I've Become an Official

Xiao Ge and Xiao Lingyan's men were all surprised and said, "How could it be him?"

Of Xiao Ge's six princes, apart from the sixth prince who is still a child, the Fourth Prince Xiao Linghan, is the least noticeable.

The other four princes, not to mention the crown prince, the second and Fifth Prince were both born to Noble Consort Cen. Noble Consort Cen held a high position and was in charge of the empress's palace. The Cen Family was also quite powerful, and they were two princes that the court officials could not ignore.

Although the Third Prince's mother, Consort Jin, came from a family that was not as powerful as the Cen Family, she still had considerable influence. In addition, she had been the Emperor's favorite for many years, and the Emperor had clearly shown his favor towards the Third Prince. As a result, many people had sided with them over the years.

The Fourth Prince's mother, Consort De, came from an obscure family and was not favored by the emperor; neither the Fourth Prince nor Consort De had a strong presence in the public eye.

Unexpectedly, he was the one who instigated this whole thing.

Xiao Ge stared at the three words on the table, then looked up and asked, "Besides you, who else is investigating Zhang Li? Who was behind the events in Xianquan County?"

The Imperial Guards said somewhat uncertainly, "We followed them a few times, but we were shaken off each time. Those people were about as skilled as us. Their style of doing things was also very similar to ours, and they handled the affairs of Xianquan County extremely discreetly."

Xiao Ge understood.

Without needing to say more, he knew that the only ones who could investigate Zhang Li were his sons.

The Imperial Guards seemed to have something more to say, but hesitated to speak.

"Speak your mind, and I will pardon you," Xiao Ge said.

Whenever the Imperial Guards showed such an expression, it meant they had definitely found out something, but they were afraid to speak up, lest he get angry and take it out on them.

The Imperial Guards then said, "Among those investigating Zhang Li, there is one I know; he is one of the Third Prince's men."

"Third Brother?" Xiao Ge's gaze then fell on the words "Fourth Prince".

"Are you sure this Wang Dingwu is the Fourth Prince's man and not the Third Prince's?" he asked.

Wang Dingwu was the one who sent Zhang Li the message for help.

He was merely a menial official in the Ministry of Personnel, holding only the seventh rank, a very inconspicuous figure. He neither attended court nor participated in political affairs, so his factional leanings were not obvious.

The Imperial Guards went to great lengths to find out that he was working for the Fourth Prince.

But is this really the truth? Or isn't it just a smokescreen deliberately put out by the Third Prince to divert attention and shift the blame to the Fourth Prince?

"Your subordinate... is unsure." The Imperial Guards quickly kowtowed.

"Keep investigating," Xiao Ge said through gritted teeth. "We've also uncovered the identities of the group of people we investigated with you."

"Yes."

While Xiao Ge was still investigating further, Xiao Lingyan had achieved his goal, ordering his subordinates to stop following Zhang Li and leaving the palace Imperial Guards with no leads to investigate further.

However, Zhang Li had everything he had done in Xianquan County exposed and made public, immediately causing an uproar in Xianquan County.

Xiao Ge had been looking for an opportunity to remove Zhang Li from office. As soon as the incident in Xianquan County came to light, he immediately stripped Zhang Li of his official hat, threw him into prison, and sent officials from the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the matter in Xianquan County.

Immediately, the imperial court and the candidates were abuzz with discussion, with all sorts of speculations and rumors circulating.

Zhao Ruxi looked at the letter of praise that Xiao Lingyan had written, smiled to herself, and replied with two words: "Thank you."

She shared Xiao Lingyan's view: it didn't matter whether Zhang Li's master was the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, or the Crown Prince. In any case, once Xiao Lingyan and his brother made their move, all these people would become cannon fodder, and any scores would be wiped clean. There was no need to bother with them now.

She had passed the county examination, but she still had to take the prefectural examination. If she passed the prefectural examination and became a student, the provincial examination would be just around the corner. She was very busy and really didn't have time to worry about these things.

Besides training officials from various provinces, she spent the rest of her time at the Beining Women's Academy, where the teachers gave her intensive pre-exam training.

The day after receiving the imperial edict, Zhao Yuanxun went to the Court of Judicial Review to report for duty. That evening, after leaving his post, he went to visit the Zhao Family family patriarch wearing a brand-new sixth-rank official's robe, which startled the entire Zhao Family family.

"Yuanxun, what is this...?" The Zhao Family family patriarch pointed at Zhao Yuanxun's official robes, still in shock and doubt.

It's important to know that Zhao Yuanxun's official position was stripped by imperial decree. No matter how many connections Zhao Yuanxun had, he could not hold office again without the emperor's permission.

The Zhao Family family all thought that Zhao Yuanxun would spend the rest of his life idle at home.

Who knew he would suddenly become an official, and a sixth-rank one at that.

"Yesterday, the Court of Judicial Review issued an edict granting me the position of Deputy Director of the Left Court of Court of Judicial Review. I'm taking office today, and I've come specifically to inform the clan chief."

Zhao Yuanxun raised his hand in a respectful bow, his face flushed with confidence, even though it was slightly pale.

Upon hearing that it was an imperial decree, the clan chief felt relieved, but his doubts only grew stronger.

Why did the Emperor suddenly issue an edict to grant Zhao Yuanxun an official position, and even a sixth-rank one at that? Could it be that his daughter, Zhao Ruxi, came in second place in the county examination? But the county examination is held twice a year, and there are plenty of people who come in first place, let alone second place, and none of them have ever seen their fathers granted an official position.

"Congratulations! Oh dear, this is wonderful! The Duke will be Gao Xing in the afterlife," the clan chief laughed.

Knowing it was inappropriate to ask, he couldn't help but inquire, "I wonder why the Emperor bestowed this official position upon you?"

Zhao Yuanxun bowed towards the palace and said, "I dare not presume to know Your Yuanxun's will. I only know that Your Majesty is wise."

With a single sentence, the clan leader's many speculations were silenced.

As early as when Zhao Yuankun clashed with the Earl's Mansion and the clan chief and elders sided with Zhao Yuankun, Zhao Yuanxun had already developed a dislike for them. Even when he was feeling down and wanted to move around the clan, he would never go to the clan chief's house.

He came over now because there's a rule in the clan that Zhao Family family members must report any major events to the clan. Since he's a sixth-rank official, it's definitely a major event, so he came to let them know.

Not wanting to say more to the clan chief, he stood up to take his leave. "I just came to inform the clan chief, that's all. I have other matters to attend to at home, so I'll take my leave now."

Without waiting for the clan chief to say anything, he turned and left.

The clan chief watched Zhao Yuanxun's retreating figure, his face alternating between red and green, a rather striking sight.

When Zhao Yuanxun came to the clan in his official robes, the entire clan knew about it in less than a quarter of an hour.

The second and third houses, whose gates were close to the clansmen, had also heard about this matter.

After being flogged and stripped of his official position, Zhao Yuankun stayed at home in a depressed mood, occasionally beating and scolding his servants and taking his anger out on them.

Originally, he was suppressed by his stepmother, but he still held onto hope, thinking that as long as his stepmother died, or the family separated due to some relationship, he would be able to soar freely and realize his ambitions.

As a result Earl of Suiping's Residence did split up, and he got his wish and became an official. Unexpectedly, he was dismissed from office less than two months later due to Zhao Ruxi's involvement, which cut off his path to success.

It could be said that he still held onto hope before the family split up, but after the split, all that remained for him was despair.

For an ambitious person, this is worse than death.

As a result, Zhao Yuankun's wife, Lady Su, and the servants became his punching bags, and he would beat and scold them at the drop of a hat, making it impossible for the three households to have a moment of peace.