The number one sycophant of the Ming Dynasty

Inside the office of the supervisor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Chen Han sat at an old pearwood wooden table, holding a pen in his hand, checking the accounts of the offerings from various ancestral worship ceremonies before the New Year.

It had only been a day since he finished revising that list.

But on that very day, everyone in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices looked at him differently.

Liu Shuzheng, who used to boss him around, now addresses him politely as "Supervisor Chen".

The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices patted him on the shoulder and said repeatedly, "The younger generation is truly formidable," entrusting him with many tasks that were not originally his responsibility.

But Chen Han dared not relax for a moment.

He knew all too well that in the Ming Dynasty, especially during the Jiajing reign, being remembered by the emperor was always a double-edged sword. It could elevate you to the highest position, or it could lead to your utter ruin.

When Jiajing saw the revised list, he not only didn't blame him, but also rewarded Prince Yu with venison.

This imperial decree, seemingly a favor, actually thrust him and Shen Zhiyu into the eye of the storm in the imperial court.

He originally thought that by breaking down the list, he had gained a foothold and could steadily climb the ladder step by step.

He never had any intention of participating in factional struggles or getting involved in the succession struggle between Prince Yu and Prince Jing.

A lowly eighth-rank official like him had no right to get involved.

But the Jiajing Emperor insisted on putting him in this position.

Just because I guessed what he was thinking.

Now, Yan Song has taken notice of him, and so has Xu Jie.

The struggle between Yan's faction and the Qingliu faction has lasted for so many years that it has become a life-or-death struggle.

He was a low-ranking official of the eighth grade, without any affiliation or faction, who suddenly appeared and even got involved with Prince Yu.

In the eyes of Yan's faction, he was a member of the "pure stream" and a man of Prince Yu, someone who could be crushed at any time;

In Qingliu's eyes, he was an uncontrollable variable; he could be used if he was useful, and discarded at any time if he wasn't.

He is now like a small boat adrift on a stormy sea. One wrong move and the boat will be destroyed and he will perish.

What's even more complicated is that he has to choose which side to stand on.

In officialdom, when disputes arise between leaders, unless you are completely uninvolved, once you are involved, even if it is only a little bit, you have to take sides.

Some might say, then just stay neutral and don't take sides.

The person who said this doesn't understand the rules of officialdom.

Not taking sides is itself a form of taking sides, and in fact, it means standing on the opposite side of both sides. In the end, both sides will target you.

This is called, "The centrists die quickly."

Lacking the shrewdness and official rank of Zhao Zhenji, he could only drift along with the tide.

Just then, the door to the duty room was pushed open, and a minor official rushed in, a smile plastered on his face, bowing and saying, "Supervisor Chen! The eunuch from Prince Yu's residence has arrived, bringing you an invitation!"

Chen Han paused for a moment, his pen still in his hand.

He thought to himself: They're here.

He then put down his pen, stood up, straightened his official robes, and strode out.

Standing at the entrance was Feng Bao, the chief eunuch of the Prince Yu's residence.

With a warm smile on his face, he quickly stepped forward when he saw Chen Han come out, cupped his hands and said, "This must be Supervisor Chen, right? Our Feng Bao is the steward of the Prince Yu's mansion."

Chen Han felt a slight jolt in his heart.

Feng Bao!

The eunuch who would later become the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial during the Wanli reign, the one who colluded with Zhang Juzheng from within.

How did he, a mere minor official, end up running headlong into such a huge vortex?

He remained expressionless, quickly bowing respectfully without being obsequious: "This humble servant, Chen Han, greets Eunuch Feng."

"Supervisor Chen, you're too kind." Feng Bao smiled and handed over the gold-embossed invitation. "I'm here on His Highness Prince Yu's orders to deliver this invitation to Supervisor Chen."

"His Highness said that thanks to Supervisor Chen's hard work, the winter sacrifice list was able to fulfill His Highness's filial piety."

"His Highness has prepared a simple banquet at his residence tomorrow afternoon and would like to invite Supervisor Chen to come over for a chat to express his gratitude in person. We would be honored if Supervisor Chen would do us the honor of attending."

Chen Han accepted the invitation with both hands, and felt its weight as he touched the gold-embossed cover.

He opened it and glanced at it. It was written in Prince Yu's own handwriting, neat and with a hint of restraint. It was an invitation to a banquet the next day to express his gratitude in person.

He closed the invitation, bowed respectfully in the direction of Prince Yu's residence, and said, "Your Highness has summoned me, how could I dare disobey? I will arrive at the residence at noon tomorrow to pay my respects to Your Highness."

Feng Bao smiled even more warmly: "Alright! Then we'll be waiting for Supervisor Chen to arrive."

After exchanging a few more polite words, he turned and left.

Chen Han stood there, looking at the invitation in his hand, then looked up at the direction of Xiyuan, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips.

In my past life, I worked in the county government, running errands for the leaders and having meals with them. I've seen this kind of scene many times.

But in this lifetime, sitting at this table are the future Longqing Emperor, and the future Grand Secretaries Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng.

This is not a meal.

This is clearly a major test.

Answer it well, and you'll rise to the top in one step, entering the most prestigious power game of this era;

If you answer incorrectly, you could face certain death on the spot, without even knowing how you died.

He took a deep breath, tucked the post into his pocket, and turned back to his duty room.

He'll meet force with force and water with earth. He's survived a death sentence, so what's a meal to him?

……

In the office of the Shanggong Bureau and the Siyan Division.

Shen Zhiyu sat at his desk, holding a document from the inner court, but didn't turn a single page for a long time.

The wind outside the window scraped against the iron clappers on the eaves, making a clanging sound, but she seemed not to hear it.

Like Chen Han, she also became a celebrity in the inner court after that day.

The list was sent back to Prince Yu's residence three times, but in the end, a list that had been split in two was approved. This matter had already spread throughout the inner court.

Some say she was a member of Yan's faction, deliberately making things difficult for Prince Yu, but in the end, her scheme was foiled.

Some say she had already left herself an out and secretly helped Prince Yu, and that she was one of Prince Yu's people.

Only she knows that she belongs to no one.

She spent eight years in the inner court, rising from the lowest-ranking female official to the position of Director of the Imperial Secretariat. She did not rely on taking sides or currying favor, but on strictly adhering to the rules and remaining impartial.

Emperor Jiajing was suspicious by nature and hated the collusion between female officials in the inner court and princes in the outer court. If she had dared to take sides, she would have been dead long ago.

She did leave room for maneuver by returning the list three times.

She didn't want to see Prince Yu's future as the crown prince ruined because of an over-the-top list, which would be seized upon by Prince Jing and the Yan faction.

She was a female official of the Ming Dynasty, upholding the rules of the Ming Dynasty and protecting the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

But she never expected that the one who finally understood the way she had left and turned the situation around was a minor official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a low-ranking official of the eighth rank.

Even more unexpectedly, the Emperor issued an imperial edict ordering Prince Yu to come and thank her.

This imperial decree thrust her into the public eye and bound her tightly to Prince Yu and Chen Han.

From this day forward, she will no longer be the impartial and impartial Si Yan Si Zhang Yin.

In everyone's eyes, she was Prince Yu's person, a person of integrity.

She had no way out.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the duty room.

A palace maid's voice came from outside the door: "Master, the elder sister from Consort Li's side in the Prince Yu's residence has arrived. She says she has important matters to discuss with you."

Shen Zhiyu snapped out of her reverie, composed herself, and said calmly, "Let her in."

The door was pushed open, and a palace maid dressed in a blue satin vest walked in. She bowed gracefully to Shen Zhiyu and said with a smile, "This servant greets Principal Shen."

"This servant is a maidservant of Consort Li of the Prince Yu's residence. I have come to deliver a letter to Headmaster Shen on the orders of Consort Li and His Highness."

As she spoke, she handed over the invitation in her hand.

Shen Zhiyu took it with both hands, opened it, and took a look.

Just like the message Chen Han received, it was an invitation from Prince Yu to attend a banquet at his residence the following afternoon to express his gratitude in person.

But at the end, there was an extra line of delicate handwriting, written by Consort Li herself: "I have long heard of Manager Shen's intelligence and competence, and I look forward to meeting him tomorrow and having a chat."

Shen Zhiyu's gaze lingered on that line of text for a moment.

Consort Li.

The concubine of Prince Yu, it is said that she made most of the decisions in and out of Prince Yu's mansion.

This private message was not just Prince Yu being polite; it was Consort Li's way of showing goodwill, and also her way of testing him.

She closed the post and remained silent for a moment.

Going there would mean completely siding with Prince Yu and stepping into the vortex of the succession struggle; one wrong step would lead to utter ruin.

If she didn't go, she would be going against the Emperor's decree, offending Prince Yu, and also going against Consort Li's "good intentions." In the inner court, she would have no place to stand.

She had no choice.

Shen Zhiyu raised his eyes, smiled faintly at the palace maid, and said, "Please inform His Highness and Her Majesty that I will arrive at the residence at noon tomorrow to pay my respects."

The palace maid smiled and agreed, exchanged a few more polite words, and then turned and left.

The duty room returned to silence.

Shen Zhiyu looked at the post in her hand and sighed softly.

Having spent eight years in the inner court, I thought that by staying in the Siyansi (Office of Speech) and strictly following the rules, I could live a peaceful and stable life.

Unexpectedly, in the end, I was still drawn into this deepest vortex.

……