Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

Chapter 216 Summoning

The imperial edict was very simple, praising him for doing a good job and rewarding him with some silver and treasures.

He was promoted from a sixth-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy to a sixth-rank reader in the Hanlin Academy, and was also given the honorary title of Left Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

The actual benefit is that one's salary can be increased by one level, and one can also cultivate a relationship with the future emperor, who is now the crown prince, in advance.

Although the Crown Prince is still very young, he has reached the age of enlightenment. If Deng Zechen, who is in charge of teaching the Crown Prince, can successfully establish a good relationship with him, wouldn't that be the standard configuration for a future Grand Secretary?

Of course, no one can predict the future, but at least at this moment, the greatest help this imperial edict brought to Deng Zechen was that it allowed him to firmly establish himself in the Hanlin Academy.

After all, His Majesty praised him for his good work and rewarded him. Who would dare to say he was wrong at this time?

Deng Zechen had long been aware of this, and at this moment he seemed overly nonchalant. Only after the messenger left did the somewhat tense atmosphere in the Hanlin Academy gradually begin to stir again.

Cui Shubai smiled brightly, as if he were the one who had been rewarded: "Congratulations, Brother Deng! You truly deserve to be called the unprecedented Six Hundred ...

"Stop teasing me. It's just a coincidence. But you, I heard you're getting married soon?"

When this was mentioned, Cui Shubai unusually seemed a little embarrassed, but he still repeatedly said, "Definitely! Definitely! It would be wonderful if Brother Deng were willing to go. We will definitely reserve a seat of honor for Brother Deng."

Cui Shubai's marriage has indeed been arranged, and the wedding date is set for about a month from now. At this time, the Cui family and the Wang family are already making preparations in full swing.

He had originally planned to invite Deng Zechen, but Deng Zechen brought it up himself, which was perfect.

After all, Grand Secretary Wang had inquired about this matter. If he couldn't even handle such a small matter, it would inevitably have some impact on him.

After this incident, the people in the Hanlin Academy treated Deng Zechen in a completely different way. Although there weren't many people who ridiculed him before, their words were indeed quite harsh.

To be honest, how many of those who say these things are really acting out of respect for the so-called rules? Most of them are just jealous, as if stepping down this top scholar who has been in the limelight will make them stand out even higher.

Now that he found that Deng Zechen's foot mat was not only difficult to step on, but also had thorns that could easily prick him, he naturally gave up on it.

"So, he never wrote any more storybooks?"

Sun Junyue finally had some free time recently, and her youngest son also returned to the capital, so she simply pushed all the work at hand onto her son.

Thinking that I hadn't heard from Deng Zechen in a long time, I asked him, but I didn't expect to hear this unexpected news.

"Yes, I suppose the Hanlin Academy is too busy with official duties to spare the time."

Sun Junyue didn't speak, but the maid next to her, who had grown into a graceful young woman, added her guess: "It shouldn't be entirely for that reason. A while ago, a popular story in the capital was about the top scholar saving the third-ranked scholar on horseback." This story became very popular as soon as it came out and influenced many people, including him.

Furthermore, many subsequent storybooks featuring Deng Zechen, the Six-Yuan Duke, as the protagonist, sold very well, while others were less popular in comparison.

Sun Junyue was wearing a long, dark-colored silk jacket with dark patterns, her long hair loosely tied up with a jade hairpin. She was sitting on a mahogany chair, looking very relaxed.

Hearing his subordinates' words, he lightly tapped the fingertips of a new storybook that he had only turned two pages of, and couldn't help but chuckle: "What you said makes sense. This book has a free and unconventional writing style, a novel tone, and a plot structure that is very different from the current books."

People are naturally fickle and love excitement, but I don't know what Deng Zechen was thinking; he's the one who cut off his source of income.

"If Master is curious, why not just call him over and ask him?"

Sun Junyue hadn't summoned Qin Keqing for a while. On the one hand, she had her own things to do, and on the other hand, she saw that Qin Keqing was gradually getting rid of the shadows of the past and didn't want to disturb her new life.

Born into a family like theirs, ordinariness is the most precious thing. The feuds between the elders have nothing to do with these younger generations; they just need to live their own lives well.

However, Sun Junyue was indeed curious about Deng Zechen's current situation. "To be honest, he is indeed an interesting person. He just said he didn't want to do this business."

After a pause, Sun Junyue calmly instructed, "Go, send someone to invite him to the princess's residence. There's no need to pretend anymore; it's something everyone already knows. Besides, he's now an official in the court, and he'll find out about these things sooner or later."

Also, tell him to bring Qing'er along. I haven't seen her for a while, and I miss her a bit.

"Yes, this servant will go and fetch him right away."

Sun Junyue said no more, waved her hand to signal her to leave, and then looked at another woman beside her who seemed very uncomfortable.

"What? You're still holding a grudge against him? Haven't you been saying you wanted to see your sister? Now I'm arranging for you two to meet. Aren't you happy?"

The woman parted her lips slightly, but ultimately said nothing. She seemed to be thinking of something unpleasant, yet also somewhat expectant, her expression quite complex.

It was Bai Shuang'er, who had been severely tormented by Deng Zechen, escaped, and was then captured again.

"I wouldn't say I hate him; after all, I wouldn't trust a stranger of unknown origin so easily either. But he was far too ruthless—"

When Bai Shuang'er fell into Deng Zechen's hands, her arms were dislocated and she was tied up the whole way. Even now, when she talks about it again, she still feels a slight pain in her joints.

Sun Junyue also felt that Deng Zechen's actions were too unexpected. It was normal to be wary, but to be so ruthless towards such a beautiful woman who looked so much like Qin Keqing was unacceptable.

It was really true—but she couldn't say that Deng Zechen was wrong, so she could only take sides: "What's past is past. He was right to be careful in that situation. Don't hold a grudge against him because of this."

Bai Shuang'er remained silent for a long time before speaking again: "I can let bygones be bygones, but now I just want to ask him what his relationship with my sister is."

I heard you say my sister has been living at his house for a while now, so why aren't they married yet?

In fact, Sun Junyue had considered arranging their marriage directly, but Qin Keqing had not given up, so Sun Junyue had to give up the idea for the time being.

"You can ask them that question yourself; I can't interfere in young people's affairs."