Chapter 258: Life in the Capital
“What exactly is the Official Rank in the capital?”
On the way out of the palace, Jiang Changtian earnestly asked his relative by marriage for advice.
The eunuch escorting them looked speechless and gazed up at the sky.
Meng Qingshe said, “I don’t know either. When the Emperor is happy, he agrees to anything, but forgets it the next moment. Perhaps it’s because there are too many concubines in the harem, and they are always making wishes, so it ends up like this. But since the Emperor spoke to you, he should remember in a few days, and then you’ll know what Official Rank you’ve received.”
The eunuch following them:…
Are you saying the Emperor is scum? Or that he’s forgetful? Or what exactly are you saying? Do you think your head is too heavy on your shoulders and you want to move it?
Jiang Changtian nodded, “The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, the child of the Heavenly Dao. It is only normal for him to act as he pleases.”
Meng Qingshe replied, “That’s not quite right either. Sometimes officials impeach him—they impeach him for everything. Didn’t Jingzhou have an Earthquake a while ago? The officials called for the Emperor to take the blame and write an edict of self-reproach. Whenever there is a natural disaster, they always want the Son of Heaven to take the blame. Brother Jiang, don’t obsess over what rank you have. Being an official is very tiring, you’re always taking the blame, so it’s fine as it is. Besides, your personality is too straightforward; it’s easy to get into trouble as an official. Those civil officials are very wicked.”
Jiang Changtian shook his head seriously, “If it were just me, I wouldn’t care. But I brought my wife and children to the capital. I asked my daughter what she wanted to do in the capital, and she actually said she wanted to keep her head down and act cautiously. It shows she knows that I have a low position and little power, so she’s afraid of causing trouble. Just think, if our two grandsons go out in the future and get beaten up by someone else’s kids, and that family has a higher rank than us, not only can we not hit back, but we have to go to their door and apologize. Isn’t that infuriating?”
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingshe’s dark face flushed red.
He turned around, intending to head back to the palace.
He was pulled back by Jiang Changtian.
“No rush, no rush. We have plenty of time. The two grandsons can’t even roll over yet, so they shouldn’t be out causing trouble. My daughter is actually quite obedient and sensible.”
The two of them went back and forth, each sentence courting death, as they walked out of the palace.
The eunuch seeing them out wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead.
In this cold weather, he had been scared into a sweat by these two.
There were eyes everywhere in the palace. Every step you took and every word you said, someone would immediately turn around and tell others.
But you two were actually there, discussing and badmouthing the Emperor.
It’s one thing for Meng Qingshe to not be afraid of entering the palace because of Old General Meng.
But why did Lord Jiang act like he was strolling through his own garden?
The young eunuch returned to the Emperor and repeated what the two had said word for word, complete with expressions.
The Emperor listened as if it were gossip and, to his surprise, didn’t get angry after hearing it. He even laughed out loud.
“The Son of Heaven is the child of the Heavenly Dao—how could he say that? Act as I please? I certainly wish I could.”
The Emperor laughed. The palace maids and eunuchs around him laughed too. For a moment, the surroundings were filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
After laughing, the Emperor asked Wen Xin, who was sitting opposite him.
“Is this Jiang the Second the man your sister likes? He is indeed interesting. He looks not only handsome but also kind-faced. Wen Xin, you didn’t lose unjustly.”
Eunuch Yan rubbed his brow helplessly and glanced at the Emperor with some resentment, saying, “Your Majesty, we must have a sense of order. I came to your side first; that Jiang the Second came later. However, regarding my sister’s three children, before I came to the capital, I was worried I might die on the road, so I had them all bow to me as their godfather. If they really cause trouble, can this servant use power to bully others on their behalf, borrowing the Emperor’s authority?”
The Emperor laughed heartily again. He was beaming with joy and in a great mood.
Borrowing the Emperor’s authority—Wen Xin was a mischievous one too.
Having been Emperor for most of his life, he was now extremely suspicious, yet also particularly inclined to do as he pleased; he was deeply contradictory.
He took everything in stride, yet he also couldn’t let anything go.
He liked those who spoke directly when they had matters to discuss, or when they wanted an official position.
Everyone said he favored Heir Han alone, and he had even heard vulgar rumors in the streets saying he had an affair with the princess and that Heir Han was the Emperor’s child.
He had those spreading such nonsense executed.
He liked Heir Han simply because he was straightforward.
Whatever he wanted, he would ask for it directly, with it plainly written on his face. And he was very reliant on him.
Thinking of this, it seemed that the boy hadn’t entered the palace for several days.
The Emperor gave the order to summon him to the palace, preparing to show some concern for the younger generation.
Outside the window, birds sang cheerfully.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp.” Early morning. Woken up by the sound of birds.
Under Pang Ya’s care, Mianmian washed her face, brushed her teeth, and applied face cream.
Then she combed her hair and picked out clothes. The process of picking out clothes was very complicated. There were so many clothes. She really wanted to choose; she was happy.
It was estimated that boys’ lives rarely included this task.
Mianmian looked at her dazzling wardrobe and picked a light blue dress.
Blue was very demanding on skin tone. If one was even slightly tan, they couldn’t wear blue. But she was currently glowing white. She had the benefit of being able to wear blue.
The combination of blue and white was very beautiful.
There were no coats or padded jackets here, only dresses; the difference was between thick dresses and thin dresses.
One could wear clothes under the dress. One could wear a cloak outside. The dresses were also layered. Several layers. It used a lot of fabric.
And the embroidery on top was very exquisite, with every stitch and thread forming magnificent patterns.
This time, a lot of the luggage for the trip was her clothes. Among the travelers, there were also embroiderers specifically there to make clothes for her. Private tailors from her own residence.
Only wealthy people had many clothes. Not to mention that clothes used a lot of fabric, they would get old after a few washes.
They were all handmade, cut, and dyed. Very natural; there was no need to worry about chemical dyes. Extremely beautiful. Just expensive.
Being expensive was a problem for her parents to consider, not Mianmian.
Mianmian put on the dress, and as she walked, the hem of her skirt fluttered, looking very beautiful.
After she finished dressing and went out, she saw that the door next door had just opened.
A youth in a snow-white robe walked out. The youth’s skin was actually whiter than Mianmian’s.
It was probably the kind that just didn’t like the sun. There was a sickly whiteness to it.
He walked out, neither unhappy nor happy. But overall, he gave people a feeling of being very depressed.
It was clearly early morning. The birds were chirping so lively. The sunlight was so bright. Even the grass on the ground had emotions. Yet he didn’t. He was very silent.
He looked exactly like a pessimistic hypothyroidism patient. But hypothyroidism causes obesity, and Brother Chong’s build was very moderate, even a bit thin, so that probably wasn’t it.
Or perhaps he had mild depression? No, it was probably moderate.
Mianmian thought about giving Brother Chong some questions to test him one day.
After the two finished breakfast, Mianmian actively wanted to accompany Brother Chong to pick up the Little Flower Turtle.
Big Brother Heita and Wei Biao accompanied them. Big Brother Heita’s beard had been cleaned up and trimmed into a rounded shape, which actually looked quite nice.
When Heita and Wei Biao stood together, they were actually wearing matching outfits.
When others wore matching outfits, whoever was uglier was embarrassed. When Heita and Wei Biao wore matching outfits, whoever was uglier was proud.
Wei Biao was burly and had a face full of flesh; he looked like a great villain, ugly in a very fierce and proud way.
Heita hadn’t expected that after going in circles, he would return to the Jiang Family.
But the Jiang Family was not the Jiang Family of the past, and they didn’t live in the village; it was much better than before.
The little bean who couldn’t even walk steadily back then had now become a graceful young girl, yet he was still single.
Being able to go out, Mianmian was very happy. Her whole being exuded a cheerful atmosphere.
Mother arranged for her to take a carriage. She didn’t have much else, but she had many good horses and many carriages.
Taking a carriage out was also very good. Because some road sections would be very dirty.
Mianmian had noticed when entering the city that the city center was very clean, but the places on the outskirts of the city were quite smelly; sanitation was not well managed, and it wasn’t as clean as Jingzhou.
With the carriage curtain lifted, she could sightsee left and right, and when tired, she could lie down and lean back in the carriage.
Her carriage was very comfortable; it had a small table, she could even brew tea, and many snacks were prepared.
Pang Ya, she, and Brother Chong were in the carriage. Wei Biao and Heita were driving the carriage.
Zi Congheng was a shut-in and rarely went out. He didn’t understand why some people were so happy to go out.
Outside, the crowd was noisy and completely without order. Fortunately, they were in the carriage.
Looking at the little girl sitting cross-legged opposite him, who looked like a flower fairy sitting on a flower because of the many layers of her skirt, holding her head high and looking smug, with a plum in her mouth, her left cheek bulging for a moment, then her right cheek bulging.
It didn’t seem so difficult after all.
As a result, when the carriage passed by a snack street, Mianmian wanted to get off. And she dragged Brother Chong to squeeze into a sesame seed cake stall, and Zi Congheng’s expression cracked.
Couldn’t Heita and Wei Biao do this kind of thing? Why did she have to squeeze in and grab it herself?
“You don’t understand, it’s more fragrant when grabbed like this.” Mianmian held the hot cake in her hand and pressed Brother Chong to sit at a small table and chair by the roadside to gnaw on it.
Sesame seeds flew everywhere on the cake. Crispy cake crumbs fell to the ground.
The cake was a bit hot to hold, making her fingers feel warm. It was very fragrant.
People came and went on the street, footsteps hurried. There was sunlight and wind.
The wind blew many banners, making them flutter. The “Erlang Sesame Seed Cake” sign above the sesame seed cake shop flew especially high.
The boss selling the cakes was tall and big. It was a husband-and-wife shop. The wife was not stunningly beautiful, had a large mole at the corner of her mouth, and was quick and nimble.
One kneaded the dough and baked the cakes, the other collected money and packed the cakes.
Mianmian stuffed the cake into Brother Chong’s mouth. “Brother, you have to eat it while it’s hot; it won’t taste good when it gets cold.”
His lips touched the hot cake, which was slightly salty and had the fragrance of sesame seeds.
Sitting at a small roadside stall, blowing in the cold wind, basking in the warm sun, and gnawing on hot cakes. People coming and going, an endless stream.
“Brother, can you bake sesame seed cakes? How about we open a sesame seed cake shop too? You bake the cakes, and I’ll collect the money.”
“I can’t.”
“Brother, then what can you do?”
“…”
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