After finally getting to know the children, they continued their classes for the morning. It was not until the end of the afternoon that Zhao Zhen and his friends finally finished processing a batch of memorials that had been piled up recently, and they went to the back garden together.

The group had not yet had dinner. After a busy day, everyone was already hungry. Zhao Zhen ordered the kitchen to prepare imperial meals, and they ate together in Guanjia Hall.

There was no communication all day today, which made everyone feel very bored. After dinner, there was no peace and we continued to have a meeting and chat. The meeting lasted until the end of the Xu hour, which was around eight o'clock in the evening, almost nine o'clock.

It was not until it was getting late that everyone was ready to leave, still reluctant to leave.

At this moment, the Guanjia Hall was brightly lit with candles.

Everyone gathered around a long table, sitting opposite each other on armchairs. Round tables existed during the Tang and Song dynasties, but they were not popular.

Therefore, according to "Night Banquet of Han Xizai", we can know that the Song people ate around a long table at banquets, which was no different from the meals of ordinary families in later generations.

Zhao Zhen sat in the main seat, Zhao Jun sat opposite him, on his left were Lü Yijian, Yan Shu, Song Shou, and Wang Sui, and on his right were Wang Zeng, Fan Zhongyan, Cai Qi, and Sheng Du, giving the impression of two camps.

In reality, it was similar. Lü Yijian was indebted to both Yan Shu and Song Shou, while Wang Sui was relatively indecisive and followed the crowd. Wang Zeng had a very good relationship with Cai Qi and was indebted to Fan Zhongyan. Fan Zhongyan's struggle with power might have been orchestrated by Lü Yijian, so they were truly two different factions.

Everyone had spoken freely and discussed many things. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Zhen said, "Let's stop here for today. It's getting dark. You gentlemen don't need to attend the morning court tomorrow. Everyone is very tired recently and should rest more."

Sheng Du was sixty-eight years old this year. Historically, he died five years later, and his health was no longer as good as before. He rubbed his dizzy eyes, stood up, and said to Zhao Zhen, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I am indeed a little tired."

"Yes, recently we have been chatting with Jun in the back garden and have rarely been busy with government affairs. As a result, there are too many backlogs of government affairs, and we are a little overwhelmed."

"I still have a lot of memorials to review, but Tongshu and Xiwen have a lot of free time. They don't have much to do every day, and they can often come to the back garden before us. They are really enviable."

"I'm not short of things to do. In order to go to the northwest to resist Zhao Yuanhao, I have to understand the current situation in the northwest every day."

As they were talking, everyone stood up and prepared to bow to the official and say goodbye.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Jun immediately became anxious and said quickly: "Wait a minute, I have something else to say."

"What's wrong, Jun boy?"

Yan Shu, who now had the best relationship with Zhao Jun besides Zhao Zhen, asked, "Is there anything else?"

Zhao Jun asked, "By the way, are we just going to chat in the back garden every day? I also want to leave the palace and see the Song Dynasty. I said before that I wanted to go to the countryside to conduct research and understand the severity of the current land annexation. Why don't you even let me leave the palace now? What are your plans for me in the future?"

Speaking of this, everyone became curious.

Fan Zhongyan even asked Zhao Zhen: "Yes, Your Majesty, Jun's eyes have recovered now, and his injuries have healed. Isn't it time to let him become a naturalized citizen?"

Zhao Zhen had previously discussed with everyone that Zhao Jun would be naturalized after his eyes recovered. As for the subsequent arrangements, Zhao Jun would be allowed to take the imperial examination. After he failed, Zhao Zhen would grant him special nomination to be admitted as a Jinshi. At that time, it was Lu Yijian who instigated Yan Shu to tell Zhao Zhen about this, and he did not tell anyone else.

So until now no one knows how Zhao Zhen plans to arrange Zhao Jun.

Zhao Zhen slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot about this. I just asked Wang Shouzhong to buy a large house on Qingtai Street in Changqingfang outside Xihua Gate, but I forgot about the naturalization. I'm talking to my uncle."

"exist."

Yan Shu bowed.

Zhao Zhen said, "You are now the Minister of Revenue, so you can do this job."

"yes."

Yan Shu agreed.

"As for Zhao Jun's future arrangements."

Zhao Zhen turned his head and looked at Zhao Jun. "Zhao Jun, although you are a member of the imperial clan, the current head of the clan is Zhao Yunrang. If you want to join the imperial clan, you must find him. Furthermore, according to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, royal relatives cannot serve as generals in the army or participate in the imperial examinations. They can only receive idle official positions without real power. Therefore, I intend to arrange for you to be an ordinary civilian, and then take the imperial examination to enter the officialdom. How about that?"

The restrictions on royal family members during the Song Dynasty were not as strict as those in other dynasties. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuang stipulated that sons of the royal family could not serve as officials or generals. Later, during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, the system for appointing royal family members to official positions was changed, opening the door for royal family members to take exams and be appointed officials. The most famous example of this was Zhao Mengfu in the late Southern Song Dynasty.

But at least there has been no institutional reform yet, so the royal family of the Song Dynasty today is still of the type that just eats and waits for death, a bit like the nobles and generals of the Song Dynasty. Due to their small number, they are basically supported by the state.

If Zhao Jun intends to give up and enjoy life in the Song Dynasty, then letting Zhao Zhen find a way to get him into the royal family would be a good option.

But he had ambitions in his heart and was naturally unwilling to do so. However, he always felt that the path of imperial examination was a little wrong and wondered: "Is it only the imperial examination? Can't there be other positions?"

Lü Yijian explained, "If you want to achieve something, you can only become an official. And if you want to become an official, you can only pass the imperial examination. There is no other way. You don't want to be a soldier, do you?"

Haha, aren’t the military officers suppressed by you?

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes inwardly. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the imperial examination system, he thought that what the other party said made some sense, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's arrange it this way."

"Um."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "It's already July, and the Autumn Examination will begin in August. After your uncle helps you become a naturalized citizen, I will register you at the Ministry of Rites and then send you to the Imperial Examination Hall to take the exam."

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