I studied in modern times

Chapter 1026 Empress Yuanfu
That afternoon, Lu Dian, Lü Dafang, and Qian Xie entered the palace together and submitted a petition to be seen at the Inner East Gate.

Since they were all his own people, Zhao Xu chose to summon them to the inner pond in the back garden.

As usual, they fished and talked.

This way of speaking between the ruler and his ministers is very suitable for private communication.

It can bring people closer together and allow them to say things that are inconvenient to say in other situations, or even in private discussions.

This time was just average.

With just a few words, the emperor and his ministers had almost reached an agreement on how to deal with the arrested scholars.

Ordinary participants were given a reprimand by the Imperial Academy and then released.

However, the leaders cannot be let off so easily.

It needs to be prepared properly.

In short, it's about making an example of someone to scare others.

Of course, to what extent exactly?
That depends on how corrupt the officials in charge of the Kaifeng Prefecture, the Censorate, and the Imperial Academy are.

Zhao Xu would neither interfere nor inquire about the matter; at most, he would look at the report after the case was closed.

Therefore, these people should hurry up and pray that their ancestors will bless them so that they can encounter some officials with pure hearts.

Otherwise, if you encounter someone who wants to advance but is also ruthless, you might decide to use their heads to improve your own future.

This would be yet another case like the Wutai Poetry Case—even though the Song Dynasty court has now officially abolished all crimes related to literary inquisitions.

But under Miki's protection, what room is there for criminals trapped in prison to struggle?

It all depends on what the officials handling the case are thinking.
After we finished discussing the matter, it was time to go fishing.

To be precise, it was three movie stars accompanying Zhao Xu, an air force pilot, to feed the fish.

Of course, it could also be that the weather is hot and the air pressure is high today, so the fish aren't biting.

In short, after fishing for half a day, the four of them, the emperor and his ministers, didn't catch a single bite!

Zhao Xu was so angry that he almost ordered the top general of the Imperial Guard to be brought into the palace to catch fish in the floodwaters.

Even after returning to Funing Palace, he was still struggling with the fish in the inner pond.

"Damn it!"

"Wait!"

"When the steam engine is invented in the future, the first thing I will do is pump water!"

……

While Zhao Xu was in the Funing Palace, he was struggling with the fish in the inner pond.

Liang Congzheng appeared in the Inner Palace Bureau of the Imperial Household Department.

The so-called Inner Palace Bureau was a special agency that managed the female officials in the Imperial Palace.

It already existed during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

After the establishment of the dynasty, the system was followed, but it was chaotic in the early stages. It was only during the reign of Emperor Renmiao that it gradually got on the right track and eventually formed a system of six ministers, twenty-four offices, twenty-four departments, and twenty-four chiefs.

Among Liang Congzheng's many assignments was "to jointly manage the affairs of the Imperial Secretariat".

This was a task that almost all high-ranking eunuchs would carry.

Normally, this assignment is of little use.

Because the two ladies-in-waiting of the Inner Palace were actually in charge of the Bureau of Internal Affairs.

And the official duties of the Imperial Secretariat appointed by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

However, this assignment proved useful when the high-ranking officials sought out women in the Inner Court.

Legend has it that during the reign of King Inmyō, the chief marten, Wang Shougui, who served King Inmyō, often helped King Inmyō find people in the Inner Province.

Thinking of this, Liang Congzheng's heart began to burn with excitement.

And he quickly found the person he was looking for in the register of female officials.

"The Director of Imperial Records... Liu, a woman who had not yet been appointed to an official post... Thirteen years old, nicknamed Yingying... She entered the palace in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era. Her father was Liu Ancheng, the Registrar of Yongzhou, and her mother was Shi..."

Closing the register, a strange light flashed in Liang Congzheng's eyes: "It's actually the official in charge of records who hasn't yet applied for office..."

"Unappointed official" refers to a female official who has not yet been granted an official title.

They had no rank, no salary, and no benefits.

They were practically the same as palace maids!
The only advantage they had over palace maids was that they had the opportunity to serve the emperor and his concubines, which in turn gave them a chance to be promoted.

Generally, those who have not yet been granted official positions are local girls who have just entered the palace.

"How did the Emperor know about her?" Liang Congzheng asked.

The other female officials of the Twenty-Four Departments may have been seen by the Emperor in daily life or unintentionally.

Female officials in the Imperial Household Department, however, had almost no opportunity to have contact with the Emperor.

The reason is simple—the Sizhi Si (司制司) is in charge of tailoring and weaving.

Since the current emperor ascended the throne, his seasonal clothing has been made by the two empress dowagers or the imperial concubines, along with three county princesses, who raised silkworms in the palace to spin silk and sew it.

As a result, the Bureau of Imperial Records became a mere formality.

The female officials, from those in charge of regulations to those who had not yet been granted official positions, had nothing to do. This might have been a good thing for them outside, as they could have enjoyed a leisurely life.

But in the palace, a group of female officials with nothing to do were as if they had been banished to the cold palace.

There are no opportunities for promotion, nor is there any possibility of receiving a reward.

As time went on, and they grew a bit older, for example, after the age of eighteen, they could only pray for the emperor and empress to have mercy and send them back home.

Otherwise, it would be equivalent to being confined to a cold palace for life.

Nine out of ten people who are subjected to this kind of treatment end up going insane.

The one who hasn't gone mad will eventually commit suicide.

This was the fate of the female officials in the palace.

Therefore, female officials in the palace would do anything to climb the ranks, given the opportunity.

They tried every possible way to climb onto the emperor's bed.

Even if it's just as a servant!
Thinking this, Liang Congzheng instructed his men, "Let's go! Let's make a trip to the Department of Imperial Records!"

Upon arriving at the Sizhi Si (司制司), Liang Congzheng could clearly sense the desolation of the palace—which was to be expected.

The officials in charge of imperial documents have lost their duty to serve the emperor.

Only the elderly who had connections with the concubines of the deceased emperors could still get some jobs and rewards by relying on their relationships with the concubines.

Others, especially those who had not yet been granted official positions, had no duties, no rewards, and no salary in this deep palace.

It's likely that even survival will be a struggle!

Liang Congzheng led his men and pushed open the palace gate of the Sizhisi (司制司). From afar, he could hear a young girl sobbing and begging for mercy.

"Stop hitting me...stop hitting me..."

"Please... I'll be obedient... I'll be obedient..."

Liang Congzheng listened expressionlessly, with a look of complete indifference.

That's how it is in the palace.

The court officials and female officials bullied each other.

Being beaten was almost the least malicious thing low-ranking eunuchs and female officials would encounter in the palace.

As Liang Congzheng led his men into the courtyard of the Sizhisi (司制司), soon after, Wang, the Sizhisi official, came out with her men after hearing the footsteps of the newcomers.

Upon seeing Liang Congzheng, Wang immediately put on a smile: "Wang, the clerk, greets the clerk!"

Liang Congzheng nodded and said to Wang Shi, "Wang Dianzhi, does your department have a Liu Shi who has not yet been appointed to an official position?"

Wang replied, "I wonder which Liu the officer in charge is asking about?"

"Yingying is the daughter of Liu Ancheng, the registrar of Yongzhou..."

Wang's expression immediately changed, and she asked, "May I ask why the guard is looking for her?"

"There's something I want to ask her..." Liang Congzheng said calmly.

"Bring her here immediately!" Liang Congzheng's tone became stern when he saw Wang's shifty eyes.

Wang swallowed hard, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Please, Supervisor, give me some time..."

Liang Congzheng's expression changed immediately, and he looked towards the place where the crying had taken place.

Then he looked at Wang.

A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind: "Could it be..."

So he turned around abruptly, and led his men toward the sound of crying.

Wang followed behind, her face ashen. After struggling for a while, she gritted her teeth and followed.

Liang Congzheng had only walked a few dozen steps when he found the girl being beaten and scolded by two old palace maids in a corner of a side hall of the Sizhi Si (司制司).

"Stop!" Liang Congzheng shouted immediately upon seeing this.

The two old palace maids, upon hearing the unfamiliar voice, turned around and were instantly terrified.

Because the newcomer was wearing a narrow-sleeved purple robe and had a sword at his waist.

Within this imperial palace, the only people allowed to travel with swords besides the emperor and the imperial guards are those who carry imperial weapons.

And each one carrying imperial weapons was a high-ranking eunuch!
He was the emperor and empress's confidant, and also the one who held the power of life and death, honor and disgrace over everyone in the imperial city!

Looking behind the person in question, one sees the ashen-faced Lady Wang.

The two old palace maids trembled and immediately prostrated themselves, crying, "Spare us! Spare us!"

"We servants are acting under orders to discipline them!"

Liang Congzheng ignored them and went straight to the girl who was curled up in the corner and covered in wounds.

"Are you Liu, the daughter of Liu Ancheng, the registrar of Yongzhou?"

The young girl looked at Liang Congzheng with awe, her delicate eyes cautiously scrutinizing him, like a frightened little rabbit: "I am..."

“Raise your head!” Liang Congzheng said softly.

Then, he saw a face that made even this courtier exclaim in surprise!

(End of this chapter)