer. I get tinnitus from listening to the sound of the abacus beads every day. Sometimes I even dream about abacuses. I don't know when they'll transfer me out of the Ministry of Revenue."
Knowing that Xu Rao really didn't want to continue working at the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Zhaoci asked him, "Where would you like to go?"
Xu Rao pondered for a long time and said, "I think the Ministry of Rites is pretty good. You can read all kinds of classics. You're only busy when there are big events. Otherwise, you don't have much to do. It's a really good unit with lots of money and little work."
Chen Zhaoci couldn't help but laugh out loud. After a long while, he said, "This isn't a place where you can just go wherever you want."
The two talked until midnight, and only when they heard the third watch drum sounded did they turn off the lights and go to sleep.
As a result, early on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Rao was invited to the yamen. The heavy snow last night had collapsed many houses on the outskirts of the city. Now, whether it was resettling disaster victims or purchasing supplies, officials from the Ministry of Revenue needed to sign off on the money. As the de facto head of the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Rao naturally had to be present. He was busy until the second watch of the night before he returned home exhausted. Chen Zhaoci quickly told him to wash up first and instructed the kitchen to make him some hot soup noodles. Xu Rao ate and drank two large bowls before finally putting down his chopsticks and letting out a long sigh of relief.
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