My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 87

Chapter 87: Promotion

After Liang Su had washed up, she returned to her room to find that the clothes in the laundry basket were gone, and the tea on the table had been thoughtfully replaced with a hot one. Liang Su took a sip of the hot tea, and her mood relaxed.

She had arrived in the capital in the morning and had gone for a walk with Zhizhou in the afternoon. She had walked a lot, seen many sceneries and houses, and had broadened her horizons. Now that she had been to the capital, she would be more composed when she went to other places in the future.

The food at night had been delicious enough, but she still had to have a barbecue. Liang Su still couldn’t help but eat a little more.

She blew out the candle and lay on the bed. The quilt was light but warm, and the bed was soft. She felt as if she were sleeping on cotton.

“This bed must have cost a lot of money,” Liang Su thought.

She was still tired today. She soon fell asleep.

It was the first time he had been to his uncle’s house. After Xu Cheng had washed up, he went to Song Mingyan’s room. “Father, I want to sleep with you.”

Song Mingyan smiled. “Come on.”

Xu Cheng had thought that he would not be able to sleep, but as soon as he got into bed, he fell fast asleep. It was the same for Song Mingyan. His mind was still wandering, but as soon as he lay down, he fell asleep.

Song Changxu was busy with his official duties. When he got up for breakfast, Song Mingyan, his mother, and his mother-in-law were already up.

The attendant had made enough breakfast. Song Changxu finished his eight-treasure congee. “I’m going to work first. If you need anything, just call for Xingwen.”

Song Changxu left. Xu Zhizhou was not yet awake.

“We can just have a look ourselves. We don’t want to go out now,” Cao Qin said.

Seeing Song Changxu in a hurry, she thought that he was very busy. What if Zhizhou really was pregnant? This son-in-law was really unreliable.

Cao Qin thought that Zhizhou was still not up at this hour, and seeing that her son-in-law was already used to it, she had a plan in her mind.

“It seems that Changxu is good to Zhizhou.”

Liang Su said, “My son seems to be really busy. The family’s affairs all depend on Zhizhou. Zhizhou is a good daughter-in-law.”

The two of them laughed at the same time.

.

When Song Changxu reached the Ministry of Personnel, he found that Director He’s eyes were swollen, and his expression was dazed. He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night. Song Changxu’s expression was thoughtful. A batch of appointments had not yet come down. When they did, Song Changxu planned to hand over the evidence of Director He’s corruption to Jian Xi.

After he had finished his official duties, he closed his eyes to rest. He thought of Pei Shengrong, who had gone to Youzhou. He didn’t know how he was doing. He hoped that everything would be smooth for him.

Assistant Minister Su handed him another batch of documents. Song Changxu looked at them. They were mostly about local matters. Song Changxu read them slowly.

He was sensitive to some words. It was difficult to get any benefits from him. Song Changxu handled it smoothly.

At this moment, a young eunuch came from the door. “His Majesty has invited Sir He to the Panlong Hall.”

Director He was shocked. He quickly followed the young eunuch.

There was nothing much going on in the Ministry of Personnel. Emperor Pingjing was probably looking for Director He for the matter of the military officers. Song Changxu thought that the disposal of the Xiao family should be in these few days. No wonder Emperor Pingjing had called for him.

When Director He reached Emperor Pingjing, he was very cautious and knelt down to bow.

“Get up,” Emperor Pingjing said. He saw Director He’s dark circles and swollen face, and couldn’t help but frown, a hint of displeasure in his heart.

“What were you doing last night, Minister He? Why do you look like this?”

Director He’s back was drenched in cold sweat. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I had little sleep.”

Emperor Pingjing: “If you’re not feeling well, you should see a doctor. I’ve called you today to ask about the disposal of the local military officers. I see that you’ve handled the matter of their retirement well. If a military officer resigns and goes home, how can we make them settle down?”

Director He’s mind went blank. How would he know? He had never had such a military man. He had no ideas in his mind, and Emperor Pingjing was watching.

Director He could only say some roundabout words, which were the same as not saying anything.

Emperor Pingjing was displeased. Whether it was Director He’s appearance of not having slept for several days, or his fawning and racking his brains, he did not look like a court minister.

He waved his hand with annoyance. “You can leave.”

As expected, some of the court ministers were not to be looked at closely. There was no perfect person in the world, but he would not call for Director He in the future. Even the thought of promoting him had faded.

Laifu brought in some ginseng chicken soup. He said, “This was sent by the Phoenix Lord.”

Emperor Pingjing had Laifu pour a bowl and had a few mouthfuls with a spoon. “Go and call Liu Wangsheng over.”

Laifu went to call the prime minister. When the prime minister arrived at the Panlong Hall, His Majesty was not there.

Liu Wangsheng: “This…”

A young eunuch came up and whispered a few words in Laifu’s ear. A look of joy appeared on Laifu’s face.

“Sir Liu, you should go back to the Grand Secretariat to deal with your official duties first. There’s something going on in the Fengyang Palace. I’m afraid His Majesty will not be free to see you today.”

Seeing the festive atmosphere in the Panlong Hall, Liu Wangsheng asked tentatively, “Eunuch Laifu, has something happened to His Highness?”

“What good thing could happen to His Highness? On the contrary, it’s a great thing,” this matter would be known sooner or later. It was better for Laifu to do Liu Wangsheng a favor.

He smiled. “His Highness is pregnant.”

A look of joy also appeared on Liu Wangsheng’s face. His Majesty only had the Phoenix Lord. If he were to give birth to a prince, that would be good. At least the country would have an heir. Otherwise, if there were no prince, the Ningxing Dynasty would be in chaos for a while in the future. Since ancient times, all the imperial children had their eyes on that position.

On the other side, ever since he had been informed by Xiping, Emperor Pingjing had hurried to the Fengyang Palace. The Imperial Hospital was waiting on the side. Empress Dowager Xiao had also arrived. Emperor Pingjing’s joy faded a little when he saw her.

“Your Majesty,” the palace attendants greeted him.

Empress Dowager Xiao turned around. Just as Xiao Yurong was about to greet him, Emperor Pingjing quickly went over and helped him up. “You don’t have to be so polite. How are you feeling?”

Xiao Yurong subconsciously smiled and touched his stomach. “I’m fine. I felt like vomiting when I was eating today. I only knew I was two months pregnant after I had the imperial physician have a look.”

A look of love appeared in Empress Dowager Xiao’s eyes. “Emperor, you have to pay more attention to Yurong’s pregnancy. This will be your first child.”

Emperor Pingjing answered, “Don’t worry, Mother. This is my child. I will pay attention and give him a stable environment.”

After Empress Dowager Xiao had seen Xiao Yurong, she left the emperor and empress together. Xiping bowed and led the palace attendants out of the palace, closing the door and not disturbing them.

Emperor Pingjing held Xiao Yurong’s hand and sat on the edge of the bed. His features were serious. “Are you really alright?”

Hearing this, Xiao Yurong nestled in Emperor Pingjing’s arms. “Don’t you believe the imperial physician, Your Majesty? What could happen to me in the palace?”

Ever since the younger generation of the Xiao family had left the capital, there had been a rift between Emperor Pingjing and Xiao Yurong. Now, this child had come at the right time. Xiao Yurong held on to Emperor Pingjing’s arm tightly. He had long wanted to make up with his cousin. He now knew that it was a blessing that his elder brother had taken his two other brothers away. It was just that his father…

Emperor Pingjing felt that the matter of the child was a bit tricky. He had originally planned to throw General Xiao into prison in a few days. His crimes were enough to have him killed a thousand times. Now he had to consider it.

He had not wanted to kill General Xiao in the first place. It was fine if he did not die. He could be imprisoned in the general’s residence for the rest of his life and never be allowed to go out.

It could be considered as giving the younger generation of the Xiao family, Yurong, and the Empress Dowager some face. As for the Empress Dowager, since she liked the Buddhist temple, she could go there more often to pray for the world.

Emperor Pingjing had decided on the Xiao family’s end and was more at ease with Xiao Yurong. He had always been worried that Xiao Yurong would have his child. When his wings were not yet full, the child might have suppressed him.

If it were a boy, Emperor Pingjing would be under even more pressure.

Now that the Xiao family’s threat was not great, Emperor Pingjing was a little more expectant of the child.

“Yurong, I have something to tell you. The evidence of General Xiao’s crimes is in my hands. I plan to deal with him in a few days.”

Xiao Yurong’s heart grew cold. He forced a smile. “How do you plan to deal with him, Your Majesty? He is your uncle, my father, and also your father-in-law. He has guarded the border for so many years. Please be lenient.”

Emperor Pingjing said in a deep voice, “I will give him face. He will be imprisoned in the general’s residence, never to leave, and will be demoted to a commoner. In addition, he will be caned fifty times to give the world an explanation.”

Xiao Yurong knew that this was already the best outcome. He held back his tears. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Thinking of his father’s appearance, Xiao Yurong couldn’t help but shed tears. His father was so proud. To be like this, forget it. It was his own fault. If he had gone home to retire with his elder brother, His Majesty would not have been so ruthless.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yurong felt a sense of relief.

He touched his stomach. The most important thing for him now was to have a healthy pregnancy and give birth to the child safely. He didn’t know what would happen in the future. He could only hold on to what he had now.

Xiao Yurong clutched Emperor Pingjing’s sleeve. Emperor Pingjing held him and patted his back. “With the imperial physician and me here, you don’t have to worry. If you need anything in the future, you can just call for the people from the Imperial Hospital. Also, you can say whatever you want for nourishing herbs, but I remember that you can’t have too much. You should listen to the imperial physician more.”

“I know, Your Majesty,” Xiao Yurong said, nestling in Emperor Pingjing’s arms.

There were only the two of them in the palace. Emperor Pingjing saw his obedient appearance, and his eyes softened. As long as Xiao Yurong was still the same as before and did not have the same bad habits as the Xiao family, he was still satisfied with him.

At first, when he had been forced by his mother to marry Xiao Yurong, he had indeed been uncomfortable. He was the ruler of the world. He should be the one to decide who he wanted to marry. Why did he have to marry a ge’er from the Xiao family?

He was a little annoyed with Xiao Yurong. In the end, he had still compromised for the sake of taking over the government.

Emperor Pingjing accompanied Xiao Yurong in the Fengyang Palace. The news of the Phoenix Lord’s pregnancy soon spread throughout the imperial palace.

Song Changxu heard it in the Ministry of Personnel.

“His Highness is pregnant. In the future, the Xiao family…”

“The Ningxing Dynasty has a successor…”

The court ministers discussed in a low voice. Song Changxu listened and continued to deal with his official duties. Assistant Minister Su assigned the decided positions.

Song Changxu saw that Marquis Liu’s second son had been assigned to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He remembered that there were a few Hanlin academicians in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who were more qualified than him. It seemed that Director He had still taken the benefits.

He felt a sense of finality in his heart. He had personally handed over the handle to him.

Song Changxu gave the evidence of Director He’s corruption and bribery to Jian Xi.

A clerk placed a cup of hot tea by Song Changxu’s hand and closed the door as he went out.

Jian Xi was looking at the evidence Song Changxu had presented. After he had finished, he tapped on it with his finger. “Why did you collect evidence of his corruption and bribery?”

Song Changxu was caught off guard by this question.

Meeting Jian Xi’s calm gaze, Song Changxu had a feeling that he also knew of Director He’s private dealings, but he didn’t know why he hadn’t dealt with him.

Song Changxu told the truth. “Sir He stole my credit. I was angry. I also knew about his grudge with Sir Tong. I thought that he must have more than one handle, so I went to investigate him.”

Jian Xi’s expression softened when he knew the reason. “It seems that Director He is indeed too bold. He has even committed the crime of deceiving the monarch. Why didn’t you say so at that time?”

Song Changxu: “This matter passed through my hands, Sir Su’s, and Sir He’s. I have no evidence to prove my innocence. On the contrary, it would implicate Sir Su, so I didn’t dare to speak.”

Jian Xi: “That also makes sense. Leave this matter to me. Of course, I will also truthfully tell Sir Xu about the matter of Director He deceiving the monarch.”

Xu Anyan was the Minister of Personnel.

Song Changxu: “Thank you, Sir Jian.”

Jian Xi looked at the evidence again, then took a sip of tea. “When the water is too clear, there are no fish. Director He has been too greedy. There is so much on the surface. I don’t know how much there is in private. You can leave.”

“Yes.”

After Song Changxu had left, Jian Xi first dealt with a few documents. He was sitting in the position of the Vice Minister of Personnel. It was impossible that no one had given him gifts. They would always send some during the New Year and festivals.

Jian Xi did not accept bank notes. He would accept some tea, precious calligraphy and paintings, wine, food, and tonics. He would not accept anything too valuable.

Some people wanted to build a relationship with him. If the people below really had some ability, he didn’t mind promoting them. If they were a good-for-nothing, he wouldn’t even accept their things. The matter couldn’t be done. If they wanted him to promote them, they had to have some substance. Otherwise, if something happened after they were promoted, he would also be implicated.

Jian Xi looked down on what Director He had done. He felt that it was shabby, not clean, too crude, and completely disregarded his own reputation and official career. This time, he had even stolen his subordinate’s credit. He had pushed the person too far, and now he had suffered.

Jian Xi took the evidence to find Xu Anyan.

After a while, Xu Anyan went to the Panlong Hall to request an audience with Emperor Pingjing. Originally, it would have been fine to just submit a memorial, but since it involved the crime of deceiving the monarch, Xu Anyan was cautious and went to the Panlong Hall to find him.

Hearing that it was Xu Anyan, Emperor Pingjing still moved from the Fengyang Palace to the Panlong Hall and had him come forward to speak.

“Your Majesty, I only learned of this matter today. Director He has been selling official positions and accepting bribes. Here are the official positions he has dealt with. As for the amount of silver, it is not yet known. I will have to ask the Ministry of Justice to investigate. Also, Your Majesty had once issued a decree to praise Director He for his good handling of the resettlement of military officers. That was the idea of the Director of the Ministry of Personnel, Sir Song, but it was taken by Director He.”

Emperor Pingjing flipped through the evidence and saw that most of them were local officials. Some of the less prestigious court official positions had also been taken by him. Hearing about the matter of stealing credit, he was very angry.

“He’s really something. A mere junior fifth-rank director of the Ministry of Personnel has committed so many mistakes. How many things have been delayed by only catching him now? Xu Anyan, I see that your Ministry of Personnel is not clean. How can I entrust matters to you in the future?”

Xu Anyan knelt down. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I will investigate myself thoroughly when I go back.”

Emperor Pingjing still trusted Xu Anyan. “Go and issue a decree to the Ministry of Justice. Have them arrest him first, and then go and find evidence. Investigate this person thoroughly. See how many other people are connected to him, how many deals there are. Investigate as many as you can. He’s really ignorant. To have him work in the Ministry of Personnel has actually made it convenient for him to accumulate wealth.”

Xu Anyan said, “I will definitely investigate thoroughly.”

Emperor Pingjing had someone call for Song Changxu.

When Song Changxu came before him, he was neither servile nor overbearing. Emperor Pingjing said, “Get up. I was just wondering why Director He was talking nonsense when I asked him how to deal with the disbanded soldiers and generals.”

Song Changxu thought for a moment and said, “The generals and the soldiers should be separated. Also, Your Majesty can reward them with land and less silver. After all, the generals are a minority, and the soldiers are the majority. After they have no military pay, and have been at the border for so many years, they usually have to farm to support themselves. If they are not good at farming, they can rent out the land, and they will have some income.”

“Silver is a consumable for them. Once it’s spent, it’s gone. But land is not. Land can continuously generate value. As long as they are not lazy, they will not starve. Compared to gold and silver, the long-term impact is huge. They are a group of men with martial arts skills. If their problems are not handled well, it will be a threat to the safety of the common people.”

“The local yamen can teach them to do some things. No matter what, they have to have a skill to support themselves. If they are not good at farming, people can be sent to teach them. Also, this matter should be included in their political achievements. For the local officials, what holds them back is their political achievements. Only if they do this will they be attentive.”

Song Changxu knew that only when the higher-ups showed that they attached importance to something would the people below listen to the string and know the tune. What the superiors like, the subordinates will surely follow.

As long as the measures above were appropriate, and the national treasury was full, many problems could still be solved.

He hadn’t expected Emperor Pingjing to ask him this question. It was a difficult one, and many emperors would have overlooked it.

Emperor Pingjing said, “Laifu, why aren’t you serving tea? Every time, you have a way to solve my problems, Minister Song. This time, even if your seniority is still shallow, I will still promote you. You can be a junior fifth-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.”

Song Changxu was not coy. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Song Changxu took a sip of tea and felt a little uncomfortable sitting in the Panlong Hall. Emperor Pingjing took note of his words. After he had dealt with the memorials, he looked up and saw Song Changxu sitting on the side without making a sound, and he couldn’t help but nod in his heart.

“I’ve almost forgotten about you, Minister Song. Laifu, draft a decree. You can take him to the Ministry of Personnel.”

Laifu slapped his own head. “This servant has also forgotten to remind Your Majesty.”

As for the original Assistant Minister Su, since there was a vacancy in the Ministry of Rites, he was transferred there to be an assistant minister.

Laifu went out with Song Changxu. He wiped the sweat from his face. “You’re very bold, Sir Song, to have dared to collect evidence and report your superior. Who would dare to tolerate you in the future? And the crime of deceiving the monarch is so great. You’ve been reckless.”

Song Changxu lowered his eyes. “You’re right, eunuch. I’ve been too reckless. But His Majesty had already spoken. If I had immediately said it was a fake, and I had no evidence, it would not have been good. Only after I had collected the evidence of Sir He’s corruption did I dare to speak.”

“If you have anything in the future, you should tell His Majesty,” Laifu said meaningfully.

A chill ran down Song Changxu’s spine. He immediately cupped his hands and bowed. “Thank you for your reminder, eunuch. I almost made a big mistake.”

Laifu: “After all, you are still young, Sir Song. It will be fine after this.”

Song Changxu was promoted, Director He was thrown into prison, and Assistant Minister Su was transferred to the Ministry of Rites. The officials of the Ministry of Personnel looked at Song Changxu with a strange gaze. At the same time, some of them also became warm to him.

The officialdom was like a battlefield. On the battlefield, there were swords and shadows. In the officialdom, it was hard to guard against hidden arrows.

Song Changxu moved to an independent office. Assistant Minister Su had packed up very quickly, and Song Changxu had immediately moved in.

“Sir Song, you will have a dedicated clerk for the Ministry of Personnel.”

Song Changxu: “I want Xiao Ding.”

When he had come to the Ministry of Personnel, Xiao Ding had had a lot of contact with him. When he had presented the recommendation for Tong Yangyu, Xiao Ding had reminded him.

***

Author’s Note:

Little Song: I’m scared. [Crying]

Little Xu: I told you to be careful. [Hands on hips]