"Wen Ru is always swift and decisive in his actions," Chen Xi said with a smile. "I wonder what Zhang Derong of Feng Yi will look like when he receives the transfer order."
"Never mind his expression, by tomorrow at the latest, we need to finalize the rankings for the Political Science section. Without soone like Great Scholar Cai comfortably sitting at the top, this list is hard to sort out," Xun Yue said helplessly, as everyone’s recomndations were completely different.
"Just wait a little longer, Great Scholar Cai’s recomndation should be arriving soon," Chen Xi said with a smile. He was curious about who Cai Yan would recomnd.
On the other side, an Escort from the Political Office, after checking the residence address of the examinee Zhang Ji from the archives in the backyard, set out towards the indicated location.
"This address looks sowhat familiar." The Escort looked at the residence address of Zhang Ji in the archives, and muttered to himself with a hint of curiosity.
Following the directions with a few turns, he quickly reached the location indicated, recognizing it as Fa Zheng’s old ho. After all, if Fa Zheng wasn’t stationed elsewhere, he would often be here at the Political Office, hoping to avoid any unwanted visitors.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The Escort knocked three tis on the door knocker, then stopped and waited at the entrance. In this era, formal visits required a visiting card, and this kind of unannounced visit was generally not well-received.
"Creak." The doorman opened the door halfway, looked at the man in military attire opposite him, and cupped his hands in a greeting, saying, "May I ask the purpose of your visit? The Fa Residence cannot receive outside guests recently, so I’d ask you to wait at the entrance."
"Zhang Derong of Feng Yi is temporarily residing at the Fa Residence. Minister Li has sent a personal letter." The Escort wasn’t bothered, understanding why the doorman would refuse guests, as both the Fa family’s Patriarch and Fa Zheng were away, leaving only the Lady at ho.
Although the customs in the Han Dynasty were quite open and not very particular about such matters, after Fa Zheng left, the Fa family, under Jiangg Ying’s arrangent, entered a phase of closing their doors to visitors, although Jiangg Jiong and others were exceptions due to familial ties.
"Please wait a mont, I’ll go invite him," said the doorman, understanding the intricate networks under Liu Bei’s command. Under Liu Bei, "Minister Li" was unmistakably referring to Liu Bei’s personal adviser, Li Youu.
"Thank you." The Escort cupped his fists with a slight bow, as the doorman stepped back in, closed the door, and quickly headed towards the guest room where Jiangg Jiong, Zhang Ji, Yang Fu, Jiangg Xu, and others were staying.
With Fa Zheng absent, despite Jiangg Ying’s familial ties to Jiangg Jiong and others, Jiangg Ying didn’t allow them to stay in the inner courtyard, feeling sowhat apologetic and letting them reside in the guest room, but they were well taken care of otherwise. It was clear Jiangg Ying intended to move past previous grievances.
For Jiangg Xu and the others, this was good news. Jiangg Ying intended to reconcile, and the Jiangg family was willing to make ands. Their relationship quickly returned to normal, with no awkwardness among those residing at the Fa Residence.
However, in ancient tis, the atmosphere was such that geography and blood ties forged deep bonds among hotown folks. Therefore, encountering acquaintances in a foreign land and accepting hospitality was seen as a sign of esteem.
Now, however, Yang Fu and others stayed here more to absorb knowledge from Fa Zheng’s collection. Many of Fa Zheng’s books were stocks from the Library Pavilion, and he had a notorious reputation for never returning borrowed books, often resulting in deductions from his stipend. But Fa Zheng didn’t have the habit of returning books.
As a result, the Fa family had quite a collection. Jiangg Ying generally allowed Jiangg Xu and the others to browse these collections, so besides eating and sleeping, Yang Fu and the others spent their days reading.
"Mr. Zhang, Minister Li has sent soone with a letter for you, congratulations," the doorman personally ca over while Zhang Ji and others were reading to inform Zhang Ji.
The group was perplexed, as they had no idea who Minister Li was, and wondered why congratulations were in order. They all turned to look at Zhang Ji.
"Derong, do you have relatives in this area?" Zhao Ang asked, tilting his head.
"No, I don’t," Zhang Ji replied with a peculiar expression. Then he rose and inquired, "May I ask, which Minister Li?"
Only then did the doorman notice Zhang Ji’s expression and explained with a smile, "He is Li Wenru, Minister Li under Lord Xuande. He has sent soone with a letter, and you should go quickly, Mr. Zhang."
At this point, Zhang Ji understood the situation. He was aware of Li Youu’s status, as one of Liu Bei’s main strategists, having no prior contact with him. But a letter indicated good news; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a personal letter.
Given the Fa family was not entertaining guests, normally any ssages delivered should be received by the doorman. But since Li Youu was exceptional, Zhang Ji had to personally receive the letter.
Having thought it through, Zhang Ji moved his chair away and proceeded towards the main entrance of the Fa family, while Jiangg Xu and the others were curious but didn’t follow.
"Creak." The doorman opened the door for Zhang Ji, and the Escort scrutinized him from head to toe, saying, "I assu you are Zhang Derong of Feng Yi, Master Zhang. I have here the transfer order from Minister Li to hand over to you."
"I am Feng Yi’s Zhang Ji, Zhang Derong," Zhang Ji replied with composure, accepting the order and imdiately opening it, showing a hint of joy. He tried to compose himself to appear less surprised, but the occasional smile betrayed his excitent.
"Thank you, General," Zhang Ji said, taking out a golden pearl from his person and handing it to the Escort, "Let this be my treat to you for a drink."
The Escort realized it was a good task when he first picked up the transfer order. With such good news, the sender would surely present a gift, and no one would question such exchanges.
"Congratulations, congratulations," the Escort said with a smile, accepting the golden pearl. "Minister Li asked to relay a few words."
Zhang Ji’s expression turned serious, realizing that the following words were the most important; otherwise, there’d be no need for an imdiate dispatch.
"The Minister asked to tell you that your Political Science paper was practical. Even though it went off-topic, it’s well-suited for a local official. You are to assu your post within a month starting today," the Escort said, emphasizing the word "practical," leaving Zhang Ji clear on everything.
"Please convey my gratitude to the Minister. I, Zhang Ji, will live up to those two words," Zhang Ji replied formally, cupping his hands in thanks.
"Good, I should return to the Political Office and lead the Escorts on duty, so I’ll take my leave," said the Escort, returning Zhang Ji’s gesture before departing, leaving Zhang Ji smiling uncontrollably with the letter in hand.
"Oh, so it was like that," Chen Xi remarked with wonder after hearing the Escort’s account. He had heard of Zhang Ji before; anyone whose deeds he could rember was certainly outstanding in this era.
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