Prime Minister

Chapter 59 [Bringing Humiliation Upon Oneself]

Gao Tingbi couldn't understand it because he regarded Xue Huai as his biggest rival among the Jinshi graduates of the same cohort.

Previously, when Cui Yanqing was serving before the emperor, Gao Tingbi never took Xue Huai seriously, at most he would make a few sarcastic remarks in secret.

Now, Cui Yanqing is sitting on the sidelines, feeling frustrated and unappreciated, while Xue Huai is making great strides forward despite the misfortune, which immediately arouses Gao Tingbi's vigilance.

Both men were born into the first rank. Xue Huai had the legacy of his deceased father and the support of his mentor Shen Wang, while Gao Tingbi had the protection of that Grand Secretary. In terms of connections and background, they were not far apart. Gao Tingbi felt that he just lacked an opportunity to stand out.

Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by, so Gao Tingbi could only settle for second best. If he could make Xue Huai stumble, that would be good too, at least it could slow down the other party's promotion.

However, he overlooked one point: the other students were not in direct competition with Xue Huai, and they had to consider Shen Wang's feelings. In addition, Xue Huai's reputation was rising and he had gained some weight in the emperor's heart. Why would they be enemies with Xue Huai for no reason?
Chen Guanyue might be a contender against Xue Huai, but he has always been cautious and tactful. He had already seen through Gao Tingbi's scheme and would not be foolish enough to become a tool in his hands.

Having understood this, Gao Tingbi sighed silently, but his smile remained unchanged.

He firmly believed that even if everyone else tried to befriend Xue Huai, there would be one person who would absolutely not do so.

Just then, a sinister voice rang out from not far away: "Xue Shidu possesses extraordinary talent, like a phoenix or a rare orchid, which is naturally beyond the reach of ordinary people like us."

One sentence instantly silenced the room.

Everyone turned to look, and saw Cui Yanqing, the former second-place scholar in the imperial examination and now a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, standing indifferently with a gloomy expression.

They had been chatting enthusiastically with Xue Huai and hadn't noticed Cui Yanqing, who was the last to arrive—Gao Tingbi did notice him, but he pretended not to see him.

Cui Yanqing's hostility towards Xue Huai was practically written all over his face. Although his dejection was entirely his own fault and had nothing to do with Xue Huai, some people always tend to blame others in such situations, and this is often mixed with feelings of jealousy. Cui Yanqing was a typical example of this.

The atmosphere inside the hall became subtly tense and awkward. Everyone had mixed feelings; they didn't want this gathering of scholars from the same year to start off so tense, yet they were also secretly curious about how Xue Huai would handle the situation.

"Brother Cui, you flatter me. I am unworthy of such praise."

Faced with Cui Yanqing's sudden sarcasm, Xue Huai smiled faintly, his voice clear and melodious: "Brother Cui's four words 'Lin Feng Zhi Lan' remind me of Chen Boyi's self-deprecating humor when he was inspecting Liaodong."

Upon hearing this, Cui Yanqing's brow twitched slightly.

The people in the hall were all learned scholars, so they naturally knew who Chen Boyi Gong was, as Xue Huai had mentioned.

This man was named Chen Huan, who passed away more than forty years ago. He had served as the Imperial Inspector of Liaodong during his lifetime.

Xue Huai stepped forward and continued, "Back then, when Lord Chen was inspecting Liaodong, he rode his horse across icy rivers and surveyed strategic passes, covering dozens of miles a day and becoming thoroughly familiar with border affairs. The accompanying censor praised him as 'a dragon among men.' How did Lord Chen respond? He said, 'What kind of dragon or phoenix is ​​awakened by the ice shards? It's just a fool kneeling in the snow measuring the border!'"

Upon hearing this, all the Hanlin scholars present held their breath—who did not know that when Cui Yanqing was serving before the emperor and enjoying immense prestige, he would often use the phrase "a dragon among men" to subtly boast about himself whenever he returned to the Hanlin Academy and spent time with his colleagues?
Cui Yanqing felt his face tighten.

He was certainly familiar with this allusion, but he didn't expect Xue Huai to use it so readily, and to use it so aptly in this context.

As his thoughts raced, Cui Yanqing said coldly, "Why be so modest, Xue Shidu? At least we dare not compare ourselves to Lord Chen."

"Brother Cui, please don't misunderstand. I am not comparing myself to the ancient sages."

Xue Huai shook his head and slowly said, "Brother Cui, do you know about the Fan Family Memorial Archway in Yanzhou? It is renowned as the best in the world, not for any other reason than that each piece of bluestone has been carved in the round ten thousand times and in relief a thousand times. Even if it is carved with images of divine enlightenment, it still requires craftsmen to kneel down and chisel. In all these years, I have only followed this kind of clumsy work of ink lines and rulers. How dare I accept the praise of 'unicorn, phoenix, magnolia and orchid'?"

Before Cui Yanqing could reply, Xue Huai smiled and gazed into Cui Yanqing's eyes, saying, "Looking back, when Brother Cui served before the Emperor, his pen flew across the page, every word a gem. Especially that 'Ode to the Clear River,' it was truly a masterpiece! In his memorial, Brother Cui compared the drought in Shandong to 'a sign of good fortune,' and the peaceful scene he depicted was a hundred times more vivid than the stone carvings on the archway in Yanzhou. It's just a pity..."

Everyone was shocked.

On the one hand, they were afraid of Xue Huai's sharp and incisive words, and on the other hand, they were amazed that the true nature of this top scholar had not changed, and he was still as outspoken and courageous as before.

Otherwise, they might have thought that Xue Jingche had really become a different person.

In retrospect, Xue Huai had only slightly tempered his temper after experiencing a life-or-death ordeal. It was laughable that Cui Yanqing thought Xue Huai was weak and easily bullied, and publicly mocked him in this situation.

"What's a pity?"

Cui Yanqing nearly gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his neck—that obsequious memorial was the root cause of his being abandoned by the emperor.

Xue Huai seemed not to hear, and sighed to himself: "It's a pity that ink lines can bind stubborn rocks, but they can't bind the crookedness of people's hearts. If the sculptor only cares about carving immortals in the clouds and forgets the craftsman kneeling under the stone base who is carving solid hearts—even the finest knife can't support a memorial archway!"

Cui Yanqing suddenly coughed loudly, his face gradually turning red.

Seeing this, Xue Huai showed concern, reached for a cup of tea on the table, and said gently, "I would like to offer you a cup of pre-Qingming Longjing tea to cleanse your inkstone and show your sincerity. After all, even the finest orchids cannot last as long as the evergreen pine that has withstood frost!"

This set of nine interlocking rings made Cui Yanqing feel so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Born into a prominent family, he was handsome and wrote beautiful articles. He caught the emperor's eye during the palace examination. At first, he was able to stay true to himself, but as time went by, he watched his fellow graduates struggle in the officialdom while he frequently entered and exited the palace to meet the emperor. His thoughts gradually drifted to the clouds.

When news of the drought in Shandong reached the capital last year, Xue Huai immediately wrote a memorial to the emperor, which displeased the emperor. Cui Yanqing believed he had figured out the emperor's thoughts, so he worked through the night to compose a flowery "Ode to the Clear River," exaggerating the disaster and praising the emperor, before excitedly sending it to the palace.

After that, he never had the chance to enter the palace again.

This is Cui Yanqing's greatest regret and humiliation in his life. Now that Xue Huai has laid the groundwork and brought it up in public, how can he still have the face to stand here?
If it weren't for the fact that everyone was watching, he would have loved to lower himself and give Xue Huai a good beating, leaving him with a bloody face.

"Everyone has arrived, may you all take your seats?"

Gao Tingbi's voice rang out. In fact, he knew in his heart that Cui Yanqing was not so bad. He was just flustered by Xue Huai's swift and fierce counterattack, and it also touched on his most cherished scar, so he was unable to defend himself for a while.

Although Gao Tingbi really wanted to see Cui Yanqing tear off his mask and have a public falling out with Xue Huai, he was, after all, the initiator of this gathering and couldn't just stand by and watch, so he had to step in to smooth things over.

At the same time, he was secretly alarmed. Xue Huai was indeed not someone to be trifled with. He had better not have a direct conflict with him, otherwise he might become the second Cui Yanqing.

Seeing Gao Tingbi speak, Chen Guanyue followed suit and said, "I heard that Brother Kuangshi has prepared fine wine and elegant entertainment. We must not miss it today."

Everyone else tried their best to ease the atmosphere, fearing that Cui Yanqing, blushing and embarrassed, might give up and ruin the gathering.

Xue Huai remained calm and composed as he took his seat.

Gao Tingbi didn't want the two to keep arguing, so he gave Cui Yanqing some time to calm down and arranged for him to be in a position far away from Xue Huai.

As the elegant music began, everyone started toasting and exchanging drinks.

Before they knew it, Xue Huai had become the focus of the gathering. One after another, his classmates raised their glasses to toast him, and many of them showed obvious goodwill. Meanwhile, Cui Yanqing's side was deserted, with only Gao Tingbi and Chen Guanyue drinking with him.

Xue Huai welcomed all who came, displaying a warm and friendly attitude, a stark contrast to his previous image of ruthlessly retaliating against Cui Yanqing.

This was a plan he had made before attending the banquet today.

Thanks to Shen Wang's teachings that day, Xue Huai knew that this trip would definitely be fraught with difficulties.

He was happy to be a polite and gentle gentleman when dealing with his classmates who were not hostile.

Even when faced with cunning and ambitious new officials like Gao Tingbi and Chen Guanyue, he was able to feign compliance and maintain a superficial harmonious relationship.

As for Cui Yanqing, a disillusioned man who clearly wants to make trouble for him, Xue Huai will not tolerate or back down. Today, he must show some sharpness so that some people will understand that they can use him as a pawn, but they should also be careful not to cut their hands with this sharp knife.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew increasingly joyful. In the end, this was just a group of scholars of similar age who had not yet been completely corrupted by the darkness of officialdom, and they were not constantly scheming against each other.

Suddenly, a woman's melodious singing voice rang out from behind the curtain on the north side of the hall.

As the atmosphere gradually quieted down, everyone was drawn in by the beautiful singing.

As the music ended, many people remained immersed in its meaning.

"Brother Kuangshi, could it be that you have invited Master Qu?"

A young official from the Imperial Academy looked at the curtain, then at Gao Tingbi, and asked eagerly.

Gao Tingbi nodded slightly and smiled, "That's right, it is indeed Master Qu."

Sitting next to Xue Huai, Wu Jing, a Hanlin Academy examiner, introduced in a low voice that this great musician was named Qu Zhaoyun, the most famous courtesan in Zhanxue Pavilion. She was proficient in musical instruments and poetry, and her singing voice was the best in the capital.

It is said that this woman has extremely high standards, and even if a vulgar person were to present her with gold and silver treasures, it would be difficult for him to even catch a glimpse of her.

Today, the successful candidates of the Gengchen imperial examination gathered together. Of course, Gao Tingbi would not invite a group of mediocre women to spoil the occasion. He used his connections to persuade Qu Zhaoyun to appear, just to show off his extensive network of connections in front of his fellow graduates.

Seeing the joy on everyone's faces, Gao Tingbi finally felt much better. He raised his wine cup and said, "Fellow scholars, today we gather here with wine, music, and performances by talented individuals. How can we not share our wonderful poems and literary works?"

One of them nodded quickly and said, "Brother Kuangshi is absolutely right. We should all do our best, regardless of whether it is poetry or songs, to commemorate this day!"

Gao Tingbi ignored Cui Yanqing, who was drinking alone, and looked at Xue Huai, asking, "What does Brother Jingche think?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Huai smiled and said frankly, "Although I am not very talented, I would not dare to spoil the enjoyment of my fellow students."

Everyone applauded.

Cui Yanqing, who was sitting diagonally opposite Xue Huai, finally put down his wine cup.

He looked up at Xue Huai, a sharp, cold glint flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)