Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 639: Outdated? Overdone?
The Eastern Palace had been established, and the emperor even crowned the newly crowned crown prince in advance. Naturally, this was the biggest topic of discussion among the people, and other things had to take a back seat. But for many officials, it was also a top priority to catch the flaws suddenly revealed by the Imperial Household Department and pursue them relentlessly. However, the matter of the Eastern Palace attendants raised by the emperor also attracted the attention of many people.
How tempting is it to be able to let your children and grandchildren stand beside the future emperor and have people remember their names?
After all, the second and even third generation of officials is not uncommon in this dynasty, but it is not a common practice. Even the founding heroes, their fame will fade with the rain. Nowadays, the families of the founding heroes have long been scattered and have become insignificant. On the contrary, the lineage passed down by the ancestor Ge Yong, who refused the title, has gone through wind and rain and is still brilliant.
Who made the Ge family so gifted in imperial examinations?
As for the children and grandchildren of the cabinet ministers and the ministers, it was too common for them to fail in the imperial examinations. If they failed in the imperial examinations, they could only be promoted through imperial favor, but the children and grandchildren of officials promoted through imperial favor could only be promoted to local officials at best, and it was impossible for them to be promoted to the fifth rank in the central government. This was almost an iron rule. Therefore, many people were very tempted when they first heard about the idea of serving in the Eastern Palace.
It was not until the six halls of the Imperial College were allocated quotas for attendants to the Eastern Palace in turn, and the quotas were decided entirely by examination regardless of background, that countless people were dumbfounded. Especially when they found out who was presiding over the examination, their eyes dropped to the ground.
Led by Prince Jiangdu, who was the chief of the imperial clan, Xu Heida, the former supervisor of the Shengqian Hall of the Imperial College, was transferred to be the chief secretary of Prince Jiangdu, assisting Prince Jiangdu in supervising the examination. As for setting the questions... that was actually done by the young Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace himself!
"Oh, everyone says that His Royal Highness is gifted and intelligent, and this is His Royal Highness admonishing the Emperor?"
In the riverside house of the outer imperial city, Chu Kuan, who was recuperating from illness, listened to Lü Chan talking about these recent events. With a wet soft towel on his head, he looked pale and haggard. He couldn't help but ponder. However, he did not give Lü Chan any advice, but said lightly: "Zhang Shou proposed an idea, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally implemented it. The Emperor nodded again, hehe..."
"Even if the lecturers take turns to serve in the Eastern Palace, it is hard to say whether all of them combined can be as good as Zhang Shou! Anyway, the Imperial Household Department does not have such talents. Some people also suggested that the Ciqing Palace does not need eunuchs who can read and write. Now the Ciqing Palace does not need any eunuchs at all. They should be satisfied, right?"
"Old Ancestor, if you become discouraged, then it will be the end!"
Lü Chan was so frightened that he shivered and knelt down on the ground in front of the bed. "In just a few days since you were away, the Imperial Household Department has become a mess. Everyone is forming cliques and factions, and they are probably thinking of you vacating the position of the Chief Seal. Even when talking to me, they are sarcastic! Ancestor, there has never been a capable person around His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."
This means that because the eldest prince and the second prince have always been the most powerful candidates for the Eastern Palace, the Imperial Household Department made preparations early on and placed new people with excellent qualities around them - although with the moral character of the eldest prince and the second prince, the carefully selected people did not stand out, but were instead overshadowed by some villains, but it is still better than not placing anyone around the third prince and the fourth prince!
"Now is a time of internal and external troubles, so don't even think about attacking His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Chu Kuan sneered and said calmly, "With Liu Feng, not to mention the other people in the palace, even I, in the eyes of the Queen Mother, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince, may have ulterior motives. Anyone who still wants to jump up and down is a fool! Of course, if you want to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I can help you speak for it."
"No, no, no!" Even though Lu Chan really wanted to get closer to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he didn't dare to respond to Chu Kuan's words at all. Not only did he not dare to respond, he didn't even dare to linger any longer. After staying for a while, he hurriedly left as if escaping.
As soon as he left, Chu Kuan threw the soft towel on his forehead, then got out of bed, wrung out the towel and wiped his face. After a while, the sallow color on his face disappeared, replaced by a healthy red.
Just as many people including Lu Chan had guessed, he, the Chief of the Imperial Household Department, who had practiced martial arts since childhood and had a better body than the emperor, was not sick at all. As for his sallow complexion and haggard look, they were easily faked.
He could even prepare medicine based on the pulse, or use his internal energy to cover it up.
Fortunately, the emperor did not bother to question whether he was really ill or not. He directly sent a young doctor from the Imperial Hospital to deliver a large package of medicinal materials including ginseng, deer antler, ganoderma lucidum, and Polygonum multiflorum, and told him not to let his imagination run wild. The empress dowager sent Yuquan to deliver medicine twice, but Yuquan had no intention of taking his pulse or treating his illness. As for other colleagues, they were even easier to deal with.
Now that the crown prince has been appointed and the Eastern Palace is selecting candidates, the focus of the senior eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department has long been diverted. They are even busy fighting among the infighting, completely forgetting that there are already a group of wolves outside who are eyeing them covetously.
Thinking of this, he squinted his eyes slightly, and when he heard a rustling sound, his frown immediately relaxed, and he leaned back comfortably, saying leisurely: "How come Mr. Hua Qi has time to come and see an idler like me?"
"Of course I'm here to see if you're pretending to be sick or if you're really sick." Hua Qi appeared in front of Chu Kuan silently. Seeing that he didn't hide or evade, but leaned there leisurely and at ease, and didn't seem to be pretending to be sick, he stood in front of the bed unhappily, folded his hands and said, "Why, do you want to lure some restless people from the Imperial Household Department to jump out and then put out the fire?"
"Did you know that Wang Jie's memorial had already reached the Ministry of Public Administration? He was the first one to file a petition, and a large number of censors followed closely behind him. Now, the memorials impeaching the Silijian's various actions are like snowflakes. Add to that the memorials from foreign officials. It won't be long before the Silijian really becomes a rat crossing the street and everyone wants to beat them up?"
"Go ahead and shout." Chu Kuan laughed and said disapprovingly, "Others may not know how powerful the Imperial Household Department is, but don't you? They are just household slaves, but many people want more. Those charity halls have existed for too long. At the beginning, those people might have some compassion for the world, but over time, they became corrupt."
"Just like those places in the outer city that use the name of charity to do some despicable things, do those charity halls really only teach loyalty? Haha, they probably teach more loyalty to the Imperial Household Department! Master Hua Qi, do you know that I used to have a long-term servant in my direct room. He was a toilet-cleaning servant that I called on a whim when I was walking around the outer imperial city one time."
There were few eunuchs in this dynasty, and those working in the outer imperial city were all menial servants who had not been castrated. These menial servants were all orphans from the charity halls of the Silijian. They came in to work at the age of thirteen and could ask to leave the palace to make a living at the age of twenty-five. These were the people who were eliminated through layers of screening, so Hua Qi was very surprised to hear that Chu Kuan actually used a menial servant who was originally a toilet cleaner as his long-term attendant.
"I didn't expect that Eunuch Chu would be merciful."
"I was quite free at that time, but not that free. I just asked about the charity where he came from, you know I don't care about that. He claimed to be literate, so I asked him to recite the Analects. As a result, that skinny and useless boy recited the Analects of Yan Yuan to me in one breath. Out of curiosity, I brought him back to be my personal attendant, and a few days later, Eunuch Xu came."
Knowing that Chu Kuan was talking about Xu Liu, the former head of the Imperial Household Department, Hua Qi could not help but put away his initial joking heart. Since the emperor ascended the throne, the head of the Imperial Household Department has changed three times. Chu Kuan was the third one and Xu Liu was the second one. During this period, he was in charge of the Imperial Household Department for fifteen years and was always known for his prudence. He and Chu Kuan also always got along very well. But today, from Chu Kuan's tone, it was clear that he did not agree with Xu Liu.
"Eunuch Xu said that the boy was arrogant and disrespectful to his elders in the inner study hall, so he was kicked out to empty the toilet. Although he has good talent, he has no perseverance and is not a good material. He is not suitable to be my long-term attendant. I always give him some leeway, and of course I will not let him bear a grudge over a menial servant, so I let him take the boy back."
"Then this guy never showed up in the palace again. You know, he never said a word to me. I have several attendants around me, so how could a newcomer like him get close to me?"
"But since I can't find him alive or dead, I have to investigate thoroughly. After the investigation, I found out that the Inner Academy is indeed known for teaching classics and history, and using the method of cultivating scholars to train the future pillars of the Imperial Household Department - although I think the word "pillars" is too conceited to describe people like us - but once you enter, you will never leave."
"That boy who was cleaning the toilet was once the best in the inner academy. He just had some ideas in his mind. He didn't want to be castrated. He just wanted to do menial work for ten years and then leave the palace to live an ordinary life and raise a son who can read. What was the result? The boy who grew up in a charity hall and was raised to read and write dared to be so disloyal. Of course, he was sent to clean the toilet as a menial work as a punishment."
"When I accidentally get involved, I probably suspect that kid knows something else. Even if he doesn't deserve to die, he deserves to die!"
Even though Hua Qi didn't know everything about the secrets of the Imperial Household Department, he knew about 70% of it. After all, he wanted to train the talented Ah Liu to be a close attendant to the emperor! As for the criticism of the Imperial Household Department by outsiders that they were not filial and not loyal, he also sneered at it.
They have already thrown away their children whom they cannot afford to raise, leaving them alone to watch their death. How can we still be filial to such parents? Are you crazy?
You can say that you can't afford to raise your child, so you have to abandon it with tears in your eyes, but since you have already thrown it away, you are no longer a parent, but an enemy who killed your child. Breaking off ties is the lightest punishment, I have never heard of a victim being filial to the perpetrator!
Therefore, Hua Qi sneered, and then said with understanding: "So, you really want to take this opportunity to let those guys jump out, and then catch them all in one fell swoop? Well, then I will go back and tell the emperor to severely reprimand you, and it would be best if you were demoted three levels. I think the palace will be in chaos by then."
"Then I would like to thank you, Mr. Hua Qi, for your help." Chu Kuan laughed and said nonchalantly, "I have seen all kinds of scenery in my life, and I really don't care about power. Since you said to demote me by three levels, you might as well send me to sweep the floor in the Qianqing Palace, which will also be a good way to stop the gossips."
Hua Qi was already walking slowly out the door, but when he heard this, he couldn't believe it. He glanced back at Chu Kuan to make sure he wasn't having a fever and talking nonsense. He frowned and stood for a while, then said unhappily, "I'll pass on your words, but if you want to act, don't go too far."
After watching this elusive fellow leave without going through the main gate, Chu Kuan rubbed his hands gently. He knew in his heart that he had made all his moves, but some had already floated to the surface while some were still at the bottom. All that was left was to wait.
Zhang Shou already had the right time, right place, and right people. Even Confucius had failed miserably. Although he had used Hong as a chess move, it had limited effect. As for those famous scholars, although he had many ways to influence them, it was a pipe dream to expect them to establish the same trust with the Third Prince as with Zhang Shou.
When you meet someone from humble beginnings, it is the easiest stage to develop a deep friendship, even if you may not be able to share wealth and adversity in the future, that is a matter for the future. It must be said that Zhang Shou's luck was simply extremely good.
While there were endless disputes outside, there was peace and tranquility in the East Palace with the sound of reading. As the Third Prince asked for ten days of wedding leave for his senior brother Lu Sanlang, the Emperor also approved the title of Jiuzhangtang tutor and gave everyone ten days off to move from the Imperial College to the outer city. Lu Sanlang was so overjoyed that he simply asked a lot of his classmates and junior brothers to be his best man.
Seeing that Jiuzhang Hall was thriving, the people of Banshan Hall, who had lost their spirit after the previous class division, were furious when they heard that the emperor was going to move Banshan Hall to the Outer City Public School. They were originally excited about the fact that Banshan Hall also had places as attendants of the Eastern Palace.
For example, Zhang Dakuo, who was finally able to get down to the ground after being beaten, raised his arms and led a group of people to join Zhang Shou, but some people preferred to join the Six Halls of the Imperial Academy. As for the nobles and officials who originally planned to send their useless children and grandchildren to the Banshan Hall, they were in a dilemma.
Zhang Shou, who had a rare ten days of leisure - after all, he had Lu Wan, who was full of energy and in high spirits despite being distracted, in the public school, and he had no intention of competing for power with others - he was a little curious about how Zhu Ying was going to meet the girl on the list of concubines, but Zhu Ying would rather ask Hong to accompany her than let him intervene, so he simply gave Ah Liu a task to keep an eye on Zhang Chen.
As for himself, he had to act as a good student, accompanying his teachers Ge Yong and Qi Chu to meet various astronomical and numerology talents who came to Beijing. He was dazzled by the bombardment of various stars, and had to work hard to learn all kinds of astronomical common sense of that year.
God bless him, he is probably more familiar with the names of galaxies, star clusters and constellations. It is amazing that he can remember the names of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and distinguish the stars clearly. Now he has to help Ge Yong improve his calculation method... He is really in a difficult situation.
After three or four days, it was the happiest day in Lu Sanlang's life, the wedding night and the small marriage! When Zhang Shou arrived at the Lu family with gifts, Lu Dalang stepped forward and bowed, then told him the instructions his father had prepared long ago.
"My father said that we must invite Master Zhang to sit at the head of the table today!"
