Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1003 Return of the property to its original owner

The censors all looked pale and listless, seemingly devoid of interest in anything. When the court session ended, officials from other departments couldn't resist coming over to give them a few scathing remarks.

"Lord Li, why are you so quiet today? Is your throat sore or are you still sleepy?"

"Lord Fang, did you in the Censorate agree to this? Everyone's silent. Show us the strength you had when you besieged our Ministry of War! Why are you chickening out?"

"In my opinion, the Censorate will be beaten nine times out of ten when it encounters Empress Tao. Tell me, why are you doing this?"

The officials in the Censorate had been holding back their anger for a long time. They couldn't vent to the emperor, so why couldn't they vent to their colleagues?

In no time, the eloquent officials of the Censorate launched a counterattack. No one was spared, whether they came to kick someone or just to watch the show. One after another, the stout middle-aged men stood with their hands on their hips in the main hall, spewing insults at each other, their spittle flying everywhere.

He Linzhang had long since returned to his study to enjoy his sumptuous lunch, completely unaware of what was happening in the main hall.

Eunuch Zhang had originally intended to report back, but the words caught in his throat before he swallowed them back. In any case, as long as the lords didn't cause a scandalous brawl, even if things went terribly wrong outside, not a single word would reach His Majesty's ears.

"Your Majesty, Compiler Xiao has sent over the newly revised annals, saying that there are a few points that need to be reported to Your Majesty in person. If Your Majesty has the time, he requests an audience."

He Linzhang wiped his mouth, ordered the lunch to be taken away, and raised his hand, after which Eunuch Zhang went out to summon people.

With his foot injury mostly healed, Xiao Nan returned home, canceled his leave, and went back to work. Seeing that he was functioning normally, his superior assigned him to deliver the annual report.

Upon entering the imperial study, he was about to perform the proper rites, but He Linzhang excused him, telling him to speak directly. Xiao Nan was flattered and quickly recounted the key points of the newly revised annals, asking questions in three places to solicit the emperor's opinion.

He Linzhang opened the annals and looked at a few places that required his opinion. He said, "History books have always been written by the victors. Your account of the Great Zhou's great defeat of the Yan Kingdom is correct in its approach, but it is not entirely objective."

He Linzhang circled a few places with his pen and handed the chronicle back to Xiao Nan: "Don't just emphasize that the Great Zhou's iron army was invincible. You should also write about the constant internal strife in the Yan Kingdom at that time, and how the King of Northern Yan was stubborn and self-willed, losing the hearts of the people. Winning this battle was due to the perfect combination of timing, location, and popular support, and it was not just because the Great Zhou was strong."

Xiao Nan quickly wrote it down, not daring to forget it.

He Linzhang then said a few more things, which brought the topic of historical records to a close, showing consideration for his officials.

"Is your foot alright? If it's not fully healed yet, you can take a few more days off. I've already instructed the Ministry of Personnel not to deduct your salary from your performance evaluation."

Paid leave was something Tao Yanyan had mentioned before, which He Linzhang had overheard.

Tao Yan said that when managing subordinates, one must also have some human touch. For example, some people do not necessarily need to ask for leave, but they have a really compelling reason to do so, such as suddenly falling ill. In that case, their salary should not be completely deducted. They should still be given their basic monthly expenses. Otherwise, how can they live when they are sick and have no income?

At that time, the incident of the daughter of the Marquis of Jing hiring someone to injure Editor Xiao had just occurred. He Linzhang then spoke to the Ministry of Personnel, which was in charge of performance evaluation. The Ministry of Personnel was also clever. Of course, such a measure that benefited everyone should be promoted. So they immediately drafted a regulation and presented it to His Majesty for review, thus officially making the paid leave issue official.

However, the regulations issued by the Ministry of Personnel clearly stipulated the paid leave for probationary periods. For any leave not covered by these regulations, full pay would still be deducted. This prevented some people from exploiting loopholes.

Xiao Nan was extremely grateful and immediately thanked the emperor: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your compassion. Long live the Emperor!"

After leaving the Imperial Study, Xiao Nan felt the world was a bit more beautiful. Holding the chronicle that needed revision, he thought for a moment, then turned left at the fork in the road and headed towards the Imperial Study.

He Yucheng was quite surprised to see that Editor Xiao had come to work.

"Master Xiao, didn't you say it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone? Why are you here so soon?"

Xiao Nan smiled and said, "I still feel a little sore, but as long as I don't exert myself too much, it's fine. I came from the Imperial Study today because I have something I'd like to ask Your Highness for help with."

He Yucheng respected his teachers and valued education, so naturally he wouldn't refuse to help.

Xiao Nan took out a purse from his bosom, and inside was a piece of warm and smooth phoenix pink jade.

"Your Highness, I accidentally stepped on and broke the Third Princess's pink jade pendant on my way out of the palace. I felt uneasy, so I bought a new one. Please help me give it to the Third Princess. Also, please return the broken pink jade pendant as well. Please forgive me, Princess."

He Yucheng knew immediately upon seeing the broken pink jade that it truly belonged to his third sister.

He took it: "As far as I know, this pink jade is worth at least a thousand taels of silver. If you accidentally stepped on it and broke it, just apologize. It's not necessary to buy another one as compensation. My third sister has many jade pendants, so she won't miss this one. But a thousand taels of silver would take you many years to earn!" Probably more than five or six years.

Xiao Nan said sincerely, "If you do something wrong, you should take responsibility. I will not be at peace if I do not return a new one."

Seeing his reaction, He Yucheng nodded with satisfaction: "Alright, I will pass this on to Third Sister and plead on your behalf."

Xiao Nan finally felt relieved. Since he was already here, he might as well give the Crown Prince some homework. He had been idle at home recently and had read several works by great Confucian scholars, gaining some insights.

He Yucheng hadn't expected his teacher, Xiao Nan, to be so dedicated. On his first day back on duty, Xiao Nan volunteered to teach a lesson and even assigned homework. After Xiao Nan finished his task and left, He Yucheng looked at Fen Yu beside him and fell into deep thought.

"Why...why did I agree so easily to help him deliver the jade? Not only do I have to run errands, but I also have extra homework!" Waaaaah, who has homework to do? Especially extra homework!

He Min never expected that the Phoenix Pink Jade she had lost would return to her in this way.

Recalling the day Xiao Bianxiu bumped into her, she couldn't help but chuckle: "So that's where it was left. I almost searched the entire harem. That guy, really, couldn't he have told me first?"

He Min played with the new pink jade in her hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Third sister, what should we do with this broken jade pendant? Should we throw it away?" He Yucheng asked.

He Min shook her head: "What a waste to throw it away? I'll have the jewelry department make me some earrings another day. I have enough material."

He Min was a woman of action. She returned the item to its rightful owner in the morning, and by the afternoon she had finalized the design for the jewelry department. In less than three days, she received a pair of pink jade earrings.

Having completed the set, He Min was in high spirits. She put on the same pink dress, along with a pink jade pendant and pink jade earrings, and went to attend the banquet that Consort Liang had prepared for He Qian.

She originally didn't want to come, but Consort Xian said that everyone was like sisters, and that her cousins ​​from the imperial family were all attending. If she didn't give them face, it would make Consort Liang and He Qian think too much.

Consort Xian told her to just go through the motions and not make things too ugly.