Chapter 51: Xiao Wan’s Unintentional Show of Skill
“Your Majesty, Your Highness.” The first minister to appear before the Regent King’s desk to report on his work.
He tapped twice on the table in front of Wei Wanlan, drawing Wei Wanlan’s attention away from his joy at his sudden improvement. The Regent King’s expression was very serious, like a teacher diligently teaching, catching a student who had suddenly skipped class:
“Listen carefully, we’re starting.”
Wei Wanlan nodded abruptly, his doe-like eyes blinking.
The official began, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, this year is the year of the grand examination.”
Wei Wanlan listened attentively; the next intelligence gathering work would determine the fate of his dragon wrist and dragon claws.
The official continued, “The Great Wei officials undergo a grand evaluation every three years. The results are divided into three grades: superior, middle, and inferior; each grade is further divided into three sub-grades, making a total of nine grades.”
“The triennial grand examination is, before the establishment of the system of supervisory censors, the most important routine evaluation system in Great Wei. It differs from the system of supervisory censors; it’s not only for correcting the atmosphere but also for examining the accumulated achievements of an official over three years.”
Such long sentences…
Having a photographic memory didn’t mean he could fully understand their meaning.
Wei Wanlan could only memorize them first and then think about them. Tilting his head, he held his cup, showing a degree of seriousness.
His serious expression was rewarded by the Regent King, implying he was a promising student.
Su Jingzhi translated it into layman’s terms:
“The Great Wei triennial grand examination is related to the promotion and demotion of officials. The Zhongshu Province is responsible for summarizing and reporting the results of the examination. Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, how are your arrangements?”
Very good. Wei Wanlan had to perceive that this person’s official position was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He managed the statistics of the grand examination results.
He continued to listen.
Then Minister Chen reported the results of the year-end official evaluation, presenting a thick register with both hands. The cover was blue and made of hard paper. The report began with some pleasantries which weren’t very substantial:
“Since Your Majesty’s ascension to the throne and the Regent King’s regency, exactly three years have passed.”
“During these three years, the Great Wei empire has been peaceful, governance has been even more clear and peaceful, and the Regent King and Your Majesty have successfully implemented anti-corruption measures. The officials who remain are all capable and competent officials. The vast majority of colleagues have passed the grand examination, and some have been exceptionally rated as superior-superior.”
Superior-superior was the highest grade of official evaluation in the Great Wei.
Wei Wanlan carefully did some reading comprehension on these words.
The results of the examination were a thick memorial, in front of Wei Wanlan.
The Regent King gave a quiet command to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel:
“Minister Chen, those officials who failed the evaluation will be demoted according to the law. Officials outside the capital are far from Chang’an, but they have received excellent evaluations during their tenure. These people may be talented, or they may be fabricating results. Careful investigation is needed, and exceptional promotion may be considered.”
… This person’s surname is Chen.
Wei Wanlan nodded. Bingo, easily obtaining information about an official X1:
—Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Minister Chen, is responsible for personnel arrangements after the triennial grand examination.
He further confirmed the information of the court officials.
So far, today’s task was super easy. As long as he wasn’t stupid, and wasn’t deaf or blind, recognizing ten people was easier than breathing.
So simple that Wei Wanlan even suspected that using the items of the Sage Emperor Cultivation System, the photographic memory oral solution, was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, a terrible waste.
At this time, Minister Chen had finished his report. The next step was to execute the Regent King’s instructions.
Minister Chen didn’t want to stay in front of the Regent King and the Emperor for too long, so he bowed, seeming to want to leave.
But he was stopped by Su Jingzhi’s voice, “Stop.”
Minister Chen’s expression froze slightly, and he almost lost his breath, nearly kneeling on the ground. Who didn’t know that the Regent King was a living Yama King? He didn’t know what he had done wrong.
“Your humble servant… awaits the Regent King’s orders.” Minister Chen turned his head, his heart filled with apprehension.
The Regent King didn’t give any instructions.
His gaze didn’t linger on Minister Chen for a moment, but rather turned slightly, although his tone was calm, his star-like eyes were full of Wei Wanlan. The afternoon sun shone through the window onto the desk in the Zhongshu Province, giving his expression a rare warmth.
Wei Wanlan was a little stunned by this gaze. He shifted his body uncomfortably, feeling the sun was really nice, shining brightly on the earth, making the Regent King less cold, and actually very handsome.
His gaze paused slightly on Su Jingzhi’s face, his expression trying to probe.
Su Jingzhi then spoke, intending to guide him, “Since the court officials haven’t left yet, please tell Your Majesty what you’ve gained after listening to the court for a while?”
“…”
Wei Wanlan was stunned again.
Then he found it unbelievable.
—So you’re conducting a periodic assessment!
—You don’t believe in me that much? Do you think I can’t even answer such a stupid question?
In an instant, Wei Wanlan retracted his “the Regent King is handsome” comment based purely on appearance.
No matter how handsome the Regent King was, he was still a big bad guy, the kind who forced the little puppet to improve his professional skills but didn’t treat the little puppet as a person.
Wei Wanlan didn’t even lift his eyelids. A hint of disdain flashed in his doe-like eyes, and he said smoothly:
“Minister Chen, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is responsible for summarizing the evaluations of Great Wei officials. I just reviewed the evaluation results and found that Your Excellency is meticulous in your work.”
Minister Chen: “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Wei Wanlan said no need to thank him.
The Regent King nodded slightly, affirming that Wei Wanlan was indeed studying seriously this time.
But he didn’t know whether it was because he was attracted to Wei Wanlan, he found any little improvement in Wei Wanlan very cute and worthy of praise.
Unfortunately, the Regent King rarely praised others. He wanted to encourage the young emperor, but his praise was off:
“…Not that stupid.”
Annoying!!!
Wei Wanlan was so angry he almost jumped up.
The young emperor’s dragon claws tightened in his sleeves. He definitely didn’t hear this as praise. Instead, he wanted to cause trouble, “Does that mean I’m a little fool in your heart?”
I’m going to show off to you today.
If I don’t show off to you, you’ll probably treat me like a kindergarten kid and bully me.
With the help of the photographic memory oral solution, Wei Wanlan’s confidence soared. He had just thought it was a waste to use this item, but now he had to make the most of it.
A smug gleam flashed in Wei Wanlan’s eyes, and he raised his long eyelashes, his eyes wide:
“Your Excellency’s register involves a total of 23,527 officials in our Great Wei.”
“Among them, only two received a superior-superior evaluation, 757 received superior-middle, 986 superior-inferior, 9529 middle-superior, 4598 middle-middle, 2299 middle-inferior, 3219 inferior-superior, 1910 inferior-middle, and 227 inferior-inferior.”
Minister Chen’s eyes widened.
His back straightened, and surprise flashed in his pupils: “This…”
This sentence was indeed in the summary of the Great Wei official evaluation.
But ordinary people only looked at the proportions or compared the increase and decrease of each part with the previous evaluation. Who would, after just a few glances, remember the exact numbers?
Minister Chen was skeptical. But he didn’t dare to be skeptical. His eyes were fixed on the register on the emperor’s and Regent King’s desks.
The Regent King pushed the register over: “What else about the evaluation does Your Majesty know?”
“I know every aspect of the evaluation.”
“Heh.”
Minister Chen immediately took the register and opened it.
The Regent King casually mentioned a few names.
Starting with officials in Chang’an and then moving on to small officials on the border, the difficulty gradually increased.
Every time he asked, the emperor answered immediately, his responses and questions were spontaneous. Only Minister Chen, who was busy looking up the results, felt that the two people in front of him were simply not human—what kind of terrifying memory was this…
Minister Chen was completely dumbfounded.
Extremely surprised, his mood gradually calmed down. Seeing that the Regent King waved his hand and dismissed him, he was finally relieved to escape the dimensionality reduction strike from this monarch-minister pair.
Su Jingzhi sipped his tea.
He was truly seeing Wei Wanlan’s strong memory for the first time. It was unbelievable.
He had always thought the little one was silly. Now, seeing him perform so well, Su Jingzhi felt a little relieved and proud, after all, he was the one he liked.
However… having the ability to memorize massive amounts of information, yet often unwilling to use it, frequently playing hooky and being lazy, was even more annoying.
Thinking this, the Regent King couldn’t help but flick Wei Wanlan’s dragon head.
Bang!
Although it was light.
But this crisp sound suddenly interrupted Wei Wanlan’s smug expression.
Wei Wanlan’s forehead ached, and he covered his head, thinking that the big bad guy was jealous of his good memory, and he hummed and bit his lower lip, expressing his dissatisfaction very subtly. He looked coquettish and charming.
—Wuwuwu, the Regent King is bullying people QAQ
Su Jingzhi suppressed the urge to rub the dragon’s head and said, “Don’t be proud. You still need to know about nine officials.”
I’m going to be proud!
I can make you convinced even with my eyes closed!
Wei Wanlan decided to continue showing off, rolled up his sleeves and worked hard, and the second person appeared.
This official reported to the court about the snow disaster in Luoyang. The capital had experienced an unusual heavy snowfall, with snow and freezing rain alternating, causing many people to suffer from the cold and disaster.
The Regent King gave instructions based on his report:
“Minister Miao of the Ministry of Households, there are reserve grain and funds to deal with disasters in various places. The court can allocate disaster relief funds, but supervisory censors should be sent along to oversee the transportation, and check the accounts of Luoyang to prevent anyone from embezzling funds along the way.”
“Obey your orders.”
Su Jingzhi called him “Minister Miao of the Ministry of Households”.
Minister Miao had replaced Cui Minghai as Minister of the Ministry of Households. He came to request funds, and he should also have a position in the Zhongshu Province.
Wei Wanlan easily memorized: second, Minister Miao of the Ministry of Households, manages money and accounts, and has a concurrent position in the Zhongshu Province.
Hehe.
I’m smarter than him. I’ll definitely make the big bad guy mad today.
Wei Wanlan held his teacup and felt a little elated because the task was too easy!
The photographic memory oral solution made all the information engraved in his mind, unable to be erased, even without deliberately memorizing it.
Wei Wanlan sipped his tea, nodding while drinking, his expression serene. He knew that the Regent King would lose, and he almost hummed a little tune…
Something was wrong with the little emperor’s state.
During the political discussions, Su Jingzhi keenly sensed that Wei Wanlan, sitting beside him, didn’t seem as nervous as he was when he first entered the Zhongshu Province.
He inconspicuously gave Wei Wanlan a glance.
He found that Wei Wanlan was too complacent.
He had a completely confident look.
Today’s little emperor was obviously different from the usual Wei Wanlan.
The Regent King could accept Wei Wanlan’s sudden improvement, but he could not tolerate Wei Wanlan developing the flaw of arrogance, because the small court meeting in the Zhongshu Province was not child’s play, it concerned major military and state affairs, and the emperor’s mentality would affect important decisions and the peace of the people of Great Wei.
So Su Jingzhi suppressed his doubts and accelerated the pace of the meeting.
Although many people were standing in the Zhongshu Province, only ten court officials had urgent matters that needed his immediate decision today. The other court officials briefly brushed their presence before returning to their daily work.
Because the handling of court affairs was quick today, Su Jingzhi forcibly created a moment of solitude:
“Does Your Majesty think you can definitely pass?”
Wei Wanlan opened his eyes.
His vision was clear and clean. His eyes were firm, and he memorized the information of the ten officials again in an orderly manner, his mind as clear as a mirror.
“Definitely.”
If I lose, I’ll be punished to sleep with you every day.
Wei Wanlan was secretly smug.
Su Jingzhi gently breathed in.
The slanting sunlight, with the approaching twilight, cast a warm orange glow into the Zhongshu Province.
The Regent King pursed his lips, suddenly feeling an unexpected anticipation for the results of this examination. He originally thought that when the ministers reported back at the end of the day, Wei Wanlan would stammer and ask him for guidance.
He had been looking forward to Wei Wanlan humbly asking for advice.
But now, he wanted to see what Wei Wanlan was up to, how much of a surprise he could give him…
A creak came from the gate of the Zhongshu Province.
An official who had completed his task first came to report, bathed in the sunset glow. He was the first minister to finish the Regent King’s assigned court affairs today. His steps were steady, and his expression showed slight fatigue.
“Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty and the Regent King.”
“Cough.”
The Regent King coughed, signaling that it was time to check the results. Su Jingzhi started the conversation and said to Wei Wanlan, “Your Majesty has instructions. Listen carefully.”
“Yes.”
The minister bowed.
Wei Wanlan was still smug, nodding rhythmically, and then opening his eyes.
At this time, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He seemed to have overlooked something important.
Wei Wanlan, who had been smug and confident, was now at a loss—because he realized he had overlooked a crucial issue. A chill ran down his spine, spreading throughout his body, and goosebumps suddenly appeared all over him.
N-no way.
Why did these people come back out of order…
Goosebumps popped up all over Wei Wanlan’s body.
Wei Wanlan felt like he was going to be doomed.
Because he only memorized the information, and he didn’t pay attention to their faces later. Now the goods didn’t match the samples. He had something in his mind, but the people didn’t match up!!!
Who are you, sir?
Who are you???
He didn’t want to copy books. This time, the big bad guy would definitely be angry. Who would save him? Please protect me and save me, QAQ