The number one sycophant of the Ming Dynasty

After a while, Shen Zhiyu put down her teacup and stood up:

"It's getting late, I need to go to the next shop."

"Supervisor Chen, please draft the plan for the Winter Festival as soon as possible and send it to the Department of Speech so that I can review it in advance."

Chen Han also stood up, cupped his hands and said, "This subordinate understands. Please take care, Manager Shen."

Shen Zhiyu nodded, walked to the door, and suddenly turned back to look at Sun Yue.

"Miss Sun, the customs for ancestor worship on the Winter Solstice are different in the folk than in the palace."

"When you buy offerings, it's best to ask the elders in your family to make sure you don't buy the wrong ones."

These words were barbed, deliberately intended to separate Sun Yue and Chen Han.

Sun Yue smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Manager Shen. But with Supervisor Chen here, he won't let me make a mistake."

Shen Zhiyu didn't say anything more, pushed open the door and left.

The moment the door closed, Chen Han saw her back pause for a second, as if she stood at the door for a moment, before the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.

Only Chen Han and Sun Yue remained in the private room.

Sun Yue sat in the chair, holding a teacup, and the smile on her face slowly faded.

She looked at Chen Han and suddenly asked, "Supervisor Chen, are you very familiar with that Manager Shen?"

Chen Han carefully considered his words: "We've met a few times, but we're not very close."

"We went to the banquet at Prince Yu's residence together last time."

"There are some dealings in engineering matters. She is the head of the Imperial Household Department, and all documents from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices have to go through her."

"Oh." Sun Yue nodded, then asked, "Is she married?"

"This... I don't know," Chen Han said truthfully. "Female officials in the inner court are usually released when they reach a certain age. Manager Shen is in his early twenties this year, so he shouldn't be married yet."

Sun Yue didn't ask any more questions and lowered her head to drink her tea.

After a while, she spoke again, her tone a little softer than before: "Supervisor Chen, do you think she's pretty?"

Chen Han was stunned for a moment.

He genuinely didn't know how to answer that question.

Saying it looks good is inappropriate;

To say it's not good-looking is to lie through one's teeth.

"Shen Zhangyin is a female official of the sixth rank," he said carefully, "and I dare not presume to comment."

Sun Yue looked at him and suddenly laughed: "You always speak so calmly and methodically. No matter what I ask you, you never offend anyone."

She stood up and patted her skirt: "Let's go, we still need to go shopping."

Chen Han responded and followed her downstairs.

……

After leaving the restaurant, Sun Yue did not take the carriage again, but had Cui'er drive the carriage behind her while she walked to buy things.

Chen Han walked beside her, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

After walking for a while, Sun Yue suddenly spoke up: "Supervisor Chen, have you really only met Manager Shen a few times?"

Chen Han's heart tightened, but she remained outwardly calm: "Miss, we've really only met a few times."

"I have only been working at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for four months, and I haven't had many opportunities to deal with the inner court."

"At the banquet at Prince Yu's residence last time, His Highness invited both me and Manager Shen, which is why we had a few more words to say."

Sun Yue hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

The two walked in silence for a while, then Sun Yue spoke again: "Supervisor Chen, what do you think of me?"

Chen Han was genuinely stunned this time.

"Miss is the daughter of Lord Sun, well-educated, gentle and virtuous..." he began with polite words.

"That's not what I'm asking," Sun Yue interrupted him. "I mean, what do you think of my personality? Am I difficult to please?"

Chen Han paused for a moment, then said, "Miss has a straightforward personality; she says what she thinks and doesn't hide anything. It's easy to get along with someone like that."

Sun Yue glanced at him, seemingly surprised by his response.

"real?"

"real."

Sun Yue lowered her head, a slight smile playing on her lips, which she quickly suppressed.

"Let's go," she said, "to that 'Dexingcheng' you mentioned. If their incense and candles aren't good, I won't stand for it."

"Don't worry, Miss." Chen Han followed after her. "You'll be satisfied with anything from that shop."

……

After leaving Dexingcheng, Sun Yue's mood improved significantly.

She walked ahead, her steps light and quick, occasionally turning back to say a few words to Chen Han.

"Supervisor Chen, do you really think these incense sticks are any good? They smell almost the same as regular ones."

"The reason the young lady can't smell it is because all the different smells are mixed together in the shop."

"Once you get home, you can smell the difference when you light one on your own."

"Oh... what about vegetarian three sacrificial animals? I always buy real three sacrificial animals in previous years, why do you want to buy vegetarian ones this year?"

"Miss, when offering sacrifices to ancestors on the Winter Solstice, it is quite common for people to use vegetarian meats."

"Vegetarian food has a long shelf life, won't spoil, and doesn't attract mosquitoes."

"If you feel it's disrespectful, Miss, you can buy the real thing. I'll accompany you to the butcher shop."

"Forget it, let's just have the vegetarian one." Sun Yue waved her hand. "You said it, so it must be right."

The words sounded natural, but Chen Han felt that something was off.

He looked up at the sky; it was already late afternoon.

It gets dark early in winter; it will be dark soon.

"Miss," he said, "it's getting late. I'll escort you home."

Sun Yue said "Oh" and nodded, her smile fading slightly.

She boarded the carriage, and before the curtain was drawn, she glanced at Chen Han one last time: "Supervisor Chen, thank you for your hard work today."

"You flatter me, Miss. This is my duty."

Sun Yue didn't say anything more, and the carriage curtain was lowered.

Cui'er sat next to the coachman, smiled at Chen Han, and whispered, "Supervisor Chen, Miss is very happy today."

Chen Han didn't reply, but simply nodded slightly.

The carriage slowly drove out of the street corner and headed towards the Sun residence.

Chen Han walked beside the car, but his mind was on something else.

The woman dressed as a man I saw at the Temple of Heaven today, Shen Zhiyu's unusual behavior at the restaurant, Sun Yue's subtle probing along the way...

These things swirled in his mind one by one.

But he didn't have time to think about these things.

There are still twenty days until the winter sacrifice, and he must come up with a plan within these twenty days.

Everything else has to wait.

……

The carriage stopped in front of the Sun residence. Sun Yue got out of the carriage, stood on the steps, and glanced back at Chen Han.

"Supervisor Chen, thank you for today."

"You're too kind, Miss."

Sun Yue stood there, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.

In the end, he simply nodded, turned around, and went inside.

Cui'er followed behind, took two steps, then turned back and mouthed something to Chen Han.

Chen Han understood.

What she said was, "Miss likes you."

Chen Han stood there, watching the gates of the Sun residence slowly close, his expression unchanged.

He turned around and walked towards his residence.

On the way, he thought of Shen Zhiyu's appearance in the restaurant again.

He now understood the implication in her tone when she said, "I heard that Miss Sun has made a name for herself at Fayuan Temple."

That wasn't curiosity, nor was it a test.

It's about feeling jealous.

Chen Han paused for a moment.

No, it's not jealousy.

Shen Zhiyu had only met him a few times, so there was no real affection between them.

That's a kind of... dissatisfaction.

She spent eight years in the inner court, working her way up to the sixth rank through her own abilities. No one ever asked her what color she liked, what ink she preferred, or whether the futon she sat on was hard.

Yet he was so thoughtful in every single detail for a daughter of an official he didn't even know.

She is not convinced.

It's not that I like it, it's that I'm dissatisfied.

How could a woman who had endured eight years of hardship alone in the inner court remain calm when she saw a man being so attentive to another woman?

Chen Han thought about it and felt that this explanation made sense.

But what about Sun Yue?

Sun Yue didn't like him either.

The first time she felt "comfortable" at Fayuan Temple, the first time she felt "afraid of nothing", was because he gave her a sense of security she had never experienced before.

The moment Shen Zhiyu appeared today, her sense of security was threatened, and she felt a surge of determination to win.

Two women, one unwilling to accept defeat, the other unwilling to give up.

He's in the middle, so he doesn't have to be caught in the middle; he can just play dumb.

Because their confrontation today has nothing to do with love; it's purely driven by a competitive spirit.

He understands this very well.

……