Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2682 Still Vigorous in Old Age 66.0
“This Vice Minister Fan is a filial son and a grateful person. Most students wouldn’t stay up so long to keep vigil for their master. It’s already quite good that he can offer incense before the coffin and help with the funeral arrangements.” Shen Cha sighed, thought for a moment, and said, “From this perspective, this person’s character is at least not bad.”

"Yes, he's a good person, but he's still picked up the bad temper of a scholar."

"We've known about those flaws of scholars for a long time, haven't we?" Shen Chamomo said. "But even if he's been sent away for ten years and is transferred back to the Ministry of Revenue, he won't be appointed as a vice minister right away, will he? Minister Shi wouldn't have that kind of influence, would he?"

“No.” Shen Haolin shook his head gently. “Shi Yun asked his uncle for a favor: to be transferred back to the Ministry of Revenue as an Assistant Minister, a fifth-rank official. It’s the same as his previous assignment to a post outside the capital. However, the duties are different. Since he had just returned from his previous post, he was put in charge of local finances. He sat in this position for a few years, and I heard his performance evaluation was quite good, so he was promoted to Vice Minister, but he was still in charge of local finances.”

“This should be a piece of cake for him, no wonder he’s unfamiliar with things in the capital.” Shen Cha thought for a moment, “But since he’s in charge of local finances, why would he involve himself in matters of the capital when he’s meeting His Majesty? That doesn’t make sense!” She looked at Shen Haolin, then at Ying Shisan, “What changes have there been in the Ministry of Revenue recently?”

"Changes?" Shadow Thirteen shook his head. "There haven't been any changes in the Ministry of Revenue, only..."

"what?"

“The infighting is very serious, His Majesty has mentioned this several times.” Ying Shisan sighed and said, “None of the vice ministers are willing to submit to each other, and the subordinates follow suit. Fortunately, their duties are not delayed at all, otherwise His Majesty would have already held them accountable.”

"Minister Lu doesn't care?"

“He can manage, but he can’t. Apart from Vice Minister Fan, each of those vice ministers has someone backing them up. As long as they’re not interfering with His Majesty’s work, he can’t speak up.” Ying Shisan sighed. “These are all their private matters. Even His Majesty can’t say anything about them, let alone a mere Minister Lu.”

“That’s true. Others might have classmates who could help, but Fan’s classmates…” Shen Cha shook her head slightly, “They should pray for themselves. Hopefully, he can learn something from these few audiences with the Emperor. Although he’s not in charge of affairs in the capital, he should still know a little about them.”

"I hope so, but judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to care much."

"That's a matter of fate, let's see if he can defeat his colleagues all by himself." Shen Cha stretched and said, "Anything else interesting? How are the Empress Dowager, Sister Jinyu, Uncle Emperor, and the two princes?"

"Good, all good! The Empress Dowager and the Princess have been staying at the imperial palace in the suburbs recently, which is closer to the imperial mausoleum. In another half month, it will be the late Emperor's birthday."

“Yes!” Shen Haolin and Shen Cha exchanged a glance and sighed softly. “On the late emperor’s birthday, everyone in the court and the country will go to pay their respects. It’s better for the Empress Dowager and Sister Jinyu to stay there in advance so as to avoid the trouble of traveling.”

"Who else went with him?" Shen Cha asked Ying Shisan. "Now that the Grand Commander has arrived at the border, who is in charge of things in the capital?"

“It’s the Eagle King Army’s scout battalion. Although they’re operating under the banner of the Imperial Guard and the Patrol Battalion, those who need to know know that the defense of the capital has changed hands, and they can’t just mess around like that.” At this point, Ying Shisan couldn’t help but laugh. “Every household is restraining their unruly descendants; some are even under house arrest until the Grand Commander returns to the capital.” “The Eagle King Army doesn’t care whose family they’re from. If they commit a crime, they’ll be arrested and taken to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Capital Prefecture. Trying to snatch someone from the Eagle King Army will be very difficult.” Shen Cha smiled. “What about my Imperial Uncle and the others?”

"I accompanied the Empress Dowager and the Princess to the temporary palace. Prince Ning did not want to go so early and wanted to stay in the palace with His Majesty, but his request was denied, and he was forcibly taken there."

“He’s lived there for too many years, so it’s normal that he doesn’t want to go back so soon. But it’s not very convenient for him to live in the palace, and it’s not very reassuring for him to live in the Prince’s Mansion. So we just took him there directly. Anyway, the imperial palace is quite a distance from the imperial mausoleum. It’s good that he doesn’t want to be reminded of the past.”

"His Majesty also told Prince Ning the same thing, and Prince Ning had no choice but to go along. I heard that in a few days, many talented young men from various families will be going to the imperial palace, and the Empress Dowager wants Prince Ning to help take a look."

"What are you looking at?" Shen Cha was taken aback. "Didn't we already agree to Sister Jinyu's relationship with the Commander-in-Chief? Why do we need to look at some promising young men?"

"It's not for Her Highness the Eldest Princess, but for the general election." Ying Shisan sighed. "In recent months, many noble ladies have submitted their petitions to the palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, all of which implied that they wanted to use this election to find a suitable wife for their unmarried children."

"Huh?" Shen Cha heard this request for the first time. "What are they thinking? Picking from those who were rejected? There are so many prominent families in the capital, don't they have any suitable candidates?"

“They’re probably the children of your aunts or concubines, right?” Shen Haolin sighed and said, “Or maybe they’re the children of your brothers or sisters. They couldn’t find a suitable one in Xijing City, so they decided to take the imperial examination.”

"It's pretty much what the Duke said. They're basically not asking for things for their own children. His Majesty only gave a general overview of the situation, and I didn't ask for details. But before His Majesty sent me back, I went to the imperial palace to deliver some things to them, and I happened to overhear the Empress Dowager talking about this with Prince Ning."

"Even those who lose the general election have a different status. If they marry, the palace will be responsible for their dowry, which is a great honor for the groom's family. However..."

"If a woman marries out from the palace, does that mean she has no connection to her original family?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “The palace will give them an identity and a guarantee.” She exchanged a glance with Shen Haolin. “No wonder they asked Uncle Ning to help take a look. If these so-called young talents are unsightly or do not meet Uncle Ning’s requirements, they probably won’t be able to achieve their goals, right?”

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “This happens every election, but this is the first time since Xiao Jue ascended the throne.” He patted Shen Cha’s arm. “Don’t worry, your uncle had a similar situation back then, and the Empress Dowager handled it properly. This time will be no exception.”

"That's good. After all, ten years have passed, and many people don't know what the process is like. I hope there won't be any problems during this process."