Chapter 114: Promotion, Requesting an Imperial Decree

Chapter 114: Bestowing Titles and Requesting Honors

"Mr. Nan," Constable Cong entered from outside, bowing respectfully to Nan Jinping.

Nan Jinping couldn’t very well reach out to help him up, so he made a slight lifting motion with his hand.

"Constable Cong, what brings you here at this time? Did Magistrate Wen have a message for me?" Nan Jinping asked.

"Mr. Nan guessed correctly," Cong Lin replied with a smile. "His Majesty has come to Jixian to see justice done for the Magistrate. The Magistrate said you haven’t yet seen what His Majesty looks like, so this is a good opportunity to meet him."

Nan Jinping, however, shook his head and declined. It wasn’t out of fear. "No, I won’t go. The timing isn’t right. Even if I’d like to see His Majesty, this isn’t the appropriate moment."

"But the Magistrate said His Majesty is in a good mood now. Even if you went, His Majesty wouldn't mind."

"Still, no. I believe in Magistrate Wen’s abilities. There'll be a proper chance in the future," Nan Jinping insisted.

Unable to persuade him, Cong Lin returned to report. Bing Wengu understood Mr. Nan’s reasoning—he simply didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Bing Wengu didn’t blame Cong Lin for failing his task. Instead, he said, "My husband is right. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Meanwhile, His Majesty ordered Bing Wengu to conduct cloud seeding. Accepting the command, Bing Wengu prepared to change into his flight gear and parachute.

Zhan Yu asked, "Do you need to pilot the plane yourself for the cloud seeding?"

Bing Wengu replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The emperor frowned. "That’s too dangerous."

Bing Wengu explained, "I was the one who operated it last time as well. This thing I’m wearing is called a parachute. If anything goes wrong, I can deploy it immediately. There’s no risk to my life."

Zhan Yu still shook his head. "You're Dayong's treasure now. Such dangerous tasks are absolutely not for you to undertake personally. How long does it take to train a pilot?"

"At least half a month, sometimes several months." Bing Wengu, coming from the interstellar age, wasn’t sure how long pilot training usually took. Sentinels and Guides picked it up quickly, while Betas were slower. This estimate was based on Beta learning speeds.

"That’s quite a long time," Guan Zhongxian sighed.

Zhan Yu declared, "Even so, Yuan Ting cannot go. Yuan Ting, begin training pilots immediately."

Bing Wengu accepted the order.

Zhan Yu didn’t leave but stayed in Jixian, wandering around during the day. He visited the family enterprises of the Nan and Bing families and sampled the red and white fermented bean curd.

"Confined to the palace, I never knew such delicacies existed outside," Zhan Yu praised endlessly.

Guan Zhongxian remarked, "I’ve long heard of these two delicacies but never had the chance to try them. Now that I've tried them, I realize what I’ve been missing."

Nan Dalang, receiving His Majesty for the first time, was so excited his voice trembled. Fortunately, his business experience in the capital served him well. He immediately said, "Your Majesty's favor honors this humble one. If it pleases you, I’ll prepare some jars for Your Majesty to take back and savor."

"Excellent! Good food should never be wasted. I’d be delighted—how could I refuse?" With Bing Wengu currently in his good graces, Zhan Yu was happy to give face to the Nan family, Bing Wengu’s in-laws.

Noticing this, Guan Zhongxian teased, "Just for His Majesty, nothing for this minister?"

"Of course, of course!" Nan Dalang flushed red, fearing he'd been remiss in his hospitality.

His earnest demeanor made Zhan Yu and Guan Zhongxian burst into laughter.

Zhan Yu said kindly to the Nan couple, "You two have a good eye for sons-in-law, choosing Yuan Ting when he was still a diamond in the rough. Excellent judgment."

Miao Shi and Nan Fulang had never experienced such a situation before. They were beside themselves. When His Majesty spoke to them, they didn’t know how to respond, stammering for a long time without getting a word out.

The Emperor didn't blame them, knowing the Nan couple was simply overcome with emotion.

Bing Silang was clever, sometimes displaying a foolhardy courage.

Plucking up courage, Bing Silang said, "Your Majesty might not know this, but when my eldest brother married brother-in-law, it wasn't through parental arrangement or matchmaking. It was because my brother took a fancy to him and pulled out all the stops to woo him."

"Oh, really?" Zhan Yu became intrigued. "So my cold-faced, sharp-tongued minister has this side to him. How exactly did he pursue him? Tell me more."

Encouraged by the Emperor's friendly demeanor, Bing Silang grew bolder and went on enthusiastically: "Your Majesty, you wouldn't believe it. My brother had all sorts of tricks when courting. Normally, he scowls at everyone as if smiling costs money. But with brother-in-law, I've never seen him frown—his smile never left his face, he'd spout sweet nothings, and his eyes... you had to keep an eye on them, or I fear they'd stick to brother-in-law and get lost."

Zhan Yu broke into laughter. "Though I haven't known Yuan Ting long, the few times we've met, the guy I know doesn't match the one you describe."

"That's exactly the point," Bing Silang said. "Anyone who's seen my brother with brother-in-law gets whiplash. Back when our family was poor, if my brother found bird eggs in the mountains, he'd go hungry himself just to deliver them to brother-in-law.

After finally marrying him, my brother treated brother-in-law even better than before. He wouldn't let him lift a finger at home. If brother-in-law got peckish at night, my brother would get up to cook. And here's the thing—my brother had never cooked before, yet his meals were delicious, better than any restaurant chef's."

"Oh?" Zhan Yu was surprised. "Yuan Ting has such skills? Never judge by appearances. I must try his cooking someday."

"Your Majesty," Bing Silang whispered conspiratorially, "don't spread this, but my brother couldn't bear to let brother-in-law wash clothes. So... my brother actually washes brother-in-law's undergarments."

This time, Zhan Yu was floored, his jaw dropping. "I never imagined Yuan Ting was such a doting husband."

No wonder Mei Chengwen had wanted him as a son-in-law, and Bing Wengu chose to cross him rather than yield.

After hearing all this gossip about Bing Wengu and Nan Jinping, Zhan Yu grew very curious about this young double-gender man. He genuinely wanted to know what kind of person could so thoroughly bewilder someone as cold and capable as Bing Wengu. So he went to the teahouse.

Nan Jinping had already received word from the Nan family and made himself scarce.

The manager said, "Nan Fulang, why hide? The Emperor came of his own accord."

Nan Jinping shook his head. "It's not that I'm too timid to face His Majesty. You don't understand—during the late Emperor's reign, he had an extreme hatred for double-gender people. As the late Emperor's son, raised under his influence, I don't know how His Majesty feels about them."

The Emperor having a double-gender elder brother was a royal skeleton in the closet. Though Bing Wengu had studied imperial history, he only knew what was publicly recorded, not the private details.

Even court officials didn't know how that double-gender prince had died. Back then, Zhan Yu himself was just a neglected prince—who would pay attention to a double-gender prince?

That's why censors like Yang Xing dared lecture the Emperor about his double-gender brother's "original sin"—they had no idea how he'd died.

If court officials didn't know, Bing Wengu, an outsider, couldn't possibly know either, so Nan Jinping remained unaware.

Hence his worry: "If His Majesty also dislikes double-gender people and thinks me unworthy of Wengu, it might stir up trouble. Better I avoid him altogether—no meeting, no problems."

The manager saw his point and didn't press further.

When Zhan Yu arrived, Nan Jinping wasn't there. Though intensely curious, the Emperor couldn't very well summon a minister's spouse—that would be disrespectful.

He didn't meet Nan Jinping but heard about his storybooks.

"Nan Fulang's storybooks are quite entertaining," Zhan Yu praised.

Though the teahouse had been cleared for the Emperor, the streets were still packed with eager onlookers. Hearing the Emperor praise Nan Jinping shot his reputation through the roof.

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for praising brother-in-law," Bing Silang said gratefully.

Seven days flew by. Though driver training was supposed to take half a month, they succeeded in just seven.

These individuals were highly talented and diligent, so they quickly mastered the skills.

Zhan Yu, who had never seen an airplane take flight, was thrilled beyond measure. He even opened the event to the public, allowing the common folk to witness the spectacle.

As he watched the plane take flight, Zhan Yu soon saw rain begin to fall. His excitement was no less than Bing Wengu's—if anything, it surpassed it.

After all, this was his empire, and he was the rightful ruler of Dayong.

Tears suddenly streamed down Zhan Yu's face, and Guan Zhongxian wept alongside him. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, no more droughts shall trouble us!"

The stunned crowd, witnessing this miracle, knelt in reverence. Many, recalling recent rumors, cried out, "The Sage Emperor is benevolent—the reincarnation of the Imperial Star, with the Marshal at his side, saving the people from hardship!"

"The Sage Emperor is benevolent..."

The heartfelt cheers of the people moved Zhan Yu deeply, filling him with immense joy.

This confirmed his wisdom as a ruler, and the people's declaration that he was the reincarnation of the Imperial Star signified divine approval of his destiny as the rightful emperor. It dispelled the lingering resentment he harbored over criticisms that his birth as the younger brother of a twin made him unfit for the throne.

Bing Wengu, with his extraordinary abilities, had solved the age-old calamity of drought—yet he was merely the Marshal sent to aid him. Far from overshadowing Zhan Yu, he elevated the emperor's prestige, making Zhan Yu burst into laughter.

"By my decree," Zhan Yu proclaimed, "Bing Wengu, Magistrate of Jixian County, is hereby promoted to Grand Master for Palace Counsel of the fifth grade, and bestowed with a pair of Hetian jade stones, a pair of eastern pearls, a pair of jade and pearl hairpins, a pair of red agate bracelets, a pair of jade spring vases, two bolts of Xizhou brocade, a hundred pounds of gold, a hundred pounds of silver..."

Bing Wengu immediately knelt to receive the honors. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the Sage Emperor—ten thousand years!"

Bing Wengu's rank soared from the seventh grade directly to the fifth. Though the title of Grand Master for Palace Counsel was a ceremonial role without real power, it was a genuine fifth-grade rank. This meant officials below the fifth grade, who once outranked him, now had to bow to him. Even someone like Cao Weiyan now had to call him "My Lord." It was an unparalleled aspiration, the dream of many.

The Grand Master for Palace Counsel received an annual stipend of 45 strings of cash, 15 bolts of silk each in spring and winter, 3 bolts of fine silk, 1 bolt of spring gauze, and 50 taels of winter cotton.

A county magistrate overseeing more than 5,000 households earned 15 strings of cash, 2 bolts of fine silk each in spring and winter, 5 bolts of silk, 1 bolt of gauze, and 40 taels of cotton.

Now, holding dual positions, Bing Wengu could draw two salaries.

Bing Wengu said, "Your Majesty, all my accomplishments today are thanks to my husband’s support. Without his encouragement and silent sacrifices, I would never have conceived the airplane. Thus, I humbly request Your Majesty to grant him the fifth-grade honorary title."

Such titles were not automatically bestowed upon all officials' spouses—they required imperial decree. Hence, the request.

Zhan Yu teased, "Just days ago, We heard of your reputation as a devoted husband, and today We witness it firsthand."

Far from being embarrassed, Bing Wengu replied with pride, "My husband is a man of exceptional talent, one in ten thousand. To have married him is the fortune of my life, so naturally, I must offer him the finest things in this world."

Zhan Yu prodded further, "How does he compare to you in wisdom?"

"Far wiser," Bing Wengu answered earnestly. "I merely have the advantage of early education. Had my husband studied from childhood, and were twins permitted to take the imperial exams, he might have outshone me as this year’s top scholar."