“House?!”
I have a house now?!
The old emperor is so generous! Just for providing two ways to use barbed wire, he gifted a house in the capital?!
Xu Yanmiao took a deep breath, staring at the land deed in his hands, checking and rechecking it. Once he confird it was genuine—especially with the emperor’s note in the box explicitly stating it was a gift—his face visibly flushed with excitent.
The next day, Xu Yanmiao woke up at the usual ti, 3 a.m., to attend court. But this ti, he felt no inclination to complain. Full of energy, he headed to the court lounge, carrying his customary flatbread. Today, however, he had also splurged on a cup of hot soy milk.
No more rent to pay! Life is good!
“Xu Yanmiao.”
“Hm?” A voice called from behind, startling Xu Yanmiao. He instinctively took a step forward before turning around, his mouth still full of flatbread, cheeks puffed out.
Quickly swallowing the food, he cautiously asked, “Master Liang… is there sothing you need?”
He worked in the Ministry of Personnel, so there didn’t seem to be much reason for the Ministry of Justice official to seek him out.
The official, surnad Liang with the given na Rui, hesitated briefly before saying, “Before court sessions, it’s best to avoid consuming liquids.” With that, he cupped his hands in farewell and walked off.
“Eh?” Xu Yanmiao looked down at his cup of soy milk, still confused, but reflexively raised his voice to call out, “Thank you!”
Then, while munching on his flatbread, he opened the system interface.
And then—
Hiss—
He nearly spat out the flatbread.
Engrossed in the system, Xu Yanmiao didn’t notice the subtle reactions of the surrounding officials. Startled by his gasp, several quietly edged closer, ears perked up.
The officials who were still eating breakfast promptly stopped.
Forget food! Gossip is far more important!
[Good thing, good thing. Good thing I didn’t drink too much.]
[Turns out, in the previous dynasty, soone couldn’t hold it in during court and urinated themselves. They were imdiately demoted from a central position to a remote local post.]
[They had painstakingly climbed to the role of Senior Clerk for Criminal Affairs, a proper seventh-rank official! But they were demoted straight to a county registrar—not even a county magistrate!]
In the lounge, several officials who had recently consud soup or water abruptly stood up. The jade tablets in their hands slipped to the ground with a loud clack.
Hurriedly picking up their tablets, they bolted toward the nearest latrine, determined to address the situation before court began.
The fear of demotion wasn’t the main concern anymore—it was about saving face!
If they couldn’t hold it in during court, the humiliation would last a lifeti!
In one corner, a historian responsible for chronicling the previous dynasty quickly pulled out his brush and bamboo slips—paper wasn’t convenient to use in this situation. He instinctively straightened his posture, his gaze fixed on Xu Yanmiao, eagerly waiting for him to reveal which official from the previous dynasty had suffered such embarrassnt, ready to immortalize it in his records.
Beside him, Liang Rui sighed deeply: “…”
Not sure why, but suddenly I feel like I might have made things worse with my good intentions. Though the person encountering trouble isn’t Xu Yanmiao.
[Master Liang is truly a good person. If not for him, I might have ended up like that Criminal Affairs Clerk—what a tragic case. That Zhang Jing was even the top scorer in the Tianbo eighth-year provincial examination, but just one mishap ruined his entire career.]
Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts echoed with a mix of gratitude and regret.
Nearby, the historian’s eyes lit up like two bright orbs as he furiously scribbled notes.
Liang Rui: “…”
Fine. Historians are ant to do this sort of thing, after all. As long as they’re not making things up, it should—probably—be okay… right?
[Actually…] Xu Yanmiao hesitated in his thoughts for a long ti, clearly conflicted. [What if I try introducing disposable diapers? But can the seamstresses at the clothing shop make sothing like that? If I describe it—sothing that wraps around the bottom and doesn’t leak—it should be doable, right?]
The officials: “?!”
This, this, this—
“Such disgraceful conduct!” a censor muttered under his breath.
Wearing sothing like that was simply… simply…
Another official swore, “I can fast before court sessions—I’d never wear sothing like that! What would it look like?!”
For a mont, whispers of agreent swept through the officials.
Xu Yanmiao, oblivious to what was happening, carried on with his day as usual.
He attended the morning court session, checked in at his office, completed his tasks, and waited until the office lock-up ti before heading ho.
“Oh, I can’t go straight ho today—I have a new house now. I need to buy so things…” Xu Yanmiao muttered to himself as he walked into the East Market. “The New Year is coming; I should buy new clothes… Eh?”
From a distance, Xu Yanmiao spotted a colleague acting suspiciously. The person glanced left and right several tis before sneaking into a clothing shop. A short while later, they erged looking thoroughly relieved, as though a major life issue had just been resolved.
Xu Yanmiao: “?”
After a bit, another colleague repeated the sa sneaky behavior.
Xu Yanmiao: “??”
And then, to his surprise, he saw the Minister of Works.
The minister also noticed him. One foot was already stepping out of the clothing shop, evidently having finalized so agreent.
The two locked eyes, standing frozen for a mont.
Xu Yanmiao: “Minis—”
The air grew heavy.
The Minister of Works quickly darted out, grabbed Xu Yanmiao, and pulled him into a nearby alley. Standing straight, he imdiately demanded, “What are you doing here?!”
“Buying new clothes for the New Year.”
“Oh, I thought…” Under Xu Yanmiao’s puzzled gaze, the minister clamped his mouth shut and then abruptly changed the subject. “What’s your take on today’s court matters?”
Xu Yanmiao: “…”
He tried hard to keep his expression neutral.
[You’re seriously asking a low-ranking clerk who copies docunts about today’s state affairs? Really?]
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