Chapter 305: Chapter 214: Mr. Shuijing’s Recommendation, Talent for Assisting the King

"Mr. Shuijing..."

Lu Mingyuan hadn’t expected that this third disciple of Wen Sheng, the Nanli National Preceptor Mr. Shuijing, would be so understanding.

Thinking back,

on the day Chen Ke had his epiphany about the Learning of the Mind, the man had already shown signs of goodwill.

On the surface, he was helping me, but in reality, he hoped that the Literary Saint Lineage could flourish by having its members assist me.

Chen Ke was currently consolidating the Learning of the Mind, working to fully develop and promote this school of thought. He had remained in the Wenyuan Pavilion the entire time and had not made any public appearances.

Lu Mingyuan had considered making Chen Ke the head of the Eastern Palace’s Chamberlain’s Office, but Chen Ke was simply too busy to handle the various matters Lu Mingyuan needed to delegate.

It seemed now that Mr. Shuijing was indeed the more reasonable one.

"And you two are?"

Lu Mingyuan asked amiably.

The tall man, his hair bound in a Confucian cap and a Feather Fan in hand, spoke first. "I am Su Youhuai, from Great Yan’s Nanyang Prefecture. I studied under Mr. Shuijing, then pursued further studies at the Confucian Temple, focusing on the skills of political administration. I previously served as a Temple Priest at the Confucian Temple, where my duty was to classify and summarize the aspirations of scholars from various regions."

"I authored the twelve-volume *Ruling by Virtue* and advocate the ’New Trend of Ruling by Virtue’ doctrine."

After listening, Lu Mingyuan generally understood.

’He’s a political talent. He could serve as a steward or secretary, skilled in handling documents and archives.’

"And you?"

Lu Mingyuan looked at the other man.

The man in Confucian robes beside him, his long hair unbound and his posture slightly languid, also straightened up and became serious. He cupped his hands and said:

"Shen Yuanxi, of Nanli Guangling Prefecture."

"I studied under Mr. Shuijing, then pursued further studies at the Confucian Temple. I belong to the Military Family within the Confucian Temple’s Jixia Academy, and I specialize in the ’Upper War Strategy’ doctrine. I am quite skilled in military planning, as well as Puppet and Mo Family mechanisms. I am currently still a student of the Confucian Temple and have not yet authored any works."

"Mr. Shuijing said I could realize my ambitions here, and so I came."

Lu Mingyuan found this person rather interesting. He smiled and nodded. "So, a great talent of the Military Family."

’He hadn’t expected that Mr. Shuijing had already made this decision half a month ago—to have these two men come and assist him. Could he have known that after the emergence of Lu and Wang’s Heart Learning, I would sooner or later obtain the position of Crown Prince?’

Nanli was very far from Great Yan. Even starting early, the journey would take half a month.

So they must have set out in advance.

’Is Mr. Shuijing really that prescient?’

What he expected even less was that the man would arrange for one civil and one martial talent.

One was a political talent, the other a military one, perfectly filling the gaps in his own expertise in these two major domains.

The staff of the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace needed many talented people to fill its ranks.

This included personnel transfers, the drafting of Crown Prince’s Decrees, and overseeing the Eastern Palace’s armed guards, ceremonial guards, and patrolmen. All these matters required dedicated personnel. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

If he let his Father Emperor send people, he really wouldn’t be at ease.

Lu Mingyuan asked with great curiosity, "How did Mr. Shuijing persuade you two to join my Eastern Palace Mansion?"

The Feather Fan-wielding Su Youhuai said softly, "It’s rather embarrassing to say, but I spent ten years at Guanshui Academy, yet I failed the imperial examinations in Great Sui three times. I could only pursue further studies at the Confucian Temple. After much effort, I authored the doctrine of the ’New Trend of Ruling by Virtue,’ but it is not popular in Great Sui."

"Mr. Shuijing said that perhaps there was a place for me in Great Yan, so I came. I just never expected it would be for the Crown Prince. I am truly honored and humbled!"

Shen Yuanxi cupped his hands and said, "I heard that the origin of Lu and Wang’s Heart Learning was in Great Yan. Out of curiosity, I left the Confucian Temple to investigate. The Crown Prince may not know this, but I have long been stuck at the bottleneck of the Tenth Realm. The rank of Great Scholar feels impossibly distant, which is why I came down from the mountain to seek an opportunity for a breakthrough."

"Now that I know a part of Lu and Wang’s Heart Learning came from the Crown Prince himself, I am even more excited and can hardly contain myself."

Shen Yuanxi’s tone was slightly excited. He was clearly in high spirits at being able to meet Lu Mingyuan, one of the people who had made an indelible contribution to Lu and Wang’s Heart Learning.

"You were both disciples of Mr. Shuijing? Did he tell you what you would be doing here? It can’t be that you came just because he said Great Yan had good prospects."

Lu Mingyuan had a general understanding now. He wanted to ask clearly to avoid any misunderstandings.

"We are both students of Guanshui Academy. We came at Mr. Shuijing’s request to assist the Crown Prince," Su Youhuai replied.

Shen Yuanxi said, "Mr. Shuijing told us we were to serve under a great personage, but it wasn’t until today that we learned it was the Crown Prince."

"I see."

Lu Mingyuan nodded slightly and used "Observing the Heart," hoping to hear something different.

But he found that the two men’s minds were as still as water; there were no inner voices to be heard.

They basically said what they meant, showing no intention of hiding anything or lying.

’This means they aren’t the type to harbor ulterior motives.’

’In the short term, they seem reliable.’

These two were, after all, great talents from the Confucian Temple who had reached the Tenth Realm, and they were also Mr. Shuijing’s disciples.

In some of the smaller nations, they would be highly sought after. If Mr. Shuijing hadn’t built this bridge for him, they probably wouldn’t have come.

On his first day as Crown Prince, Lu Mingyuan had obtained two great talents. He was naturally overjoyed and laughed heartily. "Good! From this day forward, you two shall be my Wolong and Feng Chu! I will certainly not treat you poorly in the future."

"Wolong and Feng Chu?"

Hearing these terms, Shen Yuanxi and Su Youhuai were immediately a little confused.

For some reason, their first impression was that it sounded strange.

Lu Mingyuan slapped his own forehead.

He had almost forgotten that these terms had practically become pejorative.

’Maybe using ’Wolong and Feng Chu’ wasn’t such a good idea.’

"It means my right and left-hand men," Lu Mingyuan added as an explanation.

After his explanation, the two of them finally understood.