Su Zhe’s head rang with a loud buzz!

Since receiving her appointment, she had endured many strange and unusual gazes, but none had struck her more forcefully than this moment. In this great hall, she had the illusion of having been transported back to early childhood. Almost everyone was blaming her — even if not openly saying so, their eyes carried hesitation. Considering her an ill omen.

Blood rushed straight to her head, and she could be certain that her entire face had turned scarlet! Her blood pounded against both ears with a thudding sound.

She stared fixedly at the back of Huo Yu as he stepped out of rank!

She didn’t mind the sort of teasing remarks from her Eastern Palace colleagues — “Little miss, you’re back again,” or “We’ve got this handled, you should go play with the Crown Princess and her ladies.” She had also gotten into plenty of fights over exactly these sorts of things with classmates at the tribal school back in Wuzhou.

Those gazes of theirs carried a male evaluation of a female, tinged at times with a light flippancy, but nothing seriously wrong. Though it made her angry, she could file away the grudge and trip them up the next day to let them eat dirt, which gave temporary satisfaction.

But Huo Yu was different! This man was too vicious! He was trying to sever her at the root!

What Huo Yu’s words said as they entered Su Zhe’s ears was simply: “As a woman, you are unfit” — which was exactly the same as “bringer of ill fortune, inauspicious,” from her childhood. Her father could not come back to life, and she could not change into a man, so the world handed her a refusal. This made Su Zhe’s mood grow worse and worse.

A’Weng had already exerted herself greatly to bring her to the court — she could not let A’Weng lower herself to confront Huo Yu directly!

This was her battlefield!

Su Zhe strode out, and the surrounding people were slightly surprised, then quickly returned to composure. For a person who had been publicly censured in court, the relevant party stepping out of rank to defend themselves was a precedent with examples to follow.

Standing there in the center, she knew that when it came to arguing matters of ritual propriety and institutional codes, she could certainly not outargue Huo Yu. The ritual codes were right there — how could she argue against them?

She also knew that as long as she stood here, said not a single word, held her ground, did not cry, and did not retreat, it would be enough to infuriate certain people.

A murmur of discussion “buzzed” for a moment and then subsided. The Chief Ministers and the heads of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts all turned their heads to look toward the lower ranks. Vice Censor-in-Chief Wang also stepped out halfway, preparing to maintain order.

Su Zhe’s gaze met Zhù Ying’s, and she cared nothing for anyone else — only for Zhù Ying’s stance. Su Zhe’s eyesight was sharp, and she clearly saw Zhù Ying’s calm expression, and eyes that were calmer still than the expression. The blood gradually flowed back from her head down into her body. She drew a deep breath and pulled up the corner of her lips.

Zhù Ying said nothing. Chen Meng spoke up. Zhù Ying appeared on the surface to have no connection with this appointment, while Chen Meng oversaw the Ministry of Personnel — and now that the appointment was being questioned, the Ministry of Personnel needed to provide an explanation. Chen Meng held great authority and made the decision to cut through the matter cleanly, so rather than having Ministry of Personnel subordinates come forward, he personally called out in a stern voice: “The Su clan’s mother and daughter have received repeated grace from the state without ever failing in their duties — what objection could there be?”

To publicly endorse a woman at court, neither Zheng Xi nor Chen Meng would necessarily agree. But to use Su Zhe as a pretext to make a larger issue, both men felt a degree of displeasure in their hearts. Both knew very well how Su Zhe had come to be here. Chen Meng had heard from Chen Fan about a strategy concerning the western tribal regions.

For Huo Yu to pull this now before the court — it was truly incomprehensible!

Huo Yu said, “If this goes on, it will amount to permitting women to hold office! Will the order of all under Heaven not fall into chaos?”

Su Zhe wanted to say something but made a great effort to restrain herself — she could not produce anything decent to say right now. She really wanted to say: do you want me to leave? If I go home, I’m a great deal less easy to deal with than I am now!

Chen Meng explained to the Emperor: “The appointment of Su Mingluan dates to over twenty years ago. Su Mingluan, as a woman, possessed broad insight and wisdom, and requested to accept the loose rein governance arrangement, after which the southern border was pacified. There has never been a disturbance since.”

Huo Yu said, “At that time, the tribal peoples were also exhausted and incapable of causing trouble…”

Lin Feng took another great stride forward.

Another “buzz” — and this time the buzzing lasted longer than when Su Zhe had stepped out.

The Emperor looked at Zhù Ying, seeing only her calm expression. The Emperor then looked at Dou Peng, Zheng Xi, and others, who had lowered their eyes, and asked, “What does the Secretariat of State think?”

Dou Peng regarded this matter with one eye open and one eye shut — he could take it or leave it, and even found Huo Yu somewhat meddlesome, and therefore said nothing. Chen Meng had already spoken. Chief Minister Li hesitated for a moment and said, “What Huo Yu says is not without its point.”

Xian Jing said, “Rigidly applying the same method — where is the logic in that? Since you know her history, you ought to know how to write the characters for ‘expedient measures’!”

Huo Yu’s temper also rose. He was not targeting Su Zhe as a person in a single incident — who did not know that the tribal chieftain was a special case? But Su Zhe was a woman, and appointing her required the matter to be spelled out clearly. Xian Jing had first suppressed his memorial, and now was disregarding fundamental ethical principles. What was he trying to do?

Huo Yu had had enough, and fixed his gaze on Xian Jing. “Since it is an ‘expedient measure,’ it must be made clear…”

Made clear about what? When I still have a whole troop of women officials and female soldiers! Zhù Ying cut off what he was about to say: “This is the court — if you have a matter, speak to the matter at hand. Empty theorizing leads the realm to ruin.”

Huo Yu grew even angrier. “A dispute over propriety and righteousness cannot yield a single point! Is this what you call empty theorizing?”

Zhù Ying said with total composure, “All I know is that a secure border is not empty theorizing.”

Zheng Xi also stepped out at an opportune moment and said, “Quite right — speak to the matter at hand. Your Majesty, I believe Su Zhe is fit to hold this post.”

The Emperor had never particularly felt that Su Zhe being an official was improper — from the very beginning, Zhù Ying had explained to him the whole background and history of Wuzhou, and even when he was still the Prince of Qiyang, he had accepted this reality.

The Emperor said, “Approved.”

Huo Yu was furious beyond words!

After morning court dispersed, the Emperor retained Zhù Ying, Su Zhe, and Lin Feng, and also kept Huo Yu behind, wishing to mediate between the two sides.

Zhù Ying was not troubled — as long as there was no public discussion in court about whether women could hold official posts, she was satisfied. As for what Huo Yu might say in private, that was his own affair. Whether Su Zhe served as a vice director in the Ministry of Rites or not was actually not a critical matter — if the civil post would not work, there were still military posts, and things could always be arranged.

Her frame of mind was fairly relaxed. Su Zhe’s anger had also gradually settled; she glanced sideways at Huo Yu and said nothing. She had also made up her mind to give the Emperor face. Lin Feng said nothing, but gave Huo Yu a fierce glare.

Lin Feng thoroughly detested being called a “barbarian”! At this moment, he only resented that his tongue was not sharp enough to give Huo Yu a thorough dressing-down!

Moving to the rear hall, the Emperor took the initiative to speak: “What was said today were all matters of state — do not overthink it, and above all do not take your grievances out with you.”

Zhù Ying was first to respond: “Yes. Court has seen far more heated exchanges than today’s, and these two are young and have seen little — it is easy for them to be startled by small things.”

Su Zhe and Lin Feng respectfully paid their respects to the Emperor, and the Emperor offered further reassurances.

Su Zhe said, “I am not angry. I am only saddened. It seems I am not so much a ‘barbarian’ as I am an ‘outsider.'”

Lin Feng immediately followed with: “Exactly! When we were in Wuzhou, Adoptive Father always treated us the same! There was never any distinction between insiders and outsiders.”

Huo Yu, who was not a stupid man, now understood clearly — this was not mediation at all. This was asking him to back down before two young people. He believed he had not been wrong, and seeing the Emperor’s manner, he felt a chill in his heart.

“Everything else I can accept, but I will absolutely not accept being called ’empty theorizing’!” Huo Yu, a man of full-blooded spirit, had tears welling in his eyes. Heaven and earth knew his heart — it was entirely public-spirited! And to look at the court now, they had simply “used expedient measures” and gotten on with it!

The Emperor was also the tiniest bit embarrassed. He covered it with a cough and gave Zhù Ying a meaningful look.

Zhù Ying walked to stand before Huo Yu, looking directly into his eyes, and asked, “Su Zhe — is she fit to hold this office or not?”

Huo Yu, under the Emperor’s gaze, said stiffly, “What I am speaking of right now is not her particular case.”

“If she is fit for the post, then everything you have said is empty theorizing!” Zhù Ying said without any softening. “You hold the fifth rank, dressed in scarlet, daily deliberating on national affairs with the great ministers — if you know only rigid adherence to fixed rules, then there is no need to hold grand discussions with the scholars who enter your home about ‘a new method for selecting officials.’ In the three ancient dynasties there were no examinations; by the system of the sage kings, it was recommendation alone. At that time, Confucius and Mencius had not yet been born.”

In Huo Yu’s dumbfounded gaze, Zhù Ying continued calmly: “The passion of a scholar — surely you do not expect them to be impassioned only before you? It has already spread to the streets. If you reform only what is advantageous to you while not giving others room to breathe, that is your prerogative — no one is your puppet. The court selects the most suitable, not those who shout the highest or are best at advertising themselves and lecturing others.”

Huo Yu felt a chill run down his back, and thought: could it be that the Chief Ministers today were acting because of this? And Xian Jing?

His heart was no longer in the argument. The Emperor and the Secretariat of State had decided to “use expedient measures” — what virtue or ability did he have to change that?

Huo Yu was convinced in his heart that he had not been wrong. He felt deeply aggrieved! Xian Jing had no real ability, and yet because Huo Yu had two or three like-minded close friends, he was to be suspected? With such internal fighting, what could ever be accomplished? He felt that Xian Jing had already strayed from his original intentions.

He said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, I see what I see, and I say what I see. If the Secretariat of State had not suppressed my memorial, I would not have been driven to such measures!”

The Emperor once again acted as peacemaker and said, “Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, that is what matters. You, also — next time, first consult with the Secretariat of State.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying also went along with it: “The Secretariat of State has a great volume of affairs, and there are disaster reports coming in from below again — it is natural for them to deal with the most pressing matters first. Since it was a misunderstanding, now that it has been talked through, all is well.”

Huo Yu had not cleared up anything in his heart, but he could not quarrel in front of the Emperor.

The Emperor was satisfied that he had done a good thing, and dismissed all of them in good spirits.

The four of them exited the door and immediately divided into two groups. Lin Feng rolled his eyes fiercely at Huo Yu’s retreating back, but was pulled back by Su Zhe. Zhù Ying said, “You two — come with me.”

Lin Feng hopped over: “What for?”

Zhù Ying said, “To introduce you to your superior officers.” She glanced meaningfully at the bruise on Lin Feng’s face.

Lin Feng slapped both hands over his face. “No! No! I don’t need that! I’ll go myself!” His manner was extremely flustered. “It wasn’t because I was being bullied! If you go with me now, it will only look like I have a powerful patron and that I can’t manage on my own. Wait until I’m truly being mistreated — then I’ll ask you to come vent my anger. Will that do?”

With much argument, Zhù Ying was finally persuaded to let him go alone.

Su Zhe followed behind Zhù Ying — she needed this.

“A’Weng, I want to do something. A few days ago when you took me to call on Minister Yao, Minister Yao accommodated me by clearing out a separate room for me, and doesn’t let me do a thing.”

Zhù Ying was aware of Su Zhe’s difficulty and had made a point of bringing her to pay a call on Yao Zhen. Yao Zhen and she were long-time acquaintances who had helped each other considerably. Placing Su Zhe at the Ministry of Rites, Yao Zhen had treated it simply as Su Zhe coming to accumulate some credentials in her record before going home to inherit the family enterprise.

A young girl, the “old friend’s” entrusted younger generation member, who moreover made no demands for promotion — she was so easy to accommodate! Yao Zhen did not hesitate, and that very day found Su Zhe a “cold palace” of a room to sit in, convinced that he was being extremely thoughtful.

Little did he know that Su Zhe was not the type to covet ease and idleness. She wanted to do real work.

Zhù Ying said, “All right.”

The two arrived at the Ministry of Rites, which was in the throes of busyness — at times of transition between old and new, there was an enormous amount to be done. Many people — such as Luo Yi — had seen their status formally change by decree, yet the ceremonies had still not been performed. These tasks the Ministry of Rites all had to participate in and manage. Amid this busyness, Yao Zhen had still been able to keep Su Zhe at ease — this was genuinely considerate treatment.

Zhù Ying brought Su Zhe to Yao Zhen’s office, and Yao Zhen found a moment to have tea with her: “You’ve caught me at my busiest.”

Zhù Ying laughed, “The busiest is yet to come! His Majesty has ascended the throne; the era name changes next year; when that comes, envoys from all the surrounding regions will arrive to offer congratulations — just wait and see.”

Yao Zhen said, “Already thought of it — finish one thing and the next one begins. Well — is there something our little Su wants?”

Zhù Ying said, “You’re this busy, and she’s sitting idle — how will that do? Find her some tasks to attend to. Otherwise, others will have even more to talk about, and they’ll even bring me into it.”

Yao Zhen was uncertain. For a female official, what could she even do? He thought for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up. “That’s perfect, actually — there are some records and files here. You learn them thoroughly on your own, then go to the rear palace to seek an audience with the Imperial Ladies and explain matters to them. If they raise any objections, you come back and report.”

Many ceremonies involved the rear palace — matters pertaining to the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and also the new Emperor’s rear palace — and many ceremonial affairs had to be coordinated with the Ministry of Rites. In the past, Ministry of Rites officials rarely had direct contact with the rear palace and had to go through the inner attendants. If the Empress Dowager or the Empress were of a forceful disposition, they might occasionally summon officials, but it could not be said to happen at any time needed.

Previously this had not been an issue, but now the Emperor’s mother-in-law Princess of Anren was beside the Empress — impossible to deal with! And it just so happened that Zhù Ying and Luo Sheng had deep connections!

Yao Zhen mentioned only the Empress, not Princess of Anren, and assigned this task to Su Zhe.

Zhù Ying also laughed. “This is actually perfectly suited — it turns out placing her in the Ministry of Rites is more convenient than placing her elsewhere. What do you plan to do with whoever was handling this task before?”

Yao Zhen said, “I have my own arrangements — I won’t let our child take the blame.” He looked at Su Zhe with rather a kindly expression.

Zhù Ying said, “Good, then let’s settle it like this.”

She left Su Zhe there. Su Zhe took up a stack of documents and began studying them.

After attending to the Ministry of Revenue’s affairs, Zhù Ying sent separate messages to Du Shien and Lan De at their lodgings outside the palace, arranging to meet. Du Shien looked set to leave the palace soon, to be replaced by Hao Dafang — the same formula needed to be applied. This wasn’t difficult: after Lan Xing’s death, Lan Xing’s share had been taken back by Zhù Ying, and now it was simply a matter of adding Hao Dafang in the same fashion.

Three days later, the several parties finally gathered together. Du Shien and Lan De were old acquaintances of Zhù Ying’s; arriving at the Zhù residence, they were served a cup of tea, and then Zhù Ying called Su Zhe out: “Come, meet your uncles.”

Du Shien dared not receive the courtesy composedly and leapt to his feet from the couch. Lan De also stood upright, saying, “Master, what are you doing?”

Zhù Ying said, “She has been assigned to the Ministry of Rites now, and has received an official task — she will frequently need to go to the rear palace. I estimate that over the coming year, she will often see you both. I ask that you look after her.”

Both of them said, “She is your child — as long as we catch sight of her, we will not allow her to be treated badly. You need not remind us.”

“I don’t stand on ceremony with you two, but in the rear palace, there are others besides you. Would you be so kind as to make introductions?”

Du Shien asked, “Hao Dafang?”

Zhù Ying nodded. “You’ve seen clearly — is it him?”

Du Shien said, “Some duties have already been passed to his hands.”

“Rest assured — however I dealt with the late Chief Eunuch Lan who has passed, I will deal with you the same way.”

Du Shien broke into a contented smile. “With Master’s words, my latter half of life is taken care of! Good! Little Lan and I will go find him for a talk this very day.”

Zhù Ying said, “I won’t make you work for nothing — whatever terms we had before, they remain the same.”

Su Zhe also openly thanked them both, and the two eunuchs said with smiling faces, “We dare not accept such courtesy — absolutely not within the palace! The young lady is an official — we two dare not receive this — if others saw it, it would also create trouble for the young lady.”

“Since she has bowed to you, you are responsible for treating her well within the palace. If she suffers any wrong, I will not let it stand.”

Lan De said, “Master, rest assured — with us here, even if I am not capable, Chief Attendant Du will not allow the young lady to be wronged. As for the ladies of the palace, our mistresses are all excellent — one only needs to be careful of the Princess. The Princess of Anren comes to the palace frequently of late, always pressing and urging — she is the one with the most demands! Her temperament is not good, and her seniority is high. Young lady, if you encounter her, just manage her face to face and let it pass; there is no need to take everything she says at face value or act on every word she says. Whatever the Emperor and our mistress intend, the two of us will let the young lady know.”

Zhù Ying laughed. “It seems the Princess has many demands.”

Lan De said, “Quite so! I am a servant of our mistress, and I also hope for our mistress’s glory. The Princess just makes things too troublesome — that is not good.”

Zhù Ying said, “All right — take it one step at a time. Little sister?”

“Yes!” Though it still meant dealing with all manner of women’s concerns, it was court business — Su Zhe was still full of drive!

She first studied the ritual regulations herself for a while, then sought audiences with Empress Dowager Mu and Empress Luo.

Empress Dowager Mu saw her and was first startled, then smiled. “Good — I was just worrying that there was no one who could explain things properly.”

Empress Luo was a young girl who spoke in a deliberate, unhurried manner. Each time Su Zhe presented an item, she would ask whether there were precedents and whether there was a basis for it. She was not difficult to manage.

Beyond these two, there was also the matter of formally conferring titles on the new Emperor’s rear palace. The Empress’s decree had already been received; the women who had been concubines to the Emperor during his time as Crown Prince had still not been given formal ranks. Under normal circumstances, now was the time to confirm their status. With the palace relocation currently underway, it made no sense for the Empress to move while the rear palace still remained in the old Eastern Palace — if they moved, they should all move together, at most one after the other.

With the rear palace given formal ranks, their respective treatment could be determined accordingly — including all matters of food, clothing, lodging, and daily life, all of which the Ministry of Rites also had to be involved in. The conferral of titles required dispatching an envoy, a court official who served as the messenger, and there were also ritual requirements for the envoy.

The problem arose precisely here.

Su Zhe first went to seek the Empress Dowager’s guidance, asking whether a decision had already been made. If it had, she would begin preparations immediately. If not, she asked the Empress Dowager to raise it with the Emperor. If the Emperor did not currently wish to grant formal ranks to the rear palace, she could save herself the trouble; if he did, she also asked for clarity, so she could have a sense of what was needed.

The Emperor currently had three concubines who had borne him children, and all of them held the status of “palace ladies.” If the palace lady who had borne the eldest prince could be overlooked, the palace lady Zhao who had borne the second prince was of no low birth, and she needed to be given a title. As for Yan Gui, she had not been selected into the palace with the intention of serving as a menial, and her title ought to be lower than Lady Zhao’s but still could not remain as it was.

This was all quite reasonable.

Su Zhe offered no suggestion to the Emperor and Empress as to what titles the three women should hold — she merely waited for the outcome.

The day she had gone to the Empress Dowager and explained the matter, the next day when she arrived at the Eastern Palace to see the Empress, she was met head-on by two great eye-rolls from Princess of Anren!

Su Zhe knew that Princess of Anren was not a good-natured person, but because of Zhù Ying, the princess’s household had maintained a basic courtesy toward people of the Zhù family. When Su Zhe had first called upon the two princesses in her capacity as a Ministry of Rites official, both had been present, and both had exclaimed with curiosity, their gazes far more friendly than those of the officials at court.

Today, for no apparent reason, Princess of Anren had taken sick.

Su Zhe glanced at Lan De. Lan De lightly waved a hand and then pointed at Luo Yi.

Su Zhe thought to herself: what have I done to the Empress?

Very quickly, Princess of Anren opened her mouth. Seeing Su Zhe’s expression of complete innocence made her even more furious, and she demanded: “Is the Ministry of Rites so idle that it has to meddle in other people’s family affairs?! What business is it of yours how my household’s concubines and maids fare?! To speak up on their behalf and seek titles for them!”

Luo Yi said, “Grandmother! This has nothing to do with her…”

“It doesn’t need to come out of her mouth either!”