Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 208 Zhou Bai's Years

On the emperor's desk, besides the files and memorials, there were also performance evaluation reports from the Ministry of Personnel on the evaluation of officials in the court.

This was a long-term task secretly assigned by the emperor to Chief Secretary Song and the Personnel Department after he assumed power. It took Chief Secretary Song and the Vice Minister of Personnel three months to complete.

Regarding performance evaluation, Tang Xian's contribution must be mentioned.

When the emperor was still the ninth prince, he spent half a year on an inspection tour of Jiangnan, and Tang Xian accompanied him in disguise.

During their journey, at each stop, the Ninth Prince would invariably engage in lengthy discussions with Tang Xian about people's livelihoods and political affairs. Tang Xian, however, would always avoid these topics, only briefly mentioning the operation of the Tang family's trading company and personnel adjustments in response.

The evaluation criteria of "four virtues and twenty-seven excellences" set forth in the performance evaluation memorial, including the four virtues of "renowned for virtue and righteousness, clear-headed and discerning, commendable for fairness, and diligent and tireless," were all derived by the emperor from Tang Xian's casual remark, which he then refined and modified. [Note 1]

The memorial outlined the evaluation of over six hundred officials in the capital, covering twenty-seven departments, with each evaluation categorized into nine grades. [Note 2]

The emperor put down Zhou Bai's file, opened the thick book of performance evaluations, and quickly turned to the page on the Honglu Temple.

Of the more than forty officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, only the Left Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial had a lower-middle rating in his evaluation.

Upon seeing this, Jingming quickly tucked the whisk into his waistband, carefully picked up the vermilion brush, and respectfully presented it to the emperor.

"You're quite clever."

The emperor picked up his brush and drew a vermilion circle around this sixth-rank official position.

"Summon Marquis of Lin'an and bring Zhou Bai to the Imperial Study."

Dong Ming, who was standing in the hall, bowed in response and slowly withdrew.

"Where are the Duke of Qing and his entourage now?" The emperor put down his pen, his eyes still deep, yet a hint of gentleness inadvertently appeared.

Jingming replied, "Your Majesty, according to the letter Wei Ying sent back last time, I calculated that it should arrive in five or six days."

Before the emperor could ask any further questions, Jingming continued, "The Ministry of Works just sent word that the renovation of the Duke's Mansion has been completed today, and the Biwu Garden has also been restored to its original state according to the emperor's decree. The paulownia trees in the garden were also moved there by the Ministry of Works from Changchun Garden."

The emperor nodded slightly and did not inquire further.

......

Guest room of the Marquis of Lin'an's residence.

Chen Lin couldn't bear to watch. Back when he and his fellow disciples rescued Zhou Bai from the cavalry of the two major tribes, Zhou Bai had been stabbed several times but hadn't suffered any serious injuries. Now, in just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had already cried twice...

Hua Yan felt uncomfortable under her uncle's intense and caring gaze, and said with a smile:

"Uncle, I have been by the Second Miss's side all these years and have never suffered any grievances. Please wipe your tears. When Sister Huanyun comes later, she will be heartbroken if she sees you like this."

Zhou Bai reached out and gently patted Hua Yan's head. "Even at a time like this, you still have the mind to joke around."

Chen Lin quietly left the flower hall, and Zhou Bai muttered to himself, "At least this kid knows what's good for him."

Hua Yan smiled gently and leisurely, a rare occurrence. She told him about how she and Chen Lin had been sold to Zheng's brokerage firm when they were young, and briefly recounted the years they spent from Jinnan to Lin'an.

Although Zhou Bai already knew from Huan Yun, he still listened very attentively.

"On the way back to the capital, I heard the Marquis mention your father..."

Hua Yan's expression remained unchanged as she calmly said, "She's dead. That woman must be nothing more than a pile of bones now. As for my younger brother, we'll see what fate holds for him. He might become a beggar, or he might be kidnapped and sold."

That depends on how the stepmother planned for him before she died. However, based on the dosage of the medicine, the younger brother should have been exactly six years old when she died.

Hua Yan didn't think a six-year-old boy with no one to rely on could have the same luck as Chen Lin.

Zhou Bai was startled and quickly realized that Meng Chengwen's death was probably closely related to Hua Yan. His niece had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, and he was completely convinced that Hua Yan had the ability to do this without anyone noticing.

The name of patricide is enough to plunge a person into the abyss.

Zhou Bai instructed, "This matter must never be mentioned in front of anyone. However, if he is still alive, I will definitely teach him a lesson that is worse than death..."

Next, Hua Yan pieced together Zhou Bai's nearly ten years of experience of being deeply involved in the grassland tribes from his fragmented words.

In short, Zhou Bai, relying on his cleverness, carefully selected the Huyan clan, located on the edge of the grassland, and used the excuse of the golden flowers growing in Jingyang Fu tea to dump moldy tea bricks from Lin'an.

Zhou Baisheng had a silver tongue; with just a few words, he managed to sway the herders of the Huyan clan into a frenzy to buy his wares...

Hua Yan couldn't help but rub her forehead. It was truly a shame that after initially hearing the news from Uncle Song, she had firmly believed that her uncle must have a foolproof plan to save the tea leaves that had developed disease spots...

"What happened next?" Hua Yan asked anxiously.

Zhou Bai said with a solemn expression, "Huzheng Chanyu (King of the Xiongnu) is ambitious and has been plotting to unify the grasslands for several years. That day, he passed by the Huyan clan and saw that I was dressed in Han Chinese attire and was literate, so he abducted me to the Xiongnu royal court..."

Huzheng Chanyu imprisoned Zhou Bai for several months, treating him like a hawk, to force him to submit. Afterwards, Zhou Bai pretended to obey, and Huzheng Chanyu ordered someone to teach him the Xiongnu language, with the ultimate goal of getting him to teach him the military books he had plundered from the Great Zhou.

Huzheng Chanyu was indeed quite capable. He unified the grasslands four years ago and then spent several years recuperating before declaring war on the Great Zhou.

Seeing Hua Yan's furrowed brows, Zhou Bai hurriedly explained:

"The people of the various tribes on the grasslands were scattered. Although I was imprisoned in the royal court, I managed to use a few divisive tactics to sow the seeds of future troubles on the grasslands. Unfortunately, the guards who watched over me changed every day, and I was never able to find an opportunity to send the message to Lin'an."

When Chen Lin met me, I had inadvertently learned that that old scoundrel Hu Zheng intended to pollute the water source before the battle, so I took advantage of the situation and used the Xubu clan to instigate internal strife...

Hua Yan looked at Zhou Bai and said earnestly, "I believe in my uncle. When I was a child, my mother told me that my great-grandfather died when the Xiongnu invaded the border."

This is why Zhou Bai could unscrupulously dump moldy tea leaves on the Xiongnu people.

Once Zhou Bai relaxed, he reverted to his carefree and unrestrained demeanor.

"During the war between the two countries, the two major Xiongnu tribes were fighting amongst themselves, and other small and medium-sized tribes were also caught up in it. I, your uncle, played a crucial role in this."

Those fools probably still don't know that the deaths of several nobles in both tribes were not the work of the other. Even after losing two princes, when the Xubu clan broke with the Luandi clan, they still kept their promise and sent a small cavalry unit to rescue me, though they were pursued relentlessly…”

Fortunately, Chen Lin and others appeared and brought Zhou Bai back to the border, thus saving the Northwest Army from the danger of losing water.

Finally, Tang Xian met Zhou Bai while escorting the grain supplies. Although Zhou Bai harbored resentment towards the Tang family for bringing his niece into the Prince's mansion as a concubine, he was also grateful for the Tang family's kindness towards Hua Yan. Both were intelligent men, and Zhou Bai knew that he had been implicated for many years and needed to do something to clear his name. Therefore, after discussing the matter with Tang Xian, Zhou Bai repeatedly offered good advice to Jiang Wei.

Zhou Bai was truly well-versed in the Xiongnu's deployments and politics. With Zhou Bai's assistance, the Northwest Army not only had the foresight to anticipate events but also had ample supplies. The battlefield situation gradually reversed, and they ultimately defeated the Xiongnu and captured Huzheng Chanyu.