My father, Zhu Di, was granted a second life by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Chapter 125 Selects Liu Guan as the Supervising Censor of Beiping Circuit

"How could I dare to lie to you?" Zhu Gaoxi pointed fearfully at the stick in Miao Jin's hand. "If you don't believe me, ask You Dun."

With his exceptional talent and unparalleled intelligence, Zhu Gaoxi was absolutely confident and fearless that he would not be fooled by such a small lie.

Why should women in the inner quarters interfere so much in men's affairs?

Even if he had a little affection for Wu Ningshuang, it was just to look at her a few more times. He was careful and wouldn't actually make a move, since she was already taken.

This time, Zhu Gaoxi is definitely on You Dun's side.

Miao Jin, still somewhat doubtful, pulled Xu Jingyan away, her lost and dejected expression inexplicably heartbreaking.

A sense of melancholy welled up in Zhu Gaoxi's heart. He was about to marry another man, and his relationship with Miaojin was now completely over.

Yunfei caught up and handed the prepared snack bag to Xu Jingyan.

The little witch broke free from her aunt's hand, ran up to Zhu Gaoxi, and made her demand with a clear conscience: "I want to eat roasted pork."

"I'll buy it for you another day," Zhu Gaoxi said casually.

"Eat now," the little witch refused to budge.

Zhu Gaoxi smiled and reached out to touch the girl's rosy face, then called out, "Hanshu, go with her to buy it."

Miao Jin hurriedly returned, pulled her niece up again, and walked outside, leaving Zhu Gaoxi with a lonely figure that would forever be etched in his heart.

In the afternoon, Zhu Gaoxi and Han Da assembled a large water-powered spinning wheel in the backyard, while Sanbao stood guard in front, waiting for Xie Jin to arrive.

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Jin's voice suddenly came from behind, "Your humble servant greets Your Highness."

Zhu Gaoxi was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the approaching footsteps.

"Mr. Xie," Zhu Gaoxi turned around, smiling broadly, "please come in quickly."

Sanbao arranged the tea and water, then dismissed everyone before leaving.

Before the King of Wu could ask, Xie Jin took the initiative to mention a person: "Liu Guan, the Censor, is from Xiong County, Baoding Prefecture. He was a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongwu and once served as the Assistant Magistrate of Taigu County. He was good at discerning the truth of cases and collecting taxes with remarkable results. He also took the time to personally teach students and was quite capable in governance."

Historically, two years after the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to change the Censorate into the Censorate, which was responsible for impeaching officials. It was established with one Left and one Right Censor-in-Chief, both of the second rank, and also with Left and Right Deputy Censors-in-Chief, both of the third rank, and Left and Right Assistant Censors-in-Chief, both of the fourth rank.

Liu Guan is currently the Supervising Censor of Beiping Circuit, a seventh-rank official.

At this time, Baoding Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Beiping.

Since this person is within my father's sphere of influence, he should be usable. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I'll write to my father and ask him to send some secret guards to Baoding Prefecture.

If he were to be promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief, it would be equivalent to a three-level promotion, which would be quite difficult.

To promote someone exceptionally, you need someone to speak well of them; if that doesn't work, we'll do it ourselves.

Zhu Gaoxi had made up his mind, and while drinking tea with Xie Jin, he talked about Ru Taisu, the former Minister of Revenue.

Ru Taisu can be considered a benefactor to Xie Jin. Because he appreciated Xie Jin's talent, he specially asked the magistrate of Jishui County to appoint Xie Jin as a student with a stipend, with the government providing him with six dou of rice every month to help with his living expenses.

The number of students eligible for the stipend was fixed: forty for the prefectural school, thirty for the state school, and twenty for the county school. Not all students could become stipend students.

Coincidentally, Ru Taisu was from Zezhou, Shanxi, while Xie Jin's ancestral home was Daizhou, Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi.

As a result of impeachment, Ru Taisu was demoted to Supervising Censor of Beiping Circuit.

After Xie Jin left, Zhu Gaoxi leaned back in his recliner, closed his eyes to rest, and searched his mind for relevant information about Liu Guan.

Historically, Liu Guan was promoted to Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Yunnan in the first year of the Yongle reign. Before he even set off, he was reassigned as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, ranking third in the Ministry of Revenue, as the left was considered the most honorable position in the Ming Dynasty.

The following year, Liu Guan was transferred to the Censorate as the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. At that time, the head of the Censorate was the notorious cruel official Chen Ying, and the Right Censor-in-Chief was Wu Zhong.

Chen Ying was strict and harsh, Wu Zhong was tolerant, and Liu Guan was insincere and skillfully pleased with himself, navigating between the two with ease.

He seems to be a shrewd and pragmatic person who knows how to weigh options and make choices.

Although he later became extravagant and decadent, and was exiled to Liaodong for corruption, where he died far from home, he is still a clean and honest official who is worthy of being given important responsibilities.

After resting and recuperating, Zhu Gaoxi went to the Qianqing Palace and casually mentioned this person to the old emperor.

"Didn't your father tell you that?" the old emperor asked, his guard up.

"Father is busy with military training and border defense, how could he know so much about the court officials?" Zhu Gaoxi smiled slightly with relief, "I heard that this person is very capable."

"Then the assessment by the Ministry of Personnel shall prevail," the old emperor insisted on this principle.

"Of course," Zhu Gaoxi said, picking up a milk stick and stuffing it into his mouth, pretending that he had lost interest in the topic.

"I heard you value that centurion quite a bit, what's his name again?" The old emperor frowned in thought, then suddenly remembered, "Right, Ji Gang, why does he keep going to the Duke of Cao's mansion?"

It must have been the Crown Prince who instructed the Embroidered Uniform Guard to report this to the Emperor. Zhu Gaoxi understood immediately and asked with a smile, "How does Grandfather know so much about this?"

"You're not being honest, kid. Answer my questions and stop dawdling," the old emperor urged impatiently.

"Perhaps he feels he's not valued in the Prince of Wu's mansion and wants to climb the social ladder," Zhu Gaoxi said with a wry smile. "Back then, he longed to meet Brother Jixi sooner, and now he's getting so close to the Duke of Cao. He's probably obsessed with getting promoted and making money. Since he's so eager to associate with the Duke of Cao, I might as well grant his wish and prevent him from ruining the reputation of the Prince of Wu's mansion."

"You are responsible for failing to discipline your subordinates. Grandpa will speak to him on your behalf," the old emperor enthusiastically suggested.

If he were to interfere, he would only make things worse. Zhu Gaoxi jokingly refused, "It would be a waste of your talents for such a trivial matter to require Grandfather's personal intervention. Don't worry, I can handle it. If they don't listen, we'll just kick them out of the palace."

"Those who are too clever for their own good should not be given important positions," the old emperor earnestly advised.

"Grandson understands," Zhu Gaoxi replied obediently, and then slowly said, "I heard that the Imperial Son-in-Law Ouyang Lun has returned to the capital, bringing back a lot of fine Lantian jade. Ji Gang is wearing one on his waist, saying it was a gift from the Duke of Cao."

Ji Gang's chance encounter with Ouyang Lun at the Duke of Cao's mansion can be considered the biggest achievement in his "friendship" with Li Jinglong.

The old emperor smirked upon hearing this, turned around and took out a crystal-clear jade pendant from the wooden box beside him. "You brat, always eyeing my new treasure. It was meant for you."

Zhu Gaoxi glanced down and saw that the jade was pure and smooth to the touch, and was indeed a fine piece of jade. He quickly thanked him, saying, "The Princess's residence has limited income, and we can't let Ouyang Lun spend so much. I'll send him some silver. We can't let him get away with this for nothing. He must be spending a lot of money sending jade pendants around like this."

"Lantian produces jade, and these won't cost much. Sending silver over for no reason will only create distance. Keep them for now; it's customary for relatives to exchange gifts. You can return them later when you have the chance," the old emperor said, personally tying the jade to Zhu Gaoxi's waist. He then examined it from all sides before finally letting go with satisfaction.

My eldest grandson is becoming more and more heroic and extraordinary, just like me!

The old emperor was very pleased.