From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 127: Expertise
It had been years since Zhang Xiu had last been in the capital and everything and nothing had changed. The summers were as hot as ever but made even more unbearable now that he’d acclimatised to the climate on the northern borders but when winter came, he knew that it would be the first of many years where he did not develop chilblains.
The hardships were over.
Even in the heat, one could count on the streets of the capital to be bustling. The western marketplace was the designated foreign quarter, which was also where the lavish inns catering to foreign dignitaries were situated, amidst the busy trading posts. Today, however, he was on the eastern side of the city, escorting their visiting guests on a tour as he showed them the sights and sounds. On the surface, it was all very proper and no expense had been spared to treat the representatives of the northern tribes with the best of comforts that the kingdom could afford.
But Zhang Xiu knew that around every turn and tucked away in each corner, perhaps the old noodle store owner or the crippled monk begging for alms, were the emperor’s spies. The slightest hint of any ill intentions and the brocade guard would be on them in the blink of an eye.
The emperor might not be in the capital but his presence was still very much felt. Zhang Xiu couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at that. Liu Yao had never been one to sheath his light and grow in the night (1) but now that he sat on the dragon throne, he had only become even more intimidating than before.
Zhang Xiu thought about what he’d set out to do upon receiving the summons to return home and the beautiful but useless slave that had Liu Yao wrapped around his finger. He gritted his teeth. He had the disadvantage for now because his work with the northern envoys meant that he had little opportunity to speak to Liu Yao in a personal capacity. But once autumn was over and the barbarians left the capital, he would have ample time to sort out one manipulative concubine then.
No one could claim to know Liu Yao as well as Yun Ziyu had. But if anyone came close, it would be Zhang Xiu, who had accompanied Liu Yao through thick and thin, growing up together from being young boys to young men. Not some glorified whore who had only been around for a handful of months and thought that he was a sparrow who flew up the branches to become a phoenix (2).
Zhang Xiu felt his temples throb. He’d just returned to the capital and already the burden of his family’s honour fell solely on his shoulders. His father was the Minister of Personnel only because of Zhang Xiu’s closeness to the emperor; the old fool was otherwise most famous for being fearful of Zhang Xiu’s mother’s fiery temper and far too inept to assist him in court.
As for his little sister, despite her assurances that she would be able to secure a high rank in the harem, falling short of his expectations as well. He could only blame Zhang Qian for her arrogance though, not her incompetence. Already, before her entry into the inner palace, Zhang Xiu had advised her against competing for Liu Yao’s affections; she would have had more worth securing a strong political marriage with one of the old noble clans instead. But the foolish love-struck girl had failed to listen to him and now Zhang Xiu had to figure out how to do her job for her too.
When were these stupid barbarians going to go back to where they came from? It was really too hot to be wandering around the marketplaces, Zhang Xiu had far better things to be doing with his time...
"Ye’s capital is rich and its women beautiful but the men all look so weak."
A raucous chorus of laughter from the entourage Zhang Xiu was showing around snapped him out of his bored daze. The boisterous voice with the loud opinion belonged to Prince Yenanda, the nephew of the current northern tribal overlord. He was a young man, had barely seen twenty summers, but Zhang Xiu knew better than to underestimate him...or offend him for that matter. According to Great General Pan, Yenanda was himself a skilled warrior, who had grown up on horseback but was not just a brute with mere strength.
After all, for a nephew to be next in line for succession despite Overlord Kulai having no shortage of mature sons, Yenanda was no simple character.
"Yenanda has told a joke (3)," Zhang Xiu said with a light laugh. "It is all thanks to His Majesty’s benevolence that Great Ye has remained wealthy and its inhabitants lead such carefree lives free from the trials of war. Now that we are at peace with each other, perhaps in time, the northern borders would also enjoy such luxuries."
A chorus of dissent bubbled up from Yenanda’s retainers but he held up a hand to stem the dark muttering. "Back in our tribes, young boys are taught from the time they learnt to walk how to fend for themselves." His hawkish eyes traced Zhang Xiu’s every move, making Zhang Xiu break out into a cold sweat. "Every boy who survives to become a man can hunt, can fight, can protect his women and children."
Zhang Xiu had spent years honing his skills as a diplomat, which was possibly the only reason why he did not cave into the urge to flee from the sudden terseness in the atmosphere.
"In times of peace, such measures will no longer be necessary," he tried explaining but Yenanda shook his head with a solemnity that left a frisson of unease in Zhang Xiu’s chest.
"A wolf cub is trained for the wild whether he has a pack to protect him or not," was Yenanda’s answer.
Before they arrived in the capital, the retinue of northern dignitaries had given him the impression that the north was keen on the armistice and willing to negotiate terms of subjugation that would be in Great Ye’s favour. But now that Yenanda was here, Zhang Xiu was no longer sure.
He needed to report this to Liu Yao immediately. If anything went wrong with this envoy trip, Zhang Xiu didn’t want to take the fall for it.
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"You’re troubled."
Yan Zheyun accepted the cup of tea from the young eunuch who was hovering nervously in the background before setting it down on Liu Yao’s desk. It was more cluttered than usual today, covered in memorials and brief drafts of plans written in such a flyaway cursive that they were illegible to anyone but their author. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Liu Yao indulged Yan Zheyun by pausing in his work and taking a sip. "Am I?" he asked, eyes crinkling as he tried to liven up but it was actually his smile that gave away how tired he was, highlighting the dark circles beneath his eyes. "This sovereign hasn’t noticed."
Yan Zheyun raised an eyebrow. Actually, he’d wanted to say ’you’re sulking’ instead, but had decided to spare Liu Yao the indignity because emperors, as everyone knew, didn’t sulk. They were far too poised for that.
He sidled over to Liu Yao’s side, nudging him gently with an arm. Liu Yao received the message instantly and scooted over to share his seat. Months ago, Yan Zheyun wouldn’t have dreamed of laying hands on the emperor without permission, let alone pushing him, but now he was relatively confident he wasn’t going to get beheaded for wanting to rest his feet for a bit.
This was the hard part. The part that could still get him beheaded if he wasn’t careful.
If Liu Yao were just his normal boyfriend in the 21st century who’d had a hard day at work, Yan Zheyun would be cuddling him on the sofa right now while asking for the details and offering his help in any way that he could.
But whatever was on Liu Yao’s mind was clearly a matter of the morning court. And although Liu Yao had shown no qualms in sharing information with Yan Zheyun, even going so far as to confide in him and ask for his opinion on various subjects, he always had to be the one to broach the subject first. Only when Liu Yao was happy to have Yan Zheyun onboard for a particular project, just like how he was still waiting for Yan Zheyun to refine his solution to the Hua Zhixuan problem, did Yan Zheyun dare to offer any advice.
True equality was Yan Zheyun’s goal one day but until they could trust each other with all their secrets, that day was still a ways off.
Luckily, Liu Yao was in a sharing mood. Or at least, whatever was troubling him wasn’t an issue so sensitive that he couldn’t broach it with a concubine.
"I wish to choose a suitable candidate to command the Yulin Army but I no longer trust the recommendations made by the Ministry of Personnel."
This made sense to Yan Zheyun. About the cheating scandal that had disrupted the imperial examinations, there had been loud thunder initially but the ensuing rain had been but a small drizzle (4). Yan Zheyun wasn’t certain how many officials in court truly thought that Liu Yao had set the incident aside for good but he was privy to insider information as it was. Liu Yao did not wish to rock the boat so early, not when he suspected that so many ministries and subjects were involved. But that didn’t mean that all was forgiven.
Zhang was a common family name but within the upper class, there were only so many coincidences. Was this Ministry of Personnel Zhang related to Attendant Zhang and Envoy Zhang?
If so, things were getting rather interesting. Yan Zheyun recalled the frostiness Envoy Zhang had directed towards him at their first meeting and figured this was a useful piece of information that he should try to confirm as soon as possible.
"Does Your Majesty not have a candidate in mind?" Good control of the Yulin Army was related directly to the safety of the imperial city so it was natural that Liu Yao would want it in the hands of someone he trusted completely. Yan Zheyun had assumed that he would hand it to someone in his team already, perhaps one of the brocade guards if not Yao Siya himself.
But perhaps that was naive of him. Yao Siya already had enough political power, as did Head Eunuch Cao. And they were both very, very close to home since they operated within the inner palace itself.
To give someone in any of those positions an army...Yan Zheyun shuddered. Okay, he could see why that would be a terrible idea if he were a very paranoid emperor.
A face flashed in his mind. He couldn’t remember its exact features since a lot of it had been blurred away in the traumatic experience, but it suddenly occurred to him that this would be an excellent way to repay a kindness done to him.
Assuming he managed to manoeuvre the situation gently enough such that Liu Yao didn’t think he was being manipulative.
"I might have a suggestion," he murmured, butting his head against Liu Yao’s shoulder before staring up at him with bright eyes. He knew that when he looked at Liu Yao like that, with wide-eyed enthusiasm, it tended to put Liu Yao in a good mood, but he didn’t know that it was because of how clear his eyes were, how free of the ugly, calculative scheming even Liu Yao’s mother didn’t bother concealing in front of him.
"Oh? Let’s hear it."
Yan Zheyun nodded. Then hesitated. "But I also have a recommendation," he said truthfully. "Which one does Your Majesty wish to hear first?"
Liu Yao blinked before letting out a laugh. "Is Ah Yun worried that I won’t want to hear your suggestion after thinking you have vested interests in the outcome?"
The teasing in his voice was evident and it helped Yan Zheyun to relax and be honest once more.
"Yes, because I was going to recommend someone to thank them for saving me but if Your Majesty promises to listen to my entire suggestion before coming to a decision, you would know that my solution to your problem is a very objective one." Or it would be if done correctly but even in modern companies, strings often were pulled to help people jump over hurdles they normally would fall at. If they wanted to do this right, they would have to be even more stringent than that...
Liu Yao picked up the brush again, dipped it into ink, and then handed it over to Yan Zheyun.
"Whatever Ah Yun has to say, I’m ready to listen."
Yan Zheyun accepted the offering and wrote four large characters down on the parchment. He’d long since given up trying to imitate the host body’s calligraphy style; no one alive should be able to distinguish the difference anyway and in the event someone did ask why his writing had changed since the age of fourteen, it was too easy to concoct a tale about having had to relearn the art of the brush after years of slavery.
He admired his handiwork with a smile that grew bolder when he noted Liu Yao’s confused frown. He knew that his boyfriend could read every individual word but stringing them together would result in a concept that was not yet in place in the current recruitment framework of the imperial city.
Yan Zheyun didn’t have much expertise that could feasibly be translated over into the setting he’d transmigrated into. He didn’t have the R&D knowledge to come up with innovations, had no medical background, and didn’t have much clue how complex civil or mechanical engineering worked once the subjects went past the level of high school physics.
But he did start a company before and had played a huge part in the HR process during start-up by choosing his own team very carefully. And then when he’d expanded, helping his team choose their team. And so on and so forth.
This much, he could help Liu Yao with.
"Ah Yun is wondering, has Your Majesty ever considered an interview panel before?"
