Chapter 209

Early the next day, the group of newly appointed Jinshi scholars from Cuiwei went to the palace banquet.

At this time, because they were no longer the target of the system’s cultivation, and the “Academy” had also been moved to Mu Yunchuan’s side by Shen Cui, she couldn’t watch the live broadcast on site.

But fortunately, after Mu Er Pang returned, he told her everything that happened at the banquet.

At this imperial banquet, Xihe Emperor issued an edict, appointing Mei Ruochu as a sixth-ranking Hanlin Academy editor. Shen Aoshuang and Mu Er Pang were appointed as seventh-ranking Hanlin Academy editors.

As for Wei Xi, who ranked fourth, he also impressed Emperor Xihe, so he was directly appointed as a Shuji Shi.

During the reign of the previous emperor, he would directly appoint several people he favored from the second-ranked Jinshi. At that time, Luo Buyu was at the bottom of the second-ranked Jinshi, but after reciting a poem at the banquet and receiving praise from the previous emperor, he was also appointed as a Shuji Shi.

However, as the saying goes, new emperor, new officials.

Emperor Xihe had not been in power for long, and although he was eager for talent, since he wanted to reform and was stopped by the old officials, his approach became much more cautious.

Like the examination three years ago when Mu Yunchuan passed, apart from the usual appointment of three people from the first-ranked, he did not reward others.

This time, to select the top four from the palace exam all at once was an unprecedented move.

And for Wei Xi to be appointed as a Shuji Shi was even more rare.

However, this year, the number of successful candidates was nearly a hundred fewer than three years ago.

So after discussing with Emperor Xihe and the old officials, they still granted grace and allowed the top twenty from the third-ranked to participate in the selection.

This selection, which was usually only for the second-ranked Jinshi, allowed those who passed to enter the Hanlin Academy as Shuji Shi.

After three years of study as Shuji Shi, they would undergo another examination to officially become Hanlin scholars.

These three years made a difference for those from the first and second ranks.

Of course, even if one passed from the first rank, if there was still no opportunity for promotion after three years, there were many who would spend their whole lives in the Hanlin Academy writing books.

And for someone like Mu Yunchuan, who had just entered the Hanlin Academy three years ago and had the opportunity to become a special envoy minister and go out to handle practical tasks, was extremely rare.

And in history, although there were many second-ranked Jinshi who eventually rose to high positions, it was not uncommon.

So, Mei Ruochu, Shen Aoshuang, and Mu Er Pang were currently just one step ahead of others.

If they slackened off later, it was also possible for others to surpass them.

This process was actually quite suitable for students like Mu Er Pang who had just “graduated” from the Academy, giving them an opportunity to adapt to the officialdom.

Now that Wei Xi had been directly appointed as a Shuji Shi, only Wei Shu and Cui Fei needed to participate in the selection.

Thinking of this, Shen Cui continued to ask Mu Er Pang, “What else?”

This really stumped Mu Er Pang.

He frowned slightly and thought carefully, “We talked about the appointments, we talked about the selection, there’s nothing else… Oh, the food was quite delicious. Do you want me to list the dishes for you?”

Shen Cui was momentarily speechless at his question, then chuckled and waved him off.

After he left, Mei Ruochu took the initiative to come over and explain the situation at the banquet to Shen Cui, “At the banquet of honor, we sat according to the rankings of the palace exam, so the four of us still sat together, and we were quite close to the emperor. The most attention at the banquet was naturally on Aoshuang.”

Shen Cui nodded understandingly. With Shen Aoshuang’s background and his talent as the second-place scholar, it was only natural for hi. to attract attention.

“But there are also several officials eyeing our Han Shan,” Mei Ruochu reported a few official positions.

Shen Cui was eager to hear this.

These people were probably interested in marrying their sons to Han Shan.

Mei Ruochu couldn’t help but laugh as she continued, “But Han Shan didn’t lie. When the emperor pointed to him to speak, he responded. When he wasn’t pointed at, he just focused on eating. Aoshuang wanted to remind him once and looked over, but he misunderstood and even winked back at him, pointing to several dishes on the table, indicating that they were delicious and he should eat more.”

Imagining that scene, Shen Cui couldn’t help but chuckle.

Well, her son was still immature, only sixteen years old, so it was indeed better to wait a bit longer.

After the laughter, Shen Cui looked at Mei Ruochu, “And you?”

Apart from failing the county exam before coming to Cuiwei, which was just a minor setback, Mei Ruochu had performed well in subsequent exams.

Shen Cui felt that there must be many families interested in him as a son-in-law.

Mei Ruochu cleared his throat awkwardly, his face showing some discomfort. “I haven’t thought about that yet.”

He was thoughtful and not as naive as Mu Er Pang.

Besides, major life decisions didn’t need to be rushed, so Shen Cui didn’t press further and let him rest.

On the fifth day after the Enrong banquet came the selection.

Only Wei Shu and Cui Fei participated, and as expected, Wei Shu passed the selection while Cui Fei did not.

After all, he had already shown his true abilities before, and not everyone from the second-ranked could become a Shuji Shi. For him to receive this grace and participate in the selection from the third-ranked was already an honor.

After the selection, everyone’s future was finally settled.

Except for Cui Fei, all the other five entered the Hanlin Academy.

Cui Fei was dispatched to be the magistrate of a county.

To prevent nepotism, he couldn’t serve in his hometown, so the county was not in the vicinity of Qingzhou Prefecture in the Dongning Province.

But fortunately, the county was located at the midpoint between Qingzhou Prefecture and the capital city.

In the future, whether communicating with his family or with the capital, it would be convenient for him.

Before taking up their positions, they had a two or three-month family leave.

Cui Fei decided to go to Qingzhou Prefecture first, celebrate with his family, and then report to his new post with Sun Ruowei.

Mei Ruochu also returned to Hongle Academy. Now that he was no longer subject to the rules, his luck fluctuated, and he no longer needed to worry about unforeseen events on the road.

Wei Shu, Wei Xi, and Shen Aoshuang, whose families were in the capital, returned home separately.

Shen Cui also planned to take Mu Er Pang back to Yongning County, and while they were at it, bring Shen’s elderly parents to live in the capital.

But before going back for the family leave, Shen Cui had to first return the house they were renting, which was about to expire, and find another one with a lower rent.

Because they had housed the top scholar and the second-place scholar, the landlord offered to return all the rent when they moved out, saying it was a great honor to rent the house to them, and how could they take money again?

The landlord was quite well-off to have such a good house in a prime location.

When signing the contract, the notary mentioned that someone in their family held a position in the Six Ministries.

Since she wasn’t sure if the landlord was trying to establish a relationship, Shen Cui cautiously declined the offer and insisted on paying the rent, saying it was only fair.

Later, when she tried to rent another house through the notary, she encountered the situation Zhou Shi had mentioned in her letter—many people were rushing to offer their deeds and house contracts.

She didn’t dare to accept them recklessly and refused them all, no longer relying on the notary and instead seeking help from the Wei family.

Finally, in mid-April, Shen Cui, Mu Er Pang, and Luo Buyu moved to a location near the Wei family’s residence—Wei’s parents had originally intended to help find a place, but they couldn’t find a suitable one nearby, so they settled for a slightly inferior one.

However, now that Wei Shu, Wei Xi, and Shen Aoshuang were all living in their own homes, and Cui Fei had been dispatched elsewhere, only Shen Cui, Luo Buyu, Mu Er Pang, and Mei Ruochu remained in the academy.

But with just the four of them, plus Shen’s elderly parents later on, the rented house was completely sufficient.

The rent was also much cheaper than before, less than a hundred taels a year.

After renting the house again, Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang began to pack their bags.

Before they returned to their hometown, Luo Buyu couldn’t hold back and asked Shen Cui about the new students.

When would they arrive? Last time Shen Cui accompanied Mu Er Pang back to their hometown to take the county exam, and he felt that there were fewer people in the academy than before.

Now they were about to leave the academy again, and Cui Fei had also taken up an assignment elsewhere.

Mei Ruochu had returned to Hongle.

Wei Shu, Wei Xi, and Shen Aoshuang, who remained in the capital, would come to visit him every two or three days, but he knew he would be lonely for the next two months.

Shen Cui said, “I told Master earlier that he wouldn’t come so soon… Just be patient. I estimate that he won’t be long. He should arrive around the beginning of summer, probably when Mu Er Pang and I return.”

However, Luo Buyu’s words also reminded Shen Cui that everyone had their own affairs, and they couldn’t leave him alone in the academy.

So Shen Cui suggested, “Why don’t you come with me to visit the county town?”

Luo Buyu hesitated, “I don’t have much… in Yongning County…”

But halfway through his sentence, he remembered something and suddenly brightened up, “Yeah, it’s been years since I last saw my senior brother since we parted ways after the academy’s major competition. It’s time to go visit him!”

So the three of them left the capital together.

In early summer, Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang returned to the capital with Shen’s elderly parents.

After returning to their hometown, mother and son had originally planned to stay a few more days, as opportunities to return in the future would be scarce.

However, they found themselves in a whirlwind of activity as soon as they arrived—whether in the county town with Shen’s family or at their old residence in Shuiyun Village, both places had become popular tourist destinations, with a constant stream of visitors coming to pay their respects, make connections, or share in the joy.

And just like before, it was all about social obligations and formalities, which could be quite exhausting.

Even the county magistrate and local gentry extended invitations, inviting Mu Er Pang to attend banquets.

Originally intended as a vacation in their hometown, they found themselves more worn out than during their days of studying and exams.

Mu Er Pang visibly lost weight, and even the last bit of baby fat on his face disappeared.

While Mrs. Zheng had often said she was looking forward to enjoying Mu Er Pang’s blessings, she hadn’t actually planned to immediately accompany them to the capital.

After all, Mu Er Pang had told her about many things in the capital and mentioned that he now held a seventh-rank official position.

A seventh-rank official in Yongning County would be considered a high-ranking official on par with the county magistrate, but in the capital, it wasn’t considered much, and it required enduring many hardships.

Moreover, there was a saying about “poor Hanlin scholars,” and accompanying Mu Er Pang to live in the capital would likely deplete his meager salary.

But Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang, despite being worn out from socializing, were determined to bring them to the capital to take care of them.

Seeing that they were both becoming thin from all the socializing, Mrs. Zheng finally relented and decided to accompany Shen’s elderly father and join them in the capital.

Around the same time, Mu Yunchuan completed his relief work and hurried back to the capital.