Prince Jin was not in a hurry to have a baby. He came to see the emperor to discuss the criminal in the Jiangnan corruption case.
The emperor was really rude, killing the donkey after it had done its job, "Hand over the criminal to the Ministry of Justice, and the case will be tried by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Revenue together."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Jin agreed without hesitation.
A smug smile flashed across the emperor's lips. What could it matter if Prince Jin was so powerful
As long as he sat in this position, he could mold the Prince of Jin as he pleased or flatten him as he pleased.
The King of Ningxia came for the purpose of evaluating the performance of officials. He served as a fifth-rank official in the Performance Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Personnel.
He is not of high rank, but he is a person with real power.
One of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Examination is to select and evaluate people and promote talented people. If the officials of the Ministry of Examination are strict, the good ones will become good, and the good ones will become bad.
"Your Majesty, this is the performance evaluation of officials from various departments in the capital." Prince Ningxia presented the memorial.
Eunuch Yu stepped forward, took the memorial and placed it on the dragon table.
"Have the trade negotiations been concluded?" asked the emperor.
"I was busy compiling books and didn't pay much attention to this matter," King Jin evaded.
The King of Ningxia said, "It's still a stalemate. The envoy of Chagatai Kingdom does not agree to barter."
"Then continue the talks. Daqin is in no hurry," said the emperor.
The King of Jin did not respond, and the King of Ningxia flattered him, "Your Majesty is wise."
The results of the Autumn Examination were announced the next day. At that time, osmanthus flowers were in bloom. The Autumn Examination List was also known as the Osmanthus List.
The list outside the Imperial Examination Hall was already crowded with people.
There were students taking the exam, and there were also people sent by wealthy and powerful families to gather information and prepare for the next spring exam.
There were also many ordinary people coming to watch. Being on the list of top scorers meant that one had been promoted from a scholar to a juren.
A scholar can become an official, or at least a county magistrate.
Many people who cannot marry into a wealthy family but have some money at home want to find a son-in-law from the list.
Neither the brothers Zhou Duxin nor Zhuang Jike came, and sent their servants to check the list.
"My third master won!" The Zhou family's servant cheered, squeezed out of the crowd and ran back.
The banker's servant was still looking for the names of the two young masters. He didn't see them in the first two lists. On the third list, the second name he saw was Zhuang Jike. Zhuang Jideng's name was not on the list.
The imperial examination list of this dynasty is divided into the yellow list, the red list and the blue list.
The top 100 are on the Yellow List, which is not only posted but also sent to the emperor for his review. The top ten in the spring examinations every year are all from the Yellow List.
Although being on the red list is not as glorious as being on the yellow list, it means you are considered a qualified juren and can seek an official position.
Although the students on the blue list passed the imperial examination, they had a bad reputation and most of them could not become officials and could only become gentry.
In addition to arranging servants to go outside the Imperial Examination Hall to check the list, Zhuang Zhou and his family also asked the household steward to wait at the gate of the town. Red envelopes, wedding money, firecrackers and other items were also prepared, just waiting for the good news.
Both families were eager to choose the best candidate. The waiter from the Zhuang family who was checking the list came back and reported: "The name of the Third Master is not on any of the three lists, but the name of the Fourth Master Ke is on the blue list."
The hall was silent. This brother's test results were so disappointing.
Grandpa Zhuang glared at his son. "You evil beast, every time I asked you to read, you boasted that you were very talented and disdained to read those things about official career and economics. Now that you got such a ranking in the exam, how can you be so proud?"
Master Zhuang kicked his son on the buttocks and said, "You are such a disgrace that you can't even make the list. Have you read so many books that you have lost your memory?"
Zhuang Jike didn't dare to take his father's place. He suddenly remembered the bet he made with Zhou Duxin in the Imperial Examination Hall and asked, "How many places did the slave released by the Jiang family take?"
The servant was confused, "Who is the Fourth Master asking about?"
"That's right." Zhuang Jike thought for a moment, "His name seems to be Zhou Duxin."
"Impossible, how is it possible?" Zhuang Jike collapsed and refused to believe it.
"I did see Zhou Duxin's name on the yellow list, but he is not the one you are talking about, so I don't know him."
It's rare to find someone with the same name, and his surname is Zhou. How could it be a coincidence that they have the same name and surname
Seeing Zhuang Jike in a state of despair, Master Zhuang asked sternly, "What's going on? Why are you asking about the rank of the Jiang family's old servant?"
Zhuang Jike hesitated for a moment and then told the truth.
Mr. Zhuang was furious. "You are such a fool who has no self-awareness. You are ruining your career."
He knew that he, the second legitimate son, was not as capable as his eldest son, but he did not expect that he would compete with those who passed the Asian Yuan exam.
"Boss, don't get angry yet. The Zhou family has always been cunning. They must have provoked Ke Ge with words and set a trap to trap Ke Ge. If the Zhou family dares to come to our house to cause trouble, I, an old woman, will have something to say."
"How could a servant do so well in the exam? Could someone have leaked the test questions to him?" Mrs. Wu suddenly said.
"Shut up." Old Madam Zhuang glared at her fiercely, "Boss, keep an eye on her and don't let her talk nonsense. Is that something she can say?"
Uncle Zhuang pulled Wu away with all his strength, "Mother, I will take good care of her, don't worry."
At this time, the Zhou family was also talking about the imperial examination.
Zhou Duxin asked the servant, "The first place is Zhuang Jike?"
"Jie Yuan is from Tianjin, not the fourth son of the banker." The servant replied.
Zhou Chengxin was amused by his question, "Why, are you really planning to cut off the official career of the fourth young master Zhuang?"
"Brother, what do you mean by that? I want to ruin his career path? He was the first to have bad intentions, and now he is suffering the consequences."
"You're the one who deserves the consequences." Zhou Chengxin kicked him lightly. "No matter what, Mrs. Zhuang is a daughter of the Jiang family. For her sake, you can't ruin her grandson's future."
"I know, I know. I won't do anything about it, but if other students spread it, it will have nothing to do with me."
"When you enter the officialdom, don't get involved in emotional disputes with others," Zhou Chengxin warned.
"I've already said that it's not a dispute of personal pride. Besides, the Spring Examination is over, and I can't appoint an official for the time being," Zhou Duxin said.
Our dynasty understands the hard work of students studying and does not want to delay their future, so it has stipulated that after 100 days of mourning, students can take the imperial examinations.
However, even if one passed the Spring Examination, one had to wait until the mourning period was over before he could be appointed as an official.
"Is it unfair for you to be in mourning for your mother?" Zhou Chengxin asked unhappily.
"Brother, I find that you are really good at making trouble. When did I ever say that I felt wronged for mourning for my mother?" Zhou Duxin was almost fainted by his brother.
At this time, the sound of the gong announcing good news came from outside, and Miao said with a happy face: "Give out all the reward money."
"Hua Hua Hua" the servants threw handfuls of copper coins.
This attracted people who were watching the fun and they started scrambling for the items.
The official who brought the good news stood at the gate, holding a large red vertical plaque with Zhou Duxin's name and rank written on it. "Congratulations to Mr. Zhou of your family for passing the imperial examination."
"Thank you very much. Please come in and have a cup of tea." Zhou Chengxin was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He invited people to come in and sit down, and also prepared a big reward for them.
Sorry, something big happened at home and I have been busy these days.
(End of this chapter)