Chapter 384

Outside the Yunlong Gate, sunset and smoke.

In the magnificent carriage, sorrow grows on the emerald brows.

Baoyue regretted it very much.

She should have submitted Wang Yang's self-statement the first time!

In fact, she did exactly that. But she didn't submit it herself, but entrusted Yu Cong to do it.

Choosing this method was something she had considered repeatedly.

Although her planning for the Crown Prince had always been carried out in secret, her father was a clear-cut Crown Prince party member, which everyone knew. If she submitted this letter, it would inevitably stain this matter with the color of party strife. What would the Emperor think then?

Wang Yang was planted by the Crown Prince beside the Prince of Badong, and everything was directed by the Crown Prince? Would the Prince of Badong's raising of troops also be secretly instigated by Wang Yang? If Wang Yang did all this and then backstabbed to quell the rebellion, then everything Wang Yang did would change its taste!

And if she presented this letter on behalf of Wang Yang, how should she explain it? Say she went to Jingzhou for fun and accidentally met Wang Yang? Or say she went to Jingzhou on behalf of the Crown Prince to investigate the Prince of Badong's privacy and happened to meet Wang Yang and cooperated?

The explanation could be covered up, but she was afraid it wouldn't stand up to investigation...

So this letter couldn't be presented by herself, and she had to change to other channels.

The channels available for Baoyue to choose from were not few, but the best way to completely erase her traces in it was secret delivery.

It's just that secret delivery had three points of inappropriateness.

First, she couldn't ensure that the person handling the secret letter wouldn't leak it. Second, she couldn't ensure that they would submit it in time. Third, and most importantly, she couldn't ensure that after they submitted it, the Emperor would see it in time.

Satisfying one of these three points was easy, and satisfying all of them was difficult, but as long as it was designed well, it wasn't completely impossible. But the problem was she couldn't guarantee it would be foolproof.

Yes, no matter how she designed it, as long as this letter was sent into the palace, it would be out of her control. Any accident among them could delay the time for the Emperor to see this letter.

So this letter had to be presented to the Emperor in person, ensuring the Emperor would open and read it on the spot! This was the most secure way!

To achieve this condition, the choice of person was very important.

Baoyue thought about it and had to give up the plan of a secret letter, risking walking out from behind the scenes, and found Yu Cong.

First of all, Yu Cong held the high position of Attendant (head of the Gate Province, equivalent to a State Councilor, Vice Premier, and the same level as Baoyue's father, the Right Servant of the Secretariat, and Xie Xinghan's father, the Secretariat Order; the official rank is third, but there are differences between the same ranks in the Southern Dynasties. In terms of specific ranking, Baoyue's father is in front, Xie Xinghan's father is next, and Yu Cong is last. In terms of real power, it is also the same), wearing a golden cicada and sable tail, and his position was in the internal province, so he could enter the forbidden area.

(The forbidden area is the palace forbidden area. The Secretariat and Gate provinces are the Emperor's close ministers, and because of their duties, they are all set in the internal forbidden area, so they are also called the "internal province." Like Baoyue waiting outside the Yunlong Gate now, it is outside the forbidden area. Although she is a royal relative, she still needs to be summoned to enter the forbidden area, while Yu Cong can enter the forbidden area openly. During the Han Dynasty, there were periods when attendants could even enter the rear palace, but later there was a rebellion with hidden blades, and another time when the Green Emperor even shone a blade, this special privilege was canceled twice, and it was never restored later. In addition, although Baoyue is outside the forbidden area now, her position is actually inside the palace, which is not something ordinary people can enter. I will write about it in the next chapter)

And Yu Cong was an old friend of the Emperor. When the Xiao family hadn't yet prospered, the family wasn't rich, but Yu Cong was very wealthy and generous, having helped the Emperor several times. When traveling, he often took the Emperor with him, and their feelings were extraordinary.

So entrusting Yu Cong could ensure the letter would be presented to the Emperor in person, which could avoid accidents caused by passing through middle hands, and could also speak in time when the Emperor had any differences.

Secondly, Yu Cong was a person who lived a leisurely life and was a gourmet. Although he was criticized by some for over-studying diet, thinking he didn't pay attention to the right path and didn't plan for politics while in office, he wasn't involved in party strife, which could avoid involving Wang Yang in the Crown Prince's affairs.

Finally, Yu Cong was simple and straightforward, with clear likes and dislikes. If he agreed, anything would do; if he didn't agree, he wouldn't care who you were. On the day of the Taimiao fire, he directly drove and beat the nephew of Consort Zhang (the mother of the Prince of Badong and the Prince of Luling) outside the Xuanyang Gate, and the Emperor pardoned him without questioning.

If the letter was handed to someone else, who would dare to hide the true source of the letter from the Emperor? Even if they dared, if the Emperor threatened them, wouldn't they loosen their mouths?

But this problem didn't exist with Yu Cong. He not only wasn't afraid of the Emperor's threats, but the Emperor wouldn't threaten his old friend either.

Therefore, Baoyue chose Yu Cong, borrowing the relationship that Yu Cong and her mother's family had, and used two rare food recipes that she had spent a lot of money to find. One was the hangover mackerel recipe passed down from the Wei palace. (Pickled mackerel that can sober up) The second was the flat rice recipe brought back by Zhou Zhongsun when he was the Inspector of Ningzhou (Yunnan-Guizhou) during the Jin Dynasty. (Rice-based snacks, possibly similar to zongzi. There is flat rice in Yunnan now, I don't know if it's the same as the flat rice in the Southern Dynasties)

Added to that, the situation was urgent, and after a talk about the courage of a youth and the "great righteousness" of quelling the rebellion, she finally persuaded Yu Cong to enter the palace and promised not to reveal Xiao Baoyue, only saying that Wang Yang sent someone to ask him to pass it on.

Originally, Baoyue thought that except for revealing her traces in front of Yu Cong, this move of hers should be foolproof in submitting the letter. But she didn't expect that although Yu Cong entered the palace smoothly, he didn't see the Emperor at all! Naturally, he had no chance to present the letter.

Of course, this was just what Baoyue thought.

The Emperor indeed didn't threaten Yu Cong, but took "Four Seasons Imperial Food Canon" from the secret cabinet of the palace library to exchange for "intelligence," and used "Method of Making Seafood in Kuaiji County" to seal his mouth. Both books were unique copies, and Baoyue's two food recipes couldn't compare to them when compared...

No matter what, Baoyue couldn't have imagined that the Emperor would see it and pretend not to see it, and even buy off Yu Cong to deceive her! The key was that in Baoyue's view, the Emperor had no reason to do so at all!

And when she wanted to entrust Yu Cong to seek an audience with the Emperor again the next day, the news that the Emperor wouldn't see anyone had already spread in the palace.

Baoyue was very anxious!

If this letter wasn't submitted in time, then Wang Yang would really become a rebel! At this time, where could she care about whether it involved the Crown Prince or whether she was exposed? First, save that guy's life! She hurriedly submitted a family post, seeking an audience with her emperor cousin. But it couldn't be submitted at all!

It was said that the Emperor was in a very bad mood because of the Prince of Badong raising troops, and directly closed the Yanchang Hall. Let alone Baoyue, this cousin, even the Emperor's own younger brother, the Prince of Yuzhang, couldn't see him!

After Baoyue tried various ways and failed, she had to buy off Qian Ruoer, the small eunuch on duty at Yanchang Hall, asking him to find an opportunity to submit the letter, or to pass a message for her to seek an audience. She also specially taught Qian Ruoer a set of words, believing that as long as the Emperor heard it, he would definitely summon her!

But she didn't expect that Qian Ruoer took a lot of money, but had no merit in the matter! He said the Emperor was furious, and he could only serve in the outer hall, having no chance to get close. He also promised to try hard to find an opportunity, but he had received bribes several times, and he hadn't found a single opportunity!

Baoyue had a feeling of being played like a monkey!

If it were any other matter, she would have erupted long ago! But it concerned Wang Yang's life, so she had to endure it. However, if this small eunuch stalled her again this time, she would let him understand what it meant to be dangerous in the world...

Although the letter couldn't be submitted, the matter of household registration had made a lot of progress.

The one in charge of household registration files was the Left Min Cao of the Secretariat. (State Council, Ministry of Civil Affairs)

The highest was the Left Min Minister (full minister), followed by the Left Min Lang (department head), then the Du Lingshi (deputy department head), then the Lingshi (division head), then the Shu Lingshi (section head), and then the Li Gan (staff member).

Baoyue had thought about it; to change Wang Yang's household registration, it was better to start from the bottom than from the top. First, those above were afraid of taking responsibility and didn't dare to privately add the files of the Langya Wang family. Second, those above were hard to control, not to mention leaking news, and if they aroused suspicion or special attention, it would be counterproductive.

But those below were different, easy to drive and control, just helping a noble young master of the Langya Wang family who hadn't entered the register. If the work was done well, it could be completely unknown. What's more, she had people under the Left Min Cao.

Guo Jian, the Shu Lingshi of the Left Min Cao, was planted by her under the Prince of Badong. Originally, she hoped the Prince of Badong could take Guo Jian to Jingzhou, but Guo Jian couldn't get on the Prince of Badong's line, and finally only used a trick to get on Kong Zhangyu's line.

(Chapter 120 "Prince of Badong": "The Shu Lingshi mentioned by the Prince of Badong was surnamed Guo, named Jian. Two years ago, when the Prince of Badong was the Protector of the Capital in the capital, Guo Jian was a book clerk in the Protector's office. Because he knocked over a candle stand and damaged the military register, he was almost dismissed and punished. Later, he bribed Kong Zhangyu with heavy money to plead with the Prince of Badong, and only then was he leniently released. Since then, he has only followed Kong Zhangyu's orders.")

The Prince of Badong checked Wang Yang's identity using Guo Jian, so Xiao Baoyue was sure that Wang Yang had entered the Prince of Badong's eyes, which led to a series of subsequent events.

But Kong Zhangyu didn't mean to take Guo Jian away either, just leaving him in the capital as a spare piece, which also gave Baoyue an opportunity to operate. The first operation was to let Guo Jian reply that Wang Yang's household registration was no problem, which was simple. But this second operation, which was to modify the household registration files, was a bit difficult to handle.

Because the Shu Lingshi could only check the register, copy and draft, but had no power to open the library and record the register. Including the last time he checked Wang Yang's identity, it was also using the opportunity of opening the library for public business to secretly read it.

Baoyue moved around and promoted Guo Jian to Lingshi (division head), so he had the power to move the household registration files. But although the Lingshi could open the library and record the register, every entry had to be signed, dated, and then signed and canceled by the Du Lingshi before it could be filed. Therefore, Baoyue also settled the Du Lingshi.

Then only the last level remained.

The Left Min Minister wouldn't personally manage household registration, while the Left Min Lang had to audit new registrations every month and verify the seals. This kind of thing was generally verified by the Du Lingshi, and after verification, a seal was stamped and it was done. But the newly appointed Left Min Lang, Wang Qunzhi, was a scholar-type figure, proficient in history and serious about verifying registrations. Added to that, he was compiling "Yongming Daily Records," and for figures of noble surnames, he paid a lot of attention, which was already a bit dangerous. Finally, he was also of the Langya Wang family!

No matter what, Baoyue didn't dare to let Wang Qunzhi, who was wearing these buffs, verify Wang Yang's register!

Although as long as the document was done thoroughly, Wang Qunzhi might not be able to see anything wrong. But she was afraid of ten thousand, just in case, so although Baoyue was fully prepared, she was stuck at Wang Qunzhi's level, and the household registration was delayed and couldn't be done...

"Still not done?"

Inside Yanchang Hall, the Emperor frowned.

After thinking, he asked:

"Who is the Left Min Lang?"

Qi Mu Zhenzhi, the Huangmen Office Order (eunuch manager, high-level), reported:

"Returning to the Emperor, it is Lord Wang Qunzhi."

The Emperor laughed:

"No wonder...

Like this, isn't Wang Qunzhi compiling the daily records? Transfer him to the Secret Cabinet to be the Secret Secretary.

(At that time, it was a first-class noble position, in charge of archives, documents, and literature such as books, history, and edicts, and it was an excellent position to accumulate qualifications. There were very few Wu-surnamed nobles who could hold this position, and most were choices of the noble families of the Qiao surname. According to the general transfer track, Wang Qunzhi couldn't directly hold this position and needed a springboard, such as being sent out to be the Bie Jia of a large province, and then he would be qualified to return to the capital to be the Secret Secretary. Note, it was only qualified.)

As for the vacant Left Min Lang, let Zhang Rong fill it.

Zhang Rong is short of money and doesn't like things, so he is just suitable to be the Left Min Lang."

Qi Mu Zhenzhi:...

Wang Qunzhi was the Left Min Lang, and after two months in office, he was transferred to the Secret Secretary. People at the time all called it a super-transfer. Qunzhi's father heard it and sighed:

"There is a cloud road in the national history, I didn't expect A-Yue to be valued like this! The one who will make our family great must be this child!"

—————Main text 3387

Note: 1. "Book of Southern Qi, Biography of Literature": "Wang Qunzhi, courtesy name Xuanyue, was from Linyi, Langya... The national school had been abandoned for a long time. In the second year of Jianyuan, Qunzhi first submitted a memorial to establish a school, and also concurrently served as an author, compiling 'Yongming Daily Records'."

2. Although Qi Mu Zhenzhi never appeared in the Yongming year in historical materials, but appeared in the Longchang year, which was the next emperor's time on the original timeline, he was actually an old person of Wu Di of Qi. When he confessed to the new emperor, he said "Zhenzhi served in Xizhou, and followed into the palace..." ("History of the Southern Dynasties, Biography of Favored Eunuchs"), Xizhou was Yingzhou. Wu Di of Qi was the Long History of the Prince of Jinxi and the Internal History of Jiangxia. Following from Yingzhou into the palace, he could be considered an old person.

3. "Biography of Zhang Rong in the History of the Southern Dynasties": "Rong's family was poor and wanted a salary. At first, he wrote to his cousin, the Conqueror of the North General Yong... Rong wanted to seek a secretary but couldn't, so he sought a county, and if he couldn't seek a county, he could also seek a secretary again. (Just give one, don't pick)"

4. "Biography of Yu Cong in the Book of Southern Qi": "Wu Di began to serve as an official, and his family was still poor and thin. Cong pushed the favor of the national scholar and often shared with him; every time he traveled, he must call the Emperor to ride together. The Emperor was very grateful to him... He drove and beat people in the horse line outside Xuanyang Gate, and was impeached by the official, but was pardoned... The Emperor visited Fanglin Garden and asked Cong for flat rice zongzi. Cong offered zongzi and dozens of carriages of miscellaneous dishes, which the imperial kitchen couldn't compare to. The Emperor asked Cong for various food recipes, but Cong kept them secret and wouldn't take them out. After the Emperor was drunk and his body was uncomfortable, Cong offered a hangover mackerel recipe."