Chapter 163: Rong Zhi Shows Off His Daughter
In ancient times, morning court was not held every day.
Tianqi held court once every five days; the rest of the time, officials were busy with their duties in their respective yamen.
Today was another court day, and ministers would use this occasion to present important matters from the past five days in the Imperial Court, after which everyone would debate and resolve them.
Often, they would argue incessantly over a single issue.
In this morning court, Rong Zhi was arguably the most closely watched.
“Chancellor Rong, I heard you have a daughter? Congratulations, congratulations! When do you plan to get married?”
Rong Zhi remained unflustered: “I have a daughter, but no wife.”
The surrounding ministers, who had been eavesdropping for gossip, were all shocked.
“Chancellor Rong, that is incorrect. Since you have accepted the child, regardless of how lowly the mother’s status may be, if you don’t marry, you could at least bring her into your household as a concubine. Abandoning her like this is not the behavior of a gentleman.”
The speaker was the Right Chancellor, who had always been at odds with Rong Zhi.
While it sounded like he was showing concern for Rong Zhi, he was actually gloating.
Rong Zhi calmly replied, “I cannot marry her. After she brought the child to me, the person disappeared.”
“What?!!!”
“Who is this woman? She’s someone even someone like Chancellor Rong is unwilling to marry?”
Rong Zhi said, “However, I do not intend to marry anyone else in my lifetime. From now on, my Rong family will only have one daughter, Wanwan.”
The men in the Imperial Court immediately gasped.
Hiss…
Is Rong Zhi crazy!
Rong Zhi was certainly not crazy. In this era, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was very important. He needed to inform everyone that even if Wanwan did not have a mother he officially married, she was still his only child.
The Emperor arrived, and the morning court began. The Emperor also frequently glanced at Rong Zhi, as if he had many questions, extremely curious but unable to ask them in this setting.
Rong Zhi stood among the court officials with his head lowered.
“Your Majesty, this minister has a memorial to present. The First Prince, as an Imperial Prince, directly robbed a horse for the sake of acquiring it, and then falsely accused a three-year-old young lady of causing the horse to bolt, imprisoning her.
The First Prince’s actions severely impacted the image of the imperial family and negatively affected the commoners. If everyone were to act like him, finding an excuse to seize whatever they desired, it would undoubtedly make a mockery of the law!”
Officials in the role of Imperial Censors were known for their sharp tongues.
The “Vegetable Imperial Censor” completely ignored the First Prince’s murderous glare and eloquently began to berate him.
The First Prince naturally wanted to defend himself.
His central argument was that it was all the Surveillance Commissioner’s idea and had nothing to do with him!
“If it has nothing to do with the First Prince, then why was he at the Surveillance Commissioner’s residence? And even if the First Prince did not order it, the Surveillance Commissioner was still procuring fine horses for the First Prince by flattering him.
If he liked it, why not buy it through proper channels? Why resort to forceful seizure? The First Prince’s mansion is not so lacking in funds to that extent.”
The First Prince’s face turned red with anger.
“Vegetable Imperial Censor, I have already said it has nothing to do with me. I happened to be at Commissioner Song’s residence when that horse, being spirited, charged towards me. If it weren’t for my guards, I would have been sent flying. I was startled and only then acted against the horse!”
He was certain that the Surveillance Commissioner would not betray him, after all… Song Kang’s family was still in his hands.
In the end, the argument ended without resolution, merely angering the First Prince, and the Emperor removed the Surveillance Commissioner’s official hat.
The First Prince had already made preparations for this official’s downfall, so he was not too saddened.
Rong Zhi was not disappointed either; he had never expected the First Prince to suffer any significant loss from this.
The real show was yet to come.
“Your Majesty, this minister has a memorial to present. There are irregularities in this Imperial Examination; I fear some scholars may have cheated!”
As this topic arose, the Imperial Court was shaken.
The Minister of Rites immediately stepped forward: “Impossible! I personally oversaw the entire process of the examination papers and did not show them to anyone!”
The Second Prince also stepped forward: “Imperial Father, this is slander. Don’t you trust my actions?”
Soon, the person presented evidence…
The Right Chancellor’s expression instantly turned grim, and he glared fiercely at those aligned with the First Prince.
The First Prince, standing among the crowd, began to laugh and then wildly gestured, denouncing the Second Prince and others.
The Emperor had already been aware of this matter and immediately proceeded with the pre-arranged plan.
He reprimanded the Second Prince and ordered a thorough investigation. As for the Minister of Personnel, he was to be temporarily detained until the matter was clarified.
Those aligned with the First Prince eagerly took on this task.
Rong Zhi did not participate in the matter of the Imperial Examination at all.
After the court dispersed, Rong Zhi walked to the palace gate, and a servant handed him a scarf.
As soon as he put on the scarf, someone peered out from their carriage.
“Chancellor Rong, what is that around your neck?”
It looked quite peculiar.
Rong Zhi smiled, and as he looked at the scarf, his eyes also filled with amusement, and his usual aloofness considerably diminished.
Even other officials, who were men, were somewhat stunned.
Then, they couldn’t help but feel deep jealousy.
They were all officials, so why was Rong Zhi so good-looking and well-built?
Their appearance couldn’t compare, and their hair was slightly thinning, their figures were also plump, especially their bellies which were quite prominent.
Among those of Rong Zhi’s age, others looked somewhat old standing beside him.
“My daughter gave this to me.”
“So it’s from your esteemed daughter. This item looks as white as snow, and wearing it around your neck must be very warm.”
Rong Zhi nodded: “It is indeed warm. It’s thoughtful of her to think of me when she’s so small.”
Everyone noticed that his eyes were filled with a smile when he spoke of his daughter.
Tsk, tsk, tsk… his words carried a hint of showing off.
As if no one else had a daughter!
They became even more curious about what kind of extraordinary woman could have given birth to a child and then abandoned him to run away.
Rong Zhi’s carriage traveled back to the Prime Minister’s Mansion. As he stepped off the carriage, a hint of coolness touched his nose.
He looked up.
It had started to snow.
Large white snowflakes fell, rustling and gradually dyeing the entire world white.
“Daddy Rong!”
The little chubby cub, bundled in fluffy clothing, happily ran over from next door and bumped into his embrace.
Rong Zhi bent down and picked her up.
“Daddy Rong, look at my new backpack.”
Qin Wanwan showed him the beautiful little bag she wore on her back.
It was a backpack with an embroidery of a lazy cat sleeping on a peach blossom tree, very exquisite.
The opening of the backpack could be cinched shut with a rope.
Its capacity was much larger than the small sachet she used to wear at her waist.
“I’ve put the jade pendant you gave me inside.”
This backpack also had several compartments, so even if she put the jade pendant and other items inside, they wouldn’t be bumped.
“Good. It’s snowing, let’s go back inside first.”
“Let’s go to Daddy Shang’s house.”
Qin Wanwan grabbed his slender finger.
Rong Zhi’s hands were beautiful, his nails neatly trimmed, like artwork made of the finest white jade.
“Daddy Shang has finished making the honeycomb briquettes, and he said he needs to see you about something.”
“Honeycomb briquettes?”
Qin Wanwan murmured in his arms, “They’re honeycomb briquettes that can burn longer and are cheaper, so many people won’t have to freeze.”
Upon hearing this, Rong Zhi no longer hesitated and headed next door with the little chubby cub in his arms.
