"Minister," as in, it was clear that Grand Secretary Heshen was only joking. However, regarding Zhao Youlu, whom he had just branded a "sycophant," his opinion had undergone a complete change. He now viewed the man as someone truly worth cultivating.
To put it plainly, the lad’s brain was quite nimble.
As for the young man’s grand effort in the Yangzhou Prefecture Academy to promote "loyalty education," going so far as to coin the slogan, "In life, enter the Wenhua Hall; in death, enter the Pavilion of Purple Light"—well, in the Grand Secretary’s eyes, that was a bit much.
Chapter 110