(Friendly Note: This is a flashback, starting from after Yu Shu was promoted to the Right Commander. Those who don't like the fake ending of the previous chapter can ignore the previous chapter and start from this one. There are at least fifty thousand words in this chapter, and it will explain the hidden lines clearly. That's it, muah.)
After Jing Chen "ran away" from the marriage, the position of the Right Commander of the Celestial Commissioner was once again vacant. This position seemed to be cursed, no one could hold it for long. Before Jing Chen, the Right Commander was Lady Lu from one of the twelve prefectures. Less than three months after she took office, she was transferred to the Taishi Library to teach because she was involved in the struggle of the harem. The previous one also resigned after a few days.
Even so, this vacancy was enough to make a group of people fight over it, especially those from the twelve prefectures who didn't have anyone in the Celestial Commissioner. Whether it was asking for favors or spending money, they didn't hesitate at all, wishing they could put down their pride and run to the Great Commissioner to recommend themselves.
In the end, it was all in vain. Amidst the bad news of Emperor Zhao Qing's death and the uproar of the Xue family's collusion with the Prince of Dongjing's rebellion, the Prefect quietly promoted the female imperial officer of the Kunling Bureau to take over the position of Right Commander.
Many people, including those in the Directorate of Celestials, were rather dissatisfied with the appointment of the Great Supervisor. It was none other than because Yu Shu had climbed up too fast. Zhao Qing was a female oracle for thirteen years, and in just two years, she became a high-ranking Celestial Commissioner official. This kind of promotion speed was unbelievably fast.
But thinking about it carefully, other than being young and inexperienced, people were surprised to find that they couldn't find any other fault with her. First of all, she was a female oracle who came out of the Dayan Examination, a once-in-a-decade double roll. Moreover, she was once a guest at the Double Suns Meeting on the day the Crown Prince entered the palace, and helped the Crown Prince gain power, which could be considered as a merit. Moreover, she was the Miaoling Female Envoy, who was bestowed a title by Emperor Zhao Qing when he was alive. Finally, there was a major event that happened recently. She was an important witness who had exposed the treacherous Prime Minister Xue Lingnan's various crimes. Moreover, she had rendered meritorious service and should have been rewarded.
With this argument, the officials and aristocratic families who were originally dissatisfied with Yu Shu's promotion to the Right Commander became mute.
No matter what other people thought of her promotion, Yu Shu did not feel guilty at all. When she was still a female official, she had shouldered all the responsibilities of the Kun Ling Bureau. Now, she was just officially taking over.
On the second day after receiving the letter of appointment, she used lightning speed to lure the Commander of the Jin Wu Guards, Zhou Yede, to the door of the Celestial Commissioner's office, catching a turtle in a jar and giving him a taste of his own medicine.
The Crown Prince had long wanted to punish Zhou Yede as an example to others, and it was a good match for her. Zhou Yede had only been in the Supreme Court for three days, and he had been exposed to a pile of scandals and evil deeds that could not see the light of day. Every one of them was enough to dismiss him from his post and investigate him. In the beginning, he had relied on Xue Lingnan to build his family business. Now that the entire Xue family had collapsed, people would give a push to a wall when it was down. How could he be alone?
The Zhou family had met with misfortune. When the Supreme Court sent the news that Zhou Yede had been dismissed from his post and investigated, it was as if the sky had fallen for the family. Misfortune never came alone. Just as Zhou Yede was in prison, several officials from the Kun Ling Bureau came to arrest Zhou Nie.
Madame Zhou cried her heart out and refused to hand over Zhou Nie. Unfortunately, there were no Jin Wu Guards to stop them this time. The officials directly entered the Zhou mansion to search for Zhou Nie. They caught Zhou Nie at the back door and brought him back to the Kun Ling Bureau.
"Reporting to the Right Commander, the criminal Zhou Nie has been brought here."
Yu Shu's office and study had been moved upstairs. The entire second floor was dedicated to her use. The place was not only more spacious than before, but the view from the window was better and the environment was quieter.
Wen Shao 'an replaced Ren Ren Jia's position that had been stolen previously. Now, he was a sixth-ranked official. As for the position of the female imperial official, it was vacant. Although the Great Commissioner had asked Yu Shu to recommend someone, she had not thought of a suitable candidate.
When Yu Shu heard that Zhou Nie had been arrested, she did not get up to see. Coincidentally, Wen Shao 'an was in front of her. She flipped through the table and found the crime report that she had previously written. She handed it to him and said, "Make a trip and send this person to the Ministry of Justice. Help me tell Zeng Daren that he must be severely punished."
"Yes, this official will do it now." Wen Shao 'an put down the things in his hands and first followed Yu Shu's instructions.
The Celestial Commissioner had three departments and two bureaus. Only the Imperial Commissioner had his own prison. The Kun Ling Bureau did not have a place to detain criminals. He could only be sent to the Ministry of Justice to be punished. The Ministry of Justice was no longer under Xue Lingnan's control. The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zeng Minzhi, was the Great Commissioner, so it was not difficult to ask him for a small favor.
As a result, the unlucky Zhou Nie was dragged all the way to the Celestial Commissioner on such a hot day. He fainted twice and was just woken up by a basin of cold water when he was dragged away again. That day, he led the troops to break into the Yu Residence's backyard and bullied the women. He robbed them of their wealth and injured them. Who would have thought that retribution would come so quickly?
Wen Shao 'an sent Zhou Nie to the Ministry of Justice. Zeng Minzhi gave him face and ordered his subordinates to give him thirty strokes of the board before throwing him into a cell. The jailer understood the intentions of the higher-ups and gave him a smelly and dirty cell. He was not even allowed to drink water and was tormented until he was hovering between life and death.
He was locked up for half a month. The Zhou Family sent people over several times, but they didn't even see his face. They didn't know whether he was dead or alive. Madame Zhou and the Eldest Young Master of the Zhou Family bitterly begged but couldn't find a way out. They ran into walls everywhere. Finally, it was an elder of the Zhou Family who pointed them in the right direction and told them to go beg Yu Shu.
Madame Zhou hated Yu Shu, the main culprit, but for the sake of her youngest son, she had no choice but to carefully prepare a cart full of gifts and go with her eldest son to the Yu Residence to apologize.
In the end, Yu Shu didn't even show her face. She only asked the gatekeeper to accept their gifts and had Zhou Hu bring a list of items to give to Madame Zhou. These were the items that Zhou Nie had destroyed and taken away on the day he led the troops into the Yu Residence. There were a lot of rare things that were given by Xue Rui. For example, there was a pair of jadeite glass bottles that were half the height of a person in front of the entrance to the reception pavilion in the front courtyard. They couldn't be bought outside.
Madame Zhou looked at the list and went back dizzily. She returned two days later and this time, she brought another cart full of things. Some of the items were returned to the original owners, while the other part was painfully subsidized by her. If she really couldn't find or buy anything, she simply used money to make up for the missing items.
Zhou Hu took people to count the number and then went to the rear courtyard to report to Yu Shu. When he returned, he brought a message to Madame Zhou, "My master said that your family's Second Young Master originally committed a crime and should have been sent to serve in the hardship areas. Being locked up for two months is already a light punishment. You should go home and wait. When the time comes, the Ministry of Justice will naturally release him."
This meant that the Zhou Family didn't intend to make an exception at all. This time, the Zhou Family's apology was for nothing.
Madame Zhou was so angry that her whole body trembled. If it weren't for the timid Eldest Young Master Zhou holding her back, she would have caused a scene on the spot. The mother and son were asked to leave the Yu Residence. Sitting in the carriage on the way home, Madame Zhou looked at her timid eldest son. When she thought of her husband and youngest son who were still in prison, she couldn't help but wail.
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Emperor Anwu's body had been resting in the palace for forty-nine days. Every few days, officials of the fifth rank and above had to enter the palace to cry. There was no lack of people who, in order to show their loyalty, went to the palace every day to cry.
After Yu Shu's injuries healed, she followed Zhu Muzhao to the palace. In the dog days of summer. The sun was scorching hot, but everywhere in the palace was snow white. Outside the palace, there was a crowd of people kneeling. Some were howling, some were sobbing, some were mumbling, and some were shaking their shoulders and wiping their tears. The atmosphere was heavy and sorrowful, but it was unknown how many people were truly sad.
Amidst the rising and falling sounds of crying, from time to time, there would be low cries of 'so and so Official has fainted'. Then, eunuchs would run over and help the person down to rest. Yu Shu felt that this was a very good move. If she really couldn't cry anymore, she could pretend to faint. It was better than actually fainting from the sun.
Zhu Muzhao brought her into the palace and kowtowed a few times in front of the tall coffin. Then, he went to the side hall to see the Crown Prince. Yu Shu secretly rejoiced that Zhu Muzhao wasn't a pretentious person. Otherwise, if he really wanted her to cry, she could only rub chili powder into her eyes.
The Crown Prince had to keep watch over the coffin and learn how to handle court politics, so he had moved all the memorials for the past few months to the side hall. As the grand tutor, Yin Tianhou would enter the palace every day to give him pointers on national politics. Although he was Ning Wang's maternal grandfather, he didn't hide anything from the Crown Prince. He taught him everything he could and never used his position as the Qing Emperor's grand tutor to suppress the Crown Prince.
Thus, at least on the surface, the Crown Prince treated Yin Tianhou with great respect.
"You've come at the right time. I was just talking with the grand tutor about the Wokou bandits. There are some areas that I don't understand and need your opinion." The Crown Prince was slightly closer to Zhu Muzhao and less respectful. It was probably because he wasn't far from becoming Emperor. He exuded a confident aura that made Yu Shu unable to remember the quiet Ninth Prince of the past.
The Crown Prince saw that Yu Shu was also present and didn't hurry to speak of proper matters. He smiled slightly at her and his gaze flashed across the scarf on her forehead. "The Crown Princess has been grieving too much and has not been well these past few days. Since you have come, why don't you go to the Eastern Palace to keep her company and help me console her?"
He called over a chief eunuch and had him take her to the Eastern Palace.
Before Emperor Zhao Qing's burial, the hougong had not been dismissed. The Crown Prince still lived in the Eastern Palace. He was a progressive person and didn't lust after women. In the Eastern Palace, other than Xia Jiangmin, the Crown Princess, there was only the Crown Prince's liangdi, Rui Zizhu, and Mei Baolin.
Rui Zizhu didn't have much to say, but this little Baolin had originally been one of Xia Jiangmin's maids. For some reason, she had entered the Crown Prince's eyes. After one night of favor, she had gained status. Her surname wasn't originally Mei, but the Crown Prince said that she had the fragrance of plums on her, so he gave her this name.
Xia Jiangmin was very happy to see Yu Shu. She didn't bother to take a nap on the bed. She had a palace maid set up a tea table in the pavilion and pulled her to the little garden to cool off.
Yu Shu looked at her expression and asked, "His Highness the Crown Prince was worried that you weren't feeling well and had me come to keep you company. Where are you feeling unwell?"
Xia Jiangmin's face flushed red. She shook her head and pulled her hand to place against her stomach. She bit her lip and looked shyly at her. Her expression didn't need to be said. Yu Shu's eyes widened. She didn't dare to believe that what was slightly bulging under her palm was a small life.
"You're pregnant?"
"Yes." Xia Jiangmin pursed her lips and smiled, "The child is more than three months old. Counting the days, I only got pregnant after you and I went for a walk in the suburbs during the Flower Festival."
Yu Shu was happy for her, but she was also a bit worried. She glanced at the nearby palace maids and reminded her in a low voice, "We are in troubled times right now. The Crown Prince's ascension to the throne is imminent. Many eyes are staring at the Eastern Palace. You must be careful and protect the child. Protect yourself. Don't let others plot against you."
Xia Jiangmin deeply agreed. She waved her hand to let the palace maids leave. Only in private did she show a spoiled look to her. She held her arm and said, "I feel that this child ran into my stomach because of you. If you hadn't blocked the disaster for me, I don't know what would have happened to me. Ashu, when the child is safely born, I will secretly let him recognize you as his godmother, okay? "
Yu Shu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her cold eyes swept over and a warm color appeared. She shook her head and said, "The Crown Prince is the future Emperor. You have a prince in your stomach. Have you ever heard of a prince recognizing a godmother?"
Xia Jiangmin snorted and no longer said childish words. Her eyes turned and landed on Yu Shu's forehead. She put away her smile and carefully said to her, "The Crown Prince told me that you injured your forehead and left a scar. Can I see it?"
In fact, she wanted to ask her as soon as she saw her, but she was afraid of making her unhappy, so she held it in until now.
Yu Shu hesitated for a moment. She raised her hand and took off the gauze to wipe her forehead, revealing the cinnabar colored scar between her eyebrows. Xia Jiangmin was stunned. She subconsciously covered her mouth and didn't scream. She couldn't pretend that nothing had happened.
"How, how did it become like this? I have a top grade Jade Face Cream. It's very effective for removing scars. I'll have someone go get it."
Yu Shu stopped her and said, "There's no need to trouble yourself, this scar won't go away. Tsk, why do you have a bitter face? I'm not sad. Take a closer look. With this scar on my forehead, doesn't it make me look more dignified? If I wasn't afraid of scaring others, I wouldn't have covered it. "
Xia Jiangmin wanted to cry and laugh, but she couldn't say anything. She stared at the scar between her eyebrows a few more times and didn't think it was scary. To be honest, this scar wasn't ugly at all. Instead, it added a bright color to Yu Shu's delicate features.
She knit her brows and thought about it. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she called a palace maid to take a box of rouge from her dresser drawer. She held it in her hand and said to Yu Shu, "I have an idea. Don't move."
Yu Shu obediently didn't move. She saw her use a mink hair brush to dip in the rouge on the jade plate and adjust the color on the back of her hand. She used one hand to hold her chin and the other hand to draw between her eyebrows. In a moment, it was done.
Xia Jiangmin put down the brush and took a step back to look at her. Her eyes quickly became strange. She muttered, "Too beautiful." Then she handed the mirror to Yu Shu and said, "Look at it yourself."
Yu Shu didn't understand what was going on. She raised the mirror and was stunned. She saw the face of the person in the mirror was white and there was a gorgeous flame between her eyebrows. Her eyes seemed to be dyed with fire. Looking at it would make people feel hot. The protrusion of the scar made the flame look more lively. It was as if it could drill out from between her eyebrows and burn everything.
However, with a little embellishment and a change of shape, the originally scary scar could glow with such a beautiful appearance.
"Ashu, you don't need to wear a headscarf. Look at how beautiful you look. Even I want to draw one." Xia Jiangmin excitedly took the mirror in her hand. She dipped the brush in some rouge and drew a flame flower on her forehead. However, it was not as stunning as the one between Yu Shu's eyebrows. She could only resentfully give up and give the whole box of rouge to her.
"This is the rouge my mother taught me to make. It won't fade easily even if it's washed. You have to use wine to wipe it off. You can use it first. Later, I'll make a few more boxes and send them to you."
Yu Shu came back to her senses and suddenly understood a lot. She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from curling up. She put her arm around Xia Jiangmin's shoulder and hugged her tightly.
"Mingming, thank you."
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