During the Dali Dynasty, court meetings were held three times a month: at the beginning, middle, and end of the month.

　　Different from what we see on TV where the emperor summons all civil and military officials to work and attend meetings early in the morning every day, in fact, there were only three court meetings per month in the Dali Dynasty, and only those of the fourth rank and above were eligible to participate. Officials below that level did not see the emperor, so they could only see him from a distance of about a hundred meters at the annual court meeting at the beginning of the year.

　　Gu Zhao just remembered that in history, an emperor of the Ming Dynasty who was obsessed with alchemy did not attend the morning court for more than ten years.

　　The operation of a country, especially one that is already in its third generation like the Dali Dynasty, has been peaceful for 56 years. The country has long had its own operating model, and it is very mature.

　　If there is no morning court, how will so many officials go to work? How will the emperor handle government affairs?

　　The palace is divided into the front and back palaces, and the back palace is not mentioned. The front palace is for work. When there is no morning court, the cabinet and the six ministries go to the palace to do work. The six ministries bring important memorials in. During the entire Dali period, only the cabinet office was in the palace, and the various offices of the six ministries were still outside the palace.

　　Small matters are handled by various departments. Those that cannot be resolved or cannot be handled are reported to the cabinet for discussion. Finally, the cabinet ministers meet with the emperor to present a memorial to explain the situation.

　　Some were approved, some were sent back for further consideration, or the emperor gave his orders.

　　Sometimes they would talk for hours and the emperor would even keep them for dinner, so cabinet members were the pinnacle of power that all officials in the Dali Dynasty envied, especially the prime minister, because this was the highest level of power that an official could achieve.

　　Other office agencies were basically divided according to the working areas of the imperial city. The important government offices were naturally close to the palace in front of the imperial palace, so that if the emperor summoned them temporarily, they could arrive as quickly as possible to prevent the emperor from waiting for a long time.

　　It’s not very important. One may work all his life and have no other opportunity to see the emperor from afar except for the annual court meeting. These government offices are far away.

　　The Ministry of Rites, for example, is located in the imperial city’s working area, the last of the six ministries. It is slightly outside the harem wall, close to the East Gate. Zheng Hui’s family bought a house outside the third and fourth ring roads in the east.

　　The palace has a central axis, with the middle gate being the Dali Gate, the most important gate in the Dali Dynasty. It was opened only when the emperor left or returned to the palace, and it was never opened on ordinary days. All officials would pay homage or enter the palace through the two gates on the left and right, Dingmen and Anmen.

　　The Hanlin Academy is located in the direction of Dingmen, of course, separated by an alley.

　　But it’s right opposite, so the location is already very advantageous.

　　The Li and Yan families bought their houses outside the third ring road in the south, one to the east and one to the south with Zheng Hui.

　　There were three morning court sessions a month. At 6:30 a.m., you had to dress up and go to the palace. As for how early you had to get up, it depended on how far you lived from the palace. If you didn’t have to attend the morning court session, it depended on the specific situation of each government office. Most of the time, you had to clock in at the government office at 7 a.m.

　　Zheng Hui was like this. He arrived on time at 7 o’clock on the first day, but he was the only one in charge of the whole yamen. Even his subordinates were lazy and yawning. It was not until the end of the Chen and Si hours, which was almost 9 o’clock, that his immediate superior arrived.

　　Zheng Hui was a sixth-rank official, and above him was a fifth-rank doctor. Their positions meant they didn’t have to attend the morning court, and the Ministry of Rites’s Office was free, so they came late, just to show up and take a look.

　　This is considered a leisurely life, but there are even more leisurely ones.

　　Hanlin Academy.

　　When Gu Zhao reported to the Li family courtyard on his first day of taking office, it was still dark in the morning. The sky was full of moon and stars. Li Zhouzhou got up and lit the fire to cook, just like when his husband went to school in the past, but even earlier than that time.

　　Gu Zhaoshi thinks that it is not so urgent to work in the Hanlin Academy, right?

　　Otherwise, he and Brother Yan wouldn’t have been given so much time to move, and they weren’t urged at all. It was Gu Zhao who took the initiative to ask his superiors, who replied: No rush, no rush, take your time.

　　How is this slow?

　　Later, when the family was settled, Second Brother Yan was worried about Mr. Liu, so Gu Zhao thought that there was no need to rush for a day or two. When the baby would be born, he and Second Brother Yan would go to report together. Otherwise, they were in the same class, and if he went two days earlier, it would seem that Second Brother Yan was too late and not paying attention, which would be bad.

　　Of course, the main reason was that the vacation was too long, and Gu Zhao couldn’t bear to leave his son and wife and didn’t want to go to work, so he deliberately made excuses to delay.

　　After Mr. Liu gave birth, just after the baby’s third day, Second Brother Yan said he would take up his post the next day.

　　The two of them made an appointment and went together.

　　So the next day, before dawn, the Li family lit the oil lamp in the yard, and went back to the days when they went to school – even more tiring than going to school. It would take an hour to drive a mule cart to the Hanlin Academy.

　　Gu Zhao was still wearing shorts and cloth shoes. He washed himself first. Fubao started crying. Gu Zhao saw that he had peed. He changed his diaper skillfully, held him and coaxed him for a while, and Fubao continued to sleep.

　　Breakfast is ready by now.

　　The family had their meal in the main room with oil lamps lit.

　　It was still dark when Li Da hitched a mule cart and drove out of the back corner gate and to the front gate. Gu Zhao said goodbye to Zhou Zhou and Fu Bao before getting on the cart and driving out of his alley. He drove faster and in a few minutes he saw Second Brother Yan who was waiting at the entrance of the alley.

　　It was Uncle Yan who was driving the car.

　　After saying hello, without further ado, I left for work.

　　The roads in the capital city are like a chessboard, horizontal and vertical, with the imperial palace as the center and four main roads extending outwards. The carriage racks on the main roads are lined up side by side, and a total of six carriages can be driven at the same time. Stalls are not allowed on these four main roads, only shops facing the street.

　　Officials usually go to work from their own lanes, and the small roads converge into the main road, which is flat and easy to walk on. However, there is a trick to walking on this road. You have to remember whose carriages belong to which families. If the carriages converge, those with lower positions have to give way.

　　Gu Zhao was sitting in the car looking out, thinking that the road was wide and there were not many cars on the road, so why should he give way?

　　As we got closer to the imperial city, we saw more carriages, and it was obvious that they were not used by ordinary people. Oh, his family used a mule carriage instead of a horse carriage.

　　Some carriages were driving side by side, moving slowly, with the curtains opened, and two adults sitting inside were talking. The other carriages were the same. With so many carriages on the road, they couldn’t drive fast, so the driver jumped off, pulled the reins, and occasionally stepped aside to let other adults pass first.

　　The drivers all wore different clothes, each from their own family. The expressions on their faces and the way they got off the rickshaws were all very neat and tidy, as if they had been measured with a ruler.

　　Yan Fu and Li Da had never seen such a scene before.

　　Gu Zhao opened the curtain, looked at the situation outside, and said to his father: “Dad, I can walk the rest. You and Uncle Yan should go back early. You can avoid some people on the road. There is no need to rush back.”

　　Father Yan had jumped off the carriage out of fear and was holding the mule rope. After hearing what Gu Zhao said, he nodded with sympathy. Yan Jinxin also got off the carriage, saying that his father had worked so hard.

　　”No need to pick me up in the afternoon. Zhaodi and I will walk back.”

　　”Yes, Dad.” Gu Zhao said.

　　When the two men saw the two mule carts at home had left, they started walking along the side of the road.

　　”We need to find the coachman and the servants.” Gu Zhao said with a frown.

　　Yan Jinxin nodded and said “hmm”.

　　Gu Zhao said, “I am used to staying in the prefectures and counties. Usually, my father drives the cart to transport goods and deliver goods to the whole family, so I forgot about this for a while. Second brother, we have entered the capital now. You are the top scholar and I am the third scholar. We are both from humble backgrounds. Who knows how many people are watching us behind our backs. To be honest, we are going to take up the post today because our family is nervous. In addition, our two elders are worried about you and me, so they don’t want to spend money to hire a driver. But if we are caught and questioned about this-“

　　If the father drives the car and the son rides in it, that is unfilial.

　　”I know.” Yan Jinxin’s face was solemn.

　　Before, they were happy at home and used to freedom. Gu Zhao said to find a mother who could do rough work and cook and do odd jobs to help Zhou Zhou. As for the driver, Gu Zhao had thought about it but hadn’t said it yet. Dad showed pride and joy on his face and said he would send him when the time came. The Yan family didn’t even want to hire a mother who could do rough work, because the women in the Yan family could do the work. What kind of work could be done in the yard? Why spend money to hire a servant?

　　But on this road, the classes are clearly defined.

　　Being an official is different from being an ordinary person.

　　The two walked fast for fear of being late. Fortunately, they had built up their leg strength from years of walking. After walking for about half an hour, they finally arrived at the Hanlin Academy. Gu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sun was just rising. Fortunately, his Zhou Zhou woke him up early.

　　But when I entered the yamen, I found that I was too early.

　　Gu Zhao: …