Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Royal brother, the State of Chu has not been completely conquered yet, and you are already thinking about unifying the world. Aren't you thinking too far ahead?" Prince Su deliberately smiled and argued with him.

The emperor rolled his eyes at him. He was in such a good mood that he didn't even want to argue with him. He just smiled and said,

"The prince said in the letter that they will lead the army to attack Shangjing today. I believe the army is already on the way. It is time to announce this great victory and Wen Yuan's achievements to the world!"

Prince Su also smiled and nodded, "Yes! I really didn't expect that Wen Yuan could achieve this in just over two years."

The emperor showed a proud look, and just as he was about to say something, without even looking at whose son it was, he heard Prince Su say,

"Fortunately, the prince was broad-minded enough to accommodate him and show him a clear path, which led to the win-win situation today.

If there is no crown prince, there would be no Wenyuan and Zhao today."

The emperor's arrogance disappeared when he heard this. He was silent for a moment and then said,

"Yes, thanks to the prince! I thought about it before. Once the prince destroys the State of Chu, I will abdicate in advance and let the prince ascend the throne. It seems that the time has come."

"It's good to retire early. My brother should take a rest." Prince Su expressed his support and said frankly,

"Look at you. You got a little dizzy because of the excitement just now. It's obvious that you are not feeling well."

The emperor couldn't help but glare at him.

Only this miserable brother could tell such a heartbreaking truth.

"After you abdicate, you can go out and have some fun. How about we go to the Western Regions first?" Prince Su said again.

"We? You want to go with me too?" the emperor asked with interest.

"Yes, when the two children are three years old, I will take Nianqiu on a long journey, walk slowly and see everywhere along the way." Prince Su said with a smile.

"When we were young, we didn't have the time or the energy to do so. It would be nice for us to travel together as a group when we are old. Now the next generation of the royal family is very outstanding, and I am ready to let it go."

The emperor listened to the beautiful scene he described and couldn't help but smile and nodded, "Very good."

The two brothers chatted and laughed, and started to imagine their retirement life.

It was not until Fang Yunyan came to report on government affairs that the two stopped chatting and greeted him with smiles on their faces.

"Lord Fang is here."

"Yun Yan is here."

Fang Yunyan,...

Such enthusiasm makes others numb.

However, they still bowed politely, and Fang Yunyan asked with a smile, "Your Majesty and the Prince are so happy, but is there good news from the south?"

"Hahahaha... Here is the victory report, take a look for yourself!" The emperor asked the chief steward to hand him the victory report and said with a big laugh.

"You cabinet have something to do. Hurry up and draft an edict to announce this great victory to the world. You must also restore Wen Yuan's reputation and re-enthrone him as king. I have already thought of it. His title is Chu!"

The King of Chu, the word Chu is taken from the State of Chu. This word has fully demonstrated Xie Wenyuan's achievements. He is ranked first in the achievement of destroying Chu.

The emperor had also thought about it. Xie Wenyuan's fiefdom was also divided into the lands of the old Chu State. It would not be too much to give him half of the territory.

Of course, the emperor planned to discuss the issue of the fiefdom with the prince and ask the prince's opinion on how much to give. He also did not intend to act arbitrarily, after all, he was about to abdicate.

After Fang Yunyan read the good news, he was also shocked and delighted. He immediately smiled and said,

"Your Majesty is wise! I will go back and ask everyone to draft an edict together. Should we announce it to the world at the morning court tomorrow?"

"Of course." The emperor nodded with a smile.

Fang Yunyan smiled and took his leave, taking the good news with him.

-

When the cabinet ministers saw the good news and learned about the former prince's achievements, they were all shocked and became fools.

The expressions are all the same: staring, open-mouthed, and dull.

Fang Yunyan sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, looked at everyone's silly expressions and tasted it. He immediately felt that today's tea was particularly sweet and delicious.

After a long while, the cabinet ministers finally recovered and their brains finally functioned normally. Then they asked their own questions:

"So was it true that the former crown prince raised private soldiers? Was it a setup from the beginning?"

"It is true that the former crown prince has private soldiers. It is not a setup. It is just that the crown prince is broad-minded and is willing to give the former crown prince a chance to start over."

Ministers:...

At this moment, their admiration for the prince was as endless as a surging river, and the prince's image in their hearts rose by at least eight levels.

"How did the former crown prince stir up trouble in Chu? How could he make tens of thousands of Chu soldiers willingly obey him and become his captives without wasting a single soldier? Did the former crown prince learn witchcraft in the south and can control people's thoughts?"

"Yes! Yes! It's incredible! Inconceivable, inconceivable..."

"I heard from the officials of the Eastern Palace that the former crown prince would fall asleep whenever he talked about government affairs, and he was always fooling around with everything. He was really... not very wise and brave!"

The ministers are also very familiar with the former crown prince. After all, studying the character, ability, and strategy of the crown prince is a necessary task for a minister.

"That's the former crown prince hiding his incompetence." Fang Yunyan explained to them.

“In fact, the former prince was very smart. Because the former queen controlled him too harshly, he was very disgusted, so he rebelled and pretended to be stupid to fool the world.

After he arrived in Chu, he was no longer bound by any constraints and it was said that he thrived in the Chu royal family.

That’s why we have captured the Chu army of more than 100,000 without wasting a single soldier. Taking down the Chu State will be as easy as taking something out of a bag…”

The ministers showed expressions of amazement again, and the shock in their hearts could not be calmed for a long time.

The former crown prince is such a hero!

"Prime Minister Fang, the Chu State has been destroyed, and the former crown prince will be named the King of Chu. With such a great achievement, it is inevitable that the officials of the former crown prince's party will have uneasy thoughts, making our regime unstable."

Among them, the Minister of Rites spoke in a more obscure way.

To put it bluntly, they were afraid that Xie Wenyuan would come again to seize the throne and power, and fight to the death with the prince. This was not what these old ministers wanted to see.

"That won't happen." Fang Yunyan said confidently, "Just wait, the prince will come back from the south, and the emperor will abdicate."

"Ah?" The ministers were stunned again by the huge melon.

But when you think about it, it’s not that surprising.

In the past two years, many of the court's decrees actually came from the prince's hands, and the emperor was just responsible for nodding.

Now that the prince has made great contributions in destroying Chu, the emperor could take this opportunity to abdicate and allow the prince to ascend the throne ahead of time. This would also be a good story and would help stabilize the regime.

"Okay, get to work." Fang Yunyan gave the order and started to deal with his own affairs.

When it was time to get off duty, Fang Yunyan rubbed his forehead and saw that he had not finished his work. He asked the eunuch to go back to the princess's mansion to report so that Ling Yue would not have to wait for him for dinner.

"Master Fang, please go back quickly. Just leave this small task to me." Song Yixuan said with a smile.

"It's a cold house even if I go back. I might as well stay here. The food in the imperial kitchen is delicious and the charcoal fire is burning brightly."

Although Song Yixuan was still a sixth-rank official, he was specially promoted and entered the cabinet to do odd jobs, following Fang Yunyan to learn how to handle government affairs.

"Okay, I'll leave it to you then." Fang Yunyan didn't refuse, and stood up with a smile. While packing up his things, he casually asked with concern, "You're not young anymore, why haven't you gotten married yet?"

People like him who have families want to go home after their shift, while single young people like Song Yixuan are happy to stay and work overtime.

Because staying here, with food and drink provided and warmth provided, can really save a lot of money.

"I haven't found the woman I love for the time being, and I don't want to settle for it, so I'll just put it off." Song Yixuan said.

Fang Yunyan agreed with this point. He was the beneficiary, so he supported Song Yixuan's idea.

"Well, you can't make do. Even if you don't say how much you love me, at least find a woman who looks pleasing to the eye and whose character you admire."

Song Yixuan smiled at his words, but soon said bitterly, "It's too difficult."

Fang Yunyan thought about the current trend and was not pessimistic. She continued to encourage him, "In the future, unmarried men and women will spend more time together. They will meet someone they like."

"Thanks to the Prime Minister's good words, let's hope for that." Song Yixuan thanked him earnestly and saw him off respectfully.

Turning back to his seat, Song Yixuan picked up an official document about the prince's extermination of Chu, and read it for a while, his mind a little distracted.

When the prince comes back, she will be back too, and when they greet him together, she should be able to take a look at him...

Song Yixuan thought for a while, then shook his head, shook off this inappropriate thought, and concentrated on his official duties.

-

Princess House.

Ling Yue has been pregnant for more than five months. She usually stays in the princess's mansion to take care of the baby. When she is bored, she goes to the royal manor for a walk. She focuses on having a good time and no longer works as hard as she did before she got pregnant.

When Fang Yunyan arrived home, he smiled and hugged her when he saw her, then touched her belly, asked her if the baby kicked her, and then asked about her daily life.

Ling Yue answered all of them with a smile, and then asked him, "You seem very happy today. Is there any news from the Crown Prince?"

"Well, Princess is really smart." Fang Yunyan smiled and kissed her, sharing the good news of the great victory with her.

"Oh my god! The prince and his men are so awesome! This is the first time I know that fighting can be like this!" Ling Yue exclaimed and asked excitedly,

"Did she say when she would be back? I miss Qingzhi so much, it feels like she's been gone for a long, long time."

"No one mentioned a return date." Fang Yunyan shook his head, "It will probably be after the New Year."

"It's still a long time. Could it be that I've already given birth to the baby and they haven't come back yet?" Ling Yue touched her belly and sighed.

Fang Yunyan,...

He really wanted to say that whether they could have a child or not had nothing to do with the Crown Prince's concubine.

However, the pregnant woman was sensitive and she was missing her close friends, so it was better not to say such disappointing words.

Fang Yunyan thought for a moment and started talking about other things to divert her attention. Soon Princess Ling Yue forgot about it.

To grasp, no, to serve properly.

-

East Palace.

The Crown Princess also got the news, and her first reaction was to ask, "When will the Crown Prince return?"

She really regretted it so much. She should have gone with him in the first place.

She missed Mingyu and Mingyan so much, and of course she also missed Qingzhi and the prince, but the children came first.

After finishing my work, I feel empty and uncomfortable every day.

The Crown Princess felt some sympathy for the concubines in the back house who had no children, because she could empathize with them.

Without favor or children, this lonely and monotonous life is really too boring and too hard to bear.