Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Only capital officials could hear Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts. Once an official was transferred to a local position, even with an official seal, and even if they temporarily stood on the capital’s soil, they could no longer hear Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice.

After being reassigned as a magistrate, Ji Sui, despite understanding that his official career was essentially over—since the emperor would never allow his return to the capital—hadn’t yet emotionally grasped the difference. His door was still frequently visited by people seeking favors, his network remained intact, he was still the leading figure of the Jinwen School, and his best friend was none other than the current crown prince.

Yet, no moment made the difference clearer than when he realized he could no longer hear Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice.

—He had been shut out from the inner workings of power.

And without actual authority, all those connections and titles ultimately amounted to nothing more than an empty reputation.

The young servant accompanying Ji Sui struggled to find words to comfort him. After some thought, the servant said, “Miss is still waiting for you to return home.”

It was a lie, of course. Qin Zheng was always indifferent to Ji Sui; she would never wait for him. Ji Sui gave a complicated glance in the direction Xu Yanmiao had left, then thought of Qin Zheng. His expression softened instantly. “Let’s go home.”

Ah Zheng might not acknowledge him now, but that was fine. It was his fault, after all. He would spend his entire life seeking her forgiveness. And if forgiveness never came, that was fine too. He would do everything in his power to make amends for her sake.

He also recalled recent news: someone had sent word that the gentleman who wrote Lessons for Women (Nü Jie) had been released by the emperor. The gentleman announced his intention to return to his hometown and start spreading the influence of Lessons for Women within his community, gradually expanding its reach.

As it happened, that man’s hometown was in the jurisdiction where Ji Sui would serve as magistrate. And since Ji Sui had fortunately earned the emperor’s forgiveness, he was allowed to take his family along.

Thinking about that gentleman and his Lessons for Women, Ji Sui let out a cold laugh.

Want to expand its influence? Go ahead and try.

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Xu Yanmiao arrived at court with dark circles under his eyes, having spent the entire night pondering how to expose the corruption case.

The issue was massive, and handing it over to Princess Wanshou might not be enough to handle it.

—What Xu Yanmiao didn’t realize was that Ji Sui’s talk of passing the evidence to Princess Wanshou was just an excuse. Ji Sui simply wanted Xu Yanmiao to understand the situation so that, one day, Xu Yanmiao could speak of it in court. This way, all the credit would go to Xu Yanmiao.

Ji Sui might find Xu Yanmiao insufferable, but he was also deeply grateful to him for reuniting him with his granddaughter.

Xu Yanmiao, however, was zoning out at the moment, completely ignoring the official from the Ministry of War, who was trying desperately to signal him with glances and whispers.

The clerk was growing frantic.

“Lord Xu! Stop daydreaming! His Majesty is clearly in a foul mood today! If you’re caught…”

“Xu Yanmiao,” the emperor’s voice cut through, calm and measured.

But… Xu Yanmiao was still lost in thought.

The emperor took a deep breath, raising his voice, “Xu Yanmiao!”

Startled, Xu Yanmiao finally snapped out of it and hurriedly stepped forward. “This humble servant greets Your Majesty.”

The emperor curled his lips into a smile. Remembering the fright he had endured at the execution ground yesterday, he decided to vent his frustration openly. R̃ÅꞐǒВЁṧ

That’s right—venting, plain and simple. So blatantly, in fact, that the court officials couldn’t bear to look and began to feel an odd sense of pity for Xu Yanmiao.

Just listen to the petty grievances:

“Is this document copied by you? Look at it! The handwriting barely stays on the page!”

“Why didn’t you copy three identical copies of the document? The rule says two, but can’t you take the initiative for once? Must you wait for explicit instructions for every little thing?”

“And why do you always eat alone? Such isolationist behavior! How can you be a proper official like this?”

The nitpicking was outrageous.

But… the emperor even knew Xu Yanmiao usually ate alone. This detail struck some officials in court with a pang of jealousy.

And, honestly, if this was how the emperor expressed his displeasure—by venting trivial frustrations instead of imposing real punishments—then they’d gladly endure it. If they were in Xu Yanmiao’s shoes, they’d probably be smiling in their sleep.

Yet Xu Yanmiao, thoroughly sleep-deprived from a night of stress over Ji Sui’s corruption revelations, hesitated instead.

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[What’s wrong with the emperor today?]

Suddenly, a terrifying thought struck him.

[Could he already know about the Ministry of Revenue colluding with local officials in Henan to embezzle grain supplies?!]

[Does he suspect I’m involved?!]

[That! The discrepancy—5,710,000 bushels of grain meant to enter storage but only 2,360,000 actually recorded—this has nothing to do with me!]

[I’ve never stolen a thing!]

The emperor’s slightly uplifted mood crashed abruptly, his smile freezing.

5,710,000 bushels… reduced to 2,360,000… nearly 60% missing?!

Who did this?!

From the high-ranking Minister of Revenue to the lowest scribe, every official broke out in a cold sweat. Panic spread like wildfire.

Many looked ready to kneel on the spot and swear their innocence.

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Meanwhile, all they could think was:

Why is it that when the emperor and Xu Yanmiao clash, it’s always us officials who suffer the consequences?!

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