Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 334 As expected, he is the emperor (1)

After Luo Tianyi left, the bedroom became quiet.

After taking off his outer garment, Song Yan lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, but he wasn't sleepy at all.

Song Yan was somewhat curious about ancient officials attending court, but not overly excited. However, he was well aware that this court session would not be easy. Previously, Song Yan was either in Ningping or Pingyang, far from the emperor's reach. Even if he did something, those in the court who were hostile to him could not do anything to him. But now that he had arrived in Dongling, he had lost his foothold, and those who were dissatisfied with him before would probably become restless.

But it's not a big problem; we can always handle it.

Without realizing it, Song Yan raised his hand. Looking at his fingers, he had a strange expression. What exactly happened just now? Why did he reach out and pinch his sister-in-law's face?
Could it be that Luo Tianyi's puffed-up face looks just too cute?
Not to the point.

Such an action was rather reckless. Fortunately, his sister-in-law was still angry at the time and didn't notice anything amiss. If she had drawn her sword in anger and chopped him down, that would have been troublesome. Speaking of which, although his sister-in-law usually seems cold, her fingers are actually quite warm to the touch.

That's it.

The grand court assembly starts very early; he mustn't be unable to get up on time. Falling asleep during the assembly would be a grave offense. Thinking this, Song Yan closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep. But once darkness enveloped him, his mind became increasingly uncontrollable, his thoughts racing!
In the room next to Song Yan's, there was another person tossing and turning on the bed.

Luo Tianyi's eyes widened, her pearly white teeth biting her lower lip hard, a blush creeping up her face. She had no idea how much willpower she had used to keep from making any strange noises when her brother-in-law's finger was out. Her face must have been red at that moment.

"Woo..."

As if unable to control herself, Luo Tianyi let out a mournful cry.

She rolled over on the bed again, her long legs wrapped around the blanket, and her cheeks puffed out.

Brother-in-law, what exactly does that mean?

A quiet night.

Neither of them could sleep.

……

Before dawn, there was a knock on the door, and Song Yan got out of bed.

Both eyes seemed a little sore, and he kept yawning.

He changed into the count's official robes. Since it was court, he had to be more formal and couldn't be as casual as before. He was only temporarily acting as the governor of Pingyang, so he didn't have the governor's robes.

Opening the door, I saw Fang Hai standing outside.

A creaking sound came from the side as well. Song Yan turned his head and saw that his sister-in-law had also woken up. She was still sleepy and drowsy. She covered her mouth with her small hand and let out a soft "ha-hoo". As if she could feel Song Yan's gaze, a blush quietly rose on her face.

"Huh?" Fang Hai looked at Song Yan, then at Luo Tianyi: "Didn't you two get enough rest yesterday?"

"Could it be that you're not used to the bed?"

"Just tell me if you have any requests, and I'll arrange for a maid to change."

Song Yan then awkwardly looked away: "I'm just a little unaccustomed to Dongling. Are we going to court now?"

“Of course.” Fang Hai nodded, thinking to himself that this was something that had been discussed long ago, so there was no need to ask. “The court assembly is a bit early. Nephew, you are not often in Dongling, so you are not very clear about it. You will get used to it. It is almost dawn now, and we should set off.”

It's almost Mao Shi (5-7 AM), which is still before 5 AM.

Song Yan was somewhat helpless. Were people in ancient times all so energetic?
It's 5 a.m. How did you manage to get out of bed?
No wonder people in ancient times didn't live long; Song Yan strongly suspects it was related to insufficient sleep.

While inwardly grumbling, Song Yan still looked at Luo Tianyi, gave her a brief instruction, and then followed Fang Hai. Riding in the carriage, which swayed along the way, Fang Hai pulled a steamed bun wrapped in oiled paper from his pocket and handed it to Song Yan. Seeing Song Yan's suspicious expression, Fang Hai explained that court assemblies often lasted quite long, sometimes an hour, two hours, or even three hours, and breakfast was usually missed. Therefore, officials needed to eat something before attending court to fill their stomachs.

In addition, you shouldn't drink too much water.

If one has to urinate during a court assembly, although it will not result in punishment, it is still quite embarrassing.

Song Yan suddenly realized that there were other things involved. For the rest of the journey, Fang Hai explained some precautions to Song Yan.

About fifteen minutes later, the carriage stopped.

The moment he stepped out of the carriage, a magnificent palace appeared before Song Yan.

The vermilion palace walls gleamed with a dark golden light in the morning glow, and dewdrops condensed on the glazed tiles rolled down, shattering into fine mist before the white marble steps. The nine-tiered palace unfolded along the central axis, with dragon-head ornaments crouching on the eaves and brackets, seemingly breathing out clouds and mist.

It was luxurious, on a completely different level from other buildings in Dongling City.

A sense of curiosity arose in Song Yan's heart. He wondered how the palace of Ning Kingdom compared to the Forbidden City of his previous life. The Forbidden City was the palace of the last feudal dynasty, and its construction techniques were naturally incomparable to those of a thousand years ago. It should be better than that... Unfortunately, Song Yan was unable to visit the Forbidden City in his previous life and wondered what it was like.

At the entrance, one could see the imperial guards, each standing ramrod straight, their faces solemn, clad in armor and carrying long swords, fully armed. Some officials were also preparing to enter the palace; upon seeing Fang Hai, they hurried over to greet him. After all, he was the eldest son of the Fang family, the future head of the family, and these officials dared not be disrespectful.

Fang Hai kept smiling the whole time, showing no sign of impatience. He returned the greetings one by one and introduced the identities of the people to Song Yan. They were probably all royalists, with titles like Vice Minister, Physician, Attendant, and Censor. The official titles were a bit complicated, so Song Yan couldn't remember them all. Most of them were quite friendly, but he could also clearly sense that a few people were looking at him with a hint of dissatisfaction.

I glanced at these people briefly; they were all dressed as civil officials.

After thinking it over, Song Yan understood.

Most likely it was because of the previous execution of Qian Yaozu and more than a hundred officials. Although Xilin Academy was not from the same faction as them, the execution of so many scholars still aroused the dissatisfaction and hostility of these civil officials.

Song Yan didn't take it too seriously. There were also some people watching him from afar. If the civil officials around Fang Hai were only vaguely dissatisfied with him, then these people didn't even pretend. The hostility and hatred in their eyes were almost overflowing.

These people were likely officials from powerful families affiliated with the Yang family, or scholar-officials from the Bailu Academy. After exchanging pleasantries, the group entered through the Meridian Gate. The tall and imposing red gate tower, adorned with golden glazed tiles, seemed to speak of the former grandeur of the imperial court.

Upon entering the palace, one finds a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten; winding corridors and soaring eaves; each building occupies its own terrain, interlocking and vying for prominence… Du Mu’s “Ode to the Epang Palace” is quite apt in describing the palace of Ningguo.

Flowers play with shadows, the moon shines, and the crystal palace flies amidst five-colored clouds... Zhao Ding's Partridge Sky is perhaps a bit exaggerated, after all, the Ning Kingdom's palace has not yet reached the point of being built with crystal. However, the palace is bright and clear, and the flowing clouds reflect the moon as if flying, which does have a dreamlike feeling.

The palace is very large.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they finally reached a high set of steps. Climbing the steps, the magnificent palace finally came into view. The palace was resplendent in gold and green, with sandalwood beams on the roof, jade walls serving as lamps on all four sides, and red pillars supporting the roof, each carved with a lifelike golden dragon, displaying the emperor's authority and majesty.

However, with the imperial power now in the hands of others, even the golden dragon on the red pillar has become slightly dim.

There were already quite a few officials in the imperial court.

It wasn't time for court yet, but people gathered in small groups, whispering among themselves.

Apart from Fang Hai and Fang De, Song Yan didn't know anyone else in this place, which made him seem somewhat out of place. After glancing around, Song Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he did actually know someone.

Lü Changqing.

Zhao Anze.

I once met two old men in Ningping County who were arguing endlessly about which law Zhang San violated by paying for his bill at a brothel with ghost money. In the end, they even dragged Song Yan into the Qunyu Garden and asked Song Yan to help them come up with legal questions.

I felt at the time that these two old men were extraordinary, and now that I look closely, it is indeed true.

Judging from their official robes, Lü Changqing should be the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Zhao Anze should be the Minister of Justice. Both are in charge of criminal punishment, but their jurisdictions and scopes are slightly different.

When Song Yan noticed the two old men, the two old men also noticed him. They winked at Song Yan and quickly looked away. Song Yan was not a stupid person. Seeing this, he understood that Zhao Anze and Lü Changqing did not want anyone to know about his relationship with them. They must have some concerns. Naturally, he would not rush up to greet them.

With a smile, Song Yan walked towards a spot a little further back.

There, too, was an old acquaintance, Jiao Junze.

Although Jiao Junze had visited Dongling several times to report on his duties, he didn't know many people in the court because he spent most of his time living in Dingzhou. In addition, given the current climate of valuing civil officials over military ones, few people respected him as a prefect who came from a military background.

He was still alone in the corner at this moment, looking rather pitiful.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, he looked up and saw Song Yan, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

"Brother Jiao."

"Brother Song." With a familiar face around, Song Yan felt that Jiao Junze seemed much more relaxed, and the repression and unease in his eyes gradually dissipated: "Didn't we agree that you would meet me when we arrived in Dongling? I waited for a long time at the inn, but I didn't see Brother Song. I thought you had encountered some trouble."

His words carried a mixture of complaint and relief.

After Jiao Junze mentioned it, Song Yan remembered that there was such a thing. He had completely forgotten about it. Seeing Jiao Junze's worried look, he felt a little embarrassed and quickly apologized to get rid of the matter: "By the way, Brother Jiao, where exactly should we stand when the court assembly starts later?"

There are rules about seating arrangements at court assemblies; you can't just stand wherever you want.

The core principle is that civil officials are on the left and military officials on the right, and rank determines the order.

If they are of the same rank, then compare their titles and departments.

Just like Yang Hetong and Fang De, one was the Grand Secretary and the other was the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. They were of the same rank, both were Dukes, and had the same title. Under these circumstances, Fang De also had the title of Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes, so he naturally had to stand at the top among the civil officials.

Among the departments, the Ministry of Personnel was at the top, followed by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works.

Then came the Censorate, the Imperial Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review.

Furthermore, officials in the capital were superior to those in local areas.

Officials from other regions like Song Yan and Jiao Junze, who returned to Beijing to report on their duties, were even further back in the list.

Jiao Junze could understand Song Yan's confusion. He thought that when he first attended court, he was even less confident than Song Yan. Hearing this, he simply patted Song Yan on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much. We'll just stand at the back later. If we accidentally stand in front of an official of higher rank than us, we might get retaliated against."

Song Yan nodded in deep agreement, saying that the saying "a prime minister's belly can hold a boat" was mostly nonsense, and in reality, officials were all petty and narrow-minded.

They whispered to each other, then stepped back and stood in the ranks of the right-hand generals.

The position of the governor is somewhat awkward now. He is in charge of the military and political affairs of a region. He can be considered a military officer, but he can also be considered a civil official.

As the time drew to a close, the murmurs in the court gradually subsided, and the civil and military officials returned to their positions, waiting quietly. Before long, an old eunuch holding a whisk emerged from the side.

"The Emperor has arrived."

With a hoarse voice, the grand court assembly officially began.

A figure clad in a golden dragon robe finally appeared before Song Yan. Wearing a crown, he sat upright on the dragon throne. He did not exude the domineering aura of "Flying Sword Technique: Floating Clouds" or "All the Lords from the West," but rather a deep weariness.

A familiar face.

Song Yan sighed softly: Sure enough, he is the emperor.

(End of this chapter)