Chapter 0110: Repeating Old Tricks Xie Chengze, Chilling Realization Xie Zimiao
Emperor Jian pondered slightly, “To be favored by both the Directorate of Celestial Observation and the Elder, it seems this person truly possesses extraordinary talent.”
“Indeed…” Xie Chengze feigned difficulty, “Father, who should this person be assigned to? We can’t exactly split him in half, can we?”
Split him in half? Emperor Jian raised an eyebrow and immediately thought of a solution. “What’s so difficult about that? I have a method that can perfectly resolve this matter.”
“Really?” Xie Chengze instantly pretended to be surprised, quickly sitting at the desk and tugging at the Emperor’s dragon robe, his sparkling eyes full of anticipation. “Father! Tell me quickly! How can this be resolved?”
Emperor Jian deliberately kept silent until Xie Chengze had begged long enough to nearly become angry, then put on an air of pride as he explained, “Have that person serve at the Ministry of Works during the day, and then go to the Directorate of Celestial Observation after noon. Wouldn’t that work? Throughout history, it hasn’t been uncommon for court officials to hold multiple positions.”
Aha~!
You said it yourself! Not me!
Xie Chengze immediately showed an expression of sudden realization, standing up excitedly. “You’re right! How did I not think of that! Then I’ll issue the order accordingly!”
Having said this, he hurriedly left the Imperial Study, as if afraid someone might change their mind.
However, Zhu Xiaobiao saw Xie Chengze run to the outer chamber, pretend to jog in place a few times, then immediately turn around and run back to the inner chamber.
His round little head popped up again as Xie Chengze said with an innocent expression, “Father, perhaps you should write an imperial decree to formalize this matter! Otherwise, those two stubborn old men might really fight, and that would be a loss for our Jian’an!”
“That could work.” Emperor Jian didn’t suspect anything, thinking that someone favored by both the Directorate of Celestial Observation and the Ministry of Works couldn’t be too bad.
He pulled out a scroll of imperial decree and asked while picking up his brush, “Do you know this person’s name?”
“Su Qinghe.” Xie Chengze ran to the desk and said eagerly, “The second young master of the Su Family.”
It’s actually him?
Emperor Jian raised his eyebrows and gave Xie Chengze a meaningful look, but didn’t ask further. Instead, he handed his brush to Xie Chengze. “Write it yourself.”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate…” Xie Chengze showed slight restraint, hesitating as he said, “My handwriting is too ugly, it would ruin this imperial decree.”
Emperor Jian rolled his eyes at him. “You only need to write the name. I’ll write the rest.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Xie Chengze awkwardly rubbed his nose, took the brush, and wrote Su Qinghe’s name on the imperial decree as neatly as he could.
Emperor Jian unsurprisingly showed a disgusted expression, but quickly completed writing the decree. After stamping it with the Imperial Jade Seal, he handed it to Xie Chengze.
Then he asked as if casually, “Really not going to Liaozhou?”
“No, no.” Xie Chengze took the decree and immediately waved his hand without stopping, saying goodbye, “I’m leaving, Father. Remember to rest more! If you’re too tired and the Crown Prince isn’t here, just give the memorials to Fourth Brother to review!”
Emperor Jian: …
Does Little Four know you’re backstabbing him like this behind his back?
After Xie Chengze left, Emperor Jian seemed to release all the tension from his body, rubbing his temples to relieve his headache as he said somewhat sadly, “He still hasn’t forgiven his mother.”
Eunuch Zhao comforted him, “Perhaps the Second Prince simply hasn’t considered that aspect.”
“Perhaps…” Emperor Jian sighed deeply and lowered his head to continue handling the memorials.
As he reviewed the memorials, he suddenly looked up, finally grasping the underlying meaning. “That rascal… did he deliberately come to me to obtain an imperial decree?”
He had actually fallen for his scheme!
All that talk about not knowing whom to assign the person to was just pretense – he had already planned how to handle this matter. The emperor had actually believed his nonsense, thinking he was truly helpless!
“Just as cunning as when he was young.” Emperor Jian chuckled indulgently, lowering his head to continue diligently reviewing memorials.
…
“Your Highness, that move you just made was absolutely brilliant.”
Holding the imperial decree in his arms, Zhu Xiaobiao was utterly impressed.
Who exactly claimed His Highness was mediocre and untalented? It must have been certain villains jealous of His Highness’s abilities, deliberately slandering him!
“Of course, this prince is simply a peerless genius!” Xie Chengze rubbed his chin, boasting without any modesty.
This method of deception was something Xie Chengze learned from a success story.
The original version of the story went like this: A merchant wanted his son to become the son-in-law of the world’s richest man, Bill Gates. So he approached Bill saying, “I want to introduce a good husband for your daughter.”
Bill said, “My daughter isn’t thinking about marriage yet.”
The merchant then said, “But this young man is the vice president of the World Bank!”
Upon hearing this, Bill said, “In that case, we might consider it.”
So the merchant immediately went to the World Bank and said, “I want to recommend a vice president for you.”
The bank officials refused, but the merchant said, “But he’s Bill Gates’s son-in-law!”
The bank officials immediately agreed. In the end, Bill Gates’s daughter and this newly appointed World Bank vice president lived happily ever after.
Though the story was somewhat exaggerated and far-fetched, it contained many principles of success. Xie Chengze applied what he learned, using the positions of the Ministry of Works, the Directorate of Celestial Observation, and Emperor Jian to legitimize Su Qinghe’s “false” identity as a mathematical genius. He made the three parties believe Su Qinghe was highly sought after, thus willing to pave the way for him.
Of course, the most important thing was that Su Qinghe himself needed to possess matching talent and diligence.
Now that they had secured commitments from the Directorate of Celestial Observation, the Ministry of Works, and Emperor Jian, the next step was to persuade Su Qinghe – or rather, prepare Su Qinghe mentally.
So the next day, while confined to his home, Su Qinghe received an imperial decree delivered by Eunuch Zhao, ordering him to take up positions at both the Directorate of Celestial Observation and the Ministry of Works.
The entire Su family courtyard gathered to hear the decree. When they learned that Su Qinghe had been recommended to the Directorate of Celestial Observation, everyone was shocked, their jaws dropping in astonishment.
How could someone as untalented as Su Qinghe possibly work at the Directorate of Celestial Observation?
That was the Directorate of Celestial Observation! The place that issued Heavenly Decrees!
To enter the Directorate of Celestial Observation, aside from passing the Spring Examination, one could only be recommended internally by a celestial official, and even then had to pass layer upon layer of tests to confirm one’s ability to interpret celestial phenomena.
But the problem was that all personnel at the Directorate worked at night and avoided daytime, and were strictly forbidden from associating with court officials – so how could one find someone to provide an internal recommendation?
Therefore, not just anyone could enter the Directorate of Celestial Observation.
What qualifications did Su Qinghe possibly have?
Su Zhongyue couldn’t help but step forward and ask Eunuch Zhao, “Eunuch Zhao, if I may be so bold to ask – could this imperial decree possibly have written the wrong name? Is it truly the second young master Su Qinghe? Not someone else?”
“Yes, yes!” Su Wenhao also asked anxiously, “Could it not be my elder brother? Or perhaps your humble servant?”
Eunuch Zhao cast a sidelong glance at Su Zhongyue and chuckled lightly. “What kind of talk is this, Lord Su? Your Su Family, after all, once produced those who drafted imperial edicts. How could you not know that imperial decrees are absolutely never written incorrectly?”
“But my untalented son…” Su Zhongyue frowned, “has no capability for celestial observation at all!”
It wasn’t that Su Zhongyue wasn’t pleased—being able to enter the Directorate of Celestial Observation meant his Su Family’s status would rise accordingly. But the Directorate was such a solemn place! If Su Qinghe, who knew nothing of celestial phenomena, were to cause trouble there, it would bring countless harms and not a single benefit to the Su Family!
What he truly feared was that this might be His Majesty targeting the Su Family, deliberately using Su Qinghe as the breakthrough point!