Chapter Ten
=.= Hey, hey, two updates today! Picking up the pace!!
Chapter Ten
A Red Wood Square Writing Desk stood before a Dragon-carved High Chair facing south. Several Grand Master Chairs carved with intertwined cranes and pythons lined up below the Dragon Throne, their backs engraved in bold, flared strokes with the characters "Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Military, Punishments, Works."
The man on the Dragon Throne wore an Imperial Robe and a crown hung with a Beaded Curtain. His identity as the sovereign needed no introduction. He lifted a Gold-threaded Sleeve to his parted lips, and a low voice drifted out.
"She's pregnant. Who did it?"
"So these are this year's fresh goods?"
Ignoring the Dragon Lord's opening remark, the Military Minister flicked the thick New Academy Student Roster from his long fingers. It landed on the desk with a smack. Leaning against the desk, he toyed with the Jade Ring on his finger, crossed his long legs, and tipped back in the chair marked "Military." A Silver Phoenix Smoking Pipe jutted skyward from his lips.
Beside him, the Minister of Rites, dressed in a teal-and-purple Official Robe, soothed him gently. "Lord Long, this is the Dongxu Mansion Student Council's Six-Ministry Review. Please don't address the other ministers in the language of your brothel."
"Pah. These goods can't hold a candle to the girls at Pink Pavilion." He tapped off the ash and tossed his long braid.
"Are you dissatisfied with these new Academy Students, or with the people Grand Secretary Li chose?"
"Don't try to drive a wedge between us. How could any of us match Grand Secretary Li's knowledge of the girls at Pink Pavilion? Isn't that right, Grand Secretary Li?" His thick brows rose roguishly along with his pipe, and before anyone knew it, he had tossed the question to Li Chenjing, who had sat with lowered eyes and said little.
Li Chenjing glanced silently at that provocative face. His expression went blank; he blinked slowly, then, after a long pause, let out a short, cold scoff. It was as though the man hopping about before him was beneath notice, not even worth a place in his thoughts; it would take him ages to work out who the man was.
Unable to bear that bone-deep contempt, Lord Long, the Military Minister, slammed the table and sprang up. "Hey! You, Li! What are you scoffing at? Who are you looking down on? I heard someone saw you by the lake with a newly admitted Academy Student a few days ago, carrying on together. An affair between men, bribery, favoritism—tsk, tsk. After such filthy conduct, shouldn't you give the Holy Emperor an explanation?"
Li Chenjing arched a fine brow and shifted his frosty gaze. Then he drank his tea and stared idly out the window, as if the man before him had turned to dust.
"Bribery and favoritism, whatever. I'm not interested. Right now, all I want to know is this: my 'Imperial Noble Consort' is pregnant. Who did it?" The man on the Dragon Throne drew his brows together, putting on the majesty of the true Son of Heaven.
No one could fail to be awed by the Emperor's authority. Every gaze turned up to him, solemn and intent. The next instant...
They went on with the meeting. Not one of them paid him any mind.
"Let's not be distracted by pointless noise. With concern and compassion for the Common People in our hearts, we shall move to the next matter... If anyone has further proposals concerning the new Academy Students' admission to the mansion, please speak." The Minister of Rites oversaw ceremonies and law. Naturally, when necessary, he also served as meeting chair and cleared away superfluous noise.
"Hey, hey! My 'Imperial Noble Consort'..."
"Grand Secretary Li, he..."
"54, 62, 157, 167, 354, 387. Keep those. I'll take them." Automatically screening out certain noises, Nian Youyu, the Minister of Revenue, deftly clicked his abacus beads.
"Xiao Yu, why don't you want Zhu Bafu, the one Xiaojing values most?" Long Ang, the Minister of Rites, asked softly.
"Not interested. The Ministry of Revenue has no need for someone who only plays clever little tricks and looks like a corrupt official at first glance."
"Minister of Revenue, every one you picked is a bag-of-bones dullard. They couldn't answer a single one of Grand Secretary Li's questions."
"My ministry has no need for smooth talkers. And—I hate fat people."
"Not even baby fat?"
"Appetite is a form of greed. Fill a vessel with oil and it spills over!"
"Xiao Yu's tastes are as strict as ever. Minister of Works, did anyone catch your eye?"
"Easy enough, easy enough. I don't ask for much. They'll just learn about building structures, repair bridges, and carry buckets of sand and earth. Let the Chief Counselor and Lord Long choose first. Send me the ones who can't afford tuition, the ones who can endure hardship, the poor lads—all of them!"
"Speaking of which, on the day of the exam, I happened to pass through Peony Garden and caught a most indecent odor. Might I ask which of you gentlemen harbors a private grievance against this Subordinate Official and sneaked into my Peony Garden to relieve himself, adding fertilizer to the soil? Minister of Punishments, have you found the culprit for me?" the Minister of Rites asked with a smile.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are any of you listening to me? That Li serves the Holy Emperor alongside us, yet he's filthy enough to get entangled with a man..."
"Lord Long, step aside. I haven't finished asking. Who has been carrying on with my 'Imperial Noble Consort' right under my nose?"
The Six-Ministry Review clamored on. A trace of impatience stirred at the corners of Li Chenjing's eyes.
"Your Majesty, congratulations on your 'Imperial Noble Consort's' blessed condition. As for whose offspring she carries, I respectfully suggest you ask the tomcats kept by the imperial concubines in the Imperial Garden. None of us has the ability or the nerve to impregnate your beloved cat. And as for Lord Long's speculation about where my affections lie—"
He paused, then continued, "I'll trouble Lord Long to change his name before challenging me on that subject again. Otherwise... what business is my relationship with any man of yours, Lord 'Longyang'?"
"The new Academy Students will enter the mansion on a date to be set. No objections. Meeting adjourned."
With that, Li Chenjing, Minister of Personnel and head of the Six Ministries, swept out, leaving a roomful of senior Academy Students to continue their tea party.
"Your Majesty, Xiaoyang, you've made Xiaojing angry again. You really shouldn't have." Long Ang, the Minister of Rites, shook his head helplessly.
The man on the Dragon Throne laughed and laughed, then shook his head with a sigh. "Indeed. Lord Long, what are you playing at? How did you drive Little Jing away again?"
Longyang, the Military Minister, looked aggrieved but had no way to argue. Damn it! Was he the only one responsible? Did he alone have enough impact to handle that damn proud peacock? You're the ruler of a whole country—how can you be so shameless?