The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

The little fellow was extremely biased, always taking the side of the Crown Prince and despising anyone who bullied him.

He hated Luo Jingfeng this way and the other princes as well.

The Crown Prince was delighted, but while happy, he still couldn't help but admonish, "Men desiring power is natural and only human. The difference lies in whether these brothers have malicious intentions due to their desire for power. If they don't, they shouldn't be utterly destroyed..."

He lowered his eyelashes, his voice full of tenderness and magnanimity.

Zong Jincheng thought that perhaps it was because the Crown Prince was so kind that he had been harmed and had a weak constitution. Otherwise, he should have been as formidable as his father.

The little devil disagreed with him on this. Even if those people had no malicious intentions at the moment, as long as they wanted that position, they were always capable of changing their minds. They couldn't be left unchecked. But then he thought, since he didn't need to use it himself and talking about it would only upset the Crown Prince, he obediently nodded.

The Crown Prince continued to teach him, "The third kind of official is not as extreme as the former two but is the most common. They have been in office for years, and their once grand aspirations as new officials have dissipated, content to pass each day without doing anything. They don't serve the people or alleviate the worries of the court. Instead, they keep things delayed and pushed aside. Their way of working even influences newly appointed officials, cultivating countless more like them."

Zong Jincheng listened in a daze. "Then in many years, wouldn’t the court be hollowed out by such people?"

The Crown Prince nodded. "Exactly. There are many officials in the court, and supervision is inevitably weak. So such officials will always exist. The distinction lies in how many there are."

"Then how should such officials be appointed? Should all of them be dismissed?" The little devil leaned forward with curiosity.

The Crown Prince chuckled and shook his head. "Chancellor Yan did exactly that. He tried to clean up too many people in a short period, but the result, as you've seen, was disastrous. When the number of people is large, they band together and rebel. Even an incumbent Prime Minister, one below the emperor and above tens of thousands, can be taken down by them."

The little devil shuddered.

Too terrifying. Being a high-ranking official was too difficult.

The Crown Prince patted his shoulder in reassurance. "When the number is large, one can first attempt persuasion. If they can amend their ways, it's the best outcome. If not… you can try to disrupt their unity, split them into factions, and deal with them one by one. But the approach shouldn't be too overt or extreme, nor should you seek to destroy them all. Some can be demoted, some can be given a nominal promotion but sidelined in reality, some can be transferred, some can be encouraged to retire, and for the more severe cases… I'll teach you when you're older."

The little devil nodded, then couldn't resist asking, "Crown Prince, have you been quietly handling these people all these years?"

The Crown Prince was taken aback, then smiled. "Yes, I've been dealing with them, just not as aggressively as Chancellor Yan."

The little devil tilted his head and said, "The Crown Prince is truly the best. Under your governance, the court will certainly become better and better..."

The advanced private lesson lasted all day. As the evening sun began to set, the Crown Prince stood up, saying he would visit again next month.

The little devil quickly got up to see him off. "Thank you, Crown Prince. I learned so many amazing things today!"

The Crown Prince smiled and extended his little finger. "Then it's settled. The content of these lessons is a secret between you and me, and you must not tell anyone else."

The little devil also extended his hand and hooked fingers with him. "Okay, I promise no one else will ever know."

The big and small fingers hooked together, sealing another secret pact.

After seeing the Crown Prince off, He Zheng and Zong Wenxiu rushed over, asking, "Jincheng, what did the Crown Prince talk to you about all day?"@@novelbin@@

The little devil started to blabber nonsense. "That's because I can talk, and the Crown Prince likes me. He was dragged into telling me many interesting stories by me."

"What kind of interesting stories?" Zong Wenxiu asked curiously, and the three private tutors behind him also subtly strained their ears.

Unexpectedly, the little devil coughed and boastfully shouted, "He told me about how I swept through Qingbo Academy, one first prize after another, and even crushed the so-called geniuses from Hanlin North Academy under my feet! Geniuses, hahaha, what are geniuses other than the starting line to compete with me? And me, Zong Jincheng, will surely become the strongest prodigy on the imperial examination path and the most capable great official in the future court!"

"..."

The three private tutors wished they could poke out their own ears. They shouldn't have been curious about what the little devil had blabbered with the Crown Prince. Was this even something they could listen to? It was so painful to the ears!

Zong Wenxiu's mouth twitched, silently feeling sympathy for the Crown Prince.

He Zheng, however, was a breath of fresh air. He asked curiously, "What did the Crown Prince say? Did he agree with you?"

Zong Jincheng immediately lifted his chin proudly. "Of course, the Crown Prince is the most trusting person in my life!"

Everyone thought he was bragging, but the Crown Prince believed that he would become a second-rank official in the future and taught him methods used by second-rank officials. Those methods were one more advanced and practical than the next. And he only treated him like this, which proved how unique and capable he was in the Crown Prince's heart.

He Zheng, the perfect supporter, immediately clapped for him. "Jincheng, you're amazing!!!"

The three private tutors: "..."

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‍little devil felt so proud he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Xu Wan, listening from the doorway, couldn't stop twitching her mouth. She thought, the Crown Prince actually listened to you blabber nonsense all day, stop being too ridiculous, okay?

"Jincheng, come have dinner at my place today," Xu Wan's voice came from outside.

Still immersed in He Zheng's praise, the little devil quickly turned his head, seeing it was her and becoming even more boastful. "You only realized how amazing I am now? Too late to try to compete with the Crown Prince, I love the Crown Prince the most."

As he said that, he really walked towards Xu Wan, his expression clearly wanting to show her off.

Xu Wan gently patted his back, leading him to walk with her. The little devil glanced at the hand on his shoulder, feeling elated, the corners of his mouth struggling to stay down but failing.

Xu Wan was still kindly asking, "You've been talking all day, aren't you thirsty? The tea in the room later got cold. Why didn't you ask someone to bring new ones?"

The little devil was about to say it was because the Crown Prince spoke a lot, but then he thought—everyone was curious about what the Crown Prince had said to him, yet she didn't ask, instead inviting him to dinner alone. What was she up to?

The little devil quietly put himself in her perspective. She must be thinking: Just asking won't get the answer, but maybe we can try to pry it out...

Zong Jincheng was about to ask but thought about the hand on his back. ...Forget it, don't tear down her plan. If I expose her, she'll definitely get antsy and stop touching me.

He coughed and said, "It's hot, drinking cold tea is fine. Moreover, the Crown Prince didn't want anyone to interrupt."