Qing Yao

Chapter 428 The Knife Handle is Number One!

The woman in the study was Feng Jiwen, the principal wife of Heshen. She came from a prestigious family; her grandfather was Feng Yinglian, the former Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Justice. She had been married to Heshen for twenty years, and although she was nearly forty, she was well-maintained and appeared dignified.

The young woman with beautiful features was Heshen's daughter-in-law, also known as the old master's most beloved tenth princess.

Two years ago, when the princess married her husband Fengshen Yinde, the old master bestowed upon his daughter and son-in-law a one-time gift of jewelry and antiques worth one million taels of silver, in addition to another 300,000 taels of silver. The wedding was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Qianqing Palace. Such favors bestowed upon a princess since the founding of the Qing Dynasty were unprecedented.

After getting married, the young couple were very loving and inseparable.

Princess Heshen was virtuous and kind. She was extremely respectful to her parents-in-law and treated the servants in the household very well. She was very popular in the household, and Heshen was extremely satisfied with this daughter-in-law. Now he just hoped that his daughter-in-law could give birth to a grandson for him as soon as possible.

The pretty and lively woman next to the princess is her sister-in-law, Weiwei, whose mother is Feng Jiwen, the legal wife of Heshen.

Weiwei also has a younger sister named Nemo, who is two years younger than her. However, Nemo's mother is not Feng Jiwen, but Changshi, another favorite concubine of Heshen, who is referred to as the Second Madam in the mansion.

Chang was born into an ordinary Mongolian herdsman from the Plain Blue Banner outside the Great Wall. At the age of eleven, she was bought as a slave by the family of Cao Siyuan of the Ministry of Justice. Because of her beautiful appearance, she was later taken as a concubine by Cao Siyuan.

Later, in order to obtain a position in the Autumn Trial Department of the Ministry of Justice, Cao gave Chang to Heshen. After entering Heshen's mansion, Chang was favored because of her capable handling of affairs. She is now in charge of the mansion's finances and is a core figure in the mansion. Outsiders call her "Second Madam Chang".

Feng Jiwen knew that her husband was going to receive outsiders in his study today, but there was no rule among Manchu women that female relatives could not receive guests. In addition, she had only brought her daughter-in-law and daughter to pick up the pair of enamel vases in her husband's study, so she simply pushed the door open and came in.

"My lord, the princess said she wants to come and pay her respects to you, and also to see the pair of enamel vases you recently acquired. If you are fond of the princess, then you should give these two treasures to her."

Zhao An found Feng Jiwen's voice extremely pleasing, as if a bespectacled forty-year-old female homeroom teacher were whispering in his ear.

On the surface, however, he appeared extremely respectful, not daring to show the slightest frivolity.

She was the principal wife of the second emperor, and since the Qing Dynasty no longer had an empress, calling her "Empress" was quite appropriate.

Feng Jiwen smiled and glanced at Zhao An, who had already stood up and bowed slightly. She was quite curious to see that he was a young man, because in the past, the men who came to wish her husband a Happy New Year were all old men in their forties or fifties, and they were all either ministers or vice ministers. There was no one this young.

Since Heshen hadn't revealed the three women's identities, Zhao An couldn't just perform a casual greeting. He stood there cautiously, not daring to stare at the three women. When he looked down, he noticed that the woman in front of him had a slightly protruding belly, as if she were pregnant.

I couldn't help but recall that historical records say Heshen had a second son, but he died shortly after birth. Heshen was heartbroken and even wrote a poem to mourn his deceased son.

"Just send someone to fetch it, why bother coming all the way? If the princess likes such a precious treasure, how could I, as her father, hide it from her?"

Heshen laughed heartily, while the Tenth Princess stepped forward and bowed to Heshen, saying, "Your wife greets Father, wishing you a Happy New Year!"

Her voice was clear and melodious, just like Wanqing's.

"May you be blessed, Mother!"

Weiwei also stepped forward to greet her father, then looked curiously at Zhao An standing there, wondering who he was.

Weiwei didn't attend the New Year's Eve party or the old master's family banquet, so she didn't know Zhao An's identity. The princess, however, had come to the palace with her husband to attend the family banquet, and naturally knew who Zhao An was. She then turned to her sister-in-law and told her about Zhao An's identity.

Heshen smiled and waved at Zhao An: "Haven't you greeted Her Highness the Princess yet?"

Zhao An then feigned a look of fear and stepped forward to perform a grand salute: "This servant Zhao Youlu greets Your Highness, Princess!"

"Lord Zhao, please get up. Don't squander the New Year's money my father gave you; it's worth a lot of money if you sell it to someone else."

The tenth princess looked Zhao An up and down with a smile, her tone casual and without any airs of a princess.

At the madam's signal, two maids took down a pair of precious vases from the bookshelf, and Feng Jiwen smiled as she led her daughter-in-law and daughter back home. Silence returned to the study.

After taking a sip of tea, Heshen said seemingly casually, "Fu Zhongtang told me that you did a really good job in Anhui, and that you were very dedicated in every aspect. You can take off the title of acting magistrate."

Upon hearing this, Zhao An knelt down and kowtowed in excitement.

Bearing the title of "acting" is always a illegitimate and improper position, just like a pseudo-core cultivator. Once that title is removed, he becomes a true core cultivator.

"Get up,"

Heshen's voice was calm, revealing little emotion. "Even if Lord Fu hadn't mentioned it, I would have kept this in mind. I originally planned to make arrangements after the spring, but I didn't expect Lord Fu to think so highly of you. I'll take care of this for you after the Lantern Festival, so that Lord Fu won't say that I don't care enough about my subordinates."

Just as Zhao An was about to get up, his heart suddenly tightened, and he quickly pressed his head to the ground, saying in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency, please understand! In my heart, only Your Excellency is my benefactor. Everything I do is to serve Your Excellency. I will follow Your Excellency to the death. If I have any disloyalty, may I be struck dead by heavenly lightning!"

These words were spoken with absolute certainty, almost as if he were about to swear a solemn oath by pointing his finger at the Forbidden City.

Heshen gently stirred the floating leaves with the cup lid without making a sound.

The faint sound of porcelain clinking together made Zhao An's heartstrings taut.

After a long while, Heshen slowly spoke, "Zhao Youlu, it's good that you have this intention, and I believe you. However, there are some things I should say to you. Fu Zhongtang is a good person, but his elder brother, who is a general, is arrogant and intolerant of any wrongdoing. He and I don't get along. If General Fu returns victorious from his expedition to the plateau, I'm afraid his temperament will be even more domineering and intolerant than before."

Point to end.

Without any hesitation, Zhao An said in a deep voice, "This servant only knows of the Grand Secretary, not of any Great General! This servant is merely the Grand Secretary's henchman. If the Grand Secretary commands anything, this servant will gladly die for him!"

Looking up at Zhao An's tense yet incredibly respectful and devout face, Heshen smiled slightly, gently put down his teacup, and nodded, saying, "It's good that you understand. Sit down and let's talk."

"Whoo!"

Zhao An carefully sat down, still with half of his buttocks dangling in the air.

Heshen suddenly said, "There is something I need to tell you. The Emperor wants Shulin, the governor of Shanxi, to be appointed as the governor-general of Liangjiang after the Lantern Festival. Shulin and I are not on good terms. Anhui is under the jurisdiction of Liangjiang. I am afraid that Shulin will target you. Tell me, if Shulin really does this, how will you deal with it?"

Zhao An paused for a moment to think, then said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, this servant will diligently fulfill my duties."

"Should we just stay within our bounds?"

He Shen hummed in agreement. “Being mindful of one’s duties, yes, one should be mindful of one’s duties. Whether as a person or as an official, one must be mindful of one’s duties. If one is mindful of one’s duties, others will have little reason to criticize you.”

The following words sounded like a soliloquy, yet also like a speech directed at Zhao An: "But the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease. Sun Shiyi has been transferred to Sichuan, Shulin has taken over Liangjiang, and Zhu Gui is going to Liangguang. What is the deeper meaning behind the master's arrangements?"

Zhao An cautiously glanced at Heshen and noticed that the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty had a furrowed brow. An idea struck him, and he lowered his voice and said, "Your Excellency, I have come to understand a principle while suppressing bandits in Anhui. This principle may be able to relieve Your Excellency's worries."

"Oh, what's the reasoning behind that?"

Heshen looked at Zhao An with curiosity.

Meeting Heshen's gaze, Zhao An boldly said, "Your Excellency, the principle is that no matter how fierce the storm, as long as you hold the hilt of a knife, you can carve a path through it!"

(End of this chapter)