The number one sycophant of the Ming Dynasty

The carriage came to a stop in front of the Sun residence. Cui'er jumped off the carriage first and helped Sun Yue down.

Sun Yue stood in front of the door, not in a hurry to go in, but turned around and looked back.

Chen Han was still standing next to the carriage, covered in a layer of snow, his blue cloth umbrella covered in white.

He didn't step forward, but stood at a distance, head slightly bowed, behaving very politely.

"Cui'er," Sun Yue called softly.

"This servant is here."

"Go and call that Supervisor Chen over."

Cui'er responded and jogged over: "Supervisor Chen, Miss is calling for you."

Chen Han was slightly taken aback, then put away his umbrella, followed Cui'er forward, stopped at the bottom of the steps, and bowed: "Miss."

Sun Yue looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

The young man walked in the snow all morning, the snow on his shoulders melting and falling again, the hem of his official robe getting wet, and his boots covered in mud.

But he stood there, his back ramrod straight, showing no sign of embarrassment or desire for credit.

She took out a silver ingot from her sleeve, weighing five taels, and handed it over: "You did a very good job today. This is a reward for you."

Chen Han accepted the gift with both hands without hesitation, and said respectfully, "Thank you for the reward, Miss."

"And one more thing," Sun Yue paused, "make a list of how much money you spent on those things today, and I'll talk to my father and have him reimburse you from the government office. We need to keep things official and not let you pay for them yourself."

Chen Han raised his eyes slightly, somewhat surprised.

He was prepared to put the money out of his own pocket.

When I was working in the county government office, how could I not pay out of my own pocket to do things for the leaders?

I never expected that this spoiled young lady would actually think of this.

"Thank you for your consideration, Miss."

Sun Yue looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.

After a moment, she spoke, her voice a little softer than before: "Today at Fayuan Temple... if it weren't for you, I would have made a huge fool of myself."

She herself was somewhat surprised when she said that.

She was never one to say such things to her subordinates, but today, she just wanted to say it.

"You flatter me, Miss." Chen Han bowed slightly. "I was merely doing my duty."

Sun Yue didn't say anything more, turned around and went inside.

Cui'er followed, and after taking a few steps, she heard Sun Yue suddenly say, "Cui'er, tell my father later that he did a good job on today's task."

Cui'er smiled and said, "Yes, this servant has remembered."

Sun Yue didn't say anything more, but her steps were a little lighter than before.

……

Sun Yue entered the second gate, but instead of returning to her own courtyard, she went straight to the main hall.

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was sitting in the hall drinking tea when he saw her walking briskly and with a rosy complexion, which surprised him.

Sun Yue sat down next to her father and recounted the events of the day. When she mentioned that Li Wanqing had spilled tea, she slammed her hand on the table in anger, and when she mentioned that Chen Han had prepared a change of clothes, she burst out laughing.

"Father, don't you think this Supervisor Chen is exceptionally capable? He's much better than Clerk Liu and Registrar Zhao!"

Sun Sicheng held his teacup but did not respond.

He sent Chen Han on this mission with the intention of giving him a warning.

As he expected, Chen Han would be scolded by his daughter and left looking humiliated, just like Liu Limu and Zhao Dianbu. Then he would step in to smooth things over, and the young man would know to restrain himself.

But now, his daughter is actually praising him.

Shoe covers, hand warmers, spare clothes—these were things that Liu Limu and Zhao Dianbu couldn't have thought of, but Chen Han had.

For a low-ranking official of the eighth grade to handle his duties to this extent is beyond simply being "good at getting things done".

A sense of unease suddenly arose in Sun Sicheng's heart.

You wouldn't want to treat someone like that like a servant, but conversely, you might not be able to control him either.

"Father," Sun Yue's voice pulled him back, "Supervisor Chen paid a lot of money out of his own pocket today. Could you give him the money from the government office later? We can't let him pay out of his own pocket."

Sun Sicheng glanced at his daughter. The sun had risen in the west; his daughter was actually speaking up for her subordinates.

"understood."

Sun Yue said a few more words, then got up and walked to the door before turning back: "Dad, you must make good use of this Supervisor Chen. A person like him will bring you honor wherever he is."

After saying that, she skipped away.

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sat alone in the hall, holding a cup of tea that had gone cold, without touching it for a long time.

A person who is too good at handling things will eventually do something that makes their superiors uneasy.

……

The next day, in Si Yansi's duty room.

Shen Zhiyu is checking a document sent from Xiyuan.

The snow outside the window has stopped, but the sky is still overcast, with little light getting in.

She lit a lamp and, by its dim light, read it word by word.

That's how it is in the Siyansi (司言司) – tedious, trivial, and allowing no room for error.

She'd been doing it for eight years, and she was used to it.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in." Shen Zhiyu said without even looking up.

The person who pushed open the door was Zhou, the deputy head of the Siyan Division. She was a female official in her early thirties, efficient in her work and quick-witted.

As soon as she entered, she leaned over, her tone tinged with excitement: "Master, have you heard? That Supervisor Chen from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices really made a splash yesterday."

Shen Zhiyu paused for a moment, her hand holding the pen, but her expression remained unchanged: "What's the big deal?"

"You didn't know?" Deputy Chief Secretary Zhou pulled up a chair and sat down. "Yesterday, the daughter of Vice Minister Sun of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices went to Fayuan Temple to enjoy the snow and hold a poetry gathering. Guess what?"

"That Miss Sun is notoriously difficult to please among the noble ladies of the capital. In previous years, every person sent by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to handle matters there was scolded mercilessly."

She deliberately left herself in suspense at this point.

Shen Zhiyu put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and said calmly, "And then?"

"And then? Then that Supervisor Chen went, and when Miss Sun came back, she was all smiles!" Deputy Chief Prosecutor Zhou's eyes shone brightly. "You have no idea how meticulously he handled his job."

Have you ever heard of shoe covers? They're made of oiled paper and worn over boots so your shoes won't get wet when you walk in the snow.

"He also prepared a silk scarf to tie on the hem of the skirt so that the skirt wouldn't get wet from the snow."

"The hand warmer has a copper base and is wrapped in a cotton cover, so it doesn't get hot to the touch."

"The cushion is newly made, made of moon-white cotton, soft and thick enough. They even asked about Miss Sun's figure and adjusted it if she was too tall or too short."

Shen Zhiyu tapped her fingers lightly on the table without saying a word.

"That's not all!" Deputy Director Zhou got more and more excited as he spoke. "He also arranged a meditation room in advance at Fayuan Temple. It faces south, so the light is good. The charcoal fire was lit in advance, daffodils were placed on the windowsill, and red plum blossoms were offered on the table. Even a small red clay stove was prepared to warm the tea, which was bubbling and steaming."

"As soon as Miss Sun arrived, the room was warm and cozy, filled with the aroma of tea mixed with the scent of flowers. Wouldn't you say it was comfortable?"

Shen Zhiyu picked up her teacup and took a sip. She neither frowned nor put it down.

"The most ingenious part is this," Deputy Chief Zhou said in a low voice, "At the poetry gathering, Grand Secretary Li's granddaughter deliberately spilled tea all over Miss Sun. Just think about it, Fayuan Temple is in the suburbs; where are they going to find a change of clothes?"

"Miss Sun almost cried. And guess what? Supervisor Chen stood at the door, holding a bundle in his hand, inside which was a neatly folded moon-white Hangzhou silk jacket."

"Moon white! That's Miss Sun's favorite color! Isn't that a coincidence? He even prepared a change of clothes!"

Shen Zhiyu put down her teacup and said casually, "It is quite a coincidence."

……