RPAGF Chapter 350 Second Sister Joins the Company
Chapter 350 Second Sister Joins the Company
The next day, the second sister went to Dali Temple as promised.
Not only did the second sister come, but Feng Zizhou was also allowed to return. It was Prince Ning who personally invited him to assist the second sister.
However, apart from Prince Ning and Feng Zizhou, everyone else in the Dali Temple was very dissatisfied.
"What kind of thing is it for a woman to show her face in public like this?"
"Women should stay at home, supporting their husbands and raising their children. How can a mere woman meddle in the affairs of the Dali Temple?"
Everyone turned their attention to Feng Ziheng.
Although Feng Ziheng was only the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, everyone knew that he was a close advisor to the emperor. Although his official rank was not high, the power he wielded was greater than that of ordinary people. In fact, in addition to matters of the Court of Judicial Review, the emperor would summon him to the palace to consult on important matters of the court.
Therefore, everyone was looking at him, hoping that he could make a decision.
But Feng Ziheng could only sigh: "His Highness Prince Ning is our superior. How can we change the decisions he makes? I can't even control my good-for-nothing brother who's always causing trouble. Alas."
This was just talk; nobody really believed it.
What is there between colleagues that they don't understand? If Feng Ziheng doesn't go easy on him, he will always find a way to lock Feng Zizhou up and prevent him from coming to the Dali Temple.
Someone suggested, "Why don't we ask His Majesty to make the decision?"
So the group of old men from the Dali Temple went to His Majesty together and told him all about how Prince Ning had invited a young woman to help compile the laws.
Their words made it sound as if Prince Ning had committed some heinous crime and deserved to be executed immediately.
The Emperor frowned as he listened and asked, "Stop talking, Minister Liu, explain yourself. Prince Ning invited a girl, but whose girl is she, and what's going on?"
"Your Majesty, Prince Ning has invited the second young lady of the Si family to the Dali Temple, saying that they want to revise the laws together," Lord Liu hurriedly said. "But Your Majesty, how can a woman have such abilities? Besides, that second young lady of the Si family grew up in the countryside and is not well-versed in poetry and literature."
The emperor stroked his chin but did not express his opinion.
The second young lady of the Si family? He thought about it seriously, and realized he hadn't seen her often.
I only remember that the eldest young lady was dignified, the third young lady was beautiful, and this second young lady... I do remember that Feng Zizhou praised her quite a bit, saying that my second cousin was very capable and had a good understanding of the law.
The Emperor then looked at Feng Ziheng: "Ziheng, what do you say?"
Feng Ziheng smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I think they are right."
The Emperor glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions. He simply said, "I need to consider this. You all go back first, and I will make a decision after I have consulted with Prince Ning."
He also said, "Feng Ziheng, stay."
Everyone was used to it and filed out.
The Emperor then asked, "What is the state of that second young lady of the Si family?"
"The second young lady of the Si family is indeed quite talented. Unlike ordinary women, she is not proficient in poetry and music. However, she seems to have a natural keenness when it comes to matters of law. This morning, I discussed a few things with her, and she answered fluently. In fact, she even had some insights into cases that surpassed mine."
"Above you?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Ziheng rarely praises others like this."
Feng Ziheng laughed and said, "Of course I must praise a capable person. But I also feel that she is a woman. If she were a man, I would certainly admire her and accept her."
The Emperor said, "Just because she is a woman, you don't appreciate or accept her?"
“I do appreciate it, but… Your Majesty, I think Prince Ning is being far too unrealistic. It is really inappropriate to leave a woman in the Dali Temple.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor burst into laughter: "You did it on purpose!"
Feng Ziheng immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am terrified."
The Emperor waved his hand: "You don't want to see the Si family, so you clearly want to express your gratitude that she is a woman."
“I am wrong,” Feng Ziheng said. “I was thinking that the three young ladies of the Si family each have their own merits, but the young master is indeed somewhat foolish.”
The Emperor's gaze was intense: "Do you think Si Jing'an is truly stupid or just pretending?"
Feng Ziheng shook his head: "I don't think he's stupid, I just think he's ordinary."
"That's stupid. Si Xingzhi at least has some tact. He's not even as good as his father. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made the matter of the third son known to everyone."
Feng Ziheng was unaware of the Emperor's attitude and dared not answer.
The Emperor remained silent for a long time, then waved his hand and said, "It's alright, she's just a woman, it's nothing serious. Don't target her just because she's from the Si family. I will support anything that benefits the country."
"Yes, I accept your order."
After Feng Ziheng left, the Emperor rubbed his eyes wearily and asked Eunuch Wu a question.
"How is Consort Rong?"
Eunuch Wu replied, "The imperial physician said that Consort Rong has been in excellent spirits these past two days, and Consort Xin visits her every day."
The Emperor's face darkened: "Tell her to stop bothering Consort Rong."
"Yes."
The second sister stayed at Dali Temple.
However, since men and women are different, Prince Ning specially set aside a room for her, where she would write books on weekdays. If they needed to discuss something, they would go to the main hall to talk with the other officials.
In addition, she was given two maids and a mother to attend to her, so that she would not be alone and would not give others cause for gossip.
The old scholars were quite dissatisfied and spoke with great impatience, but with Feng Zizhou by their side, he could easily shut them up with a few words.
Second Sister is a straightforward person. She doesn't understand unless others say it explicitly. If others say it explicitly, she either ignores them or directly retorts.
After a few days, the second sister secretly told Si Muyan, "When I first saw how much they disliked me and how they constantly mocked me, I thought they would stay that way. But today, two of them have actually changed their opinion of me."
Si Muyan asked, "How do you know their opinion has changed?"
“If I made a mistake before, they would mock me and think I couldn’t understand. Today I made a mistake, and those two officials not only told me, but also gave me the original source and the relevant case files so that I could study them carefully.”
Si Muyan smiled: "That's because they saw your abilities and your hard work."
No one dislikes a student who is intelligent, studious, and humble.
Although my second sister wasn't their student, she was young and very humble. In front of those old scholars, she was just like a diligent and eager student.
An adult even ran up to Feng Ziheng, stroked his beard, and sighed, "If Miss Si were a boy, our Dali Temple would truly have gained a talented individual."
Feng Ziheng smiled faintly and remained silent, but in his heart he thought that if Si Mutong were a man, he probably wouldn't have survived like his two older brothers.
Prince Ning was also generous to his second sister, paying her salary out of his own pocket, the same amount as Feng Zizhou.
He even gave her two rare copies of detective stories from the previous dynasty as a token of his gratitude for her willingness to come to the Dali Temple to help.
The second sister was unwilling to accept the Prince of Ning's gift, but the gift was so touching that she couldn't bear to refuse it.
That day, after finishing her shift, the second sister packed her things to go home, but her carriage was stopped halfway there.
It turned out to be the Second Prince, whom I hadn't seen for a while.