When the young men heard His Majesty say this, they were truly flattered and overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. Just now, when they heard that His Majesty wanted to see them, they thought it was because His Majesty disliked what they had written and was going to drive them out of the Fengtian Book Study. It must be that their ancestors had accumulated virtue over eight lifetimes for them to hear a word of affirmation from His Majesty. The few of them were shocked and delighted, and hurriedly knelt down, humbly saying they did not deserve His Majesty’s praise.
“Rise, all of you,” Meng Fu raised her hand slightly. Her gaze swept over the other officials, and she said meaningfully, “If the others in the Fengtian Book Study were all like you, then Zhen could be at ease.”
When Sun Feiquan heard these words, his whole heart felt as if it had been harshly pierced. He had managed the book compilation work to such a state, and His Majesty had not even heavily punished him—His Majesty truly did not treat him poorly. Sun Feiquan felt even more ashamed, only wishing time could rewind, so he could give his past self a hard slap—what nonsense had he been doing? Was that worthy of His Majesty?
He once again knelt down and pleaded guilty to Meng Fu: “Your servant knows his mistake.”
“As long as you know your mistake, that is good,” Meng Fu stood up, looking down at Sun Feiquan kneeling before her. The subordinates behind him all knelt down with a rustle. Meng Fu said, “This time, do not let Zhen down again. All of you are pillars of the state, and the work you do concerns the great plans of the nation. Do not look down upon yourselves.”
Everyone said in unison, “Your servant shall keep this in mind.”
Meng Fu said: “In the future, when Zhen has time, Zhen will come again to the Fengtian Book Study. I hope that what Zhen sees then will be completely different from what Zhen sees today.”
After Meng Fu left, the Fengtian Book Study sank into a long silence. These officials, who had muddled along for many years, were sobered up by His Majesty’s words today. Looking back on the past few years, it truly felt like an absurd dream. Those fine years had been wasted in vain. His Majesty’s words were like a blow to the head, no less powerful even though His Majesty had not spoken a single harsh word from start to finish. Yet every word landed on their hearts with the weight of ten thousand juns.
[Jun (钧): a traditional unit of weight, roughly 30 kg; metaphor for great weight or burden.]
Moreover, it let them know that the work in their hands was not something dispensable in His Majesty’s eyes—His Majesty had always kept them in mind.
The grand ambitions and aspirations these officials once had all came back in an instant. His Majesty placed high hopes on them—how could they disappoint His Majesty again?
Sun Feiquan was the first to react. He raised his head and looked up at the sky, letting out a long sigh. Then his expression changed, and his whole aura became more serious and composed. He ordered people to move the two volumes of books that had been completed into the courtyard in front of the Book Study, and then, in front of everyone in the Fengtian Book Study, he set them on fire.
They wanted to cast off the past and start anew.
Outside, the sky had already darkened. In the past, by this time, the officials of the Fengtian Book Study would have either gone home or gone out to eat. But today, not a single person had left. Everyone stayed at their desks properly, heads lowered, writing fervently. In the Book Study, only the swishing sound of writing remained. Such a scene had not appeared in the Fengtian Book Study for many years.
Another two hours passed. The moon was high in the sky. The Book Study was still brightly lit, as bright as daytime. The rustling sound of flipping pages never ceased.
Hearing His Majesty’s words in the day had been like sweet dew poured into their minds, but wasn’t this a bit too intense? Some officials’ stomachs had started growling since dusk and had been growling until now. They were tired, sleepy, and hungry—truly unable to hold on much longer. One quietly asked the colleague beside him: “What time is it already? Aren’t we… going home?”
The colleague, full of righteousness, replied with a straight face: “His Majesty values us so highly—how could we let His Majesty down?”
“But…” not letting down His Majesty didn’t mean they had to go this hard, right? They had been used to idling for years, and suddenly being so tense made both their minds and bodies struggle to keep up.
“If you want to go, then go,” the colleague said expressionlessly, “His Majesty is right. Compiling books should have the attitude of compiling books.”
Upon hearing this, the man had nothing more to say. He looked around and saw that everyone was working hard—no one was slacking off. The lazy atmosphere that had once pervaded the Fengtian Book Study had been swept away the moment Sun Feiquan burned those two waste volumes. That Wang Miao who had declared with a military-style pledge that he could finish the first two volumes in two months now looked like he was putting his life on the line. How could this man still have the face to leave? He took a deep breath, picked up his brush, and threw himself into endless work.
Sun Feiquan still felt that finishing two volumes in two months was somewhat unrealistic. He wanted to ask Wang Miao what he was thinking. But when he walked over, he found that Wang Miao had already organized an entire article and had even found a quite famous ancient painting as an illustrative diagram.
The layout was beautiful. Before Sun Feiquan could finish admiring it, he discovered that Wang Miao had even taken the time to redesign the cover. It looked extremely simple and weighty, full of classical charm. Truly worthy of being the young genius who had written White-Haired Ode. His ingenious ideas were endless. No wonder he had the audacity to boast before His Majesty.
Sun Feiquan couldn’t say the words he wanted to ask. He had originally only been thinking about writing a good article, and hadn’t thought at all about all these flashy things. Seeing Wang Miao’s various ingenious ideas, Sun Feiquan knew he had fallen behind.
He cursed in his heart. Wang Miao had come up with so many tricks—if he did things too ordinarily, His Majesty would definitely suspect his ability. It might even end with him not being needed to oversee the book compilation. And if this spread out, even his teacher, Meng Yanxing, would lose face along with him.
Sun Feiquan made up his mind—he too had to produce some different kind of results to show His Majesty. He picked up his brush and racked his brains to plan.
The officials in the Fengtian Book Study were infected by the tireless spirit of these two supervisors, and worked even harder. For a while, they even forgot their fatigue and thirst.
Another two quarters passed. Just as Sun Feiquan finished writing a paragraph and was about to pick it up to check for any inappropriate parts, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a servant carrying a food box walking in from outside. His expression immediately darkened as he asked, “Who let you in? Don’t you know the rules?”
The leading servant said, “Reporting to the Lord, before His Majesty left, Eunuch Gao by His Majesty’s side gave instructions. If there were still lords remaining in the Book Study at night, we should prepare some food and deliver it. The weather is hot, so we prepared more fruits and mung bean soup.”
Sun Feiquan, along with the officials behind him, hadn’t expected His Majesty to be so considerate. For a moment, they were deeply moved. As Sun Feiquan reached out to take the food box, his eyes were already filled with tears.
His Majesty truly had them in his heart!
So what if they had sat on the cold bench for years? So what if they hadn’t stirred up the winds and clouds in court?
Those ministers who babbled endlessly and pointed fingers in court—besides getting scolded by His Majesty—had they ever received a good expression from His Majesty? The favor they now received here was something those ministers couldn’t catch up with even if they chased on horseback.
With His Majesty caring for them so much, from now on—even if they worked themselves to death—they’d die in the Fengtian Book Study!
After Meng Fu left the Fengtian Book Study, she returned directly to the palace. After many days of debate between the Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) and the Chancellery (Menxia Sheng), the regulations for official assessments were finally all determined. The few parts that she and Li Yue previously found unsatisfactory had all been revised under Liu Changlan’s efforts.
This was truly a good official who threw aside personal interest and worked for the country and the people!
Meng Fu summoned Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan to the Zichen Hall and had them confirm the regulation one last time. If there were no further issues, it could be handed to the Six Ministries tomorrow for implementation.
What problems could there still be? All the issues had already been dealt with when Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan tried to sabotage each other.
Seeing that both had nothing more to say, Meng Fu nodded and said, “Very well. Lord Wei, you’ve worked hard on this matter.”
Wei Jun’an felt extremely pleased that His Majesty had mentioned only him. He cast a provocative glance at Liu Changlan beside him, then cupped his hands and said, “To share His Majesty’s burdens is your servant’s blessing—how could it be called hard work?”
Liu Changlan felt a bit aggrieved. Hadn’t he also put in a lot of effort for His Majesty? Though he hadn’t started as early as Wei Jun’an, just because he came to his senses late didn’t mean he hadn’t done anything!
But Meng Fu’s next words flipped both their moods in an instant. Meng Fu said: “Just in this matter, Lord Wei still lacks experience—not as thorough and meticulous as Lord Liu. In the future, you should consult Lord Liu more often.”
The corners of Wei Jun’an’s mouth, which had just curled up, froze on the spot—like a happy little dog that suddenly lost its bone. And what was worse, the bone had been handed right into the mouth of its arch-rival.
His whole demeanor slumped, yet he didn’t dare show it too obviously before the emperor. He could only respond with a belly full of grievance, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for the guidance—your servant will keep it in mind.”
Wei Jun’an never expected that when he originally just wanted to leave some space for his colleague, it would end with Liu Changlan, that old schemer, exploiting a loophole and stealing his position. If he had known earlier, he would’ve been completely open with His Majesty from the start.
Now, what would His Majesty think of him? Would the hard-earned trust he gained from His Majesty be lost again?
Meng Fu continued: “Lord Liu’s hard work during this period—Zhen has seen it all, and Zhen is well aware of it.”