Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 108: A censored version of the imperial edict?
"A tremendous achievement?"

Yan Maoqing was even more confused upon hearing this. He couldn't recall ever making any merit, let alone a "huge merit."
"Where is the imperial edict? Does it mention what merits were made?"

"The imperial edict has naturally been put away by the lady; how could I dare to touch it so easily?"

Bai Sheng thought Yan Maoqing was being deliberately modest, so he winked and smiled in agreement.

"At that time, I knelt down with Madam to receive the decree, and I did not hear the palace eunuchs mention any specific merits. However, Madam does not know about these merits, I do not know about them, so how could Master not know about them?"

Seeing that there was nothing more to say to this self-important fellow, Yan Maoqing turned to ask:
Where is the lady now?

"They are waiting for you in the main room, sir. I will lead you there now."

Bai Sheng quickly bowed and led the way.

A moment later, Yan Maoqing passed through two archways reminiscent of Suzhou gardens and quickly entered the main hall.

Then, he was dazzled by the bright scene before him.

Bai Lu stood stiffly inside the room, like a shop mannequin from a later era.

She wore a three-pearl crown with gold and silver shimmering and jewels, and a colorful sash with cloud and mandarin duck patterns, as dazzling as the sunset, draped over her shoulders, like a rainbow, around her neck and down to her chest, exuding an aura of wealth and nobility.

She wore a bright red robe over a light blue kimono, with a patch on the chest resembling a Ming Dynasty official's robe.

However, this insignia was not the "wolf in sheep's clothing" insignia commonly seen in official circles, but rather it was embroidered with two mandarin ducks playing together in the water.

"This is?!"

Yan Maoqing stared wide-eyed. This hypocrite's attire was clearly that of a scoundrel!

"My lord, do I look beautiful today?"

Bai Lu was still unaware of what Yan Maoqing was thinking. She was still posing like a clothes rack, blinking her beautiful eyes and giving him a flirtatious wink.

"She looks beautiful! My wife looks good in everything!"

Despite his panic, Yan Maoqing first offered Bai Lu some emotional support before hurriedly asking,

"Is this the reward that the Emperor ordered the palace eunuchs to deliver?"

"It's all thanks to my husband that the Emperor bestowed upon me the title of a fifth-rank noblewoman. If I were to return to my hometown now, even the prefect would treat me with the utmost respect."

As she spoke, Bai Lu stiffly took out a silk scroll with a rhinoceros horn handle from her bosom and happily showed it to Yan Maoqing.

"I've heard that this imperial edict is made of the finest silk, and the embroidered patterns are in the jade chopstick script, which is only used by the royal family. If it weren't for my husband's great achievement this time, I'm afraid I would never have had the honor of seeing it in my life."

"..."

Upon hearing these words, Yan Maoqing was completely stunned.

After he read the so-called imperial edict, he was completely stunned.

The title of "Fifth-Rank Imperial Lady" is actually just a common saying, which Bai Lu doesn't quite understand. According to the official definition, Bai Lu's current rank and title should be "Fifth-Rank Yiren".

However, those who received official titles from the first to the fifth rank all received imperial edicts, which all contained the words "By Imperial Decree". Therefore, it is not wrong to call them "Ladies of Imperial Decree", as this is a common term that ordinary people can understand.

Those below the fifth rank received imperial edicts bearing the words "By Imperial Decree," and were therefore known among the common people as "Imperial Decree Ladies."

But that's not the point, absolutely not the point!

The key question is why the emperor would inexplicably send such an award that is both illogical and violates the imperial decree system.

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, even if a wife was granted an official title, her rank should usually be subordinate to that of her husband and son.

In other words, it would be more reasonable for Bai Lu to be granted the title of Fifth-Rank Imperial Concubine when Yan Maoqing reached the rank of Fifth-Rank official, and it would be more reasonable for Bai Lu to be granted the title of Second-Rank Imperial Concubine when Yan Maoqing reached the rank of Second-Rank official.

Therefore, there is another way to describe the title of Lady of Imperial Decree: "Lady of Harmonious Destiny," where "harmonious" means to cooperate, coordinate, or be appropriate. Zhu Houcong's bestowal of such a title seems illogical no matter how you look at it.

It even inexplicably created a situation where the woman was stronger than the man in their home, which seemed somewhat inconsistent with the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues strongly advocated by the official schools of the Ming Dynasty. If word got out, it would probably immediately attract a lot of great Confucian scholars to jump up and oppose it.

Therefore, Yan Maoqing couldn't understand for a moment what Zhu Houcong meant by this action.

Could it be that he offended Zhu Houcong a few days ago when he entered the palace to assist in the investigation of the palace coup, and Zhu Houcong retaliated against him under the guise of reward?
It's not impossible, after all, Yan Maoqing did more than just expose his tacit approval of alchemists and sorcerers harvesting flowers from palace maids to make elixirs.

He even deliberately took the opportunity of refuting Tao Zhongwen to bring up the embarrassing story of how he was almost forced to retire to the inner palace to become the retired emperor after being deceived by a sorcerer. He couldn't possibly not feel embarrassed about this, otherwise he wouldn't have been beaten to death when Yang Zui, the Minister of the Imperial Stud, gave his honest advice.

But wasn't it too childish for Zhu Houcong to retaliate against him in this way, like playing a game of stepping on his toes?

Zhu Houcong, you're supposed to be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, can't you be a little more mature?!

Do you dare to strip me of my status as a junior official without a word, order me to retire and return to my hometown to live out my days and never see me again? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation for both of us?
but……

To say that Zhu Houcong's actions were entirely out of revenge would not be entirely accurate.

After all, the title of Lady of Imperial Decree was ultimately a real honor, and it did indeed have many substantial benefits.

First of all, although the titled ladies did not hold any official position or real power, they did receive a salary. A fifth-rank titled lady could receive the salary of a fifth-rank official, which was money that she could receive for free without having to do anything.

Secondly, the families of the wives of noble ladies could also receive some tax or corvée reductions. This meant that in addition to the Yan family being exempt from taxes and corvée, the Bai family also had similar privileges. It would be strange if the Bai family didn't praise their son-in-law as a genius in the future.
Furthermore, the status of a Lady of Imperial Decree was a privilege granted by the emperor, granting her supreme judicial immunity, which was equivalent to a castrated version of the imperial decree.

This means that in the future, when people are involved in litigation, ordinary government offices will have no right to directly arrest and interrogate them.

Officials had to report to the Emperor first, and only after the Emperor personally revoked the title of Lady of Imperial Decree could they arrest someone. Even if someone was arrested and imprisoned, torture was not allowed without the Emperor's approval.

Therefore, Yan Maoqing was completely confused at this moment.

This reward was undeniably generous; aside from the difference in the powers that could be exercised, it could be considered a direct promotion from an unranked junior official to a fifth-rank official.

This is no promotion; it's more like a meteoric rise.

But why did Zhu Houcong do this?

Yan Maoqing really didn't understand what this so-called "great achievement" was that made Zhu Houcong treat him so suddenly... Wait!
Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked instinctively:
"By the way, Madam, do you know the name of the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial decree today?"

All I know is that his surname is Huang.

Seeing Yan Maoqing's face turn pale and then red, Bai Lu also became puzzled.

"Surname Huang... Could it be Huang Jin?"

Yan Maoqing was taken aback.

Bai Lu reminisced:

"I don't know either, I just noticed that his legs and feet seemed a little unsteady."

"That's Huang Jin!"

Yan Maoqing remembers clearly that Huang Jin did indeed slightly injure his knees a few days ago when he used the "Iron Knee Skill".

If Huang Jin himself came to deliver the imperial decree, then this "great achievement" would likely be shrouded in even more secrecy.

Could it be...? Yan Maoqing frowned, his eyes darting around frantically.

Could it be that Tao Zhongwen was the mastermind behind this palace coup? I was so focused on getting revenge that I fought him relentlessly, drove him to the brink of despair, and then he had a mental breakdown. After I left the palace, I confessed and got away with it?
No way, right?

Yan Maoqing would rather die than believe this guess was true; what a coincidence!

If that were the case, he couldn't even imagine how Zhu Houcong would view him in the future, and wouldn't the difficulty of retiring and returning to his hometown have become even greater?
But if not, where would this "enormous achievement" come from?

(End of this chapter)