Exile Star, the planetary capital.
This was the newly constructed administrative building, functioning similarly to Emperor Qianlong's Hall of Diligent Governance; it was luxurious and grand. Cen Yemeng and Isabel resided here most of the time, receiving subordinates from across the planet or meeting with visiting alien heads of state to discuss major planetary affairs.
The marble corridor was smooth and gleaming. Jiang Senlin sat on a long bench at the end of the corridor, holding a large bouquet of carnations, waiting silently.
All sorts of people bustled past him: local officials, ministers of the six ministries, secretaries, representatives of the people, alien ambassadors… All of them headed towards the room at the other end of the corridor, Cen Yemeng's executive office.
Jiang Senlin possessed a painter's instinct for observing people. Before entering the executive office, these individuals often appeared nervous, as if facing a tiger's den. Upon exiting, their expressions varied: some were cheerful, others grim, and some even shed tears.
Occasionally, someone would stop, glance curiously at Jiang Senlin, ask no questions, nod, and leave.
Jiang Senlin's identity had not yet been made public. In everyone's memory, Cen Yemeng's son was still that little old man, making it difficult to associate him with this handsome young man. Jiang Senlin offered no explanation, quietly holding the carnations. It was Mother's Day, and he had come to give Cen Yemeng flowers, but after waiting for a full three hours, his mother still hadn't had a moment to spare. He suspected he might have to sit there for ten years.
A woman suddenly stopped in front of him.
"Why are you here?" the woman blinked, displaying a smile like an aunt looking at a child.
"Hello, Aunt Liu," Jiang Senlin nodded. "It's a holiday today, I came to give flowers. Mom has been very busy."
The woman who stopped was Liu Jizi. She had been temporarily transferred from Jiang Ye to assist Cen Yemeng and was one of the few who knew about Jiang Senlin's physical transformation.
Liu Jizi was dressed quite casually that day, in a gray professional skirt, but beneath her slender legs, she wore slippers. She was also carrying a tray with pastries and hot tea.
"Your mother doesn't even know you're here. I'll go tell her, and she'll be able to make time to see you," Liu Jizi said.
"No, I don't want to delay her work. I'm fine, I'll wait here a bit longer," Jiang Senlin quickly replied.
"Such a filial child. How long have you been here?"
"About three hours."
"You must be hungry. Wait here, I'll get you some fruit."
After speaking, Liu Jizi shuffled in her slippers and hurried away.
A moment later, she returned, carrying a large fruit platter and a flat robotic vacuum cleaner.
The platter held grapes and lychees. Liu Jizi placed the platter on the bench and the robotic vacuum cleaner at Jiang Senlin's feet. "After you finish, just spit the peels at it."
Jiang Senlin nodded, placed the carnations beside him, and obediently began eating grapes. When he finished, he spat the grape peels onto the ground. The robotic vacuum cleaner immediately moved over and sucked them into its mouth, like a puppy eating leftover bones.
Liu Jizi also sat on the bench, accompanying Jiang Senlin as he ate fruit.
"I heard you found two girlfriends," Liu Jizi said with a gossipy smile.
"Not at all, they're just ordinary friends," Jiang Senlin shook his head. "It's too early for me to find a girlfriend."
"You're not young anymore, an eighteen-year-old young man. Isn't this the age when feelings begin to stir?" Liu Jizi peeled a lychee.
"Aunt Liu, you're also single, aren't you?" Jiang Senlin asked.
Liu Jizi almost choked, rolling her eyes. "Don't you dare tease your Aunt Liu!"
Jiang Senlin shrugged.
Liu Jizi tilted her head, lost in thought, and ate lychees with gusto.
"Is Mom usually this busy?" Jiang Senlin asked. "I remember when I was little, she often had free time at home."
"As the territory grows, she naturally becomes busier. Your mother is now among the busiest 1% of everyone on this planet!" Liu Jizi said. "Managing a planet, do you think it's easy?"
"What exactly does a planetary leader do?" Jiang Senlin asked.
Liu Jizi raised an eyebrow, noticing Jiang Senlin's serious expression. "You're the crown prince, don't you know?"
"My parents don't discuss work with me. My impression is that they have endless phone calls, constant business trips, and piles of documents to approve, as much as a high school student's homework," Jiang Senlin said. "But I don't know what they specifically do, or what they think about every day."
"As someone close to your parents, Teacher Liu will tell you," Liu Jizi said with a smile, then frowned. "Oh dear, it's like trying to bite a sky that's too vast to find a place to start. The concepts are too broad, I don't know where to begin explaining!"
"It doesn't need to be organized, just tell me whatever comes to mind," Jiang Senlin said.
"For example, the appointment and dismissal of local officials," Liu Jizi said. "Did you ever serve as class monitor when you were in school?"
"For a while," Jiang Senlin nodded.
"Being a class monitor isn't quite right. Think of yourself as the homeroom teacher. You manage dozens of students in a class. You want every student to develop comprehensively in moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic aspects, but that's impossible," Liu Jizi said. "You need to be familiar with each student's situation, know their weaknesses, but these students will hide things, like copying homework or cheating on exams, making it impossible for you to see their true grades in every subject."
Jiang Senlin nodded thoughtfully.
"You need to select some subject representatives, discipline monitors, and class presidents and vice-presidents to be your subordinates. But these subordinates are not perfect; they all have strengths and weaknesses. Some subject representatives have prestige and can maintain discipline during study periods, but they lack intelligence and cannot help classmates improve their grades. Some subject representatives are smart and can help improve grades, but they are malicious and teach classmates to fight, surf the internet, or drink. You need to adjust these junior officials, rectify the class's academic atmosphere, and ensure everyone achieves good results."
"I'm starting to get a headache," Jiang Senlin said.
"Then there are emergencies. For instance, two children in the class, who were fine normally, suddenly have a conflict and start fighting. You have to handle it. Or two good students, who were previously at the top of their class, suddenly fall in love and their grades plummet. You also have to handle that. Your methods of handling cannot be too extreme, or the child might jump off a building; nor can they be too lenient, as they would be ineffective," Liu Jizi said.
Jiang Senlin paused his grape-eating, falling into silent contemplation.
"You also have to determine the review scope for all students in the class and grasp the direction of future exams. If the overall direction is wrong, no matter how hard students study, they will ultimately fail," Liu Jizi said. "If there's a school-wide exam, and other classes perform very well while yours is at the bottom, students and parents will complain, asking how you, the teacher, taught them. You have to find ways to appease parental anger and identify the reasons for poor performance."
"Besides all this, there's also the relationship with other teachers," Liu Jizi said. "If your class performs well, you become a star teacher. Other teachers will come to ask how you teach so well, but they might also become jealous, isolate you, and conspire against you. For any opportunities in the school, such as spots for lectures, priority distribution of new teaching materials, or chances for field trips, you have to strive for them, curry favor with the principal, elbow out other teachers, form alliances, and engage in political maneuvering..."
"I understand why my parents are so busy now," Jiang Senlin said, looking somewhat stunned.
"Does Senlin want to hold great power in the future?" Liu Jizi asked.
"Does Aunt Liu want to hold great power in the future?" Jiang Senlin countered.
"I already hold great power. I am your parents' secretary," Liu Jizi smiled. "Many important documents pass through my hands."
"I mean, positions like planetary governor or commander-in-chief," Jiang Senlin said.
Liu Jizi laughed happily. "How could that be? As an ordinary person, I've reached my limit."
"However, my parents have privately considered entrusting a planet to you in the future, Aunt Liu," Jiang Senlin said. "Perhaps very soon."
Liu Jizi froze, her mind suddenly going blank.