The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The Imperial Palace.

The candles in the Imperial Study burned from dusk until late at night, and two wicks were changed.

After reviewing the last stack of memorials, Zhou Qian put down his vermilion brush, leaned back on the dragon throne, and closed his eyes to rest.

Zhao Gao silently stepped forward and removed the now-cold teacups from the table.

I replaced the water with freshly brewed Longjing tea; the temperature was just right—neither too hot to drink nor too cold to swallow.

This is his second year serving Zhou Qian.

From a humble eunuch serving tea and water to now serving as the acting head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he has never made Zhou Qian frown even once.

"Zhao Gao." Zhou Qian didn't open his eyes, his voice filled with the weariness of reviewing memorials.

"Your servant is here."

"How is Wang Zheng's hidden injury?"

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang has recently been able to walk again, and the imperial physician says that after another month of recuperation, he can return to his post."

"Eunuch Wang asked me to tell Your Majesty that my old bones are still holding up, so please don't worry about me."

Zhao Gao repeated Wang Zheng's words verbatim, even mimicking his tone perfectly.

Zhou Qian nodded slightly, opened his eyes, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then suddenly picked up a memorial from the table and casually flipped through it, speaking in a relaxed tone as if he were chatting: "The Ministry of Revenue has submitted a memorial stating that the transport costs for military rations in the northern border this year have increased by 30% compared to last year. What are your thoughts on this?"

Zhao Gao lowered his eyes, his mind racing.

The cost of water transport has increased by 30%.

This involves the reshuffling of gang power at Tongzhou Wharf, the military grain transport contract between Heshengyuan and the Marquis of Anxi, and personnel changes in the Ministry of Revenue's Grain Transport Department.

But he can't bring these things up directly.

Because he "shouldn't" know about Sheng Yuan's background.

They "shouldn't" know about the power struggle between the workers' association and the Hai Sha gang.

"Shouldn't" know that the military pay deposits of the Marquis of Anxi's mansion were transferred from Longsheng Bank to Heshengyuan.

Before His Majesty, he was merely a loyal servant with limited vision, and should not have seen anything beyond the daily affairs of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

But if he says "this servant does not know," it would seem as if he is unwilling to share the burden for His Majesty.

"Your Majesty," he carefully chose his words, his voice steady and respectful, "the inner court only deals with matters within the palace; we servants dare not presume to discuss the affairs of the outer court."

"However, when I was sorting out the procurement accounts of the various departments in the Directorate of Ceremonial, I found that the procurement costs for the palace's grain transport items this year were indeed higher than in previous years."

"I asked the people in the Imperial Household Department, and they said that the Tongzhou Wharf has changed its shipping company. The new company's price is slightly higher than the old company's, but the damage rate has been reduced by half."

"This servant believes that the same principle applies to the shipping costs of the outer court. Even if the shipping costs increase, if the loss of goods decreases, the overall account may not be a loss."

Zhou Qian raised his eyelids and glanced at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Zhao Gao said he "dared not presume to discuss the affairs of the outer court," but he started with the accounts of the inner court's purchases, explaining the matter indirectly and even giving a reasonable conjecture.

This sense of propriety is stronger than that of most court officials.

"You're right." Zhou Qian placed the memorial back on the table, then suddenly changed the subject, "Sima Lie and Meng Yanlun jointly submitted a memorial today, saying that the First Prince, Second Prince, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince are all of age and it's time to assign them some practical duties. What do you think?"

Zhao Gao's heart skipped a beat.

coming.

This is the real test tonight.

Sima Lie was the Minister of War, and Meng Yanlun was the Minister of Rites.

The former was a former subordinate of Grand Commandant Zhou Jing.

The latter was a fellow student of Grand Tutor Kong Yan.

They jointly proposed assigning practical duties to the princes, ostensibly for official business, but in reality, each had their own agenda.

Kong Yan is the eldest prince's man, and Zhou Jing is the second prince's man.

Assigning them practical tasks would be tantamount to giving these two forces a legitimate opportunity to expand their territory in the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly: assigning practical tasks to the princes is both a training and an assessment."

"His Highness has been observing government affairs in the cabinet for more than half a year, and he is adept at handling state affairs, which has earned him much praise from court officials."

"His Highness the Second Prince has been diligent and conscientious in assisting with the command of military affairs in the northern border region at the Grand Commandant's office."

"Both princes have made significant achievements, and it is time to give them greater responsibilities."

"However," he paused deliberately, glancing quickly at Zhou Qian before lowering his eyes again, "since Your Majesty has asked this servant, this servant will presume to say something presumptuous."

"explain."

"The practical arrangements for the princes should not be concentrated in one place."

"If both princes are placed in the Six Ministries, there will inevitably be suspicions of them competing for credit."

"If one is placed in one of the six ministries and the other in the military, then civil and military officials will each be in their proper positions and there will be no conflict between them."

"As for the specific arrangements, this servant believes that Your Majesty should make the decision personally, and the memorials from Minister Sima and Minister Meng should only be taken as a reference."

"After all, it's one thing for the court officials to recommend someone, but it's another thing for the emperor to make his own decisions."

Zhou Qian tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest of the dragon throne. After a moment, he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Zhao Gao, you and Chen Ju have been in the palace for three years. In your opinion, which position among the twelve directorates, four departments, and eight bureaus of the inner court is the most important?"

"Naturally, it is the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs that holds the seal."

"Wrong." Zhou Qian leaned back in his chair, his fingers continuing to tap slowly on the armrest. "It's the Imperial Stables."

"The Imperial Horse Administration is nominally in charge of the imperial horses, but in reality it controls the allocation of military equipment and provisions for the imperial guards in the capital, and holds half of the Ministry of War's purse."

"You just said that you would put one prince in the army and another in the Six Ministries."

"The Imperial Horse Administration is like one of the Six Ministries in the military. If I were to place a prince in the Imperial Horse Administration, who do you think would be suitable?"

Zhao Gao's pupils contracted slightly.

His Majesty is testing him and assessing his abilities.

The Imperial Horse Administration was one of the most powerful government offices in the inner court. The current supervising eunuch, Hai Dafu, was a distant relative of the Empress, and Hai Dafu's deputy was Zheng He.

Zheng He was an old acquaintance of Zhao Gao. They entered the palace in the same batch, spent time in the Imperial Household Department doing menial tasks, and were on the same ship.

If Your Majesty were to place a prince in the Imperial Stables, Zheng He's position would become extremely sensitive.

He could neither recommend the eldest prince nor the second prince.

That would expose his bias among the princes.

He could only offer the safest answer from His Majesty's perspective.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Horse Supervisors are responsible for the weapons and provisions of the Imperial Guards, which are of paramount importance to the inner court."

"This servant believes that whichever prince enters the Imperial Horse Stable for training should be accompanied by a mature and prudent supervising eunuch to assist him."

"Although Eunuch Hai is advanced in years, he is very experienced and can be just right to help Your Highness grasp the key points."

Zhou Qian remained noncommittal, picked up his teacup, and took another sip.

Zhao Gao's reply was extremely clever.

I don't recommend anyone else, but I did recommend Hai Da Fu.

Although Hai Dafu was a distant relative of the Empress, he did not have a clear inclination towards becoming a prince within the inner court.

Having him stay at the Imperial Stables to assist any prince would ensure a smooth transition.

More importantly, Hai Dafu was Zheng He's superior. If the prince were to enter the Imperial Horse Administration, Hai Dafu would be a wall blocking Zheng He's way.

This wall not only protected Zheng He from premature exposure, but also ensured that no matter which prince entered the Imperial Horse Administration, they would not easily win over Zheng He.

"You certainly know how to smooth things over." Zhou Qian smiled and put down his teacup.

"This servant wouldn't dare. This servant only feels that since Your Majesty has asked, you must already know the answer."

"This servant is merely guessing based on Your Majesty's thoughts. If I guessed correctly, it is because Your Majesty has provided excellent guidance; if I guessed incorrectly, it is because this servant is foolish."

Zhou Qian picked up another memorial from the table, opened it, dipped his cinnabar brush in ink, wrote a few words at the end of the memorial, and then closed it.

Suddenly, out of the blue, he said, "When I left the palace to establish my own government, I was only fourteen years old. The Grand Tutor had not yet entered the court, and the Grand Commandant was still fighting in the northern border. I only had a few old eunuchs by my side, and not a single capable court official."

Zhao's hand, which was holding the teapot, froze in mid-air.

Of course he knew about this past event.

Emperor Wu of Zhou was the eighth son of Emperor Shizong. His mother died early, and his maternal clan was in decline, making him insignificant among Emperor Shizong's sons.

Back then, Emperor Shizong delayed in establishing a crown prince, and the princes fought each other to the death. Who would have thought that the one who would eventually ascend the throne would be the eighth prince, whom no one else respected?

He understood the deeper meaning behind Emperor Wu of Zhou's words.

His Majesty is not reminiscing about the past, but comparing his own situation back then with that of the princes.

"Back then, His Majesty..." He gently put down the teapot, his voice lower than before, but his tone more solemn than any of his previous words, "He relied on himself."

Zhou Qian looked up at him.

The weariness in his eyes had faded considerably, replaced by a deep, composed calm that comes from weathering storms.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "I relied on myself, but I also relied on a few loyal servants. Zhao Gao, what do you think of the Third Prince?"

"Your Majesty, this servant dares not speak ill of the prince."

"I'm telling you to speak."

Zhao Gao took a deep breath, lowered his eyes, and suppressed all inappropriate emotions.

His voice was steady and cautious as he spoke, as if he were walking on a very narrow log bridge: "Your Highness... I have seen you a few times from afar during the annual court ceremonies and sacrificial ceremonies in the palace over the past few years."

"His Highness is always impeccably courteous, knows how to conduct himself properly, and never oversteps the bounds of propriety."

"However, the Third Prince has always been low-key, and few court officials associate with him. This is both his weakness and his strength."

"Oh?" Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow. "What about your strengths?"

"Your Majesty just said that back when the Grand Tutor had not yet entered the court and the Grand Commandant was far away in the northern border, Your Majesty only had a few old eunuchs by your side."

"At that time, no one had a good opinion of His Majesty, but it was precisely because no one had a good opinion of him that His Majesty was able to make plans calmly when no one was paying attention."

"The Third Prince's current situation is quite similar to His Majesty's back then. No one is optimistic about him, so no one is wary of him, and no one is wary of him, so no one is restraining him."

"If Your Majesty thinks the Third Prince is a promising talent, then give him a chance. If you think he is not yet ready, then it is fine to train him for another two years."

"But..." He deliberately paused, not continuing.

"Just what?"

"But if His Majesty gives the Third Prince a chance, it will be tantamount to telling everyone that His Majesty's mind is not yet settled, and all the princes have a chance."

"This will not only encourage His Highness the First Prince and the Second Prince to work harder, but it will also keep those forces that are secretly watching from the sidelines from placing their bets too early. For His Majesty, this is the greatest initiative."

Zhou Qian remained silent for a long time, so long that Zhao Gao almost thought he had said something wrong.

Then Zhou Qian suddenly smiled, a smile that was fleeting but more genuine than any he had smiled tonight: "Chen Ju said you are meticulous, and Wang Zheng said you have a long-term vision."

"They weren't wrong. You're right. I can't make them stop and wait; I have to get them moving."

"I have approved Sima Lie's memorial. As for these princes, they should be given some work to do. They can't just be kept in the palace. Let them do their jobs well. I'm watching."

As he spoke, he pushed the approved memorial to the corner of the desk and picked up another one to open.

Zhao picked up a teacup and handed it to him, who took it and took a sip.

He lowered his head again to continue reviewing the memorials, as if the conversation about the prince's plans was just a casual chat during a break from reviewing the memorials.

But Zhao Gao knew that it was never just idle talk.

He stepped back to the side and stood at attention, his gaze fixed on the stack of approved memorials on the desk.

The Minister of Revenue's memorial was pulled out separately and placed on top before His Majesty said, "Approved."

This means that the memorial jointly submitted by Sima Lie, Minister of War, and Meng Yanlun, Minister of Rites, proposing to assign practical duties to the princes, will soon be approved and issued.

The eldest and second princes each have their own destinations, and His Majesty neither explicitly stated nor denied the location of the Imperial Horse Administration.

The Third Prince Zhou Ying, the most inconspicuous and overlooked of all the princes, is about to have his first opportunity.