The number one sycophant of the Ming Dynasty

After receiving the silver from the accounting office, Chen Han did not return directly to his duty room, but went to Zheng Dianli's duty room instead.

When he pushed open the door, Zheng Dianli was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at an account book. Seeing him enter, he quickly stood up: "Supervisor Chen? What brings you here?"

"I've brought you some silver." Chen Han took out two taels of silver from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

Zheng Dianli was stunned for a moment: "This...this is?"

"You worked hard yesterday on the errand at Fayuan Temple. This is a reward for you."

Zheng Dianli stared wide-eyed at the silver ingot.

Two taels of silver!

As a mere clerk, his monthly salary was only one or two taels of silver.

This reward from Chen Han was equivalent to nearly two months' salary for him.

"Supervisor Chen, this...this is too much!" Clerk Zheng rubbed his hands, his face a mixture of surprise and delight. "I was just running errands; the fact that this task was completed is entirely thanks to you. How could I dare accept such a large reward!"

"Take it." Chen Han pushed the silver in front of him. "You'll work for me, and I won't treat you unfairly."

Zheng Dianli's eyes reddened slightly as he nodded repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Well... then I'll shamelessly accept it! Supervisor Chen, rest assured, from now on, if you need anything, just give the order, and I'll go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"

Chen Han smiled and took out three taels of silver from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

Zheng Dianli was stunned again: "This...this is it again?"

"The three taels of silver you gave me last time were for bribing the palace maids," Chen Han said, looking at him. "I didn't need it, so I'm returning it to you now."

Zheng Dianli's face flushed red instantly, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "Supervisor Chen! That was a gift from me! Aren't you slapping me in the face?!"

"Take it." Chen Han's tone left no room for refusal. "Your salary isn't high, and you have a family to support. I appreciate your kindness, but you can take the money back."

Zheng Dianli stood there, his lips trembling a few times, his eyes red-rimmed.

He had worked at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for more than ten years and had met at least eight or ten officials, but none of them were like Chen Han. He was not greedy for credit, generous with rewards, and even returned every penny of the money given to him by his subordinates.

He bowed deeply, his voice hoarse: "Supervisor Chen, I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life."

Chen Han patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

……

That evening, in an inconspicuous teahouse in the east of the city.

It was already dark, and there were few pedestrians on the street. The doors and windows of the private rooms on the second floor of the teahouse were tightly closed.

Sun Sicheng sat by the window, holding a cup of tea, his expression somewhat complicated.

Across from him sat a man in his forties, with a fair complexion and no beard, wearing an indigo-blue robe.

He looked like an ordinary merchant, but his eyes gleamed with a shrewdness that told you he was no ordinary person.

Luo Longwen.

Yan Song's advisor and the core strategist of the Yan faction.

"Mr. Luo," Sun Sicheng put down his teacup, his tone tinged with confusion, "I really don't understand why you want me to cooperate with that Chen Han in organizing the Winter Festival."

"Why should I, a mere sixth-rank official, be expected to cooperate with a low-ranking official like him, who has only been in office for three months?"

"Even if he showed his face to Prince Yu, he's still Prince Yu's man. What does that have to do with us?"

Luo Longwen didn't rush to answer, but slowly poured himself a cup of tea.

He picked it up, took a sip, and then slowly asked, "Lord Sun, how many years have you been working at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was taken aback: "Twenty-three years."

"Twenty-three years," Luo Longwen nodded, "from an eighth-rank supervisor to a sixth-rank temple assistant, it's about a ten-year progress."

"But have you ever considered whether you can take another step up in your life?"

Sun Sicheng's expression changed slightly, but he did not respond.

Luo Longwen put down his teacup, looked at him, and spoke calmly, yet every word pierced the heart:

"You've toiled away in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for twenty-three years, rising from supervisor to vice-minister. It seems like you've been promoted, but look at those who entered officialdom in the same year as you—how many of them are still in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"

"Those who should be promoted have been promoted, and those who should be demoted have been demoted. They've long been sitting in proper government offices like the Six Ministries, the Censorate, and the Hanlin Academy."

"And you? Guanglu Temple, a lowly department in charge of sacrifices, a sixth-rank temple assistant. It sounds like an official position, but in the capital's officialdom, you don't even have the right to attend court."

Sun Sicheng's expression grew increasingly grim.

Luo Longwen, however, acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued, "Do you know why you can't get promoted? It's not that you're incompetent, it's that you don't have connections."

"You've spent twenty-three years in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but how many people in the cabinet do you know?"

"How many times have you sent ice tribute to the Directorate of Ceremonial? How many people in the court can speak up for you?"

Sun Sicheng opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Luo Longwen's words were all true.

He really didn't have any powerful backers.

He served in the government for twenty-three years, always stuck in the obscure Guanglu Temple. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave, but that he couldn't.

He had no connections, no influence, and no money to pull strings.

"But now, an opportunity is presented to you." Luo Longwen's tone suddenly changed, becoming gentler, as if he were having a heart-to-heart talk with an old friend:

"Grand Secretary Yan has taken a liking to Chen Han and wants to recruit him. But Chen Han is currently with Prince Yu, so trying to persuade him directly is futile."

"So what Grand Secretary Yan meant was to start with the people around him."

"You are his boss, and you just asked him to do a personal favor for you. If you cooperate with him, support him, and do him a favor, he won't be wary of you, even if he's not grateful."

"Once he performs his duties well at the winter sacrifice and earns merit before Prince Yu, Grand Secretary Yan will naturally find an opportunity to promote him."

"At that time, he will owe you a favor, and you will be considered to have made contact with Grand Secretary Yan."

Sun Sicheng's eyes lit up slightly, but quickly dimmed again: "But he's Prince Yu's man..."

"One of Prince Yu's men?" Luo Longwen chuckled. "Lord Sun, in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, what man is truly loyal forever?"

"Today he's Prince Yu's man, but tomorrow Grand Secretary Yan might offer him an even better future, so he can't be Grand Secretary Yan's man?"

"Besides," he lowered his voice, "Grand Secretary Yan's intention is not for him to betray Prince Yu, but for him to... have it both ways."

"A person like this will have a place no matter which side wins in the future."

"If you help him, will he forget you when he becomes successful?"

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, remained silent.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and the tea was already cold and very bitter, but he swallowed it.

"Mr. Luo," he finally spoke, "is Grand Secretary Yan... really willing to use me?"

Luo Longwen smiled, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Sun Sicheng.

It was a ticket from a long-established money exchange in Beijing, worth three hundred taels, redeemable upon presentation of the ticket.

"This is a small token of Lord Yan's appreciation; please accept it, Lord Sun. Lord Yan will repay you handsomely once the winter sacrifice is properly arranged."

Sun Sicheng looked at the ticket and his throat moved.

He spent twenty-three years in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and his annual salary, on the surface, amounted to no more than a few dozen taels of silver.

This three hundred taels is enough for his whole family to live on for several years.

He reached out and tucked the ticket into his sleeve.

"Mr. Luo, please go back and tell Grand Secretary Yan that I will fully cooperate with Chen Han regarding the winter sacrifice."

"Whatever regulations or materials he needs, I'll approve them for him; whatever trouble he encounters at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, I'll take care of it for him."

Luo Longwen nodded and stood up: "Lord Sun is a wise man. Grand Secretary Yan said that the Ming Dynasty has never treated wise people unfairly."

He walked to the door, then turned back: "Oh, right, there's one more thing. That Chen Han is meticulous and not someone who can be easily fooled."

"When you cooperate with him, don't be too deliberate; be natural."

"If he asks, just say it's because he did a favor for your daughter, and you're indebted to him."

"Grand Secretary Yan doesn't want to alert the enemy, understand?"

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, nodded quickly: "Understood, understood."

Luo Longwen pushed open the door and left.

Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, sat alone in the private room, clutching the ticket in his hand, his expression changing repeatedly.

He knew that once he took that step, there would be no turning back.

But he had no choice.

Having spent twenty-three years in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, he knew all too well:

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, those without powerful backers could only remain in obscure departments, watching others rise in rank and make a fortune while they themselves slowly grew old and gray.

Although Yan Song had a bad reputation, the benefits he offered were probably real.

He gritted his teeth, stuffed the ticket deep into his sleeve, stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

……