Scum Gong Walks the Career Line in the Crematorium

Perhaps due to years of observing people’s expressions, Gu Shi’s thoughts were unusually sensitive. Lin Hanchuan didn’t say anything to him, but he sensed something different.

Whether it was having him practice writing memorials, or study the handling of court affairs, it was all to develop his abilities so that he could eventually be let go.

Lin Hanchuan’s voice choked a little as he looked at the half-grown youth leaning on his knees, his heart melting.

But from today onwards, Gu Shi was already the emperor, and Lin Hanchuan hardened his heart and said, “As an emperor, you must be wary of power being left to others. As long as I am here, your ministers will never be completely loyal…”

“No one will have absolute loyalty,” Gu Shi interrupted Lin Hanchuan. “They will always have their own thoughts, and I don’t expect them to be unwaveringly loyal. As long as they can do their jobs for me, it’s enough.”

This was quite an emperor-like attitude. Lin Hanchuan was speechless and couldn’t help but reach out and touch Gu Shi’s hair. The long and smooth hair slid through his palm, carrying a faint coolness.

Before, Lin Hanchuan was always a bit worried, concerned that Gu Shi, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man, wouldn’t be able to control those old foxes in the court. But now, it seemed that Gu Shi’s growth speed was astonishing.

“Aren’t you afraid that I will seize power?” Lin Hanchuan asked softly.

Gu Shi looked up, gazing at Lin Hanchuan from bottom to top, his eyes fixed on him for a while. Suddenly, he smiled, “I couldn’t wish for anything more.”

For some reason, even though Gu Shi was squatting by his feet, obedient like a little cat, his appearance still carried the youth’s characteristic greenness. Perhaps Lin Hanchuan always felt like he was being mounted by a large carnivorous animal.

Gu Shi didn’t lie; he really couldn’t wish for anything more. Others might care more about power and status, but in Gu Shi’s eyes, whether he was an emperor or the young prince of the Regent King, the wealth he had now was already sufficient. He didn’t have much greed for external wealth and treasures. Instead, there was a black void in his heart, chilly and windy, unable to be filled no matter what was put into it.

Until Lin Hanchuan suddenly appeared, his tenderness was like a tightly-woven spider web that softly covered this black void. From then on, all his emotions found a tangible landing point.

Gu Shi had nothing before, so he knew exactly what he wanted.

If Lin Hanchuan had some attachment to power and status, he would have felt more at ease. But Gu Shi knew that Lin Hanchuan didn’t care about those things at all. The only thing he truly cared about was the peace and prosperity of Sui Kingdom, and perhaps having himself by his side.

If only he could keep Lin Hanchuan close to him… Gu Shi sighed in his heart. His greatest fear was that after becoming the emperor, he would gradually grow apart from Lin Hanchuan, just like the former Emperor Zhao Yuan.

“You can’t speak so recklessly,” Lin Hanchuan lifted Gu Shi from the ground and lightly slapped him, sternly reprimanding him, “What if this gets spread around?”

After the slap, Lin Hanchuan felt the softness of Gu Shi’s palm. He paused for a moment before standing up stiffly and said, “The walls have ears, and the palace is not completely sealed. You must be cautious with your words and actions in the future.”

After scolding the disobedient child, Lin Hanchuan didn’t even look at Gu Shi’s reaction and left in big strides.

As he reached the palace gate, Lin Hanchuan’s steps gradually slowed down. In the end, he couldn’t resist and turned back to take a look. Gu Shi, dressed in a snow-white inner robe, stood in place with his long black hair flowing like a waterfall, his expression indistinguishable.

Lin Hanchuan’s fingertips twitched slightly, as if the soft touch still lingered. He cursed inwardly and quickly left.

Gu Shi watched his departing figure, his face turning red. He had often fought with various people before, but this was the first time someone had spanked him… It didn’t hurt, but it was embarrassing.

The next day, Gu Shi formally attended the court session for the first time. Lin Hanchuan stood in front of the civil and military officials, looking composed.

Yesterday, the new young emperor conferred upon him the title of “Wang” with the same character side by side. The officials were unsure about the relationship between the two.

In theory, the emperor and the regent should be at odds with each other. The ministers had even secretly divided into two factions, taking sides. However, Gu Shi’s behavior the previous day left everyone uncertain.

Some thought that the young emperor was deliberately trying to please the regent because he couldn’t compete with him. Others believed that the young emperor, being inexperienced, had been deceived by the regent. There was also a small group of people contemplating the possibility that the young emperor was brought back by the regent, and their relationship might not be as tense as outsiders imagined.

With various thoughts in mind, Gu Shi, wearing a black dragon robe, entered everyone’s view. The officials were all alert, and their expressions became more respectful. As the all-powerful regent, Lin Hanchuan didn’t lower his head like the others; instead, he looked straight at Gu Shi.

The black robe was embroidered with golden rolled edges, and the patterns were faintly shaped like auspicious clouds. The robe was also adorned with clearly layered dragon patterns embroidered with golden threads, making Gu Shi’s rather slender figure appear formidable.

The expressionless emperor looked very majestic, but the moment he saw Lin Hanchuan, he seemed to recall something, and a faint blush crept up his earlobes as he avoided Lin Hanchuan’s gaze.

Fortunately, none of the officials dared to scrutinize the emperor’s face as carefully as Lin Hanchuan, so no one noticed the reddening of his ears, preserving the majesty of his first court appearance.

A hint of an elusive smile flashed in Lin Hanchuan’s eyes. The young emperor sitting on the dragon throne looked nothing like the pitiful appearance from last night.

Under Lin Hanchuan’s gaze, Gu Shi straightened his back and, following his usual experience in handling court affairs, began to address the matters of the court. As they listened to his clear voice, the officials also felt relieved. It seemed that this young emperor did have some real ability.

After everyone had presented their opinions, the hall fell into silence. Lin Hanchuan finally took a step forward and spoke in a measured tone, “Your Majesty, I have something to report.”

“Please speak, Wangye,” upon hearing Lin Hanchuan’s deep voice, the redness on Gu Shi’s ears started to spread again.

“Now, the kingdom is weak and in need of talents. However, classical Chinese is arduous, and its content is difficult to understand. Only those from noble families who have studied it since childhood can appreciate the subtleties and essence of learning. Ordinary commoners, throughout their lives, cannot comprehend it.”

“How many are from noble families? How many are commoners? If we want to cultivate scholars and broaden the talent pool, we need to simplify the writing system.”

“Your humble servant and Su Congyu have worked as the main authors to compile a dictionary of simplified characters.”

As Lin Hanchuan spoke, the officials couldn’t contain themselves, even though they were in court with the emperor sitting above. They voiced their opposition.

“The current writing system is the wisdom of our ancestors. How dare you modify and simplify it!”

“You’re speaking arrogantly! The characters that have been passed down for thousands of years, and you dare to interfere?”

“Wangye, I know you are concerned for the country and the people, but language is the soul of a nation. If you change it, our nation will lose its identity. How can the Sui Kingdom stand strong?”

“Although this old minister is not as eloquent as Wangye, I’m willing to give my life for this cause…”

“The regent has ambitious intentions. How dare he meddle with the language. If you change the writing system, the next step might be changing the dynasty!”

Not only the old Confucian ministers who disapproved of the regent, but even those who were originally in Lin Hanchuan’s camp disagreed. The entire hall was filled with accusations and insults directed at Lin Hanchuan.

Lin Hanchuan had anticipated this opposition. Even the modern simplified writing system had faced countless objections before being adopted, let alone the conservative mindset of a feudal dynasty.

All present were vested interests who had studied for decades, and they were accustomed to the complex traditional characters. Changing to simplified characters undoubtedly touched a nerve for all of them.

But Lin Hanchuan had made up his mind. With his current control over the court and the military, as long as he became firm, these Confucian scholars wouldn’t have the power to stop him. At most, he would be burdened with some criticism and insults from scholars, and that would be it.

Lin Hanchuan didn’t care about the insults. The reform of the writing system was a great thing for the future. As long as they endured the initial pain of the reform, learning would become much easier for everyone, especially for the common people, who would benefit greatly.

To some extent, the simplified characters lowered the threshold set by the noble families, allowing the common people to strive and reach that threshold.

After everyone finished speaking, Lin Hanchuan snorted coldly. He didn’t engage in verbal battles with the Confucian scholars but looked at the leading old minister and said, “If you want to make a martyr’s statement with your blood in the court, I can’t stop you. Rest assured, I will take good care of your clan and relatives.”

The indignant old minister was stunned. He had no problem sacrificing himself for a cause, even if it meant becoming immortalized in history. However, if it involved his own family…

Although Lin Hanchuan said he would take good care of them, who would dare to believe that he would truly do so? The old minister’s lips trembled, “You!”

Lin Hanchuan didn’t pay any attention, as if he hadn’t seen the man’s grief and indignation. He even took a step back, making way for the big pillar behind him, and said, “Please go ahead. But I just remembered, your daughter-in-law has recently given birth, and your grandson hasn’t reached his hundredth day yet. I wonder if the celebration can still be held.”

The old minister wanted to touch the pillar, but he didn’t dare. For a moment, he could only stand awkwardly in place.

“These characters are interesting,” a voice broke the impasse.

At this moment, the other ministers finally remembered that they were in the early court session. They quickly restored their formations on both sides and knelt down together, saying, “This action by the regent goes against the ancestors, it’s audacious and unreasonable. We beseech Your Majesty to make a decision!”

Although they said they wanted a decision, they actually wanted the young emperor to reject this proposal.

Gu Shi, as if he hadn’t noticed the kneeling ministers, was flipping through the booklet Lin Hanchuan had presented. It contained simplified characters and a clear comparison with the traditional complex characters.

The original characters were so intricate, almost like drawings. The simplified characters, on the other hand, either extracted representative structures or just took parts of the original characters, making it easy to recognize what the characters originally were.

The new simplified characters were much easier to learn, and those familiar with the traditional characters wouldn’t suddenly become illiterate.

“I think the regent’s proposal is good,” said Gu Shi, who had suffered from learning the complex characters, closing the booklet.

Immediately, the ministers kneeling below felt their hearts turn cold, “Your Majesty!”

Lin Hanchuan’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t wanted Gu Shi to endorse his decision. He had planned to bear all the criticism himself, and the ministers, resenting him deeply, would naturally side with the emperor.

Lin Hanchuan had thought of everything, but he hadn’t expected Gu Shi to unconditionally stand by his side.

“The regent’s action will leave an everlasting achievement. You all have short-sightedness and fail to see that it will be praised by future generations,” Gu Shi lightly laughed and said, “Wangye alone cannot shoulder the burden. You can choose a few officials from the court to assist Wangye.”

The ministers were insulted by being called short-sighted, and their faces turned extremely unsightly.

“Spread it around, let all the ministers have a look,” Gu Shi handed the booklet to the eunuch beside him and let him take it away.

The booklet was soon passed to the first minister. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and stiffly took the booklet. He had intended to flip through it casually, but when he saw the characters on the first page, his gaze instantly sharpened.

As he turned the pages to the last one, he handed the booklet to the next person. He couldn’t figure out how to react.

Everyone who could stand in the court was not an ordinary talent. He had originally thought that Lin Hanchuan’s reform of the writing system was merely a means to maintain his political power. However, after reading the booklet, he couldn’t help but agree with the young emperor’s criticism of the ministers.

This action would leave an everlasting achievement. If it succeeded, even thousands of years later, the kingdom would remain immortal in history. Even if the country disappeared, its name would be forever preserved in the annals of history.

To leave one’s name in history… He didn’t know what to feel as he trembled slightly, feeling goosebumps rising all over his body.

“How is it?” After everyone had taken a look, Gu Shi raised his chin, showing interest.

Except for the old Confucian scholars who refused to defy the ancestors, the rest of the people present felt more complicated, especially those from noble families.

“It seems you all approve of it,” Gu Shi clapped his hands. “In that case, I’ll leave it to the regent to take full responsibility. If any of you are willing to assist the regent, you can negotiate with him privately. You may leave now.”

Lin Hanchuan looked at Gu Shi, impressed by his commanding presence and astute methods, feeling gratified.

The simplification of the characters was now confirmed. After the news was announced to the world, countless scholars deeply hated the regent and even composed poems and manifestos to insult him. The entire Sui Kingdom was engulfed in unprecedented turbulence and changes.

Although Yang Xiucan was called a “scholar”, he was actually just a young student. His family in the village was not poor and could afford to send him to school. However, once he entered the county, he realized that he was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well.

There were many things in the county that he had never heard of or seen before, but Yang Xiucan didn’t have time to explore. No matter how hard he studied, he couldn’t match the results of his classmates.

Even if he consoled himself, those classmates had private tutors from a young age, while he could only study at the school and didn’t have the money to hire a tutor for private lessons. As a result, his progress was naturally slower. However, Yang Xiucan was not resigned to this fate.

Thinking of his elderly parents at home, and his wife who had accompanied him to the county to support and accompany him, he felt a sense of determination to make a name for himself.

The county was too far from the capital city, and even if the emperor was changed, it would only be a topic of conversation after meals. It wouldn’t have any impact on everyone’s lives until the emperor issued a decree stating that all private schools should use simplified characters for teaching, and future imperial examinations would also require the use of simplified characters in answering questions.

There was an outcry of protest in the schools. People cursed the new emperor, cursed the regent… Yang Xiucan almost thought that these people were going to rebel.

But scholars were ultimately powerless. Even if they were fervently protesting, it only concerned scholars, and their anger didn’t affect the lives of other common people.

Imperial examinations still needed to be answered using simplified characters. The scholars could only reluctantly study with these characters while cursing.

Yang Xiucan also joined in the cursing, but his curses were not entirely sincere. He found that since using the simplified characters for teaching, his learning speed had improved significantly.

Words that he needed to ask the teacher several times to remember before, he could now memorize at a glance. Characters that used to take a long time to write and could easily become a mess were now easily written with a few simple strokes. Ancient texts that required careful study of every character were now less laborious…

The frustration that Yang Xiucan had bottled up in his heart finally found a purpose. While other classmates were busy cursing, his grades had already caught up with them.

While studying in the bamboo forest at the academy one day, Yang Xiucan noticed another classmate. He recognized him as someone from the neighboring village who came to study together. Their family background was not good either. The two exchanged glances and saw that the other person was holding a book with simplified characters.

“Yang Xiong,” the other person smiled and greeted him.

With an understanding look, they greeted each other, and Yang Xiucan suddenly realized that, no matter how others cursed this policy, perhaps for poor students like them, it might be an opportunity to change their lives.

“Your Majesty is wise, and the regent is wise. The Sui Kingdom is blessed, having such a wise monarch and a loyal and talented regent.” Yang Xiucan blinked his eyes, blinking away the moisture, and seriously read the book. He might be insignificant now, and he could only endure the insults, but once he read more books and entered the court, he would serve His Majesty and the regent wholeheartedly.

After implementing the policy of simplifying the characters, Lin Hanchuan became busy. Such a significant matter couldn’t be resolved overnight. Currently, he and Su Congyu had only simplified a portion of the most complex characters, and some characters still needed further simplification.

In the midst of his busyness, Lin Hanchuan had not seen Gu Shi for a long time. It was only when the red lanterns were hung in the mansion that he realized it was the eve of the Spring Festival.

Looking at the snow falling for several days in the capital city, covering the entire world in silver-white, with only the red of the lanterns and couplets contrasting against the snow, Lin Hanchuan felt a bit melancholic. In his memory, the New Year was no different from usual, just work and a few extra days of rest at home alone. Apart from that, there was only an empty and desolate city.

Back then, Lin Hanchuan was unaffected, perhaps because he had no one in his heart to care about. But now, Lin Hanchuan felt a little different. When he finally reacted, he had already stepped into the palace.

Amidst Lin Hanchuan’s busy schedule, Gu Shi was not at ease either.

Lin Hanchuan wanted to simplify the characters, and Gu Shi had to fend off all the controversies. Countless ministers had written memorials, like snowflakes landing on Gu Shi’s desk, and all of them were condemning the regent.

Apart from that, some were acting against the policy openly or secretly, while others were resisting it stubbornly… making Gu Shi quite anxious.

When Gu Shi saw Lin Hanchuan, he instinctively closed the memorial in his hand, showing surprise. “Why are you here?”

Lin Hanchuan didn’t answer his question but casually picked up a memorial and glanced at it. As expected, it was densely written with accusations against him. This time, Gu Shi didn’t retort arrogantly with some nonsense, but it didn’t improve the situation much.

“Do you know?” After reading Gu Shi’s annotations, Lin Hanchuan put down the memorial, feeling somewhat amused.

Seeing that Lin Hanchuan had found out, Gu Shi let out a long sigh. He leaned back in his chair and said with deep thought, “Otherwise, what else can I do?”

After a few seconds of silence, Lin Hanchuan said, “Now you are the emperor, you should refer to yourself as ‘I’.”

“I do that in the local area,” Gu Shi smiled, “But in front of you, why should I put on the airs of an emperor?”

Seeing that Lin Hanchuan was about to lecture him again, Gu Shi quickly changed the subject, “You still haven’t said, why are you here?”

“…Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” Lin Hanchuan rubbed his temples. He was so busy that he hadn’t realized Gu Shi was no less busy.

“New Year’s Eve?” Gu Shi widened his eyes in surprise. “No wonder someone reminded me that I should take three days off. I thought he had something to discuss and wanted to take leave…”

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter, as if the fatigue of the past few days had disappeared in an instant.

After hearing the news about New Year’s Eve, Gu Shi lost interest in dealing with those meaningless memorials. He ran outside the hall, looking at the world dressed in silver and white, his eyes filled with a smile. “Are you here to spend New Year’s Eve with me?”

Lin Hanchuan paused, “According to the protocol, the palace would prepare a New Year’s Eve banquet to entertain the ministers…”

“No wonder the people from the Imperial Household Department have been looking for me so frequently lately.” Gu Shi suddenly realized, then smiled, “A New Year’s Eve banquet is just a banquet. It’s different from us spending New Year’s Eve together.”

Seeing him like this, Lin Hanchuan no longer hesitated and said with a smile, “Yes, I’m here to spend New Year’s Eve with you.”

Lin Hanchuan always appeared cold and stern to outsiders, but in front of Gu Shi, he always showed a softer side. Gu Shi looked at him, dazed for a few seconds.

This feeling of being treated especially always made Gu Shi feel cherished. In the eyes of the other person, he seemed to be the special one, regardless of whether he was just a hoodlum from a small town or the emperor of a nation.

So Gu Shi also wanted the other person to know his feelings – to be treated specially, to be cherished more than with cautious care… In Lin Hanchuan’s eyes, Gu Shi received all the emotions he had never experienced before.

Gu Shi moved closer to Lin Hanchuan, a glimmer of smile in his eyes, “I’ve never celebrated New Year’s Eve before. This is the first time I have someone to spend it with.”

In the brothel, the courtesans and madams would gather together to have a meal, but Gu Shi was never favored, and they never allowed him to sit at the main table. After leaving the brothel, he was even more alone.

“I haven’t either,” Lin Hanchuan’s voice was gentle, and his eyes were soft.