The old Emperor's gaze seemed to have a deeper meaning, and the ominous feeling in Li Yi's heart intensified.
At that moment, he was in a trance, so he didn't hear clearly what the eunuch had said at the start. He seemed to have called out his name, or perhaps he had heard wrongly …
In any case, the eunuch had said a lot, and Li Yi could only hear that he was praising someone. Something about a young hero, countless contributions to the country, and a thousand years of good fortune … and a series of more flowery words, praising that person as rare in the world and hard to find in the heavens.
Li Yi finally relaxed. Although he was outstanding, he wasn't that outstanding. It seemed like the eunuch wasn't talking about him. As long as the person didn't find trouble with him, he could do whatever he wanted …
"… To be conferred the title of Grand Minister of the Golden Purple Imperial Treasury, a great honor!"
Li Yi understood the last sentence. Grand Minister of the Golden Purple Imperial Treasury, and he wondered which big shot had retired. No wonder the old Emperor was so generous with his praise.
Grand Minister of the Golden Purple Imperial Treasury was a third-rank official. Although it was just a rank and title without any real power, it was an extremely high honor for an official in the imperial court.
This kind of official arrangement was inherited from the previous dynasty. After an official retired, the imperial court wouldn't ignore them. Usually, they would arrange a suitable place for them, and at the same time, squeeze out their remaining value and give them a rank but no real power, such as an advisor to the nation.
This was also a tradition in the Jing Kingdom. Usually, it was given to retired officials. They could also participate in the imperial court, and their status was usually higher. However, this was only limited to the more respected officials. Ordinary officials didn't have this qualification.
Before these officials retired, they were the Prime Minister and other pillars of the country. Even after they retired, the Emperor would still attach great importance to their opinions. Therefore, although they didn't have any real power, they had a deep influence on the imperial court.
Li Yi remembered hearing the words "young hero" just now, but he must have heard wrongly. He turned to look at Old General Xue and asked, "Which official in the imperial court retired?"
After he finished speaking, he saw that Old General Xue was looking straight at him with an expression of extreme shock.
Not only Old General Xue, but the surrounding officials also looked at him as though they were looking at a monster, their faces full of disbelief.
"What's wrong …" Li Yi opened his mouth and asked. That extremely bad premonition appeared again.
"What are you waiting for? Thank you!" Old General Xue whispered and pushed Li Yi out.
"What are you thanking me for?" Li Yi staggered and stood in the middle of the hall, his face full of confusion.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!"
Before he could react, an old figure walked out of the crowd and said loudly, "County Marquis Li is a young hero and has made countless contributions to the country, but he has just been crowned as the Minister of Honor. There has never been such a precedent in our dynasty. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
This person was an official of the Censorate.
Li Yi stood there in a daze. He couldn't believe his ears. The person the eunuch had just read was himself!
What kind of joke was this? An official was still an official, and he had to work. The old emperor definitely wouldn't just give him a title for fun. He was still waiting to take care of his child, so why would he be an official?
Actually, after the eunuch finished reading, the entire court was already boiling. Even the supervising censorate, who was supposed to maintain discipline, was stunned.
A county marquis at the age of 21 was already the only precedent in the dynasty.
Needless to say, he was a county marquis, and he had risen from a commoner without a noble title in just two years.
As early as when he was made a marquis, there was quite a commotion in the court.
There were countless officials who submitted petitions to the emperor to retract the order. Not to mention the officials who already had enmity with him, even the officials who didn't have a deep relationship with him and didn't have any interest in him felt that it was inappropriate.
However, when he was kidnapped, the emperor was furious and severely punished two officials who didn't want to let go of the matter. After that, no one dared to provoke the emperor again.
A county marquis was a county marquis. At that time, no one knew if he could come back. As time passed, the matter completely calmed down.
After he came back, there were a few people who brought up the matter again, but they were all lightly brushed aside by the emperor. Thus, the matter of him being made a marquis was completely settled.
It hadn't been that long, but the emperor actually made him a marquis!
What kind of favor was this?
Since the founding of the country, those who were given this position were all important officials who had worked hard for the country for their whole lives and were respected by all officials. What virtue did a young boy have?
This was no longer a favor, it was a special favor!
Thus, some officials in the court became excited. As if they were injected with chicken blood, they listed dozens of reasons why Marquis Li couldn't be made a marquis. Their spittle flew in all directions and they were full of righteousness …
Of course, the most talked about reason was that he was too young. Although he had made great contributions to the country, was familiar with the classics, and had high attainments in mathematics, he didn't know how to govern a country and wasn't qualified for this position. After all, although the marquis was only a disbanded official, he had directly participated in the affairs of the country and had an extremely important position in the court. It couldn't be held by a young man …
These were all pleasant to hear. To be more serious, they directly pointed out that the emperor shouldn't be so fond of him. Since ancient times, those who were favored by the emperor were all sycophants …
…
Li Yi retreated behind the pillar again to avoid being stained by their spittle. He showed an extremely depressed expression on his face.
Naturally, he was depressed because the old emperor was looking for trouble. He didn't even bother to be the dean, how could he be a doctor? He planned to stay at home and be a full-time nanny to take care of the child after Ruyi gave birth. Naturally, the less trouble, the better.
"How could you hide such a big thing?" Old General Xue came over and saw the expression on his face. Then he looked at a certain official who was still talking incessantly. He curled his lips and said, "Don't worry about those people. They can't do anything about the emperor's decision."
Of course, Li Yi wasn't worried about this, but he couldn't explain it to him. At this time, many people around him had already congratulated him with cupped hands.
If he didn't have a few friends in the court, he would be a failure.
In fact, except for the Cui family and those firm supporters of the King of Shu, no one went up to advise him.
"Alright, I have made up my mind. If you have any other opinions, we will discuss them later!" Emperor Jing stood up from the dragon throne and waved his hand. "Court dismissed!"
Li Yi didn't even have the chance to refuse. He saw Emperor Jing stand up and leave. At this time, most people in the court had their eyes on him.
Li Yi bid farewell to Old General Xue and the rest before striding out of the hall.
He didn't want to stay here and be looked at like a monkey.
"Lord Li, please wait!" Not long after he walked out of the hall, a voice came from behind. Li Yi turned his head and saw the master of the Wang family walking towards him quickly.
At this moment, he naturally couldn't leave directly.
The master of the Wang family walked forward and cupped his hands. He smiled and said, "Congratulations, Lord Li!"
"Let's walk and talk." Seeing that many people had walked out of the hall, Li Yi pointed to the front and said.
The master of the Wang family stopped him not only to congratulate him, but also to talk about the Wang family's scholarship. In the future, the Wang family would take out a sum of money every year to reward the outstanding students of the Academy, covering all the future Academies in the Jing Kingdom.
In addition, he also expressed his willingness to set up the same scholarship for the School of Mathematics. Naturally, Li Yi wouldn't refuse.
The Wang family wanted to establish a reputation among the scholars, which was what the old Emperor wanted to see. Li Yi always felt that he took special care of the Wang family, not only because they were stupid, rich and obedient, but he didn't want to know the reason. He didn't need to think about it.
After separating from the master of the Wang family, when he was about to walk out of the palace, he realized that he had been interrupted by that matter and forgot to find the Eldest Princess to understand the progress of the Academy. He turned back and naturally received the congratulations of a group of officials. When he met the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of War, he had to stop and say a few words. He had already wasted a lot of time coming to the Morning Dew Hall.
The little palace maid at the door saw him and was stunned. She stopped in front of him and said, "Marquis, the Princess …"
She had never stopped him before. Li Yi asked in surprise, "The Princess is not here?"
The little palace maid nodded and said, "Her Highness has gone to the Imperial Garden."
"Then I will go to the Imperial Garden to find her." Li Yi nodded and walked in a certain direction.
He was also familiar with the Imperial Garden. In the summer, the Imperial Garden was dense with trees and was a good place to escape the heat.
Although he could enter the Imperial Palace at will, he couldn't enter a place like the Imperial Garden at will.
The guard at the door went in to report and soon came out to lead him in.
The Eldest Princess was sitting in a pavilion in the garden, looking down at something.
Li Yi sat opposite her and said, "I came this morning to attend court, so I didn't bring soup."
MIngzhu didn't seem to hear what he said. She looked up at him and asked, "I heard that father has conferred you the title of Minister of Honor?"
She was well-informed. Li Yi was a little depressed. He nodded and said, "I don't know what His Majesty is thinking. Isn't this nonsense …"
MIngzhu glanced at him and looked at the lush green beside her. She said softly, "Father has his reasons for conferring you the title of Minister of Honor. Don't talk nonsense …"
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