Then you may step down.

Chen Jiannan thought he had misheard. He looked at Jing Zhe again, who was still standing there. Emperor An had not spoken to him at all.

He was a little confused.

It's unclear whether Emperor An valued him too much or underestimated Jing Zhe.

Then he thought about it again and realized that perhaps it was because he was the top scorer in the imperial examination that Emperor An was able to choose between the Imperial Academy Doctor and the Grand Scholar, which is why he asked him. Jing Zhe, on the other hand, had no official position to choose from, so when Emperor An was granted an official position, he simply included Jing Zhe along with him.

Thinking about this makes me incredibly excited.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

He said something else, then tugged at the stunned Jing Zhe.

Let's go!

"Um?"

Jing Zhe glanced at him. "Where are you going?"

"His Majesty commands us to leave!"

Chen Jiannan boasted in a low voice, "In the imperial court, you have to learn to read His Majesty's mind. Didn't you hear that His Majesty bestowed upon us the official title of Grand Secretary of the Baohe Academy? Now he's telling us to step down!"

Jing Zhe looked at him as if he were an idiot, shook his head and said, "You can leave. If I leave, someone will be unhappy."

"who?"

Chen Jiannan said suspiciously, "I was still thinking you were just being presumptuous!"

Emperor An, seeing Chen Jiannan whispering something to Jing Zhe, said with some displeasure, "Didn't I tell you to step down?"

"..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Sui Shouren stepped forward.

"Scholar Chen, let's go!"

"Oh... okay..."

As Chen Jiannan was led outside by Sui Shouren, he glanced back at Jing Zhe, feeling that things were not as he had imagined.

Before he could even leave, Emperor An asked again, "Jing Zhe, what official position do you want?"

"Your Majesty, I don't know much about official positions or anything like that. I'll just follow Your Majesty's arrangements!"

Hearing this, Chen Jiannan snorted coldly.

I talked to you about it last night, but it was like casting pearls before swine. And now you say you don't know much? Just wait to be laughed at!

But Emperor An was far less quick and direct than when he spoke to Chen Jiannan. Instead, he asked again, "What about the official title?"

"An official rank, at the very least, must be at least the fifth rank, right?"

"..."

This was the last thing Chen Jiannan heard before he left. His mouth was agape. He couldn't believe that Jing Zhe was so bold in the imperial court.

To be honest, he wanted to stay and listen to what would happen if Jing Zhe spoke so recklessly, and he might not even be able to become a Grand Secretary of the Baohe Academy!

Thinking of this, he was even happier.

Even after leaving the palace, he didn't leave but stood to the side, waiting for Jing Zhe to come out and make fun of him.

...

"Regarding what official position you should be given, the court had already discussed it before the last martial arts test began, but no agreement had been reached yet."

Emperor An glanced at Jing Zhe, "However, last time, Minister Zhu said that you deserved a reward for winning first place in the poetry competition, and you also deserved a reward for defeating the Third Prince of Southern Qi. His suggestion to me was to grant you an official position of the fifth rank or above. And yesterday you dealt a heavy blow to the Southern Qi Silver Thread Army in the martial arts arena, so this request is not excessive!"

In a single sentence, the tone was set.

The ministers in the court did not have much objection to this. It was within their expectations that Jing Zhe was granted a higher official position, after all, he had made outstanding contributions. The only thing they were curious about now was whose camp he would choose!

But dissenting voices soon followed.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

It was Bai Qingyuan, the argumentative troll, who was well-prepared.

"No, no, all you ever say is 'no,' is it because you can't have children that it's also 'no'?"

When trolls appear, haters naturally won't stay silent.

Yu Sheng was struggling to find an opportunity to impress Jing Zhe, and Bai Qingyuan's emergence was exactly what he wanted.

"Duke Yu, you'd better watch your words! We are discussing a matter of great importance concerning the stability of the country and its people!"

Bai Qingyuan said angrily.

"A matter of great importance to the nation and its people? With Jing Zhe's abilities, if you truly cared about the well-being of the country, you shouldn't have opposed it!"

Yu Sheng snorted coldly, thinking to himself that Bai Qingyuan had better oppose him more vehemently. Given the style of the others, they certainly wouldn't want to lose face in court and argue with Bai Qingyuan.

He's different; he'll keep chasing after Bai Qingyuan and cursing him, hoping to show Jing Zhe his sincerity.

Yu Sheng glanced at Jing Zhe, feeling smug.

Bai Qingyuan's face turned ashen, and he sighed inwardly. He was always fighting alone at times like this, and he was already feeling exhausted. He was also secretly thinking about whether he should retire behind the scenes after this was over.

He's afraid of shortening his lifespan if he gets scolded a few more times!

"His Majesty!"

He stopped looking at Yu Sheng and turned to Emperor An instead.

Strangely, when Bai Qingyuan opposed Emperor An's proposals, Emperor An would always frown and sigh, but today Emperor An was uncharacteristically smiling.

"Minister Bai, just say what you're thinking!"

Bai Qingyuan pondered for a moment but couldn't figure it out, so he said, "Your Majesty, yesterday at the hunting grounds I said..."

Before the competition began yesterday, Bai Qingyuan asked Emperor An to punish Jing Zhe for being too reckless and to grant him an official position below the fifth rank.

But Emperor An waved his hand and said, "Minister Bai, don't bring up yesterday's words again! Although Jing Zhe was reckless, didn't the Third Prince of Southern Qi come here this time to see An Kingdom make a fool of itself? Besides, even if Jing Zhe contradicted them, he still managed to repel the Silver Thread Army in the end. His merits outweigh his demerits, or at least his merits and demerits are equal. How can he be punished?"

Although Emperor An spoke vaguely, none of the ministers present were fools. After careful consideration, they figured out what Bai Qingyuan meant, and the court was instantly abuzz with discussion.

Bai Qingyuan felt somewhat embarrassed, but he still held his head high, maintaining the last bit of stubbornness of a Grand Tutor.

“Your Majesty, in the more than fifty years of An Kingdom’s history, there has never been a precedent of directly promoting a commoner to a fifth-rank official position. Even Zhu Sheren, who was exceptionally talented and of extraordinary birth, was only granted a sixth-rank official position.”

Bai Qingyuan cited Zhu Xinning as an example.

"Grand Tutor Bai, our situations are different and cannot be compared!"

When it came to matters concerning her younger brother, Zhu Xinning stepped forward.

"When I was granted an official position, it was because I won first place in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition. Moreover, according to custom, I should have been granted the title of Grand Academician of the Baohe Academy. His Majesty's decision to let me enter the Zhongshu was already an extraordinary act of kindness. How could I be promoted further?"

Zhu Xinning glanced at Jing Zhe again and continued, "But Zhe'er is different. He not only won first place in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition, but he also defeated the Third Prince of Southern Qi. He protected the name of Anguo and ensured that Princess Mochen would not marry outside the country. And yesterday, Zhe'er made a great contribution at the hunting grounds, which is equivalent to fighting against Southern Qi with thousands of troops on the battlefield. These two achievements are not comparable to the first place in an ordinary poetry competition!"

Then he turned to Emperor An and said, "Therefore, Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

This time, more than half of the ministers pleaded for leniency.

————