Bab 20: Monarch's Mind
The Shangguan family was brightly lit the whole night. Other than the six-year-old third young miss, Shangguan Ning, who slept soundly, the rest of them worked all night.
By the time the sun rose on the second day, a new room had already been prepared by the crowd. Apart from the fact that the beams had not been moved, the walls had been painted snow-white, the windows had been replaced with new paper, and the door had been painted with fresh paint, making it seem as bright as new.
Shangguan Yong looked at the brand-new room and nodded, then said to his brothers in the army: "This will do, many thanks brothers!"
The military officials laughed and waved their hands.
"We also came to invite Big Brother for a goblet of wedding wine!" Someone said, "Big brother, when do you plan to set up the wine?"
Shangguan Yong's face immediately turned bitter. If his brothers hadn't said so, he would have forgotten, he would have had to set up a few tables for the wedding, but he wasn't prepared for that at all.
"That won't be difficult." The military officer looked at Shangguan Yong's face and immediately said: "Since there's no chef at home, just go to the restaurant and wrap up a few tables of food and wine."
"That's right, big brother. The wine and food at the tavern outside won't cost much," said one of the brothers, who seemed to have been through a lot in the past.
Shangguan Yong hesitated before saying, "If someone from the Grand Preceptor's estate arrived, would the wine and food from the tavern work?"
Everyone fell silent. Marrying the Grand Preceptor's daughter might have been a blessing, but things really wouldn't be easy.
"If things really don't work out, can't our brothers gather together and go to the big restaurant to order a few tables? Can't they just keep the Grand Preceptor's estate from looking down on them?" After everyone thought for a while, someone came up with an idea.
Everyone agreed, and only Shangguan Yong shook his head, "I can't ask you for more money. I'm not some rich man, even if you want to pretend you don't want to. Miss An Er should be a good woman, I think she won't mind. "
"If Second Miss An cares about these things," someone among the military officials said, "she is not Big Brother's good companion."
This sentence caused the people in the courtyard to remain silent for a long time.
Shangguan Rui said: "Big brother, you should go to the court now, you should leave quickly."
Shangguan Yong shook his head and mocked himself: "Even if I was standing here and listening to His Highness, how can this be called going to court?"
"What did Big Brother say?" Immediately, a military official said, "As long as we are willing to work hard in the military, are we still afraid that we won't be able to achieve anything?"
Shangguan Yong only smiled when he heard this and let his brothers rest at home. He left the house with an empty stomach and rode his horse to the palace alone.
Meanwhile, in an inner room of the imperial study, Eunuch Xie was personally carrying a brocade box that Grand Preceptor An had brought to the palace. He reported to the sect master, "Your Majesty, the Grand Preceptor presented this box."
"What is it?" The Shizong lowered his head as he asked without even raising his head. He was writing something down on the table.
"This servant has checked," replied Eunuch Xie. "This brocade box contains the embroidery from yesterday's Grand Preceptor's estate. The Grand Preceptor said to call for the moon to burn a lotus fragrance."
Shi Zong raised his head. The embroidery in front of him was like a painting. The moonlight was bright and the pool was clear. The two green lotuses were slender and elegant, as if there was a faint fragrance wafting in the air despite the lack of wind. After looking at the embroidery for a long time, Shi Zong could even imagine An Jin sitting in front of the embroidery rack, focused on embroidery.
Eunuch Xie stood off to one side, watching the Emperor looking at the embroidery for a long time. He asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, where should we put this embroidery?"
"Hang it there," Shizong pointed casually.
"This servant obeys the decree." Eunuch Xie did not say much, but quickly bowed and received the decree. "Even if he was able to guess, he would pretend to not know anything." Your Majesty, "Eunuch Xie took the decree, then said to the Emperor," The Grand Preceptor's still outside the hall.
"I won't see him." Shizong looked at the embroidery before him and said this word in a cold voice.
"Your Majesty said he won't invite you " Eunuch Xie said quietly to Grand Preceptor An as he waited outside the imperial study.
Grand Preceptor An could only clasp his hands at her before turning to leave.
"Your Majesty really likes the embroidery offered by the Grand Preceptor."
Grand Preceptor An gave a slight nod to Eunuch Xie before turning to leave. In a while, he would order someone to give Eunuch a proper gift. The eunuch next to this Emperor had already given him some pointers. His Majesty liked the embroidery, so His Majesty also liked the person who embroidered it.
No one brought up the matters of the Grand Preceptor's estate in the morning assembly that day. Many events occurred in such a large empire every day, enough for the monarchs in the imperial court to discuss and make a decision.
Shangguan Yong stood obediently outside the throne room, and the sound of the debate on the politics of the court could clearly be heard outside the hall.
The banquet had to be set up and the bridal sedan chair had yet to be decided. He hadn't even made his wedding dress, and on the day of the wedding, he had to invite some Shangguan family elder to preside over it. The more Shangguan Yong thought about his marriage, the more he realized that he should do a lot of things, but he himself have't done anything.
Grand Preceptor An didn't say anything in the imperial audience hall, nor did the Emperor look for him to speak. After leaving the imperial court, the clan sent several officials to discuss matters in the imperial study, but similarly didn't point out Grand Preceptor An's name.
Grand Preceptor An walked out of the throne room with eyes full of curiosity, worry, and schadenfreude.
"Father," An Yuanwen, a minister in charge of the imperial court, walked up to Grand Preceptor An and pointed at the two men's left hand side for him to see.
Grand Preceptor An followed his eldest son's hand and saw Shangguan Yong standing there like a pillar.
"What else does he want?" An Yuanwen asked Grand Preceptor An in a low voice.
"Ai!" Grand Preceptor An sighed. "Father will go speak with him. You can go back to the Ministry of Works and the yamen," he said before walking over to Shangguan Yong.
"Grand Preceptor," Shangguan Yong watched as Grand Preceptor An approached him, then cupped his hands and saluted.
Grand Preceptor An cast a sidelong glance at the ministers who had stuck their heads out for him. The ones who wanted to watch the show all hastened to leave. "This isn't a good place to talk, come with me," Grand Preceptor An said in a low voice.
Shangguan Yong followed behind Grand Preceptor An, but still couldn't help asking after a few steps, "Grand Preceptor, how was Second Miss yesterday?"
Grand Preceptor An said, "With this old man here, who would dare to harm her?"
"She was slapped yesterday," said Shangguan Yong.
At first, he was angry, but then he thought of how his daughter had already been protected by Shangguan Yong before she could even enter the Shangguan household. Presumably, her days after marrying into the family would not be bad, so a smile appeared on his face.
" Grand Preceptor?" Even though Shangguan Yong was a bit behind Grand Preceptor An, he still felt uncomfortable when he saw him smile. Why did he say that the Grand Preceptor's father was still laughing when he said that An Jin had been beaten up?
"Follow me," the Grand Preceptor only kept up with him as he strode forward.
Fifth Prince Bai Chengze stood on the high platform outside the throne room, watching Grand Preceptor An and Shangguan Yong leave.
"Fifth brother," Crown Prince Xiao Bai promised as he walked to Bai Chengze's side and whispered to him, "I didn't expect that a lowly fifth-grade military official would have such good fortune and be able to have a woman like Second Miss An as a wife. It's just a pity for that beauty."
Bai Chengze lowered his head and smiled, then whispered to the crown prince, "No matter how beautiful the second young miss of the Residence of An, she is just a daughter of a concubine."
The Crown Prince patted Bai Chengze on the shoulder, "That's true, there's a difference between the descendants. "Fifth brother, if Second Miss An hears your words, she will be hurt."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone