Consort Rong had a keen eye and quickly ordered those around, “Quickly, why haven’t you helped Princess up?”
Several palace maids immediately helped Li Zhizhi up. Emperor Jing Ming sat down again and spoke to her in a calm tone, “As parents, how could we not love our children? Their treatment of you is just because they don’t see you as their own. Even if you were to die because of them today, it wouldn’t change their opinion. Don’t do such foolish things in the future.”
Li Zhizhi’s eyes were slightly red as she bowed to the emperor, “I will remember Your Majesty’s words in my heart and will not forget.”
Emperor Jingming nodded, seemingly satisfied at last. He sat in the Cuinong Palace for a while, then got up to leave. After sending off the imperial carriage respectfully, Consort Rong finally let out a sigh of relief, gently patting her chest as she said to Li Zhizhi, “You are too bold. You scared me just now. What if the emperor had really punished you? What would you do then?”
Li Zhizhi smiled and replied, “Since ancient times, it’s hard to balance loyalty and filial piety. I obeyed my parents, fulfilling my filial duty, and I was honest with the emperor, showing loyalty. If the emperor had truly punished me, I would have accepted it willingly, without complaint or regret.”
While it is said so, she dared to directly plead to Emperor Jing Ming today, naturally having a certain degree of a.s.surance. Firstly, Emperor Jingming appears cold and serious on the surface, but inside, he is very tolerant and amiable. One can tell by how he treats Consort Rongfei on a daily basis. Moreover, the last time, when Li Zhizhi mentioned the pancakes she had eaten in her hometown to him, not long after, the palace actually sent someone to deliver them, and even specifically asked the eunuch to inquire if Li Zhizhi liked them, which proves that Emperor Jingming is a very thoughtful person, even somewhat gentle.
Secondly, as Li Zhizhi just mentioned to Consort Rongfei, she only acts according to her parents’ wishes, which is filial piety. Li Zhizhi herself did nothing wrong, and now she chooses to reveal the truth, which is loyalty to the emperor. Therefore, no matter what, Emperor Jingming should not overly blame her.
However, speaking of it, Li Zhizhi still couldn’t help but feel nervous. Fortunately, things went as planned, and this hurdle was completely overcome. As for whether the Li family would be blamed for this, Li Zhizhi didn’t care too much.
However, Emperor Jingming did not let go of Li Cen lightly. It is a coincidence that the Minister of Revenue is old and wishes to retire to his hometown. With this vacancy, a new candidate must be promoted. The Ministry of Personnel submitted a list proposing that Li Cen, the Right Deputy Minister of Revenue, should be appointed as the Minister of Revenue. The reason is that he has been in the Ministry of Revenue for many years and is very familiar with all the affairs of the ministry. Moreover, he is steady in character and quite competent, so he is sure to be able to handle the position of Minister of Revenue.
This also conforms to the usual rules. Each of the six ministries has its own responsibilities, and the affairs are numerous and complicated. If an official is transferred from elsewhere, it is feared that it will take some time to get familiar with the matters. It is already nearly August, and the end of the year is approaching. The affairs of the Ministry of Revenue will be even more critical by then and cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, selecting an official from the Ministry of Revenue to take up the position is the most prudent approach. Moreover, Li Cen has been in the position of Right Deputy Minister of Revenue for many years. Although he has no merits, he also has no demerits. Even if he has reached a high level of cultivation, it is now his turn to be promoted.
As the old saying goes, if a person is unlucky, even drinking cold water can get stuck in their teeth. In the past, after the Ministry of Personnel carefully discussed and decided on the promotion candidates, if there were no major issues, they would receive the imperial decree and could happily take up their new positions.
Emperor Jingming was particularly displeased today after hearing about the deeds of Li Cen. He looked at the doc.u.ment for a long time, so long that even the Minister of Personnel began to doubt if he had made a major mistake. When he felt uneasy, the Emperor spoke in a cold voice, “Li Cen is a man of corrupt heart, greedy for vanity. If he were to become the Minister of Revenue, he would surely deceive and exploit others, filling his own pockets. With such a despicable character, how can he be worthy of managing the national treasury for the people of the world?”
With that, he took a vermilion pen and crossed out Li Cen’s name on the memorial. This person, for the sake of reputation, was unwilling to acknowledge even his own daughter, trying to deceive everyone and hide the truth. Emperor Jingming increasingly felt that such a person was unworthy of being an official. Therefore, without hesitation, he issued an imperial decree, listing several charges against Li Cen, accusing him of deceiving the emperor and directly stripping him of his official position.
The Minister of Personnel held the imperial decree, stunned. He even felt some sympathy for Li Cen. Not only did he fail to be promoted, but he also lost his original position.
However, such incidents were not uncommon. Depending on the emperor’s mood, many officials had been demoted. Some were demoted and then promoted again, while others faced continuous demotions. It could only be said that Li Cen had encountered great misfortune.
As for Li Cen, he had been eagerly antic.i.p.ating a promotion but never expected to receive an imperial decree stripping him of his position. His legs went weak, nearly collapsing to the ground. His colleagues nearby quickly supported him, calling out, “Li Cen, the imperial decree hasn’t finished yet. Please wait a little longer!”
The eunuch in vermilion attire continued reading the charges against Li Cen, with Emperor Jingming rebuking him for failing as a father and not teaching his children properly, accusing him of deceit and having an unrighteous mind. Such mediocre talents only cared about immediate benefits, without considering the well-being of the country and its people.
At the end of the imperial decree, it was stated that Li Zhizhi, his daughter, was intelligent and beloved by the Emperor and the Grand Princess. Since Li Cen disapproved of her, she was to leave the Li family and enter the imperial household’s register, severing all ties with the Li family from then on.
This imperial decree was read aloud in front of all the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. Li Cen had never been so ashamed in his entire life. In front of everyone’s eyes, he had to accept the decree with a wooden expression, listening to his colleagues whispering and discussing his situation.
He felt as if needles were piercing his face, as if thorns were on his back. His eyes were bloodshot and terrifying, his hands tightly gripping the bright yellow silk, wishing he could smash his head against the Department of Household’s corridor and end this great humiliation on the spot!
…
When the imperial decree reached the Grand Princess’s residence, Li Zhizhi was playing a game of promotion with Xiao Rulei. The Grand Princess learned about what had happened in the palace today from her, feeling a lingering fear and scolding her, “You child, how could you act so recklessly? Such a big matter should have been discussed with me first. What if you really angered the Emperor?”
Li Zhizhi put down the dice, smilingly saying, “You’re right, it’s all my fault. But at that moment, the timing was just right, so I took the opportunity to confess to the Emperor. I didn’t think of anything else at the time, just worried it might implicate you.”
“Ah,” the Grand Princess took her hand, looked at her for a while, and said with pity, “It’s also a good thing. With this imperial decree, from now on, you’ll be free from the Li family and truly become my daughter. No one will dare criticize you or make you honor your foster parents anymore.”
She spoke with a relieved smile on her face, “Thinking about it, I was being petty and narrow-minded. Every time I heard them mention foster parents, I was very unhappy. You are my well-raised daughter, like a precious gem. Why should she have to acknowledge that couple as foster parents? It shows that human hearts are never satisfied.”
She used to only hope that Li Zhizhi would be willing to acknowledge her, but as time went on, she began to hope that Li Zhizhi would only acknowledge her alone. As for those so-called foster parents, even if it was just a t.i.tle, she had a knot in her heart hearing about it.
Fortunately, that knot is finally gone now.
When Grand Princess Yongning was in a good mood, she ordered the kitchen to prepare some snacks and good wine. With Li Zhizhi and Xiao Rulei, she sat in the garden and chatted. In pa.s.sing, they mentioned Xiao Yan, who hadn’t returned for a long time. Xiao Rulei’s expression visibly fell, and she lost interest even in her favorite snacks.
Li Zhizhi and Grand Princess Yongning exchanged glances. Li Zhizhi moved to sit beside Xiao Rulei and whispered softly to her, “Missing your brother again?”
Xiao Rulei counted on her fingers and said, “Three more days.”
Just then, a servant came forward with a card and reported, “This is from the Jianchang Marquis’s Mansion, intended for the Princess.”
Li Zhizhi was surprised, took the card, and opened it to read. Grand Princess Yongning asked curiously, “Jianchang Marquis’s Mansion, is that young Lord Pei?”
Li Zhizhi nodded and said, “He mentioned that there’s a temple fair at Shenbao Temple and invited me to go together.”
Upon hearing this, Grand Princess Yongning’s eyes lit up, and she smiled, “The temple fair is quite lively, with lots of fun and delicious things. Do you want to go?”
Xiao Rulei hurriedly said, “A’yang wants to go too.”
Li Zhizhi, considering Xiao Rulei’s recent melancholy due to missing Xiao Yan, suggested, “Then let’s go to the temple fair.”
Grand Princess Yongning hesitated slightly, “Are you taking A’yang with you?”
Li Zhizhi nodded, and Xiao Rulei immediately held her hand tightly, looking at her aunt with vigilance and emphasizing, “A’yang is going too!”
The Grand Princess didn’t say much more and said, “Then bring along more people and take Xu Tingfeng with you.”
Li Zhizhi naturally agreed and, carrying her, the Grand Princess called Xu Tingfeng aside and instructed him, “In a couple of days, they will go to the G.o.dguard Temple to have fun. Keep an eye on A’yang and don’t let her cause trouble.”
Xu Tingfeng nodded in agreement, still somewhat puzzled. He indeed had to watch over the Seventh Princess and prevent her from running amok, but what did “don’t let her cause trouble” mean?
Right after that, the Princess Consort said, “Let Zhizhi and that Pei young lord spend more time together. If there’s anything, send someone to report to me promptly. Do you understand?”
Xu Tingfeng: ?
“I understand…”
In reality, Xu Tingfeng still didn’t understand. His Highness the Crown Prince had instructed him to keep a close watch on the Princess and to follow her commands, and now the Grand Princess also gave orders. Whose orders should he follow?
![Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com]()