The bright sunshine, shining through the umbrella-like tree canopy in the courtyard, is bright and dazzling, illuminating every corner of the Linhuai Marquis Mansion courtyard.
In the courtyard, Zhu Ping'an was kneeling there, while Li Shu, the old lady and others were kneeling in a fan shape, half a body's length behind him.
Eunuch Jia from the palace stood in front of them, holding the imperial edict, at the very center of the fan.
Zhu Ping'an was stunned, and Li Shu behind him also opened her mouth in surprise.
The old lady, the sixth young lady and others had much richer expressions on their faces, some were happy, some were secretly pleased, some were gloating... ...
At this moment, time seems to have stood still.
Finally, it was Eunuch Jia who was standing in front who broke the silence. He looked at Zhu Ping'an with a slight smile and reminded him softly, "Master Zhu, please accept the order."
"Oh, oh, your servant Zhu Ping'an accepts your order. Thank you for your grace. Long live the emperor."
Zhu Ping'an came to his senses at the reminder of Eunuch Jia, knelt on the ground, supported himself with his hands, put his head close to the ground, kowtowed to accept the order and express his gratitude, then straightened up, stretched out his hands, and took the imperial edict from Eunuch Jia.
Li Shu and other female relatives kowtowed together.
The old lady watched Zhu Ping'an take over the imperial edict, and she felt lucky again. It was a good thing that it was not her son, Marquis of Linhuai, otherwise it would be her son who would be embarrassed.
The sixth young lady of the Marquisate looked at Li Shu with a look of gloating...
In the mansion, she and her fifth sister Li Shu are the most at odds with each other. She can't stand Li Shu's arrogant attitude. In her opinion, Li Shu is not as good-looking as her, not as good-looking as her, not as good-looking as her, not as good-looking as her in everything. Why can Li Shu have endless money to spend, while she can only count her pitiful monthly salary; why is Li Shu so lucky to find a bumpkin in the countryside, but in the blink of an eye he becomes the top scholar, while she can only marry a dandy boy with a bad reputation, no ability and self-righteousness... ...
Especially a few days ago, when the news spread in the palace that Zhu Ping'an had handled a major case in Taicang and that the emperor had exaggerated it, the Sixth Miss looked at Li Shu even more unpleasantly, and felt that Li Shu was even more arrogant than before, and was about to stick her tail up to the sky!
Chuck!
It's ok now!
Let you show off again.
It turns out that the emperor's praise is punishable by a fine of one hundred and sixty taels of silver. Hehehe... I almost laughed out loud.
The Sixth Miss's eyes narrowed into crescents, and her cherry lips slightly curved up, revealing a small canine tooth that sparkled in the sun...
Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord.
Although Zhu Ping'an had a thousand "MMP"s he wanted to say to Emperor Jiajing, he still took the imperial edict with great respect.
Zhu Ping'an was just about to stand up and prepare to respectfully place the imperial edict on the table for worship.
This is how most officials would act upon receiving an imperial edict, unless the edict was to execute one's head or confiscate one's property, then even if one wanted to offer sacrifices, there would be no chance.
"Master Xiao Zhu, please be patient. The imperial edict has not yet been announced."
However, when Zhu Ping'an was about to stand up, Eunuch Jia, who was standing in front of him, waved his hand with a smile on his face.
Well
besides
Zhu Ping'an and others were all stunned.
The old lady of Linhuai Marquis's Mansion was also stunned. While she was feeling relieved, she couldn't help but sigh. Wasn't the fine enough? Was she going to be demoted
Although she didn't like her granddaughter Li Shu, and also didn't like her son-in-law Zhu Ping'an very much, but having such a son-in-law who was the top scholar gave her a lot more topics to talk about when chatting with other meritorious old ladies.
If he was only fined, it would be fine. But if the son-in-law was fined and demoted, it would have a great negative impact on their mansion. The direct impact would be that she would lose face among her old sisters.
When Sixth Miss heard that there was an imperial edict, the curve of her cherry lips became wider and her little fangs were exposed more.
Demote me, preferably to a commoner, and see what you, Li Shu, still have to be proud of in front of me...
"Master Xiao Zhu, please accept the order."
As he spoke, Eunuch Jia took out another imperial edict on the same black ox horn axis from the tray that the eunuch behind him was holding respectfully. It was like a magic trick.
"Your Majesty, Zhu Ping'an accepts the order." Zhu Ping'an kowtowed again to accept the order.
"In compliance with the Will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: 'Zhu Ping'an, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy and the Reader of the Imperial Academy, has been diligent and frugal since he took office, and has devoted himself to the country and made many achievements. In the case of the Taicang deficit, all the ministers who had been in charge of the treasury and the ministers who had been sent to investigate the treasury were trusted officials, and they also followed their own ways and were unaware of it. No one was able to expose the evil, and they failed to fulfill their trust. Only Zhu Ping'an, who stepped forward despite the difficulties, lived up to my expectations, and made an indelible contribution to the case of the Taicang deficit. From today on, he will be promoted to the fifth rank, and concurrently serve as the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy..." After unfolding the second imperial edict, Eunuch Jia read it out in the same tone as when he read the first imperial edict.
This time, Eunuch Jia's voice sounded like a spring breeze to Zhu Ping'an.
Well, I didn’t expect that this eunuch Jia’s voice is so magnetic. He is more than qualified to be a host in modern times.
Zhu Ping'an thought so.
From this point of view, Emperor Jiajing was not such a tyrant. Although the official title was just the addition of the word "Bachelor" after the Hanlin Academy Reader, don't underestimate these two words. The addition of these two words means that Zhu Ping'an has been promoted to the fifth rank, which is equivalent to the modern deputy department level + position.
Basically, he is only half a level lower than Director Qi in In the Name of People.
Of course, Zhu Ping'an has no real power and cannot be compared with Director Qi who holds great power. This is only in terms of rank.
but.
From a sixth-rank official to a fifth-rank official, this is a qualitative leap. A fifth-rank official is already a mid-level official. I don’t know how many people have climbed ashore from the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination, but have been tripped at this threshold until they are old.
Just like the transition from the Qi training stage to the foundation building stage in fantasy novels, this is a chasm. Those below the foundation building stage are all ants, but once they leap across this gap they can become dragons.
Well, from this point of view, Emperor Jiajing was not a tyrant...
At this moment, Zhu Ping'an had long forgotten about running naked and holding banners in protest at the gate of Xiyuan Palace.
After hearing this, Li Shu's watery eyes narrowed into a crescent shape. She glanced at the old lady and the sixth young lady and others, and raised her head in an arc...
The old lady of the Linhuai Marquis's Mansion opened her eyes wide in surprise. The fifth uncle was promoted and became a fifth-rank Hanlin Academy scholar? ! The fifth uncle was only sixteen years old and was promoted some time ago. How could he be promoted again? The fifth uncle passed the imperial examination this year, so he must be a fifth-rank official. Even the emperor's own son could not be promoted so quickly. It's scary to think that he is a fifth-rank official at such a young age.
Why!
Why isn't this imperial edict addressed to his son, Marquis Linhuai
Not to mention a fine of more than one hundred taels of silver, I would be willing even if it was a fine of ten thousand taels of silver.
The old lady of Linhuai Hou felt more and more frustrated the more she thought about it. She wished that it was her son, Linhuai Hou, who received the imperial decree.
The Sixth Miss of the Marquis' Mansion, standing by, opened her mouth wide, her eyes almost popping out of her head in surprise, all she could hear in her mind was "Fifth rank, fifth rank, fifth rank..."
What happened? The emperor fined him 160 taels of silver in the last imperial decree, so how come he was promoted in the next one? !
Your Majesty, can you have some principles
Could it be that my fifth brother-in-law is the emperor’s illegitimate son? His promotion is too fast.
How great would it be if my fifth brother-in-law was my husband? !
Why
Li Shu, this country girl, is not as pretty as me, her figure is not as good as mine, she is not as good as me in everything. Why does she get all the good things
ah!
Did that country girl Li Shu look at me just now? !
She looked at me with her chin down again?!
Stinky girl!
So angry!
For a moment, the Sixth Miss of the Marquis's Mansion bit her lips in anger, and the handkerchief in her hand was almost crushed to pieces.