Chapter 11: Eradicating the Scum Gong — “Stop giving everything to him. Leave him hanging, strike…” part 1
The path for the sedan chair leading to the Department of State Affairs wasn’t entirely smooth.
However, the guards lifting the sedan chair had a steady footing, so there was no sign of bumping.
Ying Xi sat on the sedan chair, gazing at the Department of State Affairs from afar. He had to admit, he was quite speechless.
He had provoked the System into buzzing incessantly in his mind like a little honeybee.
It wasn’t worth getting angry at the System and displaying Imperial wrath over this.
He had class, and Sweet Tub was just a chattering little girl.
But if he didn’t say something, Sweet Tub’s imagination would run wild; Ying Xi didn’t even know what scenarios it was concocting.
“Failed you? How? Did he have another Receiver (Shou)? Did you catch him cheating?”
“Your Majesty is always coaxing him, yet he still fails Your Majesty? Based on Your Majesty’s status and personality, the fact that you would coax anyone…”
“That’s him not knowing what’s good for him. He’s a Scum Gong, we won’t be with him!”
“Your Majesty, listen to me. I have many methods. Let’s make him chase the wife to the crematorium.”
Ying Xi: “……”
Ying Xi wanted to confirm if Sweet Tub was speaking the language of Great Qin.
Confirming that it was, he could hear every word clearly, but when put together, he only half-understood.
Ying Xi pondered the meaning of “chasing the wife to the crematorium.”
“You mean, make him regret?”
Sweet Tub nodded: “Yup, yup!”
Sweet Tub adopted the posture of a love strategist because it truly believed that the Right Prime Minister, Su Xueyi, was the stock with the most potential for development around Ying Xi.
However.
It must be a crematorium!
As a System Assistant, it couldn’t allow its host to suffer a loss. Moreover, Sweet Tub had long since joined the “Eradicate Scum Gongs Association” and had reached a high rank.
Sweet Tub raised its voice, proudly listing a combo of moves: “Your Majesty, first you need to break the filter you see him through!”
“Firmly, stop giving everything to him.”
“Then, leave him hanging, strike at his ego, and let him know you have better options and aren’t inseparable from him.”
“Let him regret until his intestines rot and his heart breaks, while you stride forward with a dashing silhouette! The main focus is ‘Angst’!”
This set of combo skills could be called the true essence of the “Crematorium” trope.
The System squeezed these classic teachings out through its teeth.
Ying Xi took a strategic breath, surprisingly feeling that some of these ideas coincided with his own. This silly Sweet Tub actually had quite a plan.
Using the Dating System to flexibly solve his own reality.
This was the goal Ying Xi had recently set.
Ying Xi deliberated and asked, seeing if he could broaden his train of thought: “What is breaking the filter?”
“It means not thinking he is the best anymore!”
Ying Xi nodded. “Mn.”
I will indeed never again treat him as an indispensable famous official of the governing era.
The teenage Emperor secretly interpreted “chasing the wife to the crematorium” as a brilliant political maneuver, a method to control his subjects.
As for the last few sentences Sweet Tub said, they contained no obscure words. Ying Xi understood them; his plan was perfected, and his heart was inspired.
Ying Xi accepted the fragrant tea that Yu Jing raised above his head and offered from beneath the sedan chair. “Your Majesty, please.”
Not a drop of tea was spilled; Yu Jing’s hand was very steady.
Ying Xi held the tea saucer steadily, lifting the lid to sip slowly. It was almond tea, mellow and rich, with added honey, crisp cheese, and crushed dried fruits.
Yu Jing, this eunuch, was truly sharp-witted. He even realized that Ying Xi was unhappy because of Su Xueyi’s sick leave and hadn’t eaten much, so he specially brewed a cup of almond tea.
Ying Xi finished more than half the cup and put it down.
Yu Jing said, “Your Majesty, the Department of State Affairs is just ahead.” Then he said to the others, “You all be careful when lowering the sedan; His Majesty’s stomach cannot withstand shaking.”
After disembarking, there was still a long distance to enter the Department of State Affairs.
Not wanting to delay the court officials’ work, Ying Xi hadn’t announced his arrival in advance, so the officials hadn’t come out to welcome him.
Sweet Tub bargained sullenly at this moment: “Your Majesty, I’ve said so much and offered you strategies, but you still haven’t told me what exactly happened between you and Su Xueyi. Satisfy my curiosity, please~ Was it an affair or deliberate neglect? How did he fail you?”
Upon entering the Department of State Affairs later, mentioning Su Xueyi would be unavoidable; concealment was impossible.
It was no longer appropriate for Ying Xi to be secretive. He tore open his old scars:
“I once treated him with the courtesy due a scholar, treating him with the utmost sincerity and truth.”
“In the past life, Su Xueyi betrayed my trust.”
“Days before the Xiongnu breached the city, he received the news. He led his family members early on, abandoned Me, and fled.”
Sweet Tub fell silent.
As they spoke, Yu Jing intended to send someone to announce them, but Ying Xi stopped him. The main hall where the Department of State Affairs operated was just ahead.
Inside the Department of State Affairs, it was a sea of court officials.
The main seat belonged to the Prime Minister.
A plaque hung above, with a screen below. In front of the screen was a desk, on which lay a brush rest, official documents, and the Prime Minister’s seal.
Su Xueyi was on sick leave; the main seat was vacant.
Although there were two Prime Ministers in the current dynasty, Great Qin honored the Right; the Right Prime Minister’s status was higher than the Left.
So even if Su Xueyi was absent, the Left Prime Minister, Feng Yong, could not overstep his authority and sit in Su Xueyi’s seat.
Feng Yong was like a round spinning top, swaying left and right while wiping sweat with the wide sleeves of his official uniform.
On both sides below Feng Yong and the main seating area, several wooden tables were arranged neatly.
Officials and clerks wearing official uniforms of various ranks were mostly not working at their tables. Instead, they had blocked Feng Yong in tightly. Encountering thorny public affairs, everyone was waiting to ask for a decision.
“Although the Qingniu Army bandits in the north have been exterminated, scattered uprisings among the people in various places remain. Reconstruction requires massive amounts of materials, but the National Treasury hasn’t approved the silver. Spring plowing is imminent; what should be done?!” This one was here to ask the court for money.
Before that voice settled, another voice rose from the Ministry of War clerks: “In Jiangnan, Li Yilong’s army is eyeing us covetously, occupying Yangzhou and confronting the north of the river.”
“Several cities adjacent to the enemy war zone are in a state of constant combat readiness. The consumption of military funds is enormous—where will this money come from?”
Someone from the Ministry of Works shouted: “The Qixia Gate tower has reported for repairs for several years in a row. The accounts from the year before last haven’t been settled with the craftsmen! Although Prime Minister Su identified the crux of the problem this year, the work still must start, the gate must be repaired—who will pay?!”
“We can’t just tie the mouths of the Ministry of Works craftsmen and build walls with white bones, can we?”
The hall was noisy.
The officials surrounded Feng Yong, their voices growing louder and louder.
Feng Yong couldn’t say a thing.
Although Feng Yong came from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue managed money; it didn’t create money.
The troubles encountered now involved accumulated malpractices and complicated diseases of various departments. Every department waited for someone standing at a high level to give a decision, and Feng Yong couldn’t handle it.
“This… this is better left until Prime Minister Su returns,” Feng Yong said to one person.
He put on a smiling face and said to another, “Brother Guang’an, let’s leave your issue until Prime Minister Su recovers as well.”
He muddled through a dozen people, then selected the one matter with relatively few implications and the least consequence from the many difficult tasks: “This… I, I can make the decision on this.”
Outside the main hall door, Ying Xi had been observing for a long time. Taking the situation of the Department of State Affairs into his eyes, Ying Xi took a deep breath.
“Your Majesty, does this slave need to announce you?” Cold sweat dripped from Yu Jing’s forehead. He wanted to remind the officials but didn’t dare. Even though the Grand Superintendent winked desperately toward the main hall, no one noticed.
The water clock moved to the hour. The striking bell built into the clepsydra triggered, and the noisy Department of State Affairs suddenly emitted a clear chime.
Dong—
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