Chapter 520

"Cough!" Xu Heming looked at his hesitant father-in-law and had to clear his throat softly to remind Li Tianyou. Li Tianyou, who had been wavering, suddenly came to his senses.

There really shouldn't be anything to hesitate about.

There was no reason the emperor wouldn't agree.

"Your Majesty, regarding my daughter's recent wedding, my brother-in-law also came to the capital to celebrate her marriage. This time, my brother-in-law has a matter he wished to bring before me." As Li Tianyou said this, he cautiously glanced at Zhu Jingchen.

When the court officials heard Li Tianyou's words, they all assumed he was planning to ask the emperor for an official post for Yao Qisheng.

"Lord Li, the imperial court has its rules. If today you ask His Majesty for a title for your brother-in-law, and tomorrow someone else does the same, wouldn't the court descend into chaos?" Grand Preceptor Wei was the first to step forward in opposition.

"Lord Li, I believe Lord Wei's words are reasonable." Minister of Personnel He Nanqin also stepped forward to add.

Inside, he thought resentfully that if they set this precedent for Li Tianyou, the Ministry of Personnel would be overwhelmed with work later.

Others aspiring to officialdom had to pass the imperial examinations. They couldn't just bring this matter to court simply because Li Tianyou's daughter had married Prince An, could they?

With that in mind, He Nanqin even turned to Xu Heming and said, "Prince An, I understand that Lord Li wants to support his wife's family, but the Yao family are nothing but ordinary merchants. How could they enter the court?"

He Nanqin's tone carried contempt for merchants, as the old traditions placed scholars first, farmers second, artisans third, and merchants last—the lowest class.

How could they expect to rise to heaven effortlessly without even lifting a finger?

Such corrupt practices were unacceptable!

Zhu Jingchen, upon hearing this, felt that He Nanqin had a point.

But then he thought of Li Zhiwei, who had married Xu Heming only to live like a widow.

If this was the condition for Li Zhiwei to stay with Xu Heming and not seek a divorce, perhaps he should agree?

"Lord He, what's the hurry? Lord Li hasn't finished speaking yet." Xu Heming, however, spoke unhurriedly, glancing at He Nanqin.

Then he continued calmly.

He seemed unaffected by the words of Grand Preceptor Wei and He Nanqin.

"Prince An, do you think someone from the Yao family is capable of any official position?" He Nanqin felt that Prince An was being ungrateful. He even took advantage of the certainty that the emperor wouldn't agree to push back against Xu Heming's words.

Xu Heming looked at the agitated He Nanqin, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Lord He, are you sure you want to argue with me about this right now?" Xu Heming's gaze at He Nanqin was far from friendly.

He Nanqin felt uncomfortable and wanted to look away, cursing himself inwardly for being too hasty.

This matter would be decided by His Majesty.

He Nanqin believed the emperor would never agree to something so absurd.

"Lord Li, please continue. If the Yao family truly has talent, granting them an official post is not out of the question." Zhu Jingchen smiled and said to Li Tianyou.

Zhu Jingchen's words stunned the court officials.

Was an official title something that could be begged for like this?

"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate!" Grand Preceptor Wei immediately stepped forward to object.

After speaking, he gestured to Grand Preceptor Cheng.

The emperor was losing his judgment; they had to stop him.

Grand Preceptor Cheng rolled his eyes. The emperor had his own reasoning.

Ever since the empress had taken it upon herself to summon the Prince An's consort and suggest she marry the Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom, the emperor had been wary of them.

Now, he preferred to say as little as possible.

Why risk displeasing the emperor and causing trouble for his daughter?

Otherwise, Grand Preceptor Cheng worried the emperor might be angry enough to depose the empress.

"Grand Preceptor Wei, Lord Li hasn't even stated what he wants yet. Why are you all in such a hurry?" Xu Heming's voice carried a hint of mockery at everyone's earnest concern.

He was looking forward to seeing how these people's faces would change once they heard what his father-in-law had to say.

"Lord Li, speak freely." Zhu Jingchen, after hearing Xu Heming's words, quickly added.

He understood from Xu Heming's hint that what Li Tianyou was about to say had nothing to do with requesting an official post.

As long as it wasn't that, other minor matters wouldn't be a problem. He was willing to grant this favor.

Consider it a way to preserve some face for Xu Heming.

Xu Heming: Who asked you to preserve face for me?

"Your Majesty, although the Yao family are merchants, they have been in the grain business for generations. This time, when the patriarch of the Yao family, my brother-in-law, came to the capital, he wished to donate two hundred thousand jin of grain to the imperial court as a token of loyalty to our Lan Nuo Kingdom." Li Tianyou bowed deeply to Zhu Jingchen and spoke with fervor.

The entire hall fell silent.

They had expected a request for an official post, but there was none.

Even Zhu Jingchen was stunned.

He had expected some complaint, but there was none—neither.

Instead, Li Tianyou was announcing that his brother-in-law wanted to donate two hundred thousand jin of grain to the imperial court!

This was an enormous gesture!

Zhu Jingchen, who had been ready to watch a drama unfold, was deeply shocked.

He was immensely grateful he hadn't listened to Grand Preceptor Wei and He Nanqin and had let Li Tianyou finish.

Two hundred thousand jin of grain could feed the entire Lan Nuo Kingdom for a month!

Although the kingdom's conditions had improved, harvests weren't something that could be produced on demand.

Many people in Lan Nuo were still going hungry.

This two hundred thousand jin of grain was a timely lifeline!

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Zhu Jingchen exclaimed three times in excitement.

With this grain, he could add another glorious achievement to his reign.

Zhu Jingchen suddenly felt immense satisfaction that his decision to keep Li Tianyou had been absolutely correct.

After all, first there was Li Zhiwei's generous donation of her dowry, then Li Tianyou's generous gift of silver.

And now, Li Tianyou's brother-in-law was generously donating grain to the court.

He wouldn't mind more of such good fortune!

"Your Majesty, Benefactor Yao is waiting outside the palace for your summons." Seeing Zhu Jingchen lost in his own joy, Xu Heming had to remind him politely.

"Eunuch Liu, take a sedan chair and fetch Patriarch Yao from the palace gate with due honor!" Zhu Jingchen's voice could not hide his excitement.

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‍also decided to offer Yao Qisheng better treatment.

Thinking this over, Zhu Jingchen stood up, pondering what rewards to grant the Yao family.

If possible, he wouldn't mind giving Yao Qisheng an official post as well.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! This is great news! With this two hundred thousand jin of grain, the people of Lan Nuo won't go hungry." Tang Xiuyuan was momentarily surprised—he hadn't expected Li Tianyou to have kept such a big plan from him.

But then he quickly relaxed; Li Tianyou was not someone he could control, and besides, this was a good thing.

Tang Xiuyong then thought of the earlier remarks from Grand Preceptor Wei and Minister He, wondering just how His Majesty would reward the Yao family.