Three months later, in a school near the capital, filled with children in their early school years, came the sounds of reading aloud. However, these weren't the introductory texts like the *Three Character Classic* or the *Hundred Family Surnames*, but rather "Ah," "Oh," "Awoo,"... "Eagle"...

They were holding a thick book with the title "Dictionary" on it.

"Stop for a moment. As I told you yesterday, an official will be coming today to test your knowledge of using dictionaries. Please prepare for a moment; the official will be here shortly."

The students sitting below said in unison, "Understood, sir."

After speaking, the teacher left the school and came to Zhu Tao.

"Your Excellency, you are ready."

Zhu Tao nodded, then led the personnel from the Imperial Household Department who had come to inspect the school.

The test took an hour. Zhu Tao had them look up sixty characters and record the page numbers of those sixty characters for half an hour. Then, he had them take another half hour to call on them and have them read one or two of those sixty characters. During this time, they could consult the dictionary.

An hour passed, and Zhu Tao left satisfied, having given away the twenty dictionaries that had been distributed to the school.

Later, because these twenty dictionaries were the first edition, Zhu Tao numbered them. In addition, these twenty dictionaries had special significance and eventually became collectibles.

This was also unexpected.

Zhu Tao entered the palace with this good news and came out with a happy expression. The next day, Yinzhen announced in the court that a new department, the Department of Education, had been established in the Qing Dynasty, which would be responsible for all matters related to the imperial examinations or culture.

Moreover, the person in charge was Zhu Tao, a poor scholar who should have been gaining experience in the Hanlin Academy.

This news exploded in everyone's minds like water meeting hot oil.

At the same time, many prominent Manchu families began to feel a sense of crisis. The emperor's actions became increasingly clear: he no longer held prejudices against Han people and was willing to employ anyone with ability.

The emperor is in dire need of capable people, but apart from a very few who are being groomed as heirs, the rest of his children are generally left to grow on their own. As for how much ability they actually possess, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Originally, everyone thought that with family connections, even the less promising members of the family could get good, lucrative jobs by relying on their family connections, and they would receive more money when the family split up, so they could live a good life. But now it seems that the emperor values ​​talented people so much, and judging from his intentions, since he can add departments, he might reduce some unnecessary positions in the future.

What will happen to the future of the children in the family then?

They're worried too.

Of course, they did consider trying to stop the emperor, but now that the emperor has long held sway, what was the outcome of those who tried to use their seniority to refute him in the past?

Every family has its secrets. If the Emperor doesn't want to investigate, fine. But if he does want to, he'll find out everything. They don't dare stop the Emperor from doing what he wants.

Zhu Tao returned with a joyful expression. As his wife who had been with him day and night, she could naturally see it. When Yun Qing saw him return, she stood up to greet him, but Zhu Tao quickly went over to help her and said, "You're about to give birth, so just sit still."

"Thank you, my husband."

There's no need for formalities between us.

After the two sat down, Yun smiled and asked, "Husband, you met the Emperor yesterday. Have you made any judgments today?"

Zhu Tao smiled and said, "The Emperor has appointed me as the Minister of Education, in charge of all matters related to reading. In addition, the Emperor has also given me a job. If this job goes through, we can move to a big mansion. You've been wronged to marry me."

Zhu Tao's current residence is naturally not comparable to Yun Qing's family home. Although Zhu Tao doesn't have any chauvinistic thoughts, as a man of integrity, he has always been concerned that a woman who married him is not living as well as she did in her youth.

The emperor asked him to cooperate in providing services to earn money, and promised him 10% of the profits within a year.

The world is vast, and the poor can earn less money, but the rich can easily earn a lot by raising the social status of their families. Besides, with the Imperial Household Department backing them, their reputation will naturally be prestigious.

The wealthy families have no shortage of money in their backyards. If each family contributes a little, the amount will become immeasurable. Especially in the first year, new products will inevitably be more popular. Zhu Tao roughly estimated that a 10% profit would amount to nearly 100,000 taels.

One hundred thousand taels is a very substantial amount; it's enough to give a daughter to a prince as a dowry.

For someone who has just established himself in the capital, 100,000 taels of silver is indeed the amount he needs.

Yun Qing didn't feel wronged at all, because she had such a mother, so she knew how to cherish her even more. She was already very content with what Zhu Tao had given her. If she could, she would be happy to live like this forever.

"What are you saying, my husband! I am already very content to have married you and lived the life I have today. If you want to do anything, just tell me, and I will definitely support you."

The premise is that you don't take a concubine.

Zhu Tao was very satisfied with Yun Qing as his wife. She was sensible, understanding, and most importantly, she understood him very well. As a modern homebody, he didn't like the pleasures of a young master who enjoyed the company of a beautiful woman, nor did he like composing poetry.

Yun Qing was able to manage the household in an orderly manner, keeping everything big and small organized so that Zhu Tao had no worries. To be honest, Zhu Tao was extremely satisfied.

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