Free Web NovelChapter 193: Chapter 84: Dug a Pit and Her Father Fell In
Song Yunzhao couldn’t quite wrap her head around it, but her brain was telling her she understood.
She stared intently at the Emperor and, unbelievably, saw a trace of sincerity in his eyes. It was utterly surreal.
Song Yunzhao’s mind raced as she weighed the pros and cons. Outwardly, however, she maintained an uneasy expression. She reached out to tug on the Emperor’s sleeve and asked softly, "Your Majesty, my father’s rank is low and his influence is negligible. If he’s appointed Vice Envoy so abruptly, I’m afraid he won’t be able to command respect."
"The Song Family’s ancestors once included men who served as the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. Your family has a deep heritage," Feng Yi reassured Song Yunzhao. "As long as he returns with merits this time, I will have a legitimate reason to promote him. You don’t need to worry."
Song Yunzhao understood. A position like Vice Envoy was temporary. Once the flood relief mission was over, everyone would return to their original posts.
However, there was an exception: if one performed a great service, a promotion was almost certain.
The Emperor had learned from her that her father had experience with flood control. In the court, the Left and Right Ministers were locked in a power struggle, and the Emperor, not wanting to be controlled by them, had to cultivate his own trusted officials.
For instance, there was the neutral-standing Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and now, the father of his favored concubine.
Song Yunzhao fell silent. ’So, I haven’t just become his clean-up crew for the harem... Is the Emperor trying to turn my father into his clean-up crew for the court as well?’
’The nerve of this Emperor! He not only thinks it, he does it!’
And yet, not only could Song Yunzhao not show her displeasure, she had to act grateful for his imperial favor. She desperately wanted to curse out loud, but she had to hold her tongue.
It was infuriating!
Song Yunzhao composed herself, then looked up at the Emperor, her face a mask of gratitude. "I know Your Majesty is doing this for my benefit by entrusting my father with such an important task. I’m just afraid he will fail to live up to your high hopes. What if he fails to handle his duties properly? Wouldn’t that compromise your important plans?"
Feng Yi smiled. "One never knows until one tries. If he truly proves incapable, I won’t punish him, for your sake. Rest assured."
Song Yunzhao smiled back. ’You really have the makings of an incompetent ruler!’
Still, this just went to show how desperate the Emperor was for capable people he could trust. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pushed her father into this so hastily.
The Minister of the Ministry of Justice had been assigned the role of imperial envoy. It seemed he was already too entangled in the game between the Left and Right Ministers to pull himself out. Otherwise, the wisest move would have been to escape this quagmire entirely.
Of course, it was also possible that the Minister of the Ministry of Justice wanted to take this gamble himself. Success would mean a step up the ladder. And if he failed? He would still be seen as having stood firmly with the Emperor. Even if he were punished, there would be hope for a future comeback.
Song Yunzhao’s thoughts raced. Having reached this conclusion, she looked at the Emperor with a hesitant expression. "Your Majesty, may I request a visit from my aunt?"
She had only recently seen her family, so meeting them again so soon was against protocol. But if the Emperor gave his assent, it would be another matter entirely.
Feng Yi agreed readily this time. He guessed Song Yunzhao was worried about her father and wanted to pass on a few words of caution, so he might as well grant her wish.
Seeing the worry etched on her face, Feng Yi felt a rare pang of guilt. He took her hand and said, "Don’t worry. I will send men to ensure your father’s safety."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your words have put my mind at ease," Song Yunzhao said, offering a relieved smile.
’As if I could be at ease. My father is just a little soldier, and he’s up against titans like the Left and Right Ministers. Surviving between them will be no easy feat.’
’I can’t believe it. I was just adding fuel to the fire, and not only did I trap others, I dragged my own father into it.’
Even the Emperor’s implicit promise of a promotion for herself couldn’t quell her current anxiety.
Feng Yi knew Yun Zhao would worry about her father, but that was how it was at court: advance or be pushed back.
Now that he had placed Song Yunzhao in the position of a favored concubine, she had no way to retreat.
He would protect her, but she had to prove herself worthy.
After Feng Yi left, Song Yunzhao immediately had Anshun go to the Song Family with a message, asking her aunt to come to the palace the next day.
At the Song Family, the Madam of the house was just preparing to visit her maiden home when the message from the palace arrived. She knew Yun Zhao must be worried about her father, so she sent someone to see if her third brother-in-law had returned from his post.
Third Master Song had not yet returned from the government office. Not wanting to wait around, the Madam decided to go to her maiden home first.
The Madam’s maiden home was closer to the Imperial City. The moment she stepped through the door, she saw her mother was already waiting.
"Mother." The Madam hurried forward to greet her, then turned to her first and second sisters-in-law.
The Madam’s eldest brother, Jiang Huan, was serving as a County Magistrate in another province. Her first sister-in-law, Mrs. Wang, had some distant ties to the Left Assistant Prime Minister’s Wang Family, but as she was from a minor branch, they didn’t have much contact. Her second sister-in-law, Mrs. Hu, was the daughter of Hanlin Scholar Yang. The Madam’s second brother, Jiang Xi, had never managed to pass the imperial examination to become an Advanced Scholar, so he remained at home to manage the family’s affairs and attend to their elderly parents.
Both Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Hu were very friendly toward their sister-in-law. They greeted her with smiles and quickly had her take a seat.
Their relationship had always been cordial, but now that the Song Family had produced a Concubine—and one who was clearly gaining power in the palace—they were naturally even more affectionate toward her.
Madam Jiang looked at her daughter. "You came back in such a hurry. Is something urgent?"
The Madam nodded and turned to her first sister-in-law. "Sister, you haven’t heard?"
Mrs. Wang looked at her sister-in-law in confusion, shaking her head. "I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Sister."
The Madam explained, "The matter of the court appointing the Minister of the Ministry of Justice as the imperial envoy, with our Third Master Song as the Vice Envoy, to oversee the flood relief efforts."
Mrs. Wang shook her head. "I hadn’t heard. My father-in-law hasn’t returned from his office yet today."
Her husband didn’t hold a post in the capital, so she relied on her father-in-law for any news. If he didn’t mention matters from the outside world, her information was naturally delayed.
Hearing that her own father hadn’t returned from his office yet, the Madam’s brow furrowed slightly. Her father worked for the Ministry of Rites, which was known for being a relaxed post. It was rare for him to be delayed after hours.
Mrs. Wang’s expression shifted as she listened. She stared at her sister-in-law and asked, "Third Master Song is going to oversee flood relief? And the Minister of the Ministry of Justice is the imperial envoy? How... how is that possible?"
Mrs. Hu, who disliked getting involved in court politics, had been sitting silently to the side. But seeing the look on her elder sister-in-law’s face, she knew something was amiss and began to listen intently.
Madam Jiang looked at her daughter. "The court has been fraught with disputes over disaster relief these past few days. Although your father is with the Ministry of Rites, he’s been pulled into several functions by his colleagues. I never expected your family’s Third Master Song to be chosen for this. Could it be because of Song Jieyu?"
At this, the Madam said to her mother, "Mother, when the Third Master was a county magistrate, he managed floods and settled displaced people. It was only on the scale of a single county, of course. But no matter how much the Emperor favors the Concubine, he wouldn’t treat a matter of national importance as a joke."
Madam Jiang smiled at her daughter’s words. "You have a point, but matters of the palace are never as simple as you think. In my view, the Emperor’s decision to use Third Master Song is definitely connected to Song Jieyu." Her expression grew solemn. "I know why you’ve come, my dear, but I’m afraid our family will be of no help in this matter."
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