Chapter 656: Merits and Demerits; Wuji’s First Show
Translator: Rain Editor: Chrissy
Prime Minister Zuo was closing his eyes. He didn’t want to mess with anybody. [I don’t want to mess with the king, nor do I want to mess with Ye Nantian. I certainly won’t mess with the scholars group. One mistake and I will offend them all… The best option is to play a fool…]
At this moment, he heard the king.
He quivered.
[God damn it! Why me again? Was I born to be framed or something? Why is it so difficult to keep myself out of shxts?]
All the officials and the king were staring at him right now.
He looked extremely terrible at the moment.
The king asked him, so he had to answer. He had to choose a side now. If he tried to talk vaguely, he would offend them all. What would he choose then?
If he chose to support Ye Nantian and the king, he was against the scholar group. The other way around he would offend the king.
[What should I do?]
[I can’t do that and not this either!]
However, he is the prime minister, the head of the scholar officials. He rolled his eyes and came up with an idea. He said, “It is a great merit that Great General Ye conquered the north! I think he should be rewarded. He should be rewarded amply!”
The officials looked at him with fierce eyes. They wished they could swallow this old bastard.
[You old thing. Are you a scholar or not? You are the head of us! What the hell do you think you are doing? You are breaking down our own prestige!]
The king smiled. “Oh?”
Prime Minister Zuo hurriedly continued, “However, there must be like billions people died in this fight… He did kill too much. That is immoral. That is a sin. He should be punished for it. He should be punished heavily…”
The king was shocked.
The officials were all stunned.
[What the hell is this?]
[You said he should be rewarded and yet you said he should be punished!]
[What do you suggest for real?]
[Which side do you choose? If you chose both sides, you are offending both sides!]
The king half closed his eyes and said, “So what do you think we should do to him? Should I reward him or punish him?”
Prime Minister Zuo bowed humbly and said, “I don’t have other opinions. However, General Ye is both meritorious and reprehensible. That is the truth… It is your call to make whether we should reward him or punish him, your majesty!”
The king’s face twisted.
[You old bastard. You spoke nothing at all.]
[You just beat around the bush and pushed it back to me.]
[What a wise move. Now you haven’t offended either side of them, and still stood straight up right in the middle!]
“Your majesty, you are wise and brilliant. There is no better king in the history! …” Prime Minister Zuo sucked up to the king with a long speech… At last he said, “Such difficult problem about General Ye, I think only you can make the perfect decision. We should only wait for your words…”
The officials suddenly admired this old man so much!
What is the most important thing to be in the court?
That is it!
That is the art of language!
A difficult situation was perfectly solved by just a few words. He didn’t mess with anybody, and got rid of any responsibility.
That was the lesson everybody should learn…
The officials decided to learn more from it.
The king’s mouth twisted as he stared at Prime Minister Zuo.
The old man lowered his head and didn’t look at the king. He decided not to look at him.
“Reconsider it! Off the court!”
The king waved his sleeve and left.
Prime Minister Zuo took a breath of relief.
What happened next? The king didn’t go on court for a few days and nobody was in a hurry
[You are going to get up on the court sooner or later…]
[Like Prime Minister Zuo said, we should just wait for your words.]
[We can just object if your decision doesn’t satisfy us.]
This night, when Prime Minister Zuo got home, he talked to Zuo Wuji, who was reading in the study room. “Wuji, didn’t you say you want to become an official as soon as possible? There is a god-given opportunity. Maybe it is time you get in the court this time…”
Zuo Wuji’s eyes lit up.
After his grandpa told him everything, he thought for a while and then said, “Grandpa, what do you think I should do?”
“What do you want to do?” Prime Minister Zuo asked.
“I want to…” Zuo Wuji hesitated.
“Go ahead.” Prime Minister Zuo encouraged him.
“I want to write a report to the ling. I think he should give the man freedom when the kingdom is in peace, so that they can still be like brothers to each other. Let him leave and wait for his return. End the disturbance and there will be only peace,” Zuo Wuji slowly spoke.
Prime Minister Zuo’s eyes lit up. His white beard rose up as he said, “Great! Great! Great!”
He spoke ‘great’ three times. He stood up and said, “Excellent! House of Zuo has a gifted child eventually!”
The next day.
The kng finally got on court.
He felt extremely fidgety facing the officials, but there was nothing he could do. They had a strong point after all. Their reasons were moral and sacred. Even a king couldn’t deny it.
He had no other choice but push Prime Minister Zuo out to help.
Apparently, he was not only the head of the scholar officials, but also the lubricant between the king and the officials!
Prime Minister Zuo looked bitter and he said, “I truly don’t know what to do about General Ye. However, last night, my grandson heard about it and wrote a sealed report to you, your majesty. He asked me to bring it here. Please. He may be silly, but there may be something useful in his limited view.”
And then he took out an envelope that was sealed with wax print and handed it up to the throne.
The king frowned and said, “Bring it over.”
The servant took it and gave it to the king. Theking looked at Prime Minster Zuo and then opened the envelope.
The moment he read it, his eyes lit up!
He finished reading the report and then thought for a while. He spoke in a low voice, “Prime Minister Zuo, is this truly Wuji’s words?”
Prime Minister Zuo, “Yes.”
“Do you know what he wrote?” the king blandly asked.
“Well… He did have a conversation with me, but I don’t think I said anything in the report.” Prime Minister Zuo bowed and said, “One should recommend those holy and good people including relatives. I think…”
“Hmm. I get it.” The King nodded and said, “Imperial decree!”
An official stepped immediately out and the servants prepared the paper and brush pen at once.
…
