"What do you understand? You don’t know the feeling of having a biased father at ho; I’ve been resentful my entire life." As soon as he brought this up, Gu Chengyi was filled with resentnt, unable to let go of Mr. Gu’s favoritism even to this day.
Because of his father’s bias, he grew more and more disgusted with his fifth brother. In fact, if he cald down and thought it over, his fifth brother had always been very tolerant towards him. It was only later, as their relationship grew more strained, that today’s situation arose.
Gu Chengyi patted his forehead, not knowing why he felt his mind wasn’t as clear as before. If he were his old self, even if he disliked his fifth brother, he would have kept it to himself for the sake of his second son. When had he beco so restless?
He recalled the ti Wang Yue had drugged him, and his face grew dark again. Doctor Li had said that the drug had not only weakened his body but seed to have changed his temperant as well. It was certainly due to the drug. Otherwise, how could he explain his increasing tendency to rage?
Gu Chengyi thought of finding Wang Yue to settle the score, but suddenly, he felt his mind clouding and his spirits flagging. He lay back down, intending to get a good night’s sleep first.
Outside, Wang Yue listened to the sounds inside, and only then tiptoed back to her original room. Looking at her young son napping on the kang, she thought Mrs. Li must have co up with so bad idea, and she had to guard against the two for the sake of her son.
The next day, Gu Chengyu again took a carriage to the Hanlin Academy. The daily task of finding typos made him drowsy; it was really easy work. Gu Chengyu calculated the days, thinking he should be assigned other duties soon.
"Jinyu, what do you think Mr. Zhang ans by this? We’ve been at the Hanlin Academy for several days, and every day I’m just looking at the previous dynasty’s codes and regulations, with nothing to do."
Ye Zhiqiu thought about the other scholars who had joined the Hanlin Academy with them; so had already been taken under the wing of the old Hanlins to learn how to draft edicts, while they had not learned a thing.
Gu Chengyu was a bit surprised by this. Ye Zhiqiu was a low-key person and did not show off. Zhang Hai couldn’t stand those who showed off like him and logically shouldn’t be troubling Ye Zhiqiu. Could it be that he was implicated because of him?
However, Gu Chengyu thought about it again and was relieved. Ye Zhiqiu ca from a poor family, without any foundation. Naturally, those with strong backgrounds were taken care of first. For soone like Ye Zhiqiu, without any background and forgotten by those in charge, it was unlikely anyone would go out of their way to offer guidance.
Besides, wasn’t Xia Qing annoyed with him? Perhaps he let sothing slip, which led the subordinates to give them special attention. That was also possible.
"Let’s wait a few more days and see! These few days are a rare mont of idleness. Just before, we had to prepare for exams and didn’t rest well, so let’s take this ti to relax. Mr. Zhang is an upright person and won’t let things go on like this."
Actually, even as Gu Chengyu said this, he was unsure. There were about twenty or thirty scholars entering the Hanlin Academy this ti. How could Zhang Hai oversee everything? He would naturally leave the arrangents to the officials below him.
Of course, it’s not possible that no one will manage you at all; it’s just a matter of being delayed a bit! But there’s a lot of intricacy involved. Having just entered the Hanlin Academy himself, he hadn’t even sorted out his issues and couldn’t yet think of a way to help Ye Zhiqiu.
"I hope so! If Mr. Zhang could assign a ntor to guide , that would solve my difficulties," Ye Zhiqiu sighed. He knew well enough what the real reason was.
Wasn’t it because he had no connections and no Silver? Why else would those old Hanlins remain stranded at the Hanlin for decades, unable to enter the Cabinet or secure a good position? Wasn’t it because no one had promoted them?
To gain recognition or promotion, one needs a strong family background and the Silver Coin to grease the wheels. With these two things, even a person of diocrity can make their way through the bureaucratic circles.
"Among those old-tirs, have you observed anyone with decent character who rarely makes mistakes?" Gu Chengyu believed if they were to seek ntorship from an old Hanlin, it should be soone like this.
Character should naturally be the first consideration—otherwise, one might end up betrayed behind their back. Maintaining few errors reflects one’s capabilities. So may appear diocre, aiming only for an error-free approach, but these individuals are often the best for engaging with and learning from.
Those who can go decades without mistakes are indeed rare. Their inability to advance could stem from a lack of ambition, a desire rely to accrue seniority until they retire. Or they might lack connections, face suppression, or a host of other reasons.
No matter which it is, following such a person for three years would surely prove beneficial.
"Huh? I’ve only just joined the Hanlin for a few days, I don’t know those people well yet!" Ye Zhiqiu didn’t understand why Gu Chengyu was asking so suddenly.
"Well, pay close attention and observe carefully; there certainly are people like that. If you can learn from them, you’ll definitely gain so advantages." Gu Chengyu left it at that, as handling relationships among colleagues was key.
Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t one to enjoy politicking; he was even sowhat shy when eting strangers.
But Gu Chengyu couldn’t make it too obvious. Ye Zhiqiu was already sixteen, an age where one could marry and start a family in ancient tis; he couldn’t dictate soone else’s life.
Giving a gentle push was the best approach. Besides, Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t foolish; staying in the bureaucratic environnt long enough would inevitably change his original personality.
With Gu Chengyu’s hint, Ye Zhiqiu suddenly ca to a realization. He focused his mind on the small square table in front of him, pondering how to handle these matters in the future.
The carriage followed its usual route to the palace gate. Gu Chengyu called Ye Zhiqiu, who was still musing, down from the carriage, and the two headed toward the Hanlin Academy.
"Mr. Ren, you’re here so early!" Gu Chengyu was surprised to see Ren Ge arrive so soon.
Ren Ge’s ho was far from the Imperial Palace, on the edge of South City, making him usually the last to arrive among the four of them.
"Mr. Zhang asked to help organize the records today, so of course, I had to co earlier," Ren Ge greeted Gu Chengyu with a smile and replied.
Gu Chengyu remained expressionless and urged Ren Ge to hurry, lest Mr. Zhang beco impatient. Everyone at the Hanlin Academy knew Zhang Hai to be a workaholic, so he was undoubtedly already there.
Ren Ge smiled, picked up a stack of papers from the table, and went out.
As he walked, he mulled over Gu Chengyu. After observing him over the past few days, he found Gu Chengyu’s personality not at all restless, and he could indeed keep his composure.
Whether he was reliable at work, Ren Ge didn’t know. But he noticed that none of the books Gu Chengyu checked for errors had any oversight; he had specifically taken so to verify this later.
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