Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court-Chapter 353: There Are Always Crafty Subjects Trying to Harm Me

After all these chapters, In the Years When I Was a Father—the heartfelt story of Qi Sheng’s journey—has finally been completed today. Thank you for following along through every twist and emotion. Please support on Ko-fi, every bit helps with translation and maintaining this website. Stay tuned for more heartwarming stories ahead!

Much of the emperor’s anxiety stemmed from an official’s memorial, with the rest generously embellished by a certain Xu.

In any case, the old emperor, who was already anxious to begin with, became even more anxious.

There were too many problems, and he was too old. Employing ruthless officials was a measure born of desperation.

[Speaking of which, isn’t “selling anxiety” kind of like the civil officials’ version of “raising bandits to make oneself indispensable”?]

The old emperor squinted at the voice in his heart, trying to guess its meaning. Eventually, he figured out what “selling anxiety” meant. Upon understanding, he nearly ground his teeth to pieces.

Of course it counts! How could it not?! That’s exactly what “raising bandits to build one’s own importance” is!

Sure, even if the Great Xia had been founded less than forty years ago, with plenty of lingering toxins from the previous dynasty and a heavy load of state affairs, as long as he took the time to handle them one by one, things would be manageable—just like how he’d done for the past thirty-four years. Of course, it helped that he’d still been in his youth and prime for most of those years.

But once someone laid it all out in a sweeping list and presented it as if they were deeply concerned for the state and the people, he couldn’t help but worry too.

—So many problems… he couldn’t rest easy leaving them to future generations!

Even though he knew the official had ulterior motives, and deliberately forced him to face all these issues at once, the problems were real. They couldn’t be ignored.

[The old emperor truly is getting on in years. As one ages, one’s energy wanes, and the mind tends to grow suspicious. Aside from a few trusted individuals, everyone looks like a “crafty subject trying to harm me.”]

The old emperor got fired up.

Yes, yes! That’s exactly right! There’s always been a game of power between ruler and ministers—when the emperor is weak, the ministers grow strong; when the emperor is strong, the ministers must yield. Now that they see I’m old, do they not think it’s their chance to act?

—Take that anxiety-selling official, for example. Isn’t he exactly like that?

Am I wrong to say they’re trying to harm me?

I must forge a sharp blade to remind them that the emperor is still formidable! They must constantly feel the blade above their heads to take their duties seriously. Am I wrong to do this?

[The old emperor does have his reasons, but still… it’s starting to feel like he’s overcorrecting. Whoa—wait! Doesn’t that mean I just uncovered something fishy?]

Xu Yanmiao was particularly stunned: [Is this… is this a “strategic open plot”? A hand-written political essay listing all the areas in which the nation needed improvement—over twenty thousand words packed tightly together. Anyone who reads it would feel anxious. And with the old emperor’s prideful nature, needing control over everything, how could he possibly sleep after reading something like that?]

[No wonder she was a top scholar. Her writing is impeccable.]

[But… isn’t Scholar Yan worried the emperor will eventually realize what she did and blame her? Huh, well, maybe not. After all, the emperor wouldn’t punish her wife or daughter—at most, just her alone. Since she dared submit such a memorial, she must have been prepared to stake her life.]

[Whoa! Turns out she included solutions too, not just anxiety-inducing problems…]

[And the solutions are actually pretty good?] Xu Yanmiao glanced at the system interface, visibly puzzled and at a loss for words: [Since there are too many problems to fix alone, the nation needs more talent. So she suggested issuing a national call for wise individuals, and simultaneously building a network of academies.]

[Furthermore, implement personalized education while focusing on key areas.]

[This community school idea seems brilliant—every fifty households form a group and establish one school. The capital funds the tuition. During farming off-seasons, children from farming families receive basic education—learning classics, agriculture, and sericulture.]

[Wow! And it’s mandatory schooling! Starting at age eight—if a child doesn’t attend, their father and elder brother are fined.]

[Amazing! I totally support this!]

[From age eight to fifteen—a full seven years of compulsory education! But that’s not all. Just making it mandatory isn’t enough—there must be exams! Weekly tests, monthly tests, semester exams, pop quizzes! And homework!!!]

Everyone who could hear Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice: “???”

Wait a second—why are you suddenly so excited?!

You’re happy that people have to take tests and do homework?

Of course he was happy! Xu Yanmiao was thrilled.

Before transmigrating, one of his favorite ways to de-stress was to hang around elementary and middle schools just before the holidays, watching students walk out with miserable faces and backpacks stuffed full of winter/summer homework and final exam papers.

—Because as a university student, he had no winter or summer homework! Hahahahahahaha!

Xu Yanmiao snapped out of his nostalgic thoughts, only to remember he’d never again have winter or summer vacations. A surge of sorrow hit him, and he listlessly flipped through the system.

[Oh! Consort Yan also considered medical education!]

[Let’s see… establishing local medical academies to recruit students to study the Inner Canon, Classic of Difficulties, Shennong’s Herbal Classic, and more. Also teaching pulse diagnosis, obstetrics, ophthalmology, oral medicine, throat ailments—thirteen departments in all. Students and instructors alike would be exempt from menial duties.]

[That’s great too! It focuses on medical advancement. Ah, since traditional medicine and spiritual healing are closely tied, she even proposed a separate Yin-Yang Institute to teach astronomy and calendar-making.]

[And a Martial Arts Institute too! Physical health is super important!]

[With such a complete, well-rounded system in place… why won’t the old emperor go for it? Why must he resort to using cruel officials?]

Empress Dowager Dou and former Prime Minister Dou, sharp as ever, saw through the emperor in a single glance—he was worried it would take too long for the students to mature, and he wouldn’t live to see the results.

The two exchanged a glance: “……” then stared silently at the stubborn emperor.

That emperor, though, remained unrepentant and slyly defended himself,

“Did you know that the Prince Consort of Fangling once submitted a memorial to me, fully exposing the nation’s flaws? She proposed that if we want the country to prosper, we must attract talent from all corners of the land. The recruitment edict and the establishment of academies must go hand in hand.”

“Of course I agree with her! And I even came up with a solution to the problem of bureaucratic bloat—if we have enough capable people, why not create a new department to supervise the Embroidered Guards? That department can be rotated every two or three years. New officials replace the old, preventing any one group from monopolizing power and becoming corrupt.”

“This way, we won’t need to keep creating departments just to monitor previous ones.”

Prime Minister Dou was stunned for a moment, only then recalling that his last comment had been, “Has Your Majesty considered… that the increase in government offices signals the beginning of bureaucratic excess?”

Prime Minister Dou: “……”

Your Majesty, you really went to great lengths to respond to my comment, align with Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice, and still preserve your own pride all in one breath.

Of course, the one most troubled by all this was none other than himself.

Former Prime Minister Dou quietly picked up the thread of the conversation: “Your Majesty has thought this through thoroughly, but… what does this have to do with Your Majesty appointing harsh officials?”

The old emperor replied with confidence: “Even if students are trained, it’ll take at least three years before they’re ready. That’s too slow—I can’t wait that long. I might be buried in the ground by then.”

The old emperor added, “Why can’t I first use harsh officials to sweep the court clean and bring peace, then use the academy-trained talents to stabilize the situation?”

[Liar! You kept that memorial without issuing it from the start—you clearly had no intention of establishing all those academies. At least for the next two or three years, you’re not planning on it at all.]

Nonsense!

The old emperor remained expressionless, revealing just how thick-skinned he truly was.

There’s no proof anyway. Can’t I just say I planned to issue that document a few days later?

[But if the old emperor never intended to build academies from the start and can’t even wait three years, then… well, he probably wouldn’t go for a three-year or five-year plan either.]

[Actually, I think those plans are pretty good at easing anxiety. I was even thinking of finding a chance to suggest them.]

[Three-year plans, five-year plans—they’re perfect for someone like the old emperor who insists on having control over the big picture.]

While Xu Yanmiao muttered internally, he also rubbed his eyes to relieve the dryness and fatigue from staring at the system panel. Then he glanced over at Lian Hang… and froze: “Lian Lang, what happened to your ears?”

Why has he been holding his ears this whole time?

Lian Hang lowered his hands, wiped away his snot and tears, and lied through his teeth with wide eyes: “It’s cold—my ears were freezing, so I was warming them.”

Xu Yanmiao nodded, not thinking too much of it. “It is November now—it really is cold. Do you want me to get you a bowl of soup? Warm you up a bit?”

Lian Hang, guilty, nodded: “Yes, please.”

While things were warm and cozy on Xu Yanmiao’s side, the old emperor’s side was in utter chaos.

He couldn’t just shout it out, so he could only scream in his heart—

What the heck is a three-year plan? A five-year plan? Xu Yanmiao, why did you go quiet all of a sudden?!

Say it already!

Just say it!

Where did you disappear to?!

A while later, the voice returned: [There’s nothing juicy left in the emperor’s gossip—let’s go check out someone else’s drama.]

The old emperor: “?!”

Come back!!!

What drama are you watching?! You haven’t even told me what the three-year and five-year plans are!

He reacted almost instantly—Xu Yanmiao didn’t explain in his mind because to him, those terms were incredibly familiar—so familiar that he didn’t even need to think about what they meant.

But—!

He’s familiar with them! We’re not!

The old emperor anxiously tapped his chopsticks on the table—tap tap—but Xu Yanmiao really had run off to watch someone else’s drama. He didn’t spare him even half a glance.

Empress Dou suddenly spoke: “Your Majesty, is there nothing else you want to say?”

The old emperor paused: “What?”

Then suddenly came to a realization—

That’s right! If the drama here isn’t enough to keep Xu Yanmiao’s attention, then all he needed to do was create a drama that would!

What kind of drama would attract Xu Yanmiao?

“Of course I do—”

The old emperor abruptly grabbed a winter peach from the table and hurled it to the ground with force, his tone suddenly erupting with fury: “Empress, thank you for reminding me. I do have something to say—something that must be dealt with! But not here!”

Empress Dou immediately followed up, “What is it?”

The old emperor looked absolutely enraged: “That Yan Chun actually used national affairs to benefit her daughter! And I only just found out! I almost let her get away with it!”

Xu Yanmiao was happily scrolling through someone else’s gossip when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a brand new piece of drama—and it was from the emperor, no less.

[Wahoo! Let me get a bite of that!]

[It’s even future drama! It hasn’t even happened yet! This is amazing—I’m going to see it unfold live!]

Little Bai Ze, who had run off, immediately scampered back to the emperor’s gossip field: [So she’s selling the emperor anxiety, just so he’ll loosen the standards for recruiting talents. Let men and women both be selected. That way, her daughter might get more than just a title and actually hold an official position.]

[It’s not impossible. I remember in the previous dynasty, since male tax officials had trouble collecting taxes from female merchants, the court appointed female tax officers.]

[Tsk tsk. Goes to show, as long as the benefits are great enough, no one cares whether an official is male or female.]

[Why else would there be female consorts and top-ranked scholars? That brain of hers is sharp, no doubt!]

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