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Chapter 241: The Art of Changing Expression 1

When Jiang Beiran was about to arrive at the Mystic Listening Palace, he thought that since he could not abide by the troublesome rules when eating, why did he have to follow the rules when he went to court.

Up until now, he could not even distinguish the ranks of the officials. It was really boring to go to court. Moreover, these officials had been in the Imperial Court for many years. There were definitely many old foxes. If he followed the rules and got along with them, it was inevitable that he would be led by the nose by them.

Therefore, Jiang Beiran simply did not play by the rules and gave all the officials a surprise. At the same time, he also tested the background of these officials.

Seeing Jiang Beiran suddenly appeared, all the officials were scared out of their wits. One by one, they bowed to the ground. An old official who was leading them shouted, “I deserve ten thousand deaths for my crimes!”

The other officials immediately followed and shouted, “I deserve ten thousand deaths for my crimes!”

Nearly a hundred officials kneeled outside the Imperial Palace. The scene was quite spectacular. However, they were still in the imperial city, so no passersby would see it.

Taking a bite of the jujube sugar cake in his hand, Jiang Beiran smiled and said, “Dear officials, please rise. Seeing you all so indignant for me not going to court, I am very pleased.”

As soon as he said this, the young officials who said they wanted to slack off were so scared that their pants were almost wet. They trembled and could not stand up at all.

“Rise. I don’t have to repeat myself three times, right?”

Although Jiang Beiran was still chewing the jujube sugar cake in his mouth when he spoke, the dignified feeling still made all the officials hurriedly stand up. Even those who were a little wet at their pants did not dare to kneel anymore. They struggled to get up and salute. However, their legs were shaking a little.

Revealing a smile, Jiang Beiran threw the remaining small piece of jujube sugar cake into his mouth and patted the debris on his hand. He said, “It’s more comfortable to be outside. I can’t even speak while sitting in the Mystic Listening Palace.”

Although the officials did not like an emperor who did not pay attention to etiquette, A new broom sweeps clean, let alone a new emperor. As the officials who served the emperor, they just had to endure it.

“To be honest, I have never been in contact with the matters of the Imperial Court before. I believe that all of you have already commented on this in private.”

“We dare not!” After saying that, the officials all knelt on the ground in unison.

“Rise. The reason why I want to have a chat with all of you outside the Imperial Court is that I hope that you will not be too reserved and have a frank chat with me so that I can understand what you are thinking.”

When all the ministers stood up again, Jiang Beiran walked to an old minister in a purple robe and asked, “My dear minister, if I remember correctly, you were the first one who submitted the memorial to me yesterday, right?”

The old minister immediately bowed and said, “Your Majesty, it is me.”

“What is your position, my dear minister?”

“Your Majesty, I am Shi Xing ‘an, the Minister of Works.”

“What are you in charge of?”

“Your Majesty, I am in charge of helping Your Majesty manage the water conservancy, civil engineering, transportation, and industrial affairs in the kingdom.”

“Have you prepared the memorial for the Dongzhou County that you mentioned yesterday?”

Shi Xing’an bowed and said, “Your Majesty, it has been prepared and is sending for evaluation.”

“There is no need to trouble yourself. Just give me the memorial.”

Shi Xing’an did not hesitate and took out a memorial from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

After receiving the memorial from Shi Xing’an, Jiang Beiran opened it and read it.

“What kind of nonsense is this...” This memorial seemed to be very long, but the opening full of useless and gorgeous words which praised the emperor.

But after frowning, Jiang Beiran understood why the memorial was written like this. The meaning was very simple. These natural and man-made disasters had nothing to do with Your Majesty. It was all your humble subject’s fault for not managing it well.

It could be said that it was very bureaucratic.

After understanding the purpose of the opening, Jiang Beiran patiently continued reading.

“Good guy... big project, south-to-north water diversion.”

Although the memorial was written in a complicated way, Jiang Beiran still clearly understood his intention. It had to be said that this minister was very thoughtful. In Jiang Beiran’s impression, the most famous south-to-north water diversion in ancient times should have been the Grand Canal by Emperor Yang of Sui.

However, after that wave, the Sui dynasty suffered a great loss and was destroyed Emperor Gaozu of Tang dynasty.

After closing the memorial again, Jiang Beiran looked at Shi Xing’an and said, “Is this your method to manage drought?”

“Yes.” Shi Xing’an bowed and said, “I have thought ...”

“Nonsense!” Jiang Beiran shouted.

Seeing that the emperor was angry, Shi Xing ‘an quickly kneeled on the ground. The aura that suddenly burst out from Jiang Beiran’s body made the other officials kneel down as well. At the same time, they cursed in their hearts.

“It’s strange. Minister Shi clearly knows Emperor’s heart the best. Why did he make Emperor so angry this time?”

“What did Minister Shi say to make Emperor so angry?”

“It’s over. Emperor may look kind and ordinary on the surface, but this kind of aura is not something an ordinary person can release. This time, I’m afraid we will also suffer together.”

...

Jiang Beiran threw the memorial directly on Shi Xing’an’s black gauze hat and shouted, “Raise your head.”

Shi Xing’an immediately raised his head, but there was no fear on his face.

“Are you testing me?” Jiang Beiran asked expressionlessly.

“I don’t dare.”

“Don’t dare? I think you are very brave. Do you know how much manpower and resources you will need to solve this problem?”