Empress, Can I? [Transmigration + GL] - Chapter 57

After lunch, the two rode together on horseback to the outskirts of the city to enjoy the scenery of willow-lined banks and flying catkins before returning to the palace.

The next day, Xuan Jingchi ordered Chenxiang to go to the Ministry of Personnel to retrieve the personnel files of Bingzhou officials.

Only a minor official was on duty at the Ministry of Personnel. Startled by the arrival of someone from the palace, he scrambled up from his chair and hurriedly fetched the files for Chenxiang.

In the side hall, Xuan Jingchi bent over the files, starting with Laiyang County. Sure enough, she found Jian Ci’s record.

Serving as a legal officer in the county office, Xuan Jingchi read on. The Ministry of Personnel’s evaluation of his work was blunt and simplistic, portraying him as an ordinary, unremarkable clerk with a solitary and arrogant personality, lacking respect for superiors.

She then reviewed the records of other officials in Laiyang County. More or less, they all had some commendable achievements praised by their superiors.

Especially the county magistrate himself—his brilliance and heroic deeds were so numerous they couldn’t all be recorded.

Xuan Jingchi laughed, “Empress, look at this county magistrate. If he’s truly as capable as claimed, he must be omnipotent, almost like a celestial being.”

Xiao Yueli said, “Your Majesty, the records in the files cannot be fully trusted. There’s inevitably some embellishment.”

Xuan Jingchi replied, “I know—fabrication. If they can praise straw as orchids, they can also disparage orchids as straw. Today, I will find the real orchids.”

“It seems Your Majesty holds Jian Ci in high regard,” Xiao Yueli said, walking over and picking up the files to read as well.

Xuan Jingchi smiled slightly and looked up. “Empress, are you aware of the corruption case involving the governor of Bingzhou?”

Xiao Yueli nodded. “I’ve heard Your Majesty mention it. Didn’t you send the Censorate to investigate thoroughly?”

“The Censorate?” Xuan Jingchi sneered. “A bunch of idle parasites. All they present to me are trivial matters of no consequence. Do they think I don’t know? It’s all just for show—’Your Majesty, Your Majesty, look, so-and-so was arm in arm with someone else in front of the ancestral temple, utterly improper and disgraceful. So-and-so didn’t fasten the second button of their robe properly during court. See? Even such minor matters are under our supervision, let alone major violations of the law!'”

Xuan Jingchi grew angrier as she spoke. “Empress, look at this, listen to this. How can I expect these timid, indecisive people to uproot the malignant tumor in Bingzhou for me?!”

Xiao Yueli said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and reforming official governance isn’t achieved overnight. Your Majesty must not be overly impatient.”

Xuan Jingchi sighed and lowered her head to continue reviewing the documents. “I know, but I can’t help my impatient nature.”

Xiao Yueli smiled slightly and stepped outside the hall, calling for Xiao Rong to whisper a few instructions in her ear.

Xiao Rong accepted the order and left, returning shortly with a cup of tea.

Xiao Yueli took the teacup and personally placed it on Xuan Jingchi’s desk. “Your Majesty, this tea helps reduce internal heat and calms the mind. Please try it.”

“Reduce internal heat?”

Xuan Jingchi recalled the heat-reducing fragrant drink the Empress had given her before and couldn’t help but feel lingering fear, her stomach tightening. She looked at the Empress with trepidation. “It’s not a huge cup of tea brewed with bitter coptis roots, is it?”

“Of course not,” Xiao Yueli laughed at her trembling expression. “Try it. I used to drink this often at home.”

Hearing that Xiao Yueli used to drink it often, Xuan Jingchi immediately picked up the cup and took a sip. The fragrance of lotus leaves filled her mouth, and in the aftertaste, there was a hint of sweet osmanthus.

Drinking it left a lingering aroma on her lips and teeth, refreshing and soothing.

“What kind of tea is this?”

“It’s my own lotus leaf tea. I added a little dried osmanthus, jasmine, and licorice to the crushed lotus leaves…”

Xuan Jingchi smiled and took another sip. “Yueli, this tea is really good. How did you come up with it?”

Xiao Yueli smiled faintly. “It wasn’t my idea. My mother taught me.”

Xiao Yueli’s mother was also from a distinguished family, the foremost talented woman of the Great Qing Dynasty.

Xuan Jingchi laughed. “Your mother must have been a graceful and wise woman. How else could she have given birth to such a clever and beautiful daughter like you?”

Xuan Jingchi thought about one day accompanying the Empress back to her family home, bringing a grand array of gifts to make a splendid visit.

But then it occurred to her—the original owner of this body had once forcibly issued an edict to compel the marriage. Xiao Yueli’s family, unwilling to risk the grave crime of defying the imperial decree and facing extermination, had no choice but to marry their daughter to the tyrannical emperor, who was also a woman.

No doubt, her in-laws would not welcome her. If she visited rashly and things turned awkward, wouldn’t that embarrass Yueli?

So she resolved to wait until she had achieved something noteworthy as emperor before paying them a formal visit.

She continued reviewing the documents for a while, growing increasingly suspicious.

When Jian Ci was a minor official, his performance had been outstanding, earning him promotion to the position of judicial officer under the previous county magistrate. Yet, in this role, he remained for six years without advancement, while his peers moved up smoothly. In comparison, his career seemed unusually stagnant and mediocre.

After a moment of contemplation, Xuan Jingchi said, “Summon Liu Jili.”

Liu Jili arrived promptly. “This humble servant greets Your Majesty and the Empress. May Your Majesty live ten thousand—”

Xuan Jingchi frowned and cut him off. “Enough, enough. Saying ‘ten thousand years’ a thousand times won’t make me live that long. I called you here for a task.”

A few days earlier, because of the incident with the beauties, the emperor had punished him by docking his salary—a minor consequence. What truly unsettled him was that the emperor had ignored him entirely, demanding he reflect on his mistakes.

Hearing that he was being entrusted with a task, Liu Jili was overjoyed. “This servant would gladly sacrifice his life and brains for Your Majesty!”

“No need for life or brains,” Xuan Jingchi couldn’t stand people casually throwing around words like death. “Send someone to Laiyang County in Bingzhou to investigate the judicial officer Jian Ci. Remember, don’t alert the local officials.”

“Your servant obeys the decree.”

Time flew by, and soon the scorching heat of midsummer arrived.

After the court session, Xuan Jingchi changed into a light gauze robe and sat in the Hall of Mental Cultivation reviewing memorials.

Recent affairs had been numerous, as if troubles had suddenly surged all at once.

Yanzhou suffered severe floods, with vast farmlands and houses submerged, leaving tens of thousands of victims starving and homeless.

The governor of Muzhou reported that the imperial horses had encroached on farmland, wantonly trampling young crops, causing widespread discontent among the people.

To the south, the Zhao Country repeatedly harassed the border, plundering goods and clamoring for gold and silver—whether to pay or send troops was a decision the Ministry of War requested the court to make.

The case of the Bingzhou governor’s corruption and abuse of power, assigned to the Censorate for thorough investigation, still had no resolution.

Additionally, there was another matter—Jiye had sent an envoy with a letter requesting the Great Qing Dynasty to dispatch troops to support him in reclaiming the position of Great Khan.

This did not surprise Xuan Jingchi, as half a month earlier, Huang Tingzhi had sent a secret letter stating that tensions between Jiye and Mo Duo had deepened, and war between them was inevitable.

The ministers were fiercely divided over whether to send troops.

Dugu Jinyu’s faction advocated for military intervention to help Jiye restrain Mo Duo, which aligned with Xuan Jingchi’s own thoughts. Lin Zaifu’s faction, however, firmly opposed sending troops, arguing that Jiye was no match for Mo Duo and that Qing’s involvement would provoke Mo Duo’s ruthless retaliation in the future.

Meng Wan glanced up at Her Majesty. Today in court, she had heard all these matters clearly. No doubt, the Emperor was deeply troubled.

Xuan Jingchi’s expression remained calm as she lowered her head to read the memorials for a long while. When she looked up, she noticed two figures passing by outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

They wore fresh green gauze robes, their figures graceful—neither palace maids nor female officials. She asked, “Who are those two?”

Chenxiang approached and whispered in her ear, “Your Majesty, those are the two beauties. You previously granted them special permission to move freely within the palace.”

Xuan Jingchi suddenly remembered and thought to herself, I’d completely forgotten about them—I’ve delayed their youth.

She said, “Invite them over.”