Yu Shu knew in her heart that the Book of Earth in the eighth month would definitely be against Empress Rui's wishes. Before entering the palace, she had speculated what countermeasures Empress Rui would have. Would it be like Shu Fei to intimidate her, or would it be like Lu Fei to move her with emotion and lure her, or would it be like Xue Gui Fei to not hide anything and clearly wanted to win her over.
She hadn't thought that Empress Rui didn't threaten or entice her. Instead, she started to talk to her about "great principles."
"His Majesty has a myriad of affairs to attend to every day. During the day, he has to meet with the civil and military officials and review memorials from all over the country. Only at night will he be free. Only when he returns to the inner palace can he take a short rest. If he is exhausted and meets some insensible and unlikable palace girls, wouldn't that be troublesome? The female envoy should know that the creation of the Book of Earth was a rule passed down from the time of Emperor Shengzu. The original reason was for the Emperor's dragon body's health. If she blindly followed the rules and disregarded His Majesty's likes and dislikes, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? His Majesty is the ruler, the female envoy is the subject, the subject cannot understand His Majesty's heart, how can I share the burden of the ruler? "
Rui Empress raised her voice in the last sentence. That slightly displeased expression was clearly questioning Yu Shu. But she didn't directly blame Yu Shu for tricking her in the Book of Earth in the eighth month. It wasn't that she didn't follow the rules, but that she was too well-behaved and didn't care about the Emperor's feelings so she lost her role as an official.
Hearing this, Yu Shu couldn't just sit there foolishly. She lowered her head and left the chair that she had just warmed up.
"Your Highness is right. This subject was negligent."
Yu Shu's mind was very clear. She couldn't challenge the Empress directly, so she could only say yes.
Rui Empress saw her submit and her expression softened. Her voice became gentle again: "It is good that the female envoy understands reason. Ben gong isn't purposefully making things difficult for you. Considering that you are a new official, it is inevitable that you will make mistakes. In the future, you should be more flexible. Being rigid isn't a good thing. Just take the Kun Ling Bureau's Kun Book this month as an example. There are some arrangements that aren't suitable."
Speaking of this, Yu Shu certainly had to ask the Empress to point out which parts were "inappropriate".
Rui Empress raised her hand and He Shang Gong, who was standing at the side, handed over the Kun book that had been copied in August. She flipped through it and said: "The newly promoted Sun Guiren in the palace is one with good fortune. His Majesty also likes her. Ben gong saw that you arranged for three days. You are treated more generously than other people. This is not bad. But there is a problem with the day you chose. One day she is behind Shu Fei, the other day she is behind Zhao Pin. You probably don't know, but these two are both noble. As the day nears, it's hard to avoid jealousy and causing a headache for the Emperor."
Yu Shu thought that Rui Empress would keep her in suspense but she clearly sided with that Sun guiren. Her words were simply telling her — — Sun guiren is protected by ben gong, don't make things difficult for her.
"This subject will remember." As Yu Shu acknowledged, she thought back to the situation that day at Zhong Cui Palace. Xue Guifei had hinted to her that Rui Empress didn't have a son and there weren't any young imperial sons in the palace that could be adopted. So she had the idea of using someone else's womb to have a child. She trained Sun Guiren, the little palace maid, and sent her in front of Emperor Zhao Qing.
Once Sun guiren became pregnant, Rui Empress had ways to make her fall out of favor. When she gave birth to a son, the son would naturally be adopted under her name. As it concerned the future throne, Rui shi would have the power to fight.
Looking at Rui Empress's actions now, it was true.
Rui Empress was slightly surprised at Yu Shu's tactfulness. She had heard many of this Miao Ling's "glorious deeds" before. Most of them were against etiquette and shocking to the world. She had originally thought that she was a proud and rebellious woman. She hadn't thought that she would respond with one sentence. She had no way to use the soft knife that she had prepared.
After thinking for a while, Rui Empress gave a few more instructions to Yu Shu. There really wasn't much to say, so she let her go. In the end, she called He Shang Gong to see her out.
Walking in the corridor outside the side hall, He Shang Gong chatted a bit with Yu Shu with an amiable expression: "Female envoy is young and promising. Do you have any brothers in your family?"
"I have a younger brother." Yu Shu had heard long ago from Xue Guifei that Rui Empress had an old Shang Gong by her side. He had a lot of face. It must be this one.
"Oh, is he at the age to go to school?"
"My younger brother is thirteen."
"Which teacher did he take as his teacher?"
Yu Shu shook her head, "He was sent to a school in the capital to learn how to read."
He Shang Gong paused in his steps and turned his head to say: "Forgive this old servant for speaking bluntly. I've heard of Official Yu's past. Your father was a proper scholar but died early. If he has a son, why doesn't he inherit his father's legacy? The young masters of An Ling City, while they all go to school, all of them have a famous teacher. If Young Master Yu is a scholar, he will naturally be taught by daren. But if he is a scholar, at this age, he should find a famous teacher. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of his future? "
Yu Shu had a thoughtful expression. She really hadn't thought about finding a virtuous and respectable teacher for Yu Xiaoxiu to discipline him. It wasn't that she didn't care about Yu Xiaoxiu's future. At the beginning, she had planned to pass on the Time of Calamity to her younger brother, so she didn't have the intention of having Yu Xiaoxiu study the Four Books and Five Classics to sit for the imperial examinations. Then, when Yu Xiaoxiu chose to follow He Fangzhi to study medicine, she gave up even more.
He Shang Gong looked at her expression and added: "I won't hide it from Official Yu. The words just now were what niangniang had told this old servant to ask. If Official Yu is interested, niangniang has a recommendation — — Great Scholar Qiu of the Tao Wen School. He has the writings of Hanlin Zi, and is virtuous. His Majesty has praised him several times as an example of a scholar. Many scholars in the capital have come to pay their respects and hope to receive a few pointers. If Young Master Yu can take him as a teacher, it would be the best."
Yu Shu understood. Just now, in the side hall, she had lowered her head to be a teacher. But Empress Rui wasn't one to make empty promises. This was the benefit promised to her.
She had heard Xue Rui mention Great Scholar Qiu before. He really was a virtuous and respectable scholar. It wasn't that she was belittling herself, but with Yu Xiaoxiu's family, background, and age, he wasn't even good enough to be a scholar boy, much less a disciple. But once Empress Rui opened her mouth, the impossible became a sure thing.
The Second Princess was the Empress' di daughter and was married to Great Scholar Qiu's eldest son, Qiu Heng Zhi. With this layer of relationship, it was no wonder Empress Rui dared to promise her.
Yu Shu only had this one younger brother. Naturally, she wanted to give him the best environment and education. Empress Rui had grasped this point well. If it was anyone else, it would be hard not to be moved. It was a pity —
She smiled inside but her expression was cautious. He Shang Gong, who was waiting for her to answer, said: "This … let me go back and think about it."
He Shang Gong glanced at her, nodded and didn't say anything else.
After sending him out of the palace gates, she turned back. Empress Rui was still in the side hall and hadn't moved. Seeing her return, she asked: "How was it? What did she say? "
He Shang Gong replied: "She said she needed to think about it."
Empress Rui was surprised again. Just now, she had thought that Yu Shu was tactful. How come she didn't know what was good for her? To be able to become Qiu Lunxi's inner disciple, other people couldn't even pray for it and this person was so picky?
"Based on what you think, what is going on with this person?" Empress Rui hesitated. Today's matter had gone smoothly, but why did she feel it wasn't right?
Even He Shang Gong, a shrewd person, couldn't tell if Yu Shu was good or bad. He thought for a while before speaking: "She doesn't look like a short-sighted person. I can't find any mistakes. Maybe she has ulterior motives and is just pretending to be courteous with you."
He Shang Gong hesitantly brought up a matter: "At the Hibiscus Gentlemen's Banquet in June, Miss Zi Zhu and Yu daren were at odds. Miss Zi Zhu was incited by Xi Wen Junzhu and stirred up trouble with this Yu daren. Duchess Jing almost threw her out. Adding on the rumors, Yu daren is someone who hates evil. It's possible that he doesn't have a knot in his heart."
The corner of Empress Rui's mouth curled up. She sneered: "She dares to go against ben gong? Lend her ten guts!"
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