Chapter 184: Court
Compared with Lianzhou, it is better because of the vitality of the library.
And in the capital, in the court.
When the emperor suddenly issued the imperial edict appointing Chu Ci as the Deputy Minister of Works, it was like a bolt of thunder that suddenly broke the tranquility and established order in the court.
"Your Majesty, if my memory is correct, then Chu Ci is a woman. Your Majesty, our dynasty has never had a precedent of women serving as officials since ancient times. This behavior is probably against ancestral rules!"
Minister of Rites Nie Zuming frowned tightly, his face extremely solemn, and he stood up resolutely to speak with a serious look.
However, compared to Nie Zuming who was obsessed with making a fuss about Chu Ci's female identity, the Imperial Censor Tang Jinzhu seemed more rational.
Tang Jinzhu stepped forward steadily, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, what great achievements has this woman made to deserve such an exceptional position? I beg Your Majesty to clarify this, so that all the ministers will be convinced."
If it were in the past, if the emperor encountered such blatant disobedience from his subjects, he would definitely be furious and even impose severe punishment.
But at this moment the emperor behaved unusually calm and composed. His face was as calm as water. He slowly waved his hand, signaling the eunuch beside him to take out the memorials from teachers, students and the people.
The eunuch took the memorial from the emperor with great respect, as if he was holding a rare treasure. He walked towards the first minister carefully and cautiously, and then handed the memorial to the minister with great caution.
At this time, the emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, and after sweeping his gaze majestically over the ministers, he spoke majestically: "Circulate this memorial to all the ministers, and let all the civil and military officials read it in turn. Let them all carefully examine why I want to appoint a weak woman as an official."
After saying this, the emperor held the armrests of the dragon throne firmly with both hands, quietly watching the memorials being passed among the ministers, with an elusive look in his eyes.
Upon seeing this, all the civil and military officials felt a pang of fear in their hearts at the same time, and an indescribable sense of tension quickly spread among them.
Although Prime Minister Fang, who was holding the memorial, still had the same calm expression as before without any ripples, the speed at which he flipped through the memorial was obviously much slower than usual.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the court became increasingly subtle.
But Fang Xiang seemed oblivious. After passing the memorial to the next person, he shouted, "Your Majesty is wise. Chu Ci's action is a blessing for our Great Zhou and the world."
But Prime Minister Fang seemed unaware of the solemn atmosphere in the court.
After handing the memorial to the next minister, he excitedly exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise! Chu Ci's action is truly a blessing for our Great Zhou and for all the people of the world! This is a major event that benefits both the country and the people. I deeply admire and praise him!"
The ministers looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, everyone's face was filled with doubts and confusion.
Everyone's eyes met, secretly speculating on the contents of the memorial. What kind of content could make Prime Minister Fang, who was always accustomed to contradicting the emperor, abandon his dignity?
Only Situ Xingzhang, who knew the truth, remained aloof.
However, this was his usual behavior, so no one had any doubts about it.
Just like that, the memorial was passed around among the civil and military officials one by one. As the memorial was passed around, the expressions on each minister's faces became increasingly complicated after reading it...
However, the emperor wanted to take this opportunity today to give everyone a severe warning.
After everyone had finished reading it, the emperor slowly and leisurely straightened his body. Then, with a faint smile on his face, he said in a sarcastic tone, "What are your opinions on this, pillars of the country?"
The emperor's eyes slowly swept over the ministers one by one. There seemed to be an unquestionable firmness in his eyes, as if he was eagerly waiting for the ministers to give a proper explanation or advice.
At this moment, there was silence in the court. The ministers looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, and they were all thinking carefully about how to respond to the emperor's questions.
In the end, it was the Minister of Rites Nie Zuming who was stubborn.
He took a step forward, bowed, and said solemnly and firmly, "Your Majesty, even if Chu Ci's achievements are indeed great, conferring the title of County Lady upon her is already sufficient to demonstrate the emperor's great grace."
"After all, the position of Deputy Minister of Works carries extremely heavy responsibilities and concerns many important matters. Your Majesty, please carefully consider and reconsider."
As soon as this proposal was made, there was a great deal of movement in the court. At least half of the ministers moved quickly out of the ranks and stood up, saying in unison, "I second this motion."
They all looked serious and solemn, and seemed to agree with this proposal very much.
Even Prime Minister Fang, who had just been praising the emperor's wisdom, frowned slightly at this moment, and then slowly said: "If the title of county lady is not suitable, in my opinion, the title of princess is also possible."
"Well then, then I'll confer the title of Princess Yixin on her." The emperor blurted out the words without hesitation before anyone else could react. His straightforward tone sounded as if this was a decision he had already made in his mind.
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Zhang Rang, the eunuch who had always served the emperor, stood up.
He cleared his throat, then straightened his chest, faced the ministers, and announced loudly, "By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The future headmaster of the Women's College, Chu Ci, is a woman of refined mind and exceptional intelligence. Her talent and character have deeply won my heart. I hereby grant her the title of Princess Yixin, and grant her the honor of a princess. I decree this."
So, they were completely fooled by the emperor!
The so-called Deputy Minister of Works mentioned earlier was probably just a cover. In fact, it was just a clever introduction deliberately thrown out by the emperor to confuse the people and make them fall into the trap he had carefully set up step by step.
Chu Ci, who was far away in Lianzhou, had no idea that in order to give Chu Ci a legitimate title and to put Chu Ci in the spotlight, the emperor actually teased all the officials in this way.
She was sitting at home when trouble came.
But she was completely unaware of all this.
It was not until two months later, when Chu Ci was overwhelmed by all this and was busy to the point of exhaustion, that he finally took Qianxue and Qianyan with him and planned to return to Yazhou.
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