☆、20、Ambush
The following day, the flower-viewing banquet was a great success. Since the women were carefully selected by the Empress and were already outstanding, and the Empress herself acted as matchmaker, it seemed that everyone had found their ideal partner.
Looking at the petitions from several old friends seeking her hand in her hand, Yao Biluo smiled, picked up her vermilion brush, and wrote in delicate handwriting—"Approved!"
Lu Yong and Meng Lin's memorials also arrived. Yao Biluo stroked her chin gently; these two were indeed quite talented, and she trusted Wang Chenglin's judgment. However, their careers had been too smooth, leading to a lack of tact in their dealings. They would need some guidance before being entrusted with important responsibilities. The marriage proposal, however, was a good thing. Yao Biluo picked up her vermilion brush and approved the memorial!
Jun Yilin, who was also reviewing memorials, leaned over to take a look and said, "They've all found their place, so you can rest assured now!"
Yao Biluo smiled and said, "Of course, we can't be all lovey-dovey here while they're all all alone!"
Yao Biluo suddenly thought of something, covered her mouth and laughed, and said loudly, "Oh dear, everyone is in pairs, and there's one person all alone, how pitiful!"
Dark Enchantress, who was sleeping on a big tree in the yard, suddenly bulged her veins. Was she referring to me?
Yao Biluo saw An Mei's figure freeze and almost fall off the tree, and laughed happily.
I had wanted to play matchmaker for him, but given his personality, he probably wouldn't like those ladies from wealthy families, so I'll have to hesitate and spend money on this!
"Take a look at this." Just as he was thinking, Jun Yilin handed him a folded book.
Yao Biluo opened it and her face turned pale: "How can they still be so shameless?"
It was a memorial submitted by the newly appointed prefect of Jiangzhou, accusing the emperor's father-in-law, Lord Yao, and his family of abusing their power and oppressing the people.
After Yao Biluo sent the Yao family back to the countryside, they lost their official positions, but unexpectedly, they still bullied the weak and seized land because they were the Empress's family, causing the villagers to complain bitterly.
Since this matter involved imperial relatives, the prefect of Jiangzhou dared not handle it on his own and therefore submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting permission.
Yao Biluo angrily slammed the document shut: "It seems I punished them too leniently!"
Jun Yilin asked, "What are your plans to do about this?"
Yao Biluo was furious: "What else can we do? The emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people!" She opened the memorial, drew a circle with her vermilion pen, and wrote: "Punish according to the law!" Then she slammed the memorial shut and threw it on the table.
Jun Yilin handed over a cup of tea and said, "Calm down!"
Yao Bilu forced a smile: "It's all my fault for spoiling them. Now they've gotten themselves into trouble again."
Jun Yilin comforted him, "It's alright. I'll just remind the prefect of Jiangzhou to do his best to restrain them. Don't be angry!"
Yao Biluo nodded, rubbing her temples.
Upon seeing this, Jun Yilin stood behind Yao Biluo and gently rubbed her skin, saying apologetically, "I shouldn't have asked you to worry about these things, but I'm just too busy to even find time to see you, so I had to ask you to come and help, which will also ease my longing!"
Yao Biluo knew that he was afraid she would feel bored if she stayed alone, so he tried to give her something to do. Touched, she gently took his hand and kissed his palm.
Jun Yilin's heart fluttered, and he quickly turned around, squatted down in front of Yao Biluo, cupped her face, and gently caressed her delicate red lips with his own, as if caressing a delicate flower petal.
Yao Biluo pushed him away shyly and said, "This is the Imperial Study, not the Imperial Bedchamber."
Jun Yilin chuckled softly and leaned close to Yao Biluo's ear: "Who told you to tease me? Let's go to the bedroom."
The gentle breathing made Yao Biluo's ears tingle. She closed her eyes and nodded.
Jun Yilin took her hand and led her from behind the Imperial Study into the bedchamber of the Zichen Palace, where another room was filled with enchanting scenery...
Within ten days, the Jiangzhou prefect's memorial arrived again, stating that the Yao family had been punished according to the law, but the empress's sister requested to come to the capital for an audience, asking the empress to make a decision.
"Hmph, she's so blatant in demanding to see me, I can't refuse! Fine, let her come. I want to see what kind of trouble she can cause!" Yao Biluo said with a sneer.
Jun Yilin looked at the memorial in his hand. It seemed that the prefect of Jiangzhou was still concerned about them being relatives of the emperor and only fined them some money. This couldn't go on. Wasn't this just tacitly condoning them?
So he wrote a letter ordering the prefect of Jiangzhou to come to the capital to report on his duties and receive some advice in person.
Upon being summoned by the Emperor, the journey was swift, and within a few days, the Prefect of Jiangzhou arrived in the capital with Yao Bile. The Prefect of Jiangzhou went to the Imperial Study for an audience, while Yao Bile was taken to the inner palace.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!" The prefect of Jiangzhou was originally a county magistrate under the Jiangzhou Prefecture, a minor official who had never seen the emperor's face before. He was already trembling with fear at being promoted so suddenly, and now that he was able to meet the emperor, he was even more nervous and trembling all over.
Seeing his expression, Jun Yilin thought to himself, "Am I that scary?" But fearing he might fall ill from fright, his tone unexpectedly became kind: "Please rise, my dear minister. Bring a seat!"
The prefect of Jiangzhou was flattered and carefully sat down close to the edge of the stool, his hands pressed tightly against his legs, sitting upright.
Jun Yilin cut to the chase: "Wasn't the punishment for Yao Guozhang's case too lenient?"
The prefect of Jiangzhou thought the emperor was being sarcastic and that he had offended the empress. Hearing that the empress was extremely favored, he feared that she had spoken to the emperor on her behalf. So he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I know my crime. I should have only been fined five hundred taels of silver, but due to my negligence, I was fined five thousand taels. I will return the extra silver as soon as I get back."
Upon hearing this, Jun Yilin was both amused and exasperated.
He cleared his throat and said patiently, "A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. Even though you are the emperor's father-in-law, you still have to act according to the law. Do you understand?"
Seeing the bewildered and clearly at a loss look on the face of the Jiangzhou prefect, Jun Yilin became furious.
"Is this how you govern Jiangzhou? If this sets a precedent, anyone with a little power will be able to open doors of convenience. What's the point of having laws then?"
Seeing Jun Yilin's furious expression, which didn't seem feigned, the prefect of Jiangzhou finally understood the emperor's meaning. He thought to himself, "Didn't I hear the empress was quite favored? It seems she's nothing special! The emperor is quite reasonable after all!"
Seeing that he didn't react, Jun Yilin asked again, "Do you understand?"
Seeing the prefect of Jiangzhou nod blankly, Jun Yilin thought to himself, "I initially appointed this man to manage the county in an orderly manner, but it seems that his talents are limited to the county government. Jiangzhou is an important place, so we need to find a new person."
The official selection system that I discussed with the Empress last time still needs to be implemented as soon as possible, so that outstanding talents can be selected and placed in suitable positions.
Seeing Jun Yilin deep in thought, the prefect of Jiangzhou became even more hesitant to speak, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Jun Yilin pondered the details of the official selection system for a while, then frowned and asked, "Why are you still here?" when he saw the Jiangzhou prefect still kneeling on the ground.
The prefect of Jiangzhou finally lifted his numb legs, bent over and retreated. As he walked, he was already disheartened. It seemed that he had failed to win the emperor's favor this time, and his position as prefect was about to be lost! Oh well, this position was too important. He had only obtained it by luck in the first place. Losing it now was nothing. Thinking this way, he suddenly felt much lighter.
Inside the Phoenix Palace.
Yao Bile tearfully recounted her grievances: her family had been demoted to the countryside, held no official positions, and were poorly clothed and fed; everyone could bully them…
Yao Biluo watched her performance coldly, without saying a word.
Yao Bile pretended to cry for a while, but seeing that Yao Biluo was unmoved, she thought to herself, "Father was right after all. She really is heartless!"
She walked to the table, poured hot tea, and handed it to Yao Biluo: "Sister, we are family after all. Father is getting old. Why don't you let him come to the capital to retire?"
Yao Biluo took the teacup but didn't drink it; she just quietly looked at the tea.
Yao Bile's heart pounded. The man said this medicine could make people lose their nature and obey orders, but she didn't know if it was true or not. Seeing that Yao Biluo refused to drink it, she was filled with anxiety.
Yao Biluo suddenly sneered. How could she not know that something had been put in the teacup! She had noticed that Yao Bile's expression was off and that she was trying to cover herself up. Moreover, she was an expert in making medicine and poison and had suffered a great loss before. She was wary of everything and could tell something was wrong as soon as she smelled it!
With a sudden burst of strength, he slammed the teacup onto the table, splashing tea all around.
Yao Biluo looked at her "sister" standing opposite her. She was so ruthless that she would even harm her own sister. It seemed that the real "Yao Biluo" was most likely the one who pushed her into the water and drowned.
Yao Bile looked at the teacup on the table, her heart suddenly pounding with anxiety.
Yao Biluo coldly said, "I'm not thirsty, you drink it!"
Yao Bile's face turned pale, and she stammered, "I'm not thirsty either, so let's leave it for now!"
Still clinging to a sliver of hope, I decided to persuade her to drink later.
Seeing her scheming expression, Yao Biluo was furious: "Drink this tea, and I'll grant your request." She then looked coldly at Yao Bile.
Yao Bile was shocked, realizing she had slipped up, so she lowered her head and stopped talking, her face pale, her hands twisting her handkerchief.
"Have I done anything to wrong you? Why are you doing this to me?" Yao Biluo couldn't help but ask.
Yao Bile's expression gradually calmed down: "The victor is king, the loser is villain. What's the point of saying all this? Since I dared to do it, I'm not afraid to take responsibility. Do whatever you want with me!"
"You think I wouldn't dare kill you!" Yao Biluo said angrily.
“To live such a lowly life is worse than death! Kill me if you want!” Yao Bile shouted.
Yao Biluo remained silent, only staring at her quietly. After a long while, she said, "Guards, lock Miss Yao in the Cold Palace. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order! Also, tell everyone that Miss Yao has fallen ill and is staying in the palace to recuperate. No one is allowed to visit her."
After saying this, he felt weak all over and just waved his hand lazily, telling someone to take Yao Bile away.
Yao Bile's hands were tied behind her back, but she didn't struggle. She sneered, "I've ended up like this because my heart isn't as ruthless as yours. Remember this, you owe me something, and I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Yao Biluo stared blankly at her departing figure, speechless.
After a while, she called out, "Dark Charm!"
Anmei entered from outside.
“I don’t think this matter is that simple. She’s a sheltered young lady, how could she know these harmful skills? Have Anwu investigate who’s behind her and where the drug came from,” Yao Biluo instructed.
Anmei curled her lip: "If it were me, I would have killed her with a swift stroke and been done with it! It's only because the Lord is merciful that he spared her life!"
Yao Bilu glared at him: "Stop arguing and go!"
Anmei glared back, then turned and left.
Yao Biluo closed her eyes, rubbing her temples, thinking to herself that she was much more merciful in this life than she was in her previous life as Lin Zijin! Was it because she had turned back into a woman? Would this mercifulness bring her even more trouble?
Just then, the door was pushed open again.
☆、Twenty-one、A Comeback
Just then, the door was pushed open again.
Jun Yilin walked in, looking utterly helpless.
As he sat down next to Yao Biluo, he said, "How come I never knew that the new prefect of Jiangzhou was such a blockhead! It seems that we need to get that official selection system we discussed last time working on as soon as possible, otherwise, if we don't understand the local officials well enough, it's easy for situations like this to happen!"
Yao Biluo smiled and asked about the reason for the matter, then said, "Some people are suitable for this position, and some people are suitable for that position. We must make accurate judgments based on their abilities and character! Otherwise, if problems arise, it is not the officials' responsibility, but rather our failure to recognize talent!"
Jun Yilin also laughed and said, "You're not shirking your responsibility!"
Yao Bilu smiled, pursing her lips.
Jun Yilin then inquired about Yao Bile's situation and sighed, "If it weren't for the fact that you owed her a favor, we really couldn't have kept her! A heartless woman like that would be a disaster in any family! It's a good thing we didn't let her marry Cheng Lin."
The two chatted for a while longer.
A few days later, Anwu came to see Yao Biluo and reported that she had investigated Yao Bile's situation.