Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 136
Feng Jing forced a smile and finally managed to say, "My first wish is for you to get better... Yes, it will definitely come true."
Yuan Yuan shook her head slightly and said, "When you made this wish, the immortal must have walked away and didn't hear it." But she quickly smiled again, "However, they must have heard the second and third ones. Your wish will come true one day."
Feng Jing lowered his head and remained silent, afraid that meeting her gaze would infect her with his sadness.
Her gaze shifted to the gold bracelet on her wrist, and she made a request: "Can this gold bracelet be buried with me?"
Feng Jing was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said, "This was originally yours, so of course you can keep wearing it."
Yuan Yuan smiled faintly, withdrew her hand, took off the gold bracelet herself, and handed it to Feng Jing: "I was just teasing you. This isn't mine at all, I don't want it..."
Feng Jing was surprised and didn't understand what she meant for the time being. Then, Yuan Yuan asked him a question: "Your third wish is related to this golden bracelet, isn't it?"
Feng Jing gripped the gold bracelet he had just received, speechless. Yuan Yuan, not waiting for his reply, turned her head inward and uttered her last words: "The owner of the gold bracelet, wasn't she on that ship?"
As she said this, she maintained a faint smile, but as she turned her head, a tear slid down her nose and fell, disappearing into the fibers of the quilt and pillow beneath her.
The Lonely City (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) - Side Story 8
Chapter word count: 3766 Update time: 08-08-21 17:29
8. Orioles in flight
A delicately tied embroidered ball of red silk and colorful threads gently fell from behind the colorful curtains of a wealthy mansion on the upper floor of a building on the side of the street in front of Jinmingchi in Tokyo. It knocked down the hairpin and palace flowers that the newly appointed top scholar Feng Jing had put back on his black gauze hat on the horse in front of the building.
Feng Jing lightly reined in his green horse, stopped, and turned to look back... Wearing a yellow shirt and green robe, his sleeves fluttered in the wind as he turned his head.
The shadowy figures of several women behind the curtain seemed to be suddenly scattered by the wind, retreating slightly in a cramped and scattered manner, followed by a burst of light, joyful, and crisp laughter.
He raised the corners of his lips slightly and paid no further attention. After the passersby who were vying for the palace flowers in his hair were pushed aside by the stern-faced man, he lightly touched the horse's belly with his black boot and urged the horse to continue forward.
This was the first year of the Huangyou era. Feng Jing achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, and his brilliant achievements and flawless appearance made him the most dazzling green-clad man at the celebration banquet.
For women he was interested in, they would often throw objects to attract his attention. These objects might be fruit, a fan, or even ornaments or embroidered balls. After he won the top three prizes in the imperial examinations, wealthy families would throw objects with their naked wealth and power, such as the Zhang Yaozuo family.
He refused all these ambiguous gifts, without any reciprocation. The only gift he received from women after passing the imperial examination was the dragon and phoenix tea cakes and dumplings bestowed upon him by the Empress on the day the names were announced in the Taiqing Tower.
But on that day, she hid behind the colorful curtains and beaded screens upstairs, and he didn't see her. Even the words of reward were conveyed by the palace officials. Later, he picked up a fan that a little girl upstairs had accidentally dropped, and examined it carefully, a faint smile appearing on his face—this silk fan, which she had once admired, seemed all the more lovely.
He had also thought about what he should say to her when they met again. But when he rode his horse past Jinming Pond and saw the Empress's ceremonial procession and phoenix palanquin coming towards him, he was caught off guard and completely forgot all the words he had planned. He simply dismounted, bowed his head, and paid his respects to Ruyi, like a student meeting his teacher for the first time, waiting for her to ask a question before answering.
Seeing that he no longer wore the palace flowers in his hairpins, she had her maid pick a peony from under the eaves of his carriage and put it in his hair. It was a thousand-petaled peony, purple in color with dense and neat leaves. Later, he inquired about it and learned that the flower was called "Flat-headed Purple".
Purple was a color favored by scholars and officials, because wearing purple and gold was the dream of most people.
Her small gift, given so casually, was both generous and appropriate, a blessing in disguise. He bowed again in gratitude, respectfully seeing her off, without uttering another word. But in truth, he longed to ask her if she recognized the top scholar before her as the boy who had guided her, and the scholar who had chased after her boat outside Yuhang City.
Will there be another chance to ask her in the future? His fingers gently stroked the damp petals of the "flat-top purple" dress, which had been re-adorned, and felt a cool sensation on them.
It seemed that every time he saw her, she would give him a gift. He suddenly remembered that when they first met, she gave him a gold bracelet; when they announced his name, she gave him a dragon and phoenix tea cake; and now, she gave him a "flat-topped purple"... So, what about that time in Yuhang?
Yuan Yuan. His heart trembled slightly, and he felt a pang of sadness. Looking back now, he realized that his encounter with Yuan Yuan could be considered a gift from her.
He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to his mother, who was still in Jiangxia, to inform her of the news. He also wrote a letter to his uncle, entrusting him to find a large enough burial plot in his hometown so that he and his wife could be buried together in the future.
His mother's reply arrived quickly. While expressing her joy, she reminded him that if he found a suitable young lady, he should arrange a marriage and marry her as soon as possible.
What does "pleasing" mean? Since passing the imperial examination, he has been inundated with marriage proposals every day. Those who want him as their son-in-law include members of prestigious families and powerful officials. However, marriage is no longer as simple as starting a family for him. Each of his potential marriage partners has a complex political background. Marrying a particular woman is tantamount to choosing her family's stance. He must choose carefully.
Of course, from the moment he rejected the Zhang family's marriage proposal, he had a clear direction in his mind.
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In the middle of that year, the emperor issued an edict to appoint the top scholar as an official: Feng Jing, who ranked first in the imperial examination, was appointed as a military officer, the garrison commander as the supervisor, the prefect of Jingnan Military Prefecture, and was granted a special honor by imperial decree.
In the Song Dynasty, officials of the third rank and above wore purple, those of the fifth rank and above wore scarlet, and those below wore green. Based on seniority, officials entered office wearing green, were granted scarlet after twenty years, and then purple after another twenty years. Even if they hadn't reached the required years, but their official positions were unsuitable for scarlet or green, or if the emperor granted them a special favor, this was called "borrowing purple" or "borrowing scarlet." Feng Jing's initial official position was only sixth rank, but he was granted scarlet robes as the top scholar in the imperial examination, which also falls under the category of "borrowing scarlet."
It was exactly the same line his father had written at the back of the book years ago. Feng Jing was secretly surprised: Jiang Shilang and Shoujiang Zuo Jiancheng were indeed the official titles initially conferred upon the top scholar in the imperial examinations. It was also customary to grant them official titles through imperial favor. However, when it came to the affairs of the Tongpan of Jingnan Military Prefecture, it was something that ordinary people could not predict.
Feng Jing accepted the order and took office. Several months later, he was still absent from reporting for duty when he heard his colleagues in the capital discussing the matter of Hu Su, the drafter of imperial edicts, refusing to draft an edict to reinstate Yang Huaimin, the eunuch, to the position of deputy chief eunuch.
Yang Huaimin was a confidant of Consort Zhang. He was demoted for the incident of the rebels entering the palace in the eighth year of the Qingli era and was appointed as the commander of Gaoyang Pass. Later, when he entered the palace to report on matters, Consort Zhang encouraged him from the side, and the emperor had the intention of restoring him to his original position. So he ordered Hu Su to draft the document.
For civil officials of the rank of Left and Right Remonstrance Official and above, and for military officials of the rank of Observer Commissioner and above, the major edicts for appointing imperial princes, empresses, princes, prime ministers, privy councilors, three masters, three dukes, ministers, and military governors were drafted by Hanlin scholars and were called "inner edicts." The "outer edicts" drafted by the Imperial Edict Drafter mainly concerned the appointment, dismissal, and conferment of titles on ordinary officials or women of noble birth. Usually, the emperor would first send the draft of the edict to the Secretariat for review, and then the Secretariat would pass it on to the Imperial Edict Drafter for drafting.
The Imperial Secretariat had already approved the imperial decree to reinstate Yang Huaimin, but when the draft was sent to Hu Su, the drafter of the edicts, he resolutely refused to draft it, saying: "Yang Huaimin was in charge of the Imperial City Guard when he was in charge of guarding the palace. He was negligent in his duties, which led to the intruders breaking into the palace. He also failed to capture the traitors alive. At that time, some people said that he wanted to silence the traitors, but Your Majesty could not bear to execute him and only demoted him to a post outside the capital. This is already an extraordinary act of mercy. How can he be reinstated to his original position now? Moreover, according to the old system, those who were dismissed from their posts as chief or deputy chief eunuchs due to offenses are not allowed to be reinstated. Now that the Imperial Secretariat has sent the draft, I dare not draft it. I will just return it to Your Majesty."
So he returned the title to the emperor.
"Has the Emperor questioned Hu Su about his crime?" Feng Jing asked his colleague.
The answer was: "No. The Emperor asked Minister Wen about this matter: 'Did this happen in previous dynasties?' Minister Wen replied: 'Yuan Gao, a censor in the Tang Dynasty, did not draft Lu Qi's edict, and recently Fu Bi also returned the draft.' Upon hearing this, the Emperor immediately understood, withdrew his order, and still appointed Yang Huaimin as an outsider."
Fu Bi? Feng Jing's eyes lit up. This Vice Minister Fu, who was currently in Qingzhou for disaster relief, had followed Fan Zhongyan in promoting new policies and presiding over reforms a few years ago, and his reputation for virtue had spread throughout the land. Feng Jing had long heard of him in the state school and admired him greatly, but he did not know that he had a story about returning the title to his official seal.
His colleagues laughed and said, "Since the founding of the dynasty, only the prime ministers dared to refuse imperial edicts. For example, Prime Minister Du Yan said that the current emperor was bestowing favors too frequently. Later, when the emperor sent him edicts for promotion or titles, he would return them nine times out of ten. As a result, when people asked for official positions or rewards later, the current emperor would tell them, 'It's not that I don't want to give them to you, it's that the old man with the white beard won't allow it.' But the drafter of imperial edicts was far less respected than the prime minister. Normally, if an edict was issued, he would not dare to disobey the order to draft it. Fu Bi was the first drafter of imperial edicts in the dynasty to openly return an edict."
Seeing Feng Jing's interest, he continued recounting the events: When the current emperor was choosing an empress, he initially favored the daughter of Wang Mengzheng from Shu. However, Empress Dowager Zhangxian felt the woman was too alluring and would be detrimental to the young emperor, so she ordered him to appoint Empress Guo instead, and instead allowed Liu Congde, the son of his sworn brother Liu Mei, to marry Wang. Liu Congde died of illness not long after, but the current emperor still couldn't forget Wang, so he bestowed upon her the title of Lady of Sui, allowing her access to the inner court. There were also rumors that Wang had been favored by the emperor. Later, Wang Mengzheng was exposed for having an affair with his father's concubine and was stripped of his title and exiled. Wang was also punished, stripped of her title, and barred from court audiences. The current emperor had explicitly decreed that she was forbidden from entering the inner court in the future. However, in the first year of the Qingli era, Wang was frequently summoned by the current emperor again, and her access to the inner court continued as before. Empress Cao of the inner palace was displeased, but because Wang was not a lady of the inner court and was protected by the current emperor, she could not easily restrain her. The remonstrating official Zhang Fangping submitted a memorial arguing against the emperor's actions, but the emperor ignored it. Later, when the emperor wanted to reinstate the Wang family's fiefdom, he ordered Fu Bi to draft the edict. However, Fu Bi immediately returned the edict, firmly refusing to draft it. Upon learning this, the emperor felt ashamed and rescinded the edict.
Feng Jing listened thoughtfully and remained silent for a long time until a colleague asked for his opinion. He then smiled slightly and said, "There were many gentlemen during the Qingli era."
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Feng Jing rode his horse to Qingzhou, just as the orioles were singing and the grass was growing, in the depths of spring.
After inquiring about the location of the prefect's residence, he followed the directions. After crossing a stream and a small bridge, a wall with green tiles and white walls appeared before him, with a multi-story building and flying eaves inside.