I Want to Be the Grand Secretary

In the 26th year of the Jiajing era, the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty is wholeheartedly seeking immortality through refining elixirs and practicing Taoism.

Xia Yan and Yan Song are fierc...

Chapter 27: Offering Auspiciousness

Looking at the history of the Ming Dynasty, the Jiajing Dynasty can definitely be ranked at the top in terms of the number of auspicious signs that occurred.

The reason is Emperor Daojun’s personal preference.

It is well known that Emperor Jiajing loved to practice Taoism and seek immortality, and the appearance of auspicious signs could give Emperor Jiajing a strong psychological hint.

As for Ganoderma lucidum and other things, they can be used to make elixirs. The amount of elixirs that Emperor Jiajing consumed may be more than that of all other emperors of the Ming Dynasty combined.

As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. Since the emperor likes auspicious signs to appear, then auspicious signs will naturally appear continuously.

There is a mixture of true and false things, and no one can tell which ones are true and which ones are false.

The appearance of a white turtle is extremely rare in all dynasties. It is a godsend for Xu Yan to happen to catch it.

If he didn't take this opportunity to offer some auspicious signs, he would be letting down his journey through time.

But after the excitement, Xu Yan immediately calmed down.

Given his current status, he certainly couldn't offer auspicious signs directly to the emperor. Professional work should be done by professionals, and during the Jiajing reign, this was usually done by officials. Furthermore, although he was a commoner, he aspired to take the imperial examination. Offering auspicious signs would smack of flattery and easily be rejected and spurned by the righteous literati.

As a second best option, Xu Yan decided to present the white turtle to County Magistrate Zhao, and then through County Magistrate Zhao to present it to Zhu Wan.

Zhu Wan was appointed as the Governor of Zhejiang Province, a high-ranking official. With his status and position, he was qualified to offer auspicious signs directly to the emperor.

Generally speaking, Xu Yan, County Magistrate Zhao, and Governor Zhu can be considered to be people in the same boat, so if everyone is well, then it is truly well.

This also has the advantage that Xu Yan can perfectly protect himself and avoid being attacked by Qingliu.

As for Zhu Wan, even if he was attacked by jealousy in his position as a governor, he wouldn't be at great risk, and it might even help consolidate his position or even lead to a promotion. He is most likely a replica of Hu Zongxian.

In order to hug Zhu Wan's thick legs more and prevent the governor from suffering the same tragic end as in history, Xu Yan believed it was necessary to help this upright minister please the favor of Emperor Jiajing.

Flattering the emperor is a very technical thing. First, you have to know what the emperor likes, and secondly, you have to choose the right time.

Flattery is not about how many times you do it, but about the quality. It should hit the heart directly and make the person feel comfortable.

Zhu Wan was a good official who was dedicated to serving the people, but it was precisely because of this that he offended the Fujian and Zhejiang merchants. At times like this, he needed a big boss to stand up for him, and who in the world was more suitable to do this than the emperor?

Flattery is not just for the purpose of gaining promotion, but also for the purpose of being able to sit firmly in this position and do some practical work.

The simplest scenario is that if Hu Zongxian also offered auspicious signs, wouldn't he have won the appreciation of Emperor Jiajing and wiped out the Japanese pirates in the southeast in one fell swoop?

Being an official still requires art.

And Xu Yan did not lie. This is a real white turtle. I'm afraid even Zhu Wan herself would be shocked when she saw it.

After thinking it over, what Xu Yan had to do was to convince his father.

But Xu Xiaolangjun left the kitchen in a hurry and went straight to his father's study.

Although it was late at night, Dad was still looking at the account book.

It is late summer now and the nights are a little chilly.

Xu Yan stepped forward and put a piece of clothing on his father, saying in a gentle voice, "Dad, it's so late, why don't you rest?"

Seeing his son coming, Xu Huaiyuan put down the account book and said with a smile: "My son is studying hard, how can I rest? I can't help you with your studies, I can only make more money so that my son has no worries."

Although these words were full of earthy flavor, they touched the softest part of Xu Yan's heart.

Dad is protecting his son in his own way.

"Dad, don't work too hard. You can never make enough money, just enough for your daily needs."

"My son is so filial."

Xu Huaiyuan patted Xu Yan's shoulder with relief and said, "Don't worry, it's the end of the month and we need to settle the accounts, so I'm a little busy. Normally, I wouldn't stay up this late."

After a short pause, Xu Huaiyuan continued, "Hey, my son, why did you suddenly come to me? Have you finished your studies?"

"Uh... Dad is like this..."

Xu Yan swallowed his saliva and said, "My son heard that the family had bought a white turtle, so he was very curious and went to the kitchen to check it out..."

Before he could finish, Xu Huaiyuan interrupted him, "My son wants to eat the white turtle? I think we should let him go."

"Dad, you misunderstood. Why would I want to eat that white turtle? I meant to offer it to the county magistrate as a symbol of good fortune."

Xu Yan finally finished speaking and stared at Xu Huaiyuan timidly, fearing that his father would disagree.

Unexpectedly, Xu Huaiyuan's eyes were red, and he choked up a little, "My son has really grown up. Your parents are the rulers of a county, and they govern the area on behalf of the emperor. Dinghai County has a good omen, so naturally we shouldn't enjoy it alone, but should share it with others. I didn't dare to tell you before because I was afraid you would feel uncomfortable..."

Xu Yan almost fainted at this. How foolish was the former Young Master Xu? He made his father so anxious and worried.

"Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, serving the court, this is the duty of a scholar, why would my son be uncomfortable with it."

"That's good, that's good. Tomorrow morning, my son will present this white turtle to the county magistrate as a token of our Dinghai Xu family's sincere patriotism."

After a conversation between a loving father and a filial son, Xu Yan took his leave and returned to his room to rest.

Young Master Xu was lying on the bed thinking about what he should say when he offered auspicious gifts tomorrow, and he fell asleep in a daze.

No words were spoken that night.

The next morning, Xu Yan got up early, washed, and then ordered the steward to put the white turtle in a wooden basin and send it to the house.

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