The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1223 Work
When Sheng Yuan was promoted to the Minister of Revenue, not only were all the officials in the court shocked, but even Sheng Yuan himself didn't understand it.

"Didn't they say that you were to be Princess Zhaode's teacher? Why didn't they mention that?" An Yu read the imperial edict, blinked in surprise, and looked at Sheng Yuan, "Could it be that they are planning to add more responsibilities to you before you take office?!"

"..." Sheng Yuan was also puzzled, but she had a good point, which was that she rarely argued with things she couldn't figure out. "I don't know what the emperor and empress are planning. No matter how much we think about it, it's just wishful thinking. Why bother ourselves?"

"That's right." An Yu thought it made sense and didn't think about it any more.

Then, he changed the subject and talked about what would happen after his promotion: "Promotion is always a good thing. Although you don't want to have a grand ceremony, you can't skip the banquet and you still have to do it. Our father took the initiative to take over this matter and said that the place would be set up in the garden given to you by Empress Dowager Xiaohewen."

Although Sheng Yuan seldom holds grand banquets, it does not mean that she is ignorant of the ways of the world; after all, there is a difference between laziness and stupidity, and between avoiding suspicion and being aloof.

The most important thing is that she doesn't need to arrange these tedious chores at all. She just needs to make sure to attend on time and entertain the guests well.

……

"According to your father and I, this banquet should be held at the Ancheng Marquis' Mansion. However, Yu'er feels that if that is done, there might be someone from the Anguo Duke's Mansion causing trouble. So we decided to hold it in the garden given to you by the late Queen Mother, so that those people can be restrained."

Zheng took advantage of her youngest daughter's free time to talk to her about the banquet.

Sheng Yuan was a little surprised when he heard this: "Yu Ge'er only said that it was held in the garden, but he didn't elaborate on the reasons."

What he said about being afraid of someone doing something wrong was actually referring to the old wife of the Duke of Anguo.

Apart from this man who grew stronger and more stubborn as he got older, no one else in the Anguo Mansion would be so foolish as to provoke Sheng Yuan and An Yu.

"...The old lady is much healthier than the old Duke. She seems to be getting stronger as she gets older. It is said that the old Duke's control over her has been reduced a lot."

Zheng also had a headache when she thought of the old lady.

This little girl is busy with government affairs all day and doesn't care about other things.

But she didn't know that whenever the old lady met her at a banquet outside, she would find her and complain about Yu Ge'er's lonely life.

Seeing that she did not speak strongly, the old wife of the Duke of Anguo thought that she was in the wrong, but she did not know that she was afraid that Yuan Jie'er would find out and cause trouble for the people in the Duke of Anguo's Mansion.

That girl was spoiled by Empress Dowager Xiaohe and Wen and was fearless. When she was provoked, she really dared to go to the Anguo Mansion, point at the old Anguo wife's nose and ask her "What's your business?"

Add to that the unruly Yu Ge'er, and if these two devils get together, I'm afraid the censors of the Censorate will come out in full force to impeach them for being unfilial and disrespectful to their elders.

"Who cares? They become more confused as they get older! I would simply not send them an invitation, saying it would be bad to disturb the old lady of the Duke of Anguo's recuperation."

When Zheng saw that her little daughter spoke words that were considered extremely rebellious by the censors, she couldn't help but want to touch her forehead.

He opened his mouth to say something to her, but was afraid that it would make her even more rebellious, so he could only nudge this troublesome girl twice.

Sheng Yuan saw this and instinctively wanted to hold his head.

"You look at me like I'm insignificant!" "Why do you say that, Lord Shangshu? You are such a high official, how dare we look down on you?"

Zheng's sarcastic words made Sheng Yuan feel uncomfortable.

"Look at what you said. Even if I become the Prime Minister, I am still your son!" Sheng Yuan threw herself into Zheng's arms and started to act coquettishly in a very skillful manner.

"You better get up soon! Princess Zhaode is not as foolish as you! You are so shameless to act like a child, but I can't bear to see you!"

Zheng was so angry that she grabbed her little daughter's ear and told her to stop bothering others.

It's a pity that Sheng Yuan is so shameless that he can't be driven away just by saying so.
Soon, the mother and daughter were laughing and playing together on the couch.

Coincidentally, Sheng Xiangxun, with a tired face, lifted the curtain and walked in. When he saw the situation, he burst into laughter.

"Hey, you two! I've been busy in the garden, so busy that I've been running around, and my eyes are full of stars, but you two have nothing to do!"

"So busy?" Sheng Yuan jumped up upon hearing the voice, and poured a cup of tea for her father with her own hands, smiling, and said, "It's just a banquet to celebrate the promotion, don't make it too extravagant! Just invite the relatives and close friends of the family. Yu Ge'er and I have drawn up a list of friends and relatives we would like to invite, and there are only a few tables in total. When the time comes, we can invite a few singing, juggling, and storytelling troupes to liven up the party."

Sheng Xiangxun sat down next to Zheng, leaning on the cushion of the couch, and said while spinning his thumb ring: "That's what I said, but with your current popularity, how can you invite as many people as you want? If so, many carriages and horses will come uninvited, can you drive them all away?
Not to mention the officials who came to Beijing from the local areas to report their work and wait for arrangements, even the children of the nobles and powerful officials in Kyoto have to come to make favors. If you don't make arrangements in advance, you will lose face and affect your official prestige."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Sheng Xiangxun said, and suddenly laughed: "Believe it or not, girl, by then, even the officials who have bad relations with you will mostly send their children to celebrate."

"Why not believe this?" Sheng Yuan was not a naive child. It was not uncommon for people in official circles to flatter the powerful and bully the weak and to regard power as the highest authority.

"As long as we haven't really fallen out, there's room for maneuver. Today we're facing off against our political enemies who are being impeached, but tomorrow we might be able to form an alliance. I'm not new to the political world, so I know all the twists and turns here!"

"If you can think this way, then it will be much easier for me to prepare the banquet." Sheng Xiangxun waved his hand cheerfully, "Okay, don't worry about these things. Go back and have a rest when you have time. I'm afraid I'll be busy again when I go to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow."

This was Sheng Yuan's first time as a minister, so she had not anticipated the sudden overcrowding in the Ministry of Revenue, nor had she practiced any countermeasures.

So, when she squeezed her way into the Ministry of Revenue, she was shocked to find that many people from other yamen had also come to the Ministry of Revenue.

"Officer, are those people here to collect debts or to repay debts?" Sheng Yuan straightened his crooked official hat and asked the officer who had joined him while smoothing his official uniform.

"..." The subordinates didn't expect that their master could be so whimsical and even pay back the debt! It's good that he didn't choose to ask you for funding at this time!

Of course, even if they complained in private, the subordinates would answer all the questions from their chief officers.

"Just so you know, these are the officials in charge of liaison between the various ministries. Whenever the Minister of Revenue is replaced, this group of people will come over, not for anything else, but just to make themselves familiar. When it comes time to allocate funds in the future, maybe they can use this favor to get more for their own government offices, right?"

"..." Sheng Yuan didn't expect that he, the Minister of Revenue, had just taken office and hadn't dealt with any government affairs, but he had already become a tool for others to curry favor with him.

Well, that's quite interesting!