Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

late at night!

After having dinner and drinking a calming soup, the old emperor got up.

Empress Cao said with concern, "Your Majesty, why don't you rest a little longer? I'm watching, there are still three hours before the morning court session."

The old emperor coughed twice and said, "It's nothing. I need to draft an award for Minister Zhou."

"How does Your Majesty intend to reward him?" Empress Cao asked.

The old emperor said, "Our dynasty has precedents for rescuing the emperor. For example, when Emperor Taizong encountered danger at Gaoliang River, the minister who rescued him was rewarded with a fief of 20,000 households and granted the privilege of wearing a sword and shoes in the palace! However, Zhou Ning is a civil official. Although his merits are great, I can only reward him with gold, silver, silk, and a purple robe. I can also allow his son to be granted an official position through hereditary privilege. If I were to directly promote him to a top-level position or title, the ministers would definitely object."

From its founding, the Great Zhou Dynasty established the basic national policy of "using civil officials to control the military." Civil officials were already the core ruling group of the court, and the founding emperor had even set an ancestral precept of not killing scholar-officials. Civil officials enjoyed extremely high salaries and preferential treatment on a daily basis, and it was not advisable to grant them additional rewards for saving the emperor, as that would disrupt the existing power balance.

In fact, the actual value of these implicit benefits is not low; they just are not reflected in direct promotions to higher-ranking official positions.

Just considering the bestowal of purple robes, although Zhou Ning's rank was still fifth grade, he could wear purple robes and gold fish pouches by special permission from the emperor, thus enjoying the clothing and treatment of a third-grade or higher official ahead of time.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, below even the Sage, the purple robe was the most prestigious!

When meeting a high-ranking official in a purple robe, women must stand up to show respect, while men must tidy their clothes and maintain proper appearance, in order to express their respect for the other party's noble status.

Looking across the entire court, there were only a handful of people wearing purple robes, and none of them were under forty years old!

"Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should," Empress Cao asked.

The old emperor said, "Tell me your story, and I will pardon you."

"Your Majesty, I was only thinking of what the Prince of Yan said during the day. This child is well-versed in the law; how could he not know that as a mere civil official, such a reward for saving the Emperor is all he deserves? If there were no comparison, such a reward would be a testament to the Emperor's grace. But the Prince of Yan promised him the position of Vice Minister of State Affairs and the Duke of Yuhang, a meteoric rise indeed! This child is loyal and unmoved, which is truly rare. Moreover, he not only saved the Emperor this time, but also saved my life and the lives of many ministers, military officers, and their wives—all of which are merits," Empress Cao reminded her.

The old emperor said, "I understand. Although I can issue a swift decree, a private edict is not entirely legally valid, and the Three Departments have the right to reject it. First, the Secretariat scribes must draft the formal edict based on the given edict. If they deem the decree irregular, they will return the edict and refuse to draft it. Even after the edict is completed, it must be submitted to the Secretariat censors for a second review. If it is found to be irregular, it will be rejected and returned. Hmm? I almost forgot, that child is a censor."

Empress Cao said, "Your Majesty is terrified and dares not speak presumptuously. I trust that Your Majesty will make the decision!"

The old emperor said, "Guards, summon Prime Minister Han, Grand Councilor Fu, Grand Secretary Guan, and Grand Minister Gu to the palace immediately! Tell them I wish to discuss with them the rewards for those who saved my life, and determine the specifics of their promotions, titles, and gifts!"

He had considered his choice of personnel. First of all, both Lord Fu and Lord Gu were among the two purple-robed men rescued by Zhou Ning, making it a three-on-two situation, which gave him the advantage!

Three hours later!

Chui Gong Hall!

As soon as the water clock stopped, two rows of civil and military officials in the hall stood with their hands at their sides according to their rank.

With Zhao Zongquan's help, the old emperor sat on the throne, and Zhao Zongquan immediately stepped into the ranks of civil officials.

A young eunuch, carrying an imperial edict wrapped in bright yellow silk, slowly walked into the hall and announced in a shrill voice, "By imperial decree—"

Everyone in the hall bowed and kowtowed, even their breathing was extremely soft.

The Hanlin Academician, delivering the imperial edict, unfurled the decree woven with a dark dragon pattern. His voice was deep and resonant, each word landing on the golden brick: "I, the Emperor, have received the mandate of Heaven and inherited the imperial throne. Previously, a traitor plotted a coup, and the palace was in grave danger. The Supervising Secretary Zhou Ning, entrusted with the mission in the face of peril, led from the front, protecting me amidst arrows and stones, and quelling the chaos in an instant. His merits benefit the nation and the people. I hereby promote him to the rank of Grand Master of the Golden Purple Light (a second-rank civil official with no real power), bestow upon him a hot spring estate west of the capital, increase his fief by seven hundred households, and further grant him a Cheng Garden and a thousand acres of fertile land. This is my decree!"

Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised. He prostrated himself on the ground and said respectfully, "Your subject accepts the decree and thanks you." He took the stiff yellow paper edict with both hands.

"Your Majesty, such a reward exceeds the prescribed limits! I am not against Lord Zhou receiving the title, but this is not in accordance with the rules," said Minister Chen, the remonstrating official.

He was in charge of "admonitions and remonstrances," and could offer suggestions to the emperor in court and supervise the shortcomings of the government.

The old emperor said, "All the bestowals and rewards were jointly discussed and confirmed by me, Prime Minister Han, and representatives from the Privy Council, the Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Chancellery! You, say no more! Ahem!"

Lord Chen backed down. He felt he had gone too far, but he forgot that since the edict had been officially issued, the process had already been completed, and the officials of the three provinces did not object.

What a great achievement that must have been! Did he really only save the emperor?

It turned out that Han Xiang and other officials had discussed the matter at length with the old emperor. First, Zhou Ning's safe delivery of the blood edict and tiger tally to Zhao Zongquan was already a major merit in saving the emperor. Second, his personal risk to directly save the emperor was also a merit. According to the rules, this merit should actually be calculated in two ways!

It's like being surrounded by thugs, your life hanging in the balance, and asking a passerby to risk their life to find your brother and avenge you. If the passerby does that, you'll owe them a debt of gratitude! But if the passerby notifies them and then comes back and saves you unharmed, that's two acts of kindness, though the former seems insignificant compared to the latter.

Secondly, he also saved the Empress, the Privy Councilor Fu, the Minister Gu, plus fifteen officials of the fifth rank or above, and dozens of Wu Xun's family members.

All the merits, piece by piece, combined with the back-door deals and assistance from high-ranking officials in both provinces, meant that no reward could be too small. Due to the limitations of regulations, the imperial edict could only go this far, but there were two other imperial decrees conferring titles upon the second-rank county ladies (Zhou Ning's birth mother and principal wife), which had already been sent by eunuchs to the Zhou residence to be read aloud!

Zhou Mansion!

lobby!

The imperial edict was delivered by an eunuch from the old emperor's side. Upon seeing Yu Yanran arrive, he unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict and read aloud: "The Emperor decrees: Yu Yanran, wife of Zhou Ning, Grand Master of the Palace, is virtuous, kind, and wise, capable in managing the household, and a great help to her husband in establishing his career. Her virtuous reputation is widely known. Now, she is hereby specially granted the title of Lady of Jiahe County, a second-rank official, and bestowed with a pheasant crown and embroidered robe. She is permitted to enter the palace for annual audiences and enjoy the salary of a Lady of the County. Thank the Emperor."

Yu Yanran kowtowed in a daze, took the heavy imperial edict, and touched the exquisitely embroidered dragon pattern on the silk with her fingertips, not reacting for a long time.

Did I become an imperial consort?

Her grandmother, Madam Yu, never received an imperial title.

Then, Yu Yanran also received the title of Lady of Gao'an County, a second-rank official title, for Zhou Ning's birth mother. She quickly took it to the ancestral hall and hung it up!

"Congratulations, Madam. You should prepare early, as you'll soon have to deal with the wives of officials who come to offer their congratulations," Wei Zhi reminded her.

Yu Yanran became nervous and asked Wei Zhi to arrange the "Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream" party, while she went directly to find Minglan!

......