Entering Official Service

"Your Highness, I have made up my mind. My father was loyal and steadfast all his life, and did not hesitate to impeach treacherous officials even at the cost of his life. I would not dare abandon his aspirations. I hope Your Highness will grant my wish."

The scene in the Imperial Prison that day rose unbidden before her eyes.

She remembered how that man had remained unbending in spirit even with his body bound in shackles, remembered the memorial stained crimson with blood, remembered him saying, "Even if we know the road ahead leads to a dead end, someone must still cast a stone to test the way," and how he had been willing to be that stone.

Zhao Huiluan felt her heart surge like the tide, and her eyes stung.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "All right."

"There is an important matter at hand. Wen Hong is suspicious by nature. His precious grandson landed in danger because of you, so he will certainly investigate your identity thoroughly. And since you are about to marry into the Wen household, he will look even more closely into your family background."

"Wanwan, I imagine your grandfather had no time to make Sister Yao's background flawless. Before, no one cared that the Shen household had one more young lady from a collateral branch, but things are different now. You need to mend that as soon as possible."

Shen Zhiyun nodded. She knew this was the important matter Zhao Huiluan had mentioned to her earlier.

The two left the pavilion together.

Shen Zhiyun suddenly asked, "Jianjian, on your way here, did you ever wonder whether Sister Yao would agree?"

Zhao Huiluan tilted her head and smiled at her.

She paused, then continued, "Jianjian, did you hope Sister Yao would agree to the marriage?"

Zhao Huiluan answered earnestly, "I had no particular hope either way, but I did guess that she would agree in the end. She and her late father... are truly so much alike!"

"Jianjian... you're even cleverer than I imagined!"

Shen Zhiyun took Zhao Huiluan's hand, feeling no suspicion or displeasure, only heartfelt joy and relief.

After getting into the carriage back to the Imperial College, Zhao Huiluan was noticeably

more

relaxed than she had been on the way there.

She leaned back in the carriage and closed her eyes to rest.

The scene of the old thief Wen Hong begging her with tears streaming down his aged face came to mind.

"Your Highness! I beg Your Highness to save my grandson. I, I have only this one grandson! I beg Your Highness, for the sake of your being classmates, and for the sake of this old minister's hard work for Great Yin, if not any great service, please help me!"

Then she recalled how the old thief had tricked her younger brother in her previous life and welcomed rebellious ministers and traitors into Yan Capital, and Zhao Huiluan could not help but sneer.

Chapter 34: Entering Official Service

Wen Yan's personal attendant waited outside the Imperial College, pacing anxiously in circles.

Zhao Huiluan got out of the carriage and told him to take the news back to the Wen household at once, along with the token Shen Zhiyao had given her.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

The attendant cradled the jade pendant in his hands, weeping for joy, and took a nasty tumble on his way out.

Wen Nihe kept watch by her brother's bedside, her face drenched with tears.

"Grandfather! Grandfather! He'er has only one brother. If anything happens to him, He'er will make every last member of the Shen household pay with their lives!"

Wen Hong said nothing, his face dark and each breath heavier than the last.

Servants knelt throughout the room and courtyard, their foreheads pressed to the ground. Not one dared so much as glance at his sinister figure from behind.

"She agreed! She agreed!"

The attendant scrambled into the room and slid to his knees before the bed, holding the jade pendant above his head with both hands.

Wen Nihe snatched the pendant, pressed it into Wen Yan's hand, and closed his fingers tightly around it.

"Brother, she agreed. Did you hear? Shen Zhiyao agreed to marry you!"

She spoke incoherently, then felt Wen Yan's fingers move. Delighted, she released his hand and turned to look at her grandfather.

Wen Hong, too, was so excited that his mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to speak. "Quick! Fetch the physician! Brew the medicine! Quick!"

Only after seeing the medicine successfully fed into Wen Yan's mouth did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. His body swayed involuntarily. The steward hurried forward to support him, and a flicker of panic crossed Wen Nihe's eyes as well.

"I am fine. Stay here and take good care of Yu'er."

Wen Hong raised a hand to stop them and made his way alone to the ancestral hall at a leisurely pace.

The Wen household's ancestral hall stood behind the Cloud Dream Pavilion. Attendants watched over it day and night, and it was brightly lit.

He dismissed the servants and first offered incense to his late wife, then to his son and daughter-in-law, who had died young. He stood before the hall with his hands behind his back, gazing at the names on the spirit tablets as candle shadows flickered across his face.

He said not a word.

An hour later, Wen Hong emerged from the ancestral hall. The sky had already grown dim. He sent someone to fetch the steward to report to him.

Before long, the steward arrived. Wen Hong first asked about Wen Yan's condition, then instructed the steward to find a matchmaker to propose to the Shen family the next day. Every customary step and display had to be provided.

"One more thing." Wen Hong called the steward back after he had taken only a few steps. "Investigate everything that needs investigating thoroughly."

"Yes, this old servant understands."

The betrothal gifts, the inquiry into the bride's name, the divination of good fortune, the presentation of wedding gifts, and the selection of a wedding date-all the customary steps had been completed by the time the fifth month arrived.

Yan Capital was bustling day after day, its people eagerly awaiting the marriage between the Wen and Shen households the following month, wondering what a grand spectacle it would be. After all, the groom was Grand Secretary Wen's only grandson.

When the Yongzhao Emperor heard the happy news from the Wen household and learned that the bride was from the Shen household, he initially assumed it was Shen Zhiyun. He praised Wen Hong's good fortune, saying that taking the most talented young lady in Yan Capital as his granddaughter-in-law was something many people would not even dare dream of.

Wen Hong had grievances he could not voice and could only explain, "It is Shen Zhiyao, from a collateral branch of the Shen family. She lives with the main household."

Realizing his mistake, the Yongzhao Emperor smiled awkwardly and bestowed gifts upon the Wen household. Later, he heard the story of the Wen lad and the Shen young lady from Seal-Bearer Duan and sighed with emotion.

"He is a devoted one."

On second thought, the Yongzhao Emperor shook his head and sighed again. "The Wen family certainly produces devoted men!"

Seal-Bearer Duan said, "It was our Princess Zhenning who brought them together!"

The Yongzhao Emperor shook his head with an amused laugh. "That Jianjian, she coaxed me by saying she was going to study at the Imperial College. Does she look like she's studying? And what about Rong An? Does he just let her do as she pleases?"

Seal-Bearer Duan smiled. "Your Majesty, surely you know Princess Zhenning?"

The Yongzhao Emperor naturally knew his daughter's temperament. Once she became stubborn, even he could not control her. But he could not bear to scold his daughter, so he could only go on scolding Rong An.

"Just the other day, he was investigating a case with Shuntian Prefecture and the Court of Judicial Review. The Six Offices of Scrutiny sent me memorials impeaching him, saying that a perfectly good vice director of the Imperial College was neglecting his proper duties."