Historiographer: Not a Single Word Altered

After taking a moment to collect himself, Ren Tianye pushed open the doors of the Sijun Hall and walked out. Holding the imperial edict in his hands, he handed it over to the Hanlin Edict Drafter. The two of them examined it together, and after confirming there were no issues, Ren Tianye took the edict back and raised it high above his head.

"The imperial edict is here. You must have heard what Her Majesty just said. Now, Her Majesty has ordered me to take charge of state affairs, and I hope all you officials will cooperate fully."

"Otherwise, do not blame this general for enforcing the laws of the state."

The crowd looked at each other, then all fell to their knees.

Together, they shouted, "We, your humble officials, pay our respects to the Lord Duke!"

Only one person did not kneel—Pei Jingzhi.

Ren Tianye glanced at him and said, "Minister of the Imperial Household Pei Jingzhi is loyal and diligent in state affairs, possesses outstanding talent and strategy, and has the merit of saving the Emperor. After discussing with this general, Her Majesty has specially promoted you to the Minister of Ceremonies."

"You are to take up your post in seven days!"

Pausing, Ren Tianye's tone betrayed neither joy nor anger as he added, "I hope Lord Pei will not fail Her Majesty's trust and will work together with Her Majesty to bring peace to the world!"

Being promoted to the position of Minister of Ceremonies was an ultimate honor.

All the officials were envious.

But at this moment, Pei Jingzhi was like a walking corpse, as if deaf and mute. He still did not kneel, nor did he offer thanks, and he said absolutely nothing.

He turned and slowly walked away.

His back looked indescribably desolate and lonely.

Watching this scene, Su Pengcheng felt quite anxious for Pei Jingzhi.

A great talent like Pei Jingzhi was rare, but if he repeatedly disobeyed and could not be used by General Ren Tianye, he would sooner or later be killed by him.

Was it worth it for this Great Yu world, where black and white were confused and right and wrong were unclear?

"Fortunately, the Lord Duke still gave Lord Pei a chance. Seven days from now... Lord Pei has seven days. I hope he can figure it out."

While Su Pengcheng was still worrying about others, Ren Tianye had already called out to him, "Su Pengcheng."

"Your humble official is here."

"Your family has compiled history for generations. You have extensive knowledge and talent, and are highly respected among scholars. Today, you are appointed as the Grand Astrologer, in charge of astronomy, the calendar, and the state history, to pass it down to future generations."

"I hope you will write truthfully and not disappoint this Duke."

Su Pengcheng instantly understood the intention and immediately kowtowed, "I will definitely not disappoint the Lord Duke."

Ren Tianye's gaze swept over his deputy generals Wang Ming and Wei Shuo, but he was in no rush to give orders. These matters could be discussed slowly after he returned to his residence. After all, there were too many people with military merit.

Some had too much military merit.

Just two words could destroy an enemy general and gain an army of sixty thousand.

But now he was a Duke; enfeoffing too much or too little would be inappropriate, so it had to be discussed carefully.

Moreover, if he really made Wang Ming a high official right now, and then asked Wang Ming to investigate certain things for him—such as the specific situation of the Prostitute Empress—it wouldn't be very appropriate.

Thinking this, Ren Tianye dismissed the crowd.

He was also about to return, but was stopped by Su Pengcheng, who had chased after him.

"Lord Duke, I have respectfully recorded the matter of Her Majesty the Empress bestowing the imperial edict into the historical records. The draft is complete, and I have specially come to present it for the Lord Duke's review."

"So fast?" Ren Tianye looked up and saw a young man in a historian's official uniform standing next to Su Pengcheng, his posture as straight as a pine, his demeanor gentle and upright.

Su Pengcheng quickly said, "Lord Duke, this is the Imperial Historian Attendant, named Yang Gan. This history was written by his own hand."

Ren Tianye nodded, took it, and glanced at it.

Full of surprise, he read aloud: "Her Majesty the Empress abdicated the throne to Duke Ren. Duke Ren, loyal to the sovereign and mindful of the state, firmly refused, willing to remain in the position of Prime Minister, acting on behalf of Her Majesty to manage the world and assist in government affairs?"

Looking up, he asked, "Is this written incorrectly?"

Yang Gan bowed and said, "Reporting to the Lord Duke, it is not written incorrectly."

"Her Majesty did not abdicate to me; this must be changed."

Yang Gan, full of righteousness, refused, "I will not change it!"

Ren Tianye narrowed his eyes, "You won't change it?"

"Correct!" Yang Gan's tone became even firmer, "Not a single word will be changed!"

Ren Tianye nodded and asked Yang Gan to step down. When only he and Su Pengcheng were left, he instructed, "I see this Yang Gan is not bad. You will have to help this Duke handle other matters in the future, so leave the compilation of history to him."

"Right, he is an Imperial Historian Attendant, isn't he?"

"This Duke sees that he is quite good, full of righteousness, and will certainly be able to write truthfully. Promote him to Assistant Grand Astrologer, to be your subordinate."

Su Pengcheng immediately said, "I thank the Lord Duke for your grace in promoting Yang Gan on his behalf."

Ren Tianye returned to his residence. Just as he sat down behind his desk, he felt a massive weight of pressure. The Great Yu Dynasty's two capitals and thirteen provinces were resting on his shoulders; he had to consider the common people of the world!

And before him lay several extremely important matters.

First was Lin Zixiao, who was getting closer and closer to the capital.

This guy, under the pretext of avenging the Chifeng Army, had brought an army of two hundred thousand. From the information gathered so far, these two hundred thousand troops were entirely under his control, making him stronger than Ren Tianye himself.

After all, of the three hundred thousand troops he had in the capital, he only thoroughly controlled the one hundred thousand border troops. As for the remaining imperial guards, although he was establishing authority step by step, he couldn't say he could command them as easily as his own arm.

Apart from this, there was the matter of clearing out the lovesick fools in the capital. These troublemakers started with Xiao Jingyuan and were magnified by Xiao Mingzhao, reaching a terrifying extent. This had to be traced back to the source and stopped with military force.

Of course, the most important thing was the Prostitute Empress!

Although this person was already dead, she came from the same place as him and very likely left behind some hidden explosive. He had to figure it out and quickly defuse it.

While he was thinking through these things one by one, Su Jin came to report.

"This subordinate congratulates the Great General on being promoted to Duke Ren. Right now, the Demon Suppression Division has taken shape. The upright individuals selected from the army have been scattered throughout the capital and have unearthed many shocking incidents."

"However, there is one matter involving the late Emperor that this subordinate has not yet investigated clearly. I ask the Lord Duke to allow a few more days."

They found something on Xiao Jingyuan?

Ren Tianye's spirits lifted; this was indeed excellent news.

Knowing they could investigate Xiao Jingyuan meant they would inevitably uncover things about the Prostitute Empress!

This was exactly what Ren Tianye needed.

Immediately, he told Su Jin to intentionally look for details about the Prostitute Empress while investigating Xiao Jingyuan. Su Jin agreed to everything, stating she would give Ren Tianye a reply in the shortest possible time.

After finishing her report, Su Jin was about to leave.

Ren Tianye called out to her, "Su Jin, I see your complexion isn't very good. Have you been overworking yourself lately? Matters have their priorities; you can handle the matter of the Prostitute Empress first, and leave the rest to others."

Su Jin quickly composed herself and managed a smile, saying, "Lord Duke, this subordinate is fine. I just didn't sleep well last night..."

Before Su Jin could finish her sentence, she suddenly saw the pouch Ren Tianye had tossed onto the desk.

The pouch was made of plain white silk with a brocade texture, adorned with a delicate white jade clasp. It appeared to be an item from the palace, looking quite extraordinary. Normally, it wouldn't be anything special, but embroidered on it was a true lovers' knot.

The true lovers' knot used plain white as a base, with fine silver thread dark patterns hidden in the center of the knot. The lines were smooth and rounded, completely different from the style of true lovers' knots popular in the market.

But Su Jin had seen such a unique true lovers' knot before.

That day, the woman who looked exactly like her third sister Su Li, dressed entirely in white, had an identical true lovers' knot embroidered with fine gold thread on the hem of her white skirt!

She had once used this true lovers' knot as a clue for investigation, so she remembered it deeply.

"Is this a coincidence?"

"Or could it be that that woman has some sort of connection to the one who gave the Duke the embroidered pouch?"

...