Chapter 131 The Heavenly Decree Trick
Shao Yanzhe ignored Gu Huiming's somewhat aggressive gaze. He picked up the teacup next to him, imitated Gu Huiming's tea-drinking posture, took a few sips, and then put the teacup down.
He seemed completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere inside.
When Gu Huiming saw Shao Yanzhe's performance, a fleeting look of appreciation crossed his eyes.
His expression softened: "You're quite good. I'm lacking a capable subordinate. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Shao Yanzhe knew that this was Gu Huiming's last chance to save face. If he didn't agree, there would be no way to salvage the situation.
"It is already a blessing from my ancestors that I was able to become the top scholar. Your Excellency has high hopes for me, but my abilities are limited, and I am afraid I will fail to live up to your expectations. Your Excellency has many talented people under your command, and there must be someone who can handle the task. Therefore, I can only reluctantly decline your offer. After I have gained some experience and improved my abilities, perhaps I will be able to serve you."
Shao Yanzhe's face was full of sincerity.
As for when his abilities will be honed through experience, that remains to be seen.
Gu Huiming's face was full of regret: "That is truly a great pity. I have no children. I originally wanted to take you as my adopted son and teach you everything I know. You will surely be worthy of being the next Grand Secretary in the future."
He stared at Shao Yanzhe, trying to see regret or some other expression on his face.
To his disappointment, the person on the other end of the line still wore a sincere expression, showing no sign of wavering.
This made him admire the other person even more.
"What a pity," he said.
It's a pity that such a good person will soon disappear from this world.
He sighed with genuine emotion as he watched the humans he so admired depart.
Zhou Mansion.
"Brother Shao, you're finally back!"
Zhou Jiming stepped forward anxiously, looked him up and down, and then hesitated: "Brother Shao, aren't you still Brother Shao?"
Shao Yanzhe looked at him with amusement: "Brother Zhou, if I'm not myself, then who am I?"
Zhou Jiming said matter-of-factly, "Who else could it be? Of course, it's still Chief Minister Gu!"
He sighed heavily as he spoke: "I was afraid that when I went there I would be Brother Shao, but when I came back I would be Chief Minister Gu."
Shao Yanzhe reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Chief Minister Gu doesn't care about my body right now. After all, if he took my body, he would go from Chief Minister to a mere top scholar. The difference in status would be too great. Chief Minister Gu wouldn't do such a losing deal."
Zhou Jiming stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "So, in other words, Chief Minister Gu really is coveting your body!"
Shao Yanzhe was speechless: "What are you talking about?"
“Okay, okay, I used the wrong words,” Zhou Jiming said.
Shao Yanzhe then changed the subject: "However, what you said is also true. Chief Minister Gu does want my body. After all, his current body is already very old. Since he has the ability to change to a younger body, he certainly won't be willing to die."
"Then what should we do?"
"Unfortunately, we know very little about Chief Minister Gu. I can only guess that he is currently playing a game of chess, and it is nearing its end."
Zhou Jiming fell silent. He had expected this, of course. He frowned and said, "Wait for me. I'll go to the palace to investigate."
After he finished speaking, he left in a hurry.
"Is it alright for Brother Zhou to go like this?" Chen Yunhe asked with some concern.
“He is the heir of the Marquis of Changping. Now that the Marquis of Changping has returned to his own body, he should protect his only remaining offspring. In addition, given his previous dissolute behavior, no one will dare to lay a hand on him,” Su Yuheng said.
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "That's right. Actually, among us, Brother Zhou is the safest."
He looked at the group and asked, "What are your plans for the future? There's still some time before you take office. Do you plan to go straight to your posts, or go back to your hometowns to pay respects to your ancestors first?"
Wen Yanqing, Su Yuheng, and Shen Jingzhou exchanged glances and then smiled at each other.
Wen Yanqing replied gently, "There's no rush to pay respects to our ancestors. The three of us have all entered the Hanlin Academy and plan to take up our posts in a few days. This will help us build good relationships with other officials and make our careers smoother in the future."
Liu Mingyuan and Chen Yunhe, who were standing to the side, couldn't help but feel a little envious. They were ranked low and could not enter the Hanlin Academy. So far, there was no news of them. They didn't know if they could get an official position.
Shao Yanzhe looked at the two of them and asked, "Where are you two?"
Liu Mingyuan said, "Of course I want to stay in Kyoto first and wait for my family to put in a good word for me."
After saying that, he smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
Chen Yunhe, however, was not embarrassed at all. On the contrary, he said with great pride, "Hehe, my father will come to the capital in a few days to help me with some connections. After all, it was not easy for me to pass the exam, so I should at least get an official position."
Shao Yanzhe smiled and didn't say anything. Since they had already made their decision, he wouldn't say anything more.
"That's good too. In a few days, I will go to the Hanlin Academy with Brother Wen and the others. I just hope that I can have a more relaxed job."
"Don't worry, Brother Shao. As a newcomer, you won't be given important responsibilities unless you sit on the sidelines for at least three years. You'll definitely have a very leisurely life."
"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Su."
Shao Yanzhe cupped his hands in greeting. He genuinely wanted a leisurely position. After all, since coming into this world, he had rarely had a moment of leisure. Being able to live a leisurely life for three years was something he couldn't ask for more.
As Su Yuheng had predicted, things unfolded as they were assigned to organize documents on their very first day at the Hanlin Academy.
After a few days, Su Yuheng began to feel bored.
"I have to live like this for another three years. Suddenly, I feel a little hopeless." He turned a page of the book and sighed softly.
"Brother Su, are you getting restless?" Shao Yanzhe, who was standing to the side, turned to look at him after hearing his exclamation.
"I'm just a little bored."
"If Brother Su gets bored, he can go outside for some fresh air. After all, the higher-ups have only asked us to organize the documents, but they haven't set a time limit."
Su Yuheng was somewhat tempted after hearing this.
“Let’s go, I’ll go with you.” Wen Yanqing, who was sitting in front of Su Yuheng, closed the book in her hand, stood up and walked to his desk.
"Alright." Su Yuheng immediately stood up without hesitation, then looked at Shao Yanzhe beside him, "Brother Shao, would you like to come along?"
Shao Yanzhe glanced at the two of them, shook his head and said, "I'm not going yet. I only have a few pages left to read, and I plan to finish this book first."
"Alright then, let's go get some fresh air first. Come find us when you're done reading."
"good."
Shao Yanzhe watched the two leave, glanced around the room where he was alone, then moved his chair back, leaned back comfortably, put his feet on the desk in front of him, rested one hand behind his head, and continued reading with the other, looking extremely relaxed.
"Aren't you afraid that Lord Sun will see you and punish you for acting like this?" A strange voice suddenly rang out.
Shao Yanzhe turned his head to look in the direction of the sound and saw an unfamiliar young man dressed in eunuch's clothes, looking at him with a surprised expression.
He casually put his feet down on the desk, placed the book he was holding on the desk, and went over to talk to the boy.
"It's alright. Lord Sun is meeting with His Majesty at this time, so no one will see him."
The young eunuch disagreed, saying, "How could no one have seen it? Didn't I see it? After all, this is the palace; it would be best if you were more cautious, sir."
Shao Yanzhe bowed to the young eunuch and thanked him, "Thank you for the reminder, young brother. By the way, what brings you here?"
The place they were assigned to was remote and rarely visited.
After being reminded by Shao Yanzhe, the little eunuch looked annoyed and said, "Oh no, the Crown Prince sent me to fetch some books, I almost forgot."
Shao Yanzhe smiled and said, "What kind of book do you want? I'll find it for you."
The young eunuch's face immediately lit up with joy, and he named several books.
Shao Yanzhe had some recollection of these books and quickly found them all for him.
"Thank you very much, sir!" the little eunuch said, holding the book.
"You're welcome. After all, you reminded me before," Shao Yanzhe said gently.
After exchanging a few words, the young eunuch took his leave.
Once the eunuch was out of sight, Wen Yanqing and Su Yuheng appeared from around the corner.
"Brother Shao, who was that person just now...?" Wen Yanqing looked in the direction the little eunuch had left, lost in thought.
Shao Yanzhe braced his arms on the windowsill, raising an eyebrow at the two of them: "Didn't you already figure it out? It's probably just some powerful figure playing the 'treating scholars with courtesy' game?"
Wen Yanqing smiled and said, "It seems that Brother Shao is indeed very charming. Not only did he make the Grand Secretary Gu humble himself before him, but he also attracted a certain powerful figure to personally 'show respect to the virtuous and talented.' I wonder which one Brother Shao would like to choose?"
Shao Yanzhe rolled his eyes at her, annoyed: "What right do I, a mere Hanlin scholar, have to make a choice?"
After he finished speaking, he stood up.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, why didn't Brother Shen come to work today?" he asked curiously.
Wen Yanqing and Su Yuheng exchanged a glance, their eyes full of smiles.
“Of course we went to meet the potential partners,” Wen Yanqing said.
"Brother Shen is getting married?" Shao Yanzhe asked, somewhat surprised.
Wen Yanqing nodded and said, "That's right. I heard that it was his elders who found him a potential partner."
Shao Yanzhe nodded, then looked at the two of them: "And what about you two?"
“Us?” Wen Yanqing raised an eyebrow. “Of course we’re not as anxious as Brother Shen.”
"Then when you get married, you must invite me to your wedding banquet!" Shao Yanzhe said.
"Of course."
On the other side, after the young eunuch carrying the book moved away from the Hanlin Academy, his previously hurried steps slowed down.
He strolled leisurely back to the Crown Prince's residence, without attracting the attention of anyone else along the way.
"Your Highness, you're back. How was your harvest this time?" A young eunuch greeted him respectfully and took the book from his hands.
"not bad."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
