This was not the first time such a matter had occurred, and Lin Ling Su handled it with practiced ease.
The disciples had already prepared the necessary accouterments for his feasting.
They were essentially always brought along when he traveled, so naturally, someone quickly delivered them.
After performing a pretense of burning incense and praying, Lin Ling Su, right before the Emperor's eyes, tossed an identical sheet of Xuan paper into the brazier.
Then, he launched into a standard performance of a shamanistic dance. He busied himself inside and out, sweat pouring down his brow, yet he refused to stop.
Zhao Ji did not rush him, but sat quietly, awaiting the final outcome.
Such an occasion was naturally not suited for idle onlookers. Within the entire Fuling Hall, there were only Zhao Ji and two personal eunuchs.
Furthermore, both of them stood beside the Emperor, all three gazing at Lin Ling Su with reverence.
After all, he was the only one capable of communicating with the divine.
Seeing that the time was nearly up, Lin Ling Su quickly shifted his position and stealthily, within the wide sleeves of his robe, unrolled the Xuan paper that he had swapped out. He stole a glance at its contents.
However, upon clearly seeing what was written, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
This Emperor was truly amusing, to use divination for such a question as who to appoint as the Grand Secretary of Daming?
Still, after seeing this, he genuinely felt a touch of fear towards Han Mo's uncanny foresight.
How could this fellow have predicted three days in advance that the Emperor would ask him to divine this very matter?
His own foresight was fake, but this kid's skill seemed to be genuine.
Damn it, between him and me, who was the real charlatan!
However, regardless of his displeasure, the act had to be completed.
Since the stage was already set, he simply threw himself onto the ground and began foaming at the mouth.
This was something he had done countless times. Not only was his own process familiar, but the Emperor was also intimately familiar with it.
Seeing him foam at the mouth did not cause any alarm; instead, the two young eunuchs immediately knelt on the ground.
Indeed, after a moment, Lin Ling Su sprang up from the ground with a powerful heave.
Then, a strange sound emanated from his throat.
The sound was incredibly awkward, yet it caused Zhao Ji to sit up straighter.
He directly gestured with his eyes at the little eunuch kneeling beside him. The eunuch, understanding, quickly brought a sand tray and offered it to Lin Ling Su, along with a willow twig pen to hold in his mouth.
Lin Ling Su's body trembled continuously, while the pen held in his mouth moved incessantly.
After a moment, when Lin Ling Su fainted again, the little eunuch quickly presented the sand tray to Zhao Ji.
"The dual man chooses, benevolence and righteousness as the root?"
Looking at these eight characters, which were nonsensical and barely legible, Zhao Ji furrowed his brow.
Even though he was the Emperor, he was, at the end of the day, still a mortal.
He was momentarily at a loss as to how to interpret these obscure words.
However, since this was a divine instruction, he could only patiently ponder it at this time.
"Send someone to escort the True Person back to the Divine Firmament Palace!"
Since deciphering this would take time, and seeing Lin Ling Su still lying on the ground, Zhao Ji, with considerable kindness, ordered him to be sent back.
"Yes!"
The two little eunuchs dared not delay, quickly calling for people to come and carry Lin Ling Su back to the Divine Firmament Palace.
After everyone had left, Zhao Ji once again gathered the information of all four individuals together.
Looking at the eight characters again, as he read them, he seemed to suddenly see a glimmer of understanding.
Could this matter truly be such a coincidence?
Xu Churen, courtesy name Zezhi, and the character "Xu" itself was composed of two "ren" radicals!
Furthermore, his given name contained the character "Ren," for benevolence and righteousness!
Coupled with the records from the Ministry of Personnel, this elder's conduct truly deserved the character of benevolence!
Wang Ge's downfall this time was entirely due to this man's overly harsh methods.
The situation in Hebei was already dire. At this juncture, sending him to implement a policy of appeasement to salvage the situation might be a good choice.
Zhao Ji was, in himself, a clever man, but his mind had never been truly focused on such matters.
Moreover, the eight characters conjured by Han Mo inherently carried a form of psychological suggestion.
Since they were divine instructions, they were naturally correct. Zhao Ji, without realizing it, had dug a pit for himself.
Once the pit was dug, he naturally had to find a way to fill it. Looking left and right, this pit was originally dug with Xu Churen in mind, so naturally, only he could fill it!
In a mere moment, Zhao Ji had made his decision.
Yes, it had to be this fellow!
With this matter settled, Zhao Ji felt a sense of relief.
Meanwhile, outside the palace, in the Prince of Xin's mansion, Zong Ying was staring blankly at the information gathered from various sources.
Although Xu Churen was inexplicably put on the shortlist by Liang Shicheng, compared to the other three contenders,
Aside from his long beard, in every other aspect, he was a subpar candidate!
For him to ascend, the Emperor would have to be blind!
"Sir, have there been any results?"
Seeing Zong Ying's furrowed brow, Zhao Zhen asked softly.
He himself was not adept at these matters and currently had no idea what Zong Ying was busy with.
"Brother Han, though exceptionally intelligent, Your Highness should not harbor too much hope in this matter. After all, even Prime Minister Cai's son has personally entered the fray, making it difficult for His Majesty to overly favor..."
As he spoke, Zong Ying's face showed a hint of helplessness.
It was truly a source of shame that, over the years, they had failed to build up any connections in the higher circles.
Now, at a time when their influence was desperately needed, they were powerless.
To rely on Han Mo alone to snatch a tooth from a tiger's mouth was truly no easy feat.
After all, judging by the current momentum, Cai Jing was determined to secure the position of Grand Secretary of Daming.
And it wasn't just him; for such an important position, even if the Crown Prince found it inconvenient to act, Prince Yun would not be polite!
Even if two tigers fought and one was wounded, the final candidate would likely not fall to Xu Churen.
"The planning is with heaven, success is with man. That Mr. Xu was even included on this list is already quite surprising to this Prince!"
Compared to Zong Ying's pessimism, Zhao Zhen's attitude was much better.