Chapter 98
Chapter 98
“You and Su Qinghe can never be together!” Shen Yuan slammed his teacup onto the table so hard that tea splashed all over his hand. “Give up that idea now!”
“Something is wrong with you, Shen Yuan.” Seeing such an intense reaction, Xie Chengze folded his little arms and eyed him suspiciously.
Shen Yuan grew uncomfortable beneath his stare and looked slightly away. “What is wrong with me?”
“Something is. Something is very wrong.” Shaking his little head, Xie Chengze circled Shen Yuan twice before sudden understanding dawned.
He knew it!
Shen Yuan had to be extremely possessive of his friends. That was why he could not stand seeing Xie Chengze befriend Su Qinghe!
Well, well, well. Who would have guessed~ No wonder Shen Yuan kept asking how Xie Chengze felt about Su Qinghe. He was afraid that Su Qinghe would grow closer to Xie Chengze and neglect him!
“Do not worry.” Xie Chengze patted Shen Yuan’s shoulder reassuringly and smiled. “I am here to join you two, not break you apart~”
With that, he threw back his head and laughed, then swept grandly away. “Young Master Shen~ Nothing matters more than the three of us building a happy life together from now on~”
Shen Yuan: ???
Join what? Break apart what?
What did he mean, the three of them building a happy life together?!
Why did he always say things so easy to misunderstand?!
–
After returning to the palace, Xie Chengze buried himself in the Library Pavilion.
He stayed there for two days and two nights. By the time he awoke on a pallet on the floor, it was already another morning on which he had to attend court.
Xie Chengze huddled beneath his blankets, unwilling to rise. He sighed mournfully. “Xiaobiao, say I sleep first and ask forgiveness later, then request a day off from morning court after the session ends…”
“No, Your Highness. You do not want to do that.” Zhu Xiaobiao forcibly dragged him out of bed. “Two days ago, you told me that if you refused to get up this morning, I absolutely had to drag you to court.”
Xie Chengze: …
People are fickle, Xiaobiao. Why don’t you understand that?
Resigned, Xie Chengze climbed up and examined his exhausted face in a bronze mirror, then looked at the numerous creases sleep had pressed into his crimson court robes. He nodded in satisfaction.
Excellent. Before, he had been Little Xie, crippled edition. Today, he was Little Xie, haggard edition!
Xie Chengze flung open the doors of the Library Pavilion with heroic vigor. “Prepare the palanquin. To court!”
…
The moment Xie Chengze stepped into the Golden Throne Hall, he noticed how unusually quiet it was.
The officials had not gathered in little groups of three or five. Instead, they stood at their assigned places with lowered heads, each solemnly contemplating the tip of their own nose.
No one dared greet Xie Chengze. No one even dared meet his eyes, terrified that he might take notice of them and give them some impossible problem to solve.
“Ah, how dull. Truly dull. And here I even prepared a surprise for them.”
Seeing their behavior, Xie Chengze shook his little head in disappointment and walked toward the front of the hall. The moment he saw that the wooden chair Emperor Jian had previously granted him remained in its original place, he broke into a delighted smile.
Well, well. It seemed Emperor Jian understood him after all~
Judging from where its legs stood, the chair had not been moved once during his five days of leave from court. In such a conspicuous position, the officials must have felt Xie Chengze’s vengeful ghost haunting them every time they looked at it, never allowing their “fear” of him to diminish in the slightest.
At the thought, Xie Chengze stroked an imaginary little beard. His relaxed, unthreatening gaze passed through the overlapping ranks of officials and finally settled on Su Zhongyue.
Su Zhongyue was secretly observing Xie Chengze as well, and their gazes happened to meet.
Su Zhongyue did not fear Xie Chengze’s unreasonable pestering, but fewer problems were always better than more. If the Second Prince badgered him about arithmetic every day, Su Zhongyue truly did not have the leisure to humor him.
Besides, he believed the Second Prince was fundamentally incompatible with the Su Residence. After the Second Prince’s visit two days ago, Su Wenhao had actually bought an entire ox without permission, claiming he would fill its stomach, cut open its belly, and see whether it truly had four stomachs – and whether those four stomachs really performed separate functions as the Second Prince had said.
It was a flagrant violation of every proper principle! Utterly unreasonable!
Unwilling to communicate further with the Second Prince, Su Zhongyue quickly averted his gaze.
To his dismay, Xie Chengze still walked straight toward him.
Su Zhongyue frowned at once, wondering how he should discourage Xie Chengze. Yet just before Xie Chengze reached him, the prince abruptly changed direction and approached another official instead.
Su Zhongyue immediately released a tremendous breath of relief.
Tension did not disappear. It merely transferred to someone else. Now it was the targeted official’s turn to panic.
“S-Second Prince…” The official swallowed hard and steeled himself for the blistering “instruction” Xie Chengze was about to unleash.
“Good morning, Official Liu.” Xie Chengze patted the official on the shoulder, offered a simple greeting, then walked smiling to his own place.
Official Liu wiped cold sweat away. “That scared me to death…”
The assembled civil and military officials all breathed sighs of relief as well.
It appeared that the Second Prince had finally settled down.
Morning court began. Emperor Jian emerged from behind the rear curtain and was delighted to see Xie Chengze arrive on time. Yet when he noticed his son’s haggard face, his heart ached. “My son has worked so hard! Even in the depths of winter, you braved the bitter cold to attend court in person.”
The civil and military officials: …?
Wait. Had the Second Prince not taken five days off from court? He had rested for so long and merely showed up for a single morning session. That counted as hard work?
Then what did that make all of them, who had attended morning court every day for decades regardless of wind or rain and continued diligently performing their duties until nightfall?
Livestock clocking in at dawn and trudging home after dark?
Seated on his wooden chair, Xie Chengze looked unconcerned. “Father exaggerates. Compared with this son, which of the civil and military officials here is not more diligent and devoted?”
He frowned slightly and adopted a mournful expression. “During my recent leave from court, I considered something at length. Yang Qinghui held such a high position, so why did he show no fear of the law and insist on corruption and abuse of power, exploiting tens of thousands of common people?”
Emperor Jian arched a brow.
What wicked scheme was this brat plotting now, bringing that up out of nowhere?
Still, Emperor Jian played along. “Oh? And what answer did Ze’er find?”
“Father, during my journey south to Yizhou, I discovered that many local officials lived in great poverty, while certain local merchants had money to burn and enjoyed rich, comfortable lives.”
Xie Chengze sighed heavily. His haggard little face made him appear truly grieved by their suffering. “They serve the court for half a lifetime and spend half a lifetime worrying about the people, only to end with a few bits of silver to their name. Then they look at traveling merchants dressed in gold and silver, eating and drinking the finest things. One day might be tolerable, but if they see it for years, decades, or most of their lives, how could their hearts feel at peace?”
The officials at court secretly nodded in heartfelt agreement.
Indeed. If a rich man constantly paraded before them while they remained penniless, claiming they felt no envy would be a lie.
“The Second Prince’s words are mistaken.” At that moment, an upright old official stepped forward and objected. “An official must take integrity as their foundation. They must not forget their principles when faced with temptation. Their heart should be clear as a mirror and their conduct properly measured, neither greedy nor corrupt. If they cannot manage even this much, how can they serve as an official?”
Xie Chengze shook his head. “An official should naturally possess integrity. But integrity means neither greed nor corruption, neither favoritism nor perversion of the law.”
“Yet if the price of integrity is a lifetime of toil, an aching back, legs chilled to the bone, hungry and thin grandchildren, and one small house that barely shelters the family from the cold, how can that be anything but tragic?” Xie Chengze lamented. “I know many scholars take the imperial examination and enter officialdom because they wish to benefit the people. Yet how meager is the monthly salary of a minor official? Those without firm resolve will inevitably grow resentful over time and take desperate risks. Those whose resolve remains firm, meanwhile, end their lives in poverty. They may win a finer reputation, but what will ease the chronic illness ravaging their bodies? What will fill their hungry grandchildren’s bellies?”
“These honest officials may accept their lot willingly, but those of us in high positions cannot take their sacrifice for granted and stand idly by! Therefore, I believe the root of corruption lies in salaries too small to support a family and benefits too poor to meet their needs!” Xie Chengze declared with heroic force. “I propose that everyone – from the civil and military officials of the central court to the humblest clerks in every region – receive a raise!”
A raise!
At those words, every official’s eyes lit up, and burning gazes turned toward Emperor Jian.
No worker could hear the words *pay raise* without perking up.
Confronted by all those shining eyes, Emperor Jian: …