Shen Ao wanted to know the truth of the matter. The imperial edict only mentioned Shen Xiyao's promotion, but did not mention the reason for the promotion.
After receiving the order, he looked at his granddaughter who looked tired and didn't want to disturb him, so he didn't ask about the specific matter in detail. After that, Shen Xi went to the palace to see her.
Seeing Shen Xiyao coming in at this time, Shen Ao was finally able to clear up the doubts in his heart.
Shen Ao stroked his beard with his right hand, and stopped Shen Xiyao who was about to salute with his left hand.
"Yao'er, there's no need to be polite. Come on, sit in front of me. Tell me why His Majesty granted you the title of Permanent Attendant?"
Shen Xiyao lowered her head, not daring to look at her grandfather.
She knows her own affairs, and she hasn't figured out what happened to her yet, so how can she tell her grandfather.
What should I do if word gets out and people say it’s a case of soul-leaving syndrome or a good thing? What if people say it’s an evil spirit?
"I don't know why. I think His Majesty came here on a whim and felt ashamed of our Shen family."
Shen Ao didn't notice anything unusual about his granddaughter and shook his head.
"That's not right! Even if we compensate the Shen family and promote you, you will only be granted a military position, not a civil official. The highest official position for a woman in the Wei Dynasty is only from the fourth rank. That is just the palace. A female historian. And you are a regular attendant. Although you do not need to directly participate in the government affairs, you must know the affairs of the government in order to prepare His Majesty's advisors. Besides, you are still a full-rank official."
Seeing that she couldn't deceive Shen Ao, Shen Xiyao had to find another excuse.
"But……"
Shen Xiyao had a troubled expression on her face.
"What? Are you in trouble?"
Shen Ao asked eagerly.
Shen Xiyao, who had not yet thought of her words, heard what her grandfather said and happened to borrow the donkey from Poxia and nodded quickly.
"His Majesty has decreed that no one is allowed to speak out."
Shen Ao's face became ugly little by little. He walked around the study room several times with his hands behind his back, and finally seemed to have made some decision.
"Yao'er, His Majesty has appointed you as a permanent servant without letting you know the reason. This matter must be very big. His Majesty has just issued an order, and we cannot disobey it. After a few days, I will fight for the title of Marquis of Northern Hebei, and I will give it to you. Your Majesty withdraws your order. You are the only one left in our Shen family, and I cannot let anything happen to you."
When Shen Xiyao heard Shen Ao's words, she was moved but shook her head.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. It's not something dangerous. It's just that I'm a little confused right now. I'll talk to you again after some time."
Seeing Shen Xiyao say this, Shen Ao hummed and stopped talking about the matter. Instead, he directed the topic elsewhere.
The grandfather and grandson talked for a while before Shen Xiyao left the study. Before leaving, she also brought Chu Rubeng's words to you, Shen Ao.
Back in the boudoir, Shen Xiyao changed out of her court clothes and put on her skirt. A servant came over and invited Shen Xiyao to eat in the dining hall.
Not long after, Shen Ao and Shen Zhou also came in.
Originally, Shen Xiyao and Shen Zhou were not qualified to eat at the same table as Shen Ao, but the Shen family members were not so particular.
Shen Zhou has a gentle personality and charming eyebrows, but there is a trace of sadness locked in his brow.
Although Shen Changyong's death had nothing to do with her, it could not stand up to the "kefu" comments from the world.
When Shen Changyong passed away, Shen Ao once proposed to let Shen Zhou marry someone else. The Shen family was also her natal family.
But Shen Zhou didn't agree. She wanted to fulfill her filial piety on her husband's behalf, so she stayed in the Shen family.
After the three of them finished eating, Shen Xiyao and her aunt Shen Zhou finished their rituals and were about to go back to their room.
"Don't rush back. Let's go to my study together and discuss something with you."
In the study, Shen Ao took out a letter and handed it to Shen Zhou.
"Take a look, this is the letter sent by Ling'er."
After a while, Shen Zhou finished reading the letter and handed it to Shen Xiyao.
"It all depends on father-in-law."
Shen Xiyao took the letter and read it twice.
The letter was sent by Shen Xiyao's aunt Shen Ling'er.
More than ten years ago, Shen Ling'er married Zhang Jing, who was quite talented and famous in Jingzhao Mansion at that time.
Because all three sons of the Shen family had died in the war, Shen Ao regarded Zhang Jing as a descendant of the Shen family and began to exert force behind it shortly after the two got married.
Zhang Jing is not a pedantic person. With his own talent and learning, he was sent to Qi County as a prefect in just a few years from the seventh-grade eunuch. During the few years of serving as the prefect, Zhang Jing was an upright and honest official. The people did a lot of good deeds and won their support, and the imperial court also gave Zhang Jing a good reputation.
Just a month ago, Zhang Jing suffered a stroke. Doctors failed to treat him and he passed away.
After taking care of Zhang Jing's funeral, Shen Linger began to worry about her future life.
Zhang Jing is the only son in the family. His parents are also deceased and he has no other relatives or friends to rely on.
When he served as the prefect of Qi County, Zhang Jing's family lived in the prefect's mansion and did not purchase any real estate. After Zhang Jing's death, the court also sent a new prefect.
Currently, Shen Ling'er can only rely on Zhang Jing's reputation during his lifetime and live in the mansion of a local wealthy gentleman. She has no choice but to write to her father for help.
Shen Xiyao put down the letter and said.
"Let my aunt and her family come back. Our Shen family is already very small, and there are still a few spare yards in our house. It will be more lively when my aunt and her family come back."
"Well, that's what I have in mind. I'll ask the housekeeper to arrange for someone to pick them up tomorrow."
Early the next morning, Shen Xiyao continued to practice, wash up, and change clothes as before when she was in the Tianfeng Army.
After that, Shen Ao specially accompanied Shen Xiyao to the palace to report, waiting for the emperor to summon him at any time.
Yang Ke has sent someone to wait for Shen Xiyao at the entrance of the palace.
Seeing Shen Ao and Shen Xiyao coming together, he quickly saluted Shen Ao, exchanged a few words, and took Shen Xiyao to a courtyard in the imperial city.
This place is called Changshi's Mansion, which is where Changshi's office is used. There are three entrances to the courtyard, and there are many houses, but less than half of them are used to store memorials, books and materials.
Shen Xiyao was not the only one who served the emperor. In addition to the regular attendants, there were also more than a dozen ministers.
The leading servant received Shen Xiyao warmly, took Shen Xiyao around the government office, and after making some introductions, began to arrange Shen Xiyao.
Because of the differences between men and women, Shen Xiyao was assigned to a separate office and did not work together with other colleagues.
Throughout the morning, the emperor did not summon Shen Xiyao. Several other colleagues were summoned by the emperor and left with their respective memorials.
Chang Chun came over to see Shen Xiyao in the middle of the morning and made a few remarks.
This made the other regular attendants and ministers stop their contempt. Even those who complained about Shen Xiyao monopolizing a government office did not dare to say anything more.
Shen Xiyao was also relieved.
In the past, more than a dozen colleagues came to meet me under different excuses. Moreover, it would be a waste of time for them to enter the house.
Every time someone comes, he has to get up and go out to talk to his colleagues. Moreover, these people have a lot of temptations in their words. He can only deal with it carefully. If he can't answer it, no matter how he handles it, he won't be able to deal with it well.
Seeing that the hour was about to pass, Shen Xiyao packed up her things, asked for a leave from the minister, and left the imperial city.
Rushing back to the Marquis Mansion in Northern Hebei, Shen Xiyao changed back into women's clothes. Yunxiang and a few maids helped to decorate her lips, apply indigo and yellow flowers, and then took Yunxiang and Ziling out.
Shen Xiyao has only heard of the name Qingya Garden and has never been there. She heard that cultural gatherings and poetry gatherings are often held here. She has received several invitations since Ji Ji, but unfortunately she is really not good at it. I didn’t participate in the poetry and compositions. Once I came and went, no one invited me anymore.
Arriving at the gate of Qingya Garden, as soon as Shen Xiyao jumped out of the carriage, a beautiful maid came to greet her. After receiving a blessing, she asked.
"But is it Miss Xiyao, the grandson of Marquis Shen?"
The sound is quite nice.
"She is my young lady."
Yunxiang took a few steps forward to answer.
The maid bowed again.
"I have met Miss Shen. My master has been waiting for a long time. Miss, please come."
Shen Xiyao nodded and followed the maid inside.
Qingya Garden deserves its name of Qingya.
The path paved with bluestones is winding and interspersed with various flowers and trees; pavilions and waterside pavilions appear from time to time, surrounded by flowing water and strange rocks; there are also several small lakes dotted in between, with remnant lotuses standing tall.
A master and two servants walked along and admired the scenery in the garden. Zi Ling opened her big eyes, looked around, pointed, and whispered a few words to Yun Xiang.
Not long after, Shen Xiyao was taken to a forest in the garden. A small stream meandered by, and the sound of tinkling could be heard. There was an open space in the forest, and several pictures were placed on the brocade carpet. Small table.
Two women were talking when they heard the sound of footsteps and stopped talking.
The maid who led the way bowed.
"Princess, Miss Shen has arrived."
Upon hearing the maid's report, a woman wearing a lotus-colored cross-collar skirt waved and came up to her and bowed.
"Sister Xiyao, I took the liberty of inviting you. I hope you can forgive me for being rude."
Shen Xiyao looked at the person coming and vaguely found the figure of this person in her memory.
"Are you Chu Qingying?"
Chu Qingying smiled like a flower and stepped forward to hold Shen Xiyao.
"It seems that my sister has forgotten me. It's also my fault that I didn't get close to her more, so I'm a little distant. I hope my sister won't blame me. Come on, sister, please take a seat."
As expected of the prime minister's grandson, he is good at dancing. After just a few words, he became very close to Shen Xiyao, and there was no sense of unfamiliarity.
The guests and hosts were seated separately. A servant came forward and brought exquisite dishes and fruit wine. A maid even knelt down at the table for several people, pouring wine and serving dishes.
Only then did Shen Xiyao have the opportunity to look at the two of them carefully.
Chu Qingying is probably in her 20s or so. She has a round face, a pair of clear white eyes that can speak, and a straight nose. She always has a smile on her small mouth.
The other woman, dressed in royal attire, was noble and proud, and was a little older than Chu Qingying. Guazi also had a slight smile on her face, but this smile was not necessarily sincere, and seemed more out of politeness.
Chu Qingying spoke first.
"This is Princess Zhu'an, the eldest daughter of King Lu. I heard about my sister and wanted to get to know each other. I learned that my sister and I are old, so we organized today's banquet. Oh, by the way, I haven't congratulated my sister on her promotion to the permanent attendant. Let me toast my sister with the princess’s fine wine.”
Having said that, he raised his glass.
"Today is mainly Qingying's banquet, so Shen Changshi doesn't need to be restrained."
Princess Zhu'an also raised her wine glass.
Shen Xiyao also had a drink together.
It is said to be wine, but in fact it is just a kind of fruit juice. It is sour and sweet. It has been chilled and cool, which makes it taste better and not too alcoholic.