Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2699 Still Vigorous in Old Age 83.0
Imperial Observatory

Chu Han's face showed disgust; hearing those three words made him feel uncomfortable all over.

He felt utter disgust for the people in the Imperial Observatory and the things they did. If possible, he would gladly tie us all up and give us a good whipping.

In fact, he has been very interested in astronomy and celestial phenomena since he was a child, and was once very obsessed with them. His family has all kinds of star-gazing instruments and books related to celestial phenomena, including quite a few rare ancient books. This shows that he is very passionate about it.

Moreover, he had a wish when he was very young: to pass the examination of the Imperial Observatory and find a job there when he grew up.

This wasn't for the sake of becoming an official or anything else; it was simply to fulfill a dream. He wanted to see what the best place in the entire Great Xia Dynasty was for stargazing and observing celestial phenomena, what it was like to have the most advanced stargazing instruments, and whether he could find like-minded people in that place.

Although he was the second son of the Prince of Jing, he had no responsibility to inherit the throne or the mansion. He could assist his elder brother, but he also hoped to have a career that he liked.

He had confided this idea to his parents and brother, and received their full support.

Just as he was looking forward to growing up and excitedly preparing to take the Imperial Observatory's assessment, his beautiful wish and vision for the future were ruthlessly shattered. And the main force that shattered this beautiful dream was none other than the very place he had once longed for.

In Chu Han's view, the Imperial Observatory should have been a vital national institution for observing celestial phenomena, calculating solar terms, and formulating calendars. It should have been a gathering place for learned scholars who knew both astronomy and geography. But he didn't know when it started, but the Imperial Observatory became a haven for the ignorant and incompetent.

While this statement is somewhat biased, although not everyone there was incompetent and there were indeed many learned individuals, the majority were incompetent, and their backgrounds were often far more powerful than those of the learned individuals. Those with genuine talent and learning were pushed to the margins by these incompetents.

For example, the few adults he had met who had considerable influence in the Imperial Observatory didn't even know what the Big Dipper was, couldn't say what one should do during the Autumn Equinox, and couldn't predict whether it would be windy, rainy, or snowy in the next few days by observing celestial phenomena. Some even had the idea of ​​selling their star-gazing instruments. Although it was just a thought, it was enough to prove their ignorance and their arrogance and disdain for the subject of celestial phenomena.

These people usually caused a great disaster in the Six Ministries or other places. Their mentors or superiors, out of consideration for the power behind them, dumped them in this place where they could talk nonsense and no one would hold them accountable.

Therefore, they unleash their "talents" here, finding all sorts of reasons and excuses to frame, slander, and defame innocent people when disaster strikes, even at the cost of destroying their families.

In fact, their purpose in doing this is very simple: to cover up their incompetence and make these so-called unlucky people take the blame for them.

Thinking of this, Chu Han sighed softly. He looked at the people eating and raised an eyebrow.

It's quite a coincidence that everyone sitting in this room was once a victim of the Imperial Observatory's nonsense.

"granduncle?"

Shen Cha noticed that Chu Han was acting strangely and called his name softly, but Chu Han did not respond. She gently patted Shen Haolin's arm and gestured with her chin toward Chu Han.

"It's nothing, it just probably brought back some unpleasant memories." "About the Imperial Observatory?" Seeing Shen Haolin blink, Shen Cha frowned in confusion and asked, "Why? Is there an old grudge?"

Shen Haolin put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, picked up the teacup next to him, blew on it, and took two sips.

"The Imperial Observatory played a significant role in the downfall of the Prince of Jing's residence back then." He sneered. "Look at all these people in the room, who hasn't suffered persecution at the hands of the Imperial Observatory?"

Shen Cha glanced at it, shrugged helplessly, and said, "It really is true. If we're talking about the two groups in the court that are least interested in doing their jobs, one is the censors, and the other is the useless bunch from the Imperial Observatory."

“The censors, at least, are supposed to be doing their job of investigating rumors and reporting on what they hear, which is still somewhat proper. But the Imperial Observatory…” Shen Haolin snorted and said, “These past few years, there have been hardly any competent ones. Keeping them around is just a precaution.”

“Indeed.” Shen Cha nodded. “Without the passionate involvement of the Imperial Observatory, my uncle’s plan wouldn’t have progressed so smoothly, and Uncle Ning wouldn’t have been able to hide in the imperial mausoleum so easily.” She glanced at Chu Han, who was still deep in thought. “Was it the same with the Jing Prince’s residence?”

“Yes, the Imperial Observatory loves to do this kind of thing—kicking someone when they're down. Even though it has nothing to do with them, they get involved enthusiastically, wishing they could trample the target underfoot.” Shen Haolin drank another cup of tea, then fed Shen Cha a cup of warm water. He looked at Chu Han, who was looking in their direction, smiled, and said, “What does Grand Uncle want to say?”

"nothing."

Chu Han had actually heard what Shen Haolin and Shen Cha said, and he agreed with their statement. However, sometimes the Imperial Observatory was not very controllable. If the people in the Censorate were like mad dogs biting indiscriminately when they went crazy, then the Imperial Observatory was probably like a watchdog that had been bitten by a mad dog, even worse than a mad dog. But when asked about their own responsibilities, they would pretend to be deaf and dumb, pretending not to have heard anything.

"The Imperial Observatory has really suffered a major setback this time." He smiled at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. "They certainly deserve to be taught a lesson, lest they lose their way. In the past, they always tried to shift the blame onto us, but now that His Majesty is involved, they probably won't be able to escape unscathed so easily, right?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “After all, they are different from the people in the Censorate. They don’t have the duty to report on what they hear. They’re just talking nonsense and making baseless accusations every day. It’s their bad luck that they’re in trouble.”

Shen Haolin glanced at Chu Han and saw a wicked smile flash across his face, and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Grand Uncle, you..."

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about whether I should add fuel to the fire and give them some more to eat." Chu Han chuckled. "Of course, I won't go too far. I'll just let them taste what it's like to be wronged. Although we led them to wrong us, they're still very unhappy."

What do you want to do?

Chu Han thought for a moment, considered the evidence in his hand, and gave Shen Haolin and Shen Cha a meaningful look.

"It's a secret for now, but you definitely won't be disappointed!"