Fang Yun walked into the house. Yang Yuhuan knew that the rain wouldn't affect him, but she still helped him change his clothes and made him some hot tea.
"Sit down. Let's drink tea and enjoy the rain together." Fang Yun said.
"Okay." The two of them sat together in the living room, drinking tea as they looked at Xia Yu in the courtyard. There was also the little fox playing around happily as they chatted.
The rain prevented people from going out, but it allowed those who seized the opportunity to get closer to each other.
"How's your zither practice?" Fang Yun put down the teacup and asked.
"Madam Lai keeps praising me, and I'm a little embarrassed." Yang Yuhuan smiled with a touch of pride in her eyes.
"You're my Big Sister Yuhuan, so you won't lose to others. I also know a little about the zither. I'll write it down in a few days, and you can learn from it. "Fang Yun didn't want to waste the books and music scores in the World of Strange Books.
"That will delay your studies. I'll learn from Madam Lai." Yang Yuhuan said.
"It's fine. It'll only take a few hours. I bought some out-of-print music scores when I was in the bookstore. Although I didn't bring them to Jade Sea Prefecture, I still remember them. I'll write them down for you to play. "
"Okay." Yang Yuhuan was delighted, and her desire to play for Fang Yun became even more firm.
As the two of them were talking, they noticed that Nu-Nu in the courtyard suddenly stopped and looked at the main door in the rain.
"Someone might be here." Yang Yuhuan stood up.
Sure enough, someone immediately knocked on the door. When the gatekeeper opened the door, he saw many people standing outside. One of them was Magistrate Dong, whom he had seen at the banquet before. Magistrate Dong's eyes were filled with joy and worry.
Fang Yun found the other people's clothes very familiar. They were the same as the day when the Empress Dowager conferred Yang Yuhuan the title of Eighth Rank Noble Lady.
Fang Yun didn't want Yang Yuhuan to be drenched in the rain, so he asked her to stay in the living room. He quickly walked to the door and said seriously, "Student Fang Yun greets Magistrate Dong."
Magistrate Dong smiled and said, "You don't have to call yourself a student when you see me in the future."
The people behind Magistrate Dong immediately bowed and said loudly, "Congratulations, Lord Fang. Congratulations, Lord Fang."
Fang Yun guessed the purpose of these people. He smiled and said, "It's raining. Let's talk inside. Come on in. "
Seeing that Fang Yun was so polite, everyone thanked him and followed Fang Yun into the living room. They put down their umbrellas and shook off the rainwater on their clothes.
Soon, Magistrate Dong took out a roll of bright yellow embroidered dragon cloth from the waterproof cloth bag.
Even though it was the first time that Fang Yun, Yang Yuhuan, and the others had seen it, they immediately associated it with the imperial edict.
Yang Yuhuan was an official with the title of Eighth Rank Imperial Lady. She half-knelt on the ground to receive the edict, while the others who didn't have official titles could only kneel. Fang Yun didn't even need to kneel. He bowed slightly.
"By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Fang Yun, as a scholar, wrote the Epigraph of My Shack to assist the Emperor in killing the rebels. He sailed the dragon boat to strengthen the country's prestige. He won the first show on Book Hill. He also shone in the literary competition between the two countries and defeated the students of Gyeongo in a row. He is a pillar of the country, a model for scholars, a model for scholars, and a model for literati. He will be conferred the title of Sixth Rank County Earl. He will be crowned as a countryman. "
Not to mention the literati around, even Magistrate Dong, who was reading the imperial edict, was stunned. Although he knew that Fang Yun was going to be conferred the title of Sixth Rank County Earl, he didn't read the original text of the imperial edict because of the law. The sixteen words "pillar of the country, a model for scholars, a model for scholars, and a model for literati" were four compliments. It was too shocking.
Fang Yun was also stunned. He knew that the imperial edict had strict limits on the number of compliments and the level of the officials. Two compliments were already rare. Three compliments were for first and second rank officials. If it were four compliments, it would be absolutely extraordinary. Because the highest level of compliments was five compliments, which was only given after the death of an important official. It was impossible for a living official to have five compliments.
This time, the four compliments were not only many but also very high in level. Because "model for literati" was the limit, the next step would be "model for the whole world". The Emperor was not qualified to say that. Only with the approval of the Notre-Dame could he say that.
"Model for the whole world" was the highest honor below Half-saint. As for "model for the whole century", it was the treatment of a Half-saint. As for "model for the whole century", it could only be praised for Confucius.
Fang Yun was stunned when he heard that he was praised as "model for literati". But when he heard the last part, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Praising a Sixth Rank County Earl as a model for literati was simply an insult to the word "model for literati". Because at least a Grand Scholar could be praised as a model for literati.
In Jingguo, a Sixth Rank County Earl was equivalent to a Sixth Rank official. Because it wasn't hereditary, it couldn't be passed on to the next generation. This title was too stingy.
"Left Prime Minister, what a good method!" Fang Yun was very clear in his heart. Because a Sixth Rank County Earl didn't have the right to have a private army, once he became a Fifth Rank County Earl, he would be able to have four private armies, just like the Grand Scholar. This "model for literati" was most likely the result of the Empress Dowager's efforts, and a Sixth Rank County Earl was also the bottom line of the Left Prime Minister.
However, on the whole, this reward was still out of line, because even Li Wenying and the Left Prime Minister had never been praised for being a model scholar. If a scholar had to choose between being a model scholar and being a sixth-rank county earl, everyone would choose to be a model scholar.
In the Saint Origin World, imperial edicts were not only words, but also the power of a country's fate!
Once the words "model for literati" were announced, it would become a powerful force. This was the "Golden Mouth and Jade Words".
With this "model for literati", in the future, scholars in Jingguo would not be able to use any means to attack Fang Yun's moral character.
From then on, people in Jingguo could criticize his poems and essays, but without absolute evidence, if anyone knew that he was a model for literati and dared to say that there was a problem with his moral character, they would immediately be suppressed by Jingguo's fate. If it was light, they would be stripped of their official position, and if it was heavy, they would be directly condemned as a criminal.
The most terrible thing about being a model for literati was that it could be used to convict a person with a lower official position than Fang Yun. As long as someone made a mistake, Fang Yun could reprimand that person and make that person be suppressed by the fate of the country, and thus be noticed by the Jingguo's imperial court. Unless there was a high official with the fate of the country supporting him, he would definitely be strictly investigated. But if there was evidence of his crime, Fang Yun could reprimand him, even the emperor would not be able to pardon him. This showed how powerful this title was.
The imperial edict praise of being a model for literati could be said to be the highest honor that literati of all countries could pursue, because it was almost impossible to get anything higher.
Fang Yun guessed that this was a kind of protection that the Empress Dowager gave him. The Left Prime Minister would never agree to it, so it must be the result of the Empress Dowager's efforts.
Fang Yun used to complain about the Empress Dowager, after all, the previous rewards were too light. But now, Fang Yun was grateful, because this reward was enough to offset the previous unfairness.
However, this "model for literati" in Jingguo would not affect people who were not from Jingguo, and it had no power outside of Jingguo's territory.
Not only were the scholars present shocked by the "model for literati", even Fang Daniu and Yang Yuhuan widened their eyes. Even they knew the power of the imperial edict praise of "model for literati", because this phrase often appeared in plays, and it was as famous as the imperial sword.
"County Earl Fang, take it." Magistrate Dong respectfully handed the imperial edict to Fang Yun.
"Thank you for your kindness." Fang Yun took the imperial edict with both hands, and then the imperial edict turned into a ray of light and entered between his eyebrows.
Fang Yun was stunned, and then he signaled to Magistrate Dong to immediately enter the Palace of Literature.
The imperial edict rolled up and floated below the statue of Fang Yun. Other than that, there was nothing special about it.
Fang Yun opened it and looked. It looked no different from the outside, but this imperial edict had the power of golden words.
"The Empress Dowager is like this, Jingguo can still be saved."
Fang Yun sighed and left the Palace of Literature.
At this time, all of Magistrate Dong's subordinates were chased out of the corridor by Magistrate Dong. He was afraid that they would attack Fang Yun when he entered the Palace of Literature.
"Thank you, Master Dong." Fang Yun said.
"Master Fang, you are welcome." Magistrate Dong smiled.
Fang Yun nodded. From the moment he received the imperial edict, he had the title of County Earl of the sixth rank.
Then, Magistrate Dong's subordinates came in and handed a copper county earl title seal to Fang Yun. This county earl title seal was only half the size of a fist and was very small.
Normally, this Official Seal did not have any power because it was only a title and not an actual official position, so it did not have any real power. However, at special times, it could temporarily become a Rank 6 Official, allowing this Official Seal to have the power of an actual official position.
Then, Magistrate Dong announced the Empress Dowager's imperial edict, raising Yang Yuhuan's status from eighth-rank to seventh-rank official.
After the coronation, Fang Yun asked Fang Daniu to lead Magistrate Dong's subordinates to the side room to rest, while he entertained Magistrate Dong in the living room.
"Master Dong, why didn't I receive the news in advance?" Fang Yun asked.
Magistrate Dong took a sip of tea and put down the teacup. He said, "It's not just you. Even the prefectural magistrates didn't receive the news. After the news of you winning the literary battle against the ten people of Gyeongo spread, the whole country was shocked. All the shops on the Capital's Academic Street are selling things at a collective discount, whether it's books, the four treasures of the study, or the toys on the desk, all the shops are selling things at cost price. "
"Is it that exaggerated?" Fang Yun couldn't believe it.
"What's even more exaggerated is that today, not only the shops on the Academic Street are selling things at a collective discount, but many shops in the capital, whether it's a restaurant or a red-light district, are also selling things at a collective discount. I don't know how many people are thanking you."
Fang Yun was happy, but he remained clear-headed. He said, "Is there an inside story?"
Magistrate Dong smiled. "You are indeed Minister Fang. Naturally, the rich and powerful families are behind this. They couldn't participate before because the School of Miscellany and the School of Vertical and Horizontal are too powerful. If they resist too fiercely now, what if Jingguo is divided up by Gyeongo and Wu Guo in a few years? Won't they be punished later? Now that you've won, they are happy. Naturally, they want to use this method to celebrate and express their gratitude to you. "
"Let's not talk about other things first. How did I become Minister Fang?" Fang Yun asked curiously.
"You're not an official, so naturally you don't know. Generally speaking, only the Left Minister, Right Minister, Assistant Minister, Minister of Culture, and Great Confucian Scholars have the qualifications to be titled 'Literary Exemplars'. If an official other than the Four Ministers has this title, then if there's a vacancy in the Minister position, he'll definitely be qualified to become one of the Four Ministers. That's why 'Literary Exemplars' have the title of 'Half Minister'. "
"But my official position is too low. Even if I have this title, it's impossible to fill the gap between Ministers."
"Of course, but there's no problem in calling you Minister Fang. From now on, you can become one of Jingguo's literary leaders … "Magistrate Dong was so happy for Fang Yun that he joked.
"You still haven't answered my previous question." Fang Yun smiled as he poured tea for Magistrate Dong.
。 (To be continued …)
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