Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Xu Yanmiao was utterly shocked.

He was awestruck.

In his heart, he exclaimed loudly, [Wow! Protecting the delicate and pitiful, huh?]

The emperor and his ministers had long been curious about one thing:

How was Xu Yanmiao capable of spewing blatant nonsense with such a straight face?

As for Vice Minister Liu, he was startled and quickly tried to distance himself. “She’s just an ordinary peasant woman. I’m merely showing compassion for the weak.”

Princess Fangling glanced at him, puzzled. “What does that have to do with me?”

Vice Minister Liu forced an awkward smile. “I was afraid Your Highness might misunderstand.”

—Actually, he was afraid his colleagues might misunderstand.

Vice Minister Liu reiterated firmly, “I truly am just showing compassion for the weak!”

Please don’t associate me with this aging farmwoman!

Another glance sideways, and he noticed Xu Yanmiao’s eyes sparkling even brighter. His eyelid twitched.

[This really feels like “the guilty party giving himself away,” doesn’t it?]

Vice Minister Liu took a deep breath.

Calm down. Don’t let that kid Xu Yanmiao get to you!

He repeated to himself three times: That kid doesn’t understand anything; he’s just here to watch the drama! Only then did he manage to suppress the frustration building in his chest.

Behind him, the woman’s timid voice suddenly spoke up: “Thank you, kind official. I… I…”

Vice Minister Liu snapped back to attention, patiently soothing her, “Take your time. Don’t rush. If you truly have been wronged, His Majesty will certainly see justice done for you.”

At that moment, Vice Minister Liu seemed to radiate brilliance.

With a faint, gentle smile, he exuded elegance and grace, like a noble orchid or a jade tree in the wind.

Outside the court, the gathered commoners were full of praise—

“This official isn’t bad!”

“He’s a good official!”

Vice Minister Liu’s smile deepened.

After all, he was the Vice Minister of Rites. And more precisely—Miss Tea—was the Left Vice Minister, while he was the Right Vice Minister. With the Minister of Rites already advanced in age and likely to retire within the next couple of years, the prospect of promotion was within reach.

They could both compete for the position of Minister! Originally, he and He Bi were evenly matched, no clear winner! But now this person has cozied up to the Grand General, bah! How shameless!

Tea Minister! You’ve forced me into this!

Since you’ve played the first card, don’t blame me for playing the fifteenth, fighting for a good reputation and stepping on you to climb higher!

Aren’t the commoners lamenting the absence of Qing Tian?

Wait for it! Liu Qing Tian is here!

[Ah, so that’s why he’s not giving the old emperor any face! Turns out he has a history!]

What?

The old emperor’s frustration quickly faded into curiosity.

Liu Minister has a past? How did I forget about that?

If it was some official giving direct advice, he wouldn’t have forgotten them!

[And there’s more than one case of it!]

The crown prince glanced at Liu Minister, noticing that his expression was equally confused.

At that moment, the curiosity among the onlookers peaked—what was this past? Even the person with the past had forgotten about it!

Many officials in the room were eagerly waiting, ready for Xu Yanmiao to reveal the juicy details!

Xu Yanmiao, with his efficient slicing of the metaphorical melon, clicked his tongue in admiration.

[He helped the Prince Consort during the Princess Wanshou incident!]

[When Princess Xiangyang divorced, he submitted an official letter in defiance of reason!]

“Ha—”

Could it be?!

The crown prince sat up straight, leaning forward, his eyes flashing with the shock of discovery.

No way! Could it be exactly what he was thinking?!

Some officials, aided by Xu Yanmiao, were recalling a man who seemed to be everywhere! A master at “participation”!

[He was the one who met with the virtuous woman during Ji Sui’s correspondence!]

[And—]

[When the Crown Prince of Jibei showed off his belt, he had the honor of personally touching it!]

The officials in the room: “!!!”

They pinched themselves hard, some even twisting their arms 360 degrees in an attempt to suppress their laughter.

They couldn’t laugh!

They absolutely couldn’t laugh!

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to explain the sudden outburst of laughter to Xiao Baize, and the emperor might peel their skin off!

Inside the hall.

The old emperor couldn’t laugh.

No, what’s wrong with this person? Is he deliberately opposing me?

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“I don’t know where this is, or about Liaodong, I don’t know anything. Thirty years ago, when my husband became the Prince Consort, I was afraid he might silence me, so I took my child and headed north. After seeing the sea and crossing the island, I felt it was far enough and settled in a village here.”

— Thirty years ago, the emperor had not yet issued the census orders, and the population across the regions was still disorganized. It wasn’t difficult to leave one’s hometown and move elsewhere—if you could walk and had money to rent or buy a house, it was fine.

The woman gathered the courage to finish explaining, seemingly very dependent on Vice Minister Liu: “Sir, that’s how it was… Sir?”

No response came.

The woman hesitated and looked up.

“Don’t call me that…”

I might not be a big official for long.

Vice Minister Liu wanted to cry but had no tears.

I don’t have any background at home, I can only fight for my future! Isn’t it just trying to latch onto the reputation of Qing Tian, use it to become a minister, and yet you’re going to nitpick like this!

Regarding women disguising themselves as men in history:

First, there was the Eastern Yang woman Lou Cheng who disguised herself as her husband, had a rough understanding of Go, explained literary texts, traveled with officials, and reached the position of a clerk in Yangzhou. When the truth came out, the Ming Emperor ordered her to return to the East. She later donned women’s clothes and sighed: “With such a trick, I’ll become an old woman. Isn’t this a waste?”

— Nan Shi

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Tang Huang Chongga’s Tomb

Chongga was a talented woman from Yanzhou. When young, she disguised herself as a man, and with her poetry, she met the Sichuan Governor Zhou Xiang. Zhou admired her talent and wanted to marry her daughter, but Chongga refused and revealed she was a woman.

— Sichuan Tongzhi

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The chaste woman Han from Baoning. In the late Yuan Dynasty, as the Ming army took Shu, Han feared being captured and disguised herself as a man, blending in with the common people. Later, she was conscripted into the army and fought for seven years without anyone knowing she was a woman. After the Ming army defeated Yunnan and returned, she met her uncle, who redeemed her and brought her back to Chengdu. She changed her clothes and went out, shocking her fellow soldiers. In the fourth year of the Hongwu era, she married Yin. People of Chengdu still called her Han Zhen.

— Ming Shi

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Later, there was a man named Huang Shancao from Nanjing. At thirteen, he lost his mother. His father, a seller of incense, made him dress as a boy and travel for years. After his father died, Shancao continued the business, changed his name to Zhang Sheng, and worked alongside a partner, Li Ying, who didn’t know he was a woman. After returning to Nanjing, Shancao’s sister didn’t recognize him at first and, upon learning the truth, scolded him: “Disrupting gender norms, this is a disgrace.” She refused to accept him. Shancao swore to die unless she agreed. Eventually, after neighbors confirmed his virginity, she consented, and they were wed.— Ming Shi