Chapter 268: The Road to High Office 68 (Bug Fix)

Chapter 268: The Road to High Office 68 (Bug Fix)

— By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

Xu Zeping, the County Magistrate of Lingbei County, is sincere and upright, working for the welfare of the common people and increasing revenue for the government, truly embodying noble integrity... He is held in high regard by the Emperor.

We bestow upon his father the title of Honorary Gentleman of Heluo County and upon his mother the title of Fifth Rank Lady.

Thus decreed.

Xu Zeping was momentarily stunned upon hearing the imperial edict's contents until County Deputy Yang subtly nudged him. Xu Zeping then stepped forward to receive the edict, saying, "Your humble servant is deeply grateful for Your Majesty's immense generosity."

After Xu Zeping received the first edict, Huang Sizheng took out a second edict from his sleeve.

Xu Zeping did not dare to hesitate and immediately knelt down to continue listening to Huang Sizheng reading the edict—

By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

The toothbrush created by Xu Zeping, County Magistrate of Lingbei County, is a gift from heaven, and it is hereby proclaimed that this invention belongs exclusively to the Lingbei County government...

Anyone who privately manufactures it without contributing profits to the Lingbei County government shall be punished by the annihilation of their nine clans!

Thus decreed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your immense generosity!"

Xu Zeping stepped forward to receive the second edict, then handed it to County Deputy Yang, instructing him to display it prominently in the public hall as a warning.

"County Magistrate Xu, continue to receive the edict."

Xu Zeping was somewhat numb by now. How many edicts had the Sheng'an Emperor issued?

— By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

The theatrical performance presented by Liaobei Prefecture... has greatly pleased Us and is worthy of reward.

We bestow upon the Governor of Liaobei Prefecture two thousand taels of silver and a thousand catties of grain.

We bestow upon the County Magistrate of Lingbei County one thousand taels of silver and a thousand catties of grain.

Thus decreed.

"Is there more?" Xu Zeping eagerly looked at Huang Sizheng. "Huang Sizheng, could you please read all the edicts at once, so I don't have to keep kneeling and standing up."

Huang Sizheng was amused by Xu Zeping's words. "County Magistrate Xu, do you think the Sage's edicts are just pieces of paper? One after another? Hurry up and come receive the edict."

Xu Zeping chuckled and quickly stood up to receive the edict.

After the final edict was read, Huang Sizheng said, "County Magistrate Xu, the Sage specifically issued two edicts for your parents' rewards. The other one, along with the rewards, has already been sent to Heluo County."

"Thank you, Sage, for your kindness."

Huang Sizheng flicked the dust off his ceremonial whisk and said, "County Magistrate Xu, as long as you serve the common people well, the Sage will not forget you."

After the three edicts were read, Huang Sizheng had no reason to linger and immediately took his leave.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xu Zeping tried to persuade him to stay.

But Huang Sizheng insisted that the Sage could not be left unattended and that he must return promptly, strengthening his reason to return.

At this point, Xu Zeping did not insist on staying any longer.

Together with County Deputy Yang, they escorted Huang Sizheng to the city gate.

Huang Sizheng lifted the carriage curtain, took one last look at the inspected city walls, then let the curtain fall and closed his eyes, saying, "Let's go!"

Seeing the sudden appearance of two imperial guards, Xu Zeping finally understood why Huang Sizheng dared to travel at night.

Xu Zeping instructed two bailiffs to move the silver and grain from the imperial rewards to the yamen storeroom.

Officer Zhou asked in confusion, "Sir, these are clearly rewards from the Sage to you. Why move them to the storeroom?"

Xu Zeping smiled and replied, "The Sage has already extended his favor to my parents through me. These rewards are merely the Sage's way of providing relief to the people through me."

Officer Zhou didn't question Xu Zeping's explanation, trusting that following the magistrate's orders was always the right thing to do.

As it was getting late, Xu Zeping did not press Officer Zhou about their experiences in Yanjing.

After logging the silver and grain in the storeroom, he sent them off for the day.

On his way back to the yamen, Xu Zeping reflected on Emperor Sheng'an's methods of governance and truly admired them.

Carrot and stick.

Of course, Xu Zeping was also deeply grateful for Emperor Sheng'an's favor extended to his parents.

Such an honor undoubtedly indicated that Emperor Sheng'an recognized the potential benefits of the toothbrush.

In the previous dynasty, the position of Yuanwailang (a nominal official title) was a formal official post, equivalent to a ministry secretary, and one of the close attendants to the Sage.

In the early days of the new dynasty, when the court was strapped for resources, many wealthy merchants donated to the government, and Emperor Wenwu granted them the title of Yuanwailang.

Among the four classes of society—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—the scholar class deeply resented these Yuanwailang who had bought their positions with money.

The censors advised that the Sage valued commerce over scholarship and looked down on these civil officials.

This marked the beginning of the decline of the Yuanwailang position, which by the later years of Emperor Wenwu's reign had faded from the ministries.

By the time of Emperor WenJing's reign, the Yuanwailang had been demoted to external officials, serving as a link between local gentry and the court.

By Emperor Sheng'an's reign, the Yuanwailang had lost their official status, becoming mere honorary titles without any real authority.

For Xu Songshan, at least there was one tangible benefit: he no longer had to kneel when meeting officials.

More importantly, even county magistrates had to bow to him.

After all, the Yuanwailang was still nominally a fifth-rank external official of the court, albeit without salary or real authority.

Compared to the honorary title bestowed upon Xu's father, Xu's mother's fifth-rank title of Lady of Rank was a tangible reward, complete with a salary, court attire, and the opportunity to visit the capital and meet the Empress.

Although the Great Jing Dynasty had seven ranks of Ladies of Rank, from high to low, officials had to reach the fifth rank before they could submit a memorial to request such titles for their family members!

Officials below the fifth rank were not eligible to apply for honorary titles for their families unless they had made significant contributions, in which case the court would extend its grace to their families.

This was the situation with Xu Zeping's parents.

According to convention, Xu's mother, based on Xu Zeping's official rank, could at most be granted the seventh-rank title of Ruren.

However, Emperor Sheng'an, recognizing the potential benefits of the toothbrush and Xu Zeping's various policy proposals, granted her an exceptional promotion.

After all, Xu's father was granted the title of Assistant Minister, and Xu's mother's honorary title, based on her husband's official position, was appropriate.

There are also unspoken rules when officials seek honorary titles.

Because the Great Jing Dynasty governs the world with filial piety, if the mother (or father) is alive, the honorary title applied for by the official can only be for the mother (or father).

Only when the mother (or father) is no longer alive can the official apply for an honorary title for the principal wife.

The Sheng'an Emperor's gracious decree actually solved a potential problem for Xu Zeping. If he were to be promoted to a fifth-rank official position in the future, he could directly apply for an honorary title for Cheng Ge Er.

Thinking of this, Xu Zeping raised his eyebrows—it was indeed a fortunate turn of events.

Xu Zeping, clutching two imperial edicts, hurried into the mansion's backyard.

Upon arriving home, he immediately asked Little Tiger to tidy up the main hall, as he intended to burn incense and properly enshrine the imperial edicts.

Cheng Ge Er was surprised to see the three imperial edicts: "Pingping, why are there three imperial edicts?"

"Cheng Ge Er, there are three imperial edicts."

Xu Zeping then explained the contents of all three edicts to Cheng Ge Er, who was overjoyed, genuinely thrilled for his in-laws' new honors.

Of course, he could grasp the key points.

After Little Tiger led the maids to clean the main hall, Xu Zeping and his husband then burned incense and enshrined the imperial edicts in the main hall.

By the time everything was finished, it was already evening.

Only then did the couple have time to have dinner.

Perhaps because the fetus was stable, entering the second trimester, Cheng Ge Er's appetite returned to normal.

The Xu family meals were tailored to the pregnant man's dietary needs, so their tastes became lighter.

Xu Zeping strictly monitored Cheng Ge Er's meal portions as per the doctor's instructions, advocating for small, frequent meals.

Under Xu Zeping's watchful eye, Cheng Ge Er dared not overeat, having four dumplings and a small bowl of chicken soup.

Xu Zeping, on the other hand, devoured two bowls of rice with gusto, leaving Cheng Ge Er envious.

After dinner, Cheng Ge Er half-reclined on the couch, presenting his round belly to Xu Zeping, happily pointing at it: "Pingping, do you want to listen to the baby's movements?"

The baby's movements were something Cheng Ge Er had felt in recent days, and counting the days, it matched what the doctor said, that the baby would start moving around four months into the pregnancy.

At this time, the baby's movements were not frequent, happening once a day or every few days.

After five months, they would become more frequent.

Xu Zeping leaned over, but not to listen to the baby's movements. Instead, he half-carried Cheng Ge Er into his arms, massaging his waist to relieve fatigue.

The technique was something Xu Zeping had practiced privately with a pillow, not professional, but well-intentioned.

After about half an hour, Xu Zeping asked, "Feeling better?"

"Pingping, how did you know..."

Xu Zeping let go, stood up, and stretched his fingers, saying, "During dinner, I noticed you changing positions several times."

Given this, Cheng Ge Er didn't hesitate to say, "Pingping, there's a small blue bottle inside the bed head, can you get it for me?"

Xu Zeping didn’t ask why and got up to walk into the inner chamber. He opened the box by the bed and indeed saw a small blue bottle.

He carried the bottle to the outer chamber and sat down beside Cheng Ge Er. "Are your feet swollen? Come, let me help you take off your shoes."

Cheng Ge Er glanced at the bedroom door, "No."

Xu Zeping understood. He got up to close the door. When he returned, he saw that Cheng Ge Er had already undone his robe, revealing his round belly, now showing faint pink streaks.

The beautiful golden camellia on Cheng Ge Er’s abdomen stood in stark contrast.

Cheng Ge Er felt a bit uncomfortable, "Pingping, does it look bad?"

"No, it’s beautiful."

Under Cheng Ge Er’s guidance, Xu Zeping opened the bottle cap, poured a bit of ointment onto his palm, rubbed his hands to warm them, and then applied the ointment to Cheng Ge Er’s belly.

The ointment had a light, pleasant fragrance.

Xu Zeping applied it very carefully, pushing upwards from below.

Thump

Thump

Two little feet kicked Xu Zeping’s palm, one after the other, like a small fish swimming and accidentally bumping into your hand, very gently.

When Xu Zeping snapped out of his joy, the two little feet had already retracted, lazily not moving anymore.

Xu Zeping looked at Cheng Ge Er in surprise, "Xiang’er, did you feel that? It’s the baby, our baby is saying hello!"

It was just the baby lazily moving its feet, Cheng Ge Er knew it well, but he said, "Yes, the baby is so sensible, knowing to have a little activity with his father."

Hearing this, Xu Zeping beamed with joy, "From now on, I’ll put on the ointment for you every day, Xiang’er."

"Okay."

Cheng Ge Er smiled and agreed to Xu Zeping’s initiative to take on this task.

By 9 PM, Cheng Ge Er had another bowl of bird’s nest porridge, and the two finally went to bed to rest.

Xu Zeping instinctively reached out to hug Cheng Ge Er as they slept, but was pushed away by Cheng Ge Er, "No, it’s too hot."

"It’s still February, where is it hot?" Xu Zeping was aggrieved; the temperature outside was still minus four or five degrees.

"I just don’t want it, don’t stick to me."

Xu Zeping was like a furnace, with a high body temperature.

And after Cheng Ge Er became pregnant, like any ordinary pregnant woman, his body temperature was also high.

Two furnaces sticking together—wouldn’t it be hot?

Xu Zeping could only look aggrievedly at the back of Cheng Ge Er’s head. He just wanted to stick close to his husband—was he wrong?

Cheng Ge Er quickly contradicted himself. After he fell asleep, he habitually nestled into Xu Zeping’s arms.

Xu Zeping, holding his fragrant and soft husband, was satisfied and couldn’t help but kiss his husband’s face a few times...

Then he got a slap in return.

Finally, Xu Zeping behaved himself.