Chapter 29
Most men, when trying to coax someone, are obedient and promise everything, but never fulfill anything. Their promises are fleeting. But Yu Xi is different. He always keeps his word and always delivers on his promises. If he does, he won't agree, but if he does, he'll do it, no matter what obstacles stand in the way.
Ling Huanchen knew Yu Xi was always efficient, but he hadn't expected it to be this fast. Just three days later, Ling Huanchen had been offered a vacant position in the imperial court.
Yu Xi sat beside him, watched with him, and patiently analyzed with him the jurisdiction of each official position.
"The civil servants in the Hanlin Academy are good. Huanchen doesn't like reading, and that's a perfect place to build a library."
The Hanlin Academy is indeed the most suitable, but he already has a goal in mind, and the rest are just supporting roles.
Ling Huanchen raised his eyes and pointed his slender fingers at one spot. "I want this."
Four big words were clearly written under the fingertips.
Yu Xi was a little surprised. "Huanchen wants to go to the Ministry of Justice?"
"May I?"
In his previous life, the assignment from the Ministry of Justice was given to him personally by Yu Xi because he was still unmoved when he heard about the assignment from the Hanlin Academy.
"Of course. Then, tomorrow I'll officially issue the order for Huanchen to take over the position of Minister of Justice." Yu Xi grasped his hand and caressed it carefully. "Once the arrangements are made, Huanchen can attend court with me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Ling Huanchen saw the tenderness in Yu Xi's eyes, and couldn't help but think that if the court officials saw him like this, they would definitely impeach him as a foreigner who misled the emperor.
In his final days, Yun He had heard Yu Xi's order for him to serve in the imperial court sparked discontent among the civil and military officials. Memorials piled up, all expressing opposition. But before he could even hear about this, Yu Xi had suppressed it. Fearing the emperor, the court officials finally compromised.
However, what Ling Huanchen didn't know was that once Yu Xi's summons was issued the next day, no one, from the Prime Minister to the deputies, objected. From the issuance of the order to the arrangement, everything went almost smoothly.
In fact, the court officials were not against it, but they had no choice but to let it go. In order to avoid being "respected by the wise and humble" by Yu Xi every now and then, what's wrong with letting the harem participate in politics? They thought that the mermaid was just an embroidered pillow and could not cause any trouble. It could also divert the king's attention, which was a compromise.
The prime minister watched the situation quietly, and the other ministers remained silent. Those who wanted to oppose did not dare to act rashly after recalling the past, so there was a "peaceful" atmosphere in the court today.
"Everyone says that if a person is good-looking, they look good in anything." Xiao Qi knelt down to smooth the hem of Ling Huanchen's clothes, then looked up at him with shining eyes, "Master, you look good in court robes too."
The court dress of Youcheng was primarily crimson purple, with a court emblem embroidered with gold thread on the chest. The sleeves were wide, highlighting the delicate wrists. The hairpins were removed from the head, and the hair was tied with a jade crown, half tied and half left, with the remaining black hair neatly draped behind the back.
Yun He put down the comb and put the bronze mirror in place, "Master, the comb is done."
Ling Huanchen looked at himself in the mirror, and in a trance his shadow overlapped with his previous life.
"Your Highness!"
Hearing the noise outside the door, Ling Huanchen saw Yu Xi had already entered the bedroom before he could go out.
Yu Xi looked him up and down, then suddenly extended his hand, "Let's go to court together."
It turns out that what Yu Xi meant by "together" really meant it in the literal sense: they went out together, rode in the same sedan chair, and entered the Yougan Palace together.
When the courtiers saw the two of them entering the palace together, they couldn't help but stare at each other. They didn't realize this wasn't just a court meeting between the emperor and his subjects; they were actually the king and queen having a grand banquet together.
"If you have the documents, please submit your report. If you don't, please leave the court!"
As Fu Changshi finished speaking, the courtiers began to submit their memorials in an orderly manner, saying what they were supposed to say and trying their best to ignore Ling Huanchen's presence. Fortunately, their king continued to handle government affairs as usual, which reassured the courtiers. After all, the king had not been blinded by lust. Aside from the occasional glance he would take, past the crowd, to a specific corner, revealing a gentle expression that had never been displayed to them before, everything was normal.
Due to King You's majesty, no one dared to say anything, and could only criticize him in their hearts. Anyone who said that their king was not interested in men or women, and did not like beautiful women, was definitely not beautiful enough.
Yu Xi leaned back slightly, "My dear ministers, do you have anything else to report?"
"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit."
Everyone's eyes turned to the source of the sound, only to see Ling Huanchen stroll to the front of the hall, take out a memorial from his arms, and present it with both hands.
After Fu Changshi handed the memorial to Yu Xi, Ling Huanchen spoke, "I have just taken charge of the Ministry of Justice, so I am inevitably unfamiliar with the practical matters. Therefore, I request that you review the Ministry's past cases to ensure that there are no omissions."
As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials' expressions varied. Some looked grim, while others were enjoying the show. Even so, no one stood up to object at this moment.
Yu Xi closed the memorial and said with a curved lip, "Your Majesty, I grant your permission."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" As long as he had legitimate access to the files of the Ministry of Justice, he would have the opportunity to dig up the previous case.
"Lord Du."
Du Heng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, stepped forward upon being summoned, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty is here."
"You will assist Lord Ling Ai in reviewing the files of the Ministry of Justice. You will obey Lord Ling Ai's orders in all matters."
Du Heng bowed again and said, "I obey your command!"
According to Yu Xi's original idea, the two of them would come together, attend court together, leave court together, and then return to the bedroom to eat together. The idea was perfect, but his little mermaid left him on the first day of taking office, saying that she wanted to do her job and resolutely went to the Ministry of Justice's archives.
The files at the Ministry of Justice were piled high, with more than half of them closed, and a small number listed as pending. Reviewing them all would take at least ten days or half a month.
Ling Huanchen walked in front and Du Heng followed behind. He wanted to talk to Ling Huanchen several times, but he held the words back when they came to his lips.
"Sir Du, what do you want to tell me?" Ling Huanchen suddenly turned around and asked.
Du Heng was startled and quickly took two steps back, bowing and saying, "Your Highness, uh, no, sir, no, Your Highness..."
Ling Huanchen spoke up at the right time to save the situation, "Now that you and I are in the court together, we can address each other as court officials."
Du Heng breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't convinced by the man before him, but he didn't dare offend him, much less provoke him. After all, he was close to the king. He had long heard of the extraordinary beauty of the prince in the Jade Luan Palace, and had thought the rumors were beyond belief. Seeing him in person, he realized the rumors were even more modest. Therefore, he didn't dare look directly at his face, fearing an offense. Being accused of something would not only cost him his job and his life, but also bring disgrace.
"Your Excellency, I will immediately retrieve the pending case files for your review."
Ling Huanchen paced in front of the case and said, "Bring over the closed case files first."
Du Heng paused after asking, who would read the case files? It turned out that it looked good but could only be used as decoration, after all, he was just an outsider.
He disagreed in his heart, but kept it to himself. The king had commanded him to obey Ling Huanchen's orders, and that was an absolute command. So Du Heng respectfully agreed and went about making the arrangements, not disrespectful, but not overly so either.
Ling Huanchen's mind was as clear as a mirror. He knew that Du Heng was very dissatisfied with him at this moment. This was also human nature. After all, he did interfere in the Ministry of Justice through Yu Xi's relationship, and it would be difficult to convince people at first.
Although Du Heng had many complaints, he was a first-class worker. Soon, he sent in the files in chronological order, from recent to far.
Despite all the fuss, Ling Huanchen was actually just looking for a case, one of the first cases he took on when he was first appointed Minister of Justice in his previous life. The incident had escalated because the victim rushed outside the Ministry of Justice lobby, beating drums to protest, which unearthed a case that had been suppressed for years.
Due to his lack of experience, although the case was eventually cleared, he was unable to save the victim's only bloodline, which was killed during the investigation.
Calculating the time, the case was hastily closed about a year ago. His first task was to find the case file and then send people to search for the victim's servants and orphans.
It was impossible for Ling Huanchen to directly investigate a specific case by name right now, as that would definitely arouse suspicion. He could only review each case one by one, and he would eventually uncover the truth.
Relying on his daily reading experience, Ling Huanchen reads the files much faster than the average person.
Hearing the knock on the door, Ling Huanchen didn't even raise his head, but just said, "Come in."
"Master, have some tea."
Ling Huanchen suddenly looked up and saw that it was Yun He. He was stunned for a moment, then he understood, "The King asked you to come."
Yun He nodded, "The king is concerned about the comfort of the master, so he asked this servant to come forward and serve, and to accompany the master in and out of the palace."
With Yunhe around, things become much more convenient.
"Master, please don't tire yourself out. Take some rest."
Ling Huanchen took the teacup, took a sip of the familiar tea fragrance, and suddenly felt refreshed physically and mentally, and all the fatigue of the whole day disappeared.
Only when the sun went down and the full moon was in the sky did Ling Huanchen return to the palace. He finally understood why Yu Xi often worked on government affairs until late at night. It was because she had completely lost track of time.
Du Heng had ordered lunch, and Yun He had specially delivered dinner. After not seeing Yu Xi for nearly ten hours, Ling Huanchen couldn't help but wonder what she was doing now. Was she summoning ministers to the study, concentrating on reviewing memorials, or perhaps waiting for him in the Jade Luan Palace?
Thinking of this, he smiled and shook his head. He was not in Yuluan Palace, so Yu Xi must be in Ziyi Palace.
"Meet the Master!"
As soon as Ling Huanchen entered the room, Xiao Qi immediately came forward to serve tea and water, "Master, you are back. I also want to leave the palace with you, but Sister A He won't take you."
"Ah He is following the king's orders. He can't just leave the palace casually. How can he take anyone with him?"
Xiao Qi smacked his lips and said, "I know."
Ling Huanchen rubbed his eyebrows, turned around and walked into the room.
"Master, there is..."
Ling Huanchen just wanted to go to bed early so that he could go to the file room tomorrow, and he didn't pay any attention to what Xiaoqi said.
He was just wondering why the room was pitch black and not a single candle was lit.
"Xiao Qi..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard the door creak shut. Before Ling Huanchen could react, he was grabbed into someone's arms and brought to the couch in an instant.
"Let me hold you for a while."
The author has something to say:
Yu Xi: Some people like cats, some like dogs, some like rabbits, but I just like mermaids. I feel short of breath if I can’t see them for a while.
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Thank you to "Shan Yu Yue", "Tang Tang", "Qin Bei Yan", and "49458882" for their nutrient solution encouragement! See you tomorrow night~
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