Chapter 534: Fragrance in the Court

"Chen Aiqing, is that what you mean?"

Li Shimin asked Chen Yan a question.

The latter naturally understood it that way and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, that is exactly what I mean!"

"Having you serve as chief examiner and the Crown Prince preside will be enough for scholars across the realm to feel sufficiently valued. I think that if this is so, even if some students fail this year, they will certainly not be discouraged."

"When they have passed through the many examinations, step into the final hall, and see you and the Crown Prince, they will likely feel that the journey was not in vain."

Li Shimin nodded at the words, did not give an immediate response, looked around, and said, "All ministers, what do you think of the proposals from Ministers Chen and Wei?"

"We, the ministers, second the proposal!"

The development up to now is obvious to any clear‑sighted person: Li Shimin has already accepted the two proposals; otherwise he would not have asked them but would have directly refuted them.

The ministers are not fools, so they naturally would not jump out to oppose at this moment.

"Then… Crown Prince, what do you think?"

Li Shimin finally fixed his gaze on Li Chengqian.

"Father Emperor, I am deeply honored!"

Since Chen Yan has helped him so much, Li Chengqian could not possibly falter now; of course he agreed immediately.

"Very good!"

Li Shimin nodded, "Let this be settled for now; later Du Aiqing will draft a regulation, and we will discuss it then!"

"Chen… Aiqing, you may return first."

When he said the latter sentence, his tone already carried a hint of helplessness.

Li Shimin thought that Chen Yan might jump out again, and he had already prepared a calm response.

Only, he forgot that Chen Yan has always been unpredictable; this time he said nothing, bowed obediently, and slipped behind Dai Zhou.

Li Shimin: "......"

All that preparation was in vain!

"Is there anything else to report?" he asked again.

At this moment, the Minister of Works Duan Lun, standing ahead, hesitated briefly and said, "Your Majesty, I have a matter."

"Minister, feel free to speak."

"It is like this… at the beginning of the year, you proposed opening the Imperial Examination, and to hold it regularly, a dedicated venue for scholars across the realm is needed; we can no longer use the Shangshu Province Hall as before."

"Therefore I ordered the Ministry of Works, at Wuben Workshop (located in Huang Cheng Zheng Nan, the site of the Imperial Academy), to construct the Wenming Hall. The Ministry of Works indeed carried out your request, but… because the Ministry of Revenue never approves the funds, the Wenming Hall is still unfinished to this day!"

He could have stayed silent, but once he mentioned it, Dai Zhou, who had not intended to intervene, suddenly had his eyes redden, "Damn it!"

"Nonsense that the Ministry of Revenue won't approve the money! Duan, look at your conscience and tell me honestly, didn't the Ministry of Revenue give you funds?"

"Since the beginning of the year until now, I won't list the scattered amounts, but for the vouchers exceeding one hundred thousand guan, I approved them for you three times; how can you have the nerve to say I didn't give you money!"

"Fuck you…"

The moment he opened his mouth, fragrance filled the Tai Ji Hall; Dai Zhou, truly a scholar, effortlessly produced elegant diction, his word choice and phrasing were almost divine, earning everyone's admiration.

However, although he spewed fragrant words here, the others wore expressions of plain acceptance.

Even Li Shimin thought nothing wrong with it.

Damn, that's the atmosphere the Court should have!

Do you think officials attending court are all solemn?

No, no, no!

You're overthinking!

In fact, the Court is fragrant with blossoms every day; the scent and sound are truly refreshing.

Duan Lun also got fired up, "Do you know what the Wenming Hall means? The Book of Changes says, 'When the dragon appears in the fields, the world becomes civilized,' which aligns perfectly with the Imperial Examination's goal of 'selecting talent through literature to promote civilization across the realm.'"

"Such an important venue cannot be treated carelessly?"

"Moreover, the Wenming Hall is only the main hall; there are also the side Teng Lu Suo, the examiners' grading hall Heng Jian Tang, and the exam paper storage Wen Chang Ku. Your Ministry of Revenue nitpicks all day and only offers a few peanuts; are you sending a beggar?"

"Then what do you want, huh? Tell me! What do you want?" Dai Zhou, unyielding, "Since the beginning of the year, how much money has the Ministry of Revenue gradually approved for you? For a single building, no matter how important or solemn, where can the expense go?"

"I won't say more; for the Wenming Hall, the Ministry of Revenue has already approved fifty thousand guan for you, hasn't it?"

"Tell me, which hall needs fifty thousand guan? And it's still not enough?"

"Day after day this needs money, that needs money; why don't you consider how little the Tang Dynasty earns in a whole year? Building a Wenming Hall costs over fifty thousand and it's still insufficient…"

Dai Zhou snorted coldly, waving his sleeve, "Heh… in my view, you should thoroughly investigate your Ministry of Works!"

"What do you mean?" Duan Lun glared angrily, "Are you accusing our Ministry of Works of lining our pockets?"

"Isn't that so?" Dai Zhou retorted angrily, "Then Lord Duan, tell me which hall requires fifty thousand guan to build?"

"Fifty thousand guan can buy ten of your lives, and the remaining money could feed the entire court's civil and military officials with baked pancakes for three years; you tell me it's not enough?"

"Lord Dai, do you need me to lay out each expense, one by one, before you?" Duan Lun took a deep breath, his face cold.

"Go ahead and lay them out!"

Dai Zhou didn't believe it, "If you dare lay them out, I dare to look!"

"Anyway, the money is there; the Ministry of Revenue has approved it three times, that's more than enough!!!"

Duan Lun: "So, Lord Dai, are you trying to obstruct the Imperial Examination, treating the students who have prepared for years as nothing, and treating Your Majesty's orders as casual words?"

"Stop putting a hat on me!" Dai Zhou said, "I have already said the Ministry of Revenue has given the Ministry of Works enough money for this!"

"If you think it's insufficient, then send people to seize it!"

"Damn, you really treat our Ministry of Revenue like a soft peach? Does everyone come to squeeze it?"

"I stand by my view; you should thoroughly investigate your Ministry of Works!!"

Li Shimin listened and just wanted to doze off; this is also why he wanted Chen Yan to become Minister of Revenue.

This thing, you aren't a tough bone; without a few scolding words, you couldn't even handle it.

However...... Li Shimin narrowed his eyes.

Dai Zhou said indeed makes sense, over the year, continuously approved five hundred thousand guan, yet actually didn't build a "Wen Ming Dian" for the Imperial Test, this is really untenable.

That brat Chen Yan, just took office yesterday, immediately found so many corrupt officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

This Ministry of Works...... it's time to investigate it thoroughly.

Moreover...... Duan Lun's work efficiency is really too low; after a year, he still hasn't completed the Wen Ming Dian.

Even if it's due to lack of funds, it should have been brought up earlier.

With the year-end approaching, the Imperial Test will be in early spring next year; if Chen Yan hadn't proposed to oversee it today, it's uncertain whether Duan Lun would have brought this up.

「...... 」