"It is not exactly difficult, only that I am unsure whether it can truly work."
Yun Shu leaned on her hand, brow furrowed in thought.
"Let us do this. I shall exit first, then attempt to communicate with you through thought. If I succeed, I will explain what I need your help with. If I fail, then we shall leave it be."
"Very well!"
Yun Ni nodded vigorously, and in the blink of an eye, Yun Shu, who had been seated beside her, vanished.
At that very moment, within the Fengyang Palace, Yun Shu opened her eyes upon the bed and sat up.
She hesitantly called out in her mind, "Yun Ni?"
"I heard you!"
A delighted voice rang in her head.
"So it truly works! When I was at the villa before, I never once heard anything from the outside!"
"Perhaps it only works when we both genuinely wish to communicate."
Otherwise, would privacy not be lost entirely?
The current arrangement was ideal.
Yun Shu reentered the villa space. "Now that we are certain this poses no issue, I hope you can remain here tomorrow morning and assist me in answering a few questions."
"Questions?"
That was not a difficult task. After all, she now knew how to use both phone and computer. Whatever Yun Shu wished to ask, even if she herself did not know the answer, she could search it online.
Yun Ni merely felt curious.
"Did I not complete my studies at the Imperial Academy before I left? Who would still have questions to test you on?"
"Not long after your departure, Father Emperor summoned me back. He said my learning was inadequate and that I must repeat the term."
Yun Shu said this casually. "But tomorrow's matter has nothing to do with the Imperial Academy. I am to attend morning court.
Though I am still young, and a mere princess, to suddenly step forward and request to take office will surely stir opposition among the ministers.
I have my own means of handling this, but with your assistance, things may proceed with greater ease."
Yun Ni: "...???"
Had it truly been that long since she left for the modern world? Why did she already struggle to understand the affairs of the ancient court?
A princess, entering court as an official?
Yun Ni could scarcely comprehend. "You... Father Emperor agreed to this? How did you manage it!"
Even when a female sovereign held the throne, never had any woman attained a rank high enough to attend morning court. And since the late Empress passed, women holding office had become all but impossible.
Moreover, Yun Shu was not yet even fourteen!
Ordinarily, even princes must wait until the age of fifteen to enter court. What momentous deed had Yun Shu accomplished in Tian Sheng to be granted such an extraordinary privilege?
"It truly was not difficult."
Yun Shu briefly recounted the major events she had handled since arriving in Tian Sheng. In the end, she added with some exasperation, "Were it not for how stifling life is for women in this era, I would not even wish to become an official.
Who in their right mind would want to work!"
Yun Ni: "…"
Indeed, in that time, a woman's entire life was bound within a cage she could never escape.
Had she not foreseen her own bleak fate, felt helpless to resist it, and thus ultimately chosen to leave with the system?
She was born in Tian Sheng, and lived there for thirteen years.
Then, by some great fortune, she came to the modern age, and after witnessing firsthand the clash of ideas across a millennium, she could now better understand Yun Shu's resolve to change everything.
What great fortune it was—for the women of Tian Sheng.
Yun Ni suddenly felt that the system, which she had thought of as a useless one that even got her lost, had not brought her to the modern world by its own power.
Rather, it was as though a mightier force had chosen to send Yun Shu to this world, so she could return and alter Tian Sheng's destiny.
She and her foolish little system had merely been lucky enough to cross paths with it.
"Shushu, do not worry. Tomorrow, I shall certainly help you deal with those ministers who oppose you!" Yun Ni suddenly felt as though a surge of fighting spirit had rushed through her. She clenched her fist solemnly. "And not just tomorrow. So long as you ever need my aid again, I shall do everything in my power to assist you!"
If one day, the flourishing prosperity she had seen in the modern world could also appear in the lands of Tian Sheng, and the women of Tian Sheng could enjoy the same freedoms as women in later times...
Then surely, her and Yun Shu's journey across time would not have been in vain.
The more she thought about it, the more impassioned she became.
Yun Shu, oblivious to her sudden change in worldview, merely cast her a strange glance, then grasped her trembling fist with great seriousness and said,
"Let us set aside talk of helping for now. Could you stop calling me 'Shushu'?
It sounds like 'Uncle.' Not only does it make me seem old, but it also changes my gender."
Yun Ni: "…"
The great balloon of her emotion, so swiftly inflated, had just been thoroughly deflated.
—
At Tian Sheng, morning court was held during the mao hour, that is, between five and seven in the morning.
Though it began at the same time as sessions at the Imperial Academy, Yun Shu was permitted to arrive slightly later this day. As a result, she actually rose later than usual.
She let Ting Xue, face set with solemnity, dress her layer by layer in ceremonial garments rarely worn except for the grandest occasions.
By the time Yun Shu, appearing uncharacteristically composed and dignified, stepped outside the Xuan Zheng Hall, the new merchant tax law had already been formally enacted within.
In recent times, owing to Emperor Xuanwu's decisive and unyielding manner, the court ministers had come to realize that the matter was settled beyond dispute. Thus, not a single soul raised objections.
What now caused heated debate were not the tax reforms themselves, but the position of President of the Merchants' Association.
Various factions were vying to place their own men in the role, yet none could persuade the others.
Emperor Xuanwu sat steadily upon the Dragon Throne. Only when the clamor had run its course did he lift his gaze and glance coolly at Ye Qing'an.
The latter, sensing the imperial signal, stepped forward without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject has thought of one most suitable candidate for the presidency of the Merchants' Association."
Ye Qing'an, a minor sixth-rank official, had only appeared again at court because of the tax reform decree.
It was he who had first spoken of the new tax law. On this matter, his stance had, in many respects, reflected the Emperor's own.
That he now stepped forth at such a juncture to propose a candidate...
Could it be His Majesty had already given instructions?
Then had their earlier squabbling been for naught?
Just who had earned the imperial favor?
Surely Ye Qing'an did not intend to recommend himself?
That possibility could not be ruled out entirely…
===
Yun Shu name in Chinese is 云舒 (Yún shū). 云 (Yún) as in "Cloud" and 舒 (Shū) as in "To unfold, stretch out" or "Leisurely, comfortable".
While "Shushu" (叔叔, Shūshu) is the standard word for "uncle", specifically a younger male on the father's side.
So when Yun Ni affectionately calls Yun Shu "Shushu" (舒舒, Shū shū), even though it uses the character for Yun Shu's name (舒), it sounds exactly like 叔叔 (Shūshu) to the ear.