Chapter 37: Promotion

Emperor Hongzhi not only directly assigned Fang Jifan to the Imperial Forest Guard but also directly appointed him as a Chief Banner Officer. What did this mean?

Although the Chief Banner Officer position was nothing too special, within the Imperial Forest Guard, it wasn’t a low rank. Most sons of noble families or military nobility, even those from ducal households, typically started as Xiao Qi Officers, slowly climbing the ranks through seniority.

Of course, the most crucial part of this Imperial Edict was that Emperor Hongzhi ordered Fang Jifan to serve at the House of the Crown Prince. The House of the Crown Prince was the Eastern Palace, responsible for protecting the Crown Prince’s safety. This was absolutely a great assignment. It basically placed him directly under the Crown Prince, making him part of the Crown Prince’s reserve team. In the future, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the entire House of the Crown Prince would skyrocket in status.

However… Liu Qian looked at the Crown Prince, who was still groaning in pain on the ground, and a flicker of complexity passed through his eyes.

The Emperor’s thoughts were truly hard to fathom.

Did His Majesty send Fang Jifan to manage the Crown Prince, or did he send the Crown Prince to beat up Fang Jifan?

“And one more thing…” Emperor Hongzhi seemed to remember something and added, “Tomorrow, you personally go to the Nanhe Bo Mansion. Make sure that kid gets up early. Hurry him along to his duty. Tell him he must not repeat the last time where he had to be tied up and forced to go. If he dares to cause any more ridiculous scenes, I will not forgive him lightly!”

Liu Qian lowered his head even further and simply said, “Your Servant obeys the decree.”

…

Once the Imperial Edict was issued, Fang Jifan was assigned to the Imperial Forest Guard and appointed as a Chief Banner Officer of the Imperial Forest Guard.

The Imperial Forest Guard had ranks like Commander, Commander Deputy, Commander’s Assistant, Qian Hu, Bai Hu, Zongqi, and Xiao Qi. In a previous world, the so-called Chief Banner Officer would have been roughly equivalent to a platoon leader. But the starting point in the Imperial Forest Guard was high, so the future prospects were naturally very good.

After Fang Jifan received the Imperial Edict, Fang Jinglong hurriedly snatched it from his hands. The man trembled as he read it over and over again. This grown man actually started shedding tears once more.

“Our ancestors have virtue! My son, our ancestral graves are well-placed!”

“…” Fang Jifan was speechless.

So, no matter how hard he tried, it all seemed to be thanks to his ancestors? Couldn’t he get some praise?

But looking at Fang Jinglong, with his runny nose and tears, muttering and trembling too much to form proper words, only able to haltingly repeat phrases about ancestors over and over, Fang Jifan felt a bit worried inside. This was because the latter part of the Imperial Edict specifically emphasized reporting for duty at the House of the Crown Prince.

Wasn’t the House of the Crown Prince the Eastern Palace?

The Eastern Palace naturally meant the historically famous Zhu Houzhao. Fang Jifan had met this guy before, but his impression was fuzzy. He only knew that in front of the Emperor, Zhu Houzhao always looked as if his mother had died.

But Fang Jifan, who was well-versed in Ming history, knew that this fellow was a troublemaker, a fighter among hooligans. Honestly, Fang Jifan hadn’t committed any major evil deeds himself; he just innocently bore the bad reputation of a wastrel. Compared to this Crown Prince, winning this particular ‘crown’ made him feel quite ashamed.

After a peaceful night’s sleep, Fang Jifan dreamed that he actually got married. Just as he was about to enter the bridal chamber, his father Fang Jinglong suddenly appeared. Fang Jinglong laughed heartily at him, shouting something about bold ideas, and how the ancestral graves weren’t just smoking, they were actually on fire, and things like that.

Fang Jifan was jolted awake from this nightmare. He saw Xiaoxiangxiang and Deng Jian staring straight at him by his bedside.

What happened? Was he seeing ghosts?

“Young Lord…” Deng Jian called out cautiously, watching Fang Jifan.

Fang Jifan said sharply, “What is it?”

Deng Jian then looked pitiful and said, “Someone… someone from the palace has come… to ask… ask the Young Lord to report for duty.”

Whoosh…

Fang Jifan then remembered. It was still just dawn, but Fang Jifan still got up. Xiaoxiangxiang had already prepared new clothes for him.

It was a Qilin Uniform with golden embroidered persimmon-calyx patterns over the shoulders. The base material was red, and a qilin was embroidered on it. Wearing this, and then fastening the Golden Belt, which cinched his waist, actually gave Fang Jifan a rather dashing and heroic air. Even Xiaoxiangxiang, upon seeing him, had a delicate blush fly across her face.

Deng Jian also found a sword for Fang Jifan, attaching it to his waist, and said, “This is the Earl’s sword. He said it’s been passed down from our ancestors. Back in the day, our ancestors used this very sword to follow Emperor Wen into Nanjing City. The Earl instructed that this sword is now passed to the Young Lord. Our ancestors will surely protect you.”

Fang Jifan saw that the hilt of the sword was wrapped with gold thread and was strikingly inlaid with a large pearl. The scabbard was made of shark skin and some unknown leather, making it exceptionally ornate. He couldn’t help but feel his heart surge with emotion. Finally, this Young Lord was no longer a good-for-nothing.

So, with a clang, he drew the sword from its scabbard. The blade looked as if it had just been oiled and maintained, still shining brightly.

The only flaw, however… well… this was a bit awkward to say… the blade seemed to have almost no sharp edge left. Damn it, without a sharp edge, wasn’t it just a club?

Deng Jian, like a mind reader for Fang Jifan, chimed in at the right moment, “It’s been passed down from our ancestors. Although it has been repaired countless times over the years, it is, after all, an antique…”

Fang Jifan could only sigh. “This is a blade of benevolence and righteousness.” So he sheathed the sword again. He would just have to make do with it. Hoping to use it to kill people was out of the question; it might even be a bit troublesome for cutting meat. But it didn’t matter; he could just treat it as a talisman. After all, the ancestors were protecting him.

So, as per his usual routine, he pinched Xiaoxiangxiang’s delicate, seemingly fragile cheek and said, “I’m off.”

Liu Qian had been waiting outside the mansion the whole time. As soon as he saw Fang Jifan coming, this time he didn’t dare to throw his weight around in front of Fang Jifan. He put on a hypocritically friendly face, grinned, and said, “Young Master Fang, His Majesty has an oral decree. He ordered Your Servant to escort you to the House of the Crown Prince for your duty today. It’s getting late; we mustn’t delay.”

Fang Jifan just said “Oh” and couldn’t be bothered to pay Liu Qian any mind. A carriage was waiting at the gate. Fang Jifan directly bent down and entered the carriage. It was quite comfortable.

But Liu Qian, secretly observing Fang Jifan’s expression, didn’t hurry to instruct the carriage to move. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, “Yesterday was really interesting. His Majesty heard Young Master’s talk about beating people into talent and found great merit in it. He now views you in a new light.”

What’s it to you?

Fang Jifan leaned back in the carriage compartment, still ignoring him.

Liu Qian, however, continued cheerfully, “So, you see, His Majesty borrowed your whip yesterday. Young Master, guess what happened? After returning to the palace, the Crown Prince got whipped. Ai-yah-yah, a few lashes… they were really… really harsh. The Crown Prince was covered in wounds. When Empress Your Highness saw him, she was so upset she cried all night.”

“…” Looking at Liu Qian’s grinning face, Fang Jifan suddenly became alert.

Yesterday… when the Emperor came here to seek his advice, it wasn’t a test, nor was it mere curiosity.

So… he had come to study with him on how to teach his son.

Fang Jifan was immediately speechless. He couldn’t help but start piecing together the sequence of events. First, the Crown Prince must have been disobedient, and the Emperor was very worried. And just at that time, he had successfully mentored three Provincial Graduates. After that, the Emperor grabbed onto him, this life-saving straw, and then…

Oh no! The House of the Crown Prince was now a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den! The Crown Prince got beaten entirely because of him. Would he have a good life once he got to the Eastern Palace?

The carriage started moving.

Fang Jifan had already come to his senses. He immediately shouted, “Stop the carriage quickly! I want to get off! I just remembered, I’m still young, I need to study. I don’t want to report for duty!”

But the carriage was moving briskly and naturally didn’t give Fang Jifan a chance to get off.

When the carriage came to a steady stop in front of the House of the Crown Prince…

Fang Jifan whooshed out of the carriage. His first reaction was to make a run for it.

Anyway, he was a wastrel. If he ran away, he ran away. At worst, he would obediently go back home and live off his family. He wasn’t taking this job!

But who would have thought, the moment his feet touched the ground, he saw over a dozen people wearing Imperial Guard uniforms already lined up in a row. As soon as they saw Fang Jifan get down, they all cupped their fists in salute and said in unison, “Your humble subordinates greet the Chief Banner Officer, sir!”