Grand Secretary
Not receiving a reply from Xie Ling, Xie Sili was about to speak again when he heard Xie Ling's voice, "I will support whatever decision you make, so just do what you think is right."
He turned his gaze to Xie Sili and continued, "Ali, I know you've been taking care of the old man all these years. I don't want you to work too hard on these things. I just hope you can live peacefully."
He took his hand and patted it, "Ali, your grandfather hopes you live a long life so that he can see you get married and have children, and see you find happiness."
Xie Sili's expression froze. When she first chose to travel and enjoy the scenery, she didn't know how to face their apologetic enthusiasm.
But every time she returned to Yuzhou City, she always felt that at least her grandparents still cared about her, because in their hearts, she would always be Xie Sili.
Thinking of this, Xie Sili gave Xie Ling a hug, "Grandfather, I will live with you for a long, long time."
Xie Ling then smiled again.
Not long after, someone said that Xie Yi was walking over.
After thinking for a moment, Xie Sili turned his gaze to Xie Ling. "If Second Uncle becomes the Grand Secretary, His Majesty will surely announce his identity."
“I know.” Xie Ling said, taking her hand. “Back then, when the second brother asked to make his own way in the world, I was worried. But after discovering what he did in Suzhou, I gave up. After all, that was the path he wanted to take.”
Xie Ling's mind conjured up images of Xie Zhun and Xie Yi. "Ah Li, these are their own choices. We have no other choice."
During the conversation, Xie Yi's figure appeared at the gate of the courtyard, and Xie Sinian led the others away from Xie Ling's courtyard.
"Father, Li girl." Xie Yi looked at them calmly.
Seeing that Xie Yi was still wearing his court robes, Xie Sili knew that Xie Yi had become the Grand Chancellor.
"Congratulations to my second uncle on his promotion to Grand Secretary." Xie Sili stood up and bowed slightly to Xie Yi. "How did he perform in court today?"
“After His Majesty announced that I would become the new Grand Chancellor, the first person to stand up and oppose me was my elder brother.” Xie Yi said, then turned his gaze to Xie Ling. “He also said that I was not qualified to be the Grand Chancellor.”
Xie Yi paused when he said this. "Dad, I think my older brother might really be abusing his power. He even said I'm not a member of the Xie family."
Xie Ling's expression froze, seemingly not expecting Xie Yi to say such a thing, nor did she expect Xie Zhun to say such an arrogant and ignorant thing.
He raised his hand and rubbed his temples. "Not a member of the Xie family, not a member of the Xie family." He murmured twice. "It seems I'm not a member of the Xie family either."
“Grandfather, Xie Zhun is just that kind of person, why do you take it to heart?” Xie Sili said, quickly soothing Xie Ling’s emotions. “It just so happens that Second Uncle is also back. There’s still some time before the New Year. Once Second Uncle’s affairs are settled, I will take you and Grandmother to Xiangguo Temple to stay for a while.”
Xie Ling looked at her for a long time before finally nodding slowly, "Okay, it is indeed necessary to go and see, otherwise I feel that my body will become unsteady."
Xie Sili glanced at Xie Yi, who then said cooperatively, "Father, let Li'er help you back to rest first. We can celebrate this matter later. You must take good care of yourself. Perhaps the fourth son's performance this time was also quite good."
Xie Yi helped Xie Ling to her room to rest. Just as he helped Xie Ling lie down, he heard Xie Ling's voice, "Second brother, you should stay by Li's side from now on. I can't control your eldest brother's affairs anymore, and I don't know how to control them."
Xie Yi concealed his emotions and said softly, "Father, don't worry, I will always stay by Li Yatou's side. She is a person with her own ideas. I have been able to achieve such development in Suzhou all these years thanks to her."
Xie Ling then closed her eyes to rest.
Xie Sili did not leave Xie Ling's courtyard but sat there chatting with Qin Shi. The two elders were already old, and she dared not easily tell them the truth about Xie Sinian, and was even more worried that Xie Ling might die at any time if she was not careful.
“Li girl, it’s a good thing you don’t have to marry Prince Yan.” Madam Qin held her hand. “Our Li girl deserves better.”
Xie Sili laughed again, "Grandmother, I'm happy as long as you and Grandfather live a long and healthy life. I've never even thought about getting married. Having these two children, A-Che and Yan-Yan, is enough."
Before she could finish speaking, Qin tapped her on the forehead, saying, "How can you not get married? No one will take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die."
"Grandmother, don't worry, A-Che and Yan-Yan will definitely take care of me in my old age and see me off in my final days." Xie Si-Li said, giving Qin Shi a hug. "Don't overthink it. You and Grandfather should live well."
Qin nodded at her, "Alright, after things are settled in Chang'an, we'll go back to Yuzhou City together. Chang'an has bad feng shui, I don't like it here at all."
“That’s right.” Xie Sili agreed without hesitation. “I don’t like Chang’an either. I’ll let my second uncle and his family stay in Chang’an.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Qin laughed.
After chatting with Madam Qin for a while, she finally saw Xie Yi come out. "Second Uncle, is Grandfather asleep?"
Xie Yi looked at her and nodded, "You and your parents can stay at Xiangguo Temple for a while."
“I will take good care of my grandparents, Second Uncle, don’t worry.” Xie Sili said as she made tea for Xie Yi. “It’s just that you’ve just taken office, so there will definitely be a lot of trivial matters.” She then handed a slip of paper to Xie Yi.
"As the saying goes, 'a new broom sweeps clean,' everyone will have their own agenda. Uncle will use this opportunity to deal with the people in the Secretariat and teach them a lesson."
Xie Yi took the note and nodded to Xie Sili, "Don't worry, Li girl, I'll be careful."
When Qin Shi also felt a little tired, Xie Sili helped her to rest.
Xie Sili went straight back to his courtyard. While Zhuge Zhao was instructing Xie Sinian, he also took the time to instruct Xie Sinan. Even Xie Siyu, Xie Sichu, Xie Jingche, and Xie Jingyan sat on the side listening with great interest.
The problem that Xie Sinan found very difficult was easily solved by Xie Si, who was young and energetic.
Zhuge Zhao was very fond of Xie Sinian and wished he could impart all his knowledge to him.
“Mr. Zhuge really likes Young Master Lu.” Green Bamboo leaned close to her and whispered, “But Young Master Lu has not disappointed Mr. Zhuge.”
“If my elder brother had grown up in the Prime Minister’s residence, he would definitely be more learned than Xie Chun. I have always felt that Xie Chun’s ability to become the Left Prime Minister was not unrelated to his personality.” Xie Sili shook his head as he said this. “But I am also glad that my elder brother did not become like Xie Chun. Granny Lu really took good care of him.”
Seeing how diligently they were studying, Xie Sili instructed Green Bamboo to prepare some snacks for them.
After leaving Siyuan, she went directly to Longmen Academy. After the Longmen Academy's major exams were over, all the teachers began to grade the papers, and Shangguan and Murong bound them into a book before sorting them according to their scores.
When Xie Sili arrived at the office, he saw Murong and Shangguan sorting the lower-grade exams according to their scores, with each exam grade listed individually.
She spotted Xie Sichu's exam paper immediately; it clearly displayed the words "First Grade, Class A".
Without much thought, she picked up the exam paper and started flipping through it. The exam content was varied, but it was basically all on the same exam paper. Xie Sichu's handwriting was not only pleasing to the eye, but his answers were also perfect, making him a first-class student of their age.
"Young lady, what brings you here?"
Hearing Murong's voice, Xie Sili glanced at him and said, "I just came to check on things and see if there's anything I can help with. After the results are announced, you two should go back to Yuzhou City and have a good New Year." As she spoke, she made tea for the two of them.
"Has Xie Siyu's result come out yet?" Xie Sili asked with interest from the head of the table.
After saying that, Murong handed over Xie Siyu's exam paper, which clearly showed four words: Level 4, Grade D, which was considered a very poor exam result.
Xie Sili glanced at the exam paper, but was so frightened by Xie Siyu's scrawled handwriting that she almost threw the entire paper away.
After the major exams each year, the scores are only used as a reference, so they are generally not given to students individually. Only the comprehensive evaluation is taken back as a souvenir.
This is probably why Huang was so confident that Xie Siyu's academic performance was quite good. After all, the overall evaluation only had three aspects: excellent, good, and pass. It seems that in Huang's eyes, passing was already very good for Xie Siyu, or perhaps Xie Siyu had modified his own overall evaluation.
"Let's distribute everyone's scores this year." Xie Sili looked at Xie Siyu's exam paper in his hand and said with a wicked smile, "Anyway, we've already made backups of everyone's scores, so let's give you this one that they wrote."
Noticing the gazes cast by Murong and Shangguan, Xie Sili sat in his seat with a smile in his eyes. "The Huang family has always thought that Xie Siyu's studies are quite good. Even before seeing these results, I also thought that Xie Siyu's grades were good. But now that I see them, it's just self-deception. His handwriting is not even as good as Xie Sinan's."
As she spoke, she took a sip of tea. "Think about it, if I took this result back to Xie Zhun, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would vomit blood. After all, he is the son that I have always tried to cultivate."
Xie Sili smiled and said, "Just thinking about that scene makes me very interested."
Shangguan and Murong immediately agreed, "We also think what the young lady said makes sense."
"Look, these are the exam papers of the Fourth Young Master and the Second Young Master, as well as the exam papers of the Young Miss and Young Master of the Enlightenment Hall. They all performed well."
"How could it be that the Second Young Master's handwriting is so beautiful? The Fourth Young Master's handwriting is also very beautiful, but in terms of scholarship, the Second Young Master is indeed slightly inferior. The Fourth Young Master is a first-class A, while the Second Young Master is a first-class B. The Second Young Master is slightly inferior in terms of policy essays, but the Fourth Young Master grew up under the tutelage of Master Zhuge and has relatively better conditions..."
Xie Sili took the two exam papers and glanced at them. She noticed that both Xie Sichuan's and Xie Sinan's papers were clean and tidy, making them more pleasing to the eye.
"When the results are announced, distribute the exam papers one by one. The fourth-class students in the first grade will be posted at Longmen Academy for people to admire. When the academy opens, remember to have the students bring back their parents' signatures."
This is the ultimate way to kill someone by destroying their spirit.
"Your year-end bonuses will be distributed in Yuzhou City later," Xie Sili said, patting his shoulder again. "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."
With that, Xie Sili, unusually in a good mood, strolled back slowly.
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