Chapter 110
Emperor Jian considered for a moment. “To have caught the attention of both the Imperial Observatory and Elder Gu, this person must indeed be exceptionally gifted.”
“Yes…” Xie Chengze pretended to be troubled. “Father, which of them should we assign him to? Surely we can’t split him in half!”
Split him in half? Emperor Jian raised his brows and immediately thought of a method. “What is so difficult about this? I have a perfect solution.”
“Really?” Xie Chengze immediately pretended to be surprised. He hurried to sit before the desk, tugging at Emperor Jian’s dragon robe, his large, bright eyes full of anticipation. “Father! Tell me quickly! How should we solve it?”
Emperor Jian deliberately refused to say. Only after Xie Chengze had pleaded for so long that he was about to grow angry did the emperor tell him with feigned hauteur, “Have him work at the Ministry of Works during the day, then go to the Imperial Observatory after noon. Wouldn’t that do? Throughout the dynasties, plenty of court officials have held several posts.”
Aha~!
You said it! I didn’t!
Xie Chengze immediately put on an expression of sudden understanding and rose excitedly. “Of course! Why didn’t this son think of that? Then I’ll give the instructions accordingly!”
He hurried out of the Imperial Study, as though afraid someone might change his mind.
Yet Zhu Xiaobiao saw that after running into the outer room, Xie Chengze made a show of jogging in place a few times, then immediately turned around and ran back into the inner room.
His little round head popped up again. Looking innocent and pure, Xie Chengze said, “Father, why don’t you write an imperial decree to settle it? They’re both old and stubborn. If they really fight, it will be Jian’an’s loss!”
“That will do.” Emperor Jian suspected nothing. After all, how bad could someone chosen by both the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Works be?
He drew out a scroll for an imperial decree, picked up his brush, and asked, “Do you know his name?”
“Su Qinghe.” Xie Chengze ran up to the desk and said eagerly, “The Su family’s Second Young Master.”
It was him?
Emperor Jian raised his brows and gave Xie Chengze a meaningful look. He asked no further questions, however, but handed Xie Chengze his brush. “Write it yourself.”
“Surely that wouldn’t be appropriate…” Xie Chengze was a little bashful and said coyly, “This son’s handwriting is so ugly. What a waste of an imperial decree.”
Emperor Jian rolled his eyes at him. “Just write the name. I’ll write the rest.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Xie Chengze rubbed his nose awkwardly, took the brush, and wrote Su Qinghe’s name on the decree as neatly as he could.
Unsurprisingly, Emperor Jian looked disdainful, but quickly finished writing the decree anyway. After stamping it with the imperial jade seal, he handed it to Xie Chengze.
Then, as though casually, he asked, “You really won’t go to Liaozhou?”
“No, no.” Taking the decree, Xie Chengze immediately waved his hand and said goodbye. “This son is leaving. Father, remember to rest! If you’re too tired and the Crown Prince isn’t here, give the memorials to Fourth Brother to review!”
Emperor Jian: …
Did Little Four know his brother was stabbing him in the back like this?
Only after Xie Chengze left did Emperor Jian seem to lose all his strength. Rubbing his temples to ease his headache, he said sadly, “So he still hasn’t forgiven his mother.”
Eunuch Zhao comforted him. “Perhaps the Second Prince simply did not think of that connection.”
“Perhaps…” Emperor Jian sighed heavily, then lowered his head and continued handling memorials.
After reviewing them for a while, he suddenly looked up, finally realizing what had happened. “That rotten brat… Could he have come here deliberately to get an imperial decree from me?”
He had fallen for the boy’s trick!
All that talk of not knowing which office to assign the young man to – in fact, he had already decided how to handle it! And the emperor had believed his nonsense, truly thinking he had no solution!
“As slippery as he was in childhood.” With an indulgent little laugh, Emperor Jian lowered his head and continued diligently reviewing memorials.
…
“Your Highness, that move just now was truly brilliant.”
Holding the imperial decree in his arms, Zhu Xiaobiao was utterly awestruck.
Who on earth had said His Highness was mediocre and talentless? Surely some petty villains envied his abilities and deliberately slandered him!
“Of course. I am simply a peerless genius!” Xie Chengze rubbed his little chin and praised himself without the slightest modesty.
Xie Chengze had learned this method of conning people from a story about the art of success.
In the original version of the story, a businessman wanted his son to become the son-in-law of Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. So he went to Bill and said, “I want to introduce a good husband to your daughter.”
Bill said, “My daughter doesn’t want to get married yet.”
The businessman replied, “But this young man is a vice president of the World Bank!”
Hearing this, Bill said, “In that case, I could consider it.”
So the businessman immediately went to the World Bank and said, “I want to recommend a vice president to you.”
The people at the bank refused, but the businessman said, “He’s Bill Gates’s son-in-law!”
The people at the bank immediately agreed. In the end, Bill Gates’s daughter and the young, newly appointed World Bank vice president lived happily ever after.
Though the story was rather unrealistic and far-fetched, it contained quite a few lessons about achieving success. Xie Chengze had put them into practice, using the standing of the Ministry of Works, the Imperial Observatory, and Emperor Jian to make Su Qinghe’s “false” identity as an arithmetic genius seem “true.” He had led all three to believe Su Qinghe was in great demand, making them willing to pave the way for him.
Of course, most importantly, Su Qinghe himself needed the talent and effort to match.
Now that he had the underwear of the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Works, and Emperor Jian in hand, next he should go swindle Su Qinghe out of his underwear – no, prepare Su Qinghe mentally.
Thus, the following day, Su Qinghe, who was confined at home, received an imperial decree delivered by Eunuch Zhao, ordering him to take up posts at the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Works.
Everyone in the courtyard of the Su Residence came to hear the decree. Learning that Su Qinghe had been granted direct admission to the Imperial Observatory, they were all astonished, their jaws dropping in disbelief.
Someone as talentless as Su Qinghe could actually work at the Imperial Observatory?
That was the Imperial Observatory! The place that delivered celestial pronouncements!
To obtain a post there, apart from taking the spring imperial examination route, one could only receive an internal recommendation from an Observatory official. Even then, one had to pass layer upon layer of selected tests to establish the ability to discern the secrets of the heavens.
Yet the Imperial Observatory’s people kept out of sight by day and came out at night, and were forbidden to have dealings with court officials. How could anyone find someone to give an internal recommendation?
Not just anyone could enter the Imperial Observatory.
What merit or ability did Su Qinghe possess?
Su Zhongyue hurried forward and asked Eunuch Zhao, “Eunuch Zhao, permit this official a bold question. Has the name on this imperial decree truly not been written incorrectly? Is it indeed the Second Young Master Su, Su Qinghe, and not someone else?”
“Yes, yes!” Su Wenhao also asked impatiently. “Could it not be Elder Brother? Or this humble official?”
Eunuch Zhao gave Su Zhongyue a sidelong look and chuckled softly. “What is Lord Su saying? Your Su family has, after all, produced someone who drafted imperial decrees. How can you not know that a name on an imperial decree would never be written incorrectly?”
“But my foolish son…” Su Zhongyue frowned. “He has no ability to interpret the heavens!”
It was not that Su Zhongyue was unhappy. Entering the Imperial Observatory meant that the Su family’s standing would rise along with him. But it was such a serious institution. Su Qinghe knew nothing of interpreting celestial phenomena. If he caused trouble there, it would bring the Su family nothing but harm!
The fear was that His Majesty wanted to target the Su family and was deliberately using Su Qinghe as the opening!