TFSRITA Chapter 73

The feasibility of her suggestions is quite high; however, in certain areas, they are overly idealistic and need to be discussed. Thinking of this made him even more headache-prone. He didn’t enjoy doing these things. While not perfect, the Da Qian model is still capable of operating normally in a country.

But these suggestions came from Yan Qing.

Ji Yezhen maintained a stern expression, took a deep breath, and began to write down what she had just said on paper.

Yan Qing glanced over and, seeing him relent, felt quite satisfied. However, she knew it was impossible to implement her suggestions unchanged in this ancient context unless Ji Yezhen had truly lost his intelligence.

Nonetheless, the court officials wouldn’t care whether her ideas were good; as long as they knew it was Yan Qing approving the memorials, they would be furious!

Although she aimed to provoke the ministers by participating in politics, she didn’t dare give arbitrary commands that might harm ordinary citizens. Therefore, everything she suggested was useful, but how it would be applied and what kind of reputation it would bring to her name were what she truly looked forward to.

Yan Qing smiled faintly, picked up a memorial from her side, and whispered, “Grind the ink.”

“Yes,” replied a young palace maid, who nodded and knelt beside her, waiting attentively.

Yan Qing took a small, smooth brush, dipped it in vermilion, and began reviewing the memorial, using the notes from the original author to boldly inform everyone that Ji Yezhen was no longer the one reviewing the memorials.

Ji Yezhen, who had been summarizing her earlier suggestions, caught a glimpse of her actions from the corner of his eye. His hand paused momentarily. Jiang Wende, always observant of him, felt a tightening in his chest. Was he going to question the noble consort?

But the next moment, they heard the emperor say, “Your hand isn’t completely healed. Let your maid write for you.”

“Shut up, don’t interrupt me!” came a hoarse rebuke from her slightly pursed lips.

Ji Yezhen pressed his thin lips together, begrudgingly… keeping quiet.

The study fell into complete silence.

Jiang Wende covered his sore face, filled with despair.

After this day, the officials of Chang’an City quickly noticed something was off with the notes on the memorials.

The Minister of Revenue, Ran Youfeng, was one of the more vocal opponents of the noble consort, as he had previously had some friction with Prime Minister Yan and had not reconciled since.

At that moment, he received the revised memorial. After reading it, his gaze froze, then returned to the elegant red characters, pondering them repeatedly.

The change in handwriting was normal; after all, everyone knew that the emperor was lazy and often sought a proxy to write for him, not to mention there was also Fu Rong to assist in reviewing the memorials.

These matters had already become open secrets.

Yet, all these men were…

But the elegant red characters on the memorial, though bold at the end, generally leaned toward delicacy.

Anyone with a slight understanding of calligraphy could tell this was most likely written by a woman!

So this memorial had been reviewed by a woman! A woman from the inner palace!

Ran Youfeng’s face turned pale with anger as he coldly instructed his steward, “Go invite Lord Zhang and Lord Xu… bring them here.”

Just as the steward was about to turn to leave, Ran Youfeng added, “Make sure they bring the memorial issued today.”

“Yes.”

…

At the Yan residence.

Prime Minister Yan looked at the memorial in his hand, his expression quite peculiar.

He sat alone in the study, where it was relatively safe.

As time passed, his expression darkened. He stood up, retrieved a book from the nearby shelf, and flipped it open, finding a letter tucked inside.

Taking out the letter, he saw that the elegant handwriting matched exactly with the characters on the memorial, especially the two identical characters at the top, which seemed to be made from the same mold.

Prime Minister Yan’s face changed completely. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He felt as though having several daughters was merely a way to incur debts.

His eldest daughter had lost her mother at an early age, and he had raised her like both a father and mother. Just as he was about to marry her off to a suitable match, his restraint and reluctance led to her being pulled into the palace by the emperor. Recently, she had even been labeled a calamity for the country. If she were such a threat, the first person she would eliminate would be the emperor!

He felt wronged for his daughter. However, just after this matter had calmed down, another issue arose. Was she being threatened?

How dare she review the memorials?

With a serious expression, Prime Minister Yan took out paper and pen and quickly wrote a bunch of things. After wrapping it up, he called for Uncle Zhou: “Send this to the palace.”

“Yes,” Uncle Zhou replied, taking the items and leaving.

Prime Minister Yan’s expression remained sour for a long time.

Oh, his poor daughter!

However, thinking of this made him think of his second daughter, causing him even more of a headache. Recently, she had come home dejected. Just when he thought she was being honest, planning to find her a suitable match, she got angry and ran off again after he barely mentioned it.

He assumed she had gone out for some fresh air. Little did he know she would return later, sneaking out at night. By the next day, when he realized it, she was already nowhere to be found.

Prime Minister Yan was so angry that he fell ill for several days, but he didn’t tell Yan Qing that his eldest daughter was struggling in the palace; there was no need to burden her with family troubles.

…

On Ran Youfeng’s side, he had gathered some colleagues, each holding their memorials.

Ran Youfeng said, “Have any of you noticed something?”

Some nodded, while others shook their heads. In the living room sat ten middle-aged men, all with varying expressions, but they shared a common feature: round bellies.

One man said, “The red characters on this memorial are different.”

“I noticed too, but I can’t believe it. The emperor… can’t be that confused, right?”

“But who knows!”

Hearing their conversation, the others looked down and checked their memorials, saying, “Mine is no different from before.”

“Mine is different; the tone has changed.”

“The one reviewing the memorials now is a woman!” Ran Youfeng said in a low voice.