The number one sycophant of the Ming Dynasty

Chen Han put down his teacup and tapped his finger lightly on the table.

He now fully understands:

This was no ordinary task; it was a ticking time bomb. Miss Sun needed someone to share her frustration, and the person in charge of the task was the perfect punching bag.

Seeing his silence, Zheng Dianli quickly said, "Supervisor Chen, why don't you think of a way to get rid of this job?"

"I can't refuse." Chen Han stood up. "Lord Sun has already assigned the task; refusing it would be disrespectful."

He walked to the window, looking at the swirling snowflakes in the yard, his mind racing.

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices, despite its name being one of the Nine Ministers, was actually a relatively obscure department in the capital's officialdom.

The positions of Minister and Vice Minister were concurrently held by the Ministry of Rites, but the ones who truly oversaw the affairs were the sixth-rank officials like Sun, the Vice Minister of Rites.

He handled the matter of Prince Yu's offerings exceeding the prescribed limits brilliantly, and the Emperor personally issued an edict of reward, and Prince Yu treated him as an honored guest.

This made Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, uneasy. For a sixth-rank official who had spent most of his life in a lowly government office, the worst thing was not that his subordinates were incompetent, but that they were too capable.

But he couldn't take direct action, because both sides knew about the blame-shifting incident, and a complete falling out would make things look bad for neither of them.

So this assignment was ostensibly out of trust, but in reality, it was a warning.

There's no way to avoid it, so we have to get it done.

But the standard for "doing it well" is not just about having everything prepared.

Clerk Liu and Clerk Zhao must have prepared everything, yet they were still punished.

What he needed to do was ensure that Miss Sun would not embarrass herself or be humiliated at tomorrow's poetry recital, and that she would even shine.

How can we make her stand out? If we can't compare in terms of family background, literary talent, or appearance, then we should make up for it in the details.

While others brought ordinary tea sets, she brought Ding kiln white porcelain.

While others sat on cold stones, she sat on a soft, thick cotton cushion;

While others shivered from the cold, she held a warm, smooth copper hand warmer.

These things couldn't help her write better poems, but they let everyone see: the Sun family lived a truly refined life. That was enough.

Chen Han turned to Zheng Dianli: "Don't be in such a hurry. Let me ask you, what are this Miss Sun's usual hobbies? What colors does she like? What colors does she dislike?"

"This... I really don't know," Zheng Dianli said with a bitter face.

"Alright." Chen Han stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "You stay in the yamen, I'll go to the Sun residence first. These matters need to be clarified in person."

Chen Han left the Guanglu Temple and walked along the main street towards the Sun residence.

The Sun residence was located in the east of the city, not far from the Guanglu Temple, and consisted of two courtyards.

He stepped forward, knocked on the door, and identified himself as a supervisor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sent by Lord Sun to carry out tomorrow's errands.

Before long, a maid wearing a blue satin vest came out. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, with an oval face and upturned eyebrows. She was clearly someone who was popular with her master.

Her gaze as she sized up Chen Han carried a hint of condescension: "So you're from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Miss is busy right now, just tell me what's on your mind."

Chen Han bowed slightly, his attitude respectful but not servile: "Thank you for your trouble, young lady. My surname is Chen, and I am a supervisor of the Guanglu Temple. I have been ordered by Lord Sun to handle the errands at Fayuan Temple tomorrow."

He took out the gold-flecked note from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands. "This is the list Miss made. I have already read it."

"I came today to confirm a few things with you in person, to avoid any mistakes tomorrow. Since it's inconvenient for you, I'd like to trouble you to ask for me."

"What do you want to ask? Go ahead."

"First, I would like to ask about Miss's figure. The futon should be made according to a person's figure; if it is too low, it will be uncomfortable to sit on, and if it is too high, it will be unstable."

Cui'er was taken aback, clearly not expecting him to ask that. "Miss is of medium build, neither fat nor thin."

Chen Han nodded and then asked, "Secondly, the colors of the cotton covers for the hand warmer and the fabric for the futon should be chosen. I'm afraid that the colors I choose may not suit Miss's taste, so I would like to ask what colors Miss usually likes and what colors she avoids."

Cui'er was genuinely surprised this time, and her condescending gaze turned into scrutiny: "Miss prefers moon white and lotus root color, and dislikes bright red and green."

Chen Han noted everything down and then asked about dietary restrictions, travel arrangements, and details such as whether to walk or ride in a sedan chair.

Cui'er answered each question one by one, her attitude becoming increasingly gentle.

After asking a few more questions, Chen Han's tone softened slightly: "There's one more thing. It'll be cold tomorrow, and you'll have to run around doing chores, which will be tiring for you."

"I will prepare an extra hand warmer so that the young lady can keep her hands warm. I will also prepare some hot tea and snacks so that the young lady can rest while serving the young lady."

These words, spoken calmly, struck a chord deep within Cui'er's heart.

She had served in the Sun family for several years and was used to seeing people coming from outside on official business.

Some people are arrogant and don't take her seriously; others are obsequious and clearly have ulterior motives.

This is the first time I've seen a young man like this, so humble yet considerate of her hardships.

The arrogance on her face vanished completely, replaced by a slightly embarrassed smile: "Supervisor Chen is so thoughtful. I'll go ask Miss right away, please wait a moment."

Before long, Cui'er returned with a small note in her hand: "Miss said you were very thoughtful. This is what Miss wrote, saying that we can enjoy the plum blossoms on foot, and that the temple should lay some straw mats along the way."

"Also, Miss said the Xuan paper and ink must be of good quality."

Chen Han took the note and asked the young lady what kind of paper and ink she used for writing, whether her back was okay, what kind of tea she liked to drink, and what kind of incense she liked.

Cui'er listed them one by one: Chengxintang paper, Lao Hu Kaiwen's pine soot ink, her back hurts when she sits low, she likes Longjing tea, and she likes agarwood.

Finally, she whispered, "Supervisor Chen, let me be frank with you, Miss always comes back unhappy after attending these kinds of gatherings. Please be extra careful when handling your duties."

Chen Han nodded, took out a piece of silver from his sleeve, and handed it over discreetly: "It's cold, miss, take this and have some tea."

Cui'er smiled and accepted the gift, her smile becoming even more genuine: "Supervisor Chen, I've never met anyone who thinks so thoroughly. Don't worry, I'll take care of tomorrow's matters."

After leaving the Sun residence, Chen Han did not return directly to the Guanglu Temple.

He turned into a clothing shop south of Dongsi Archway and bought a moon-white brocade jacket with a dark floral pattern and a matching horse-face skirt, along with a light purple jacket and a pleated skirt.

The size was estimated based on Cui'er's description of her as "of medium build".

He then went to the umbrella shop and picked out two more umbrellas: a light blue oil-paper umbrella for Miss Sun and a plain blue cloth umbrella for Cui'er.

Then I went to the silk shop and bought silk scarves and oil paper—the silk scarves to protect against ink, and the oil paper to make shoe covers.

By the time we returned to Guanglu Temple, it was already past noon.

Zheng Dianli was still waiting in the duty room. When he saw him return, he hurriedly came to greet him.

Chen Han sat down in a chair, picked up a pen, spread out a piece of paper, and wrote down a list while telling him about the information he had been asked.

Zheng Dianli nodded repeatedly, convinced. Otherwise, why was the other person an official while he was just a clerk?

He took the list, looked at it again and again, and suddenly exclaimed, "Supervisor Chen, why is it that this list only lists Miss Chen?"

"Aren't there six women? Aren't you going to prepare cushions, tea sets, and hand warmers for the others?"

Chen Han smiled and said, "Others' needs will be prepared by other companies. We're only responsible for Miss Sun's."

Zheng Dianli was taken aback, then understood what was going on. The admiration on his face turned into awe: "Supervisor Chen, your thoughts... are too deep."

Chen Han did not explain.

Some things don't need to be said outright.

Those so-called poetry gatherings of noble ladies were, frankly speaking, just a competition.

Miss Sun felt inferior to everyone at the party and took her frustration out on the people who had helped her when she got home.

If he serves everyone equally and makes them comfortable, Miss Sun will suffer just as much indignation and will take it out on him when she gets back.

Since we can't make her stand out at the poetry event itself, let her excel in the details and create differentiation.

These things can't help her write better poems, but they can make everyone see them.

They wouldn't say it, but they'd think to themselves: The Sun family lives a very refined life.

She would feel that, at least for this moment, she was more dignified than them.

This is enough.

"Go ahead." Chen Han handed him the silver. "Prepare everything before dawn tomorrow and deliver it to the Sun residence."

Zheng Dianli responded, took the list, and ran out.

Chen Han leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

He went over tomorrow's schedule in his mind again:

We set off at 3:45 AM, arrived at the temple at 7:00 AM, rested and drank tea in the meditation room, then went to the plum grove to enjoy the snow and hold a poetry gathering, and returned to the city around noon.

He devised solutions for every possible problem that might arise at any stage.

This was a habit he developed back when he worked in the county government office.

Whenever he arranges a leader's itinerary, he scouts the location in advance and rehearses repeatedly, considering all possible potential problems.

The job of an office manager isn't to wait for problems to arise and then fix them, but to prevent problems from ever happening in the first place...