Top Scholar

Chapter 539 Grand Secretary Jiao finally couldn't hold back any longer.

The two got so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even bother to eat when Aunt Jiu brought out the food. Fortunately, it was the middle of summer and they were eating cold dishes and noodles, so they weren't worried about them getting cold.

But Eunuch Zhang had to keep swatting flies with his whisk the whole time...

"If this Court of Imperial Sacrifices can truly, as you say, help the Emperor make the right decision, then wouldn't the Emperor also want to be a wise and benevolent ruler?" Zhu Shou continued excitedly.

"He can go to court every day... uh, every three days, no, every five days, believe it or not?!"

"Not attending court doesn't mean you're not diligent in your duties," Su Lu said with a smile. "Attending court is a matter of etiquette; it's too inefficient for handling state affairs. As long as the emperor can efficiently understand the national situation and make correct decisions, he will be a wise ruler!"

"Ah, yes, yes, that's absolutely right!" Zhu Shou said with great pleasure, "Then Your Majesty should attend court once a month."

“That works too.” Su Lu nodded.

Zhang, the eunuch swatting flies nearby, was once again filled with admiration for his nephew Su. He had once thought that this young man was a born jester, always able to charm the emperor so much that he would miss him terribly if he didn't see him for a day…

But as time went on, it became clear that providing emotional value to the emperor was just one of Su Lu's many strengths. His greatest strength lay in his ability to provide genuine value to the emperor!
The establishment of this new Court of Imperial Sacrifices is a stroke of genius!

To put it bluntly, this is a think tank specifically designed to assist the emperor in making decisions. All the advice and suggestions are offered behind the scenes, without revealing their true intentions. All the wisdom and prowess are attributed to the emperor! The painstaking analysis and planning are all undertaken by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Unlike the cabinet ministers, who not only oversee all officials and make decisions on government affairs, but also answer the emperor's memorials and petitions, they encroach on the emperor's power at every turn and constantly try to make the emperor rule by doing nothing.

Which emperor wouldn't like a sensible government office that doesn't compete with the emperor for fame and fortune, but only offers advice, shares his worries, and helps him solve problems? It's exactly what the current emperor dreams of having!

He now dares to boldly assert that Su Xian's position in the Emperor's heart will soon surpass that of Liu Jin...

Zhu Shou then became completely excited and said, "This Court of Imperial Sacrifices is great! It's better than all other government offices! We must make a big deal out of it and spare no expense!"

As he spoke, he loudly said to Su Lu, "Let's add another one—receive secret memorials with silver seals on behalf of the Emperor. The eunuchs simply can't understand your 'cipher system'!"

He then argued, "Besides, I'm so busy, how can I have time to read secret reports every day? Just go through them for me first, and tell me the important parts."

"Isn't this inappropriate?" Su Lu frowned. "That's a secret memorial to the Emperor!"

"Didn't I say that if you see it, I see it, and if I see it, the Emperor sees it too? There's no difference." Zhu Shou laughed nonchalantly, "Anyway, if you don't see it, the Emperor will just have a eunuch see it."

“Then it would be better to let the Court of Imperial Sacrifices handle it.” Su Lu pondered for a moment and said, “Then let the Registrar’s Office take charge of this task—they will receive all the secret memorials with silver seals and convert them into official documents. If necessary, they will present them to the Emperor as soon as possible.”

"Excellent, excellent!" Zhu Shou nodded repeatedly with a beaming smile, and then added with great enthusiasm, "By the way, the secret evaluation you did for those disciples of the Emperor is really good! Everyone's abilities, character and strengths are clear at a glance!"

"It's just a preliminary evaluation of their performance at the Dragon Tiger Lecture Hall over the past two months," Su Lu quickly reminded him. "Ultimately, time will tell..."

"Therefore, this evaluation process must continue indefinitely!" Zhu Shou waved his hand and immediately gave the order:

"You should have the Court of Imperial Sacrifices continue to monitor their performance and maintain this secret evaluation—record everything from their character and loyalty to their abilities, so that the Emperor can use it as a reference when making personnel decisions. If anything happens, the Emperor will know at a glance who to use! Wouldn't that be much more accurate than the Ministry of Personnel's deceptive evaluation methods?"

"Does the Court of Imperial Sacrifices also need to make recommendations on personnel matters?" Su Lu was a bit overwhelmed.

"Personnel matters are of paramount importance... Isn't this what the Court of Imperial Sacrifices should be doing?" Zhu Shou argued vehemently. "Don't you often say that if you want to get things done, you can only use your own people? How will the Emperor know whether someone is still one of his own if he doesn't insist on evaluating them?"

"Fine," Su Lu said helplessly, "I've just made trouble for myself."

“There’s no rush,” Zhu Shou said with a smile. “Didn’t you just have your evaluation? You can have another evaluation in a couple of years… A disciple of the Emperor wouldn’t change his ways so quickly, would he?”

"Probably not..." Su Lu said softly, then looked at Zhu Shou deeply and sincerely praised, "You really are a good boss."

"Of course!" Zhu Shou was so proud that his tail was practically wagging in the air. He patted his shoulder and said, "I'm the owner, and you're the manager. Let's work together to revitalize this century-old shop that was on the verge of bankruptcy! Let's make it bigger and stronger, and create new glories!"

"I wouldn't dare call myself a shopkeeper, I'm just a shop assistant," Su Lu said with a smile.

"You're just being too cautious. It was just an analogy, nothing serious," Zhu Shou laughed, only then realizing his stomach was growling. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."

He sat back down in the bamboo chair, took the warm cotton handkerchief offered by Zhang Yong and wiped his hands clean. He then saw five dishes of food on the table.

Crystal cake coated with a thin layer of honey and sprinkled with chopped green plums; mung bean powder, translucent and sprinkled with carrot and pickled mustard greens, drizzled with fragrant vinegar, is absolutely divine in this season. There's also fern root powder chilled in well water, mixed with minced garlic and fragrant vinegar, and sprinkled with chopped green onions—it looks incredibly appetizing.
The main dish was a bowl of cold chicken noodles. The chicken shreds were shredded as thin as dragon beard noodles, mixed with equally finely shredded cucumber and wood ear mushrooms, drizzled with a clear dressing, and only a few drops of sesame oil for flavor.

Zhu Shou ate with gusto, praising, "Mmm, delicious, delicious! Every dish is delicious, especially the noodles. How about I trade two of my imperial chefs for your chef to work in the Leopard House?"

“That won’t do,” Su Lu refused decisively. “My aunt is in charge of cooking, and my uncle is raising pandas for the Emperor. How can we let her do that work?”

"Wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity for the couple to reunite?" Zhu Shou laughed. "I'll just bestow upon her the rank of Fifth-Rank Lady."

"Have some decency..." Su Lu rolled her eyes.

Zhu Shou then changed his mind and said, "Never mind, I'll come here to eat often from now on."

“Alright then.” Su Lu nodded and explained, “I lost my mother at a young age and was raised entirely by my aunt. She’s like my own mother to me, and I really can’t bear to see her work so hard.”

"Sigh, you have no mother but it's better than having one, while I have a mother but it feels like I don't." Zhu Shou sighed upon hearing this, and suddenly his food lost its flavor.

"..." This was the only thing Su Lu couldn't comfort him about.

Although he really wanted to advise Zhu Shou to stay away from toxic people.

But you can't speak ill of someone's mother to her son.

Moreover, Zhu Shou was already living in the Leopard House, so how could he possibly move the capital away from it?
Sigh, every family has its own problems...

~~
Su Lu realized he was truly destined to be a workaholic. During his school years, he studied day and night, never having a moment's rest. But even after passing the imperial examinations and becoming the top scholar, which should have meant a leisurely life as a Hanlin scholar, he was still busy from dawn till dusk, never having a moment's rest…

The next day, he threw himself into the preparations for the new Court of Imperial Sacrifices, meeting with each of his preferred candidates.

Most of the students he selected were graduates of the third rank of the imperial examination, and had received evaluations such as "steady and reliable, meticulous or loyal and trustworthy" in the previous "three-dimensional nine-item evaluation".

Moreover, most of these people came from remote and impoverished provinces such as Sichuan, Shandong, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. Their prospects for officialdom were already bleak. Now, being able to stay close to the emperor with Su Lu and serve as an official in a newly established government office was undoubtedly a shortcut to advancement, so they all readily agreed.

The recruitment went smoothly, but unexpectedly, the Ministry of Personnel rejected the appointment orders for these individuals…

"What?" Su Lu exclaimed in disbelief, "Could it be that even the imperial edict is ineffective when it reaches Jiao Fang?"

Although appointing high-ranking officials by imperial decree might be frowned upon, it is a great honor for middle and lower-ranking officials, proving that you, Jian, are favored by the emperor!

Moreover, they were all minor officials of the seventh rank or below... According to regulations, the first official positions awarded to the third-class graduates of the imperial examination were mostly county magistrates or prefectural judges of the seventh rank; if they were to remain in the capital, their rank would often be one or two ranks lower, such as the eighth-rank official of the Imperial Secretariat or the seventh-rank official of the Secretariat.

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices was originally the office of the crown prince, and the officials were not of high rank. Apart from those who were not allowed to be promoted, most of them were minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank.

But everyone knows that in the Ming Dynasty, rank was never that important for an official; position was the most important thing. In an important government office, even being a ninth-rank official in the capital was far more promising than being sent to be a seventh-rank county magistrate in the provinces.

"People say there's a quota for officials. According to regulations, no more than two officials can hold any position in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Now, with the appointment of ten registrars, ten interpreters, ten proofreaders, and ten correctors, they simply can't manage it all," Zhang Zhong, who was on his way to deliver the imperial decree to the Ministry of Personnel, said helplessly.

"Isn't this utter nonsense?" Zhu Zihe said indignantly, "How many advisors and junior officials are there in the Hanlin Academy? They don't exceed the quota, so what right do low-ranking officials of the eighth or ninth rank have to exceed it?!"

"They say that since the quota for the Assistant Ministers has been exceeded, they can follow the established rules. However, for officials below the seventh rank, there has never been a precedent to break with, and there are no rules to follow. The establishment of new official positions is a major event. They say that the Minister's intention is to go through a court discussion before respectfully requesting the Emperor's decision," said Eunuch Zhang with a wry smile.

"This is the imperial edict!" Zhu Zihe was so angry he almost lost his temper.

“I did say that, but they said that won’t work either, this imperial edict is not that imperial edict.” Zhang Zhong spread his hands.

"I think Jiao Fang is deliberately making things difficult for me!" Su Lu sneered. There was nothing to be angry about; if you've done something wrong, you have to allow others to do the same.

“Of course.” Su Man, who had gone to the Ministry of Personnel with Zhang Zhong, added insult to injury: “It’s not just the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; the appointments of other candidates from the same year have also been blocked.”

"And what's the reason this time?" Su Lu asked, frowning.

“Each department has a fixed number of vacancies, and we can’t fill so many vacancies all at once…” Su Man said, “They didn’t say they wouldn’t fill them, they just told us to wait patiently and fill them slowly.”

(End of this chapter)