"What exactly is the position of Sima in the Capital City?"
On the way out of the palace, Jiang Changtian earnestly asked his in-law.
The accompanying eunuch, with an exasperated expression, looked up at the sky.
Meng Qingshe said, "I don't know either. The Emperor agrees to anything when he's in a good mood, then forgets about it. Maybe it's because there are too many concubines in the harem, always making wishes. But since the Emperor spoke to you, he'll probably remember in a few days. Then you'll know what position you've been given."
The accompanying eunuch thought: ...
Are you saying the Emperor is fickle? Or forgetful? Or what? Do you think your head is too heavy on your shoulders and want to move it?
Jiang Changtian nodded, "The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, child of the Heavenly Way. It's normal for him to do as he pleases."
Meng Qingshe replied, "That's not entirely true. Sometimes the ministers criticize him too, for everything. Recently when Jingzhou had an earthquake, the ministers called for the Emperor to take responsibility and write a self-criticism edict. Whenever there's a natural disaster, they demand the Son of Heaven take the blame. Brother Jiang, don't fixate on any particular position. Being an official is very tiring, always taking the blame for things. It's best to just get by. Besides, with your straightforward personality, it's easy to get into trouble as an official. Those civil servants can be quite nasty."
Jiang Changtian shook his head seriously, "If it were just me, I wouldn't care. But I've brought my wife and children to the capital. I asked my daughter what she wants to do in the capital, and she actually said she wants to keep a low profile. You can see she knows my position is low and powerless, and doesn't dare cause trouble. Imagine if our two grandsons go out in the future and get beaten up by other children. If those other families outrank us, not only could we not retaliate, we'd have to apologize. Isn't that infuriating?"
Hearing this, Meng Qingshe's dark face turned red.
He turned to walk back to the palace.
Jiang Changtian held him back.
"No rush, no rush. We have plenty of time. Our two grandsons can't even roll over yet, so they probably won't go out causing trouble. My daughter is actually quite well-behaved and sensible."
The two of them continued their potentially treasonous conversation as they walked out of the palace.
...
The eunuch who escorted them out wiped the sweat from his brow.
Despite the cold weather, these two had frightened him into a sweat.
There were eyes everywhere in the palace. Every step you took, every word you said, someone would immediately report it to others.
Yet these two freely discussed and criticized the Emperor.
It was understandable that Meng Qingshe wasn't afraid to enter the palace, given his connection to old General Meng.
But why did Lord Jiang act as if he were strolling through his own garden?
The young eunuch returned to the Emperor's side and recited the two men's conversation word for word, complete with expressions.
Surprisingly, the Emperor didn't get angry after hearing it.
Instead, he burst out laughing.
"The Son of Heaven is the child of the Heavenly Way - I can't believe he said that. Do as I please? If only I could."
The Emperor laughed.
The palace maids and eunuchs around the Emperor laughed too.
For a moment, the atmosphere was filled with joy.
After laughing, the Emperor asked Wenxin, who was sitting across from him.
"So this Jiang fellow is the man your sister likes? He's quite interesting indeed. Not only handsome but also kind-looking. Wenxin, you didn't lose unfairly."
Eunuch Yan rubbed his brow helplessly, glancing reproachfully at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, we should consider seniority. I came to Your Majesty's side first, that Jiang fellow came later. However, regarding my sister's three children, before I came to the capital, I was worried I might die on the way, so I had them all accept me as their godfather. If they really cause trouble, may this servant use his authority to bully others on their behalf, borrowing Your Majesty's prestige?"
The Emperor laughed heartily again.
His face glowed red with good humor.
Borrowing imperial prestige - Wenxin was quite mischievous too.
Having been Emperor for most of his life, he was now extremely paranoid, yet also extremely capricious, full of contradictions.
He took everything both very seriously and very lightly.
He especially liked those who spoke directly, who asked for positions outright.
Everyone said he favored Heir Apparent Han exclusively. He'd even heard absurd rumors from the streets claiming he had an affair with the princess, and that Heir Apparent Han was actually the Emperor's child.
He had everyone who spread such nonsense put to death.
He liked Heir Apparent Han solely because of his directness.
The boy clearly expressed whatever he wanted, wearing his heart on his sleeve.
And he was very dependent on the Emperor.
Come to think of it, that boy hadn't been to the palace for several days.
The Emperor ordered for him to be summoned, intending to show some care for the younger generation.
Outside the window, birds chirped cheerfully.
...
"Chirp chirp chirp."
Early morning.
Awakened by birdsong.
Mianmian washed her face, brushed her teeth, and applied face cream with Pangya's assistance.
Then she combed her hair and chose her clothes.
Choosing clothes was a complex process.
There were so many outfits.
She really wanted to choose, it made her happy.
This was probably an activity most men rarely engaged in.
Mianmian looked at her wardrobe full of dazzling options and picked out a light blue dress.
Blue was a tricky color for skin tone.
If you were even slightly dark, you couldn't wear blue.
But now her skin was luminously white.
She could enjoy the benefits of wearing blue.
The combination of blue and white looked very beautiful.
There were no coats or padded jackets here, just dresses - the difference being thick dresses and thin dresses.
She could wear clothes under the dresses.
And cloaks over them.
The dresses also had multiple layers.
Several layers.
They used a lot of fabric.
The embroidery on top was very intricate, with elaborate patterns sewn stitch by stitch.
Many of her luggage items for this trip were her clothes.
There was even an embroiderer among their party, specifically to make clothes for her.
Her family's private tailor.
Only wealthy people had so many clothes.
Not only did clothes use up a lot of fabric, they became worn after just a few washes.
Everything was pure handmade - cut, sewn, and dyed by hand.
Very natural, with no need to worry about chemical dyes.
Extremely beautiful.
But expensive.
The cost was a concern for her parents, not for Mianmian.
Mianmian put on her dress and walked out, her skirt swaying beautifully.
When she finished dressing and went out, she saw the door next door opening at the same time.
A youth in snow-white robes walked out.
The youth's skin was even whiter than Mianmian's.
Probably the type who purely disliked sunlight.
A kind of sickly paleness.
As he came out, he didn't look unhappy, but he didn't look happy either.
Overall, he gave off a very gloomy feeling.
Even though it was early morning.
The birds were chirping so cheerfully.
The sunlight was so bright.
Even the grass on the ground seemed to have emotions.
Yet he had none.
He was very quiet.
Extremely like a pessimistic hypothyroidism patient.
But hypothyroidism causes weight gain, and Brother Chong's build was average, even a bit thin, so it probably wasn't that.
Or maybe he had mild depression?
No, it might even be moderate by now.
Mianmian thought about giving Brother Chong a few tests someday.
After they finished breakfast.
Mianmian enthusiastically offered to accompany Brother Chong to pick up the little turtle.
Hei Ta and Wei Biao went along too.
Hei Ta's beard had been neatly trimmed into an arc shape, which looked quite good.
When Hei Ta and Wei Biao stood together, they actually matched outfits.
When others match outfits, whoever looks worse feels awkward.
When Hei Ta and Wei Biao matched outfits, whoever looked worse felt proud.
Wei Biao was big and burly, with a face full of thick flesh. He looked like a great villain, ugly in a ferociously proud way.
Hei Ta never imagined that after all his travels, he would end up back with the Jiang family.
But the Jiang family wasn't the same as before, and they no longer lived in the village. Things were much better now.
The little tot who could barely walk steadily back then had now become a graceful young lady, yet he was still single.
Being able to go out made Mianmian very happy.
Her whole being radiated joy.
Mom had arranged for her to ride in a carriage.
She didn't have much else, but she had many good horses and carriages.
Riding in a carriage to go out was very nice.
Because some stretches of road could be quite dirty.
Mianmian noticed when entering the city that while the city center was very clean, the outskirts were quite smelly. The sanitation wasn't good, not as clean as Jingzhou.
With the curtains open, she could sightsee left and right. When tired, she could lie down or lean back in the carriage.
Her carriage was very comfortable, even having a small table. She could even make tea, and many snacks were prepared.
Pangya, Mianmian, and Brother Chong were in the carriage.
Wei Biao and Hei Ta drove the carriage.
Zi Congheng was a homebody who rarely went out.
He didn't understand why some people were so happy to go out.
The outside world was noisy and chaotic, with no order.
Fortunately, they were in the carriage.
He looked at the little girl sitting cross-legged opposite him. With her many-layered skirts, she looked like a flower fairy sitting on a blossom. She held her head high, looking pleased with herself, with a plum in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out first on the left, then on the right.
It didn't seem so difficult after all.
But when the carriage passed by a street of snack vendors,
Mianmian wanted to get out.
And she dragged Brother Chong along to squeeze into a flatbread stall. Zi Congheng's face fell.
Couldn't they have Hei Ta and Wei Biao do this? Why did they have to personally go squeeze and fight for it?
"You don't understand, this is the aroma of snatched food," Mianmian said, holding the warm flatbread in her hand and pressing Brother Chong down to sit at a small roadside table to eat.
Sesame seeds scattered from the bread.
Crispy bread crumbs fell to the ground.
The bread was a bit hot to hold, making her fingertips warm.
It smelled delicious.
People bustled back and forth on the street, their steps hurried.
There was sunlight and wind.
The wind made many banners flutter.
The "Erlang Shaobing" sign above the flatbread shop flew especially high.
The shop owner was tall and robust. It was a husband-and-wife business; the wife wasn't particularly beautiful, with a large mole at the corner of her mouth, but her hands moved deftly.
One kneaded dough and baked bread, while the other took money and packed the bread.
Mianmian stuffed the bread into Brother Chong's mouth.
"Brother, you should eat it while it's hot. It's not as good when it's cold."
His lips touched the warm bread, slightly salty with the aroma of sesame.
Sitting at a small roadside stall, feeling the cool breeze and warm sun, munching on hot bread.
People came and went in an endless stream.
"Brother, do you know how to bake flatbread? Why don't we open a flatbread shop? You can bake, and I'll handle the money."
"I don't know how."
"Brother, then what do you know how to do?"
"..."
...
