The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 144 Promotion
Tang Shen revealed Tang Huang’s true origins. After finishing, even he felt a bit unfamiliar with the story.
All these years, neither he nor Tang xiucai had ever treated Tang Huang as an outsider—they had always seen her as family. After clarifying the matter, Tang Shen was lost in thought for a moment before saying, “Honestly, this doesn’t matter anymore. Ah Huang is my real sister.” Pausing, he then looked up at Wang Zhen. “Senior Brother, you won’t spread this, will you?”
As of now, only the two of them knew about this.
Wang Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?”
Tang Shen nodded. He had only asked casually—there was no reason for Wang Zhen to go around telling people.
What he didn’t expect was that, far from exposing the secret, Minister Wang was already contemplating how to find Tang Huang a good match. If she were merely Tang Shen’s sister, that would be one thing. But now, with the added status of a “child bride”… Minister Wang had never doubted his own charm, nor had he ever considered that Tang Shen might develop feelings for his so-called sister.
However… a child bride.
Minister Wang smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Since he was busy with official duties, he couldn’t handle this matter personally. Instead, he penned a letter to Jinling, addressed to the current head of the Langya Wang clan—his great-grandmother, the esteemed old Madam Wang.
The old matriarch had her own ways of handling such affairs. When she received Wang Zhen’s letter, the beginning was filled with words of longing for his family, making no mention of Tang Huang’s marriage. Instead, it was a lengthy outpouring of sentiment, expressing how much he missed his great-grandmother.
Tears welled up in the elderly woman’s eyes. “Zi Feng must be suffering in Shengjing. He was so thin when he returned last year—he must have been bullied terribly.”
By the time she reached the end of the letter, she had already made up her mind. Summoning her daughters-in-law, they discussed the matter thoroughly before drafting two responses—one to Wang Zhen and another to the Right Prime Minister’s residence, addressed to the Right Prime Minister’s wife.
That evening, Right Prime Minister Wang Quan sought out Wang Zhen, pointing at him in exasperation. “You! For such a minor matter, you could have just spoken to me or your Second Aunt. Why go through such a roundabout way and write to Jinling first?”
Wang Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Uncle, would it be proper etiquette for me to speak directly to you about this?”
Wang Quan was momentarily speechless.
True, it wasn’t strictly proper etiquette. But knowing Wang Zifeng, could that really be the only reason? Surely, he had some hidden agenda!
Indeed, Wang Zhen had his reasons.
First, by omitting Tang Huang’s origins in his letter, he ensured that once the old matriarch acknowledged her, Tang Huang would be fully recognized as Tang Shen’s biological sister. Second, he deliberately wrote to his family in advance to give them a heads-up. Not all Wang clan members in Jinling knew about his relationship with Tang Shen—most only knew that he had no interest in women, but they weren’t yet aware that he had already found someone he cared for.
Minister Wang gazed at the moon, letting out a long sigh. He truly had to go to great lengths for his dear little junior brother.
Meanwhile, Tang Huang remained unaware that the Right Prime Minister’s wife had already begun scouting eligible young men for her—not to force a marriage upon her, but simply to give her more options, allowing her to meet more young men of good character. If she wasn’t interested, no one would pressure her.
As the year-end approached, the accounts from Xixia Tower and Zhenbao Pavilion were compiled, and the managers from Gusu made their way north to Shengjing.
This year, Tang Shen completely entrusted these matters to Tang Huang, without getting involved himself.
The young lady handled everything flawlessly. On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, when the managers were about to depart, she gathered them together and said, “Seven years ago, our Tang family established Tang's Logistics in Gusu and began selling Golden Wisp and soap. Since then, business has flourished day by day.”
The managers praised, “It is all thanks to the boss’s wise leadership.”
Dressed in a simple yellow dress, Tang Huang remained composed despite their flattery. She took a sip of tea before continuing, “There’s no need to praise me. I only took over the family business in the past two years—before that, it was my brother handling everything. Over these years, I’ve seen a lot and have come to a realization. Do you know why our Tang family has succeeded in business? Why we have reached the scale we have today?”
The managers replied, “Please enlighten us, my lady.”
“Because we, above all else, value time.”
“Everyone knows about Tang's Logistics. Initially, it was barely profitable. But my brother used it as an advertisement to spread awareness. Through Tang's Logistics, the people of Gusu came to know about Golden Wisp and soap. The subsequent benefits of this move were immeasurable. And that was just the beginning.
"Xixia Tower benefits from Tang's Logistics by always having fresher ingredients than other restaurants. Later, Baibao Pavilion was able to gather rare treasures from all over the country in a single store, all thanks to Tang's Logistics.
“This is the time we have saved.”
She continued, “Two years ago, I implemented a system in our workshops where each worker focuses on a single task. Mastery leads to efficiency, allowing them to work faster and save more time. Over time, even if each worker saves just the time of one cup of tea, imagine the effect multiplied by a hundred workers.”
She set down her cup with a crisp clink on the wooden table. “Today, I will summarize the reasons behind our family’s success into three key points. First, the cultivation of skilled artisans and staff. Second, the keen eye to seize opportunities. And third, the optimization of time.”
She gazed intently at them. “The Tang family has come this far, but how we continue to grow from here depends on all of you. Next year, when we meet again, I hope to hear your own strategies for development. The Tang family is not just my brother’s and mine—it belongs to all of you as well.”
With a bright, confident smile, she asked, “Do you understand?”
The managers, stunned, stared at the young lady at the head of the table. For the first time, they dared not underestimate her.
Someone stepped forward and cupped his hands. “I understand.”
The next moment, all the managers echoed in unison, “We understand.”
After they left, Tang Huang leaned back in her chair, wiping the sweat from her palms.
“Brother, I hope, as you said, these men will come up with good ideas. You always say that strength lies in numbers. If we truly want to grow, we can’t do it alone.”
Much later, when Tang Shen learned of the speech she had given that day, he was astonished. He had merely told her to encourage the managers to innovate—after all, technological advancement was the true path to progress. But none of these words had come from him.
That, however, was a matter for another time.
On the eve of the 32nd year of Kaiping, New Year’s Eve passed quietly, even a little desolately.
The night before, Emperor Zhao Fu hosted a banquet at the palace for his ministers, as per tradition. However, on New Year’s Eve itself, none of the three princes returned to the capital.
Not that they didn’t want to return—though, in truth, they were indeed fearful. The staged coup in the previous year’s first lunar month was still fresh in their minds. Though the emperor had not punished them severely, instead making scapegoats of the monk Shanting and Prime Minister Ji, the lesson was clear.
After that terrifying precedent, none of the three princes dared to set foot before Zhao Fu again with any thoughts of the throne.
However, they did not dare to offend their unpredictable father either.
In mid-December, the three princes submitted petitions requesting to return to the capital, expressing their desire to do so.
Zhao Fu read their memorials with an unreadable expression. After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh and, as if joking, said to Ji Fu, “Look at them. Clearly, they don’t dare to return, yet they still have to ask for my permission, afraid I might be displeased. This is truly a case of being too clever for their own good—so clever they’ve become fools.”
Ji Fu dared not interfere in matters between the emperor and his sons. He only lowered his head in silence. Yet, as he secretly glanced at Zhao Fu out of the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help but think: Your Majesty, have you noticed that you, too, seem to have changed?
None of the three princes returned to the capital, and the imperial family banquet on New Year’s Eve was attended only by Prince Jing’s family. The occasion was cold and cheerless.
Throughout the banquet, Zhao Fu did not smile even once. After it ended, he immediately rose and left in a huff.
Ji Fu quickly followed behind him, but as he gazed at the emperor’s solitary figure, he suddenly understood the true meaning of a certain phrase.
The solitary and lonely ruler.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, he had always been alone.
On the nineteenth day of the first month in the 33rd year of Kaiping, barely ten days after officials had resumed court duties, Tang Shen received an imperial decree.
This year’s huishi in Shengjing would be overseen by Yu Chaosheng, the Minister of Justice and Assistant Minister of the Palace Secretariat. In addition, over twenty officials below the third rank were selected as deputy examiners. Among them, Tang Shen held one of the highest ranks.
He still remembered the first time he had met Yu Chaosheng at the Shengjing Examination Hall years ago, when Yu Chaosheng had just returned to the capital as the Right Vice Minister of Personnel. Back then, both of them had served as deputy examiners under the chief examiner, Minister of Personnel Shen Yun.
Now, years later, they found themselves in the same roles once again. Before the examination began, Yu Chaosheng led the officials in paying respects to the statue of Confucius.
Tang Shen followed behind him, bowing in reverence.
After the ritual, as the examinees entered the examination hall, Yu Chaosheng glanced at Tang Shen. Their eyes met, and both men exchanged a smile.
Under Yu Chaosheng’s competent oversight, the examination proceeded smoothly, with not a single issue arising. Among this year’s candidates, several were already well known for their literary talent.
While grading, Tang Shen came across an exceptionally well-written essay. When he finally lifted the seal covering the candidate’s name, he sighed in realization. “So it’s a scholar from the Su family of Northern Zhili.”
The Su family of Northern Zhili was a prestigious aristocratic clan. The highest-ranking official in the family was Su Wenyun, a third-rank official who currently served as the Right Vice Minister of Works and Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Yet, within just half a month—before the dianshi even took place—Su Wenyun was smoothly promoted. He was elevated to Assistant Minister of the Privy Council and concurrently Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, attaining a second-rank position.
Su Wenyun’s promotion came as no surprise to anyone. Even Tang Shen sometimes wondered when the emperor would decide to promote him.
As expected, once Su Wenyun’s promotion was announced, the entire court offered their congratulations.
Yet, barely a month later, right after the dianshi concluded, another imperial decree was issued.
"Tang Shen, Court Gentleman Consultant and Right Deputy Imperial Censor of the Silver Pull Division, is diligent and meritorious, having presided over two rounds of imperial examinations and deeply understanding Our intentions. We hereby promote him to Right Vice Minister of Works and Right Deputy Imperial Censor of the Silver Pull Division, a third-rank official, effective immediately."
The court was left in shock. Even Wang Zhen had not anticipated this.
Tang Shen himself was so taken aback that he hesitated to accept the decree. It wasn’t until the eunuch delivering the edict chuckled and reminded him, “Tang daren, don’t let your excitement get the best of you—accept the decree first,” that Tang Shen finally came to his senses and expressed his gratitude.
The officials were stunned because Tang Shen was only twenty-two years old, yet the emperor had truly promoted him to a third-rank official.
Tang Shen was stunned because he had actually become the Right Vice Minister of Works.
Alone, he couldn’t help but laugh wryly.
“Fate really likes to play tricks on people.”