I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 61: Taishi Bureau
Some people become noisy when drunk, while others become quiet.

Even though Su Siji was drunk, he still instinctively maintained his usual demeanor, his robes neatly arranged, and he sat upright behind the long desk, staring at the drunken Song Lingyi in front of him, smiling quietly. His smile deepened, revealing a shallow dimple that was rarely visible on normal days.

Song Lingyi, relying on her drunkenness, almost hung herself on Su Siji, her eyes half-drowsy as she muttered, "Sister..."

Su Siji was obviously stunned, "What did you call me?"

The drunk smiled sweetly: "Sister."

"Ghostly clever..."

……

When we returned to Nansui Garden, there were not many people on the palace road at this time. We only occasionally saw a few palace maids hurrying to their respective palaces to stand guard at night.

Song Lingyi supported the unconscious drunk Zhong Zhangji into his residence. The yard was pitch black with only a light on in the corridor.

The dim candlelight paved the bluestone road with a soft and warm light. He Qing walked closer on the flowing light, and Song Lingyi's softest heart was suddenly touched. In the past, there was also such a lamp outside the east wing of the Song family, but it was never lit to wait for her. He Qing silently helped her to help Zhong Zhangji into the house.

Walking down the corridor, the two of them talked quietly.

"Sister He, are you waiting for me here specially?"

He Qing's eyebrows curved, the moonlight flowing in her crystal eyes, like a flowing smile: "We are in the same Shangyi Bureau, how could I not know about your big event? The Siji Bureau was too busy during the day, so I didn't go to congratulate you. I always thought that I would wait until you returned to Nansui Garden to congratulate you, but I didn't expect to wait until so late."

She handed the gift to Song Lingyi and frowned when she smelled the alcohol on her. "How are you going to work tomorrow if you smell so much alcohol? Let's go. I'll boil some water for you to wash."

"Why would it be so troublesome..." Song Lingyi looked up at the night sky, her limbs feeling tipsy and weak, and she began to feel lazy.

"That won't do. Going to the Historian Bureau while looking so dirty will only make people laugh at you."

The sound of drums rumbled in the night, and the whole city of Chang'an echoed with the drums.

…………

The imperial edict granting the official position was delivered to the Song residence in the west of the city on the morning of the next day, along with the news that Song Lingyi was accepted as an apprentice by Master Ye and promoted to the sixth-rank official in charge of calendars.

Mr. Song was overjoyed, and his eyes were filled with tears. He had never thought that he would have the opportunity to be an official in his old age. Although it was just an idle civil servant position, it was granted by His Majesty himself. Mrs. Song prayed to the heavens and ancestors, and kept saying "after all the hardships, there will be happiness". The whole family was immersed in joy.

In just half a year, the Song family achieved a real leap forward in Chang'an.

One after another, he received gifts from all sides, some from distant relatives he hadn't contacted for a long time, and some from Mr. Song's drinking buddies.

After being granted an official position, a banquet must be held. How could Madam Song give up such an opportunity to be proud? Before this, she had pushed all the affairs to Madam Zhou. As soon as the imperial edict was issued, her waist and legs no longer hurt, and she was busy running around to take care of things.

The banquet was scheduled for the twelfth of this month, and the guests invited were all eunuchs who had had dealings with the Song Mansion, and their official positions were not high. Considering that the small courtyard would be crowded for a banquet, they did not plan to hold a grand banquet, and set up four or five tables in the hall in the front yard and the small hall on the right that had been idle for a long time.

Zhou Xiaoniang was happy to have some free time, so she took Song Changling and Song Lingwan to Shufangzhai to buy new clothes. Zhao Xiaoniang locked herself in the room, because her mental state was sometimes good and sometimes bad, and no one dared to disturb her.

…………

On weekdays, officials from the Taishi Bureau work in the Daqing Hall.

Song Lingyi, a new official, changed into the official uniform of the Imperial History Bureau and went to the Daqing Hall to formally meet with colleagues in the Imperial History Bureau. The official uniform of the Imperial History Bureau was slightly different from the uniforms of other seventh-rank officials. The hem and cuffs of her official uniform were embroidered with yin-yang fish patterns. The higher the official rank, the more complex the embroidery and the brighter the color.

The work of the Taishi Bureau was not easy. It was not only when unusual celestial phenomena appeared that they needed to be measured and reported. The Taishi Bureau was responsible for all the calculations of the calendar, weather, and even auspicious days for emperors to offer sacrifices to the gods and for relatives to get married.

There are many measuring instruments on the first floor of Daqing Hall. The officials knew yesterday that there was a new calendar official, who was also the new apprentice of the imperial teacher. They met for the first time today and were very enthusiastic.

The Bureau of Imperial History was originally under the Cabinet. After Ye Xu'an planned to leave Beijing sixteen years ago, he reported to the Empress and established a separate bureau. The officials who served in the bureau were all recommended by him to the Empress. Most of them had been instructed by Ye Xu'an, but they could not be considered his direct disciples. The current head of the Bureau of Imperial History is Tang Taishi Cheng, who is about forty years old, has a goatee, and looks steady and prudent.

Song Lingyi exchanged a few pleasantries with Tang Taishicheng before going up to the second floor of the Daqing Palace. After Ye Xu'an returned to Beijing, he also had to deal with the affairs of the Taishi Bureau, so the people of the Taishi Bureau cleared a quiet room on the second floor for him to work.

The hall is spacious, and the bookshelves are filled with books related to astrology and feng shui.

Ye Xu'an stood behind the rosewood desk, writing on paper with a pen in hand, feeling relaxed. He glimpsed Song Lingyi coming over and said without even looking up, "Please sit down."

Song Lingyi sat down opposite the desk and asked, "Master, what are you going to teach me today?"

I guessed that he was studying "Astronomy", geography, or fortune-telling about marriage, but I heard Ye Xu'an said seriously: "Don't worry, I will tell you a fortune today."

So suddenly?

Song Lingyi knew that he was good at fortune-telling, so she couldn't help but feel nervous, "Master, what does the fortune-telling say?"

"The upper hexagram is Kun Earth, and the lower hexagram is Gen Mountain. Mountain represents the underground, so your career can develop smoothly." Ye Xuan said.

Successful career, isn't that what a lucky omen means?
"Master, your predictions are so accurate. My disciple was promoted yesterday, which means his career is developing smoothly." Song Lingyi's skills in flattery are becoming more and more mature.

Ye Xu'an glanced at her and continued, "There is another hexagram, Gui Mei, which means a girl chasing a boy and missing out on a proper relationship. This is an ominous hexagram. The Song family may be in trouble."

Girl chasing boy, miss the right

Song Lingyi's brows tightened when she heard this, and her mind involuntarily thought of her second sister Song Xianglan's secret relationship.

"Master, is there a solution?"

Ye Xu'an smiled faintly: "Since the master has told you all the hexagrams, you should figure out what to do yourself."

"..." Pretending to be mysterious

She doesn't even know the identity of her second sister's lover, how can she solve this problem?
After talking about the hexagram, Ye Xuan turned around and looked for two books on the bookshelf, one was "Commentaries on Human Meridians" and the other was "Inner Canon of Medicine".

Song Lingyi only needed to glance at the title of the book to recall the fear of being dominated by science.

"Read these two books first, and ask if you don't understand anything."

"...Master, are you so casual?" Song Lingyi narrowed her eyes and asked doubtfully.

Ye Xu'an gave a meaningful smile, "Whatever? You must memorize these two books word for word!"

(End of this chapter)