Chapter 54 When referring to one's job title
In the early hours of April 15th, before dawn, Yu Mingshu turned around in front of a full-length mirror and was dazzled by his brand-new official robe.
Although it was the lowest grade of light blue round-necked robe, it was still a proper official robe with a woven pattern. From afar, it shone brightly, and up close, the dark patterns were exquisite and elegant.
People really do only look energetic when they're wearing uniforms.
With a creak, Luo Yan pushed open the door a crack from the outside and urged in a low voice, "Miss, He Erlang is asking when you're leaving?"
"Coming right away." Yu Mingshu was in a great mood. After packing the small cloth bag, he jokingly tapped Luo Yan's forehead. "Also, when you're working, use your job title."
Luo Yan remained silent, but still followed her lead and changed her words: "Alright, alright, the librarian should hurry up and go out. Commander He has been waiting for a long time."
Yu Mingshu hurriedly led out his newly acquired horse from the stable and met up with He Zheng at the street corner outside his house.
He Zheng looked at her vehicle with great interest, reaching out to stroke the horse's well-developed muscles. "This horse is nice. When did you rent it?"
"What do you mean rented? I bought this from the West Market yesterday." Yu Mingshu mounted the horse, stroking its glossy black mane and gripping the reins tightly with one hand.
The horse she chose was very similar to the black horse at the He family's Lishan Villa in both pedigree and appearance.
"It must have cost a fortune, right?"
"Fortunately, with the more than two hundred strings of cash you won, it's more than enough to buy a fine horse."
He Zheng laughed and said, "You've also picked up extravagant habits."
“Isn’t the point of making money to spend it?” Yu Mingshu said. “Besides, this is a basic necessity. I can’t possibly walk to the Bureau of Justice every morning at dawn, can I?”
He Zheng shrugged and leaped onto his horse, pointing the whip at her new favorite, saying, "Let me see how good your steed's legs are."
Two figures sped across Zhuque Avenue.
In the distance, the sun and moon quietly alternated in the sky, and the warm morning glow shone over the imperial city, reflecting golden light on the roof tiles of the palaces.
A gust of wind ruffled her clothes, and Yu Mingshu subconsciously squinted, her heart pounding. In her previous life, she had studied in the capital and had accompanied many friends to visit the Forbidden City. She had seen many magnificent palaces, but none were as awe-inspiring as the one she was feeling now.
This is the real imperial city. In the most prominent Taiji Palace in the distance lives a living emperor who truly holds the power of life and death.
When they could make out the inscription on the Vermilion Bird Gate, He Zheng slowed down, and Yu Mingshu, coming to his senses, followed suit and gradually slowed down as well.
The city gates were guarded by imperial guards, and officials entering the city had to show their waist tokens to pass. Once inside the imperial city, one could no longer ride a horse. Walking along the official road, one could see many officials going to their respective posts in twos and threes.
He Zheng moved two steps closer to Yu Mingshu and carefully introduced the layout of the imperial city, "Look, once you enter the imperial city, this is the Court of State Ceremonies on the left, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices on the right, and further ahead are the Censorate, the Court of Imperial Stud, and the Six Ministries."
"To the left and right of the Taiji Hall are the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and further east of the Secretariat and the Chancellery is the Eastern Palace."
Yu Mingshu suddenly remembered that Xie Huaijin had gone to the Secretariat and couldn't help but ask, "So Xie Sanlang is quite close to us?"
"Why bring him up out of the blue?" He Zheng said with dissatisfaction. "The Bureau of Classics is under the jurisdiction of the Left Spring Palace and is located in the southeast corner of the Eastern Palace, quite a distance from the Secretariat. Our Guard Commandery, on the other hand, is just across the street from the Bureau of Classics. It's only a short walk away. If you need anything, just come and find me."
As the two were talking, they arrived at the Bureau of Justice and saw a slender figure waiting outside the door in the distance.
Upon recognizing the man, Yu Mingshu quickly stepped forward to greet him, "Secretary Yang, what brings you here?"
Yang Leyi, dressed in the attire of a female official and wearing a jade crown, possessed an elegant and refined demeanor. She was not surprised to see He Zheng and Yu Mingshu arriving together and nodded in return.
"His Highness the Crown Prince specifically instructed me that since Miss Yu is new to the government office and unfamiliar with the various departments, he asked me to guide her."
Before Yu Mingshu could say anything, He Zheng retorted.
"You, a fourth-rank female official, have no other proper duties to do, coming here so early in the morning to give directions to the librarian?"
Yang Leyi replied with a smile, "Isn't Commander He Wei also quite leisurely?"
He Zheng's inner alarm bells rang, but he asked in a serious tone, "Cousin, are you busy? I have something to ask you to see me."
Yang Leyi said, "His Highness just left to meet the Emperor at the Taiji Hall."
He Zheng said, "Then hurry up and follow. If you walk fast, you can catch up in time. Leave the task of guiding the librarian to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure hurriedly came up behind him. He was dressed as a minor official and bowed to the three of them.
"The Minister requests that He Erlang come over; he has important matters to discuss."
Yang Leyi raised an eyebrow. "That's really unfortunate. This job is going to end up in my hands after all."
Watching He Zheng leave, Yu Mingshu couldn't help but ask, "Which minister were you referring to?"
“His elder brother, He Ting.”
No wonder it runs away as soon as it's called.
"Come with me." Yang Leyi gently touched Yu Mingshu's arm, gesturing for her to follow her inside.
"The Bureau of Books has a rich collection of books, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. The most important task in their daily work is fire prevention, followed by sorting out manuscripts, collating and compiling lost texts."
"The head of the Bureau of Justice is named He Wenfang, and he ranked ninth in the imperial examination of the eleventh year of Fengle. He is a reclusive and quiet person who does not like to talk, but he has an amazing capacity for alcohol. Unless it is urgent, you should not bother him."
A reclusive, quiet person with a high alcohol tolerance—what kind of person is this? A bohemian youth who enjoys drinking alone in solitude?
Yu Mingshu kept up with Yang Leyi's pace while inwardly grumbling.
"As for your superior, he's the one at the first table in the east wing."
Looking in the direction Yang Leyi pointed, through the open window, one could see a dignified female official sitting inside.
Yu Mingshu was taken aback. "There are other female scholars who have passed the imperial examinations in this dynasty?"
Yang Leyi couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you thinking? This is Zhang Shilang's younger sister, Zhang Yaoguang."
I see, it's another case of being hired without an exam.
"Four new recruits joined the Bureau of Justice today. You arrived the earliest, so wait in the corridor for now," Yang Leyi said, pointing to a row of seats outside the private room. "If there are no other questions, I'll go back and report."
Yu Mingshu thanked her and watched her leave.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the other three colleagues that Yang Leyi mentioned arrived one after another.
Upon seeing the two men and one woman before him, Yu Mingshu suddenly realized that there were quite a few female officials in the Eastern Palace, but most of them were daughters of noble families and meritorious officials, and did not need to enter officialdom through the imperial examinations.
That's surprising enough.
Throughout history, apart from the Wu Zhou dynasty, Yu Mingshu had never heard of any other dynasty having so many female officials, all concentrated in the small court of the Eastern Palace... What was the emperor trying to do? Did he have to recruit all the candidates into the Eastern Palace to choose a consort for the crown prince?
At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the four newly appointed officials first checked the documents before going to the hall to sign in.
After they signed in, the official pointed to a table for each of them and gave no further instructions.
Yu Mingshu looked around, then quietly approached Zhang Yaoguang and asked in a low voice, "I am new here and would like to ask Scholar Zhang, what exactly do we do on a daily basis?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yaoguang looked at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "Feel free to browse the books on the back shelf."
"Does the Bureau of Justice currently have any projects underway?" Yu Mingshu gestured with his hands, unsure how to phrase the question in a more archaic way.
Zhang Yaoguang said, "He Xima is currently proofreading the 'Classic of Tea.' If you are interested, you can join him."
Yang Leyi had just instructed that his superior, He Wenfang, did not like socializing, so Yu Mingshu should not bother him.
She went to the bookshelf reluctantly, browsed through it for a long time, selected a book that interested her, and returned to her workstation, pretending to be busy all morning.
At noon, he followed the crowd to get his meal. After eating, he came back and, like the other veteran employees, lay down on the floor and took a nap. In the afternoon, Yu Mingshu couldn't sit still any longer. He looked around, trying to find out what was going on with his colleagues.
Zhang Yaoguang brewed a pot of tea and spent half an hour brewing it. During the rest of the time, she sipped the tea and whispered to the newly arrived Miss Chen Qingyue. The two seemed to be old acquaintances.
Judging from their occasional attempts to conceal their lips and their occasional shrugs, it's clear that their conversation was mostly unrelated to work.
Another new colleague named Xu Jie went to He Xima's side, and you could see him fawning over his superior through the window.
The last one simply disappeared; he hasn't returned since lunchtime.
Yu Mingshu was lost in confusion.
Isn't it a waste of resources for the imperial court to support so many idle people?
Just then, the gatekeeper came to call her out.
Hurriedly arriving outside the courtyard, He Zheng stood under a tree carrying a basket of grapes. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and waved to her.
What brings you here?
"Let's see how you're adapting. Are your superiors and colleagues getting along well?"
"Everything is fine." Yu Mingshu smiled and said, "Is the Right Guard Commandery as leisurely as the Bureau of Classics?"
He Zheng's expression froze. "You also think the position of Commander of the Guards is too easy?"
"How would I know?" Yu Mingshu said. "I just noticed that you don't need to be on duty and you keep coming here, so I asked you this question."
He Zheng unconsciously gripped the basket handle tightly and said, "How could I not want to go to the battlefield, kill the enemy, and make a name for myself?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Mingshu gave him a deep look but did not reply.
She still felt that compared to being born into war, living a leisurely life all day was a kind of luck.
He Zheng led her to a less crowded corner and changed the subject, "Did His Highness the Crown Prince summon you today?"
Yu Mingshu shook his head, knowing what he was worried about, and then offered his analysis.
“I’ve observed today that I’m not the only lady-in-waiting in the Eastern Palace. If His Majesty really wants to replace his daughter-in-law, it can’t be me.”
"Leaving aside distant examples, just look at Miss Chen, who joined the company with me today. She comes from a scholarly family, and her family is a rising star in the imperial court..." Yu Mingshu lowered his voice and looked around warily.
Seeing that no one else was around, she continued, "Even if His Majesty is wary of the powerful aristocratic families, he would not choose a wife from a family that offers no support to the Crown Prince."
He Zheng was about to say that the Crown Prince had no brothers and all his uncles were dead, so why should he rely on his wife's family to consolidate his position?
He realized it in an instant, his brows furrowing. The one at Qingquan Palace was about to give birth.
…
On the third day after starting work, my colleagues seemed quite restless.
From the moment I return from my morning shift, I seem restless, constantly leaving my workstation to take a stroll outside the courtyard.
Over the past two days, Yu Mingshu and Chen Qingyue had several casual conversations and became much more familiar with each other than when they first joined the company. Noticing that the atmosphere was a bit off, she subtly moved her cushion closer to her colleague.
"Sister Chen, do you know what's wrong with everyone today? Why is everyone so agitated?"
Chen Qingyue glanced at her and said in surprise, "You really are oblivious to what's going on around you."
Is it possible that she's just out of touch with the world?
Yu Mingshu stared at her expectantly, hoping that the other person could answer his questions.
Chen Qingyue said succinctly, "Last night, news came from Qingquan Palace that Consort Wei is about to give birth."
She can have her own life; what business is it of these Crown Prince officials?
Uh, surely the struggle for the crown prince doesn't have to start from the moment a newborn baby is born?
Yu Mingshu was still completely confused after listening.
"At the second quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM) today, Consort Wei gave birth to a little princess. It is said that His Majesty was somewhat disappointed at the time, but the imperial physician said that Consort Zhao was also pregnant with a son. Upon hearing this, His Majesty was overjoyed and ordered the morning court session to be postponed, saying that he wanted to witness the birth of the little prince with his own eyes..."
"Even now, His Majesty is still guarding Qingquan Palace."
Yu Mingshu exclaimed in surprise, "Twins again?"
The probability of naturally conceiving twins is extremely small, so who would have thought that Emperor Fengle would encounter it twice?
When Your Majesty entered Chang'an, Consort He, who was still a princess, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. At the time, this was regarded by the world as an auspicious omen. Many hesitant ministers took this as the mandate of heaven and surrendered to the new emperor.
For twenty years after His Majesty ascended the throne, no newborns were born in the harem. Some suspected that the Empress was jealous, but she actively recruited new concubines and sought out renowned doctors to examine the emperor and his consorts several times. She did not seem like a jealous woman at all.
The fact that Consort Wei was able to conceive and give birth safely is enough to clear the Empress's name.
That said, the emperor also had his own methods for sowing seeds; if he didn't succeed, so be it, but if he did, it was a hidden gem.
Yu Mingshu glanced at the sky, frowned, and said, "Two hours have passed since 5:45 AM. Has the prince not been born yet?"
"Who knows?" Chen Qingyue sighed. "His Majesty has been guarding Qingquan Palace for almost ten hours since the news broke. Perhaps the young prince is also choosing an auspicious time."
That is to say, Consort Wei has been in labor for twenty hours.
Yu Mingshu suddenly felt a phantom pain, and his face quietly turned ferocious.
"Is the auspicious time she wants the one described in history books as auspicious purple clouds coming from the east, a sky full of rosy dawn, and colorful clouds bringing good fortune?"
Chen Qingyue shrugged and gestured with her chin towards the outside of the courtyard. "Now you know why they've been circling around in the yard."
…
Qingquan Palace.
Heart-wrenching screams echoed from the delivery room, and the stench of blood permeated the entire palace.
The palace maid anxiously lifted the curtain and saw the emperor impatiently fiddling with his prayer beads. She quickly loosened the heavy curtain and retreated into the delivery room.
On the bed, Consort Wei's face was deathly pale, her hair soaked with sweat and matted. She forced herself to lift her head and weakly asked, "Is His Majesty still guarding outside?"
The palace maid said softly, "His Majesty truly cares for the Empress; his eyes are bloodshot from staying up all night, yet he refuses to return to the palace to rest."
Consort Wei was in so much pain that she had no strength left, but she still managed to say in broken sentences, "Go out and persuade His Majesty that his health is of utmost importance. There are imperial physicians and nannies guarding Qingquan Palace. My son and I will definitely be alright..."
The palace maid accepted the order and left, then reluctantly relayed Consort Wei's words to the emperor.
As expected, the emperor was furious.
"Let her focus on giving birth! Don't say anything else!"
Before long, a eunuch rushed into the palace courtyard like the wind, stumbled, and knelt down beside the emperor's throne.
Yao Qingxi frowned and scolded, "What's all the rush! Be careful not to disturb Consort Zhaorong and the young prince!"
The eunuch kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness, and explained with trembling body: "The Ministry of Personnel has sent an urgent report that the Duke of Yingguo and the Earl of Anyuan are waiting to be received in front of the palace. They request Your Majesty to move to the Taiji Hall!"
Emperor Fengle paused in his fiddle with the prayer beads, frowning upon hearing this. "Where is Prime Minister Li?"
The eunuch, his forehead pressed against the floor tile, replied, "Prime Minister Li has taken leave today. The Ministry of Personnel just sent someone to deliver the message, so Prime Minister Li should be on his way to the palace by now."
Emperor Fengle glanced in the direction of the delivery room and finally put the Buddhist prayer beads back on his wrist.
"Yao Qingxi, you stay here and guard this place."
"yes."
…
At the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), the sun was setting in the west.
Bowl after bowl of ginseng soup was brought into the delivery room. The many imperial physicians were so anxious that they were covered in cold sweat. Finally, they heard a faint cry coming from the room.
The midwife exclaimed with delight, "It's born! It's born! Consort Zhaorong has given birth to a little prince!"
Upon hearing this, all the imperial physicians in the courtyard breathed a sigh of relief. The young prince's life was saved, and so were theirs.
Yao Qingxi grinned from ear to ear and distributed the reward money he had prepared beforehand.
After the last imperial physician left Qingquan Palace, he gave a wink to the eunuch beside him, who nodded and immediately stepped forward to clear the way.
Lifting the curtain, which was permeated with the smell of blood, a gentle breeze blew into the delivery room, and sunlight cast several long, slanted shadows onto the exquisite and elegant carpet.
A few streaks of bright light flashed across Wei Zhaorong's pale face, causing her to squint instinctively. Postpartum exhaustion made her extremely irritable, and the moment she saw who it was, she couldn't help but frown, wanting to reprimand them.
She had just given birth, covered in blood and in a sorry state, when these eunuchs, utterly oblivious, barged into the delivery room without a word!
After a moment of embarrassment and annoyance, a belated sense of joy followed.
Consorts who give birth to imperial offspring are considered to have rendered meritorious service. Today, she has given birth to the first pair of twins (a boy and a girl) since His Majesty ascended the throne, which can be considered a great achievement. His Majesty will surely be overjoyed and reward her and her maternal family handsomely.
Thinking of this, a glimmer of light appeared in Wei Zhaorong's eyes, and she forced a kind smile onto her lips, weakly asking, "Eunuch Yao, is it His Majesty's decree?"
Yao Qingxi straightened his broad back, a fleeting look of reluctance crossing his brow. But that pity was quickly overshadowed by the words "the emperor's will cannot be defied."
He put on a stern face and read out the emperor's verdict.
"Consort Wei, who gave birth to a prince, died of postpartum hemorrhage. I am deeply saddened and grieved. Therefore, I hereby posthumously confer upon her the title of First-Rank Virtuous Consort, and bestow upon her brother Wei Yan one hundred bolts of silk, one thousand bushels of rice, and ten thousand strings of copper coins."
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