The next day was the day of the imperial examination, so Zhao Shouzheng and his disciples rushed to the Ministry of Personnel early to wait for their appointments.

The department responsible for selecting the new Jinshi was the Wenxuan Department, which was known as the best department in the world.

Because all officials below the fourth rank are recommended by the Ministry of Selection, and then discussed by the ministry...that is, the Minister of Personnel, two vice ministers, and four doctors of the Ministry of Selection discuss and decide on the candidates.

Generally speaking, the lists drawn up by the Selection Department will most likely be adopted.

Especially the 1,400 to 1,500 county magistrates and prefects across the country... I'm afraid the officials in the ministries and government offices don't even know where is where, as everything is controlled by the doctors in the Ministry of Selections.

Therefore, the Langzhong of the Wenxuansi was also called "Little Heavenly Official".

During the first ten to twenty years of their official careers, the newly-minted scholars were basically under the control of the little heavenly official. Naturally, no one dared to neglect them and they would arrive early outside the Wenxuansi to wait.

The announcement stated that the selection would begin at noon, but more than 400 new scholars had to wait until almost noon before the tightly closed gate of the Wenxuansi was opened.

"Please come in first, Mr. Top Scholar." A person in charge called out from the door.

Zhao Shouzheng, who was chatting animatedly with his classmate, quickly straightened his top scholar robe, thanked the person in charge for his hard work, and followed him into the courtyard.

Officials then came out one after another and called the new scholars in order to come in for the selection.

~~

But Master Zhao followed the person in charge into the courtyard.

There were seven main rooms in a row on the north side of the courtyard, three side rooms on the east and west sides, and a row of back rooms which served as storage rooms.

Each room was hung with a wooden sign with black background and gold characters. There was one room for doctors and two rooms for assistant doctors, and under each room there were eight sections: seeking talents, opening up, monks and Taoist priests, eliminating, returning jobs, granting leave, granting certificates, vacancies, and revealing letters.

The person in charge led Zhao Shouzheng into the doctor's room in the center.

The doctor's room was a suite, and the person in charge ordered Zhao Shouzheng to wait outside for a while, then go in and report, and the little doctor inside invited him in.

Zhao Shouzheng quickly straightened his official robe, took a deep breath, and went in to pay his respects to the famous Lu Guangzu, the doctor of the Ministry of Literature.

This gentleman was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing. He had been transferred between various departments of the Ministry of Personnel for more than ten years, and had been working as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Selection for seven years alone.

He was the longest-serving official in the Ministry of Selections since the founding of the country.

Originally three years ago, the court was planning to promote him to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the proposal had already been approved by the court.

However, Lu Guangzu went against the majority opinion and promoted a local official named Hai Rui to be the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

Hai Rui made big news as soon as he arrived in Beijing.

After that, he continued to stay in the position of 'Little Heavenly Official' and has not been able to move until now.

This senior doctor was already forty-five or forty-six years old. He was thin and had a serious expression. There were two deep lines on his face, and he looked like a man who had been in power for a long time.

"Junior greets the Quan Cao." Zhao Shouzheng did not dare to be negligent and bowed deeply.

"You are welcome, Mr. Champion. Please take a seat." As Lu Guangzu spoke, he habitually looked at Zhao Shouzheng, sighed inwardly, and then said in a routine manner:

"According to the regulations, the new champion is appointed as a sixth-rank imperial scholar in the Imperial Academy, and you are no exception."

"Yes." Zhao Shouzheng sat up straight and nodded in agreement.

"Here is your letter of appointment." Lu Guangzu handed the letter of appointment he had prepared earlier to Mr. Zhao Erye.

Zhao Shouzheng hurriedly took it with both hands, took a look at the red seal of the Ministry of Personnel on it, put it into his sleeve, and asked, "Excuse me, when will I report to the academy?"

"You don't have to go yet." Lu Guangzu said quietly.

"Uh..." Zhao Shouzheng was stunned and looked at Lu Guangzu in confusion.

"Let's go to the Censorate first." Lu Guangzu avoided Zhao Shouzheng's gaze and said, "You may have some minor troubles."

"Ah?" Mr. Zhao opened his mouth wide and couldn't help but say in panic, could it be that the matter between Ning An and I has been exposed?

"I don't know what it is?"

"I'm not sure." Lu Guangzu said calmly, "It's just that early this morning, I received a letter from the Censorate requesting that you not be given an official position for the time being and that you go to the Censorate to hear a report."

"This..." Master Zhao immediately felt a cold sweat running down his spine, and couldn't help but recall the old man's words about 'how to sentence someone who seduces a princess'.

"But this department has already put its seal on your official complaint," Lu Guangzu sighed as he saw his pale face, "It can no longer be withdrawn. We can only wait until your case is thoroughly investigated before we can say anything."

He did not tell Zhao Shouzheng that if his immediate superior, Minister Wang, had not spoken, and his noble classmate, Prime Minister Zhang, had not also given a heads-up, the Ministry of Personnel would not have offended the Censorate, which was specifically responsible for dealing with disobedience.

"Thank you for the protection of the Personnel Department." Zhao Shouzheng had been a minister for so many years. Even though he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. He knew that this was the Ministry of Personnel protecting him.

"Don't be too nervous. As long as you are an official, there will be impeachment. Otherwise, why is it called a criminal in the officialdom? It is only a matter of time." Master Lu stood up, comforted Master Zhao, and personally sent him to the door.

"Oh, okay, I understand." Zhao Shouzheng forced himself to bow and walked out of the Selection Office.

Watching his back disappear at the door, Lu Guangzu shook his head and sighed, "In the past 200 years of our dynasty, I have never heard of a champion being impeached on the day of his appointment."

The person in charge at the side whispered: "If the Quancao hadn't withstood the pressure, he wouldn't even be able to be appointed as an official."

"Lu is not an accomplice." Lu Guangzu said in a low voice and turned to enter the duty room.

~~

However, after Zhao Shouzheng received the sixth-rank official robe, he walked out of the Ministry of Personnel in a daze.

Fan Datong quickly called the sedan bearers to bring the sedan over.

After the number one scholar sat firmly in the sedan chair, Fan Datong lifted the curtain and asked flatteringly, "Brother, are you going to the Hanlin Academy?"

"No, the Censorate." Zhao Shouzheng rubbed his temples, feeling his head buzzing.

"Master, should we go home first?" Fang Wen suddenly appeared and said.

"Oh my god!" Fan Datong was shocked and looked at the boy as if he had seen a ghost, wondering where he came from.

"Yes, we should go home first." Zhao Shouzheng agreed with what he said.

I have a father and a son at home. They have to make the decision on such important matters. There is no point for me to think about it myself.

"Go back home, the master wants to change into official uniform." Fang Wen shouted specially, gave a legitimate reason, and then disappeared.

The sedan bearers quickly carried the sedan out of Dong'an Gate and headed towards Chunsong Hutong.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Zhao Hao's carriage halfway.

"Young Master!" Fang Wen greeted him quickly and trotted over.

"Uncle Gao, stop the car quickly." Zhao Shizhen, who was sitting on the shaft of the cart, hurriedly called out to Gao Wu, who was driving, when he saw this.

He jumped out of the car before it stopped and ran towards Fang Wen.

"Master Sun, please ask the young master to return home quickly. The master has something to discuss with him." Fang Wen said hurriedly in a low voice.

"My uncle already knows, and he is here to look for you." Zhao Shizhen whispered, "Please get in the car, uncle."

~~

"Son, help me, Dad is going to the palace..."

As soon as Mr. Zhao got on the carriage, he hugged his son and started crying: "Wow, I told you that you shouldn't continue to have sex with your godmother, right?"

"Don't be afraid." Zhao Hao patted his father on the back and consoled him, "It's not what you think."

"Ah, what's that?" Zhao Shouzheng was stunned.

"It was the earthquake the day before yesterday that was used to make a fuss and linked to father's palace examination paper." Zhao Hao said through gritting his teeth.

ps. Second update, this volume has entered the ** stage, please vote for the monthly ticket and recommendation ticket~~~