diskusbooks Chapter 184 Court
Chapter 184 Court
Compared with Lianzhou, it is better because of the vitality of the library.
And in the capital, in the court.
When the emperor suddenly issued an imperial decree to appoint Chu Ci as the Deputy Minister of Works, it was like a bolt of thunder that suddenly broke the tranquility and established order in the court.
"Your Majesty, if my memory is correct, then Chu Ci is a woman. Your Majesty, there has never been a precedent of women serving as officials in our dynasty since ancient times. This behavior is probably against the ancestral system!"
Minister of Rites Nie Zuming frowned tightly, his face looked extremely solemn, and he stood up resolutely and spoke with a serious look.
However, compared to Nie Zuming who was obsessed with making a fuss about Chu Ci's female identity, the Imperial Censor Tang Jinzhu seemed more rational.
Tang Jinzhu took a steady step forward, clasped his hands respectfully, and said, "Your Majesty, what great achievements did this woman make to be awarded such a high position? Please let your Majesty know so that all the ministers will be convinced."
If it were in the past, if the emperor encountered such blatant disobedience from his subjects, he would definitely be furious and even impose severe punishment.
But at this moment the emperor behaved unusually calm and composed. His face was as peaceful as water. He slowly waved his hand, signaling the eunuch beside him to bring out the memorials from teachers, students and people.
The eunuch took the memorial from the emperor with great respect, as if he was holding a rare treasure. He walked towards the first minister carefully and cautiously, and then handed the memorial to the minister with great caution.
At this time, the emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, and after sweeping his eyes majestically at all the ministers, he spoke majestically: "Circulate this memorial to all the ministers, and let the civil and military officials circulate it in turn, and read carefully why I want to appoint a weak woman as an official."
After saying this, the emperor held the armrests of the dragon throne firmly with both hands, and watched quietly as memorials were passed among the ministers, with an elusive look in his eyes.
Upon seeing this, all the civil and military officials felt a jolt in their hearts at the same time, and an indescribable sense of tension quickly spread among them.
Although Prime Minister Fang, who was holding the memorial, still had a calm expression as before without any ripples, the speed at which he flipped through the memorial was obviously much slower than usual.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the court became increasingly subtle.
But Fang Xiang seemed unaware. After passing the memorial to the next person, he shouted, "Your Majesty is wise. Chu Ci's move is a blessing for our Great Zhou and the world."
But Prime Minister Fang seemed unaware of the solemn atmosphere in the court.
After handing the memorial to the next minister, he shouted excitedly: "Your Majesty is wise! Chu Ci's move is truly a blessing for our Great Zhou and for all the people in the world! This is a major event that benefits the country and the people. I deeply admire and praise it!"
The ministers looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, and everyone's face was filled with doubts and confusion.
Everyone's eyes met, secretly speculating on the contents of the memorial. What kind of content could make Prime Minister Fang, who was always accustomed to contradicting the emperor, abandon his dignity and disregard it?
Only Situ Xingzhang, who knew the truth, remained aloof.
However, this was his usual behavior, so no one had any doubts about it.
Just like that, the memorial was passed around among the civil and military officials one by one. As the memorial was passed around, the expressions on the faces of each minister became more and more complicated after reading it...
However, the emperor wanted to take this opportunity today to give everyone a severe warning.
After everyone had read it, the emperor slowly and leisurely straightened his body, then with a faint smile on his face, he said in a sarcastic tone: "What do you think of this, the pillars of the country?"
The emperor's eyes slowly swept over the ministers one by one, and there seemed to be an unquestionable firmness in his eyes, as if he was eagerly waiting for the ministers to give a proper explanation or advice.
At this moment, there was silence in the court. The ministers looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, and they were all thinking carefully about how to respond to the emperor's questions.
In the end, it was the Minister of Rites Nie Zuming who was stubborn.
He took a step forward, bowed, and said solemnly and firmly, "Your Majesty, even if Chu Ci's actions are indeed great achievements, making him a county lady is enough to show the emperor's great grace."
"After all, the position of the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works carries extremely heavy responsibilities and involves many important matters. Your Majesty, please consider it carefully and reconsider it."
As soon as this proposal was made, there was a lot of movement in the court. At least half of the ministers moved their feet, walked out of the queue quickly, and stood up and said in unison: "I second the proposal."
They all looked serious and solemn, and seemed to agree with this proposal very much.
Even Fang Xiang, who had just praised the emperor for his wisdom, frowned slightly at this moment, and then slowly said: "If the county lady is not possible, in my opinion, the princess lady is also possible."
"Well then, then I will confer the title of Princess Yi Xin on her." The emperor blurted out the answer without hesitation, before anyone had a chance to react. His straightforward tone sounded as if this was a decision he had already made in his mind.
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Zhang Rang, the personal eunuch who had been serving the emperor, stood up.
He cleared his throat first, then straightened his chest, faced all the ministers, and announced loudly: "In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The future headmaster of the Women's College, Chu Ci, is a woman of great intelligence and talent. Her talent and character have won my heart. I hereby confer her the title of Princess Yixin, and she will enjoy the honor of a princess. I decree this."
Therefore, they were completely fooled by the emperor!
The so-called Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works mentioned earlier was probably just a cover. In fact, it was just a clever introduction deliberately thrown out by the emperor to confuse the people and make them fall into the trap he had carefully set up step by step.
Chu Ci, who was far away in Lianzhou, had no idea that the emperor, in order to give Chu Ci a legitimate title and to put Chu Ci in the spotlight, actually teased all the officials in this way.
She was sitting at home and something bad happened.
But she was totally unaware of all this.
It was not until two months later, when Chu Ci was overwhelmed by all this and was busy to the point of exhaustion, that he finally took Qianxue and Qianyan with him and planned to return to Yazhou.