allonlinenovel Chapter 351 Sanskrit on the Jade Pendant
Chapter 351 Sanskrit on the Jade Pendant
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: It is a well-established practice of the court to commend the virtuous and meritorious. However, Heaven has sent down a calamity. My eldest son, the Prince of Guangling, has devoted himself wholeheartedly and worked tirelessly to quell the plague in Yuncheng and Panshicheng, earning him fame throughout the world. Now, I hereby specially decree that the Prince of Guangling shall take charge of the Ministry of Rites. He shall decide all matters of the Ministry of Rites and shall exercise discretionary power. He need not report to the Emperor on matters that are not extraordinary... This is the imperial decree."
"hiss--"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Everyone stared incredulously at the imperial edict in the eunuch's hand; it was simply too unbelievable.
The Northern Qi emperor not only bestowed generous rewards upon Zhao Yi, but also delegated power to him.
Although the Ministry of Rites was a relatively leisurely department, it was in charge of the imperial examinations and the Imperial Academy.
This is an important channel for the transfer of civil officials. Now that it has been handed over to Zhao Yi, won't the people supported by Zhao Yi occupy half of the country in the future?
Was the emperor of Northern Qi insane?
The group of people sent by prominent families to gather information found it difficult to process the news.
When they heard that the palace had issued an imperial edict to Zhao Yi, they assumed it was to punish Zhao Yi for overstepping his bounds and took it upon themselves to execute Lin Yi.
Who knew it would be about giving power and money?
A small portion of them were ordinary people who were worried about Zhao Yi, worried that such a good prince would be punished for protecting them.
Upon hearing that it was an imperial edict of reward, he was overjoyed.
The eunuch was equally surprised after reading the imperial edict.
Originally, Zhao Yi was thought to be an unfavored prince with only a title and no real power, but unexpectedly he quickly seized power and gained a place in Northern Qi.
The situation in Northern Qi is likely about to change.
Previously, King Qi and King Xian were rivals, but now a three-way power struggle is about to form, isn't it?
The eunuch suppressed his complicated thoughts, glanced at the people with their various expressions, closed the imperial edict, and handed it to Zhao Yi with both hands: "Your Highness, please accept the edict."
Zhao Yi accepted the imperial edict: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your divine grace. Long live the Emperor!"
Afterwards, Zhao Yi placed the imperial edict on the incense table.
The eunuchs carried the gifts of gold, silk, pearls, and jade, placing them one by one in the front hall of the Guangling Prince's mansion.
The eunuch who read the imperial edict had a beaming smile on his face and was extremely respectful: "Your Highness, the imperial edict has been delivered. This servant will return to the palace to report."
"Eunuch, thank you for making this trip in this cold weather." Shen Qingtan gave the eunuch a reward: "Please get me a pot of wine."
The eunuch accepted the reward money, uttered a few auspicious words, and led the other eunuchs back to the palace.
Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan were personally escorted to the door by eunuchs. They watched the eunuchs' carriages leave before turning their gaze away and glancing around indifferently.
Most of the people outside the mansion had already dispersed, leaving only a few simple and honest commoners with joyful smiles on their faces, as if they themselves had been rewarded.
Shen Qingtan smiled. The people of Northern Qi are simple-minded; they will protect whoever can bring them benefits.
She wanted to instruct Liuyue to distribute some fruits and eggs to the people, but she was worried that some people with ill intentions towards the Prince's Mansion might use the food she gave them to cause trouble.
Scattering some copper coins would be most appropriate, but times have changed. I'm afraid someone might seize on this as a pretext to accuse Zhao Yi of being too extravagant and ostentatious.
She plans to privately help more impoverished people as a way of repaying their warmhearted kindness.
Shen Qingtan instructed Liu Yue: "Register the bestowed items and move them to the storeroom for safekeeping."
Liu Yue responded, "Yes."
Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi returned to Lanxue Garden side by side, and closed the door behind them.
"When we received the imperial decree, I saw a lot of people coming to the door. I guessed that many of them were sent by aristocratic families."
Shen Qingtan said softly, "After the eunuchs finished reading the imperial edict, they left quietly. They should be going back to report to their master."
Zhao Yi's identity was very sensitive, and the powerful figures of Northern Qi were all waiting for the Northern Qi emperor to make a statement before deciding how to deal with them.
If Zhao Yi hadn't successfully controlled the plague and made a big fuss about killing Lin Yi, the Northern Qi emperor wouldn't have sent someone to announce the imperial edict of reward in such a grand manner.
In order to silence public opinion, this was a show put on for the common people, so Zhao Yi was given some special privileges.
Shen Qingtan didn't care about the rewards; what she cared about was the status this imperial edict brought them and whether it would bring them any benefits.
She said in a low voice, "Once the contents of this imperial edict get out today, I'm afraid some people will start inviting us to banquets."
“Those who stand out are not of our kind. If you don’t want to attend a banquet, just decline it. There’s no need to force yourself.” More than the trouble of offending these people, Zhao Yi was worried about Shen Qingtan’s safety: “The more inhumane we are in our actions, the more at ease the Emperor of Northern Qi will be. He won’t worry that we will use our positions to win over court officials.”
Shen Qingtan nodded, then suddenly remembered something. She took two boxes from the multi-treasure pavilion, placed them on the rosewood carved Luohan couch, and opened the two boxes.
"This is a reward from Her Majesty the Empress when I went to the palace to pay my respects today." Shen Qingtan specially took out a jade pendant and handed it to Zhao Yi: "Second Master, do you know Sanskrit? The jade beads on this pendant are engraved with Sanskrit."
Zhao Yi's slender fingers hooked the jade pendant, and he held it in his palm, carefully examining the obscure Sanskrit characters on the beads.
He was once physically weak and stayed in a temple in the mountains for a while while recuperating in his ancestral home, so he had some understanding of Sanskrit.
A look of surprise flashed across Zhao Yi's eyes as he murmured, "A peaceful and bountiful year..."
Shen Qingtan was stunned: "A bountiful harvest?"
These are words used to praise a peaceful and prosperous era.
She speculated, "Did Her Majesty the Empress specially send us this jade pendant to convey her wish for peace between the two countries?"
Zhao Yi put the jade pendant back into the box: "Perhaps." After a pause, he added: "This is Her Majesty the Empress's gift; you can wear it on your person."
Shen Qingtan's heart stirred, and she immediately understood Zhao Yi's meaning.
What exactly did the Empress mean by giving her this jade pendant? Now that she wears it, someone will surely tell her the answer.
Even if the Empress had other intentions in giving this jade pendant, once everyone knew its origin, the Empress dared not make a fuss about it anymore.
“Alright.” Shen Qingtan looked down at the jade pendant in the box and said softly, “I haven’t been out and about since I came to Northern Qi. I’ll take the opportunity to go out and buy some things for the New Year’s Day in the mansion tomorrow.”
Zhao Yi realized that the New Year was approaching after Shen Qingtan mentioned it.
“This is the first time we’ve spent the Lunar New Year away from our families.” Shen Qingtan held his large hand and looked up at him. “It’s also the first Lunar New Year we’ve spent together.”
Zhao Yi gazed into Shen Qingtan's bright eyes, which held a gentle smile, showing no trace of sadness at parting from a loved one.
She was always sensitive and perceptive, and she sensed his emotional changes, so she kept her own sorrow to herself.
Zhao Yi couldn't say anything at that moment, he just leaned down and hugged her as he pleased.