Chapter 184

Chapter 184

If there was anyone in the capital this year who was the most prominent, it was undoubtedly the Loyal and Virtuous Marquis, Yu Chiyi.

All the officials knew that Yu Chiyi was the emperor's confidant, but the emperor's decision to enfeoff him as the 'Loyal and Virtuous Marquis' still took everyone by surprise.

No one dared to question Su Yu directly, but privately they sought out Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan to discuss the matter. They said that the emperor had scrimped and saved to equip the Western Expeditionary Army, and it was only natural that Yu Chiyi won the battle. The reward of ten thousand taels of gold was already generous, and now he was even being enfeoffed as the Loyal and Virtuous Marquis.

Cui Xuan paused and said coldly, "You do realize that the emperor rewarded him with ten thousand taels of gold after scrimping and saving."

The troublemaking official: "?" Is that the point here? Isn't the point that Yu Chiyi was actually enfeoffed as the Loyal and Virtuous Marquis?

Cui Xuan didn't even bother to look at him and had his servant see the guest out.

The man then went to Xie Yiguan and made the same argument.

Xie Yiguan smiled gently and said, "If you could also reclaim fifteen provinces, I'm sure you would be promoted and enfeoffed too."

The man chuckled awkwardly, "I'm just a scholar..."

Xie Yiguan, as if offering thoughtful advice, said, "Now that the fifteen provinces have just been reclaimed, it's a time when talent is needed. If you volunteer to go to the fifteen provinces, the emperor will surely value you highly."

Xie Yiguan paused slightly, "If you're too shy to speak to the emperor directly, I can also recommend you to His Majesty."

The man nearly fled in a panic.

Xie Yixin had just returned from outside and almost bumped into the man. The man only apologized without even looking up, as if being chased by a vicious dog, not daring to linger for a moment.

Xie Yixin looked puzzled and asked Xie Yiguan, "Who was that just now?"

Xie Yiguan stood under the corridor, seemingly watching the man leave, or perhaps gazing into the distance. He casually turned his head, "An insignificant person. You seem busier than me, the Minister of Rites."

"It's the end of the year, and the banks need to balance their books. There are fifty-three banks across Great Qi, and all the ledgers need to be balanced. The Revenue Bureau has only a few people, so it's lucky you can see me before the new year," Xie Yixin said.

Xie Yiguan smiled and asked, "Do you need my help?"

Xie Yixin immediately became alert, "We each have our own duties. Even if you're the Minister of Rites, you can't overstep your bounds."

She then suddenly realized, "You must be trying to find out about our Revenue Bureau's affairs. Don't even think about it! We won't tell you anything about the Revenue Bureau!"

Xie Yixin hurried back to her residence and left in a rush, not forgetting to remind Xie Yiguan before leaving, "Don't pry into our Revenue Bureau's affairs!"

Xie Yiguan: "..." He truly didn't expect that one day in the officialdom, he would be guarded against like a thief, and by his own sister no less.

The private movements of officials were most sensitive to Cheng Heyuan, the Censor-in-Chief. He reported every detail to Su Yu, including the fact that someone had approached Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan to discuss Yu Chiyi's enfeoffment.

Su Yu glanced at Cheng Heyuan. This young Censor-in-Chief was not popular in the court and was even disliked by many officials. Many came to her to complain about Cheng Heyuan.

The prestigious families said that Cheng Heyuan was of low birth, having risen to power overnight, and his methods were unscrupulous, truly despicable. The scholars said that Cheng Heyuan was a cruel official, unworthy of being a scholar, having wasted his education.

In short, the only person in the current court who could unite the prestigious families and scholars in such unanimous criticism was Cheng Heyuan. Even Xie Yiguan couldn't achieve universal praise, but Cheng Heyuan managed to achieve universal condemnation.

However, Su Yu quite liked Cheng Heyuan's self-positioning—

He was well aware that with his personality, he couldn't be a second Xie Yiguan, so he chose to be the one and only Cheng Heyuan.

After all, he was someone who wouldn't live long anyway, so he might as well act recklessly, becoming a ruthless censor who relied solely on the emperor and would do anything for the emperor without regard for the cost. He didn't seek a good reputation in his lifetime, only aiming to leave a bold mark in history.

"Your Majesty, this person has impure intentions, using General Yu's enfeoffment to stir up trouble everywhere. Should I arrest him and bring him to the Censorate prison for further interrogation?" Cheng Heyuan asked.

If it were in the past, Su Yu might have dismissed this matter with a laugh, but now, she indeed needed someone to test the waters. After using Cheng Heyuan as her blade, she wanted to see how the entire court would react and who would jump out.

Who told this person to harbor ill intentions and just happen to run into her line of fire?

Su Yu nodded, agreeing to Cheng Heyuan's proposal.

Upon hearing that the official who had come to stir up trouble that day was arrested and taken to the Censorate prison, both Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan remained silent for a long time.

At the end of the year, the capital was always snowing. The snow in front of the door was swept away by someone, maintaining the scenery in front of the path, but the snow on the branches was heavy, layer upon layer, ignored until the branches broke under the weight of the snow.

Cui Xuan stood under the corridor, quietly watching the branches break under the snow, the accumulated snow on the branches scattering as they fell, splashing up a mist of snow.

His hand rested on the belt, a gift from Su Yu, the emperor. Although the emperor was usually frugal, when it came to rewards, he gave out good items, such as Yu Chiyi's gold, or the belt on his body—

Su Yu either did not act, or when she did, she could accurately grasp people's hearts. He had many conjectures about Su Yu's move this time, but he also worried that he might be overthinking.

Also standing under the corridor watching the snow was Xie Yiguan.

Xie Yixin returned home twice, each time seeing her elder brother leisurely standing under the corridor, having time to see people off and watch the snow. She asked with a hint of envy, "Is there nothing to do in the Ministry of Rites? Or has His Majesty grown tired of you?"

"The year-end rituals are all routine matters, so they are naturally prepared quickly," Xie Yiguan was not annoyed, smiling as he answered Xie Yixin.

He then looked up at the sky, "The weather is bound to change soon."

Xie Yixin also looked up at the sky following him, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, although the snow remained, it was a sign of clearing.

She said with a blank expression, "If you have nothing to do, why not spend more time at the palace? Look at how Cheng Zhongcheng always finds something to do. If you can't compete with Premier Cui, are you going to be pushed aside by Cheng Zhongcheng as well?"

The exasperation in her tone was too obvious, Xie Yiguan was momentarily speechless, but what did she mean by saying it's okay if he can't compete with Cui Xuan? That statement was clearly problematic.

Both Cui Xuan and Xie Yiguan chose to remain silent, only Yao Feiming stepped forward, entering the palace to earnestly advise the emperor, "Your Majesty, although the villain's provocation is detestable, a few words of reprimand would suffice, there's no need for drastic measures."

Yao Feiming was not pleading on behalf of the villain who stirred up discord, but was worried about Cheng Heyuan. After all, Cheng Heyuan had followed him in farming for several years, the young man was intelligent and hardworking, a true talent, he always worried that Cheng Heyuan would go down a path of no return, and wanted to pull him back if possible.

Su Yu countered Yao Feiming, "Today he did not succeed in stirring up trouble because Xing Jian and Zhi Wei were firm in their resolve, what if it were someone else? If he stirred up trouble among my trusted ministers and nothing happened, wouldn't others follow suit?"

Yao Feiming was stunned for a moment, the emperor's words made sense, but... he coughed lightly, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven of Great Qi, your choice of words should be a bit more polished."

Su Yu took the opportunity to change the subject, "I have been practicing calligraphy recently, Premier Yao, take a look, have I improved?"

She casually pulled out a piece of practice paper for Yao Feiming to see.

Yao Feiming looked at it, unable to praise the emperor insincerely, he only said, "This character in red ink is vigorous and powerful, the strokes flow like dragons and snakes, who wrote this?"

Next to each stroke was drawn the direction of the stroke and where to return the brush, it must have been written by a very meticulous person, but it didn't look like Xie Yiguan's handwriting.

Su Yu said, "It was written by Premier Cui for me."

Yao Feiming suddenly understood, "The plaque for the Loyal and Good Marquis's residence was also written by Premier Cui, right?"

He said that such beautiful handwriting could definitely not be from the emperor's hand!

Su Yu openly admitted, and comforted Yao Feiming, "I plan to practice my handwriting first, once my handwriting surpasses that of Premier Cui and Minister Xie, I will personally write a book to announce to the world seeking a virtuous queen."

Yao Feiming: "..." If the emperor doesn't wish to marry, he can simply say so, there's no need to be so roundabout.

Yao Feiming failed to persuade the emperor, Cheng Heyuan continued to do as he pleased, and no one in the court stood up to speak about this matter, after all, it's better for others to die than for oneself.

Before the end of the year, the women's army organized by Yuan Ling had already taken shape. Su Yu took advantage of Yu Chiyi being in the capital, letting him train this women's army together with Yuan Ling, and also had Yuan Ling select an elite team to follow Pei Baozhen to learn court etiquette, temporarily serving as palace maids in the palace for a few days.

Pei Baozhen was quite satisfied with the elite squad sent to her. Each of them was slender and focused, and they were extremely serious about learning etiquette. She would have been even more satisfied if she hadn't seen them splitting solid wooden tables with their bare hands.

The leader, Zhang Sanniang, smiled shyly, "Lady Shanggong Pei, please don't mind us. We're just practicing. If something happens, our top priority is to protect the Emperor."

Pei Baozhen suspected that if any minister disobeyed, the Emperor could just wave his hand, and these disguised maids could swiftly deal with the person.

It seemed a waste not to use such impressive skills, so Pei Baozhen suggested to Su Yu that some dances be added to this year's banquet.

Pei Baozhen said, "Since they've already earned the maids' wages, Your Majesty might as well be generous and let them earn the dancers' wages too, to make this year's banquet more lively."

Su Yu thought it made sense and said, "This year, we've reclaimed fifteen states, and I'm happy. Since the women's army is performing dances, the Western Expeditionary Army shouldn't be idle either. Let Zhong Yun and Su Chengying lead the soldiers to dance for the officials, letting them feel the heroic spirit of our Great Qi's men."

Pei Baozhen: "..." She felt the Emperor was right, but something still felt off.

In recent years, the ministers had grown accustomed to sitting through the banquet with just food. Hearing that the Emperor had arranged dances this year, they began to suspect this year's banquet might be a trap.

At the banquet, when they saw the women's army in palace dresses dancing gracefully, they thought they might have been overthinking it.

An official sitting next to Yao Feiming whispered, "Premier Yao, do these maids' dance moves seem a bit odd to you?"

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was a fierceness in their dance, as if they could draw swords and strike at any moment.

Yao Feiming blew on his beard, rolled his eyes, and said, "I don't know much about dance, so I don't notice anything unusual."

As soon as the women's army retreated, Su Chengying walked to the center of the hall with a long sword. Wearing an eye patch, his increasingly deep features carried a hint of exotic charm, though his smile was somewhat sinister.

He smiled and said, "Today, I will use the sword bestowed by Your Majesty to perform a sword dance."

The ministers, seeing Su Chengying's smile, felt they hadn't been overthinking it. With a sword dance, it might indeed be a trap.

The young man's heroic demeanor, the long sword in his hand moved like a swimming dragon, weaving through the hall under the warm candlelight, made the ministers feel as if they were momentarily transported to a smoke-filled battlefield.

Su Chengying's sword was not aimed at anyone. After the dance, he sheathed his sword and bowed to Su Yu.

The ministers breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the next moment, Yu Chiyi entered with a line of soldiers in black armor.

Yu Chiyi shouted, and the soldiers followed with a "Ha—", thrusting their spears forward with great force.

Su Yu chuckled and raised his wine cup, saying, "My dear ministers, there's no need to be afraid. I just want you to see the might of our Great Qi's army."

The ministers: "..." They hadn't been worried before, but the Emperor's reassurance only made them more anxious.

They waited anxiously for the banquet to conclude, quickly bid farewell to the Emperor, and even those who had planned to get drunk and publicly scold Cheng Heyuan dared not make a move, saying nothing.

As the night deepened, only a few remained in Linde Hall. The servants quickly cleared the dining tables and set up hot pots and mahjong.

Yu Chiyi looked at Su Chengying, then at Yuan Ran, thinking that with so many people this year, he wouldn't be the one to end up losing money. But then he heard Xie Yiguan call out with a smile, "Brother Zhong Yun, you're in high spirits, your luck must be at its peak. Since you're not short of money, you should play a few rounds."

Su Chengying said, "Master Yu Chi is worried about losing, so I'll take his place."

Yu Chiyi grabbed Su Chengying's collar and sat down before him, "I'll do it!"

But after a few rounds, Yu Chiyi's money pouch was empty.

Yu Chiyi: "..." He should have known better than to trust Xie Yiguan, with his ever-smiling face! And the cold-faced Cui Xuan was even worse!