After he finished speaking, the air fell silent for a moment.
Three figures in crimson robes gleamed in the sunlight, casting three faint shadows on the white marble steps, representing the highest-ranking rulers of the Ming Dynasty.
Song Yue repeated, "I sent them to Huairou to inspect the dike. I am their teacher, and I should be responsible for their actions. Lord Lu, since they have obstructed your duties, I shall bear the corresponding responsibility."
His voice was soft, but his tone was remarkably firm.
After seeing the two heading towards Huairou, Song Yue sent someone to the Ministry of Works to inquire about Gu Shaoheng. He learned that Qingchen wanted to help the Ministry of Works, which was why she was going to check on the dike. She had heard early this morning that the two had broken through the city gates on horseback.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the emperor's personal guard, ordered to protect the princess. Openly defying the Embroidered Uniform Guard meant they didn't even respect the emperor. Emperor Zhu Rui was reluctant to govern, but he wasn't truly muddle-headed. It was precisely because there were many things he didn't manage that he worried his ministers would forget that he was the one in charge of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the act of storming the city was of a heinous nature, far more serious than a simple mistake made on impulse. If their teacher hadn't intervened, their futures would have been completely ruined. Although, their intentions were good, to help the court resolve its problems.
With Xu Yan's support, Xu Silin was spared severe punishment by the court, which had to give face to the Grand Secretary. Even Emperor Zhu Rui would show leniency. Shen Qingchen, however, was different. Born into a poor family with no connections, she wasn't the one in charge of the incident. But if the blame couldn't be placed on Xu Silin, it would fall on someone else—her.
This was Zhu Rui's consistent way of doing things; he always wanted everyone to understand that even the emperor of a great nation had a temper.
This world is just so unfair.
At that moment, fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The first snow of the year had arrived.
Xu Yan looked at Song Yue with his cloudy old eyes and suddenly felt that he could not see through this young Grand Secretary.
Over the years, the young man in front of me has always kept a clear distance from me and has never done anything to please me. This time, I suppose it will be no exception.
What was his reason for pleading for his son? Could this be... the heart of a teacher?
Xu Yan shook his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and continued Song Yue's words: "Alas, my son has always been straightforward. Once he received a command from his master, he was determined to complete it no matter what. In a moment of impulsiveness, he forced his way through the city gate. Lord Lu does not know that in order not to miss his duty, he went to Huairou overnight to check the dike and even fell into the water. He still has a high fever. Lord Lu, I hope you can understand his desire to contribute to the Ministry of Works."
Upon hearing the news this morning, Xu Yan knew things were going badly. He had even prepared threats and inducements for Lu Shenyun's sake. But before he could say anything, Song Yue took all the blame.
"It sounds like a touching story about serving the country and its people?" After a long silence, Lu Shenyun finally spoke, glancing at Xu Yan and then at Song Yue.
"Unfortunately, I was blinded by the yellow sand yesterday and saw nothing." He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "So, Grand Secretary Xu doesn't need to tell me about his willingness to help, and Grand Secretary Song naturally doesn't need to ask me for any responsibility."
With that, he turned and walked away, his elegant back view revealing his words: "I only heard that Princess Yongchun's bodyguards saw it, and I imagine His Majesty will soon find out as well. You two should think about how to explain this to His Majesty."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black boots had already taken several steps forward, and the faces of the two elders behind him gradually blurred. Fine snowflakes fell on his body, and his resolute and sharp eyebrows softened little by little.
Actually, when Lu Shenyun mentioned the incident of breaking into the gate to Xu Yan and Song Yue, he didn't intend to do anything. He just wanted to remind the two that he had tried to suppress the matter but failed because the princess's people had seen it.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard has spies everywhere, especially in the capital area, so he received news last night that the two men who broke through the city gates were going to Huairou to inspect the dikes.
He was a cold and strict man, not too fixated on absolute right and wrong, and had his own code of conduct, but he was not an unapproachable person. He knew very well that water conservancy was a major national issue, concerning the lives of tens of thousands of people. Beneath his seemingly hardened heart, he had actually revealed a little tenderness towards the two young concubines.
Song Yue's intervention to protect the two students surprised him, yet not surprised him. He was surprised that Song Yue so resolutely took full responsibility upon himself, not merely pleading for the two. He wasn't surprised, however, because this wasn't the first time Song Yue had yielded to him; the last time was also because of Shen Qingchen.
As he walked, he slowed his pace, looked up at the snowflakes falling from the sky, and a handsome face appeared in his mind.
That man was slender and austere, quiet and refined, exuding a rich aura of talent. In the room bathed in the glow of the setting sun that day, she looked directly at him, calm and gentle, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "My lord, you are merely a stranger to me."
meet by chance?
Then who are you to your teacher Song?
...
Not long after Lu Shenyun left the gate of Qianqing Palace, a palace eunuch hurriedly descended the steps and called out to Xu Yan and Song Yue.
"Please wait, Your Excellencies. The Emperor has summoned you for business. Please come in again."
"Alright, alright," Xu Yan replied, his slightly hunched back immediately following the eunuch's steps. "Does Your Excellency know what the Emperor is concerned about?"
The eunuch thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Someone came just now and reported what happened at the city gate yesterday. The two elders must have already guessed it."
Song Yue quietly raised his head, looking at the majestic palace, the vermilion pillars and the golden dragon brackets, and stepped onto the stone steps.
Several candles burned inside the hall, illuminating the golden objects within and exuding imperial majesty. Wisps of smoke drifted gently from the openwork floor-standing incense burner.
Emperor Zhu Rui, who was nearly forty years old, sat on the dragon throne, dressed in a bright yellow robe, with a golden dragon on his chest glaring angrily.
"I heard that yesterday, when the princess returned to the capital, two men on horseback broke through the city gates guarded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard," Zhu Rui said. "I heard they were... two junior officials from the Hanlin Academy? Are you two Grand Secretaries aware of this?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yan immediately lowered his head and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister dares not deceive Your Majesty... Among them is my son. It was due to my negligence in disciplining him that he acted impulsively yesterday and mistakenly entered the city gate. I am sorry, Your Majesty."
"Oh?" Zhu Ruiwei raised his eyes. "So you're Grand Secretary Xu's son. But I've always heard that Grand Secretary Xu is an excellent father, raising a very capable successor. What, has your son grown too big for his britches and doesn't even listen to you anymore?"
Zhu Rui's words, ostensibly a rebuke of Xu Silin, were actually a warning to Xu Yan. His son's audacity stemmed from his father's power; everything has its limits, and one should know when to stop.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yan knelt down with a thud, putting on a look of utter fear and trepidation. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My son absolutely has no courage. My son acted willfully, but it was because... it was because he was ordered by his master that he had no choice but to obey." As he spoke, he glanced at Song Yue, half of his small eyes showing only the whites.
"Oh?" Zhu Rui raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the young Grand Secretary, and asked knowingly, "Whose orders are these?"
Song Yue lifted his robe and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, it was me. They came to the Ministry of Works to observe the administration and wanted to help the Ministry repair the dike in Huairou. In order to avoid delaying their duty the next day, I asked them to leave the city before dark so that they could return before the curfew."
"You mean, you sent them?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Did you let them break through my city gates?" Zhu Rui's voice rose slightly.
After a moment of silence, Song Yue replied, "Yes."
Zhu Rui narrowed his eyes, looking at the person before him who had so frankly admitted his mistake, and a surge of anger rose in his chest. "Song Yue, as the Second Grand Secretary, I appointed you to instruct the probationary officials. Is this how you teach your students to disregard the emperor's authority and the court's rules?!"
"Your Majesty, I know I am guilty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me," Song Yue said calmly, bowing deeply.
Inside the Qianqing Palace, the emperor and his ministers faced each other in silence for a moment.
After a long pause, Zhu Rui slowly said, "I am very disappointed in you."
"You don't need to come to the cabinet these days. Go back to your Ministry of Rites!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the angry monarch stepped down the stairs and stormed off.
The lights inside the Qianqing Palace still shine brightly.
When the eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs saw the two off, he shook his head slightly as he watched Song Yue's retreating figure. He remembered that the last time Grand Secretary Song... when Lord Song left, he was accompanied by a great many rewards from the Emperor.
Outside the Qianqing Palace, the snow fell heavily, swirling and covering the white marble steps.
Xu Yan looked at the people around him, his heart filled with mixed feelings. On one hand, Song Yue had taken the blame for his precious son, which touched him somewhat. On the other hand, he had long wanted to squeeze this disobedient Grand Secretary out of the cabinet, but had never had the opportunity. He never expected that his son's willful actions would make it happen.
He patted Song Yue on the shoulder, "You've had a hard time. Lord Song is truly a good teacher; I, Xu Yan, am humbled by his lack."
The next day, Xu Silin returned to the Ministry of Works.
Being young and strong, he recovered by the second day despite having a fever for a day. Gu told him to rest for another day, but he refused. Instead, he got up before dawn to bathe and change, and before leaving, he put on the silver fur cloak that Qingchen had worn.
Returning to the Ministry of Works after only a day apart, Xu Silin felt an extraordinary sense of familiarity. He saw snow falling on the eaves and white blossoms on the branches, a scene of crystal-clear beauty, breathtakingly beautiful, much like that person's face.
Gu Shaoheng wasn't in the cell; only the person he had dreamed about all day was there.
Just then, Qingchen looked up and saw Xu Silin entering through the curtain. He was wearing thick winter clothes, and the tip of his nose was slightly red from the cold. He was speechless for a moment.
His eyes met hers, and he smiled, saying, "Don't you recognize me?"
She blinked and shook her head, saying, "No. Why didn't you come yesterday? Were you... sick?"
He removed his cloak, his handsome eyes looking at her. "Do you want me to answer yes, or no?"
"Fine, don't tell me then." She lowered her head and continued reading. This person is always like this, always talking inappropriately.
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you,” he said with a grin, placing a porcelain jar he had just brought in on her table. “But you have to drink this first, and then I’ll tell you.”
She looked up at him in confusion. "What is this?"
"Soup," he said, opening the lid. "My mother made it. It's to ward off the cold. Smell it, it smells wonderful. I brought it especially for you."
He...brought soup for her to drink?
Qingchen was still a little confused when Gu Shaoheng burst in, shouting, "Qingchen, something terrible has happened! Teacher Song... has been expelled from the cabinet by the Emperor!"
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