Chapter 8

"Civil servants have iron rice bowls; big officials come from Dongxu Mansion. If you can smoothly become a student of Dongxu Mansion and secure an official post, the two of us won't have to worry about silver taels from now on, and we can rest easy while logically going to see the old man. Isn't that great?" Xiaojiu raised an eyebrow as if it were only natural.

"What if I don't pass the official examination? It's not like you're guaranteed to become an official just by entering Dongxu Mansion. You know as well as I do how insane the graduation palace exam of Dongxu Mansion is every year—hundreds of guys fighting for a single official position, and even the chancellor's son could fail. I'm dirt poor, can't afford to send bribes, and have no background or connections. It'd be a miracle if I passed!"

"Not passing is best."

"Huh? Are you looking down on my ability?"

"If you really passed, you'd have to wear official robes. A woman serving as an official—isn't that the capital crime of deceiving the emperor? Even my entire clan would be dragged along to be beheaded with you. Still haven't figured out the real purpose of sending you to Dongxu Mansion?" Zhu Xiaojiu sneered coldly. "What kind of men does Dongxu Mansion exclusively produce?"

"Aren't they just those capable and virtuous ministers and prime ministers whose heads are full of water and who chatter on about Confucius and Mencius, those arrogant imperial relatives and nobles who get in through the back door?"

"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai and all that, know them?"

"The two who turned into butterflies?"

"Right. The sole purpose of this trip of yours is to hook a new favored noble who can speak before the emperor, smooth over all the old man's crimes, and help the old man be reinstated in his former official position. In short, the next candidate for chancellor is bound to be inside Dongxu Mansion. I don't care whether you turn it into a pure friendship or a couple of scumbags—anyway, just win him over!"

"And then turn into butterflies together?" Zhu Bafu raised an eyebrow dismissively. "Tch, Xiaojiu, your tactics are a bit too cheap. Asking me to deceive the future chancellor's affection, climb the social ladder, and all that—I hate it most! I, Young Master Ba, will not bow for five bushels of grain!"

"...So?"

"If you give me six bushels, I'll think about it."

"..."

"With the future chancellor as my sworn brother, wouldn't all the back doors in the entire world be opened by my Zhu family? Hahaha! It's settled then! I, Young Master Ba, have decided to apply to Dongxu Mansion. It's just a civil service exam, after all! I'm bound to win!"

Longyang's hatred for Zhu Bafu dressed as a man stems from this! Hahahaha

Chapter 9: Chapter VIII

Dongxu Mansion, the imperial college of the state, was the supreme premier institution of higher learning directly under the Ministry of Personnel. Imperial chancellors, prime ministers, pillars of the nation, and vessels of state and general all emerged from here. Every year, it recommended talents and fed a large number of officials to the imperial court, ranging from the Principal First Rank Left Grand Chancellor down to minor sesame-seed officials of the seventh rank.

According to the regulations of the late emperor, students of Dongxu Mansion had the right to submit memorials and advice to the emperor regardless of age or seniority while studying. The emperor even had the task of spot-checking the homework of enrolled students every month—thus the saying that they were the Son of Heaven's disciples. If one were fortunate enough to go back and forth with the emperor on memorials and homework a few times and get somewhat chummy, one could soar straight up to the blue clouds, accompany the ruler by his side, and enjoy a bright and promising future.

If one wasn't selected, there was no need to worry; step one foot into the eastern door frame, and the black gauze official robe was unstoppable. Every year before the new examinations, the court's Ministry of Personnel would announce the vacancies and positions of various bureaus. Compared to the imperial exams for various scholars, Dongxu Mansion students had priority selection, and as long as they finally passed the Dongxu palace exam, everything from central Principal Fourth Rank posts down to various minor offices was available for the taking, to be chosen at the ruler's will. No wonder everyone in the capital knew of Dongxu Mansion and ignored the regular imperial examinations.

Great fame naturally meant a high threshold. The privileges of Dongxu Mansion were numerous, and the conditions for entry grew higher and more insane year after year, just like some kind of cult. Despite this, the number of applicants did not decrease year after year; instead, it steadily increased.

The written exam eliminated enough people the year before last, so an interview was added—those who weren't good-looking enough to fit the current sage's aesthetics could go home and nourish their complexions. The interview wasn't enough last year, so a medical exam was added—those who failed to abstain from desire and cultivate themselves before the exam, suffering from kidney deficiency due to indulgence and arbitrarily wasting their pillar-of-the-nation bodies, were rolled back home. This year, even the medical exam wasn't enough, so an additional test had to be added: Li Chenjing, the top student of Dongxu Mansion and the chancellor's son, personally took charge to interview the candidates.

It was the chancellor's son's first time acting as chief examiner. No one knew his preferences or rules, nor what path his questioning would take. Therefore, the crowd of candidates was left in the dark and could only wait for predecessors to emerge from the examiner's room to step forward and inquire.

"Fellow student, fellow student, quick tell me, what question did that Official Li ask?"

"That's right, right! I passed the written exam, the medical exam, and the interview all at once. I can't afford to lower my score on the additional test, or it'll be terrible if I'm assigned out of the capital to be some minor official!"

"Fellow student, don't just stand there dazing. Say something! Did that Official Li examine the Four Books or the Five Classics? Was it astronomy or geography?"

"Uh... he didn't ask about the Four Books or the Five Classics, nor was it astronomy or geography..." The student who had just emerged from the examiner's room blinked in a daze.

"Then what did he ask? Quick, tell me. I don't want to be dispatched to become a warden of a sesame-seed official or some other wretched post."

"Uh... he asked me, if there was a ten-tael silver note on the ground and a five-tael silver ingot, which one I would pick up..."

"What?! What kind of question is that?"

"It doesn't have a damn thing to do with the classics and histories either!"

"Then how did you answer, fellow student?"

"Me? I was dumbfounded. With a belly full of classical learning, he actually asked me such a vulgar question! It makes no sense! It simply makes no sense!"

Furious candidate number one flicked his sleeve and walked away, while number two braced himself and walked into the examiner's room.

A cup of fragrant tea rested on the chief examiner's rosewood desk. Several wisps of smoke-like steam rose lazily, tinting a pair of hazy eyes. The wide sleeves flicked lightly, and a slender, fair hand picked up the roster on the desk. Supporting his cheek with one hand and holding the scroll with the other, he didn't even cast a glance at the person below the hall, simply opening his lips to speak in a flat tone.

"And you?"

The gentle two characters left the candidate below the hall stunned. He had originally thought the examiner was so eccentric and quirky that he would surely fear they might learn the questions and secretly prepare outside. Who could have known that not only did he not mind them asking around, but he even grandly used the exact same question to test people?

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Historical Romance

Woman Dressed as a Man