Chapter 50: Chapter Fifty

Around the twentieth day of the twelfth month, the Emperor sealed the treasure; roughly after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first month, the palace would open the treasure, and the annual holiday lasts about a month.

They say the whole realm celebrates and ruler and ministers all rest, but in fact it isn't a complete shutdown; important documents are still submitted as usual, merely giving the Emperor a bit more leisure time.

On the morning of the New Year, the Emperor begins the spring calligraphy, offers incense to the gods and Buddhas of each household to show reverence to Heaven and Earth. In the morning he receives court congratulations, then there are hall rituals. The Emperor wrote a "Fu" character in the inner palace, specially granting it to the Hanlin Academy.

This is a favor; normally the first "Fu" character would hang in the main hall, so this year's arrangement is clever, showing the Hanlin Academy's special imperial favor. The thoughtful ones can't help thinking of Xie Junling, who appears before the Emperor every few days; he is the fastest‑rising official in history and will likely become a favored minister soon. The Emperor treats him well, perhaps with some ulterior motive. Xie Junling comes from a humble background, simple family, with no tangled connections to other officials, and is not a disciple of any venerable elder, so he can avoid factionalism and easily follow imperial intent. He excels in everything and happened to strike a chord with the old emperor's heart. Even the Minister of Revenue, Gu, puts on a dignified face and, as if nothing were happening, courts Xie Junling, hoping to manipulate him under his grandfather's name.

But Xie Junling's skin is truly thick; he pretended not to know and skillfully avoided Gu's invitation. He also had no face to admit that Xie Junling is the illegitimate child of his own legitimate daughter, so the matter was simply dropped.

As for Xie Junling's wife Lu Bao'er, the Emperor has always known. The Lord of Qingping County is the Emperor's cousin, both royal relatives; her granddaughter, Lu Bao'er, naturally piques the Emperor's curiosity. At the New Year palace banquet, the Emperor also presented palace wine and imperial dishes to the officials; when delivered to the Xie family, there was a vat of palace wine and imperial peach‑flower‑shaped pastries, clearly a special gift for Lu Bao'er.

Receiving the king's gift as an elder made Lu Bao'er a bit nervous; when accepting the imperial items, they could not wear regular clothes, so they changed into ceremonial robes and kowtowed to receive the items. Lu Bao'er also had the old matriarch send some gifts via the imperial eunuch; the father‑in‑law recognized the old matriarch Bi Zhu, who had cared for him when he was a boy in the palace.

The old matriarch saw the father‑in‑law off, and he cleared his throat and said, "Sister Bi Zhu is truly fortunate; now she has such a good master family. From what I've seen, Lord Xie will have great destiny ahead; the Emperor treats him differently from ordinary people."

Who wouldn't like auspicious words? The old matriarch smiled, "Thank you for the kind words; this is my homemade osmanthus wine, take some back to taste; we may not know when we'll meet again."

"Ah! Sister Bi Zhu's wine must be savored," the father‑in‑law said, having a junior disciple respectfully bring the wine; after a few words he left braving wind and rain. Other families also had imperial gifts to deliver and dared not delay.

The first day of the new year is a day for visiting relatives; Lu Bao'er planned to take Xie Junling to the Fu residence to pay New Year respects to the old lady. They had intended to stay longer, but last night they received an invitation that she could not postpone, a particularly troublesome one.

It was an invitation sent by the Second Madam of the Cheng Clan, i. e., by Yan Shi. The Cheng family came to Jingdu only to clarify the matter of changing surnames with her; Lu Bao'er was extremely annoyed but could not avoid it.

Xie Junling saw her intention and calmly said, "Why not bring this matter to Old Lady Su?"

Lu Bao'er asked in surprise, "Grandmother?"

"She's been through it; you should consult her. If you really don't want to return to the Cheng family, having Old Lady Su speak on your behalf is better than you, a junior, confronting the second madam directly." Xie Junling rarely thinks about domestic affairs, so it was rare for him to offer this advice, simply because he didn't want Lu Bao'er to be troubled all night and refuse to sleep.

Lu Bao'er smiled; she wasn't afraid of embarrassment, and rather than fearing ridicule for not handling social etiquette, she chose to openly ask for help. Old Lady Su was overjoyed to be able to help Lu Bao'er, which meant she could keep Lu Bao'er a bit longer.

Moreover, Old Lady Su is the Lord of Qingping County; when she acts, others dare not speak otherwise.

Xie Junling and Lu Bao'er enjoyed a lavish New Year's Eve dinner that lasted until the hour of the Rat; Lu Bao'er was truly sleepy, saying even the fireworks and firecrackers wouldn't be lit, just go to sleep.

Xie Junling could do nothing, so he washed up and accompanied her to bed.

After a good night's sleep, on the first day of the new year, Lu Bao'er had the old matriarch bring several gift boxes, then set off in great splendor toward the Fu family.

Xie Junling's visit to the Fu residence this time was at Old Lady Su's request; she had Lord Fu step forward and specifically ask to see him. It was merely because she wasn't confident about Lu Bao'er marrying him, and now wanted to test him, to judge his character. Lord Fu thought Old Lady Su was overcautious; after all, Xie Junling was the top scholar of the past two years, his learning was extraordinary, and later he stood out in the Hanlin imperial exam, so he clearly possessed exceptional talent. Without real ability, the Emperor wouldn't employ him. However, this could not be told to his wife, so Lord Fu just went through the formalities; after Xie Junling offered tea to Old Lady Su, he led the male guest to the study for a private chat. This also conveniently drew out Lu Bao'er's three uncles.

In a spacious study, four elders engaged in back‑and‑forth conversation with Xie Junling, observing him from every angle—first his attire, then his appearance. Seeing his clear eyebrows and mouth, they sneered that his skin was delicate and lacked strength. Hearing his learning, they muttered that he was a bookworm. In short, the maternal family, when seeing Xie Junling, tended to be picky, finding fault everywhere.

They truly couldn't speak well, couldn't get a solid point, only exchanged glances and muttered a few words to themselves.

Lord Fu actually liked Xie Junling, thinking this grandson‑in‑law knew how to advance and retreat with grace, was handsome, a rare ideal husband. He asked a few scholarly questions with a stern face, then dropped the formality and chatted casually.

Xie Junling, even when facing the Emperor, had never been this nervous; though he showed no expression, his palms were slightly sweaty, which he cleverly concealed with the leisurely act of sipping tea.

Meanwhile, Lu Bao'er and Old Lady Su discussed the Cheng family's second madam matter. Old Lady Su frowned and said, "The Cheng family really are persistent!"

Lu Bao'er naturally hadn't imagined that the Cheng family was after Xie Junling as a grandson‑in‑law, but Old Lady Su understood clearly. They are thousand‑year foxes; who has deeper cultivation?

Plotting against anyone isn't bad, but to scheme this naive, innocent Lu Bao'er! When Old Lady Su thought of wolves ahead and tigers behind, her heart ached to death.

She smiled and patted Lu Bao'er's hand, saying, "In a couple of days, I'll send a visit request to the Yan family, saying it's been a while since we've seen the second daughter‑in‑law of the in‑laws, and since we're all in Jingdu, we should meet, also to ask whether the in‑law's health is robust."

Old Lady Su wanted to see what kind of demonic wind would dare blow at Lu Bao'er! The Yan family is that second madam of the Cheng's original family, so she'll deal with that person.

----------Side note----------

This work is fictional and not historically accurate; feel free to read as you wish.

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