Emperor Jingming’s question left the few officials who had stepped forward suddenly at a loss for words.
Everyone knew how difficult it was to be the Prefect of Shuntian. How many Prefects of Shuntian had taken office full of ambition, only to leave in disgrace not long after? Those who could leave smoothly were considered fortunate; quite a few ended up dismissed from their posts.
In comparison, the role of the imperial censor in the Great Zhou was much more comfortable. They only needed to keep an eye on affairs within and outside the court. As long as they wrote a memorial for any improper matters, their job was considered done.
Seeing the officials looking at each other in silence, Emperor Jingming inwardly sneered: He knew these people were all talk; when it came to actually doing real work, they all fell silent.
Of course, Emperor Jingming had no intention of replacing Zhen Shicheng.
In Emperor Jingming’s mind, Zhen Shicheng was a capable official and, more importantly, a loyal minister without powerful family connections.
To others, Zhen Shicheng’s humble background meant he had no influential family to rely on. But for Emperor Jingming, this humble origin was Zhen Shicheng’s greatest advantage.
As long as Zhen Shicheng remained consistent in his loyalty, the emperor would be his greatest supporter.
Of course, Emperor Jingming had never openly expressed this thought, and maintaining a poker face was a quality expected of a competent ruler.
“What’s the matter? Are none of you willing?” After deliberately waiting for a while, Emperor Jingming asked coolly.
The censor who had stepped forward earlier hurriedly replied, “This humble official lacks the talent and learning to take on the position of Prefect of Shuntian.”
The others immediately echoed his sentiment.
Emperor Jingming’s expression remained impassive. “If that’s the case, do any of you have a more suitable candidate in mind to replace Zhen Shicheng as Prefect of Shuntian?”
The officials were once again struck dumb.
A suitable candidate? Of course not. Everyone knew that the position of Prefect of Shuntian was a hot potato. If one managed to hold onto it, it could be considered a powerful position, but if not, one would only end up offending people and facing misfortune.
If they were to make a careless recommendation, that would truly be asking for trouble.
“Why have you all fallen silent again? You were the ones who impeached him. Surely you don’t expect me to rack my brains for a successor?” the emperor pressed.
“We wouldn’t dare,” they responded.
“Very well, then think it over carefully. I’ll be waiting.”
Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads as they finally understood: The emperor was protecting Zhen Shicheng.
Strange, they thought. The victim in the Jinshui River pleasure boat arson case was the Crown Prince’s brother-in-law. Shouldn’t the emperor be furious that Zhen Shicheng couldn’t solve the case? Why did he seem so unconcerned?
Could it be that the emperor was dissatisfied with the Crown Prince?
If so, they had truly miscalculated. They had been so eager to impeach Zhen Shicheng, thinking they were doing a favor for the Ministry of Rites and the Crown Prince. Had they known the emperor’s thoughts, they wouldn’t have meddled in this muddy water.
Emperor Jingming wasn’t a harsh ruler. Seeing that he had made the troublesome officials sweat enough, he decided to give them a way out. “If you can’t think of anyone, it seems Zhen Shicheng is still the most suitable for the position of Prefect of Shuntian. What do you all think?”
What else could they say? They could only repeatedly agree.
The Jinshui River pleasure boat arson case was ultimately left unsolved, much to the frustration of the Minister of Rites’ family and the other three families involved. However, apart from the Minister of Rites’ family, the other three had already been reprimanded by the emperor earlier, so they didn’t dare to make a fuss now. More importantly, their children hadn’t been harmed. Although they were angry about not finding the arsonist, it wasn’t wise to further displease the emperor over this.
In a study room of the Minister of Rites’ residence, Yang Father’s dissatisfied voice could be heard: “Father, is Cai’er’s death going to be in vain?”
The Minister of Rites, now in his sixties, usually appeared vigorous when things were going well, but now looked exhausted. He coughed and said, “What else can we do? Have you forgotten what the Crown Princess said when she returned recently?”
Hearing this, Yang Father’s expression grew even more grim.
“Cai’er was indeed too unruly. His usual mischief was one thing, but how could he set his sights on the son of a Marquis? This matter has reached the emperor’s ears. Do you think the emperor will pity your loss of a son or my loss of a grandson? Don’t dream. The emperor is displeased! I’m telling you, if you don’t settle down, you’ll implicate the Crown Princess…”
Yang Father’s heart tightened at these words.
His son was the flesh of his heart, but the Crown Princess was the glory of the Yang family. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, the Yang family would produce an empress. At that time, he could be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Mu’en.
To be frank, a marquis’s title was far less powerful than the position of minister, but the prestige of the minister’s household came from his father. Once his father retired, if the family didn’t produce a talented son who could enter officialdom through the imperial examinations within ten years, the Yang family would be pushed out of Beijing’s upper circles. By then, who would remember the Yang family’s former glory?
But being enfeoffed as a marquis was different. The title of Marquis of Mu’en was hereditary. Even if his descendants were incompetent, they would always have a place in Beijing for generations to come.
“I understand, Father,” Yang Father replied.
Yang’s Father had once been a prodigal youth himself, but now in middle age, he had naturally become more steady. His usual arrogance wasn’t due to a lack of worldly wisdom, but because the people he usually dealt with didn’t deserve his restraint. Now that the emperor was displeased, even the greatest temper had to be swallowed, along with one’s knocked-out teeth and blood.
“Tomorrow, I should return to court,” the Minister of Rites said, tiredly rubbing his temples.
The death of his grandson and his poor health might elicit the emperor’s sympathy, but if it dragged on too long, the emperor might think he was too old and weak, and the position of Minister of Rites might be given to someone else.
In the Haitang Residence, the crabapple trees had already borne fruit, which was about to ripen. The branches were heavy with fruit, a delightful sight.
Aman ran into the room, lowering her voice to say, “Miss, that case has been closed as unsolved.”
Jiang Si’s eyes flickered slightly, and a relieved smile appeared on her lips. “I see.”
Although she had gone over every detail repeatedly and believed she had left no loose ends, facing an opponent like Zhen Shicheng still put a lot of pressure on Jiang Si.
As long as the case remained unsolved, she couldn’t truly relax.
“Amitabha, we can finally sleep soundly,” Aman murmured, pressing her palms together.
Jiang Si’s gaze lowered to the small basket hanging on Aman’s arm. “What’s that?”
Aman suddenly remembered and hurriedly lifted the fine cloth covering the small bamboo basket, revealing bright red jujubes. “Miss, these are jujubes from Young Master Yu’s home.”
“Who?” Jiang Si thought she had misheard and asked again.
“Young Master Yu! You know, there’s a crooked-necked jujube tree in front of his house. These jujubes are from that tree.”
“How did he give them to you?”
“Don’t you know, Miss? Young Master Yu came to our residence today to see the Second Young Master. He brought these jujubes with him. Second Young Master found them sweet and asked A’ji to bring them to you. I happened to meet him on the way, so I brought them back directly. Miss, try them, the jujubes are very sweet.”
Jiang Si raised her hand to her forehead.
Yu Qi had come to their house!
“You’ll accept any random thing,” Jiang Si scolded, annoyed at seeing the little maid’s delighted expression.
Aman blinked and asked again, “Miss, will you try them or not?”
The jujubes were large and round, a beautiful red color, clearly carefully selected and washed.
Jiang Si picked up a jujube and put it in her mouth.