Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 273 I Killed Myself? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Hiss—Aaaaaah!"

As he made his way to the duty room, calling out with every step, Xu Jie cursed inwardly, while his lips trembled in pain.

He just couldn't understand why the Imperial Household Department had become so obsessed when he had only been in mourning for three years.

He was clearly not late, but he didn't expect that the Imperial Household Department would change the sign-up time to 15 minutes earlier, and that he would have to put his fingerprint on the sign-up. In fact, if he missed the sign-up time, he would be punished with flogging as a warning.

"This Yan Maoqing is nothing but a tyrant in human skin! How can he humiliate his subordinates like this!"

Xu Jie was furious.

He has never been able to bear any pain since he was a child. He would even cry for half a day if a single hair was pulled out. So even though he has grown a few gray hairs now, he never lets his wife pluck them out like other people do.

And from childhood, he developed the good habit of "taking care of himself" because of this trait.

Especially when doing bad things, he would always try to persuade his siblings to do it, while he would follow behind to pick up the scraps and pretend to be Shunzi in his parents' eyes. When necessary, he would even play the role of a double agent.

Therefore, it was always his siblings who were punished and beaten, while he himself would even receive praise from his parents...

At this moment, he finally remembered Yan Maoqing's "reminder" from a few days ago.

At that time, Yan Maoqing did say that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had some new rules, and that he should learn about them in advance so that he would not be unable to adapt on his first day.

He did indeed learn about the current Imperial Household Department beforehand, but being punctual, he overlooked the small matter of roll call, and as a result, just like Yan Shifan's first visit to the Imperial Household Department, he was beaten up for no reason!

However, he had truly wronged Yan Maoqing in this matter.

This rule wasn't set by him, but by Kong Jian, the Junior Chamberlain.

When he first arrived at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the officials there were already being beaten for missing their roll call. Yan Maoqing simply didn't abolish this rule.

"Hiss—Aaaaaah!"

Even the slightest movement caused the pain from the flogging wounds on his back to make him tremble all over, almost causing him to faint.

His hatred intensified, and he blamed all his resentment on Minister Yan Maoqing, secretly plotting in his mind:
"Yan Maoqing treats his subordinates so cruelly that the officials in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices must have been full of complaints long ago, but they dared not disobey him because of his power!"

"However, things are different now. Yan Maoqing has been promoted to Duke."

"His extraordinary rise to power has brought him countless benefits, something others could not obtain even by force. However, it is not without its hidden dangers, and he will become even more isolated in the court in the future."

"In the eyes of the court officials, Yan Maoqing is a nobleman who has been given an important position to assist the foundation of the country and even has privileges comparable to the Western Depot. This not only violates the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, but will also be regarded by the court officials as a stain on the integrity of the government. He should be given a place to a civil official."

"Therefore, there must be countless eyes watching him now, waiting for him to make a mistake so that they can launch an attack."

"In the Emperor's eyes, Yan Maoqing is probably already the only one who can stand up to him. There is currently no force in the court that can rival him. This is not the situation that the Emperor, who is used to using checks and balances to control the court, wants to see."

"Therefore, if a suitable opportunity and pretext arise, the Emperor will definitely support a newcomer. Not only will he take away the power in his hands, but he will also try to restrict him in every possible way."

"And for me, this is also a great opportunity to rise to the top."

"Just as when Zhang Cong held the highest position in the court, Xia Yan was unwilling to be inferior to him and dared to confront him, thus gaining the emperor's favor."

"Just as when Xia Yan held a high position in the court, Yan Song dared to confront him head-on and was also highly valued by the emperor."

"Now that I hold a position in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, I have the advantage of being close to the emperor. If I can get to know Yan Maoqing better, learn about his illegal activities of abusing his power for personal gain, and then secretly report these things to the emperor."

"In addition, I also want to speak out for these colleagues who have been bullied by him, establish my prestige in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, win over a group of staff members to gain their support, and use them to create a situation of rivalry with him in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"Then I could be Xia Yan when Zhang Cong was in charge, or Yan Song when Xia Yan was in charge, and thus receive the emperor's favor and be given important responsibilities..."

Just as I was thinking this.

"Xu Xianma".

Suddenly, the voice of Junior Chamberlain Kong Jian came from behind. A hand patted Xu Jie's shoulder, the slight vibration causing him to wince in pain, almost letting out a cry.

"I have some ointment here that's incredibly effective at healing whippings. A colleague can apply it for you later." "No, no need. I'll take care of it myself when I get back!"

Xu Jie turned pale and quickly jumped away to refuse.

Now he absolutely forbids anyone from touching his wound, not even a little bit, not even applying medicine, because it will hurt like hell!
Especially since his pig-like screams of pain were already embarrassing enough, if he continued to wail in the Imperial Household Department when the medicine was applied later, he would only be ridiculed even more. How could he establish prestige among his colleagues in the future, and how could he stand on equal footing with Yan Maoqing?

Furthermore, the person who insisted on executing him just now was the very person in front of us!
I'll remember this grudge for now!
We've already fought, so there's no need for you to pretend to be a good guy now. I, Xu Jie, wasn't raised to be bullied!

"Another colleague who rejected my kindness. Does he, like Yan Shifan, also have more expensive ointments at home?"

Kong Jian inwardly grumbled, then took back the porcelain bottle, and said with a smile:

"Well... alright then, rules are rules, and friendship is friendship. If you ever need anything in the future, just come to me. As long as it's within the rules, I will do my best to help."

"Thank you, sir. I will certainly do my best to serve you in the future."

Xu Jie bowed insincerely, but in his heart he was already thinking that when he got to the duty room later, he would write down the pre-thought-out admonitions. This would not only help him regain face in front of his colleagues, but also earn him a wave of praise.

And this is just the beginning.

Next, he would need to move around the Imperial Household Department and make connections with some useful colleagues...

Then he saw Kong Jian put away the plaster, and at the same time, take out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and hand it over, saying:

"By the way, nowadays officials in the Imperial Household Department will write a few words of admonition on the wall of their duty room to remind themselves and reflect on them every day."

"You should also think about what kind of admonition to write to yourself as soon as possible, and follow this format."

"A prohibition against speaking?!"

Xu Jie was taken aback.

What does this mean? Why did Kong Jian even ask him to write down the admonitions, and why did he write them on the wall of the duty room?

Isn't this a plan he just came up with in the last couple of days, but hasn't had a chance to put into action yet, just to gain fame and reputation?
Filled with astonishment and doubt, Xu Jie took the page from Kong Jian's hand, opened it, and examined it carefully:

【Duh! 】

[You, Yan Maoqing, passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-one, and within a few months you were appointed as an assistant minister. The emperor's favor is immense; how can this be considered inadequate?]

Those who do not exert themselves with utmost loyalty and effort, but instead form cliques to ostracize the virtuous, or sell the law for bribes, or betray the public interest to curry favor, or cling to their positions for personal gain, will be punished by the gods, and their misfortunes will extend to their descendants.

【Alas! How terrifying!】

[Written by Yan Maoqing]

August 14th, the 20th year of the Jiajing reign

"This, this, this is impossible!!!"

Xu Jie immediately let out a strange cry, his body stiffened as if petrified, while his hand holding the paper trembled like a leaf.

It would be one thing to just write admonitions on the wall!
What nearly stopped his heart was that, apart from Yan Maoqing's name and the extra six characters "several months later, he will become the Assistant Minister of Heaven," the rest of the content was exactly the same as the precept he had imagined, even down to the tone words!
Could this Yan Maoqing really read minds?!
But that’s not right either!

Yan Maoqing's admonition was dated "August 14th, the 20th year of Jiajing's reign," which means it was written half a year ago.

Six months ago, he was in mourning in his hometown and had never seen Yan Maoqing.

Furthermore, he had only thought of these admonitions a few days ago. Even if Yan Maoqing had read his mind at that time, it would have been impossible for him to read these admonitions!
Therefore, there is only one possibility!
Yan Maoqing and he were the same kind of people, and their behavior patterns and ways of thinking were probably no different. Their level of understanding was probably even greater than that of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi.

After all, Bo Ya and Zi Qi were only kindred spirits, not coincidentally created the same piece of music.

the most important is.

This was also a treacherous confidant who had taken his shoes beforehand, leaving him with nowhere to go!
So... now his opponent is another version of himself who went first?

It's me, targeting me?!
(End of this chapter)