The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

Everyone returned to their respective courtyards, and Little Demon followed the Crown Prince upstairs. Neither of them brought any servants, not even Shunzi or the Crown Prince's guards.

On the first floor, the scholars, professors, and students were all curiously intrigued, but no one dared to speak up, especially concerning the Crown Prince. They all tried to regain their composure and resumed the normal teaching of the intensive class.

The second floor had been cleaned and prepared beforehand. To create a conducive learning environment, Xu Wan had arranged a large desk that could seat five people side by side, fully equipped with ink, paper, brushes, and inkstones. A small side table held tea and snacks, everything meticulously prepared.

The Crown Prince, upon seeing this setup, raised an eyebrow and remarked, "She is indeed clever."

Little Demon, curious, asked, "Are you referring to my stepmother?"

The Crown Prince smiled and nodded, "Having her guide you will be of great help to your growth."

Zong Jincheng nodded honestly.

Since there were no outsiders present, he knew the Crown Prince wouldn’t share his little secrets.

The Crown Prince touched his head and smiled, "Come here, I'll teach you a new lesson."

"Hmm? You're going to teach me a lesson, Your Highness?" Zong Jincheng asked, a bit confused, "I thought we were just going to chat?"

The Crown Prince chuckled, "Yes, you can consider it a chat, since you won't need to read or write."

Upon hearing it was still a chat, Zong Jincheng immediately perked up with joy.

This kind of conversational learning was far more interesting than boring memorization. He straightened up, assuming a posture of a well-behaved student ready to listen carefully.

The Crown Prince calmly began, "Today, the first lesson I will teach you is about the appointment of officials."

Zong Jincheng's eyes widened.

He knew this topic!

In the Great Chu, the appointment of officials was designated by the Emperor, but the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, the six ministry heads, and other high-ranking officials also had the right to recommend. Since the Emperor, being at the pinnacle of power, could not fully understand the character of those below, he often relied on the recommendations of these officials to make his decisions.

However, these were at least second-tier officials of the Great Chu...

Zong Jincheng hesitantly asked, "Your Highness, even if I were to pass the highest imperial examination and become a Number One Scholar, I’d still only be a sixth-tier official. There are still eight ranks between me and a second-tier official. Isn't it a bit too early to learn about this now?"

The Crown Prince smiled, "It's not too early. I learned about this very early, too. And understanding it isn’t about applying it immediately, but it’s beneficial for you to understand how to judge people in various situations."

Zong Jincheng thought for a moment and said, "True, if I know how to use people, I’ll definitely be better at managing Marquis Manor than Xu...my stepmother."

The Crown Prince nodded with a smile, "Yes, it’s a universal skill."

Over the next period, the Crown Prince explained the general situation of the Great Chu's bureaucracy and the types of officials commonly found in the political scene. He then provided examples to illustrate his points: "For officials who only flatter without doing real work, don’t pay attention to what they say, but rather what they actually do. If someone claims everything and accomplishes nothing, they are useless."

Zong Jincheng summarized, "They’re just braggarts."

The Crown Prince nodded with a smile, "Exactly. But everyone likes to hear nice words, so one easily gets deceived by sweet talk, which is a big mistake."

Zong Jincheng nodded energetically, understanding this point well.@@novelbin@@

He was quite skilled at saying nice things himself.

The Crown Prince continued, "Another type is the upright and incorruptible official. Such individuals are usually proud and disdainful, not bothering to say nice things. Even when they do something good, their work might get overshadowed by someone else. To determine who truly deserves the credit, one can inquire about the other person’s approach and the process of doing the task. If there’s still doubt, ask for details about errors made during the process and how they planned to improve."

Zong Jincheng instinctively followed up with a question, "What if the person who steals their credit is someone close? Someone who knows all their plans, the good and the bad, intimately. How can we tell then?"

The Crown Prince smiled, "Then look into their eyes."

"Their eyes?" Zong Jincheng didn’t quite grasp the concept.

The Crown Prince explained, "When a person is recounting their proudest achievements, their eyes will shine. This shine comes from their heart, their effort, and their sense of purpose, something that a replacement can never understand or possess."

Zong Jincheng tilted his head, trying to understand but still nodded with partial comprehension.

The Crown Prince smiled and patted his head, "It’s okay, just remember it for now. If you still don’t understand when you encounter such a situation, find someone you trust to help you discern."

For some reason, when Zong Jincheng heard this, the image of Xu Wan instantly appeared in his mind.

He shook his head quickly, thinking, "No way, Xu Wan isn’t going to become an official. I’m not going to ask her."

“Why are you shaking your head?” The Crown Prince asked.

Caught daydreaming for a moment, Zong Jincheng awkwardly laughed and coughed, "Nothing, nothing! Your Highness, please continue."

The Crown Prince resumed, "Such upright officials are the rarest, but also the most prone to offending many due to their straightforward nature. The worst fate befell Former Prime Minister Yan Zhun, who ended up with a broken family."

As Zong Jincheng thought about Qin Ye, who was also this type of person, envisioning his future in the civil service where he too would likely be targeted by rivals, the name of Yan Zhun interrupted his thoughts.

Zong Jincheng abruptly looked up, remembering that Yan Zhun was his brother’s grandfather!

"Yan Zhun had the talent to govern the nation, but he was merciless in his actions, even going against the Emperor's words. For a mere thousand taels of embezzled silver, he..." The Crown Prince seemed genuinely pained and regretful as he mentioned Yan Zhun.

Zong Jincheng blurted out, "So, could someone like Yan Zhun ever be saved?"

The Crown Prince looked at him with a hint of approval, "Do you also wish to save someone like him, Jincheng?"

Zong ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‍Jincheng nodded fervently, "Yes, he was a good man. He shouldn’t have ended up like that."

Moreover, as his brother's grandfather, if Yan Zhun had still been alive and the Yan family hadn't fallen, his brother wouldn’t have suffered for so many years.

The Crown Prince said, "There are three ways to save someone like Yan Zhun."

"Three ways?" Zong Jincheng's eyes widened as he leaned in closer to listen attentively.

The Crown Prince explained, "First, amend the excessively harsh laws to ensure that an upright official doesn’t get eliminated from the bureaucracy too easily. Second, they need to change their temperament—speak more tactfully, be careful not to antagonize too many people while maintaining their work ethic. Third, have someone in a powerful position protect them."

Zong Jincheng mused, "Changing one’s personality sounds difficult. The first and third options seem more feasible. But Your Highness, given that you knew these methods, why didn’t you protect Yan Zhun back then?"

The only positions higher than the Prime Minister were the Emperor and the Crown Prince, so the latter should have been able to protect him. From Zong Jincheng’s perspective, the Crown Prince seemed to have genuine sorrow over Yan Zhun’s fate.

The Crown Prince gave a bitter smile, "Because ten years ago, I was not yet the Crown Prince."

Zong Jincheng pouted, showing his dissatisfaction, "The Emperor delayed appointing you as the Crown Prince too long, denying you the chance to do many good things."

Otherwise, his brother could have had a much better childhood!

The Crown Prince chuckled lightly, "Perhaps only you think that. I have over twenty brothers, all of whom hoped that I would be appointed Crown Prince later, or wished for me to pass away prematurely, so they could have a chance."

At this, Zong Jincheng’s face grew red with indignation, involuntarily standing up for the Crown Prince, "What kind of brothers are they? Wishing for the Crown Prince to have an accident, all of them are bad people!"