Han Ling didn’t know how he entered the palace gate, nor how he sat in front of the desk.

His seat was in the front row, and a palace servant brought him paper, pen and ink, but he didn’t dare to look up at the imperial face even once.

Everyone knew that the emperor was sitting there, which made them both excited and terrified.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Although they all made it onto the golden list of candidates who passed the top imperial examinations, no one knew what their final results would be.

On the day of the announcement, Han Ling was waiting at the inn for the messenger to announce the good news, but he heard that there was a person who threw himself into the river after finding out that he was not on the list posted on the announcement board that day.

It was not that his body had become dispirited, but the mind which had become dejected.

After three years passed, it was estimated that this person would not come to Beijing to take the test again.

After answering the exam essay question, Han Ling and the others have to go back and wait for another two days.

Song Shizhao sat at the head seat under Lin Yuan and looked at the papers of his disciple. His disciple was known as a child prodigy. After reading it over, he had a general understanding.

Lin Yuan asked him, “How about the 2nd rank (TN: 4th place and up)?”

Song Shizhao sighed in his heart, the essay was indeed good, but it could only be said that it was not bad.

That child was too prudent, and instead lost the sharp edges of the youth, and ended up being mediocre.

“Your Majesty is wise.” Song Shizhao saluted.

Lin Yuan: “Rise, come and read these three essays.”

Song Shizhao sat back again and took the three essays handed over by Lin Yuan.

Each had its own style, but they all shared one characteristic. They were determined to forge ahead and show their sharp edges. Although the focus was different, even appearing a little immature, each word had impact. He thought about the words carefully, and actually felt a sudden flash of enlightenment.

“Who do you see as the first place?” Lin Yuan asked.

Song Shizhao pointed to one of them: “This one is coherent, rational and well thought out, and considers both the beginning and the end, this official congratulates Your Majesty on finding a rising talent!”

Lin Yuan smiled and said, “Sure enough, the monarch and the minister are of the same mind, Zhen has also decided on him.”

When entering the palace again, Han Ling’s mindset was no longer the same as that of before.

The students all wore official uniforms, crowns on their heads, and stood outside the Daming Hall.

After waiting for a while, Song Lian led them into the Daming Hall, where they lined up on two sides and stood respectfully to listen to the reciting of the final ranking.

When the palace eunuch sang “First rank, first place” Han Ling’s hand was already clenched into a fist.

But when he really heard his name, his whole person was stunned and his ears kept buzzing, thinking it was a dream.

Before he could return to his senses, all the students had already knelt down and shouted “Long live my emperor”. Fortunately, his body was not as dazed as his brain. When others knelt, he knelt too.

The top three were all immediately awarded official positions.

Han Ling was awarded the position of compiler at Hanlin Academy, and Li Linqing and Meng He, 2nd and 3rd place respectively, were awarded the positions of editor at Hanlin Academy.

The 2nd rank meritorious candidates had to be tested again, but this time it was not Lin Yuan, but Song Lian, and they would then be admitted to the Hanlin Academy as Shuji Shi (TN: title of the temporary position in the Hanlin Academy, conferred to meritorious candidates until the next examination) according to their grades.

As for the 3rd rank meritorious candidates, they could only go back and wait for news to see if they would stay in Beijing or would be sent out to other parts of the empire.

Then these people would be given imperial horses and could make a round around the palace gate on horseback.

The common people would stop and watch the parade.

Han Ling wore a golden embroidered black gauze hat and a red robe on his body. He held the imperial edict in one hand, and stepped on the stirrups and rode the horse at the forefront.

The parade was naturally not too fast. This was the first place meritorious candidate of the new dynasty, which was of great significance. The people automatically and spontaneously threw flowers, and there were also women who threw aromatic silk handkerchiefs and sachets.

After ten years of bitter hard work, in fact, after carefully counting back how could it just be ten years?

When he could speak, he must recite books, and when he could walk, he must learn to hold a brush.

Seeing the surging crowd, Han Ling wanted to laugh and cry.

Laugh because he was finally getting what he wanted.

Cry because his parents and family weren’t able to see this scene.

And Li Linqing behind him was extremely relaxed and leisurely. He was born with better looks than Han Ling. Han Ling was already in his thirties. At his age, he could be called young and promising for gaining the top spot, but Li Linqing was younger. He was in his early twenties, his face was as white as jade, his stature was thin and tall, and his eyes conveyed passion. Most of the silk handkerchiefs and sachets thrown by the women on the road were aimed at him.

As for Meng He, he was the eldest of the three. He was in his forties. He was neither outstanding nor ugly, but his strong face with a square jaw always had advantages. Just by looking at his face, one could feel that this person was honest and upright.

Only the 1st rank meritorious candidates could parade the streets, the 3nd rank and 3rd rank meritorious candidates have all returned to the inns and courtyards they rented, and those who were capital people would naturally go home.

The common people celebrated all day, and in the evening, there were still taverns offering wine, named Zhuangyuan Wine. (TN: Zhuangyuan=top scorer in the palace examination)

Some of the candidates who made it onto the golden list were happy and some were sad, but most of the candidates from poor families were happy. They cupped their hands at each other and exchanged congratulations.

Han Ling drank wine all night, and reported to Hanlin Academy the next day.

Along with him were the second and third scorers.

The three of them chatted happily.

But soon, Li Linqing was taken away, and by Zheng Qingfeng, to the Court of Censors.

Both Han Ling and Meng He felt sorry for Li Linqing.

After all, as the saying goes, prime ministers come from Hanlin. Now that he has left Hanlin, his future…..

Li Linqing soon started to live very busy days where his feet barely rested from the ground.

His parents also didn’t expect their son to get second place in the imperial exam. After all, this son had always been a slacker in his studies since he was a child, and now suddenly he scored 2nd in the exam. They kept feeling that their son must have used some back-handed means, maybe he had even cheated.

This frightened his parents.

After all, although the Li family was an aristocratic family, the whole family was rather timid.

The kind that would ponder and think about it for a few years when deciding whether to do a bad thing. When they have finally finished thinking about it, there wasn’t any need to do it anymore.

So the Li family had never made a mistake, just going downhill in terms of wealth and influence.

Zhao Lin also didn’t expect Li Linqing to pass the exam. He himself only won the 86th place in the 2nd rank. Although this was enough, when he thought of Li Linqing passing the exam in 2nd place, he just couldn’t figure it out.

It was nothing strange if it was someone else, but he knew Li Linqing!

In the end, Li Linqing couldn’t stand the pestering of Zhao Lin and his parents, so he wrote down his answer for the palace exam. After his father and Zhao Lin read it, they were finally silenced.

Zhao Lin fell silent out of shock, his father out of fright.

But luckily it turned out well in the end.

After reading it, his father was still trembling: “You, you are too bold! You never thought that if this essay angered His Majesty, then our whole family would then be completely finished?!”

Li Linqing didn’t care: “His Majesty is not a narrow-minded person. Brother Zhao told me that His Majesty regards everyone in the world as a useful person. Since this is the case, he would naturally be tolerant of people speaking freely.”

The topic of the palace exam was “official”.

He didn’t write how to become a good official, or what he would do after becoming an official.

But how to manage officials.

Prevent officials from covering up for each other and combat bad habits in officialdom.

He attacked almost all the dirty tricks and unwritten rules that were tacitly agreed upon within the officialdom.

And he also put forward a suggestion that almost scared his father to death——disallowing officials in the same region to make marriage alliances.

Listing various hidden dangers brought by marriage alliances among officials.

For example, when officials from the same region get married, they were clearly of several different surnames, but they would eventually become one surname.

Bound together for good or ill, prosperity or hardship, and all kinds of shady business coming as a result of this.

After reading Li Linqing’s answer sheet, Zhao Lin said with admiration, “I’m not as good as you.”

When he answered, what he wrote was how to be a good official.

Now that he thought about it, he just felt that it was quite mediocre, and he was very lucky to be able to get 2nd rank, 86th place.

Li Linqing waved his hand and said, “Brother Zhao, why belittle yourself? It’s not too late to see through it now, there is still a shortage of people in the Court of Censors!”

It was really short of people, too short of people!

He was able to go to the Court of Censors because Lin Yuan suggested him. After seeing his essay, Zheng Qingfeng felt that he suited the position, and he also asked him privately for his opinion before he was then dispatched to the Court of Censors.

As for the others, most of them shunned the Court of Censors, because as long as anyone possessed a working brain they would know that this was a new department that was the enemy of all civil and military officials. Putting aside how much power this department had, but just speaking of what this department had to do. It was basically being the public enemy number one of the several other departments.

The Court of Censors was an isolated island, and apart from the emperor, there was no other ally.

And no one had a clue where promotion led to, the future unclear.

Zheng Qingfeng didn’t like people who had such thoughts.

If one wanted to enter the Court of Censors, their temperament must be first class, and they have to possess the daring to risk the enmity of the world.

But there were too few people willing to enter the Court of Censors.

Even Han Ling felt unsure about it.

Except for the scribes in the Court of Censors now, there were only Zheng Qingfeng, him and Hong Xiu.

What could three people do?

And His Majesty stepped back and let them recruit people themselves, so Li Linqing thought of Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin was a son of an aristocratic family, and since childhood, he had grown up in the official circles.

And he was not a fool. Although he was not extremely smart, he was not a fool who only knew how to recite from books.

He also followed Zhou Rong in creating simplified characters before.

He had the experience and the background, the only thing that was slightly lacking was temperament and ability.

One’s ability needed to be tempered, but one’s temperament was innate.

Li Linqing asked him, “Brother, do you dare?”

Zhao Lin hesitated, he didn’t know, he still wanted to enter Hanlin.

But Li Linqing asked him again: “Brother, whose hands can you find the Imperial Sword to be in?”

Zhao Lin answered without thinking, “In the hands of the emperor?”

Li Linqing asked him again, “What is the Imperial Sword?”

Zhao Lin replied: “It is the power to punish the traitor and the filth, granted by the imperial power.”

Li Linqing raised his head and said, “The Court of Censors is the Imperial Sword in the hands of the emperor!”

Zhao Lin was shocked.

Li Linqing changed his appearance from the past, and the young man was full of a youthful heroic spirit: “Brother, do you want to wait bitterly for your seniority to rise in Hanlin, or follow your brother, turn into a sword in His Majesty’s hand, and slash at corrupt and traitorous officials!”

Zhao Lin bit his lip, thought hard for a long time, and finally said, “In this case, I will accept your invitation.”

Li Linqing held Zhao Lin’s hand: “The promise of a gentleman.”

Zhao Lin looked into Li Linqing’s eyes: “Will never waver in this life!”

Father Li slumped on the ground and muttered, “Crazy, crazy!”

How did he give birth to such a fearless and audacious son?!

Father Li hurriedly told his old wife: “In the future, we will live behind closed doors, and must not let people grab a hold onto a weakness. I can’t control that unfilial son. But we must not be implicated by him.”

His old wife was also very worried: “Qing’er is still young, I’m just afraid of him being deceived…..”

Father Li’s eyes widened: “Deceived? The way I see it, he’s already so arrogant that he has even forgotten his own name!”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Suddenly, Li Linqing’s voice came from outside: “Dad, your son remembers, my surname is Li, my name is Linqing, and my courtesy name is Lezhi.”

Father Li: “Scram!”

After a while, Li Linqing’s voice came from outside again, but this time it was much smaller: “Father, your son has scrammed.”

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In the new dynasty’s first imperial examination, the examination room was different from before. Before, in order to prevent cheating, a small room was partitioned off per person. For the few days the examination lasted, food and drink were all taken care of in this small cubicle, and they had to report to the examiner before someone could take them to the thatched hut where the lavatory was. If someone’s exam room was near that thatched hut, then the smell could not even be mentioned.

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If it rained, some disrepaired places would leak.

Some candidates were of advanced ages, and might even lose the remaining years of their lives by the time they could leave the exam room.

In the past, there were people who died directly in the examination room.

At this time, the weather had cooled down, and it was winter, but it had not snowed yet.

Lin Yuan had people light a brazier in the examination room, and servants would clean it every day. The thatched hut was not built in the examination room, and a wooden door was installed to keep out the smell.

Every time at noon, there were servants who brought meals in, all of which were uniformly prepared food, two steamed buns, and a plate of stewed vegetables, which contained both meat and vegetables.

But because of this, Song Shizhao and the others have done a stricter job of preventing any cheating.

In the past, all exam essays were given three days to write, and the candidates were not let out in order to prevent them from cheating and sharing their answers.

Now there was no such worry.

Because there was only one exam a day, and only one essay was written a day.

Although candidates could not go out at night, the exam room would provide quilts and supper, and supper was also simple, only steamed bread and fermented bean curd.

Candidates raise their hands to signal if they were hungry, and they did not have to eat if they were not hungry. It was up to them to choose.

But this year, they were not tested on mathematics, only on the people’s livelihood, all of which were essay compositions based on select topics.

The first exam essay topic was “merchant”.

With only this word, how to answer depended on the candidate’s own perspective.

Everyone saw things from different angles and answered differently. Maybe there were suggestions among these exam answers that could even be implemented.

Lin Yuan even selected some to look at.

Because the candidates’ names were kept anonymous, and the font was required to be uniform, unless one was particularly familiar with the person’s writing, one would never be able to deduce who was who.

Lin Yuan flipped through some essays and was a little disappointed.

Most of them were the same old banal comments, some that praised him as the emperor, and some that said merchants seek profit, which was not beneficial to the country, and harmful to the people.

Few were truly knowledgeable.

Lin Yuan flipped to the middle of the stack, swept a few lines, and then paused to take a closer look.

The perspective of this candidate was different from that of others. He saw the “economy” from the “merchant”, and from the local “economy” to the national “economy”.

He didn’t express much, but he was very clear and very organized.

First, the benefits that caused merchants to be valued were listed.

And then the candidate listed the detriments.

Finally, it was stated that for these reasons, which aspects should be restricted for merchants without hindering economic growth.

Lin Yuan could see what this candidate meant.

Although it was still very immature and had no systematic theory, what he mentioned was indeed the basic national macro-control.

Lin Yuan called over Song Shizhao and Song Lian.

“Look at this one.” Lin Yuan handed the exam paper to Er Liang, and Er Liang handed it to Song Shizhao and Song Lian.

After Song Shizhao and Song Lian took turns reading it, the expressions on their faces were different.

“This candidate must be from an aristocratic family.” Song Lian said firmly.

Lin Yuan asked him, “Why do you say so?”

Song Lian: “His handwriting is strong and neat, and looking at the handwriting is like looking at a person. It is a school of its own. It is debonair and unrestrained without losing its edge. He must have practiced it since childhood.”

Children of commoner families would not spend as much time practicing calligraphy as children of aristocratic families.

After all, a teacher in a private school teaches more than one child, and it was even more impossible to teach a single child hands-on.

At this time, people thought that one’s handwriting reflected one’s character, and a person with good handwriting couldn’t be bad.

For the same reason, one’s physical appearance reflected one’s heart, such as Chu Lin, because he was good-looking, everyone thought that he could not be a bad person.

Lin Yuan sometimes felt that these people were good at scheming.

Sometimes he also thought that they were quite naive.

At least most people were.

“Let him be the third place.” Lin Yuan said.

The emperor personally appointed him, Song Shizhao and Song Lian certainly couldn’t refuse.

And they also knew that in this imperial examination, the first place would definitely not come out of the aristocratic families.

It was not even likely to be from a poor family either.

It was very likely that first place would go to one from an ordinary commoner family or from a farming and scholarly family.

Only in this way would ordinary common people feel that fame and success was very close to them.

It would inspire more people from non-aristocratic families to study.

Most of the common people were like this. They could see the benefits, and as long as there were benefits, they were willing to do it.

Lin Yuan thought such common people were very cute.

If the common people were really content with the status quo and have no desires, then he would really have a headache.

He just wondered, would this son of an aristocratic family who had taken third place feel honored or humiliated?

It was likely he would feel bitter but be unable to voice it, right?

The second round of the imperial exam was on the topic of “household registration”.

The candidates’ essays all focused on female households.

Some people thought that women’s households should not be established, because this would breed women’s ambitions, they would not be able to play the roles of wives and mothers well, and they would try their best to seize more power and more wealth, which would make it more difficult for men because before they just have to compete with men, and now they have to compete with women as well.

And in the end, many of them believed that female households would cause social unrest and make the common people’s lives miserable.

To put it bluntly, it was fear.

They feared this system, feared this change.

And they also had to maintain their power.

Lin Yuan picked up the exam papers again.

This time, the exam paper that gave him a refreshing feeling was very interesting.

This candidate believed that female households were only a small part of the household registration.

Household registration should not be based on a family, but a person as a unit. Everyone should have a household registration, so that the country could better understand how many people and how many men and women were in a country. Large households in various cities could not have hidden households, and hidden households only brought money to large households and did not pay taxes to the state.

At the same time, the candidate also proposed that a person should have an identity certificate. Only with the certificate could they move to buy a house and buy land, and could get married and work.

This was also beneficial to taxation, and it could also prevent the existence of hidden households.

His essay arrangement was not very clear, but Lin Yuan still understood it.

After three days of the imperial exam, and after Song Shizhao and the others had gone through the exam papers, the selected ones were finally presented to Lin Yuan.

There were many exam papers for each topic, and Lin Yuan had to select 100 candidates to enter the palace for the top grade imperial exam.

The candidates’ names were no longer kept anonymous, and Lin Yuan could see their names.

Because many candidates have the same name and surname, their home location would be added before their name. In addition to the city name, there was also the street name.

Some people were afraid that the street name would also be similar, and so they also wrote their own order number among their siblings at home.

It had been a month by the time Lin Yuan finished selecting the candidates.

Because each one had to be seen by himself, Song Shizhao and the others have chosen those who have real talents and practical learning.

The number of people was similar to what Lin Yuan imagined.

Han Ling lived in the inn. The inn was full of candidates. It seemed like all the scholars in the empire had gathered here. After the exam, the inn was very lively. They talked about His Majesty’s exam questions every day and their own experiences, and some people were still arguing about it.

There were also people who broke out into song when they drank themselves drunk, but the owner of the inn was not angry, and looked at them with a smile every day.

Although there was not much money to be earned, there were very few people who did business and were short of money in the capital. So what was the point of earning this quick money?

Now the owner only wanted to be famous. As long as one of these candidates could become a successful candidate in the imperial examination, the business at his inn would never be bad in the future.

Everyone would want to rub off on some of that cheerful atmosphere.

If more people succeeded, that was even better!

When the eunuch came to announce the successful candidates, all the candidates looked at the eunuch eagerly, as if the eunuch was not a person, but a golden meat bun.

The eunuch announced: “Han Ling, a scholar from Yizhou, Daning Road, Liaoyang, are you here?”

Han Ling’s eyes widened.

His fellow villagers around him all looked at him.

Han Ling’s hands and feet felt soft and weak and his face flushed, he shouted: “Here! This student is here!”

Then he stumbled over to the eunuch and saluted.

The eunuch smiled and said, “His Majesty has called you to enter the palace in three days. You can wait at the gate of the palace, and someone will lead you in.”

Han Ling’s legs weakened, and he knelt on the ground as he shouted, “Long live my emperor! Long live!”

The eunuch didn’t look at him, and just as he was about to leave, a scholar called out from behind, “My lord! Have you forgotten someone?”

The eunuch smiled and shook his head: “No, only Han Gongzi was selected from this inn, you all can wait for the ranking list and see.”

So long as one passed the top grade imperial exam, one must be a candidate of the 1st rank, which consisted of only the top three candidates who passed the imperial examination.

Although the first, second, and third ranks were all palace graduates, the gap between palace graduates and palace graduates was huge.

Especially the third rank, though also palace graduates, their status was the lowest.

Many people even preferred not to pass and come back again after three years, rather than becoming a third rank palace graduate.

Among the third rank palace graduates, there were very few who could become high-ranking officials.

Even just one who managed it was already considered very lucky and rare, a blessing from the ancestors.

Han Ling was still kneeling on the ground, and his fellow villagers helped him up. Han Ling’s cheeks were flushed, but his eyes were bright.

His fellow villagers sighed: “When we see you in the future, we will have to call you Lord Han.”

Only then did Han Ling realize that he was acting a little carried away, and quickly said: “No matter what happens in the future, we are all brothers.”

Although his fellow villagers were sad, they still had spirit in them. After all, although they couldn’t become a first rank palace graduate, there was still hope for the second rank.

As for the third rank…..

They were also a little at a loss.

It was a blessing to be able to pass the imperial exam, as for the rank, it didn’t matter.

Weren’t there still a lot of gray-haired candidates who only passed the imperial county exam? They had taken the exam all their lives and still could not pass the imperial provincial exam.

Those who could be picky about the third rank must be the sons of aristocratic families.

People like them had no choice to be picky about.

Of all the scholars in the inn, only Han Ling was selected, and Han Ling suddenly became a rare figure, and scholars who had never talked to him before came over to chat with him.

They asked him how he answered the exam questions.

Han Ling described his answers briefly.

The scholar started beating his chest and stomping his feet: “Regret! Oh, how I regret it!”

It was only after Han Ling asked some more did he realize that this person had gone off the mark.

In addition to this person, there were other scholars who came to speak with him.

Either they kept praising His Majesty, or they felt that preferential treatment should not be given to merchants.

The owner of the inn was very ecstatic and honored. He paid for the scholars to drink wine for three days in the inn, and Han Ling’s expenses were all put on the house by the owner.

Han Ling refused again and again but the owner said, “Gongzi doesn’t know, but the fact that my inn had a palace graduate come out of it there is no need to worry about making no money, there will definitely be crowds of customers flowing in! You don’t have to worry about it, Gongzi and I benefit from each other, and don’t owe each other.”

Han Ling had no choice but to take his money back, making up his mind to slip the money to the owner when he checked out.

He didn’t know what ranking he would get, but since he had entered the top grade imperial exam, he had to show all that he had learned, so as not to waste his hard work over the years.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The scholars in Beijing were drunk for three days, and there was even a scent of wine lingering in every street of the capital.

There were also painters who have captured this scene into their paintings, to be handed down for thousands of years.

TN: 😥 I usually update a chapter each for BtM and VCF each updating date unless there are bonus chapters but there are not enough days in February, urgh 😑. Well anyway, that’s all of the February chapters, see you all again in the second week of March!

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“Brother Zhao!” The scholar walked over quickly and cupped his fists to Zhao Lin. When he was twenty years old, with red lips and white teeth. Holding a folding fan, he imitated the debonair style of Wei and Jin. “Tomorrow is the exam, brother Zhao is much more learned than I, I hope brother Zhao can give some pointers.”

Zhao Lin smiled bitterly: “What pointers…..”

He himself had not been studying books recently, all his time was spent helping Zhou Rong to compose simplified characters. His family had sent servants to scold him many times, didn’t he dare not even go home despite the imperial examination being tomorrow?

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Who still idled out in the streets now?

Perhaps only such “debonair” scholars had such a carefree life.

The scholar sighed and said, “Then let’s find a restaurant to sit in? I finally found an excuse to leave the house. Brother Zhao, take pity on me.”

Zhao Lin didn’t dare to go home either, so the two of them could only find a teahouse.

There was also a pennant at the entrance of the teahouse, which read “A Merchant With Integrity”.

They just walked to the door when a waiter hurriedly welcomed them in.

The name ‘waiter’ only showed up at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. It used to be ‘tea academician’.

The waiter smiled wide: “Where does the customer want to sit? There are also seats upstairs.”

Zhao Lin: “Let’s go upstairs, what kind of tea do you have here?”

“Longjing, Huqiu, Biluochun, there are also others.” The waiter led them upstairs.

Zhao Lin: “Biluochun.”

Waiter: “Right away! These two customers, please have a seat and wait a moment longer.”

The scholar stopped him and asked strangely, “What’s that pennant at your door?”

The waiter said proudly: “It was given by the imperial court, because our teahouse has a good attitude, sells good tea, and we never reuse tea dregs. If customers forget their belongings here, we will also keep a hold on it until the customers can come back for it.”

“A customer wrote to the district business administration department to praise us, and the imperial court gave this pennant.”

A merchant with integrity! Certified by the imperial court! This was a golden signboard, which many merchants could not help but envy.

Moreover, the imperial court would organize meetings of honest business owners in each district every quarter.

Since receiving this pennant, the business of their teahouse has improved day by day. In order for this pennant to not be taken away, the owner especially reminded them not to steal even a single coin, and if they were found to be dishonest, they would be beaten out of the teahouse.

Who would steal a few coins these days?

If the teahouse’s income every month increased, then they would also get bonuses!

The more the owner earned, the more bonuses they would get! Honestly, the workers wanted nothing more than to place the customers on pedestals.

But it seemed that after their customer attitude became better, the attitude of the customers who used to be bad-tempered had also changed, and they were not as difficult as before.

After the waiter left, the scholar touched his chin and said, “His Majesty values merchants too much.”

Although the status of merchants in the Yuan Dynasty had improved a lot, the status of merchants was even higher now.

Zhao Lin said with a wry smile: “In His Majesty’s eyes, people are not divided into low, middle, or high.”

The scholar’s eyes widened in surprise: “How can that be?”

Zhao Lin thought about it for a while, he had helped Zhou Rong for so long, and he had his own opinions, so he said, “How many servants do you have in your family?”

The scholar didn’t understand why Zhao Lin asked this, so he said, “I haven’t counted. Some of the former ones have left, and some have been newly hired. There should be more than 100?”

Zhao Lin: “Will you divide your servants into low, middle, or high levels? Maybe the servants can divide themselves, but will you?”

The scholar was shocked: “It’s not possible that His Majesty sees us as servants!”

Zhao Lin smiled and said, “Not servants. His Majesty only regards us as useful people. The common people are also useful people, so are the merchants, and so are the soldiers. Everyone has their own use.”

The scholar was speechless for a while, lowered his head to think for a long time, suddenly stood up and bowed again: “Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books.”

Zhao Lin didn’t expect the scholar to figure it out so quickly. When he had finally thought it through, he had broken out in a cold sweat, and it was only now he could regard it as normal: “I thought you would…..”

The scholar said seriously: “I won’t hide it from brother Zhao, I also thought about it when I was young, if the people of the world each perform their own duties and manage their own affairs, the emperor knows how to make good use of them, and would not despise them because of their humble origins, nor regard them because of their noble origins. Only then could the people and the country become stronger.”

“It’s just that what thoughts I had were vague. But when I think about it now, isn’t what His Majesty is doing in line with what I thought when I was young?”

Zhao Lin felt even more admiration so he put aside his contempt, and said, “I have been arrogant.”

The scholar smiled and said, “Unfortunately, just how many people in the world are able to see through to the heart of the matter?”

Zhao Lin also said, “We understand that this is the way to enrich and strengthen the country, but…..”

Aristocratic families might be able to see through the emperor’s thinking, and they might know that this was a good thing for the country and the people.

But this good thing meant that their entire social class would have to step down from the altar.

How could it not pain them?

What they couldn’t see through was where their future lay.

The scholar said: “Tomorrow on the exam, I know how I’m going to answer.”

Zhao Lin looked at him strangely, because he knew that in the past the other was just an ignorant and incompetent son of an aristocratic family. Whether it was composing poems or writing essays neither was of any worth. Even his calligraphy could not be considered good enough.

When the two parted, the scholar surnamed Li also said to him: “When we win top marks on the imperial examination, I will drink with brother Zhao again!”

After all, it was the first imperial examination, and many scholars from all over the empire had made their way to the capital.

They have all taken the county and provincial exams, and children from aristocratic families didn’t need to pass the county and provincial exams, but this kind of preferential treatment was only available just this once.

Therefore, the children of the aristocratic families felt that they should not be treated the same as the scholars of common origin.

On the other hand, they were trying their best to trample the scholars of common origin under their feet.

In terms of those who possess true talents and real learning, how could those commoners be better than those from aristocratic families who have grown up with poetry and books from sages since childhood and have a scholastic family background?

Song Shizhao looked at the exam subject.

The subject of this imperial examination was chosen several times, and finally it was decided on “the people’s livelihood”.

He sat with Song Lian, and Song Shizhao was laughing at Song Lian: “You look quite old.”

Song Lian sighed, “I’ve been tired!”

Then again seriously: “When serving the country, no matter how tired, I can endure it!”

Song Shizhao smiled profoundly: “I have something good to tell you.”

Song Lian looked at Song Shizhao and didn’t believe it. Song Shizhao never gave him any good news.

Song Shizhao: “Liu Bowen has answered the imperial summons, and he should be here within three days. The way I see it, His Majesty’s intention is to hand over the matter of compiling the Civil Code to him.”

Song Lian knew about Liu Bowen. Just now he was complaining about being tired, but now his feelings were conflicted.

Like raising a tree, just as he saw that the tree was about to grow and mature under his hand, it was suddenly moved to someone else’s backyard.

Although compiling a dictionary was also a good thing for the country and the people, the Civil Code…..

Song Shizhao saw Song Lian’s entanglement and said with a smile, “I’m joking with you. His Majesty sees your hard work, so he is likely to ask Liu Bowen to compile it with you. The greatest credit is naturally yours.”

Song Lian was not annoyed at being seen through: “Then that’s good, I can also have it easier.”

Song Shizhao: “I wonder if talents can be found this year.”

Even if there were no talents among the poor commoner students this year, in order to set an example for students of such background all over the empire, a few would still be selected.

Song Shizhao sighed and said, “I think it will take several years for the imperial examination to fully take shape.”

The first session was always the most chaotic.

Song Lian: “What are you afraid of? Afraid you won’t be able to live until then?”

Song Shizhao pretended to be old and feeble, huddling his neck as he said, “I’ve become old.”

He was quite old already, and now he was even older, but he felt that he was still a young man.

He felt like he could live another fifty years!

“By the way, have the inns been arranged?” Song Lian asked.

Song Shizhao nodded: “It’s all arranged.”

Because many scholars came to Beijing this time, and many of them were poor, the imperial court rented out a lot of inns. Of course, there were also inns that didn’t want money, but the imperial court still gave the money.

Scholars come to live in the inns, and naturally they still have to give money, but they could afford the money, and the inns would not drive up the price.

Han Ling was a member of the army of scholars who traveled to Beijing to take the exam. His family was both a farming and scholarly family. Though it was said that to be both farming and scholarly. In fact, the family could only afford to support him in studying. He had three younger brothers who so far could only recognize some characters, and could only recite some beginner texts such as the Three Character Classic.

This time, the family gave him almost all the money in the family for him to go to Beijing.

But before Han Ling came, he heard that everything was expensive in the capital, and nothing was cheap.

He carried on him the whole family’s money and hope, but when he entered the city, he kept thinking, if he didn’t pass the exam, and the money given by his family ran out as well, what face would he have to go back?

It was better to just kill himself.

The same was true for most of the scholars from his hometown.

Scholars from wealthy families would not be like them, several people renting one ox cart together to travel to Beijing.

Only daring to eat cheap food on the road.

“I heard that renting a small courtyard in the capital costs 5 taels a month. Now it should be 10 taels, and only two people can live there.”

“Staying in an inn costs 8 taels a month. And that’s the price when no one came to take the exam before…..If we go now, I’m afraid the price will have increased to 20 taels.”

For ordinary commoner families, 10 taels were enough for one or two years of daily expenses.

Now there were more ways to make money, and people’s expenses were rising. In the past, 2 taels were enough to get by a year.

When they entered the city, the soldiers guarding the city gate checked their belongings. Seeing that they were all dressed as scholars, they asked, “Are you all coming to Beijing to take the imperial exam?”

The several people quickly said yes.

The soldier smiled and said, “When you enter the city, you can find the inns with the red flags hanging. They are prepared by the imperial court for the scholars.”

“One tael of silver a month, if you have relatives and friends in the capital, then forget I said anything.”

The several people were speechless in shock.

It was Han Ling who said first: “Thank you, my lord! We’ve been worried about this!”

The soldier hurriedly said: “I am not any kind of lord, everyone, come into the city, I wish you all top marks on the imperial exam, and soar high in your careers!”

The scholars also had excited faces.

The driver drove the ox cart into the city, the roads in the city were smooth, and the sections for pedestrians and vehicles were separated, so there was no need to worry about trampling on passers-by.

The scholars were all very moved.

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“His Majesty…..His Majesty is benevolent!” There were scholars in the cart crying bitterly, “Now I know that the imperial court will even take care of such trivial matters for us, in the future, I shall definitely repay such kindness, no matter if I have to shatter my bones to do so!”

“Yes! Before I came, I was worried that we might not be able to rent a courtyard even if we put our money together.”

Han Ling lifted the curtain of the cart and looked at the street vendors selling on the roadside, the men and women walking by, and his heart was filled with fervor and lofty ambitions!

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After becoming the Commissioner of the Court of Censors, Hong Xiu was given her own manor. It was originally a small official’s mansion. Although it was not big, it had a small courtyard inside. The former small official liked this kind of thing, but now it benefited her.

But after she moved here, she had handed out a lot of invitations, but only Zhou Qiuniang and her subordinates were willing to come.

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None of the male officials were willing to come.

“Because they think I’m a lowly servant, and I’m in charge of the lowliest commoners.” Zhou Qiuniang sat opposite Hong Xiu and said with a smile, “You are different, you can attend morning assembly with the emperor and speak in front of a hundred officials.”

Hong Xiu looked at Zhou Qiuniang. She almost didn’t know this woman anymore, she remembered that Zhou Qiuniang was a weak woman in the past, and this weakness referred not only to her appearance, but also her heart. She was born to be someone who needed to be protected, but now looking at her again, she could no longer see the shadow of that person.

Zhou Qiuniang had undergone a transformation and had become a different person.

A better person.

Hong Xiu’s expressionless face made her look a little stern and serious: “I know.”

His Majesty told her that it was precisely because she could attend morning assembly that she was ignored by the officials.

She could only rely on herself, and even His Majesty could not provide her with more help.

Hong Xiu raised her chin: “I’m not afraid.”

From the moment she chose to leave Taizhou for Anfeng, she didn’t know what fear was.

Zhou Qiuniang smiled and said, “Tell them to serve wine and some side dishes.”

The servants quickly brought warm wine and side dishes. These servants were hired by Hong Xiu, and most of the servants hired by Hong Xiu were women.

Zhou Qiuniang asked her, “What exactly does the Court of Censors do?”

Everyone was investigating now, after all, no news had come out before.

The functions and powers of this new agency remain a mystery.

The officials felt that only Lin Yuan and Hong Xiu knew.

Hong Xiu shook her head: “I don’t know, I’m afraid we will only know when the Court of Censors is really established.”

Zhou Qiuniang looked at her with a smile: “As women, we must be each other’s support. Why must Sister Wu hide and keep it a secret? Do you look down on me as a lowly servant?”

Hong Xiu had no surname, so she found a surname for herself. She remembered the surname of a kind-hearted person she met when she was young, so she also took the surname Wu.

Hong Xiu smiled and said, “Lord Zhou is no longer a Manager. I believe you should know what to ask and what not to ask.”

The corner of Zhou Qiuniang’s mouth slightly hooked upwards: “This official was thinking…..Commissioner Wu has just become part of the imperial court and might need some help during this time, right?”

Hong Xiu kept a cold face: “What help do you mean?”

Zhou Qiuniang: “Although this lower official only deals with the trivial matters of the common people, there are many things…..”

Hongxiu: “Lord Zhou, be careful!”

Zhou Qiuniang paused.

Hong Xiu sneered: “Lord Zhou has been following His Majesty for a long time, and you should know what His Majesty’s greatest taboo is.”

The most taboo was to form parties and cliques for personal gain.

Zhou Qiuniang also became expressionless, the two sat opposite each other, Zhou Qiuniang looked at Hong Xiu: “Lord Wu, consider this lower official to have not been here today.”

After that, Zhou Qiuniang stood up.

Hong Xiu remained sitting: “Take care on your way out.”

When Zhou Qiuniang was leaving, she turned her head to look at Hong Xiu.

After staying in Anfeng for so long, why didn’t Hong Xiu take the hand she stretched out?

Zhou Qiuniang strode away, she could no longer see through Hong Xiu.

Or in other words, even before Hong Xiu went to Anfeng, she couldn’t see through this person.

Did Hong Xiu have a desire for power?

Zhou Qiuniang laughed at herself.

There was no doubt about the answer. If she had no desire for power, why should she risk the world’s condemnation to accept the official appointment of His Majesty?

Just how difficult it was to get a foothold in the imperial court as a woman!

Since she was unwilling to accept her help, she would just wait and see how the other planned to gain a foothold.

Hong Xiu finished the last cup of warm wine.

She leaned back in the chair and looked up.

“It’s been good weather recently…..”

Soon, Lin Yuan appointed Zheng Qingfeng as the Court of Censors’ Secretary to the Imperial Counsellor of the Left, second rank.

That was when an uproar exploded in the court, even more than when Lin Yuan appointed Hong Xiu.

Zheng Qingfeng accepted it without hesitation.

But he himself never thought it would be the second rank.

This had him forcibly suppressing his excitement.

Lin Yuan sat on the dragon throne and said with a smile, “You all have been inquiring for a long time in private, but have you found out what the Court of Censors do?”

The hundred officials hurriedly knelt down: “This official dare not!”

Lin Yuan smiled a half-smile: “Is it that you dare not inquire in private, or is it that you dare not admit that you have inquired in private?”

The officials did not dare to speak.

They all know that His Majesty, who sat on the dragon throne, was not a kind and benevolent monarch.

Perhaps His Majesty had a benevolent side, but this side was only for the common people and officials who have done nothing wrong.

He had never been soft-hearted when it came to killing officials.

Lin Yuan asked again: “What? Is there no one who can answer this question?”

It was Song Shizhao who knelt on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, please do not be angry!”

The hundred officials followed up: “Your Majesty please do not be angry!”

Lin Yuan: “You may all rise. After all, you are so many and powerful, Zhen doesn’t dare to be the enemy of this entire room of officials.”

The hundred officials did not dare to move.

They just made their objections together, and  they might not admit it but there was the idea of using their large number to put pressure on the emperor.

With so many officials opposing it, His Majesty should reconsider his decision.

This way they could find out more information.

In the imperial court, the officials and the emperor are themselves checks and balances against each other.

Between rulers and ministers, just like between husband and wife, even if they share common interests, they must distinguish who was stronger and who was weaker in the relationship.

Officials were wives, the emperor was the husband, and the husband was more powerful, but in this world, there were examples where wives had more power than husbands.

In the same way, officials might also overpower the emperor.

Wasn’t that the case in every dynasty before them?

The closest was Liu Futong from Anfeng, or Toqto’a of the Yuan Dynasty.

Officials couldn’t be the emperor, so they could only control the emperor.

In order to gain greater power and benefit.

Lin Yuan understood this truth.

Even if he killed all these officials, he still had to promote new officials, which was still an endless cycle.

The officials were not to blame, only the emperor who was weak.

The expression on Lin Yuan’s face did not change: “The Court of Censors can supervise the Six Ministries, presenting memorials on small matters and making decisive decisions on major matters.”

All officials were dumbfounded.

Although this Court of Censors didn’t deal with the people’s livelihood, it had the power to supervise the Six Ministries…..no, not only the Six Ministries…..

Such a new institution…..

This was a hand of His Majesty, all for carrying out His Majesty’s bidding.

Lin Yuan said again, “Are you dissatisfied?”

The hundred officials dared not.

Lin Yuan: “If that’s the case, then there’s no objection, Zheng qing, Zhen will entrust it to you, but if you make a mistake, you can’t escape the responsibility. Are you willing?”

Zheng Qingfeng knelt down: “This official, thanks Your Majesty for the favor, this official shall not disappoint!”

Zheng Qingfeng took office just like that. Although the subordinate in his hand was only Hong Xiu, the two of them moved quickly.

Hong Xiu was the Yuanshi, and she also knew the powers of this official position.

She was in charge of communication. If an official was found to have violated the law, then she was the one who would contact the Ministry this official belonged to.

Hong Xiu was here to offend people, but she was also equivalent to the image of the Court of Censors. The power in her hands was neither too big nor too small.

The imperial court’s attention, which had been on her, now shifted to Zheng Qingfeng.

Zheng Qingfeng had always acted like a pure official before, not being close with any officials, and staying at home every day except for when he had to take care of governmental affairs.

The officials felt that he was either pretending, or that he was a true loyal official, loyal to the extent of being stupid.

But now they have to keep flattering him.

Even Hong Xiu, who had sent out a lot of invitations before and no one came to her house to celebrate her promotion, but now even if the invitations were no longer sent, the congratulations kept coming.

The servants all complained to Hong Xiu: “There are not enough people to handle this.”

Hong Xiu smiled and said, “Then I can only ask you all to work harder.”

The servant sighed: “You don’t want to hire more servants?”

Hong Xiu shook her head: “If I hired before then that’s fine, but now if I hire again, I don’t know whose spies will manage to infiltrate, not to mention that money can open up all kinds of paths, I am afraid that some people will be bribing the servants in my house in the next few days. I must ask Sister to pay more attention from now on.”

The servant sighed and said, “I did not expect that I would have to weigh the words and watch the expressions of others once again.”

Hong Xiu chuckled and said, “Sister, don’t be angry, in those gifts sent over, you can take whatever you like.”

The servant glared at her: “Only using those things to coax me.”

Hong Xiu sighed: “My former sisters…..”

Servant: “Alright! I get it! Stop nagging!”

The servant originally lived in the same brothel as Hong Xiu. She was ten years older than Hong Xiu. When Hong Xiu was bought into the brothel, she was the most popular courtesan with countless people vying for her affections, not caring if they had to spend fortunes just for one night with her.

Then Hong Xiu grew older every year, and she also became older every year as well.

When Hong Xiu was ten years old, the servant was bought from the brothel by a wealthy merchant.

Within two years, the wealthy merchant died, and she was driven out by the wealthy merchant’s wife.

At that time, the servant had suffered much hardship and had lost her beauty.

She returned to the brothel, but she couldn’t pick up any guests, and became an ordinary servant instead. She no longer had a courtesan name, everyone just called her Hui Gu. She would wipe down every floor of the building, and she would be sent to spill out spittoons.

The glamorous days of the past were getting farther and farther away from her, but she had never complained. She was different from the abducted girls like Hong Xiu. Her parents had died, leaving her with an abusive aunt, whom she eventually ran away from. She had voluntarily sold herself into a brothel.

So she couldn’t regret it.

If she regretted it, her whole life would be a joke.

By then…..she wouldn’t know how to even live.

But she had also developed a pair of sharp eyes, and she had seen all kinds of people.

She also knew how to tell if people were feeling guilty, sad, angry, disgusted, or nervous.

So Hong Xiu invited her over. Although she was a servant, she was more like a housekeeper, and she was the only one who served Hong Xiu personally.

Hui Gu mocked: “You are a high official now. It’s unheard of for a woman to be an official.”

Hong Xiu looked at her with a smile, revealing a bit of girlish naivety: “Sister is jealous of me?”

Hui Gu said disdainfully, “I’m not like you. I don’t have to worry about someone bribing the people around me, and I don’t have to worry about being assassinated.”

Hong Xiu retracted the smile.

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Hui Gu no longer mocked, but asked solemnly, “Hong Xiu, have you thought about it?”

Hong Xiu also said solemnly: “Since I have stepped into Anfeng…..no, since I expressed my wishes to His Majesty, I will never recoil or retreat.”

“Sister, life is brief, I just want to have no regrets when I die.”

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“Old Chen’s wife, where are you going?”

The woman who carried a bamboo basket said with a smile, “I’m off for the next two days so I am going to pick wild vegetables.”

The older woman said: “Wait for me! Let’s go together!”

The two chatted and laughed, and as soon as they climbed up the mountain, they saw people building a bridge by the river between the two mountains.

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“When this bridge is built, it will be much more convenient for us to go outside the village in the future! Before, if we wanted to go, we had to ride an ox cart for two days.”

In the past, who would have thought that the big lords above would take care of commoners like them and even build roads and bridges that would benefit them?

That was something they couldn’t even dream of. People in their village might only leave the village once in a year and a half, and go outside to exchange food and wild animals for some oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.

Now it was better. The road in the village was open. Although it was not as fast as walking over the bridge, the two day distance of before had now been shortened to one day.

Many young people in the village have found jobs in the town.

The old people farmed at home, the young people went to work in the town, and the life of the family had become better than before.

The women also worked in the town’s laundry room. Because there were many people building roads, their dirty clothes were collected and washed together.

In a basket was the clothes of a squad of people, and they couldn’t be confused with others. They would mark it on their own, and they would know which one belonged to who when they sent it back.

Wages were paid by the imperial court, because it was not clear how long the construction period would be, so it was paid by day, and it was calculated according to the number of baskets to be washed.

Two baskets were worth a coin.

At this time, the clothes were made of thin cloth, and women could wash at least ten baskets a day, which was five coins in total.

So 150 coins could be earned in a month.

What was more important was that the laundry rooms provided food and lodging so the money they made was all net income for them.

Countless people wanted to squeeze themselves in this job.

The older woman picked wild vegetables as she said: “You’re lucky, they stopped recruiting the next day after you applied.”

The woman also felt that she was lucky, but she said seriously: “Maybe they will recruit more people in the future.”

The older woman shook her head: “The road is almost finished, the bridge is on the opposite side, and the clothes will only be sent to the laundry room on the opposite side.”

The woman paused.

This earning business was about to disappear.

“At that time…..we should be able to find other jobs.” The woman smiled with difficulty.

Since she went out to work, life at home had become much better. With her wages, the family could eat several meals of meat a month.

Although they couldn’t eat however much meat they wanted, it was a world of difference compared to life before.

The older woman said: “That’s right, there is no shortage of work now. I heard that a big merchant is coming to build a factory to make knitwear!”

Woman: “What is knitwear?”

The older woman thought for a while: “I don’t know either.”

Knitwear was a new thing, and few people knew what it was for.

Lin Yuan did not expect that someone would actually spin wool. The merchants saw a business opportunity. Sometimes the merchants also raised craftsmen, and they actually made knitwear such as sweaters. Although it was not industrialized, and there was no way to carry out assembly line operations, there was absolutely no problem in hiring workers.

And since the government had implemented the basic salary plus commission work model, merchants also learned from it.

This way they could mobilize the enthusiasm of workers more.

Of course, they lowered the base salary…..

But it was not as low as the baseline set by Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan’s baseline was set for factory employees who work for a long time, and the basic salary could not be lower than 50 coins.

Except for those on probation, but the longest probation period could not exceed three months. After three months, they had to either be transferred to a regular position or dismissed. There was no way to use the probation period to take advantage of not having to pay a regular salary.

Of course, this would lead to some people losing their jobs.

But now the animal husbandry industry had started, and there were quite a few people who raised pigs, chickens and geese.

Every local government must carry out a five-year plan, and report to Lin Yuan how they plan to develop in these five years, and which direction to focus on. The local government must give him a clear direction and a general action plan.

But the good news was that the animal husbandry industry and the handicraft industry were indeed moving forward step by step. Although it seemed that the pace was not big, there were more factories appearing almost every six months.

In addition to infrastructure construction, these factories have provided many jobs.

In the first few years after the end of the troubled times, people were in a state of panic and unrest. Only when people found something to do would they settle down.

Otherwise, who knows what people might do under fear and despair.

Lin Yuan was now focusing on agriculture.

Many old farmers have their own planting experience. What the local government needed to do was to gather the old farmers in one place, let them communicate, plant experimental fields, and then confirm whether their planting methods could be popularized according to the results of the experimental fields.

The water conservancy system had the supervision of Toqto’a, and the first phase of popularizing it was in progress.

Although it seemed that the effects were not great, it was indeed moving forward one step at a time.

There was also the military merit classification and death and injury compensation for soldiers.

Lin Yuan handed this part over to Song Shizhao and the others.

Every day, Lin Yuan received countless reports and memorials. Officials seem to find that Lin Yuan much preferred people who did useful and practical work and paid attention to the common people’s livelihood.

The Civil Code was still being compiled, Song Lian was in charge, and the Hanlin Academy was assisting.

The people in the Hanlin Academy were the first batch of children of aristocratic families to go into office. Song Lian was better at using and managing people than Zhou Rong. At least no one in his hands opposed the Civil Code. There might be some people who opposed it, but he could suppress them.

Zhou Rong was still too young. Young people were sharper and more aggressive, but they were also easier to control.

As for the dictionary——although Song Lian was still the one in charge, compared to the Civil Code, he spent much less effort on the dictionary, and now he basically left it to his disciples.

Although they were the first batch of children of aristocratic families to go into office, they were not too young. Most of them have sons, and some even have grandsons. The years have given them leniency and made them more cautious.

Meng He was one of them.

The Meng family was an aristocratic family, but they were one of the poorest of the aristocratic families. They lived off their ancestral land, and they didn’t even own any shops. There were also not many servants in the family, so when the employment system was reformed before, almost nothing changed in his family.

Even the old servants didn’t leave.

After all, his sisters had to weave and cook since they were young, and he himself went up to the mountains to cut firewood in order to save firewood money.

The only advantage they had over ordinary people was that they could afford to send their children to study.

His sisters were also literate.

At that time, the reason he was able to enter the palace and meet the emperor was because he had thrown away any shame and followed the others. Even if many people laughed at him, he did not flinch.

Because he knew this was the greatest opportunity he could ever encounter in his life.

The first batch of elected officials of the new emperor.

If nothing unexpected happened, his future would be better than the later officials.

“Brother Meng, look at this one.” The colleague pointed to a first draft paper and asked him to read, “What do you think?”

Meng He looked over and saw that this article wrote about commerce, but not the merchants’ commerce, but the common people’s.

It was about the common people buying and selling goods as a family business.

Meng He said strangely: “Family business?”

The colleague said with a smile: “Exactly, I see that many vendors work with their family members and have never hired outsiders. Naturally, they are not considered merchants, but they do business and should not be lumped into merchants.”

Meng He thought carefully: “That’s true.”

The colleague also said: “Since they are not the same as merchants, then they should not be taxed the same.”

Merchants pay the highest taxes.

But if these small families also pay the same taxes as merchants, then their profits would be too small to cover household expenses.

Then their path of livelihood would be cut off.

In the end, it would still lead to only big merchants with wealth who were able to do business.

The common people couldn’t even set up a stall and open a shop.

Meng He suddenly said, “Personal income tax!”

The colleague looked at Meng He strangely: “Is there a relationship between the two?”

Meng He’s eyes lit up: “His Majesty had revised the personal income tax, if a person earns ten coins, the tax would be taken as one coin.”

“The same can be for business tax!”

The colleague bowed his head in thought, and suddenly raised his head: “That makes sense!”

“When I revise this, let’s go to Lord Song together!”

Song Lian was very busy. He had nearly a hundred people in his hands, and among these nearly hundred people there were also some who were simply useless people who were only good for guzzling and boozing. They have seen nothing but a few inches of the sky above their heads in their whole lives, and they have learned only the principles of books in their whole lives. They did not know how the common people lived, nor did they know what the common people pursued.

They talked grandly, thinking that they could help the emperor govern the country, but Song Lian couldn’t throw all these people out the door.

There were also many people who did things and were useful, but those who were useful were either sons of real noble families or sons of impoverished families.

These two types of people with different origins would not work together that easily.

The codification of the Civil Code had always been slow.

It would be great if someone could help him.

Song Lian sighed deeply.

He was also getting on in the years now and lacked the energy and strength, but he had no successor. Even if he wanted to promote some people, he couldn’t find anyone suitable who could convince the public.

Luo Ben was now in the Ministry of Justice. He was as busy as Song Lian. He was in charge of leading the compilation of “Criminal Law”.

How was petty theft determined?

What was the punishment for harassing a woman?

How was homicide determined? There were several types of homicide, intentional homicide, negligent homicide, excessive defense, etc. How were each determined?

There were also laws for injury, minor injuries, moderate injuries and serious injuries.

Fraud and robbery, etc.

Luo Ben woke up every day with his brain like mush.

He didn’t know that there was still so much content to be revised. Take murder as an example. In the past, a life was paid for by a life. Some officials would investigate the reason, some would not, and no one would be criticized if they didn’t.

After all, someone died, and the murderer should pay for it with their life.

Every time at this time, Luo Ben would think of his teacher. If his teacher was here, he wouldn’t have to be so tired.

But His Majesty had sent more than ten letters of summons, and his teacher did not come.

This year, his teacher…..should be seventy, right?

His teacher was now in Xinghua, Xinghua was now a prosperous area filled with commerce, and the common people were prosperous. His teacher should be able to enjoy his old age there, so why ask him to travel all the way to the capital?

Luo Ben rubbed his wrists. Since they began using the “pencil”, the wrists didn’t hurt as easily as before.

Although the tip of the pencil would always be broken due to excessive force, it could continue to be used as long as it was sharpened.

If one needed to make changes to the writing, one could erase off the original traces just by gently wiping with a soft piece of wood, which saved a lot of paper.

He heard that the students of the public schools now also used “pencils”.

Children have small arms and could not properly write words with a brush.

He heard that His Majesty wanted to make a “pen”.

Luo Ben exhaled.

Many new things appeared suddenly, but people did not panic, and instead quickly accepted them.

People were smart enough to know what was good for them and what was not.

When the pencil came out, there were also many people who opposed it, but since it was known that it was only for children’s enlightenment, the objection became smaller and smaller until it disappeared.

This was probably like boiling frogs in lukewarm water, right? By the time the frog had realized it needed to jump, it had already adapted to the water temperature.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Rather than something that looked good, His Majesty wanted something that was “easy to use”.

Good-looking brush calligraphy was a plus point, but bad handwriting would not deduct points.

What His Majesty wanted were people with real talent and practical learning who could benefit the people in the world.

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Old master Lin could no longer be called old master Lin anymore. He had become the Taishang Huang (TN: father of the reigning emperor). He didn’t have to do anything every day, just put on weight indoors.

He barely even believed it himself. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, his son’s farmstead became bigger, and in the blink of an eye, his son captured and occupied cities, and in the blink of an eye, his son became the emperor, and he, a landowner, became the Taishang Huang.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

How easy was it to be the Taishang Huang, he had never been the Taishang Huang before, and none of his ancestors had either. He wasn’t sure how to be one really.

But his son said that he could eat as much as he wanted, drink as much as he wanted, and play in any mansion and garden he wanted.

There were only two things, he couldn’t leave the palace at will, he had to report to his son wherever he wanted to go when leaving the palace.

He couldn’t play with women. Except for the previous Lin family maids, none of the maids in the palace could be touched.

At first, old master Lin was quite uncomfortable. He felt like he was the son, and his son was the father.

It was Yang shi who said to him: “For others it is the sons who rely on their father to gain high positions. Whereas you rely on your son. If you can’t tell the difference, I’ll strangle you now, so as not to make it difficult for our son in the future.”

When Yang shi said this, she was sitting on the couch, her aura clear and cold, not even sparing him a glance from the corner of her eye.

However, old master Lin’s heart suddenly became chilled.

His old wife was right, he was like a poor man who suddenly became rich, and got carried away for a moment.

Yang shi said to him again: “Manage yourself, the maids in the palace are all daughters with names and surnames. If you let them give birth to children, it will be the blood of the royal family.”

Old master Lin shuddered again.

He couldn’t even father children now…..But at his age, he might not be able to father children either.

Otherwise, why have there been no children since the birth of his youngest daughter?

Those Lin family maids who had served him in the bedroom were now all wives, but the youngest was already middle-aged, not yet old ladies, but did not have that kind of beauty any longer. Over time, he was more willing to stay with Yang shi.

Fortunately, Yang shi won’t drive him away. The two of them did their own thing together. At night, old master Lin would go back to his bedroom to rest.

“Princess!” There was a panicked call from a palace maid outside.

Guo’er was also a big girl now. She was in her early twenties, at the age of youth and beauty. Although women get married early, the recent years had been filled with war and chaos, and Lin Yuan didn’t want to make an unsuitable match for his sister. Now that the world was settled, it was Guo’er herself who was not willing to marry.

When she was young, Guo’er was very timid, but probably because her elder brother became the Southern King and then the emperor, and he spoiled her very much, she gradually became more daring.

“Mother!” As soon as Guo’er entered the room, she threw herself into Yang shi’s arms.

Yang shi’s cold face finally showed some expression. She patted Guo’er’s back, and asked softly: “What’s wrong?”

Guo’er looked indignant: “I’m not going to marry!”

Yang shi smiled: “If you don’t want to get married, you won’t get married, let’s ask your brother to open a princess mansion for you, and recruit a husband to marry into the family, alright?”

Guo’er didn’t expect her mother to be so agreeable, and she didn’t come back to her senses for a while.

Yang shi: “What’s there to panic about? You are the only princess, and your brother is the emperor. If you have children, they will take your surname.”

Only then did Guo’er realize that her face had become red, and she whispered, “I’m afraid brother will scold me.”

Yang shi shook her head: “Guo’er, your brother is the person who loves you the most in this world besides your parents.”

Guo’er grew up under Lin Yuan’s watchful eye, from a timid little girl to a slender young lady today.

A little willful and coquettish, but not spoiled or arrogant.

She also had never done anything that stepped out of the line. Every season, Lin Yuan would reward her with a lot of things. The rare jewels, silk and satin in her personal treasury almost filled it to the brim.

She wasn’t trapped in the palace either. Wherever she wanted to go play, she just had to tell her brother and bring some guards along.

The noble ladies outside would always send over invitations and entertain her.

At first, they would flatter her while looking at her with mocking eyes.

As if to say that no matter how her status had changed, a village girl would never become a real princess.

She noticed it and used her greatest perseverance to restrain her emotions. After returning to the palace, she threw herself into her brother’s arms and cried.

Guo’er’s eyes were dazed, as if she had returned to that day.

She was sitting on the sedan chair, holding back tears while inside. She was indeed a village girl. She came from the countryside. She had to flee as a refugee when she was a child, so she could only eat the rotten fruits from the trees by the road to survive. In order for her not to get sick from eating fruits that had gone bad, her mother would first take a small bite before giving it to her.

She became a princess, but she still couldn’t wash away the muddy smell from her body.

When she was a child in the countryside, their family was the landowner, and Guo’er was the young lady of the landowner’s family. She was happy every day.

But now that the family had become even better, and her brother had become the emperor, why did she feel that she was still the little girl who fled as a refugee, and not a master of the palace.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt sorry for her brother.

Was her brother the same as her?

She resisted the tears all the way, but finally couldn’t hold back when she saw her brother, like a little child who found an adult who could support her.

She heard her brother say, “What’s wrong, Guo’er? Come here, brother has some good snacks here.”

Then she rushed over and threw herself into his arms.

“Brother!” Guo’er cried, “Can I go back to our hometown?”

Her brother’s voice was very soft and gentle: “What’s wrong? Is the capital bad?”

Guo’er cried bitterly: “They, they look down on me, they all look down on me…..”

Brother patted her on the back gently: “Such a beautiful little girl, you won’t be beautiful anymore if you cry like this, come, have a cake, brother will help you vent your anger, alright?”

Guo’er still remembered her brother’s expression that day, gentle and amiable.

But soon, those young ladies who once looked down on her and spoke with arrogant words quickly withdrew from the stage. Their fathers and brothers were not demoted, but they lost any real power.

She remembered what her brother said.

“Brother will help you vent your anger, alright?”

She began to feel uneasy again. She was afraid that she had affected the government affairs, and she did not dare to do that.

It was her brother who coaxed her: “Don’t be afraid, Guo’er, they should have gone down long ago.”

He explained to her in detail and although she didn’t understand much, she understood one thing——her brother wanted to place his own people in important positions, so those people were unlucky. As for the families of the young ladies who looked down on her, her brother just added them to the list on the way.

For the first time, for the very first time, she felt that her family was the master of this imperial city and that she was the princess.

Soon, someone else started to send her invitations and entertain her again.

As always there was someone who said to her at the banquet: “Princess, this is rose dew, you must have never seen it, let this official’s daughter explain…..”

Guo’er smiled and said, “I indeed don’t know. By the way, do you know the eldest young lady of the Zhou family? The one whose boudoir name is Wanrou.”

The young ladies below said: “I heard of her.”

“I’ve seen her before.”

Guo’er said again, “She had spoken to me like this before.”

“But now…..I don’t see her anymore.”

The young ladies held their breaths.

They looked down on her because of her background in the countryside, and thought she was just lucky to have a brother who was the emperor.

Such a village girl couldn’t even tell apart the sarcasm in their honey coated words.

They ridiculed the dynasty’s princess, and took proud enjoyment at it in private.

But now, they all bowed their heads and dared not speak.

Later, someone plotted against her, because she was the emperor’s only younger sister, so they tried to get their son to approach her, and to find a way to let the two be alone.

Guo’er was terrified, she shouted the maid’s name, but there was only the handsome young man in the room looking at her.

Rumors spread.

Guo’er wanted to hang herself.

As a result, after being discovered by her brother, her brother asked her mother to spank her, and her mother didn’t hold back when she hit her.

There must be many people outside scolding her, scolding her for having destroyed her chastity, and scolding her for meeting privately with men.

Later…..

Later, her brother summoned the young man into the palace. Although he did not have a clean body, he became an attendant. He could only serve the princess in the princess’s manor all his life and could not go out.

Those maids who served her that day were gone, and her personal maids had also changed.

As for the young man’s family, they were stripped of their official ranks and their home seized and confiscated.

Brother said that if the punishment was not severe, everyone would focus their wicked schemes on other members of the imperial family.

Only when the punishment was severe this time could they learn this lesson.

Her brother also said to her at the time: “You are young and lovely, and it is common for young people to fall in love. He is now by your side. If you like him, you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

She was very frightened at the time, very afraid, she was a woman, she must only give herself to one man from the beginning to the end, but her brother seemed to be encouraging her to find a lover?

Her brother also said: “You are my sister, the most noble and respected person in the world besides mother, father and myself. Now, even an ordinary woman can have one or two lovers before marriage, so how can you be inferior to an ordinary woman?”

Only then was Guo’er relieved.

Her temper had also gradually been encouraged, and she was no longer the little girl who was timid and unsure.

When she went out to attend a banquet, she would always bring that little attendant with her.

When someone asked, she would smile and say, “Oh him, his family tried to get me to share a room with him back then.”

The crowd exclaimed.

Then she said, “My brother said he is good-looking, so he had him come serve me.”

All the young ladies were dumbstruck.

They felt that the princess was too unruly, and at the same time felt that the princess was too carefree and unrestrained, they were so envious.

After recalling the past, Guo’er got out of Yang shi’s arms, and her emotions were much calmer. She said to Yang shi: “I heard the little palace maid in my room say, someone outside wants my brother to marry me off.”

Yang shi smiled and said, “It’s not that they want your brother to marry you off, they want to marry you.”

Guo’er was not happy anymore: “Marry me? I’m the princess, princesses do not marry into other families. Even if we are married, I am superior and the husband is inferior.”

Yang shi was stunned for a moment, she looked at her daughter who had a waterfall of silky black hair with a loving expression: “Guo’er has grown up.”

She had been worried that her daughter’s cowardly temper would harm herself.

Although she was a bit willful now, a willful princess was better than a cowardly princess.

The princess couldn’t interfere in government affairs. Her brother was the emperor and she would be a princess all her life. She did not need to depend on others’ whims to live a willful life.

Her daughter…..had a fate that was better than her own.

She was sold to the Lin family by her own father at a price, saying that it was a marriage, but one side wanted the Yang family’s book collection, while the other side wanted the Lin family’s money.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

She knew at that time that women were born like this, and they couldn’t be masters of their own lives.

Even though women could recruit a husband to marry into the bride’s family and set up households of their own, how many women in the world could really be the masters of the household?

In this world where men were superior, her Guo’er need not be humble or inferior.

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