"Cao Dongsheng, bring Qin Hui here. I want to meet him." Zhao Huan, bored to death, said to Cao Dongsheng in Wende Hall. He was particularly curious and wanted to see what kind of person Qin Hui was.
"As you wish."
"I am Qin Hui, the principal of the Imperial Academy, and I am honored to meet Your Majesty." Cao Dongsheng brought someone to the Wende Hall, and the person bowed his head and said.
Zhao Huan finally saw that Qin Hui was quite a handsome man. He wasn't as mean as the legend said. He thought of a way to vent his anger by spanking him.
"Hui, let me ask you, how did you become the principal of the Imperial Academy?" Zhao Huan looked like a gangster.
Qin Hui bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have passed the Ci Xue Jianmao exam. With the approval of the Privy Council, I have been appointed the principal of the Imperial Academy."
Zhao Huan nodded and said, "Then let me ask you again, what do you think of the Jin people?"
Qin Hui was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Zhao Huan meant. But since the emperor had asked, he dared not refuse to answer: "I am ignorant and dare not talk nonsense about state affairs."
"I know you are ignorant, extremely foolish. I just want to ask you what you think of the Jin people. If you can answer, I won't do anything to you. If you can't, I will dismiss you and let you go home to raise pigs."
The reputation of a tyrant emperor was truly well-deserved. This person was no different from Emperor Ai, who was so obsessed with eating meat that he didn't even want to. Qin Hui cursed inwardly.
"Your Majesty, in today's world, the Song, Jin, Mongolia, Xixia, Tubo, and Dali are the most powerful of the three. The Jin are the real threat to the Song. Although the Sixteen Prefectures have been recovered, the Jin are still determined to bully the Song. I believe that the best strategy now is to unite with Xixia and Mongolia to encircle the Jin on three sides and eliminate future threats."
Zhao Huan was secretly shocked. Qin Hui was so powerful that he could actually see the situation in the north. Should he keep this man or not?
"Well, Hui, you are quite talented. I have decided to transfer you to the Ministry of Rites, as a Deputy Minister, and you can accompany me to court. What do you think?"
Qin Hui was overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
"You can leave first." Zhao Huan waved his hand unhappily. He couldn't find any reason to beat him up and felt very bored.
"I'll take my leave."
Cao Dongsheng couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, this man has great vision and is a real talent."
Zhao Huan did not answer: "Where is Wu Ge?"
Cao Dongsheng bowed and said, "On duty outside the palace."
"Let him in!"
Wu Ge was on duty today, so he arrived at Wende Hall soon.
Zhao Huan looked at Cao Dongsheng: "You go out first."
Cao Dongsheng bowed and left. Wu Ge was shocked. The emperor must have given him another important task, and even Cao Dongsheng didn't let him know.
Zhao Huan waved at him, and Wu Ge was even more frightened. It seemed that this mission was extremely secret, so he moved over.
Zhao Huan whispered, "Go find two guards and disguise them as masked men in black. Block Qin Hui on his way to court and give him a good beating."
Wu Ge opened his mouth wide, thinking that His Majesty was looking for him just for this matter?
"No, Your Majesty. He is an official appointed by the court after all. If he has done anything wrong, Your Majesty will punish him. This is to assault an official appointed by the court without reason, isn't it..."
Zhao Huan was furious: "You just did what I told you to do. You want to rebel?"
Wu Ge was terrified: "I dare not."
Zhao Huan whispered, "Take two men with you, cover your faces. Don't beat him to death, but don't be too lenient either. At least keep him out of court for a month."
Wu Ge was very embarrassed. He dared not disobey the emperor's order, so he bowed and said, "As you wish."
Qin Hui was overjoyed; he had finally made it. He didn't know how a mere Imperial College principal had transformed himself into a deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites, able to attend the morning court. Although this deputy minister had a title but no power, it was still better than a Imperial College principal in the Imperial College.
Now that he is valued by the emperor, won’t he rise rapidly in the future?
When Qin Hui returned home, his wife, Wang, began to sneer at him, "Let's not talk about you, a damned thing. You spend all day in the court flattering the officials. And now you've got a job as a principal at the Imperial College, which doesn't pay a cent. If you don't take this opportunity to make friends with the powerful and influential so you can rise to prominence, what are you doing here? Ever since I married you, a jerk with a bad mouth, everyone has been laughing at me."
Qin Hui's wife, Wang Guixiang, came from a prominent family. Her grandfather was Wang Gui, the renowned prime minister during the reign of Emperor Renzong, and her uncle, Zheng Juzhong, was the Grand Chancellor during the reign of Emperor Huizong. As the dominant force in the family, she was feared and intimidated by Qin Hui.
Qin Hui hurriedly bowed to his wife and said, "Madam, please be at ease. I have been trying to make some friends, but they look down on me because I am poor and humble. Thank goodness, Your Majesty has summoned me to the palace today and entrusted me with an important task. Tomorrow, I will be able to appear before the Emperor in the Purple Palace with all the civil and military officials."
Wang Guixiang was delighted when she heard this: "Is this true?"
Qin Hui, for once at ease, said, "This is a grave crime of deceiving the emperor. It's true. I just came out of His Majesty's Wende Hall and will go home to discuss this with my wife."
Wang Guixiang immediately beamed with joy, and began serving water, tea, legs, and shoulders to Qin Hui, who was flattered.
The next day, Qin Hui got up early at dawn to attend the morning court.
Wang Guixiang began to mutter again, "Now that you are a powerful and wealthy person, meeting the emperor in the Purple Palace, you can no longer bow and scrape to your ordinary neighbors. You will lose face if you do so."
Qin Hui nodded in agreement, and Wang Guixiang buttoned his shirt for him: "When you meet the emperor, you should pay more attention to his face and try to understand his intentions. This is the way to be an official."
Qin Hui nodded again and when it was finished, he had his servants drive the carriage towards the palace.
As they approached the Laifu Inn, the groom stopped his horse. Qin Hui poked his head out of the sedan chair and asked, "Why don't you leave?"
The groom seemed to be frozen in time, unable to move his hands or blink. Qin Hui turned around and was startled to see three masked men in black blocking his way.
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