Good luck with koi carp

Chapter 155 Game
The new top scholar had only joined the Hanlin Academy for less than half a day and was promoted to an official position. This incident was like a firecracker thrown into the water, exploding all of a sudden, causing everyone to talk privately.


As a member of the Hanlin Academy, even though He Xuexi had never met the legendary new top scholar, he had passively or actively heard many rumors about him from others.


To be honest, when he heard the name Chili for the first time, he just thought it was a coincidence and did not think that this Chili was that Chili.


However, things are so coincidental.


Since both the Cabinet and the Hanlin Academy need to directly connect with the work of the Holy Father, and the two institutions have certain similarities with each other, it has been said that no non-Hanlin Academy can join the cabinet, so to a certain extent, the Hanlin Academy can be regarded as The cabinet’s talent pool.


Although this is just a private saying among literati and not an explicit regulation by the imperial court. There are actually officials in the cabinet who are not from the Hanlin Academy, but it is undeniable that most cabinet officials are from the Hanlin Academy.


Therefore, not only did the two parties have partial contact at work, but their offices were also very close. This also resulted in Hanlin Academy officials often meeting cabinet officials by chance when commuting to and from get off work.


What a coincidence, on the second day after Chi Li was promoted, when she went to work early in the morning, she ran into an acquaintance.


The other party didn't recognize her at first. Maybe it was because they hadn't seen her for several years. Chili had changed a lot. It was also possible that people's impression of her was still that of a "beggar" who was described as embarrassed and destitute, so she didn't react. Who is this person who is wearing the uniform of a sixth-grade official? Her temperament has begun to take on a majestic look, but she is obviously a woman.


Fortunately, since he didn't know her, someone would naturally remind her.


I also met Chili by chance on the road and learned that she had just arrived and didn’t know how to get to the cabinet office, so Chili’s former boss Mr. Ke, who kindly showed her the way, suddenly turned pale when he saw He Xuexu’s sightless appearance. He turned cold and said seriously: "He Xuexu, don't you know how to salute the superior when you see him?"


Normally, even if there is a distinction between superiors and subordinates, bureaucrats will call each other "sir" to show respect. However, when this happens, it means that the superior officer is a little unhappy and needs the inferior officer to do something quickly. React to calm the Shangguan's anger, otherwise if he encounters the stingy Shangguan, the lower-ranking official may suffer some lessons in the future.


Obviously, He Xuegui, who had been a concubine in the Hanlin Academy for three years and had recently been promoted to a seventh-grade Hanlin academy reviewer, would not fail to understand this unspoken rule.


Therefore, as soon as he was scolded by his superiors, he immediately bowed his hands and bowed respectfully to the two superior officials who were higher than him.


"Your Majesty, He Xuegou, pays homage to Mr. Ke, and this..."


The other one seemed familiar to him, but he hadn't looked at it carefully just now, so he couldn't recognize it for a moment and could only stand there in embarrassment.


"This is the newly-appointed cabinet minister and the top scholar in Jinke, Chi Li, Master Chi." Master Ke introduced him helpfully.


"Chili!" He Xuexu suddenly raised his head as if he had finally realized something, and stared at Chili's face with blinding eyes. He couldn't recognize him at this look. That means he had deceived him. And the ex-fiancée you abandoned? !

Chi Li looked at Chen Shimei's originally handsome face, but now it looked quite ugly. She smiled in a good mood and said, "Master He, I'm afraid it's not good for you to call Shangguan by his name like that?"


As if in response to Chi Li's words, Mr. Ke's eyebrows were tightly knitted. His initially displeased mood turned into real anger: "He Xuexu! Is this how Master Lu taught you etiquette?"


He was so angry that Mr. Ke even started to directly congratulate the person behind Xuegui.


Chi Li watched this scene silently and understood that Mr. Ke was probably not a simple person. At least he was not afraid of offending the people behind He Xuexu.


He dared to do this either because he had a bigger backer, or because he and He Xuexi belonged to two factions that were targeting each other, or because he had an extraordinary background and had the confidence to cause trouble.


No matter which one it is, for such a powerful Master Ke to take the initiative to take care of him, he must have been warned by someone, most likely the empress, or the other party is asking for something from him.


The latter seems unlikely, so it should be the former.


Clearly facing the opportunity to vent her anger in front of Chen Shimei, Chi Li was analyzing various forms to determine what was beneficial to her. Of course, she still did not forget to spare half of her mind to record Chen Shimei's words. Now in this embarrassed state.


When she goes back, just looking at this picture makes her so happy that she eats half a bowl of rice.


"Your Majesty, I'm here to pay my respects to Mr. Chi."


Under Mr. Ke's close gaze, He Xuexu bowed to Chi Li again in an extremely humiliating and aggrieved manner. His posture could be called humility.


Seeing this, Chili felt a sense of pleasure that went straight from the tailbone to the Tianling Cap. I have to say that this was really refreshing.


What a great day today.


Chi Li, who was singing silently in her heart, seemed gentle and honest on the surface: "Master He, there is no need to be polite. I heard that you were the second-class Jinshi in the last subject. Now three years have passed and another round of examinations has ended. I will wait for these new subjects." Jinshi are also favored by His Majesty and given official responsibilities. Although I have a higher official position now, Master He, you have been an official longer than me. You are considered a senior. If there is anything I don’t understand in the future, I would like to ask Master He. Please help me more."


Chi Li's words seemed to be expressing good intentions, but in fact they pierced He Xuegui's heart everywhere, causing pain in the heart and almost vomiting three liters of blood.


He Xuexu also heard it. Chi Li was sarcastically saying that he had sacrificed himself to find a backer and was admitted to Jinshi before her. As a result, three years later, he was just a seventh-rank official, not as good as her. As soon as he took office, he was a junior sixth-grade official who was a head above him. By the way, he was just promoted yesterday and is now a full sixth-grade official, which is three grades higher than him.


As the saying goes, the third level of officialdom crushes people to death. Wasn't he being crushed to death?


Even now he can't resist.


Because his father-in-law's family has recently been implicated in the Three Kings' Rebellion, even if they have not been convicted by His Majesty, they have to be immersed in it for a long time. Chili is now a popular person in front of His Majesty, and the existence behind her can be troubled by everyone. She is a great person. Everyone can only support her. Who dares to touch her?

And if some people who want to please Chili find out about their past grudges, then I'm afraid He Xuexu's life will not be so easy in the future.


Therefore, almost instantly, he realized that he could not expose the fact that the two of them knew each other. When faced with Chi Li's overt sarcasm, He Xuexu also pretended not to know and responded with a more humble attitude.


"Mr. Chi, you are so polite. How can a lower official compare to you? It's getting late now. If you delay any longer, you may miss the higher duty. A lower official's position is low and the matter is light. If you delay, you should be punished. It's just two people." Your Excellency has a high position and is responsible for everything, but it is not easy for a lower official to cause the two adults to be punished together with the lower official."


This tall hat was worn very well. If he hadn't been stabbed back by the other party with a soft nail, Chili would have been applauded and applauded.


"Master He is right. Today is my second day of employment. It's really not good to arrive too late. Master Ke, thank you for your kindness in guiding me. I know how to go on the next journey, so I will take the lead."


Chi Li didn't plan to do anything to Chen Shimei today, and it wasn't worth being late for a dead scumbag, so she followed He Xuexu's words and said goodbye to Master Ke.


She stepped forward and passed by He Xuexi. As the two of them passed each other, a smiling voice floated into He Xuexu's ears with unclear meaning: "I thought you were so flexible and flexible?"


It turned out to be nothing more than that.


Without looking up, He Xuexu could tell how cold Master Ke's eyes were on him.


Master Ke had indeed been ordered by his superiors to take more care of the new Chi Li. Even though Chi Li was soon transferred from the Hanlin Academy, he would take the initiative to take care of the other person when they met out of the intention of making friends.


The newcomer didn't know the way, so it was just a casual thing for him to lead the way. Who knew that such a simple thing could make the other party unhappy because of He Xuexi who appeared halfway.


Even though Chili was smiling the whole time, Mr. Ke was not someone who couldn't read eyes. How could he not know that the other party was actually upset?

He didn't know if the two people had any grudges before, but Mr. Ke, who was serious in character and paid great attention to superiority and inferiority, couldn't bear to see what happened to the following offender, even if it was just a little verbal dispute.


Therefore, when Chi Li deliberately showed displeasure and stimulated He Xuexi to the point where he couldn't help but secretly fight back, he offended Master Ke at the same time.


Chili is in the cabinet and He Xuexu is in the Hanlin Academy. Not only is it difficult for the two to meet and go together during daily work, Chili, even a Shangguan, cannot control He Xuexi, but Mr. Ke is different.


As the current manager, he has many opportunities to give He Xuexi small shoes.


This was Chi Li's conspiracy. If she hadn't pointed it out with her code words just now, He Xuexu might not have been able to react.


Unconsciously clenching his fists, He Xuexu secretly hated himself for not being able to calm down and even more ruthlessly plotting to offend his boss, Chi Li. But now that everyone was gone, no matter how angry he was, Chi Li would never know. , too lazy to pay attention.


Speaking of which, this is Chi Li's second time joining the company.


She also didn't expect that she would be promoted to a higher position in just two days, which required her to go through the entry and onboarding procedures twice.


The cabinet has arranged for the elderly to take care of the newcomers. The other party is also a cabinet minister. His surname is Wang. He looks to be in his early forties, so he can be Chili's father.


Perhaps because of this, Mr. Wang doesn't have any objections to the newcomer Chi Li, and he won't discriminate against her because she is a woman. He will just treat her like a normal colleague and teach her instead. She will also teach her work well. If Chi Li encounters something he doesn't understand and comes to ask, he will patiently answer it.


The work content of the cabinet is different from that of the Hanlin Academy.


Compared with the Hanlin Academy, they are a group of people who are more directly connected to the emperor. In other words, the entire cabinet is actually the emperor's secretarial group.


At the beginning, the establishment of the cabinet was deliberately created by the emperor in order to reduce work pressure and allow it to assist him in managing the entire country. In the later stages of development, the cabinet became independent and gradually gained more power, and began to be able to compete with the six departments and even Yu Huan began to override it.


Sometimes when encountering those weak emperors, the cabinet may even counter the royal power and become the entity that controls the economic lifeline of the entire country.


This is the case now in Suchao.


During the reign of the late emperor, the entire cabinet headed by Prime Minister Xing controlled the court and influenced the imperial government, which caused the decline of the imperial power of the late emperor and almost caused turmoil in the country.


If the eldest princess Si Zhaoling had not been born out of nowhere, joined the army as a princess, assumed military power, and used military power as a basis to enter the court and participate in politics, helping the late emperor stabilize his power that was gradually being eroded by the cabinet, I am afraid that the Si family would have lost power at this time. Jiangshan, you have to change to the Xing family name.


However, until now, even though the empress has been on the throne for nearly three years, the most powerful people in the court are still the group headed by Prime Minister Xing. The imperial power has not been completely taken back, and is even weaker than Prime Minister Xing's power. Therefore, the imperial power and the prime minister's power have repeatedly collided in the past few years. It can be said that they are engaged in a war without gunpowder at all times.


The moment Chi Li was selected as the number one scholar in the new science by the Empress, she was already in the game and directly became a member of the Empress' side.


It was only after she went back and thought about it later that she realized why she was promoted by the empress in one day, breaking the rules and being directly inserted into the cabinet of the enemy.


Because the empress needs someone who is completely her own to be placed in the enemy camp, and she has to be placed in it openly, in order to show the supremacy of the imperial power, so what if she inserts one of her own people into the enemy camp? With her as the emperor, who can Who dares to touch her again?


In addition to the deterrent effect, she also needs Chili in the cabinet to help her keep an eye on the movements in the cabinet, and preferably supervise the enemy to restrain their small actions.


After all, all the memorials handed in from the following parties had to go through the hands of the cabinet before being sent to the empress. This had virtually cut off the empress' control over the court and greatly weakened her authority, so she wanted to completely take back the imperial power. , to control the government, we must take back control of the cabinet.
So what could be more useful than just stuffing it with someone who will be completely loyal to you?

If the situation didn't allow it, knowing that just one Chili was the limit, Chili felt that the empress might also want to bring four other new female scholars into the cabinet.


After joining the cabinet under such circumstances, Chili's situation was visibly worse, so even if this overwhelming wealth came to her, it would not be easy to accept it.


Fortunately, Chili's good luck still works.


There were so many people in such a large cabinet, but the only person who didn't have too much ill will towards her was arranged to take her through the internship period, making Chili's learning process before she started the new job extremely smooth, even smooth. It makes people doubt that she is not actually the thorn that the Empress put in to defeat Prime Minister Xing, but one of his own who was recruited by Prime Minister Xing himself.


Chi Li has a strong learning ability. In just half a month, she has completely mastered the job at hand. After another half month of adapting, guess what?


The few officials in the cabinet who were not averse to her arrival became good friends with her. Although the two sides did not get along very emotionally, at least there was a bit more camaraderie between them. Even if Chi Li needed some small favors on a daily basis, If someone helps her, the other person will also lend a helping hand to her if it's convenient.


Moreover, Xing Cheng obviously kept a close eye on Chi Li's various actions, but for various reasons, he failed to realize that she had gradually developed her own network of contacts in the cabinet.


Although his subordinates control most of the power in the entire cabinet, in fact, Prime Minister Xing is not the only one in the cabinet. There is also Deputy Prime Minister Liu Zhengzhi who is not recruited by him. Of course, Deputy Prime Minister Liu is not from the Empress's side.


He only agreed with the empress's decree allowing women to participate in the imperial examination, so he helped support the decree when it was issued.


Therefore, he was able to stand firmly in the cabinet and become a clear-flowing presence in the cabinet as he was not involved in either side.


And it was also with the blessing of Deputy Prime Minister Liu that there were a small number of officials in the cabinet who were not under the control of Prime Minister Xing. Of course, some of them were because these officials' positions were too small, and even if they were recruited, they would not be of much use, so the Prime Minister could not see them. The reason for defeating them is, but this shows that Tietong is not the only one in the cabinet. If the empress wants to break through from the inside, it is not impossible to take advantage of the opportunity.


By the way, Chili only later remembered that Deputy Prime Minister Liu was her examiner in the college examination.


If she really wants to have some kind of relationship, she can also be regarded as someone else's disciple. She can be called a disciple to others. Basically, every examiner and every student who takes the exam can be considered to have a share. The friendship between teachers and students is similar to that between disciples of the emperor.


It helps a little, but not much.


It depends on whether the "teacher" recognizes the "student".


Chi Li guessed that when the empress put her into the cabinet, she actually wanted her to have a relationship with her deputy. In other words, even if the other party didn't have this idea, she must have considered it when she selected Chi Li. layer relationship.


Maybe, Deputy Prime Minister Liu will see that Chili is a talent who passed the college examination that he chaired, and has a teacher-student relationship with him, so he can't bear to let her be ostracized and bullied in the cabinet, so he will help such a group of people. .


Even if he doesn't help, at least he and his subordinates in the cabinet will not make things difficult for Chili, which will also prevent Chili from having trouble moving forward in the cabinet.


So when arranging people, the empress had actually considered all aspects, even things that Chi Li couldn't think of.


It makes people feel a little scared to think about it.


"As expected of the power of a superior, it's really terrifying." Chili only dared to sigh secretly in her heart now that she was alone in her study.


No wonder she was so cautious. Chili had already discovered that someone was investigating her, including her family.


This investigative force does not have any ill intentions towards them. If it did, they would have suffered a backlash from their own luck, and eventually the investigation would not be carried out due to various unlucky events.


So Chi Li guessed that this force should be sent by the empress.


It is normal for the other party to investigate her, but Chi Li is not panicked. She naturally knows that there are some things about herself that cannot be explained by science, but since the empress did not do anything to her because of this, it means that she actually did not These are not taboo.


Some emperors cannot tolerate the existence of those legendary Furui or people with better fortune than themselves, and are worried that they will affect their imperial authority, but there are also some broad-minded emperors who can tolerate it and can cleverly use it. Humanoids achieve their own goals.


Although it is difficult to say how much Chi Li's ability to get along in the cabinet is due to her good luck, the fact is that the empress must know that Chi Li is very lucky and wants to use her to break the situation.


Chi Li didn't mind this either.


She knew Feng Shui and fortune telling, and just from the strong dragon energy gathered inside the palace, she knew that the current empress was a rare wise emperor. She came to the throne in compliance with the fate of the country and was destined to be destined. And a person like her who cultivated immortals came into the world. After experience, when you meet this kind of emperor, you only need to submit to him, follow his life path, and help him benefit the common people, and you will gain great benefits in the process.


The empress used Chi Li, didn't Chi Li get any benefits from her?


Inhaling a small stream of dragon energy coming down the river, Chili's back was covered by clothes, and a little golden glow appeared, and some scales dyed with golden light were faintly visible.


Even if it just flashes by, if someone can see it, they will be amazed by the beauty of the scales, as if they are carved from pieces of precious stones, gold and jade, and there is a vague majesty on them, which makes people feel extremely dangerous and dare not rise. No disrespect intended.


"No wonder people say it's easier to enjoy the shade with your back under a big tree."


Chili slumped down on the soft couch in contentment. Ever since she started hanging out with the empress, she was recognized as one of them by the dragon spirits in the palace, and would be fed a trace of dragon energy every day.


Even if this trace of dragon energy is very small, to Chili, it is no less good than the elixir and spirit treasure. And with the previous owner around, the elixir and spirit treasure, Chili, can be eaten casually as if for fun. One piece is lost, but the dragon energy is not so good.


It's not that her previous breeder couldn't handle the Dragon Clan and couldn't get dragon meat for her to eat. It was mainly because her previous breeder was on good terms with the Dragon Clan and was too embarrassed to do anything to them. At most, he could only pick up some of their treasures from time to time. Just feed the fish at home.


But this kind of feeding once or twice, how can it compare to the daily feeding from the empress?

Even if the quantity is small, it can add up to a considerable amount of power, and it is still entirely earned by Chi Li.


Isn’t this better than waiting for that guy who has been dead for who knows how many years and who doesn’t know where he has been reincarnated to feed him?

When Chi Li didn't notice, a flash of resentment flashed through her heart, but it quickly dissipated.


The job of the cabinet is not difficult.


In other words, the difficult ones are not handled by minions like Chi Li. Basically, they have to be handled by big guys like Prime Minister Xing or Deputy Prime Minister Liu.


Therefore, Chili's main daily job is to help sort the memorials sent up from below and classify them according to priority. In addition, he also needs to conduct preliminary approval and screening of some unimportant memorials. This is a waste of time and not very important. Generally, it will be handled directly by the emperor within the cabinet and will not be sent to his hands.


Those memorials that are qualified to be sent to the emperor will only appear on his desk after a series of strict screening and review.


This process was originally intended to improve the emperor's work efficiency and reduce his waste of time on unnecessary work. Otherwise, the emperor would have to make decisions on all matters, big or small, and he would have to die of exhaustion. But now that Prime Minister Xing is in control, it has become The convenience of evading imperial power.


Chi Li even saw with her own eyes that a memorial that was clearly sent from the local area and was important enough to be presented to the Empress was withheld, and finally sent to Prime Minister Xing for him to handle it on his behalf.


Even if the way it was handled was not wrong, it was still an infringement on the imperial power, and even had the potential to occupy the magpie's nest.


However, due to the power of Prime Minister Xing, the entire cabinet did not dare or could not control it.


Even if it was exposed to the empress, it would be useless. When the late emperor was in power, no one exposed Prime Minister Xing's behavior. However, the result was that Prime Minister Xing was reprimanded lightly, and the exposer had already disappeared here along with his family. world.


After having learned a painful lesson from the past, who would dare to be the one who stands out?

Chili doesn't need it and doesn't need to be a pawn.


The empress was actually well aware of these matters. When she appointed Chi Li to the cabinet, she did not want her to focus on these things that she had known for a long time. Anyway, as long as Chi Li could ensure that the affairs she handled were in accordance with the rules. Just follow the process.


This already means that the power of the empress has begun to slowly encroach into the cabinet.


Chili even gave the empress an unexpected surprise in return.


Because of her good luck, she was surrounded by people who had no ill intentions toward her. The existence of these people actually proved from the side that they were not a small number of forces controlled by Prime Minister Xing.


The empress can completely investigate and confirm each of them based on this list, and then win over them. This is also a way of infiltrating the power of the cabinet.


Who says little people can't make a big difference?

It should be understood that a thousand-mile dike breaks in an ant nest. As long as she has more patience to plan, it is only a matter of time before she takes control of the cabinet to counter Prime Minister Xing.


Although Chi Li was forced into the fight among the upper class, to be honest, it did not have much impact on her daily life.


Even if Prime Minister Xing thought she was an eyesore, he would not condescend to deal with him personally. At most, he would just hint his men to keep an eye on Chi Li's movements to prevent her from secretly harboring something bad.


However, Chi Li is up and down every day. More than three months have passed since she was promoted, and during this period, she has not had any contact with the Empress's forces.


Not to mention secretly plotting with the other party and trying to find ways to deal with them.


This makes Prime Minister Xing somewhat confused by his power. Could it be that when the empress stuffed people into the cabinet, she really just stuffed in useless, lowest-level minions?


No one would believe such naive speculation.


Therefore, the tracking of Chili has not relaxed at all.


Chili's response to this was to ignore it. She still had her own personal matters to deal with.


"Is the news true?" After receiving the report from Fengwen, who had been sent to investigate He Xuexu for three months, Chi Li felt that it was not that surprising.


"My subordinates have seen it with their own eyes and it is absolutely true." Fengwen replied affirmatively.


"Oh, what a pity." Chi Li sighed for whom she was sighing.

(End of this chapter)