The people who were waiting at the door to laugh at Zhu Ping'an's joke stared in amazement as he handed the two books to the eunuch. The four big characters "燾堃志异" on the cover of the top book were mocking them without any concealment.
"This must be a guess." A Hanlin official exclaimed in disbelief.
This scene was totally beyond his expectations. In the past, whenever Emperor Jiajing sent a note asking the Hanlin Academy to find a book, it always failed to be completed on time despite great efforts. Every time, it always made Emperor Jiajing furious. Every time, it took half a day or even a day or two to find the book!
But this time, two almost unheard-of books were found so quickly. It is even harder than taking something out of a bag. It only takes the time to pour a glass of water!
The others, including Yuan Wei, looked as if they had seen a ghost. They could not believe that Zhu Ping'an was so efficient. If they did not know that Emperor Jiajing was in a high position, they would even suspect that Zhu Ping'an had colluded with Emperor Jiajing.
In fact, not only them, even the eunuch waiting at the door looked dumbfounded. Even when Zhu Ping'an handed the two books to him, he couldn't believe that Zhu Ping'an would be so fast.
"Thank you for waiting for so long, sir. I hope you haven't missed the emperor's important event." After Zhu Ping'an handed the book to the eunuch, he said something polite.
Only at this time did the eunuch come to his senses. He unfolded the small piece of paper in his hand in disbelief and compared it with the words on the book.
The first book is "燾堃志异". Well, although I don't recognize it, the font and strokes are exactly the same as those on the small note.
After checking the first book, the eunuch started to check the second one.
At this time, the other Hanlin officials also gathered around. Maybe Zhu Ping'an had just luckily found the first copy of "The Strange Tales of the Unknown". The second copy would definitely not be so easy, maybe he had found the wrong one.
With this thought in mind, they gathered around and watched more seriously than the eunuch.
The eunuch put the first book at the bottom, the second book on top, and then unfolded the small note in his hand to check it again.
"ah.."
When seeing the name of the second book, someone in the Hanlin Academy who loved to be noisy couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise.
The second book was "Cang Hai Ge Wu Zhi". It turned out to be the real "Cang Hai Ge Wu Zhi". Zhu Ping'an actually found both books in the time it took to pour a glass of water, and they were not wrong at all. This was beyond their expectations.
After checking the two books, Xiao Huangmen thanked Zhu Pingan, wrapped the two books in a roll of yellow cloth, said goodbye to everyone in the Hanlin Academy, and hurried to Xiyuan to report.
Yuan Wei, who was watching on the side, saw the name of the second book, then made a sullen face and said goodbye as he had something to do, then left with a sullen face.
Yuan Wei saw a strong threat in Zhu Pingan. The Hanlin Academy is close to the emperor, and it is precisely because of this unique advantage that it has always been called the place where the prime minister is stored. Before Zhu Pingan came, Yuan Wei had written poems for Emperor Jiajing and praised his merits. Almost all the limelight was given to him, and Li Chunfang could not even compare to him. Emperor Jiajing also praised Yuan Wei several times. If the situation continued to develop like this, it would be a sure thing for him to be promoted to the cabinet and be granted a title of nobility.
But after Zhu Ping'an arrived, although it was only a few days, Yuan Wei felt threatened by Zhu Ping'an. Last time when he wrote an appetizing poem, Zhu Ping'an was in the spotlight. The sentence "Sweet and sour fish is even better with rice" that Emperor Jiajing replied, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was Zhu Ping'an's poem that whetted Emperor Jiajing's appetite. In a good mood, Emperor Jiajing wrote a small note to Zhu Ping'an in a joking tone. Emperor Jiajing wrote a small note in a joking tone. He had never received such treatment before.
Are you kidding? This can only be granted if you are close to the emperor! The advantage of the Hanlin Academy is that it is close to the emperor. If you are close to the emperor, you can get promoted. Entering the cabinet is all a matter of a word from the emperor.
Rather than training his abilities in the Hanlin Academy, it is better to cultivate his relationship with the emperor! Why did he write the Qingci dedicated to Emperor Jiajing with all his heart and soul? It was just to build his relationship with Emperor Jiajing!
Zhu Ping'an has only been here for a few days, and he has already caught the emperor's eye with a few food-themed poems! Now he has found the books the emperor wants so quickly. Compared with the previous times when he took a day or two to find them, this time Zhu Ping'an must have made a big impression in the emperor's mind! If this continues, he will have no place to stand out.
The more Yuan Wei thought about it, the more embarrassed he became. He walked to his office, sat on the chair with a gloomy face, and didn't know what he was planning.
"Lord Zhu is truly a man who never shows his true colors. Even if all of us work together to look for these two books, we still cannot find them after half a day. Lord Zhu, you really impress me." An official from the Imperial Academy looked at the second book and could not help but complimenting him.
"No, no, it was just luck. I happened to find these two books when I was sorting books this morning." Zhu Ping'an shook his head and explained. These two books were on the first floor. In Hongwu Zhengyun, one was ranked first and the other was ranked last, but I had seen it when I was sorting books. With Zhu Ping'an's super memory, it was almost effortless for him to find them.
Well, that's the only explanation.
Zhu Ping'an is really lucky. And this is not just ordinary luck. He has come across such a difficult book.
He is so lucky that such good luck can befall him.
While lamenting Zhu Ping'an's bad luck, the Hanlin scholars bowed to him and said goodbye, then returned to their respective offices with sighs on their faces.
When the eunuch returned to the Western Garden with two books wrapped in yellow cloth, the dispute among the bigwigs in the palace about the maritime ban was still in full swing. Not to mention Emperor Jiajing, even Huang Jin, who was serving Emperor Jiajing, got angry after hearing it.
Seeing that the eunuch came back so soon, Huang Jin's face turned pale.
How come you're back so soon? Could it be that the Hanlin Academy is failing like before? I can't find you after searching for a long time! I'm rushing to apologize!
So Huang Jin thought of the previous times when Emperor Jiajing had sent notes asking the Hanlin Academy to find books. Each time it took at least a day to find them, and each time it made Emperor Jiajing furious.
My ancestor, the emperor is still angry.
How come the Hanlin Academy still doesn't learn its lesson? It's really frustrating. His Majesty is already furious. If the Hanlin Academy behaves like this again, who knows how furious he will be. A beating in court is probably an act of mercy from the Infinite Heavenly Venerable.
Huang Jin was thinking of signaling the eunuch to leave first and come back when Emperor Jiajing was less angry. But before Huang Jin could signal, Emperor Jiajing on the dragon throne saw the eunuch and nodded to Huang Jin.
Seeing this, Huang Jin's face turned even paler. With just one look from Emperor Jiajing, Huang Jin understood what he meant. He was asking Huang Jin to go down and bring up the eunuch.
Oh, I hope Your Majesty doesn’t get sick from being so angry that he eats more. I hope he doesn’t get so angry that he can’t eat anymore.
Huang Jin sighed in his heart and walked down the stairs. His eyes were filled with strong resentment towards the eunuch. This ignorant little brat, he didn't know whether he had made the emperor angry or not, he didn't know how to read the emperor's expression!
The eunuch shrank his neck, wondering why his godfather was so bad-tempered.
Huang Jin led the eunuch to the front of Emperor Jiajing. The eunuch knelt on the ground and opened the yellow cloth wrapped around the two books in his hands. He held the books in both hands and handed them over to Emperor Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, I have brought back the books from the Hanlin Academy." The eunuch knelt on the ground and presented the books.
What the hell, did you bring back the books? Huang Jin's face suddenly turned from gray to happy, his chest heaving violently, happiness came too suddenly, and he was a little unprepared. Why didn't you tell me earlier, you made my family worry for so long.
However, Huang Jin was able to become a popular figure around Emperor Jiajing, which showed that he had some ability. After being out of control for half a second, he recovered, walked up to the eunuch, took the book in his hands, and handed it to Emperor Jiajing with both hands.
"Well, it's good. The Hanlin Academy didn't disappoint me this time." Emperor Jiajing was also quite surprised. He took the book in his hand, looked at it and nodded with satisfaction. (To be continued.)
ps: I was in the company for cadre training today, so I sneaked back at 4pm. I updated a little late, I hope you guys can forgive me. There will be another chapter later in the evening, probably after 12pm, you can read it tomorrow. Thank you for your support, thank you very much. In addition, book friends who still have monthly tickets, please support Hanmen, thank you very much.