A Sovereign and His Ministers Confer, and Another Idea Arises

"Bo Chun, do you have something to say?" Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio asked, looking at Senior Chen.

Senior Chen said, "This is a rare opportunity to discuss the Dao, so let the younger generation experience it as well."

When Zhen Zhizuo, Gao Song, Chen Jing, An Jin and the others came in, they saw Qiu Yan sitting next to Great Chen and Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio, and their eyes widened immediately. They could certainly tell that there was a sense of equal exchange among them.

However, their attitude had changed slightly compared to before. After all, Qiu Yan had just stepped into the formation and shattered it in a few breaths before calmly entering the hall. This scene had left a deep impression on them.

But despite these thoughts, doubts still linger.

Then, led by the young novice monk, the group arrived at the edge of the main hall and stopped to look around.

After finishing these tasks, the young novice was about to leave when the three monks stopped him. "Hui Wo, go and call your fellow disciples here so they can also observe the Dharma."

"Yes," the young novice replied respectfully, his eyes showing delight. He glanced around at everyone in the hall, then carefully left the hall. A few moments later, he led several bald men in.

Including the young novice monk, there were six people in total, each with different appearances, physiques, and expressions.

The three monks nodded slightly upon seeing this, and the leader Human Path, "It is a great pity that your eldest brother is traveling and missed today's event. You must not be distracted."

"Yes!" the six responded in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles. They then went to a corner of the main hall and focused their attention.

Immediately afterwards, everyone's attention fell on Qiu Yan, who stood out the most.

Qiu Yan remained calm and unhurried. He didn't get up, but simply picked up the cup of tea beside him, placed it on the ground in front of him, and then closed his eyes.

"What is he doing?" a young man next to Gao Song asked in a low voice, only to be met with a reproachful look.

"Observe and think more!"

Qiu Yan placed tea on the ground. Four Grand Confucian scholars stood on either side, three Buddhist Sect masters sat cross-legged in front of the golden statue, and outstanding students from various academies were distributed throughout the hall. There were also six Buddhist Sect disciples gathered together.

This scene may seem ordinary, but in later generations, it has been admired by countless people, and numerous literary giants and masters of calligraphy and painting have imagined the scene and tried to recreate this gathering of talents.

However, at this moment, the people in the main hall did not realize how precious this moment was. Some disgruntled disciples of Nine Abyss muttered that Qiu Yan was deliberately making things mysterious.

However, Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio and the others frowned as they looked at the glass of water. Based on their connection with Order, they could vaguely sense that the water in the glass was spinning rapidly.

"Rumors circulate in the court that Qiu Yan possesses Divine Ability, and that he wouldn't have been able to become the top scholar if he hadn't caused such an extraordinary phenomenon. Now it seems there's some truth to it; this technique of swirling water across a cup must be a method of martial arts power..."

Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio wondered to himself.

"Just now, I used Order and the Sage Spirit to create Chessboard Formation with lines of division and arrangement. He, however, wanted to respond with a Xiaoqiao teacup. Perhaps he intended to differentiate, but Qiu Yan's understanding is based on the Military School Order, which is related to killing and warfare. In this solemn hall, he will appear out of place and will be at a disadvantage from the start!"

As he pondered, his mind gradually settled. The Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio did not look down on Qiu Yan because of his age, but rather regarded him seriously, thinking and analyzing the situation.

In reality, breaking through the Chessboard Formation in such a short time was quite an impact. However, Nine Rhymes Qi Nurturing and kept her emotions hidden, which allowed her to appear normal. Nevertheless, she had already gained the upper hand.

Qiu Yan of etiquette in an equal tone, which subtly brought the two people closer in status, almost to equality. If they could achieve something in their discussion, they could take advantage of the situation to rise to prominence.

"However, if this debate fails, his rising momentum will take a sharp turn for the worse..."

While Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio was still pondering, Great Chen suddenly spoke up and asked, "Qiu Sheng, what secret lies within this cup of yours?"

Qiu Yan opened his eyes, but there was no light in them. They were like two deep pools, emitting a faint suction force. The surrounding light dimmed, as if it had been pulled away.

"A good question, sir. Now, everyone, please take a look at this cup!"

As he spoke, he reached out and made a grasping motion, his strength surging forth, revealing his cultivation level in no way. The lid of the teacup popped off with a "snap".

Splash!

The cup gushed forth a torrent of water, like the Yangtze River surging from the ground, and in an instant, it spread throughout the entire hall!

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace.

"I wonder how familiar Qiu Yan is with the rules of the Hanlin Academy. In a few days, I'll have him come over and ask him for his opinion on the New Law."

After the morning court session, Wang Fu was led by a young eunuch to wait outside the Imperial Study.

During this period, he pondered many things, mostly national affairs, but in the end, he thought of Qiu Yan again.

Qiu Yan's exam paper made him feel like he had found a kindred spirit, and he wanted to have a deep conversation with him, but he was too busy with state affairs to spare the time.

After all, during the two weeks of proctoring the imperial Metropolitan Examination, Wang Fu was isolated from the outside world, which caused delays in many official duties.

In addition, the trial implementation of several New Law in the Imperial City has caused many problems, keeping Wang Fu extremely busy. He has very little free time each day. If the emperor hadn't summoned him today, he would have immediately gone to the Council of State Affairs to handle official business, leaving him no time to think about anything else.

"The proctoring of the imperial examinations, with a few days of separation, was not only for selecting talent, but also a deliberate act of concealment, allowing merchants to operate freely, so that they and their backers could emerge from the shadows into the open. Now the time has come to close the net..."

Lost in thought, Wang Fu began planning his next policy direction when a shrill voice rang out—

"Prime Minister Wang, the Emperor invites you in."

Wang Fu collected his thoughts and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw the pale-faced old man. He smiled politely and was about to take a step forward when the old man took a few steps closer and whispered, "The Emperor has summoned Prime Minister Wang to discuss something, but he already has a plan in mind."

After uttering this sentence without any beginning or end, the old man calmly led Wang Fu into the hall.

However, Wang Fu and the old man already had a tacit understanding, and upon hearing these words, Wang Fu roughly understood what was going on.

"Minister Wang has arrived." The young emperor's voice came from inside. His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had stayed up all night again. During the morning court session in the Golden Hall, he could not be seen clearly due to the distance.

The fact that the emperor left Wang Fu to discuss matters with him after the reforms reflects his trust in the emperor. Since the reforms began, Wang Fu often received this treatment. Many New Law were first discussed by the emperor and his minister in this way before being promulgated, and then others checked for omissions and made improvements before the final version was completed.

This time was no different. The emperor and his minister first discussed the details of the Market Exchange Law and the Equal Transport Law, and then talked about the reform of the military system.

Wang Fu disagreed with this point, but due to the emperor's support for the New Law, he couldn't say it outright. He kept using delaying tactics, pointing out the flaws in Li Kun's ideas, but he couldn't go too far. It was really difficult to grasp the right balance.

Even so, the two sides grew increasingly irritated over the issue of military reform. Before long, Li Kun abruptly stopped the argument, glaring angrily at Wang Fu.

The latter remained silent.

Although Wang Fu wanted to implement reforms, he needed the emperor's support. However, if he were to blindly follow the emperor's wishes without considering the facts, he would become a treacherous official. Since he had taken this position, he should bear some responsibility.

Seeing that Wang Fu remained silent, Li Kun was angry for a while, but there was nothing he could do. This wasn't the first time Wang Fu had used this trick; he was already very familiar with it.

"Never mind. We can discuss our differences with Minister Wang later. Besides the urgent reforms, there is another matter I summoned you here for today."

Wang Fu thought to himself, "Here it comes," and then said, "What is it, Your Majesty? Please speak freely."

The foundation of the imperial power of the Great Rui Dynasty was actually the support of the scholar-officials and the bureaucratic system. It did not reach the imperial authority and ceremony of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Qiu Yan's previous life. In addition to showing sufficient respect to the emperor in terms of etiquette, the relationship between the officials of the Great Rui Dynasty was often not a distorted master-servant relationship, but a simple superior-subordinate relationship.

Regarding Qiu Yan, Li Kun didn't beat around the bush. Given his status, there was no need for him to hide anything. "After some thought, I realized that this man is exceptionally talented and insightful. He deserves to be properly trained. Therefore, I intend to transfer him to a local post as a local official, so that his talents can be cultivated and he can become a pillar of the nation in the future."

Wang Fu frowned. He knew that although Li Kun had appointed Qiu Yan as the top scholar and was familiar with his Thought-Convergent Order and Human Path, he would no longer pursue the matter of Qiu Yan's Divine Ability. However, the emperor, living deep in the palace, was easily influenced by others. He feared that Qiu Yan had listened to someone and become suspicious again, so he wanted to observe him further.

Actually, this may not be a bad thing. As long as Qiu Yan behaves himself, this suspicion will soon turn into guilt, and eventually into generous compensation, enough to allow Qiu Yan to rise rapidly in his official career.

However, it was a pity that such a person with profound insights into the reforms was sent to a local Wang Fu. But remembering the old man's reminder, and having just had a disagreement with Li Kun over the military system, he couldn't directly oppose it. Otherwise, he might make things worse and cause the emperor to have more doubts about Qiu Yan.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Fu could only say tactfully, "No top scholar in the imperial examinations has ever been sent out of the capital so quickly, let alone Qiu Yan, who has just entered officialdom as Hanlin Compiler. He should have time to settle down and develop."

This was also his honest opinion. As the top scholar, Qiu Yan being sent away from the capital so quickly would be detrimental to his future if word got out.

"Let him concurrently hold the position of compiler. Having a title as a government official in the capital will make it easier for him to act outside," Li Kun said earnestly. "Qiu Yan is a man of action. How can he Guarding the One academy? He should go to the provinces to gain experience so that he can become my right-hand man. I just hope that he can perform his duties steadily and not cause any more major troubles. The tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind."

In fact, Li Kun also had concerns. He knew that once Qiu Yan Thought-Convergent Order and gained enough fame, he would immediately become Grand Confucian. At that time, it would be difficult to deploy him so quickly. That's why he was in a hurry to act, hoping to give Qiu Yan a warning before his reputation grew too great, so that he could control him in the future.

"Such concurrent appointments are unreasonable." Wang Fu knew that this concurrent appointment as a Beijing official was actually an expression of Li Kun's guilt towards Qiu Yan. Therefore, he spoke up to intensify Li Kun's feelings and allow Qiu Yan to gain some intangible benefits.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Li Kun became slightly anxious. He raised his hand and waved it, about to retort, but he knocked over the cups and saucers on the table, spilling tea onto the table and wetting some of the memorials.

Glug glug!

The same cup of water submerged the main hall of Great Brahma Temple, causing everyone inside to fall into the water.

Suddenly, the Buddha statue trembled, and a barely perceptible light flickered in its eyes!

ps:

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This is the first update for today. The second update will be around 2 PM!