Top Scholar

Chapter 540 Jiao Fang, I've come to find you (Seeking monthly votes)

The Ministry of Personnel, known as the "Number One Office Under Heaven," is located inside the Daming Gate, to the right of the Thousand-Step Corridor, and adjacent to the Imperial Clan Court. It has always been the most sought-after place in the capital.

A long row of reed sheds was erected at the base of the main gate, and the area under the sheds was crowded with people who came to do business, wait for vacancies, or run errands... They were basically either officials or clerks, and there were even some mid-level officials wearing blue robes.

Some who arrived late couldn't squeeze into the tent, so they stood under the sun with tin umbrellas, waiting patiently, occasionally tiptoeing to peek into the government office, wondering when it would be their turn...

Su Lu, dressed in the official robes of a sixth-rank official, arrived here along with Su Man and Zhu Zihe, who were dressed in the official robes of a seventh-rank official.

The three of them bypassed the long queue and walked straight towards the entrance of the government office.

The officials in line looked at the three of them like they were fools, waiting for them to get a cold shoulder.

Sure enough, just as the three were about to step onto the steps of the Ministry of Personnel, they were stopped by two guards at the gate.

"Halt!" a burly constable shouted, hands on his hips. "Where did this greenhorn come from, daring to barge into the Heavenly Official's office? Get to the back of the line!"

Zhu Zihe stepped forward and shouted, "Are you blind? This is the newly appointed top scholar, Su!"

Upon hearing this, the constable sized Su Lu up and down, his tone becoming more respectful, but he still wouldn't let him pass, saying, "Sorry, even a top scholar has to follow the rules. This is the Ministry of Personnel, not the Hanlin Academy. Even if a local prefect came, he would still have to queue!"

"If you want to get things done, just submit your application and get in line!" another constable chimed in. "The sooner you line up, the sooner it will be your turn. If you really don't want to line up, then..."

"I am acting on an imperial mission, please be lenient," Su Lu said politely, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"You still have to wait in line. We're all paid by the government and do government jobs." The two officials still refused to make an exception. Letting Su Lu in rashly would greatly affect their income.

Su Lu sighed inwardly. Indeed, the Ministry of Personnel was the most difficult place to enter; even he, a top scholar, couldn't get in. He could only pull out a pure gold token from his sleeve and show it to the two officials, asking, "Does anyone else have this?"

The two officers saw that the four seal characters "As if the Emperor were personally present" on the golden token shone brightly in the sunlight!
Having served as gatekeepers in the Ministry of Personnel, their keen observation skills were naturally exceptional. The two men immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
"I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness! Scholar Su, spare my life!"

Upon seeing this, the crowd queuing under the canopy immediately erupted in a commotion, craning their necks to look and whispering amongst themselves.

"A 'As if I were personally present' gold medal? Does such a thing really exist?"

"What kind of task did Scholar Su complete that the Emperor would still award him this gold medal?!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He hadn't wanted Zhu Shou's gold medal that day, but he hadn't expected to use it so soon. It was quite a slap in the face.

So he had nothing to be proud of and asked, still neither humble nor arrogant, "May I go in now?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Scholar, please come in quickly!" Two officials hurriedly rushed in, one leading the way and the other scrambling into the yamen to report.

Before long, several officials from the Ministry of Personnel hurriedly came out to greet them, led by Zhang Cai, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Zhang Cai was a rising star in the eunuch faction, always arrogant and disrespectful to everyone except Liu Jin and Jiao Fang.

But upon seeing the gold medal in Su Lu's hand, he could only suppress his arrogance and obediently lead his men to kneel and kowtow. "Your Majesty, we respectfully wish you good health!"

"Your Majesty, may you be well," Su Lu replied solemnly. "Please rise, gentlemen."

"Thank you." Zhang Cai stood up to apologize, checked the gold medal, and returned it with both hands after confirming that it was genuine. He then smiled and said, "I am sorry for not being able to greet the top scholar properly!"

"You're too kind, Vice Minister Zhang." Su Lu put away the gold medal and said in a calm tone, "I've come today to discuss the appointment of officials under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I would be grateful if you could inform Grand Secretary Jiao."

Zhang Cai hurriedly explained, "Scholar Su, you may not know this, but as the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Grand Secretary Jiao is very busy with state affairs and does not come to the Ministry of Personnel every day. He just happens to be out of office today."

He knew perfectly well that Jiao Fang had secretly informed Su Lu and deliberately delayed the appointment by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. But who would have thought that the very next day, the man would arrive with a golden plaque that read "As if the Emperor were personally present"?

Now, Grand Secretary Jiao had really messed with him. How could Zhang Cai possibly take the blame for Jiao Fang? He could only cautiously reply, "But don't worry, Scholar, I'll send someone to invite Grand Secretary Jiao back right away. Would you like to come with me to the back hall for a cup of tea?"

"In that case, I'm sorry to have troubled Vice Minister Zhang." Su Lu was always very polite, not only to Zhang Cai, but also to the other officials.

This is the Ministry of Personnel, the body in charge of official appointments; you can't afford to offend even a dog there...

~~
At this time, Jiao Fang was not in the cabinet, but in the Directorate of Ceremonial.

He was sitting next to Liu Jin, speaking in hushed tones across a coffee table.

"Your Majesty, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..." Jiao Fang leaned forward and whispered, "The Empress Dowager is still on a hunger strike. I have already contacted my colleagues and plan to jointly submit a memorial to persuade the Emperor to reconcile with the Empress Dowager... Of course, it will require your approval, Your Majesty."

Isn't that obvious? Even if they wrote ten thousand memorials, the emperor wouldn't see them unless Liu Jin nodded. "What nonsense are you spouting!" Liu Jin slammed down his teacup, his face contorted with rage. "We are the emperor's servants, and you are our people. How dare our people turn around and pressure the emperor?"

Liu Jin actually wanted to say that you are our dogs, but Zhang Yong has been putting too much pressure on him lately, so we still need to be careful to maintain unity.

Jiao Fang quickly explained with a forced smile, "Your Majesty is wise, how could we dare to put you in a difficult position? We were merely advising Your Majesty to reconcile with the Empress Dowager and her son... If something were to happen to the Empress Dowager, how would Your Majesty handle the situation?"

"Do I not know you, old man?" Liu Jin glanced at him sideways and sneered, "Tell me, how much benefit did you receive from the Zhang brothers?"

Jiao Fang's eyes flickered, and he said awkwardly, "I didn't dare to take more than ten." He quickly emphasized, "This humble official would not dare to embezzle any; I have already sent seventy percent to your esteemed brother, Sun."

As they held power for longer, their appetites grew ever larger; in their vocabulary, a single figure was ten thousand taels of silver…

Hearing that Jiao Fang was so disciplined, Liu Jin's expression softened slightly and he said, "Old Jiao, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you've had plenty of people offering you money, why did you have to accept such a hot potato?"

"Your Excellency, this isn't about money," Jiao Fang earnestly advised again.

"His Majesty is now in a precarious position. Can he really ignore the Empress Dowager's hunger strike? We should first lay the groundwork in the court, and then Your Highness should step in to persuade His Majesty and give him a way out... You can say that it's all because of those two damned beasts, Zhang Yong and Su Lu, who stirred up trouble, disturbed the two emperors, and caused discord between mother and son. They are truly guilty of heinous crimes!"

"Hiss..." Liu Jin gasped, sat up straight, and gestured for him to continue.

"As I just said, the Emperor would never allow himself to bear eternal infamy; he'll definitely shift the blame onto those two beasts," Jiao Fang whispered, instigating him.

"Therefore, the Emperor will not only not blame him, but will also be grateful to His Highness for once again saving the Emperor from this predicament... As long as the Emperor and the Empress Dowager reconcile, all the blame will naturally fall on Zhang Yong and that Su fellow—at that time, sending Zhang Yong to guard the imperial tombs will be considered lenient!"

Liu Jin stroked his smooth chin and pondered. He admitted that Jiao Fang's words made sense and the method was tempting, but it was a risky move... He was unwilling to take any risks in his relationship with the Emperor.

"If the Empress Dowager really did that, the Emperor will naturally hate them to death. We can achieve our goal without doing anything, so why take the risk?" Besides, he wasn't easily fooled.

“Because the Empress Dowager would never do that…” But Grand Secretary Jiao’s brain was a bit bigger than Eunuch Liu’s, and he heard Jiao Fang say quietly, “Your Majesty, the last time the Emperor went to your house to ask for money, it was a signal—if we don’t get rid of Zhang Yong quickly, who knows what the Emperor might do under his instigation!”

He said, enunciating each word clearly, "So we have to seize this opportunity, Your Majesty!"

Liu Jin turned pale after being spoken to. The incident of the young master coming to his door to ask for money last time was indeed like a thorn in his heart, making him very worried—this was the beginning of the emperor's dissatisfaction with him.

"Let me think about it some more..." He finally softened his stance.

"Alright, but we have to hurry, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Jiao Fang nodded, not wanting to push Eunuch Liu too hard.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a young eunuch rushed in, bowed, and reported, "Reporting to my godfather, someone from the Ministry of Personnel has come to request that Grand Secretary Jiao return to his office immediately!"

"What's the matter that's so urgent?" Jiao Fang asked, frowning.

"They say... Scholar Su went there, specifically requesting to see the Grand Secretary," the young eunuch whispered.

"He wants to see me, so I should go back? Do I, a Grand Scholar, still have any shame?" Jiao Fang's face immediately darkened. "Let him wait."

"But the messenger said... Scholar Su is holding a gold plaque that says 'As if I were personally present'!" The little eunuch raised his voice slightly.

"Holy crap! How does he have that thing?" Jiao Fang was so shocked that she stood up abruptly.

"Who else but the Emperor could bestow this gold medal? It must have been given by the Emperor himself." Liu Jin looked up at Jiao Fang, asking with a hint of schadenfreude, "What? Are you two about to have a falling out?"

"Ugh, the truth has been out of the question for a long time!" Jiao Fang said with a sneer. "First, he showed no sportsmanship by attacking an old man like me who's over seventy. Then, he used his position to settle personal scores and deliberately isolated me, preventing me from giving lectures at the Dragon Tiger Lecture Hall. If I don't retaliate, people will really think I'm afraid of that bastard!"

"So how did you get revenge on him?" Liu Jin was very interested, after all, Su Lu was one of the two people he hated to the core, but was helpless against.

"I didn't do anything special, I just reasonably and reasonably blocked the appointment of the newly appointed Jinshi, to curb his arrogance." Jiao Fang then said, "If I had done it smoothly for him, where would I put my face?"

"You're simply senile," Liu Jin said, frowning. "You dare to block someone appointed by imperial decree as a disciple of the emperor?"

"I know it's an imperial edict!" Jiao Fang hurriedly explained, "But that edict only uses the emperor's name. In reality, wasn't it something he and Zhang Yong concocted? Besides, I didn't say I wouldn't do it for him. It just really takes time. Why is he in such a hurry?"

"Enough nonsense! Go back and get this done! Don't cause trouble for our family!" Liu Jin shouted sternly, "What if the Emperor thinks I ordered you to do this?"

"Yes, yes, yes, this official will go back now." Jiao Fang dared not say anything more and quickly bowed and withdrew.

P.S. Posted first, edited later. Please vote with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)