From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 218: The Future
The peach blossoms were in full bloom in the capital and the imperial examinations in full swing. It was rare for this final test to be held two years in a row, giving those who hadn’t been ready the year before as well as those who were unfortunate to miss having their name inscribed onto the golden tablet (1) another chance without having to wait for three long years in-between. Yan Zheyun could only imagine the bustle in the inns of the eastern and western marketplaces, scholars in their modest Confucian robes coming in from all walks of life, all determined to be the next to leave a mark in history.
He didn’t have to be present to know that this year, the winds of change had swept over the kingdom. Everyone could feel that there was something different about this year. Although the new schools that His Majesty had set up were only freshly opened, it would still take the lower classes decades before they could fully compete against the nobles who had a much higher starting point than them. The fortunate few from farming backgrounds whose families had managed to secure them an education beforehand knew that it was their time to shine.
Yan Zheyun was surprised that Liu Yao had decided to place Tang Yuqin in charge of arranging the imperial examinations. Despite pressure from the morning court, Liu Yao had remained silent on the issue of selecting a new Minister of Rites, choosing instead to delegate the important administrative task to the young official with no background to recommend him apart from his stellar examination results.
Instead of selecting one of the princes to take on the role of head examiner, the honour was given to Left Prime Minister Zhao this time around, as good a sign as any that Liu Yao’s focus this imperial examination was on finding promising candidates from a non-noble background. Left Prime Minister Zhao was the name on the lips of the common folk these days, lauded almost as much as His Majesty as he spearheaded the campaign to offer up the gift of education to the masses. Women, the poor. It was as simple as giving them an opportunity and yet that was easier said than done. Liu Yao commanded this movement, but the execution was no mean feat either. The people were grateful that their left prime minister, although from one of the old noble clans, could still set aside their differences in status and work wholeheartedly on something that would undo the foundations of the power he wielded. Undoubtedly, this support from the Zhao Family and Tang Yuqin’s close involvement gave those scholars from humble origins a boost in confidence, gave them more certainty that they would be treated fairly.
But this was also a slap across the face of the noble clans. Yan Zheyun wasn’t sure if Liu Yao had broached the news of his intention to allow the merchant class to participate in the imperial examinations in the future. If and when he did, that would be certain to cause another uproar again. The merchant class was regarded as beneath even that of the farming and tradesmen class, all because the nobles didn’t deign to associate with the stench of copper coins (2).
It was ironic to Yan Zheyun. Which old noble clan didn’t have ways and means of dabbling in business? And yet they claimed the moral high ground by being born into a more privileged class and used it to judge those they deemed beneath them, chastising the merchants for their greed and pronouncing their money-making ventures to be base.
It was a classic case of ’being a whore and erecting a chastity arch’. (3)
Late nights by candlelight, Yan Zheyun had lain in Liu Yao’s arms as they had whispered to each other but the future they envisioned for Great Ye. Ever since the letter from Great General Pan had come from the north, Liu Yao was no longer taking things slow when it came to the changes that they had intended to implement. Yan Zheyun knew that the intention was to push the old noble clans to their limits. There was already talk in the morning court about how His Majesty was behaving like an errant child determined to have his way, how Liu Yao was tossing the shards of the jar on the floor after breaking it (4).
They were wrong. To adopt that mentality would imply that Liu Yao believed he was at fault. He most certainly did not.
Even within the palace walls, Yan Zheyun could see the changes taking effect. As he strolled through the imperial gardens with Xiao De faithfully by his side, he thought about how much quieter it was this year compared to the last.
Liu Yao had kept to his word. When he had asked Yan Zheyun to announce to the inner palace that those who wished to leave could do so, those who wanted to participate in the imperial examinations were free to prepare for them, those who desired the chance to attend school would be given the right to participate, he had been serious. Yan Zheyun had been surprised by the number of concubines who had taken their ’husband’ up on his offer. Initially, a couple of them had expressed tentative wishes to return to their families, only to learn in dismay that no one wished to take the ’water that was tossed out’ (5). Although this concept was no longer as prevalent in modern times, Yan Zheyun was aware that there were still some families in the rural areas that stuck to these traditional notions of family roles. But he had never seen it personally until now. In his social circles back in SH City, the families with whom his parents chose to build long-lasting ties saw their children as the future and treasured them accordingly. If Yan Zheyun had so much dared to ask his parents to arrange a political marriage for either Lixin or Liheng, he was certain that he would be kneeling in his father’s study to atone.
So, to see so many crestfallen young faces when they received word that they would not be welcomed back should they even dare to leave the inner palace, Yan Zheyun had felt a strong rage bubbling up in him. He had spent many an afternoon trying to figure out a solution to this predicament but also knew that there was no point in forcing the issue. Whilst it would have been quite the triumph to see all these girls and boys—some not even twenty years of age—return to their families with full fighting spirits, each ready to take on the family politics with phlegm and fortitude, there could only be one protagonist in this novel. Even with Liu Yao’s backing, sending them home by force would only result in tragedy. He saw enough in the Wu Household to understand that so much damage, so much trauma, could ensue.
That wouldn’t do. What else then?
Liu Yao had been surprisingly liberal.
"What else?" he’d asked Yan Zheyun. "If they don’t have a family anymore, this sovereign will give them the right to start one of their own." By this, Liu Yao had meant breaking away from the main branch of their family, erasing their names from the ancestral record of their clan, and starting a clan from scratch.
Even though clannishness was not something Yan Zheyun associated that strongly with anymore having lived for some time in the 21st century, these values of family ties had still been ingrained enough in his society that he had felt them. If for whatever reason, he had decided to abandon his filial duties to his parents, he would undoubtedly have faced censure from his social circle.
He could only imagine what the backlash from Great Ye’s traditional society would be. Unthinkable chaos. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
But Liu Yao had seen it differently. In one of their many endless conversations about everything and nothing, Yan Zheyun had once introduced the idea of marketing to Liu Yao, the way ideas and messages were packaged to direct the consumer’s mind towards an intentional perception. Liu Yao had taken to the notion eagerly. If the people were upset that the new generation of court officials had failed in their Confucian duties to the families that did not welcome them, then let it be known that these court officials only needed to break away from their clan so that they could serve their emperor, kingdom, people. Make it clear that such behaviour would only be condoned for good reason, that it was, in fact, a sacrifice that they were willing to make, even to the extent of losing valuable familial connections, because they wanted to contribute to Great Ye’s progress.
Liu Yao hadn’t had many ties to his parents, so his argument wasn’t surprising. Yan Zheyun’s job was to sell the idea to the remaining concubines.
And it had been going better than expected.
Rather than remain behind waiting for a husband who probably still didn’t know more about them than which clan they’d come from, it made sense to find another future for themselves. And if they could start afresh away from the very people who had traded them into the inner palace for political advantage, so much the better. As such, the boys and girls who wanted to try a hand at the imperial examinations were mostly holed up in their palaces studying. It was a rather funny—and honestly, quite endearing—sight to chance upon them studying occasionally in the pavilions in a group. The atmosphere had never been more high school. It made Yan Zheyun reminisce fondly on his old university entrance exam days.
But of course, for every study tyrant (6) with essays flourishing in a beautiful script from their brush, existed a school tyrant who would rather pick fights with the guards and who broke into hives at the mere thought of opening another book.
For the latter—namely Imperial Concubine Chen and a couple of the other young noblemen who went green at the mere thought of studying again—Yan Zheyun had gone out of his way to ensure the only writings in his vicinity were military texts and Liu Yao had generously provided an arena for them to spar in.
The disharmony, the politicking, even the mean bitchy comments thrown at each other for the hell of it had faded. Morning assemblies now were full of progress updates; so-and-so had just started on the poetry anthologies and was proving to be very talented, so-and-so defeated everyone during training and was told they would be an asset to the army. Yan Zheyun could sense the shift in attitude towards him as well. Where there was once malice and jealousy directed his way by his ’rivals’, most of them had made their peace by now. Those, like Talented Lord Liang—whom Liu Yao had very matter-of-factly left off the promotion lists—had directed their efforts elsewhere instead of trying to cause trouble for Yan Zheyun.
Things seemed to be looking up.
"It’s a good thing everyone is so distracted with their newfound hobbies," Xiao De said quietly, with a tranquil smile. Yan Zheyun returned it with an agreeable one of his own.
"Indeed." He let out a soft laugh, his eyes crinkling into the shape of the petals that rained over them as they continued their stroll down an idyllic stone path. "Otherwise, I’ll have to arrange a spring banquet to keep everyone entertained."
"Ah, it’s a pity Dou Niangniang won’t be able to assist this year..."
That was Xiao De’s way of reminding Yan Zheyun about unfinished business. The smile on his face didn’t waver but the warmth in them faded. After regaining his memories, he had a better idea of who she was helping. Her affiliations to the Zhang Clan were not exactly the subtlest. The green plum and the bamboo horse was a relationship that came with societal responsibilities after all. If a match was made out of it, that was fine and dandy. But if one were the consort of someone else, then it was no longer appropriate to keep protecting the interests of the childhood friend, right?
"She is loyal, I’ll give her that." Until now, despite months of neglect in a state of house arrest, Noble Consort Dou had yet to divulge her secrets. Yan Zheyun could afford to bide his time for a while longer though. He had a sneaking suspicion that their hidden opponent would contact her sooner or later and he had no qualms about lying in wait when that happened. After all, he wasn’t the one confined to the same four walls for days on end.
"Master doesn’t wish to, ah, encourage some honesty?"
Yan Zheyun pondered on it. He could try to trick her into confessing, let it slip to her during a casual interrogation session that he knew what Zhang Xiu had done behind Liu Yao’s back, but there was also a chance that she wouldn’t react to his baiting and he might end up hitting the grass and startling the snake (7).
No, as long as she was under his control for now, there was no need to rush.
"Dou Niangniang has mostly proved to be little trouble—" Just as Xiao De got his words out, a familiar panicked voice interjected from around the corner, coming from someone who had proved to be a lot of trouble.
"Dowager Niangniang, please abate your anger! Yan Xi didn’t mean to offend, please forgive me!"
Yan Zheyun exchanged glances with Xiao De.
The mother-in-law who hated his guts and would love any excuse to punish him was facing off against the long-lost sister who wanted to sleep with his husband. What kind of nightmare had he just walked into?
