Chapter 157

Hearing this, Zhan Xiong's expression still carried a hint of sorrow.

"Yan Xia, if that is the case, then you must wait for me, wait for me three years; after three years, I will surely achieve fame on the golden list and welcome you into my home!"

Zhan Xiong felt somewhat reluctant, and at the same time looked toward Zhang Jian and Shi Lun, speaking with emotion.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Shi, we shall part here! We shall meet again in three years!"

Zhang Jian and Shi Lun both nodded.

If nothing unexpected occurs, they will remain in Haojing for these three years; Zhang Jian, as the top scholar, will naturally stay in the Wen Ti Academy to serve as a reviser, while Shi Lun, as the top of the second class, will strive to obtain the position of seated official in the Wen Ti Academy, seeking to remain in Haojing; if, before leaving the capital, they can gain experience and build connections in various departments and offices, their future transfers will be faster than those of their peers.

Concerning their futures, they will all strive.

At this moment, the beautiful maiden also replaced the bamboo hat on her head and stepped into a small flowered sedan beside her.

The small sedan gradually faded into the distance, yet within it, a faint voice, adjusting its tone, could be heard.

"……Slender shoulders, narrow waist, the scent of rouge and powder, I cannot help but hold you in my arms and kiss you……"

"……"

Zhang Jian's expression was strange; he had previously regarded this girl with new respect, but he had not expected her to be even more straightforward than he imagined.

"Truly an extraordinary woman!"

Zhang Jian could not help but sigh.

Shi Lun also nodded and said: "Brother Zhan, your romantic fortune is indeed not shallow!"

"Only unfortunate, three years is how cruel for a girl; I fear this girl cannot withstand the pressure from her family!"

Shi Lun clearly understood the cruelty of time upon the sons and daughters of aristocratic families.

This girl advising Zhan Xiong to return to Jixian Commandery is, in fact, also protecting Zhan Xiong.

Zhang Jian, beside him, silently nodded, saying nothing.

This young lady of the He family, by doing this, is also giving Zhan Xiong a conclusion.

It is simply that Zhan Xiong himself does not know!

Seeing off Zhan Xiong and several other candidates, Zhang Jian soon received an imperial envoy; as expected, he and the榜眼 Wang Qingzhou, and the探花 Peng Yuan-shou were respectively appointed by the Emperor Jingwu as revisers and editors of the Wen Ti Academy.

Respectively, they were ranked as sixth grade, lower level, and seventh grade, upper level.

Seventh grade, upper level corresponds to an entry-level position, a true "sesame official," but compared to others who must pass examinations to be selected for office or undergo selection by the Ministry of Personnel to obtain an official post, their peers are far better off.

Moreover, the Wen Ti Academy is still the trusted secretarial structure of the current emperor, serving as the emperor's grand secretary; such a sesame official, who could dare to look down upon?

Could one not fear that thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river?

Having received the imperial decree, Zhang Jian and the two others could now properly proceed to the Wen Ti Academy to report for duty; after three months of work, they would be granted leave, permitted to return home in glory.

The court also fully understands that not returning home in glory is like walking at night in brocade clothes; thus, they are especially magnanimous on this matter.

……

The next morning, Zhang Jian rose early and directly went to the Wen Ti Academy to report for duty.

He wore a blue official robe, donned an official hat, glanced at the smooth new silk clothing on his body, and his expression still carried a hint of novelty.

In his hand, he still held a small white jade tablet.

The previous day, he and his two fellow candidates had smoothly obtained the official robes, regular attire, and official tablets symbolizing their status at the Eastern Mansion; without these, he could not even enter the palace gates, let alone run over to report for duty.

Before the Yujing Gate, Zhang Jian saw many wearing green robes, blue robes, red robes, and even a few wearing purple robes passing by.

The Great Qian dynasty is not much different from the previous dynasty; generally, officials of the eighth and ninth ranks wear green, those of the fifth to seventh ranks wear blue, only fourth rank officials have red robes, and officials of the third rank and above wear purple robes.

On the road, officials of a rank higher by one grade generally avoid horses and sedans; if one does not observe etiquette, one must be careful, lest senior officials give one small shoes to wear.

At this moment, Zhang Jian was also playing with the cloud-patterned white jade tablet in his hand; this item is extremely precious, and it is also the mark of a capital official.

In the court of the Great Qian, most local officials covet this item.

With this item, one can go from being a country youth in the morning to ascending the emperor's hall by evening.

……

The Wen Ti Academy is located on Donggan Street; nearby there are several relatively famous government offices, such as the Shao Fu Si, which manages the emperor's clothing, utensils, and precious food and delicacies, and also holds some other authorities, such as overseeing part of the Great Qian's finances.

As a newly appointed official of the Wen Ti Academy, Zhang Jian initially did not understand the procedures, but after several inquiries around the Wen Ti Academy, he gradually became clear about the onboarding process.

Within the Wen Ti Academy, Zhang Jian serves as a reviser; nominally, there are still four leaders above him, the head being the Academician of the Wen Ti Academy, though this position is usually held in name only by the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, meaning they hang this title without doing any work.

Currently, this title is held by Zhuang Ying, the Censor-in-Chief.

Zhuang Ying now oversees the Great Qian's most famous impeachment institution, the Censorate, but he does not have much leisure to frequently come to the Wen Ti Academy to offer guidance on writing.

The remaining three are the Academician of the Imperial Lectures and the Academician of the Imperial Explanations; strictly speaking, Zhang Jian's position as reviser merely involves recording the essence of one or two court meetings during important regular assemblies, and afterward reporting to Emperor Jingwu.

This is still under the condition that the emperor is diligent; if replaced by a lazy emperor, he would not even bother to listen to your chatter, and a simple report would suffice.

But Zhang Jian estimates that Emperor Jingwu is not fond of causing trouble.

This matter is not difficult for him.

On the surface, as long as he handles well these three leaders of the sixth rank, lower level, most of his peers are on the same level as him.

The position of reviser in the Wen Ti Academy is not held by only one person; there are also several former top scholars, but most of these top scholars have already been assigned to posts outside, leaving only one, namely the top scholar of the third year of Emperor Jingwu, Chen Xiuming.

This top scholar currently still serves as a reviser in the Wen Ti Academy.

In the Wen Ti Academy, editors generally become eligible for external assignment only after six to nine years of satisfactory performance evaluation; of course, if one handles affairs well, one does not necessarily need to waste so much time.

This colleague, Chen Xiuming, is clearly not the kind of exceptionally capable "good colleague"!

Besides this, the Wen Ti Academy also has more than ten doctors of the Six Classics, classical texts, attendant scribes, and so on, as well as critics; but most of them merely hold nominal positions, indicating that I have passed time in the Wen Ti Academy, that is, taking a bath, realizing doubled value.

After entering the Wen Ti Academy, Zhang Jian first met the current reviser, Chen Xiuming; among them, there naturally followed a series of formalities and procedures, such as first paying homage to the various spiritual leaders in the Wen Temple, and then visiting the four superiors.

Especially as the Academician of the Imperial Lectures, Huang Liangzhong, in the situation where the Academicians of the Wen Ti Academy do not handle affairs, this Academician of the Imperial Lectures manages all affairs within the Wen Ti Academy.

Huang Liangzhong did not make things difficult for Zhang Jian; on the contrary, he highly praised this young scholar who had passed the imperial examination, gave no intimidation, merely admonished him with a few words: do not act recklessly, do not rely on favor to be arrogant, etc., giving him a few warnings.

The other two Academicians of the Imperial Explanations were also present, both with gentle countenances.

Afterwards, Zhang Jian, accompanied by Chen Xiuming, found his own office.

"Pay respects to the doctor!"

At this time, inside the government office, several of his subordinates had already dressed smartly and were standing at the door; upon seeing Zhang Jian, they immediately stepped forward to perform the ritual.

Among them were two officials with ranks from the Literary Affairs Bureau, one or two responsible for tea and errands, and a gatekeeper.

Zhang Jian nodded, with no intention of making things difficult.

Today is a good day; no one is bothering him, so he has no intention of bothering anyone else.