Xu Rao failed the examination for the position of Shujishi and could only wait for the Ministry of Personnel to select an official. This selection process also involved a great deal of knowledge.
After the palace examination, the top three candidates directly entered the Hanlin Academy. The remaining candidates still needed to take an examination called the "court examination" to select the best candidates, who were called "probationary scholars" and entered the Hanlin Academy to study. Three years later, a graduation examination was held. Those who passed the examination entered the Hanlin Academy, while those who failed were assigned to various ministries. The Great Liang Dynasty followed the previous dynasty's practice that only members of the Hanlin Academy could enter the cabinet.
Xu Rao failed the examination for the position of Shujishi, so he needed to go to the Ministry of Personnel to be selected as an official.
The Xu family had already made arrangements for Xu Rao. Originally, he was supposed to stay in the capital and choose a position in one of the Six Ministries. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Xu Rao wanted to take up a post in another region. After pondering for a whole night, Marquis Yongning Xu Zhen felt that there were advantages to going to another region as well. He went to the Ministry of Personnel overnight to ask for help and ended up choosing a position as the magistrate of Hexi County, a seventh-rank official.
After receiving his official documents from the Ministry of Personnel, Xu Rao went to the street to buy things for his children.
To be honest, Xu Rao didn't have any particular requirements about where he would take up his post. As long as he could get far away from the capital, give his family of three some breathing room to adjust to the new environment, and then find the murderer who had harmed his family, that would be fine.
When Xu Rao went to the Ministry of Personnel earlier, a familiar junior official handed him his official documents and told him not to forget his brothers if he became successful in the future. Xu Rao was completely confused. How could a lowly seventh-rank county magistrate like himself become successful?
The main street of the capital was bustling with activity. Xu Rao sent the carriages from his residence back first and walked along the street alone, looking around as he went.
Xu Rao's next task was to govern a region. Hexi County was located on the border and had a very harsh natural environment. After receiving the appointment, Xu Rao asked where it was and was able to roughly figure out where it was. In modern terms, it should be near Yanmen Pass in Shanxi. Xu Rao had traveled all over China for research in the past. Although the geographical features were different from those of his time, he could still determine the approximate location after careful consideration.
As Xu Rao walked, he pondered the geographical location of Hexi County. He also recalled the basic information about Hexi County that the official in the Ministry of Personnel had shown him. He wondered how many days it would take to get there from the capital and what places he would pass through along the way.
Passing by a fabric shop, Xu Rao went in for a look. The shop owner knew that Xu Rao wanted to buy fabric to make clothes for her four-year-old daughter, and recommended a few patterns. Xu Rao didn't know much about them, but since she wasn't short of money, she bought a few bolts. Then she thought that her family of four was going to such a remote place, and Zhang Zhaoci couldn't leave the manor at will. She bought some that looked reasonable. Xu Rao was clever and didn't pay for it herself. She asked the shopkeeper to deliver it to the Marquis's manor and then find the Third Madam of the manor to pay for and receive the goods.
There were many small shops selling all kinds of snacks and pastries on the street. Xu Rao bought quite a lot and carried them back to the mansion.
Marquis Yongning had been waiting at home for Xu Rao, but only an empty carriage returned. The coachman said that the Third Master had told him to come back first, and he had gone to stroll around the streets. Marquis Yongning was furious. What kind of time was this to be shopping? A little while later, someone from the gatehouse came and said that the Third Master had bought some cloth and asked the shop assistant to find the Third Madam of the manor to receive the goods and make payment. Marquis Yongning and his son looked at each other, completely baffled. They really couldn't understand what the usually quiet Third Master was up to.
After receiving the letter, people from the inner quarters came to see what was going on. The shop assistants from the cloth shop waited in the small living room at the second gate with about ten bolts of cloth. They saw people peeking in from the doorway, one after another. When a woman who looked very heroic came with a beautiful little girl of about three or four years old, the servants introduced her as the Third Mistress of the mansion. Only then did the shop assistants breathe a sigh of relief.
When Zhang Zhaoci received the letter from the gatekeeper, he knew what Xu Rao meant. If he paid on the spot and had the goods delivered, he didn't know how much would be left by the time the goods arrived. So he decided that whoever received the goods should pay for them. His family wasn't short of money, and Xu Rao wasn't one to squander money. How expensive could he possibly buy?
Looking at the dozen or so bolts of cloth, mostly cotton with very little silk, Zhang Zhaoci knew what it meant. This really meant he had been assigned to a vacancy in another region. When Xu Rao left that morning, he had discussed it with Zhang Zhaoci. If he was assigned to a place with poor conditions, he would buy more practical cloth to make clothes. If he was assigned to a place in the fertile Jiangnan region, he would not buy any cloth and would buy it when he arrived. Seeing that Xu Rao had bought mostly cotton cloth, Zhang Zhaoci knew that it must be a place with poor conditions.
After having the fabric carried back, Zhang Zhaoci began packing his belongings.
As soon as Xu Rao entered, he was led to the Marquis's outer study.
When the Marquis saw the things Xu Rao was carrying, he couldn't contain his anger, but he didn't know how to vent it. Especially when the young master asked Xu Rao why she bought these things, Xu Rao said that she bought them specially for Xiao Jiu. A few days ago, Xiao Jiu was frightened and would wake up crying at night. She bought some good food to coax the child.
The Marquis could only wave his hand. Everyone in the manor knew that the Third Master and his wife didn't care much about other things, but they did care about their child. Wasn't it because the Third Madam had made a scene in the Marquis's manor's main kitchen a few years ago when the main kitchen skimped on the food when steaming eggs for Xu Di?
The Marquis put these troublesome matters aside for the time being and carefully inquired about the process of going to the Ministry of Personnel. After looking at Xu Rao's official credentials, he took out a long wooden box from the inner room of his study.
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