Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

The eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

Early morning consultation.

Inside the government office, Dou Fengjie followed closely, responding to the registrar's calls and bowing to Tang Jian, the Minister of Ceremonies.

Tang Jian, who had been nodding slightly, lingered his gaze on Dou Fengjie for a long time: "The Director of Foreign Affairs is on a mission, and the office cannot be without a leader for even a day. Director Dou will temporarily assume the position of Director of Foreign Affairs."

Dou Fengjie looked slightly surprised.

Based on seniority, it is clear that the matriarch of the Bureau of Guests, Mu Zhancheng, is more suitable to temporarily act as the Bureau Chief.

Liu Shan, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, smiled and said, "Although the Ministry of Personnel has blocked your qualifications for your many merits, the Court of State Ceremonies cannot reward you without considering your contributions."

The Court of State Ceremonial still had the authority to temporarily appoint a seventh-rank official as a substitute official, and even Yang Shidao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had to reluctantly accept it.

Changsun Huan, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, said with a sour face, "If you weren't the only one who could suppress them, do you think you would have gotten this benefit?"

Changsun Huan's words were unpleasant to hear, but they were the truth.

Even if everything goes smoothly, it would take at least a month for Zhao Dekai, the Director of the Imperial Household Department, to travel to Damomen City of Tuyuhun.

After all, a normal land journey would take 30 li per day by car, 50 li per day on foot, and 70 li per day on horseback.

This speed was approved by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Finance.

Moreover, according to the speculation of the Minister of State Ceremonies and several of his subordinates, Zhao Dekai's trip was not so peaceful, and he might even be in danger of losing his life.

Sacrificing oneself for righteousness was also the mission of the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Dou Fengjie accepted the order, but showed no expression.

There was no way around it; with the title of a first-rank duke and a sixth-rank official in the civil service, even temporarily holding the position of Director of the Bureau of Guests was unlikely to stir any emotion in him.

Back in his quarters at the Bureau of Guests, all his colleagues came to congratulate him, including the mother of the Bureau Chief, Zhan Cheng.

Regardless of Dou Fengjie's identity, just the things he did in the past ten days or so have won the hearts and minds of these officials.

The important thing is that although Dou Fengjie is only nineteen years old, he is magnanimous and responsible. Who wouldn't want to work for such a person?

If it weren't for Shangguan's unyielding spirit and refusal to marry Princess Yongjia, he would probably be a high-ranking official of the third rank by now!

"Follow the established rules; we'll discuss whether changes are necessary when specific issues arise."

"Remind the officials of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs to keep a close eye on the actions of the foreign tribes and to communicate with them promptly if anything happens."

Dou Fengjie ate the tea soup prepared by Beimen Shuang, his smile remaining gentle.

If the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial had kept a closer eye on Murong Xiaojun's attempt to bribe Li Xusheng, Dou Fengjie wouldn't have needed to deploy a miniature drone to monitor the situation.

"Shangguan is right! Let's work even harder from now on!"

Mother Zhancheng's small eyes narrowed into slits, her face full of smiles.

He didn't want to take over the job of acting as the censor; the key was that he was afraid Dou Fengjie would give bad instructions.

It seems alright now; Dou Fengjie knew what was important, and the additional sentence he added was reasonable.

What I fear most is a superior who knows absolutely nothing, writes a few hundred words of utter nonsense, and then forces his subordinates to write tens of thousands of words of reflections.

Experience his ancestors for eighteen generations!

"Hehe, the superior is indeed considerate of his subordinates!"

Beimen Shuang, who was refilling Dou Fengjie's tea, grinned, revealing two large front teeth, looking somewhat like a "rat."

Dou Fengjie's suggestion was not a demand, but merely a suggestion.

Anyone who works diligently, even if they are not promoted, can at least improve their ranking in the Ministry of Personnel's performance evaluation.

You should know that if you get a passing grade, you can get an extra quarter's salary!

Dou Fengjie added, "By the way, to avoid any impropriety, officials of this office should ideally travel in pairs or more when meeting foreigners in the future, to facilitate proving their innocence."

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhancheng sighed, "Although Shangguan is young, he acts with maturity."

"By operating in this manner, the safety of the officials in charge of the guesthouse will be virtually guaranteed!"

The only drawback of this approach is that it's not very efficient.

The twenty translators gathered in the dormitory and bowed to Dou Fengjie.

Several translators, who were originally arrogant, immediately lowered their stance after hearing from Beimen Shuang that the Latin translation was done by Dou Fengjie.

That's how technicians are; they only respect those who are better than them.

Dou Fengjie looked at one of the interpreters: "Are you fluent in the highland language? Tell me, what does 'Dandanla' mean?"

"Dandan is a personal name, and 'La' is a respectful title for him." The translator breathed a sigh of relief.

It's alright, the level of these twenty translators is basically sufficient.

After all, people from the Frankish Kingdom don't appear very often.

-----------------

"What did you say?"

Princess Yongjia kicked her nephew Yang Yuzhi away, her peach blossom eyes filled with rage.

Princess Yongjia rose, donned her magnificent robes, and her mood turned sour.

Damn it, my brother-in-law Yang Shidao has taken up the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for nothing, yet he can't stop Dou Fengjie from getting promoted.

Even a mere acting official's order still wields real power!

Princess Yongjia originally intended to block Dou Fengjie's future, forcing him to submit or cut off his official career.

Unexpectedly, my brother-in-law is just as useless as his child!

"Aunt, you can't blame Father for this. The Ministry of Personnel really couldn't do anything about the temporary appointment of seventh-rank officials within the Court of State Ceremonies."

A hint of fear flashed across Yang Yuzhi's fair face.

"Bang!"

After a resounding slap, a bright red handprint appeared on Yang Yuzhi's left cheek.

"Auntie, please slap me again, please!"

Excitement gleamed in Yang Yuzhi's eyes, and his body twisted like a maggot.

He lived a life of luxury and was never beaten. His father, Yang Shidao, his mother, Princess Changguang, his brother, Zhao Jie, and others always took good care of him.

Only his aunt, Princess Yongjia, who was two years older than him, could punish him at will and give him sweet treats whenever she wanted, which made Yang Yuzhi particularly fond of this feeling.

Even though Aye openly and secretly reminded him that this was immoral, Yang Yuzhi didn't listen at all.

So what if it's an affair?

Can they compare to the deposed emperor of the Song Dynasty and Princess Shanyin?

Those are siblings from the same father and mother!

These absurd things happen all the time in the homes of officials, noble families, and powerful people; the only difference is whether the toilet lid is open or not.

Many people are not ashamed, but rather proud of it.

Princess Yongjia's anger subsided, and she gently stroked Yang Yuzhi's face: "You fool! You're going to marry the daughter of the Prince of Hailing, the Princess of Shouchun, so you shouldn't be bothering me anymore."

Li Yuanji was posthumously granted the title of Prince of Hailing in this dynasty, with the posthumous name "La". All five of his sons were executed after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, with only his wife and daughters escaping.

Princess Yang, wife of the Prince of Hailing, still resides in the inner palace and is favored by Li Shimin.

According to etiquette, this is called announcing a marriage.

With Li Yuanji dead, his daughter was naturally not valued by Yang Yuzhi.

Even if Yang Yuzhi mistreated her in the future, where could she complain?

Yang Yuzhi, nestled in Princess Yongjia's arms, said, "Dou Fengjie has angered Auntie. I'll take my troops and teach him a lesson to vent Auntie's anger."

Princess Yongjia laughed in anger: "He used a three-stone bow and shot an arrow through the forehead of a wild boar at Kunming Pool."

"How much green ant wine did you drink to think you could handle him?"

Overestimating his abilities, if Dou Fengjie were that weak, Princess Yongjia wouldn't have been so fixated on him.

Princess Yongjia was attracted to his appearance, but even more so to his martial prowess and his ability to stir up trouble!

As for Yang Yuzhi, sorry, in Princess Yongjia's eyes, he was no different from other male concubines who could be summoned and dismissed at will.