Master? Why is it so strange? Pei Ji is still so young.
"Call me sir from now on. Calling me master is too weird."
Xiao Sanzi immediately replied, "Yes, ma'am."
It was getting late, so Su Li went back after explaining everything. He didn't want to go back to the inn. It was not until after nine o'clock in the evening that Pei Ji sent him back with the music of the guard of honor.
The entrance of Jufu Inn suddenly became lively.
The innkeeper and the waiter had already recognized the number one scholar as their guest during the horse-riding parade today. Now that Pei Ji has returned, everyone came out to congratulate him with great enthusiasm.
Su Li gave red envelopes to the ceremonial guard, the shopkeeper and waiter present, and even the inn guests who came out to watch the fun. He thanked everyone one by one, and after the fun, he and Pei Ji returned to the guesthouse.
"Please keep these." In the small reception hall, Pei Ji handed her the list of top scorers and some rewards from the court.
Su Li took a look and found that besides the list of honors, there was a bonus, a bunch of keys and a house deed. She picked up the keys and asked, "Was the No. 1 Scholar's Mansion granted to us so quickly?"
Pei Ji nodded and said, "The Emperor has appointed me as the Dali Temple Secretary. I will be on duty tomorrow."
"The Dali Temple Secretary?" Su Li was surprised. The Dali Temple Secretary was a fifth-rank official.
In the Great Jin Dynasty, the newly crowned top scholar would be granted an official position from the seventh to the sixth rank.
In the original novel, after the Qionglin Banquet, Pei Ji was only appointed as the sixth-rank Dali Temple Chief, but now he is directly appointed as the fifth-rank Dali Temple Assistant.
Pei Ji saw her confusion and explained, "The former Dali Temple Assistant has retired due to old age. Zhu Wei was dismissed from his post in the salt tax case, and the Dali Temple is currently short of someone to handle the case. I was previously employed as an external staff member of the Dali Temple and made outstanding contributions. With the strong recommendation of my senior brother, I was appointed to this position."
"I see." Su Li understood. "By the way, you just said you'll be on duty tomorrow?"
In the Jin Dynasty, there would be a day for the number one scholar to visit his family. That is, people from the Ministry of Rites would play music and send the number one scholar back to his hometown. However, in the original novel, Pei Ji did not visit his family after becoming the number one scholar.
"The Dali Temple has several urgent cases to handle, so I didn't plan to visit my parents on their day. However, the Ministry of Rites will go to Guangning tomorrow to announce the good news as usual. If you want to write a letter to your parents-in-law, you can ask them to pass it on."
Just like the original novel, Su Li said, "Then I will write a letter and tell my parents about our situation in Beijing."
"Give it to me after you finish writing it. I'll take it with me on my errand tomorrow."
"Okay," Su Li said, noticing the rare tiredness on his face, "It's getting late. You should go to bed early. You've been exhausted all day."
She must have been exhausted after getting up early to parade in the streets, attend the Qionglin Banquet, and go through all kinds of ceremonies.
Pei Ji was indeed very tired. Not only today, but he had been investigating and trying cases for the past few days, and also taking the palace examination. He rarely rested at night. He responded and went back to his room.
Su Li took her things and returned to her room. After packing up, she began to write a letter...
The next morning, the weather was clear.
Su Li got up early and hired a carriage. Pei Ji also got up. She ordered breakfast. After they had breakfast together, she handed him the letter she had written last night, along with a number of red wedding bags filled with silver, candy, and other things. "These will be delivered to the Ministry of Rites later."
After all, he traveled thousands of miles to Guangning to announce the good news, and he also asked someone to deliver the letter. Whether he wanted to share in the good news or to show his favor, he had to put it in a big red envelope.
Pei Ji paused, took the things and was about to leave when Su Li suddenly called him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you, what position does Zhao Xingwen hold?"
Generally, those who get first place in the palace examination will take up their posts after the Qionglin Banquet. In the original novel, Zhao Xingwen was recommended by the Minister of Works to be the head of the Workers Department in the Ministry of Works. When she sent someone to spread the news yesterday, the Qionglin Banquet was taking place. I wonder if the Minister of Works received the news she sent out.
If he knew, he probably wouldn't recommend Zhao Xingwen to his own Ministry of Industry for training, right?
Pei Ji almost frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable. He always felt that Su Li paid special attention to Zhao Xingwen. He looked up at her and replied in a somewhat cold tone, "The Minister of Works, Zhang Yao, recommended him to join the Ministry of Works as the chief official."
It's the same again, Su Li thought thoughtfully. It seems that the Minister of Works did not receive the news that Zhao Xingwen had already gotten married in time yesterday.
She didn't notice Pei Ji's slight anomaly and asked, "Does the Minister of Works want to recruit him as his son-in-law?" She then explained, "Before the palace examination that day, I saw him with the Minister of Works's legitimate daughter. They seemed to have a special relationship."
"Yeah." The Minister of Works had no intention of hiding it, and everyone present could see it.
Su Li raised an eyebrow: "Pei Ji, there is something you definitely don't know."
Anyway, she was the one who asked about this first. Since Pei Ji asked, she naturally had to tell him.
"What?"
"Zhao Xingwen already has a wife and children in Guangning."
"Has a wife and children?" Pei Ji was surprised. He and his classmate had been together for many years, but he had never heard that he was married. Not to mention him, even Lin Muyang, who had a good relationship with him, didn't know. Otherwise, when he knew about the relationship between Zhao Xingwen and the Minister of Works at the Qionglin Banquet yesterday, he would not have had no reaction.
"How did you know that?" If his leg hadn't been injured, she wouldn't have known Zhao Xingwen at all. How would she know that he already had a wife and children?
Su Li smiled and said, "How do I know he has a wife and children? It's just a coincidence. Do you remember that I went to the county to buy paper and paint for a painting of the goddess? On the way back, I happened to meet Zhao Xingwen's wife and children who had been robbed. We chatted and found out that her husband was your classmate."
Then he said half-truthfully, "I didn't know Zhao Xingwen then. After we returned from Qiongzhou, I knew he was Zhao Xingwen, and then I remembered meeting his wife and son. You don't know, his son is a year older than Zhao'er. You can imagine that he must have married before you. And his son looks like him, just like they were made in the same mold."
Pei Ji suddenly realized that this was what she was paying attention to. He had thought...
"There have always been villains who abandon their wives and children for the sake of so-called future prospects. Ah Li, now that you know about this, what are your plans? Is there anything I can do?"
Su Li said righteously, "Zhao Xingwen is so shameless and selfish. I certainly can't let the Shangshu and her innocent daughter be deceived by him. So when I saw him and the Shangshu's daughter having an unusual relationship at the palace gate before the palace examination yesterday, I had people spread the news that he was married..."
In fact, there are many cases of such scumbags abandoning their women after having fun with them. Just like Pei Ji said, it has always happened. If she could not bear to see Zhao Xingwen's wife and children die innocently, she would not bother to care about such things.
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