Chapter 1560 Extra: Giving Justice a Buff (Part 1)
Following the Grand Censor Gu Chi, Minister of Personnel Luan Xin also submitted a memorial requesting annual leave several months later. The affairs of the Ministry of Personnel were temporarily handled by two Vice Ministers and the four departments. It was initially thought that Luan Xin's leave would only be for a year—he had already taken his previous leave in installments—but unexpectedly, this time it was a full two years. At the court assembly, civil and military officials held their breath in tension, their hands trembling uncontrollably within their official robes.
They awaited the Lord's reply.
Please, please, please say yes!
Luan Gongyi has taken an advance on his next round of annual leave, and we must agree to that! If Luan Tianguan doesn't have enough annual leave, they are willing to give him a few years for free, and that will definitely be enough! Everyone felt like they were living through an eternity until they heard their lord's heavenly response.
"Can."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
If they weren't still in court, they would have loved to high-five each other in celebration.
Luan Xin was on annual leave, away from the royal court for two years. The happiest person wasn't him, but rather the group of officials who had been tormented to death by the Ministry of Personnel's annual examinations. The difficulty of the examinations increased year by year, to the point that they suspected Luan Gongyi was from the Ministry of Justice; otherwise, how could he have known how to torture them so thoroughly? Now that he was on annual leave, could those rookies in the Ministry of Personnel possibly stump them with their examinations? How naive!
Hehe, Luan Xin has been gone for two years.
This means we don't have to worry about the annual exams anymore.
They could laugh in their sleep, their dreams had come true.
After the court session ended, the officials rushed to Luan Xin's side to congratulate him on the upcoming two years of carefree bliss. Some even eagerly offered to curry favor, promising to arrange for their relatives and friends to treat him well if he visited their ancestral home, ensuring he had a comfortable and enjoyable two-year vacation, ideally forgetting all about home. He had no worries about the Ministry of Personnel's operations and was in no hurry to return to his post.
They may appear friendly on the surface, but their true thoughts are quite different.
Luan Xinkai and Gu Chi heard the scholar's way clearly.
These people were clearly planning how to support other officials in the Ministry of Personnel and seize power while Luan Xin was away—for example, Xie Qi, the perennial second-in-command. As long as Xie Qi was willing to raise his voice, they would quietly recommend him as the new Minister of Personnel.
Even if Luan Xin returns from leave, the situation will be different from today.
As long as it's not Luan Xin—
The annual examinations conducted by the Ministry of Personnel wouldn't be so daunting.
Luan Xin's gaze secretly shifted upwards, only to see his colleague's perfectly high crown and thick black hair—if it weren't for the colleague's own thoughts, who would suspect that the other had stolen a wig from a female relative and used real hair to create the illusion of not being balding? They were wrong about one thing: the Ministry of Personnel's annual examinations weren't something he could single-handedly handle. His presence or absence wouldn't affect the content of the examinations. How much blame had he taken for everyone in the Ministry of Personnel over the years, and how much hatred had he incurred?
Instead of complaining about the test creators, you should study hard.
Don't always think about cramming at the last minute.
Luan Xin smiled and patted his colleague's shoulder, basking in the attention of the crowd with ease. A short while later, a female official from the inner court came to stop Luan Xin, saying the emperor had summoned him, presumably to discuss something privately.
Seeing this, his colleagues stopped bothering him.
They went to eat at the government office together, and after eating their fill, they went to their posts.
Luan Xin then followed the female officials of the inner court to see Shen Tang.
Shen Tang, still wearing the same blue robe she wore at the court assembly, leaned on her chin as she moved closer to the second person in the inner palace gardens and pavilions. Luan Xin's gaze shifted to that person, but due to the angle, he could only see their back. He knew at a glance that it wasn't Ji Moqiu.
Although Ji Moqiu and the emperor did not engage in many intimate acts in public, many Yuan Cong knew that he occasionally stayed overnight in the inner palace. Whether he did anything or not, others did not know. Male emperors favored their concubines and recorded it in the imperial history so that the timing of their pregnancies could be compared to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline. Female emperors did not need to be recorded in the imperial history. It was safer not to record it than to record it.
Most importantly, the emperor's harem was nominally empty.
The official history book became utterly useless.
This was the first time Luan Xin had ever seen anyone other than his lord, his high-ranking minister Yuan Cong, and the brothers Ji Moqiu so openly and casually socializing with him. Luan Xin secretly guessed the woman's identity and her relationship with his lord, while his lord and his brother also noticed his approach and turned their gazes toward him.
"Justice, come!"
Luan Xinchong and Chen Tang performed the rites of a ruler and his subject.
His gaze seemed to casually shift to the second person.
The other party also cast a detached glance, but did not address Luan Xin by his official title or other name first, and the lord had no objection to this. Luan Xin hesitated for two seconds: "May I ask how Your Majesty should be addressed?"
The second person was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
This person was about the same height as his master, wearing a white robe with gold patterns, and a beautiful gold and jade pendant at his waist. His skin was as white as snow, but his eyes were unusually red-gold, and there were blood-red marks below his eyelids.
Luan Xin realized he couldn't hear the other person's thoughts.
She was sitting right here, but I couldn't sense her presence.
The woman said, "My name is Boyuan."
Luan Xin: "Bo Yuanjun."
The woman calmly took the initiative and said, "Sit down."
Luan Xin: "..."
He was curious about the man's identity.
He was, after all, a high-ranking official and a trusted minister of the emperor. Even if he were to take a two-year leave, the emperor hadn't even started his vacation yet, had he? People don't forget someone so quickly after they've left. This person was neither a court official nor a friend of the emperor; neither of these identities would have treated him this way. A thought flashed through Luan Xin's mind, and another guess came to him—he considered the emperor's background.
This woman is most likely similar to the Lord.
Just as Luan Xin made his judgment, the woman said, "She's quite clever."
Upon hearing this, Luan Xin knew that his true feelings had been revealed.
However, officials are generally thick-skinned, and even when caught red-handed cricketing behind his back, Luan Xin remained calm. What was he afraid of? His lord was still present and wouldn't let him suffer any loss.
Luan Xin, knowing his place, decided to step down.
The matters the Lord instructed him about, or the matters the Lord wanted to discuss with the woman, were not suitable for a third party to be present. He had just opened his mouth when Shen Tang stopped him: "No need to leave, if anyone should leave, it should be her first."
Shen Tang did indeed have something to instruct Luan Xin on.
While waiting, an "uninvited guest" arrived.
Upon hearing this, the woman clicked her tongue.
Shen Tang tugged at the woman's extremely long golden tassel ornament: "Alas, times have changed. If you had appeared twenty or thirty years earlier, I might have actually asked you for help. Now, you can't even protect yourself, so it's your turn to bow down and beg me."
Luan Xin sat to one side, without saying a word.
Shen Tang smiled as he looked the woman up and down, his fingers brushing against her chin.
"They are truly a feast for the eyes."
As soon as he finished speaking, a thunderclap suddenly boomed in the clear sky.
The woman's gaze shifted downwards, landing on Shen Tang's slender, fair fingertips, and she asked in a soft voice, "Do you have too many roots and need me to prune them?"
Shen Tang could only withdraw her finger in boredom.
But her eyes never left the woman.
The look in his eyes was blatant, as if he wanted to tear the other person apart.
Luan Xin had never seen his lord look at anyone with such a direct and greedy gaze, yet the other party simply drank her tea in silence, ignoring his lord's gaze. After a long while, the woman put down her teacup: "You'd better not tell Lao Shi and the others about my visit to you."
Shen Tang: "Your whereabouts have already been leaked."
The implication is that even if she revealed the price, she wouldn't be able to sell it for a good price.
The woman's lips twitched slightly, but she was speechless.
After a long while, she sighed heavily again.
Shen Tang sat up straight, her expression solemn.
"Given your current situation, you might as well go along with that dead fox, Old Ten. Although he's ruthless in his exploitation, he's also quite good at cleaning up after people. Your Dao body... is shattered into such a terrible state, I'm really afraid that you'll fall apart after taking a few steps on the road, leaving behind as you go."
The woman waved dismissively.
"It doesn't matter, since it can't be annihilated anyway."
Even if it's broken, it can still "live" even if it's just dust.
"Others have wooden brains, you have a stone brain."
Stubborn to the end, with a temper as foul as a rock in a latrine.
Seeing the other person's nonchalant attitude—whether they were alive or dead—Chen Tang closed her eyes and simply let it go. Just as the woman herself said, it really wasn't a life-threatening issue.
Shen Tang turned to Luan Xin, who had remained silent.
“The Qiu family’s son made a mistake, and I’m going to teach him a lesson.”
Luan Xin immediately realized who "that person from the Qiu family" was—his adopted son, who wasn't much younger than him, and the eldest son of the late Lord Qiu Cheng. He wasn't worried, because the lord had said "teach him a lesson" rather than "kill him," which meant the mistake wasn't fatal; at most, he'd be demoted or stripped of his title…
"Everything is up to the Lord's holy judgment."
Shen Tang couldn't suppress her smile: "Then demote the Duke of the Prefecture to the Duke of the County."
He tapped the table with his finger: "I'll also bestow upon you the title of Duke."
Luan Xin suddenly looked up to refuse, but Shen Tang reacted much faster and said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. With your contributions to the country over the years, you should have been granted the title of Duke in your early years. It would be a disservice to you to be granted the title of County Duke now."
Back then, to protect Luan Xin, Shen Tang used a roundabout form of moral blackmail, bestowing the title that belonged to Luan Xin upon Qiu Cheng's eldest son. She had already given this favor, and Luan Xin had no choice but to accept it; if he refused, Qiu Cheng's eldest son and his mother insisted. In this way, Luan Xin lost his title—there could only be one title, and if Qiu Cheng's eldest son held it, Luan Xin wouldn't have one; otherwise, how unfair would that be to the others?
Back then, he was a county magistrate; after unification, he should at least be a state magistrate.
Luan Xin was also the only one among the Yuan Consorts who did not hold a noble title.
At the time, everyone was puzzled by this arrangement, which even drew criticism from many court officials. They secretly speculated whether Luan Xin had lost the emperor's favor, otherwise why wouldn't he even have a county princess of the lowest rank? The county princess was originally a county baron, but considering that the gender affiliation of the county baron was too obvious and not very friendly to other female officials and generals who were qualified to be granted the title of county baron, a rites official suggested changing it to county princess.
All other titles can be used as neutral forms of address and do not need to be changed.
As for the issue of the county princess being taken by the daughter of a prince in the old dynasty, there was only one prince in Kangguo at that time, Prince Yuan, who was just a little kid. Later, Prince Yuan was directly appointed as the crown prince and the crown princess. As for the daughter of a prince, we'll talk about that in the future.
Only a few astute individuals sensed the truth.
Luan Xin's title had long been given away; it just wasn't on his head anymore. If you asked Gu Chi, he might reveal some inside information if he was in a good mood—more than ten years have passed since the change of reign title, and the emperor has been keeping an eye on Qiu Cheng's eldest son every now and then, not because he values him, but because he wants to nitpick and find fault with him.
This mistake was neither too big nor too small, enough for her to humiliate the other party.
Unfortunately, Qiu Cheng's son is like a tortoise, able to hold back his anger.
He didn't hold any real position in the court. He would occasionally attend court as a background figure. After returning home, he would close the door and live a quiet life, keeping his siblings and children in check and behaving themselves. During festivals, he would visit Luan Xin's residence to pay respects to his godfather... no, to visit him.
It's impressive that it lasted this long before being nerfed.
Gu Chi felt exhausted just looking at this unlucky guy.
He even subtly reminded his lord that there were other avenues.
How long will we have to wait like this?
It would be better to frame someone else; as long as Luan Xin doesn't know, that's fine.
Shen Tang said seriously, "That won't do. I can't fall into the same trap twice. I'll wait for him to make a mistake on his own initiative."
It must be Qiu Cheng's eldest son who made the mistake on his own initiative; there must be no external guidance, and it cannot be her or anyone else framing him.
Fishermen always have plenty of patience.
Look, this fish has been fished for over ten years, and it finally took the bait!
No sooner had Shen Tang received the news than she happily summoned Luan Xin to discuss face-to-face which title would be more suitable.
Luan Xin: "But—"
Shen Tang pressed his hand down: "No buts."
Luan Xin: "..."
He looked into the Lord's bright eyes, who asked him with great interest, "Does Gongyi have a favorite title? If you haven't thought of one yet, I'll have the Ministry of Rites draft one for you. Alas, it's just a Duke... A single-character title isn't enough, how about a double-character one?"
The character "双" (shuang) is actually quite good.
Luan Xin: "..."
He realized that his lord could not be disobeyed.
If he continues to refuse, his adopted son will likely be the one to suffer.
The adopted son has been so cautious and prudent for so many years; how could it be without Luan Xin's constant guidance? However, while Luan Xin can control this older adopted son, he can't control the son's descendants. When a family grows large, maintaining unity becomes difficult.
He said, "Everything is decided by the Lord."
"How will Justice prepare for the next two years of annual leave?"
Luan Xin said, "Go and visit hermits and scholars in the countryside more often."
Not everyone likes being an official.
Many skilled individuals in the general public also prefer freedom.
Why is the annual examination of the Ministry of Personnel so difficult? Why does he choose such challenging questions to make things difficult for his colleagues? Isn't it all to spur them to work hard and contribute to the perfection of his scholarly path?
Unfortunately, these colleagues disappointed him greatly!
The perfect cannot reach the ultimate, and the ordinary cannot reach perfection.
With all these officials so lazy, when will he ever achieve his goal?
Luan Xin's decision to take annual leave at this crucial juncture is partly due to his tacit understanding with Gu Chi about the principle of "prolonged tenure leading to promotion," but also because he intends to leave his central post and scout out valuable resources... no, materials, for a successful ceremony from the common people. He believes that the hidden talents among the common people will yield valuable results.
Shen Tang: "That's a bit difficult."
Kangguo has been recruiting old people and cultivating new ones all these years.
More than anyone else, she wanted to help Luan Xin reach one hundred perfect scores.
The reason why hermits are hermits is that they are really hard to find. If Luan Xin went to find them one by one, how much time would that take?
Just as Luan Xin was about to answer, he saw his lord's gaze fixed intently on the man beside him who called himself "Bo Yuan": "Help me."
The woman raised an eyebrow: "Beg me."
Shen Tang readily agreed, "Please."
The woman was quite disgusted by Shen Tang's unprincipled behavior.
but--
The woman agreed anyway, after all, compared to the tenth brother's attempt to exploit her, the seventh brother and his wife selling her whereabouts for a good price, and the fifth brother kicking her when she was down—this was indeed a trivial matter.
Luan Xin was puzzled when the woman flicked her finger.
A golden-red light entered his brow.
Shen Tang patted his shoulder with a smile.
"May the heavens shine upon you, and may your path to success be clear."
(σ)σ:*☆
(End of this chapter)
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