Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"I really am working there?!"

"I can't give you a fake certificate, can I?" Wen Zhong asked in surprise, "Of course the one I give you is real. You already have the qualifications of a juren, so you don't need to become a student to work in the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

"But if that's the case, won't I be unable to take the imperial examinations in two years?"

"That's the case when you're paid. Emperor Taizu made this rule mainly because some people took the court's salary but did not do their job properly. They just spent all day doing exercises hoping to get promoted. So in principle, as long as you don't take a salary, not a penny, and just treat yourself as an outsourced staff member hired by me, no one will care what you do."

"Can it still be like this?"

"So many juren become lawyers, staff members, or open cram schools, because these do not count as taking money from the court. As long as you don't take it, you can wait until next year to take the joint examination, and then the palace examination."

"Do I also want to be a child prodigy and pass the imperial examination before I turn 18?"

"It's not uncommon. There was one at 17, and several at 18. As a Qigong practitioner, you can certainly challenge the record of becoming a 17-year-old Jinshi."

"Wait. Have any Qigong practitioners participated in the imperial examinations before?"

"Yes, there are. But the Qi training stage doesn't help the mind much. At most, it can only elevate a mediocre person to the level of a genius. And there is no shortage of geniuses. What do you think? If you think you can give it a try, I will help you prepare and start teaching you how to achieve fame and honor."

"Can I first ask what the imperial examination is about?"

"The essay you are going to write now is one of them. The final palace examination is actually not difficult. It is just an eight-part essay, and it is mainly an interview. The previous joint examination is the real exam, and the discussion questions there are the essays you are going to write now."

"Is it okay to just write it in 12 parts? That doesn't sound difficult."

"It's not difficult, but you have to write one in two hours, 1500 to 2000 words each, and you can use a typewriter. There are five questions in total. And then there are policy essays and the like. In total, there are probably tens of thousands of words. Finish it within three days."

"Is it about the day?"

"Yes, they will find a small dark room to lock you up, and then you will have to work hard inside. You will have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate inside. Don't worry, the food is very good, the environment is comfortable, and you can spend your time freely during the three days. I just don't know if you can sleep well inside. I didn't sleep well back then, and I only slept eight hours in total in three days."

After saying this, Wen Zhong suddenly remembered:

"Shangluo, if I remember correctly, you don't actually need to sleep, right?"

“It is indeed possible to go without sleep for 3 days.”

"Tsk, then you have a great advantage. So Shangluo, with all these advantages, it shouldn't be a problem for you to pass the imperial examination, right? Not to mention the first, second, and third place, it shouldn't be difficult to pass the imperial examination, right?"

"Am I really suitable for the exam? I heard that Zhang Juzheng had someone reject me back then."

"Zhang Taiyue is Zhang Taiyue, and you are you. He has his own path to follow. At that time, it was considered bad to pass the imperial examination too early. But what you need is to enter the core of the court as soon as possible so that you can do what you want to do. This is the most convenient way. If you can pass the test, there will be a lot of things left to do. You don't need to collude with the court anymore, because at that time you are the court itself."

[Shangluo. This is an energy-saving method. You don't know how much trouble it is to convince the Senate in Rome. Especially when you are outside the Senate. If you can go in directly and lead the agenda, you can directly guide the country in a reasonable way. This is something that even the emperor can't do, after all, the emperor can't hold meetings. ]

"Actually, I was thinking," Shang Luo pondered, "If I break through to the Golden Core Stage, will it be easier to pass the exam?"

Wen Zhong was choked by his words: "The foundation-building stage is not enough, and you plan to try again when you reach the golden elixir stage. That's not impossible. Indeed, it's not impossible."

Chapter 1252 Important Arrangements

"Ah, the weather is so nice today."

At noon, Zhu Xianxi walked out of his office. His complexion, his condition, and even his face looked much better than before.

"Brother, brother, I'm ready!"

"Okay, wait for me to go upstairs and pick up my bag. I'll be right there."

"So you're actually willing to go to the movies with me."

"Of course." He closed the door so that Zhu Ling couldn't see the two rabbits writing furiously inside. "But do you think I'm not going?"

"You haven't gone to the movies with me for years. Actually, I was planning to ask my sister-in-law to go, so I'd like to ask you as well. I didn't expect you to really want to go."

"So I just came here by chance."

"Hey, brother." Zhu Ling put down the bag. "It's okay if you don't go. Aren't you very busy?"

"No, I'm not busy."

"Aren't you busy?"

"Yeah." Zhu Xianxi touched his head, "I won't be busy anymore."

"Has this day finally come? Have you been sidelined?! Have you been the victim of a coup?! My salary certificate won't be gone too! Who is the one who rebelled? Do we have to move out?"

The hand that was touching her head grabbed the bun in her hair:

"What on earth are you thinking about all day long?"

"Because this is not like you at all! You are the kind of person who will look for work even if there is no work, as if you are afraid that if you take a break for a while, you will be ashamed of the world and your ancestors."

"Is this how I am in your eyes? Well, I won't be like this anymore. I will put my energy back into my life."

"Then you won't be the target of a coup, right?"

"Why do you keep worrying about whether I will be the target of a coup?"

"Because you haven't given me the Lu Coupon yet. I'm still three years away from turning 20. Why don't you give me the Lu Coupon in advance?"

"No." Zhu Xianxi refused bluntly, "That's not how the rules are made."

"Tsk, I feel relieved now that you said that. I thought you were replaced by a fox fairy."

"What fox fairy?"

"It's the same plot as in 'Family Fox Fairy'. A bad fox replaced A-lin's brother."

"Sometimes I always feel that we are only 10 years apart in age, so why is there such a big generation gap? I haven't read any of the things you mentioned. Has the times changed drastically?"

"No, you're the only one like this. My sister-in-law knows everything. My sister-in-law and I have a lot in common."

"Ah." Zhu Xianxun sighed, "I don't know how much I've missed, the life I should have. Fortunately, I can finally make time now - I'll listen to your arrangements today, and go wherever you want."

"Eh? Are you going to follow me for a whole day?" Zhu Ling showed a look of disdain, "Just watching a movie is enough. How about you come back by yourself after the movie?"

"No! This is an order!" The frustrated Zhu Xianxun revealed his true identity.

"Tsk, you haven't changed at all. Fine then, I'll accompany you for the whole day. It's because you haven't given me the coupons yet. So I have to go to school first."

"Isn't today a day off?"

"Look, you are a child who has never received compulsory education since childhood, so you don't know this. Whether it is university or middle school, there are pre-school classes before the start of the school year. Maybe when you were in university, no one urged you to go. But we do have this process."

"Oh," Zhu Xianxun thought for a moment, "It's about writing a short essay, right? I vaguely remember this item, but it seemed that the teacher sent the homework from school, and I also completed the admission procedures at home. Oh, by the way, which university did you go to?"

"Imperial Academy, my dear brother, you don't even know which university your sister is attending. Besides, it's only natural for me to go from a middle school in Imperial Academy to a university. And there's no tuition fee. Isn't that saving money for the family?"

"Don't make it seem like I don't care about you at all." Zhu Xianxi felt a little embarrassed when he was halfway through his words. "Anyway, I will spend more time with you guys later, as long as you don't find me annoying."

"Hmm~" Zhu Ling patted his hands, "Since you said so, I'll forgive you. Come on, come on, there's your favorite pork elbow at school for lunch. The school cafeteria is free today, so you can bring your family to eat. But I heard from my classmates that they seem to have changed to a strange kind of rice."

"Ah!" When Zhu Xianxi mentioned this rice, he suddenly remembered, "Shangluo is also in the Imperial College, right? I almost forgot!"

"Look, it's ok for you to forget about me, but how can you forget about His Excellency Qilinzi's affairs?"

"Don't make fun of me. You two are equally important to me. Oh, why don't you take this opportunity to make things right between you and him..."

"You're at it again! I just said a few nice words and you're at it again! I told you not to rush me! Can this be rushed? He has told you about it, too. We have a good relationship, although we haven't made any progress yet. But even if we do, you'll destroy it by urging us like this!"

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to this all of a sudden. I'll let it happen. I won't push you anymore. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I'm a little scared when I see you apologizing. Anyway, just follow me to eat. But when my friends see you later, who are you?"

"I can't hide in the Imperial College. They know me because I have classes there."

"Hmm?" Zhu Ling suddenly realized, "Yeah, you also have a job in our school. Then maybe you can teach my class? That's great! Give me A grades for all of them."

"That's unfortunate. I just handed over all the undergraduate classes to my teaching assistant. I only teach graduate students now. If you have any questions, please contact my teaching assistant."

"Who?"

"You know him too, Phaethon."

"Ah, that's it. She's very serious and won't let me off the hook. Forget it, I have to write this little essay well."

"It's easy to write a short essay. Just write some simple clichés."

"If you think it's easy, that's you. I don't want to embarrass myself. The essay is very important. I need to find someone to tutor me."

"This is not what I said, can you please consider it? I am speaking from the perspective of the actual situation."

Zhu Ling thought for a moment and said, "That's right. From a realistic point of view, it is right to consult Shangluo."

"Then I'll contact him now?"

"Oh, I told you not to help me. I can contact him myself. I have his number too. Also, if you're too conspicuous, don't follow me to dinner. I need to make friends. If a group of people surround you and you stay next to me, I won't be able to live like this."

In the cafeteria of the Imperial College, Shangluo is visiting wearing a mask and dust-proof clothing.

Chapter 1253 Jindan's Plan

"I see. So the pork elbows in the cafeteria are cooked in a pressure cooker. No wonder they taste so good."

The aunt in the cafeteria warmly received Shangluo, Phaethon and others in the back kitchen. Shangluo held a notepad, listened carefully to the answers of the professionals, and nodded frequently.

"So I have a question." Shangluo asked, "The pork elbow we have at noon, is it stewed from the front elbow or the back elbow?"

“The answer is both.”

"Is it frozen meat?"

"No, it's all fresh meat. The school has its own farm, and the meat we feed to students is all produced by our own farm."

"I see. So, do you think the front elbow is better, or..."

As she was asking, the person opposite her suddenly froze. She was looking behind Shangluo.

Zhu Xianxin, wearing a dust-proof suit, also walked in from outside.

The canteen auntie warmly received Zhu Xianxin who came to visit in the back kitchen

"Hey! Associate Professor Zhu, why are you in the kitchen?"

"I was disliked by others, so I went to the back to look around and see if there was anything to eat."

Holding a bowl of rice, Zhu Xianxun stood in the staff lounge.

"Oh, I knew you were here."

"It was Zhu Ling who put you..."

"I'm older now. I feel embarrassed to bring me along. I don't want to go out."

"I think she probably doesn't mean that she thinks you are 'embarrassing'. She probably just thinks it's too much trouble."

"Is there really a generation gap between her and me?" He looked into Shangluo's eyes. "Is there really a generation gap between us?"

"Is there?" Shangluo asked Phaethon next to him for advice.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell. There's a generation gap between me and all of you. I'm guilty. I haven't seen "The Invincible Wang Lingguan"."

"Don't talk about you. I haven't seen it that way either!" Zhu Xianxi frowned. "I read the previous work. The Invincible Wang Lingguan has only been serialized in recent years, so I really haven't followed it. But when I read Guoxing, it seems that there is no generation gap. He knows everything - Oh, Shangluo, you haven't read it either, right?"

"I have watched the theatrical version, but I haven't read the serialized version either. But when I didn't watch it, there wasn't any 'generation gap' between them and me. It's more like my not having watched it made everyone want to promote me even more."

"This is so unfair! Why am I the only one who is disliked?"

"Brother, do you think there is a possibility that she dislikes you not because you haven't seen it, but because of other reasons?"

"What's the reason? She can't dislike me just because I'm her brother."

"Ah, this." Shangluo didn't know what to say. "I don't have a younger sister, so it's hard for me to say, but from the literary and artistic works I've appreciated, her age seems particularly awkward."

"I see she and you seem to have a good relationship. How about you go and ask her for me? What did I do wrong?"

"Brother, our relationship is asymmetrical. It seems that our relationship is good because we don't need any external objects to communicate with each other. She is just feeding me. Your relationship with her is much more complicated. This is not something I can say casually. Oh, by the way, Brother, is this the first day you discovered this?"

"That's the problem. The ice is not formed in a day. I don't know when she stopped pestering me and didn't take the initiative to chat with me."

"I think it might be because you are too busy?"

"Alas." Zhu Xianxun sighed, "Is it because of this reason? But now, I finally have time to start balancing my life again. This is a blessing in disguise. No matter what happened before, I will make up for it later."

"So let's create a prince first."

“????” Zhu Xianxi was stunned for a moment, “Oh my goodness, why are you pushing for this too?”

"Because I am also panicking this time. If something happens to you, the court will be more uncertain. That will be a big trouble."