"Receive the imperial decree?"
Cui was taken aback.
Qin Yuan quickly reassured her, "Mother, it seems that the Marquis submitted a memorial before establishing his own residence, and now the Emperor has issued an imperial decree."
Madam Cui let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "This is a good thing. The Marquis requested to be enfeoffed for the safety of the capital. Now that the quack has been cured, the Emperor should reward the Marquis's mansion."
Both Madam Gu and Qin Yuan were dressed in overcoats and their hair accessories were appropriate for their status and rank. They immediately followed Gu Shiliu to the front hall to meet with Marquis Gu and Sixth Master Gu.
The one who came to deliver the imperial decree was the emperor's chief eunuch, whom Qin Yuan had seen several times in her previous life.
This man appears to be in his prime, tall and fair-skinned, with long, almond-shaped eyes that slant slightly upwards at the corners, giving him an indescribable air of frivolity.
But in reality, he was extremely steady and was the person who had served the emperor the longest, apart from his godfather, Eunuch Wang.
Seeing that they were all present, Eunuch Yu put down his teacup, stood up and said, "Madam Gu, Lord Gu, now that everyone from your household has arrived, I will announce the imperial decree."
The members of the Gu family knelt down in order of rank to receive the imperial decree.
The chief eunuch reached out and took the scroll from the junior eunuch, then unrolled it and began to read.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Marquis Dingbei Gu Jinghui has done things in accordance with my wishes. He is a pillar of the nation and is capable of undertaking great responsibilities. He is hereby appointed to be in charge of this year's capital inspection. All officials below the first rank are hereby appointed."
Gu Jinghui: "..."
Qin Yuan: "..."
Although he had received news from various sources, Gu Jinghui truly did not expect that the Emperor would issue such an edict.
Qin Yuan was also filled with doubt and uncertainty.
The capital inspection has always been just a formality, and it was only conducted every few years for civil officials below the third rank. Officials of the third rank and above, as well as close ministers of the emperor, received their comments personally from the emperor.
If the Emperor is satisfied, the capital inspection is considered excellent.
As long as the officials in the capital didn't go too far and arouse public anger or the hatred of their colleagues, they would be fine.
The Emperor appointed Gu Jinghui, a military officer who had just returned from a campaign, to be in charge of the capital inspection, a move that seemed strange in many ways.
Now, the assessment of officials below the first rank has been entrusted to Lord Gu.
This...this will inevitably cause a stir in the officialdom of the capital.
Qin Yuan looked at the stunned Lord Gu with concern.
The Grand Eunuch Yu's soft, smiling voice rang out, implying urging.
"Why isn't Lord Gu getting up to receive the imperial decree?"
Gu Jinghui then stood up to receive the imperial edict and respectfully placed it on the prepared incense table. Everyone else followed suit and stood up on both sides.
The Grand Eunuch Yu cupped his hands in congratulations and said, "Congratulations, Your Excellency! Congratulations, Your Excellency! I shall take my leave now."
Gu Jinghui hurriedly escorted him to the gate of the mansion.
The two said goodbye again. Gu Jinghui took the silver bag prepared by Steward Han and handed it to Eunuch Yu, saying, "Eunuch Yu, I'm sorry to trouble you to come all this way. I have guests at my residence today and cannot invite you to drink. Please accept this small amount of money for the wine."
Grand Eunuch Yu did not refuse. He took the task and handed it to the junior eunuch beside him, saying with a smile, "Lord Gu, remember to go to the palace to express your gratitude as soon as possible. Since this task was ordered by the Emperor, you should first ascertain the Emperor's intentions before doing it."
This can be considered as doing Lord Gu a favor.
This is tantamount to telling him clearly that the Emperor was worried that others might not do what he wanted, so he specially chose Lord Gu to do it.
Gu Jinghui felt a strange tightness in his chest, and smiled, "Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Yu. I was just worried that I had never done this before and might not be able to do it well, thus failing His Majesty's expectations."
"No problem, no problem."
Eunuch Yu mounted his horse and rode off with the young eunuch.
Lord Gu was left standing at the gate of the mansion, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts, feeling as if he were trapped in layers of spider webs.
Ten years later.
A similar situation has occurred again.
But everything has changed.
Qin Yuan accepted the imperial decree, and after Lord Gu returned to the mansion, the two went to the main room together.
Seeing that Gu Jinghui was unhappy, Qin Yuan asked, "Is my husband worried about the capital inspection?"
Gu Jinghui nodded.
Qin Yuan said, "My father was also worried about you. It is said that some time ago, there were rumors in the court that the emperor would appoint you to take charge of this matter. My father was worried about it once, but he did not expect to see you receive the decree here."
Lord Gu felt a warmth in his heart.
His father-in-law cared for him very much and thought about him in every way.
So she relayed what her father-in-law had said to her.
Qin Yuan said, "Could it be that His Majesty has someone he dislikes and wants to borrow your knife?"
"Perhaps, Prince Qi visited yesterday and said that the Emperor was dissatisfied with the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers because of the Crown Prince's marriage. Now, every time there is a discussion in court, it is rejected."
Qin Yuan then understood what was going on.
In his previous life, the Crown Prince's marriage was also full of twists and turns. In the end, he chose the daughter of Niu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, as his Crown Princess. In the following years, Niu rose rapidly through the ranks, eventually becoming the Prime Minister Niu.
After the Crown Prince's death, Prime Minister Niu fell from power. During the confiscation of his property, several hundred bushels of pepper were seized and stored in a warehouse under the care of a special person to prevent them from getting moldy and spoiled.
These peppercorns are said to be bribes from local officials.
Niu Xiangzhi's greed shocked the court and was still mentioned many years later.
The Emperor had been humiliated by the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers over the Crown Prince's marriage and wanted to teach them a lesson, so he planned to use Gu Jinghui, a military general, to put them in their place.
Qin Jijiu shared this view, saying, "Son-in-law, this task puts you on the hot seat. While it may seem like you're enjoying the Emperor's favor, it could easily incite discontent among the people and make you their enemy."
Gu Jinghui sighed, "I don't know what to do either. The Emperor is waiting for me to express my gratitude."
When he expresses his gratitude, the emperor will surely give him some instructions. What should he do then?
By this time, they had drunk several rounds of wine, and the father-in-law and son-in-law were talking more openly. Qin Jijiu said, "You certainly can't be the one to take charge of this. If something goes wrong in the future, all the blame will be directed at you. Besides, how can such a thing not go wrong? Putting a military general in this position is just asking for things to go wrong."
“Mount Tai taught me,” Gu Jinghui said immediately.
Qin Siyuan and Qin Heng listened intently with their eyes wide open, while Sixth Master Gu gripped his wine glass tightly, his knuckles digging into it, as if he were very worried about his third brother.
Qin Jijiu said, "There are no outsiders here, so why don't we call my daughter here as well?"
Qin Siyuan nodded in agreement: "Excellent."
Gu Jinghui had no objections and immediately ordered someone to invite Qin Yuan over.
On the women's side, there were only three: Madam Cui, Old Madam Gu, and Qin Yuan.
Madam Gu said, "Why do they have to call their daughter-in-law away when the men are talking?"
Madam Cui hurriedly said, "It must be that the chief priest has drunk too much again and is making a scene. My son-in-law and the others are all juniors, so it's not good for them to stop him."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Perhaps it's about the imperial edict today. Mother knows that Father is very concerned about the Marquis's future, and he probably called me there to talk about this."
Madam Cui didn't believe her: "You're busy enough with the affairs of the inner quarters. What do you, a woman, know about these things?"
Madam Gu quickly interrupted, "Mother-in-law, let her go, let her go. Yuan'er is well-read, sensible, and very knowledgeable."
Qin Yuan then turned around and went to the waterside pavilion where the male guests were drinking.
Upon seeing her arrive, Qin Jijiu, slurring his words and drunkenly, said, "Daughter, let me test you. Tell me, how should a son-in-law behave in front of the Emperor?"
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