Chapter 0109: Even With Open Doors, Xie Chengze Would Still Swindle Your Pants Off
Directorate of Celestial Observation.
Ever since the Second Prince’s sudden visit last time, Guo Tianheng had been living in constant fear and suspicion. Anticipating the prince’s return, he ordered all personnel to remain vigilant, instructing them to notify him immediately should the Second Prince set foot on the celestial steps of the Directorate.
Thus, upon hearing the announcement of the prince’s arrival, Guo Tianheng rushed out to greet him, bowing respectfully to Xie Chengze. “Your Highness, what brings you unexpectedly to the Directorate of Celestial Observation?”
Thanks to the Second Prince’s chance encounter with the first snow and moon that day, the Directorate had been able to predict the snow disaster earlier. This was why Guo Tianheng treated Xie Chengze with such courtesy—though more out of fear, afraid that the prince might have another erratic episode and demolish the Directorate’s tower like he did five years ago.
“Ti Ling Guo… Ah! Ah!”
Upon seeing Guo Tianheng, Xie Chengze first let out a heavy sigh, then hesitated as if holding back words, shaking his head repeatedly with a helpless expression, as if pitying him for something.
Guo Tianheng grew restless under this display. “Your Highness, if you have something to say, please speak frankly?”
Xie Chengze then gave him a deep look and slowly explained, “Weren’t you saying before that your Directorate is short-handed? Originally, I had found a scholar for you. This person possesses extraordinary talent in mathematics—he could thoroughly comprehend and apply all the arithmetic teachings I wrote. Just imagine how terrifying his aptitude must be!”
“Is that true?” Guo Tianheng was overjoyed, but noticing Xie Chengze’s troubled expression, he suppressed his excitement and cautiously asked, “But…?”
“But that old man from the Ministry of Works, Gu, shamelessly snatched him away at the last moment!” Xie Chengze said indignantly. “I merely mentioned wanting to send that scholar to your Directorate, and that old man, leveraging his achievements, went straight to the Emperor and obtained an imperial decree to take him for the Ministry of Works!”
Zhu Xiaobiao, standing nearby, overheard: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
Your Highness, that’s not what you said earlier at the Ministry of Works!
“What?!” Hearing that Old Gu had stolen the candidate, Guo Tianheng instantly flared up. “How outrageous! How could he be so shameless in his old age!”
Fuming, Guo Tianheng declared, “What status does our Directorate hold? And what status does his Ministry of Works have? Sending a mathematical genius to the Ministry of Works is nothing but a waste of talent! I think Gu Yun clearly wants to ruin that scholar’s bright future!”
“Exactly! Exactly!” Xie Chengze quickly added fuel to the fire. “I tried to persuade him to release the scholar, but he actually said that since he built your Directorate’s Celestial Star Tower, snatching someone from you is only right and proper! How infuriating is that!”
“Utterly infuriating! This Ti Ling will go to the Ministry of Works right now to demand the scholar back! And while I’m at it, I’ll give him a piece of my mind—if it weren’t for building this tower, what use would his Ministry of Works even have?” Guo Tianheng was so angry his beard trembled, and he made to stride off immediately to reclaim the scholar.
“Wait, wait!”Xie Chengze hurriedly stopped him, advising, ‘Ti Ling Guo, calm down!” The Emperor has already issued the decree. Going to the Ministry of Works to snatch someone back now would be disrespecting the Emperor! Moreover, His Majesty is currently preoccupied with the snow disaster—how could he bother with such trivial matters? Even though you hold the esteemed position of Ti Ling at the Directorate, it’s best to avoid provoking the Emperor’s wrath!”
Zhu Xiaobiao found this reasoning somewhat familiar, as if he’d heard it somewhere before.
He wasn’t quite sure, so he decided to listen a bit more.
Xie Chengze’s words made sense, leaving Guo Tianheng no choice but to shake his head in frustration. “My talented candidate… just gone like that…”
“Ti Ling Guo, try to look on the bright side.” Xie Chengze patted his shoulder, then shifted his tone. “However, this matter might not be entirely without room for negotiation…”
“Oh?” Guo Tianheng’s eyes lit up with renewed hope. “Your Highness, what do you mean?”
Xie Chengze said meaningfully, “After all, the Ministry of Works acted unreasonably first. Coincidentally, Old Gu owes me a favor. If I appeal to his emotions and reason with him, I might persuade him to allocate half of the talent to your department.”
Zhu Xiaobiao: ???
Zhu Xiaobiao understood—this was exactly what His Highness had said earlier in front of Old Gu!
The next lines were bound to be—
“How about having that scholar hold dual positions? He could serve at your Directorate of Celestial Observation before noon and at the Ministry of Works after noon. Split in two, fair distribution. What do you think?”
Exactly! The very same tactic! Old Gu had just fallen for it!
Zhu Xiaobiao sighed inwardly. His Highness was truly cunning—no longer making empty promises but outright deceiving people! And deceiving such high-ranking officials at that!
“This…” Guo Tianheng hesitated. He really didn’t want to miss out on the arithmetic genius. After all… while others might not know, Guo Tianheng was well aware that the Directorate of Celestial Observation had reached a bottleneck. If they didn’t recruit fresh talent soon, it might become difficult to receive the Heavenly Decree again. The Emperor was already growing dissatisfied…
Moreover, he had a pile of instrument components that required Old Gu’s assistance. It really wasn’t wise to antagonize the Ministry of Works too much. If the Second Prince was willing to mediate, that would be best.
So he tentatively asked, “Your Highness… could you assign the afternoon slot to the Directorate of Celestial Observation? As you know, we mostly operate during the night…”
“Well… alright, I’ll do my best!” Xie Chengze feigned some difficulty but finally nodded solemnly, pointing at Zhu Xiaobiao. “Once I succeed in persuading him, I’ll send my trusted aide to inform you!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Guo Tianheng was overjoyed and turned to smile at Zhu Xiaobiao. “Then I’ll trouble you, Gonggong.”
Zhu Xiaobiao: …”It’s my duty.” But I’m not a eunuch!
Having successfully tricked Guo Tianheng out of his pants, Xie Chengze patted his shoulder and said meaningfully, “Ti Ling Guo, I only hope both your directorate and the ministry will cherish this talent and not let his gifts go to waste. Cultivate a great capable official for our Jian’an!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” Guo Tianheng promptly bowed respectfully, filled with emotion.
The Second Prince is such a good man!
This way, the Directorate of Celestial Observation owes the Second Prince too many favors!
“It’s all my duty.” Xie Chengze declared righteously. “Everything is for Jian’an and its people!”
With that, he took his leave with Zhu Xiaobiao and hurried straight to the Imperial Study, instructing Zhu Xiaobiao to wait outside and eavesdrop.
Zhu Xiaobiao was already numb. He knew His Highness was about to start stealing the Emperor’s “pants.”
Inside the Imperial Study, Xie Chengze paced back and forth in front of Emperor Jian, sighing occasionally and glancing at the emperor, who was reviewing memorials.
Emperor Jian put down the memorial helplessly. “Stop pacing. You’re giving me a headache.”
“Speak. What is the matter?” Emperor Jian glanced at him. “Don’t tell me you’re requesting to go to Liaozhou?”
“Not at all, not at all.” Xie Chengze quickly waved his hand, then forced a bitter smile. “Imperial Father, the truth is your son has encountered a dilemma and truly doesn’t know how to resolve it.”
“Oh? What dilemma has you so troubled?” Emperor Jian immediately became interested. “Quickly tell me so I can be amused.”
“…” Xie Chengze secretly rolled his eyes before continuing with his feigned distress. “Both the Directorate of Celestial Observation and the Ministry of Works have taken a liking to the same person and wish to exceptionally recruit them into the palace. This individual shows remarkable talent in Arithmetic Studies, and now the two departments are fighting over them, almost coming to blows!”
Xie Chengze sighed with deep resignation. “What status does Ti Ling Guo hold? He’s the messenger who delivers the Heavenly Decree! And what status does Elder Gu hold? He’s the backbone supporting the entire Ministry of Works! No matter whom we assign this person to, it will offend the other party!”
Zhu Xiaobiao, standing guard at the entrance, couldn’t help but feel puzzled upon hearing this.
Hadn’t His Highness already devised a solution? Why was he now claiming to have no way out?