After this happened several times, Zhao Dajia became universally disliked.
However, although he has given up on himself in his personal life, he is still very proactive in his work.
For example, he was still the first to arrive at court every day. The emperor was considerate of this minister, so the palace gates, which were usually closed, were opened after he arrived so that he could go in. Palace servants would then lead him to a side hall to rest so that he wouldn't get cold outside.
Every time, the officials outside would arrive one by one, line up in the cold wind to enter, and then he would come out from the side hall. At this time, almost everyone would roll their eyes at him, who was smug, because they were being blown by the cold wind and looked lazy in comparison.
For example, even after work, he doesn't go home, still burying himself in his work. After all, his drafty home is practically useless. But other people have homes; wouldn't they love their wives, kids, and warm beds? Why would they suffer through overtime here?
Yes, they didn't work overtime, they went home, and then they became Zhao Dajia's control group!
Although the emperor didn't say it, he looked at Zhao Dajia with admiration, but at the other court officials with indifference, even rolling his eyes at them. The emperor even punished Shen Congliang by making him copy books because his handwriting was too ugly.
So they started to rebel. They thought, "Let's see who can outmaneuver whom!"
They also got up early, and the next day when Zhao Dajia arrived at the palace gate, he saw a row of dark shadows. When he got closer, he was surprised to find that they were all his colleagues with big dark circles under their eyes.
The palace maid who was originally there to greet Zhao Dajia was surprised to see the court officials already lined up when she opened the palace gates! Then she was a little embarrassed. She looked at the sky and realized that it was still a long time before the court session. So... please go to the side hall to rest?
Zhao Dajia gritted his teeth in resentment, while his colleagues, with large dark circles under their eyes, were smug and triumphant.
When it's time to leave work, no one moves an inch.
At dusk, Zhao Dajia leisurely sipped his tea while handling official business. The others did the same.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Zhao Dajia glanced up at his colleagues who still hadn't moved, a cold smile playing on his lips. He pulled out the dry rations he had prepared beforehand from his chest, took a bite, and then smacked his lips loudly. The entire room was filled with the smacking sounds he deliberately made while chewing the rations. The others looked over, a hint of resentment flashing in their eyes. Damn it! They forgot to bring food!
However, the dry rations were awful, so they refused to eat them!
He turned his head away, swallowed hard, and buried himself in his work!
At 9 PM, Zhao Dajia stood up, stretched, closed his official documents, and walked out of the room. Although the others appeared indifferent on the surface, they were all inwardly cheering with excitement. This guy was finally willing to go home!
But just as they were hurriedly packing their things to go home happily, Zhao Dajia returned.
Seeing everyone packing up their official documents, he asked with an innocent yet sincere expression, "Are you all going back? Yes, yes, it's getting late, you should all go home."
After finishing his sentence, Zhao Dajia sat back down in his seat and continued to work on official documents. After flipping through a couple of pages, he looked up at his colleagues, who were stunned and wondering why he was back, and said, "I drank too much tea and went to the restroom. Huh? Why haven't you gentlemen left yet?"
Colleague 1 gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to come over and show Zhao Dajia why the sky is blue, why the grass is green, and why the flowers are red! But he was held back by the others, because they believed that Colleague 1 would fall down and stage an accident before he even touched Zhao Dajia, and would definitely shout that he would go to the emperor to seek justice!
Therefore, they absolutely cannot fall for this scoundrel's trick! The only way to deal with him now is to roll with him until he can't roll anymore!
However, they ultimately failed to outmaneuver Zhao Dajia, because after several days of enduring the heat, the Minister of Works' chronic rheumatism flared up, the Vice Minister of War's rhinitis flared up, the Minister of Justice suffered from a headache, and the Vice Minister of Revenue...
However, after this crushing defeat, they also understood a principle: why couldn't they outmaneuver Zhao Dajia? It was because they had families while Zhao Dajia didn't! Especially those who had concubines at home, after fighting with Zhao Dajia all day, they had little free time at night, and their concubines were vying for his favor, leaving them no time to sleep. No wonder they couldn't outlast Zhao Dajia!
So they decided to give Zhao Dajia a home.
Everyone turned their attention to Shen Congliang, who had the most concubines, hoping he could contribute one or two.
Shen Congliang immediately took two steps back. You can have designs on me, but you can't have designs on my concubines!
“Old Shen, I saw that Xiao Lü having an affair with that strategist surnamed Liu you keep at home. Why are you still keeping her? You might as well give her to Zhao Dajia, then we can have some peace and quiet.”
General Shi Shen, the gatekeeper, offered understanding and persuasion. Because of Zhao Dajia, they, who were originally enemies, had now united on the same side.
Shen Congliang was shocked, suspicious, and furious. "Don't talk nonsense! When did you see it? Are you just jealous of my success?!"
Shi Shen truly couldn't stand Shen Congliang's good fortune, but he wasn't lying about Xiao Lü. However, he couldn't very well say that he had seen it when he sneaked into Shen's residence at night some time ago. If it weren't for his greater desire to deal with Zhao Dajia today, he wouldn't have mentioned Xiao Lü at all. He would have secretly watched Shen Congliang being cuckolded and then mocked him to others—how wonderful that would have been!
Believe it or not, it's up to you.
Shi Shen rolled his eyes at Shen Congliang, who didn't appreciate his kindness.
Just as the group of people gathered around a table in the tavern to plot their scheme, Chuanwen's carriage happened to pass by, and Chuanwen happened to stumble upon the story of Shi's late-night visit to Shen's residence.
Wow! Old Shi is having an affair with Old Shen's concubine, Song Yi!
When Chuanwen's thoughts reached them, everyone at the table in the tavern was stunned. Shi Shen froze completely, slowly exchanging glances with Shen Congliang.
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