Chapter 297, Third Update
The next day, Xiao Liulang got up early and went to the Hanlin Academy.
The Hanlin Academy was bustling with activity, with congratulations and laughter frequently heard from the offices in another row.
Xiao Liulang was initially confused, but when Ning Zhiyuan arrived, he quietly told him that Yang Xiuzhuan had been promoted.
It was no secret that Yang Xiuzhuan was about to be promoted, but it was rumored to be at the end of the year.
"Do you know how he got promoted?" Ning Zhiyuan asked.
"How did you get promoted?" Xiao Liulang wasn't really interested in Yang Xiuzhuan's affairs; he was just satisfying Ning Zhiyuan's gossipy nature.
"Come on, let's go talk over there!" Ning Zhiyuan pulled Xiao Liulang to the office that exuded a seductive scent.
"Lord Chen was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue early this morning," Ning Zhiyuan said.
It was not uncommon for the six ministries of the imperial court to transfer people from the Hanlin Academy. Moreover, Chen Shidu had been favored by the Minister of Revenue from the beginning and was to be transferred to work under him.
It was precisely because he was being transferred that a position of Attendant Reader became vacant, allowing Yang Xiuzhuan to be promoted.
Originally, Lord Chen was supposed to be transferred after the New Year, but things just happened to be so coincidental.
"I heard that your library is very well organized, and some of the restored books have even won the favor of Chief Minister Yuan."
Xiao Liulang had sorted out and restored most of the collection of books, but not all of them. Yang Xiuzhuan and Prince An's group had also restored some of them, so Xiao Liulang had not yet guessed that it would be the few books he had restored that had won the favor of Chief Minister Yuan.
Ning Zhiyuan was even more unaware of the situation.
He was simply amazed by Yang Xiuzhuan's incredible luck; how could someone who was clearly not a good person have such a successful official career?
Ning Zhiyuan sighed, “Lord Han praised Yang Xiuzhuan highly. No, now he should be called Yang Shidu, a sixth-rank Shidu! He used to be of the same rank as you, but now he is truly superior to you.”
Xiao Liulang said nonchalantly, "It's not like I only found out he'd be promoted today."
Is a promotion early or late still a promotion?
Yang Shidu was a junior scholar who had served in the Hanlin Academy. It took him five years to rise to the position of Shidu Daren, which was considered fast for a junior scholar.
Xiao Liulang is different. He is the top scholar in the imperial examination. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless, his promotion speed will definitely be faster than that of the other scholars who passed the imperial examination at the same time.
Yang, the Imperial Tutor, was only temporarily superior to him.
"Take a look at this again." Ning Zhiyuan took out an inscription from his pocket.
Xiao Liulang asked, "Why are you carrying something like this on your person?"
"No, I want you to see what it says!" Ning Zhiyuan handed the manuscript of the inscription to Xiao Liulang. "Does it look familiar?"
Xiao Liulang said, "I wrote it, so what?"
Ning Zhiyuan clicked his tongue and said, "Yang Shidu handed it in. I spent half a day guiding him on one sentence, and he rewrote it seventeen times, thus erasing all your merit. Tell me the truth, did he guide you on a single word?"
Xiao Liulang picked up the inscription, casually placed it on the table, and said indifferently, "It's just an inscription."
"Are you really not angry?" Ning Zhiyuan seemed unconvinced.
"What's there to be angry about?" Xiao Liulang asked.
"It's good that you're not angry." Ning Zhiyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "This kind of thing is common in officialdom. You have no say until you've made it big. You're so young and you can keep your composure. You're much better than I was back then. But Xiao Liulang, promise me that even if you climb over these people one day, you won't become like them."
Ning Zhiyuan was thirty years old. His appearance was not outstanding; he had a square face and dark skin.
But at this moment, his gaze toward Xiao Liulang was intensely bright, filled with a certain passion and conviction that almost burned one's eyes.
Xiao Liulang stared at him intently and nodded.
Ning Zhiyuan smiled with relief. He patted Xiao Liulang on the shoulder and said with great ambition, "Don't look down on me because of my humble origins, lack of background and connections. I sometimes dream that one day I might climb up to the top... I don't need to climb too high. Becoming a fifth-rank Hanlin Academician is my dream in this life!"
As he spoke, he clenched his fists, as if trying to force out all the contempt he had suffered along the way: "I'm thinking, when I have that day, when I take charge of the Hanlin Academy, I will never appoint people based on money, never appoint people based on kinship, never appoint people based on connections, never appoint people based on conformity, and never appoint people based on trouble!"
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The weather in Beijing was pleasant after the rain.
After the court session, the officials left the palace one by one and went to their respective government offices.
Grand Tutor Zhuang also left the Golden Palace, chatted for a few words with a few colleagues he got along well with, and since he had nothing to report to the Empress Dowager today, he planned to leave the palace.
He had only taken a few steps when he was stopped by Chief Minister Yuan.
"Grand Tutor Zhuang".
Grand Tutor Zhuang turned around with slight surprise: "Chief Minister Yuan?"
Yuan Shikai was the chief minister of the cabinet, but the two deputy ministers, the secretary of the secretariat, and the three grand secretaries of the cabinet were all Zhuang Taifu's men. So it can be said that almost the entire cabinet was under Zhuang Taifu's control.
However, the cabinet still revered Chief Minister Yuan, and his influence remained the greatest.
But Grand Secretary Yuan is getting old and won't be Grand Secretary for many more years. One day, one of the Vice Grand Secretaries will take his place.
That was the time when Grand Tutor Zhuang completely dominated the cabinet.
Grand Tutor Zhuang never openly clashed with Chief Minister Yuan, but the two had never really crossed paths. He wondered why Chief Minister Yuan had called him over today.
Grand Secretary Yuan stepped forward and looked at Grand Tutor Zhuang with a kind smile: "Grand Tutor Zhuang looks increasingly well these days."
Grand Tutor Zhuang said politely, "Thanks to your blessing."
Grand Secretary Yuan smiled and said, "Grand Tutor Zhuang is too kind."
Grand Tutor Zhuang asked directly, "Does Grand Secretary Yuan have something to discuss with me?"
Chief Minister Yuan said, "It's nothing serious. Yesterday I looked at some ancient books sent by the Hanlin Academy. They've been well restored. Several omissions that even the great scholars of the court couldn't figure out have been filled in by the Hanlin Academy. I heard that Prince An also participated in the compilation."
Grand Tutor Zhuang said, "Is that so? I haven't inquired much about Yuheng's matter."
He genuinely didn't bother to inquire.
But someone informed him.
The reason for saying this was to avoid suspicion in front of Chief Minister Yuan and to show that he had not interfered in the Hanlin Academy.
The reason why Chief Minister Yuan did not mention "Ode to Yanbei" separately was that after reading the remaining documents late into the night, he found that its brilliance was in no way inferior to "Ode to Yanbei".
At his age, it's been thirty years since he last studied late into the night, but last night he couldn't stop reading.
Although he has never personally seen the original ancient books, most of this history can be verified from other ancient books.
In other words, restoring these ancient books requires a vast amount of historical knowledge as a foundation.
And there are no errors in the handwriting.
Even Yuan himself would find it difficult to guarantee that he could write a single word correctly in such a monotonous state.
Grand Secretary Yuan was unaware that Xiao Liulang had been working late into the night by oil lamp to repair the work; if he had known, things would have been even more alarming.
Grand Tutor Zhuang knew all about Prince An's whereabouts, so he naturally knew that Prince An had visited the library at Yueluo Mountain.
He assumed that Chief Minister Yuan said this because he had indeed obtained several ancient books restored by Prince An. He knew his grandson's abilities and did not suspect that there was a misunderstanding.
He smiled and said, "Being able to contribute to the Hanlin Academy is a testament to the years of studying he has accomplished."
"It's more than just a little effort; it's a great achievement." Chief Minister Yuan rarely praised people, not even the young marquis who was once the most outstanding in Zhaodu had ever received a word of praise from him. "Grand Tutor Zhuang, you have a fine grandson."
Grand Tutor Zhuang was utterly flattered. This old picky fellow could actually praise people?
He suppressed his excitement and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Prime Minister Yuan is too kind."
Chief Minister Yuan chuckled and asked, "I heard that Grand Tutor Zhuang's grandson is not yet engaged?"
Grand Tutor Zhuang was stunned.
At the end of May, the Hanlin Academy held an examination.
Among the junior scholars, Feng Lin and Lin Chengye ranked fourth and fifth from the bottom respectively, while Du Ruohan squeezed into the top nine.
Yuan Yu, the grandson of the Grand Secretary, was a second-class scholar who ranked first in the examination for probationary officials.
This time, they underperformed and dropped to fifth place.
The compilers and editors did not rank their grades together, since the exam questions were different.
Xiao Liulang ranked seventh, Ning Zhiyuan sixth, and the first was Prince An.
Ning Zhiyuan came to find Xiao Liulang and whispered, "Impossible... I clearly got so many math problems wrong... You didn't get a single one wrong... How could I possibly do better than you?"
Arithmetic is the easiest subject to calculate scores; right is right and wrong is wrong, unlike essay questions which are too subjective.
Moreover, even in terms of literary talent, Ning Zhiyuan is far inferior to Xiao Liulang.
Needless to say, Xiao Liulang's grades were deliberately suppressed.
This internal examination was not as rigorous as the imperial examination. If candidates were dissatisfied with their results, they could go to the government office or the examination hall to look through their exam papers. If they were still dissatisfied after looking through them, they could beat the drum to appeal for justice.
Once the Hanlin Academy officials finished their exams, they had no chance to appeal.
Do you have any monthly passes for this late hour?
(End of this chapter)
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