The Prodigal Son

As the two stepped forward, Shangguan Youyi took out the imperial edict that had been prepared in advance and read it aloud.

"His Majesty has decreed: Heroes have always emerged from among the young; today, two stars shine brightly upon the world..."

Qin Yuren was stunned after Shangguan Youyi had only read one sentence.

"Two stars shining brightly across the universe"?

And they even dared to use the imperial edict to mock them?

What exactly is this female demon up to?

Is this some kind of warning to them?

While Qin Yu was secretly suspicious, Shangguan Youyi finally read out the rewards bestowed upon them.

Lü Si killed more than 150 people in battle, greatly enhancing the prestige of the country. Lü Si was appointed as a fifth-rank supervising censor, granted a travel permit, and awarded 20,000 taels of silver, 200 bolts of silk, and 100 bolts of brocade.

Qin Yu decisively defeated the rebel army using a water attack strategy, and led his troops to expand the territory of Daming. Qin Yu was appointed as a fourth-rank Attendant Gentleman and awarded a gold medal...

And then, that was it!

Qin Yu was a little confused.

Attendant Physician?

What official position?

I already had the gold medal!

Where's the money?

What about silk cloth?

At the very least, give me some special privileges!

For example, things like not bowing when entering the court!

While Qin Yu was still in a daze, the courtiers were in an uproar.

Frankly speaking, the rewards bestowed upon Lü Si were a bit excessive.

Although many people don't know how Lü Si got his credit, it's obvious to anyone that Lü Si could not possibly have killed more than 150 people in battle!

However, given the close relationship between the Lü family and the Empress Dowager, it was understandable that Zhao Luan would slightly increase the rewards.

Moreover, the position of censor was not exactly a desirable one.

Appointing Lü Si as the Censor was a move that benefited all officials!

Thinking about it this way, the reward given to Lü Si is not unreasonable.

But there's a big problem with the rewards given to Qin Yu!

Given Qin Yu's merits, it's really too low to only grant him a fourth-rank official position!

However, the Attendant Gentleman was someone who was always by the emperor's side, and his actual status was definitely close to that of a third-rank official.

Thinking about it this way, the reward given to Qin Yu is quite reasonable!

The problem is, this is an official position within the inner palace!

Palace officials should either be female officials or eunuchs!

How could they appoint Qin Yu, a perfectly healthy man, as a court physician?

Does His Majesty intend to take Qin Yu as a male concubine?

Isn't this just ridiculous?

Lu Chunqiu snapped out of his daze and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, isn't it somewhat inappropriate to appoint Qin Yu to an official position within the inner palace?"

"Lord Lü is absolutely right!"

Su Yu immediately added, "The Palace Attendant is a close attendant of the Emperor. According to the ancestral system of our Great Ning, palace officials should either be eunuchs or female officials! I believe that appointing Qin Yu as Palace Attendant will likely cause much controversy and damage Your Majesty's reputation! I implore Your Majesty to rescind the imperial edict and appoint Qin Yu to another official position!"

"I second that proposal!"

"I also agree..."

As soon as the two spoke, the courtiers all stepped forward.

Even if His Majesty favors Qin Yu, this is unacceptable!

If this gets out, I wonder how many rumors and gossip will emerge.

In an instant, almost all the civil and military officials stood up to oppose it, but Song Zhuo looked thoughtful and did not take any action.

Qin Yu didn't quite understand what the Palace Attendant was all about, but after hearing Su Yu's words, he instantly realized that something was terribly wrong.

This female devil is trying to keep me by his side. If she's in a bad mood, she'll probably punish me!

Even if she doesn't tidy herself up, just being around the female demon is torture!

This is no reward at all!

This is clearly a punishment!

As expected, my guess was right!

Openly rewarding but secretly punishing!

This female demon, unable to defeat me, resorts to all sorts of creative ways to take revenge!

No!

Absolutely not!

If he were to become a palace attendant, his good days would be over!

"We humbly request Your Majesty to rescind the imperial edict!"

Qin Yu quickly and righteously declared, "Your Majesty, I am but a dissolute young man. I may not care about my reputation, but I absolutely cannot ruin it!"

Despite the fierce opposition from Qin Yu and the court officials, Zhao Luan remained completely unmoved.

This result was within her expectations.

However, she has already made up her mind!

No one can change it!

Zhao Luan remained silent, listening quietly to the ministers' suggestions.

Only when the voices of the courtiers grew quieter did Zhao Luan slowly stand up, her sharp gaze sweeping over them: "Our dynasty's ancestral rules have no precedent for an empress to rule!"

"But the late emperor still defied all opposition and entrusted this empire to my hands!"

"Since I ascended the throne, has the world ever ceased to criticize me?"

"Does the world's criticism mean I should simply hand over the Great Ning empire to an incompetent and immoral person?"

"I am neither afraid of nor concerned about criticism!"

"We should appoint people based on their abilities and talents, not on rigid rules and regulations!"

Zhao Luan's gaze was firm and resolute.

It seemed as if they had already made up their minds.

Seeing that Zhao Luan had made up his mind, the courtiers became extremely anxious and desperately tried to signal Song Zhuo with their eyes.

Prime Minister Song, say something!

At this point, the only person who could persuade Zhao Luan was probably his mentor, Song Zhuo!

After a moment's thought, Song Zhuo said loudly, "Your Majesty, I agree! It is already difficult for a woman to be emperor! If Your Majesty continues to neglect talented people out of fear of gossip, that would be a misfortune for the people!"

As Song Zhuo finished speaking, the assembled officials were stunned.

no……

I asked you to persuade His Majesty to rescind the imperial edict, and you actually agreed to it?

Xue Chengdao, who was standing next to him, suspected that Song Zhuo was still hungover and quickly tugged at him quietly.

Song Zhuo turned his head and mouthed two words to him.

Ok?

Xue Chengdao was slightly taken aback, and it took him a long time to decipher the two words.

Zhao Yan?

Ren Qinyu was appointed as the Palace Attendant, what was his relationship with Zhao Yan...?

As he was thinking, Xue Chengdao's eyelids suddenly twitched.

Having understood this, Xue Chengdao changed his tune, saying, "Hearing Prime Minister Song's words, this humble subject has suddenly understood! This humble subject also agrees with Your Majesty's bestowal of honors upon Qin Yu!"

"Furthermore, I believe that Qin Yu has rendered great service to the court, and Your Majesty's reward should be even greater!"

"Since Qin Yu has the talent of a commander, we should give him more opportunities to be trained!"

"There is currently a vacancy in the Ministry of War for the position of Assistant Minister. I humbly request Your Majesty to appoint Qin Yu as Assistant Minister of War again!"

As Xue Chengdao finished speaking, Qin Yu almost jumped up and gave a friendly greeting to Xue's ancestors for eighteen generations.

What are you doing?

He also served as a secretary in the Ministry of War?

I think you're the one who needs to see a doctor!

"Now that you mention it, Your Excellency, I've remembered! The Ministry of Personnel is also short of a Physician."

Song Zhu chuckled and suggested to Zhao Luan, "Why not appoint Qin Yu as the concurrently serving Minister of Personnel?"

Su Yu's old face twitched violently, and he retorted irritably, "Should we also appoint Qin Yu as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites?"

"It's not impossible!"

Song Zhuo nodded and smiled, "If he holds several other official positions, fewer people will care about his current position as Palace Attendant!"

Su Yu's face darkened. He wanted to refute it, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make a lot of sense!

They're all doctors anyway!

The common people in the world may not even be able to distinguish between the imperial physicians and the physicians who practice medicine, so why would they care about all those messy official titles for physicians!

"I……"

Qin Yu almost laughed out of anger.

Why the hell didn't you let me also serve as the Executive Vice Emperor?

Just say you want to work yourself to death!

I mean, this "Wolong" should be in quotes!

He's not the real Zhuge Liang!

He strongly suspected that the female demon and the old fox gang were in cahoots to play him!

The next moment, Qin Yu suddenly let out an exaggerated scream, clutching his chest and collapsing to the ground...