Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 269: Old Yan’s Happy Life
Before dawn, the sky still held a few scattered fading stars.
A sedan chair carried by eight men appeared on West Chang’an Street, heading all the way toward the Western Garden where Emperor Jiajing practiced cultivation and alchemy.
A gust of wind blew past, lifting the sedan’s curtain to reveal the face of a kindly white-bearded old man. If Zhu Ping’an were here, he would surely recognize this old man as that savvy fellow from the city the other day. However, this old fellow was no ordinary person—he was the second most powerful figure in the Ming Dynasty, the current Grand Secretary Yan Song.
Yan Song, the Grand Secretary, was already 72 years old this year. In the Ming Dynasty, most people of this age would have been long past their prime. But our Grand Secretary Yan was still in excellent health, eating heartily and feeling great, his eyes not dimmed nor ears dulled, and at night he could still enjoy some interesting little activities with his wife.
Especially in recent days, Grand Secretary Yan’s life had become even more comfortable. That disobedient troublemaker, Qiu Luan, who wanted to set up his own faction, had died. No official in the entire court dared to disrespect him now. Though the political rising star Xu Jie had been emerging recently, it didn’t matter—newcomers just needed a little discipline.
The day before yesterday, his godson Zhao Wenhua sent him a priceless golden silk canopy from the southeast, and also nearly ten thousand taels of silver.
In addition, the metropolitan examination was about to begin, and Donglou—Yan Song’s son Yan Shifan—had been moving cartloads of silver into the cellar these past few days.
Sitting inside the sedan chair, Yan Song thought of these things and his face flushed with pride. From time to time he urged the sedan bearers to move faster.
Compared to those matters, this was the thing Yan Song was most proud of.
Yan Song got up early every day—not to exercise, but to go to the Western Garden to meet Emperor Jiajing. The Emperor had been devoted to cultivation and alchemy for over ten years and no longer attended court. Besides Yan Song, very few had the privilege to meet the Emperor daily. Could he not feel proud?
Moreover, Yan Song’s meetings with the Emperor were not like ordinary “court sessions” — he took alchemical pills together with the Emperor. Across the entire Ming Dynasty, only Yan Song did this.
In Yan Song’s heart, he believed that being able to eat well, sleep well, and still be vigorous and active at over seventy years old, even able to enjoy some “exercises” with his spouse at night, was surely the merit of these pills. Otherwise, why would he still be so energetic at this age?
Therefore, every time he took the pills early in the morning at the Western Garden, Yan Song’s face would glow red with health, and he would trot briskly without getting winded. This enthusiastic “lab rat” spirit also moved Emperor Jiajing.
Between ruler and minister, there was a tacit understanding.
Yan Song’s sedan chair stopped only at the Western Garden palace gate, and just as it stopped, the gate slowly opened.
Yan Song was already a familiar guest at the Western Garden, and the palace eunuchs liked this generous and warm Grand Secretary. For example, this time, as soon as Yan Song’s sedan arrived at the palace gate, several bills of moderate but not small silver notes appeared in the eunuch’s pouch.
The eunuch led Yan Song inside the Western Garden, which was extremely familiar to him.
“Grand Secretary Yan, please wait here a moment.”
However, just as Yan Song was about to enter the palace where the Emperor cultivated and refined pills, a man without a beard wearing a python robe and jade belt came out from the palace. He had a smiling face and blocked Yan Song’s way.
“Very good, very good. I wonder how Master Huang rested yesterday?”
Yan Song was momentarily taken aback, then smiled warmly and stepped forward, grabbing the beardless man’s hand, exchanging pleasantries while discreetly slipping several hundred-tael silver notes into the man’s sleeve without leaving a trace.
“Thanks to Grand Secretary Yan’s blessing, I slept well last night, very soundly,” the beardless man said as he invisibly returned the silver notes from his sleeve back into Yan Song’s sleeve. The speed and stealth were much faster than Yan Song’s.
“Master Huang’s integrity is truly admirable,” Yan Song praised.
“You flatter me, Grand Secretary Yan. Please, come in and rest a moment,” the beardless man said, extending his hand with a smile, inviting Yan Song to rest in a nearby palace hall.
“Not at all, not at all. Please, Grand Secretary Yan,” Yan Song, already over seventy but quick-witted, half-bowed and returned the polite gesture.
Yan Song, despite being Grand Secretary, treated this beardless man so respectfully because he was no ordinary eunuch. He was Huang Jin, a trusted favorite of Emperor Jiajing and one of the leading eunuchs of the palace.
Emperor Jiajing generally held eunuchs in contempt and kept tight control over them, but Huang Jin was an exception. Huang Jin had served Jiajing since before he became emperor, when Jiajing was still heir in the Prince of Xing’s household. Loyal and capable, he remained deeply trusted after Jiajing’s accession.
After Jiajing took the throne, Huang Jin was promoted into imperial service and continued to rise through the palace eunuch hierarchy. He remained diligent and comparatively self-restrained, which made even Yan Song wary of him.
A capable, powerful man who could also self-discipline was certainly not an ordinary person.
Yan Song had recently heard that the Emperor intended to appoint Huang Jin to supervise the Eastern Depot.
Hence, Yan Song’s warm attitude—even when stopped outside the palace gate—was all because of Huang Jin.
After about half an hour, the palace where Emperor Jiajing cultivated and refined pills opened its doors. A fair-skinned official of about forty or fifty years old, short in stature and always smiling, came out. He gave a kindly impression.
This official nodded with a smile to the eunuch on duty outside the hall and then left the main hall.
Seeing him, Yan Song’s expression darkened. Why was Xu Jie here, and why had the Emperor summoned him first? Xu Jie had distinguished himself during the Gengxu Incident. Yan Song had thought this rising political figure merely needed a little discipline, but now… it seemed stronger medicine was required.
“Your servant greets Grand Secretary Yan. Grand Secretary Yan looks very well today,” Xu Jie said from afar, slightly bowing with hands clasped—a typical subordinate greeting his superior, without the sycophantic manner other officials used.
Xu Jie’s political fortunes had also been improving. He had been made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and, though not yet formally in the Grand Secretariat, enjoyed treatment comparable to its members. The Emperor frequently summoned him to the Western Garden to discuss Qingci writings and affairs of state, giving him considerable prestige at court.
Most important, the Emperor had entrusted him today with presiding over the metropolitan examination. Others might not grasp the influence this carried, but Xu Jie did: the successful candidates would thereafter count as his examination protégés. They might seem insignificant now, but in time…
Thus, in Xu Jie’s eyes, he was close to success, close to avenging Master Xia and those oppressed by Yan Song.
“Oh, Minister Xu.” Yan Song nodded slightly and looked Xu Jie over. This fellow’s tail was starting to rise; it was time to give him a smack.
After brief greetings, Xu Jie stepped aside, making way. Yan Song then entered the palace for cultivation and alchemy under Huang Jin’s escort.
“Just wait and see—it won’t be long.”
Xu Jie watched Yan Song’s retreating back, the smile fading from his face. Then, turning around, he smiled again and headed toward the Western Garden’s main gate.