Chapter 947 - 952, - 953: Discussion Above First Grade (Part 2)

"I asked," Chen Mo said disappointedly, "He said he doesn’t know either. Tuoba Hui only told him about the use and warnings of the Immortal Treasure, as for its origin, he just said it was accidentally obtained by an ancestor, but did not mention where."

Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, Chen Mo discussed matters beyond the Celestial Human Realm with Yue Ruyan.

In his view, the Celestial Human Realm is definitely not the end of the Martial Dao in this world; there must be something higher, just not recorded in history.

"This, I have also heard from the Grand Dowager that the Celestial Human Realm is not the end of the Martial Dao. The Yuezhi Clan has a journal left by a martial artist of the Celestial Human Realm, which states clearly: I feel that the Spiritual Qi within my body can still rise, but my life has reached its end. What can be done?"

The plain meaning is that if given another twenty years of life, I could definitely seek a breakthrough, but since life has reached its limit, the path of the Martial Dao stops here.

"Yes, currently the martial artists recorded in history books all ultimately stop at the First Grade." Chen Mo said, his eyes brightening, "I’m still young, and with the current progress of my cultivation technique, I am sure to enter the Celestial Human Realm before the age of thirty."

Assuming a lifespan of 150 years, there are 120 years left.

I refuse to believe that in these 120 years, relying on the system, I won’t be able to take another step forward.

"By the way, your Yuezhi Clan’s method of inheritance is also very miraculous, where does it come from?" Chen Mo asked.

The reason Yue Ruyan was able to step into the Upper Three Grades in her twenties was entirely due to the Grand Dowager passing her entire cultivation onto her on her deathbed.

This point, other martial artists cannot achieve.

At least Chen Mo cannot.

"It was passed down from the ancestors. As for where the ancestors got it, or whether they comprehended it themselves, it’s too distant to be known." Yue Ruyan shook her head and said.

"I’ve heard that many martial artists of the Celestial Human Realm venture overseas before their end to seek opportunities of immortality. Could there be something unknown overseas?"

"Overseas, those barbarian lands are even more barren than the countries in the west. If there truly were opportunities of immortality, they would’ve become powerful long ago." Yue Ruyan did not believe there were any opportunities overseas.

Chen Mo thought Yue Ruyan’s words made sense.

Throughout the dynasties, there has been much exploration overseas. If something extraordinary were truly discovered, it would have been spread far and wide.

"We’ve digressed."

Chen Mo looked at Yue Ruyan, his large hand unconsciously caressing her hand, with an indication of going lower, he said, "Ruyan, it’s been so long, you must be yearning too."

His other hand reached for Yue Ruyan’s shoulder.

"Do you think everyone is like you, unable to live without doing this?"

Yue Ruyan struggled, but inwardly felt weak.

She indeed yearned for it.

After all, before she was pregnant, she cultivated frequently with Chen Mo, as naturally as drinking water and eating.

To suddenly stop for nearly a year, she was indeed yearning terribly.

But she definitely wouldn’t show it.

Seeing that her struggle wasn’t very strong, Chen Mo didn’t expose her, and acted directly, placing the hand on her shoulder to her cheek, then leaned forward to kiss her lips.

The hand caressing Yue Ruyan’s round derrière also pulled her skirt up to her thighs, then reached from underneath...

After nearly a year without intimacy, it didn’t take long before Yue Ruyan was faint and dazed, leaving herself to Chen Mo’s attentions.

If the female official hadn’t come to report that Chen Xi had woken up crying and was probably hungry again, it might have gone on till dark.

Yue Ruyan pushed Chen Mo hard, but her previously strong arms and legs seemed to have lost all bones, soft and powerless.

She glanced at some... ripe fruits and said angrily, "How old are you now, still competing with your son for food, have some shame."

"Well, you didn’t refuse either, and earlier I saw you quite immersed..."

"Enough." Yue Ruyan was even more annoyed, her face flushed, wanting to tear Chen Mo’s mouth apart.

Chen Mo chuckled.

"Stop laughing, help me get dressed quickly, don’t just know how to undress but not how to dress." Now her limbs were soft and powerless, and since Rong’Er was waiting for her, she could only let Chen Mo help.

Chen Mo stopped teasing and helped Yue Ruyan to dress, then tidied himself too, and let the female official bring the child in.

"Aren’t you going?" Seeing Chen Mo still beside her, Yue Ruyan chased him away.

Chen Mo: "..."

...

On his first night back, Chen Mo didn’t summon all the concubines to hold an open meeting in the palace, but instead spent the night in a long, intimate conversation with Wu Mi.

The next day, Chen Mo officially appointed Wanyan Ya as Consort Ya, having Wu Mi arrange a few palace maids to attend to her.

Afterwards, Chen Mo met with several members of the Cabinet to discuss incorporating Jin Xia into Great Wei and dividing it into prefectures.

After that, it was about conferring rewards to Chang En, Zhao Liang, Cui Shuang, and others.

For such a significant achievement as conquering a nation, even though the greatest credit belongs to Chen Mo and Nalan Yiren.

But one is the Emperor, the other is the Emperor’s future consort, this won’t be awarded openly.

Then there’s Chang En, Sun Meng, Zhao Liang, and Cui Shuang.

Chen Mo plans to heavily employ Chang En.

After handling Jin Xia’s aftermath, Chen Mo plans to make him a Duke.

Zhao Liang is already an Earl, and Chen Mo plans to make him a Marquis.

The same goes for Sun Meng and Cui Shuang.

At the end, when Chen Mo was about to "dismiss the meeting".

Geng Songfu lingered behind to discuss the Wu Family.

Geng Songfu was courageous, knowing that the Wu Family is currently favored by Chen Mo, yet still his words carried hints of impeachment.

The fact is that the Wu Family’s influence in the court is too large now.

Previously, when the "Geng Faction" was around, there was some balance.

But now, no force in the court can compete with the Wu Family or the Jiangdong Faction.

Learning that Geng Songfu wanted to transfer Wu Changlin back to the Capital, Chen Mo pondered for a moment and said, "Then whom does Minister Geng intend to appoint?"

"I have a few candidates in mind, but ultimately it must be appointed by Your Majesty." Geng Songfu said.

"Oh, who are these candidates?" Chen Mo asked curiously.

"One is Sun Cheng, the top scorer of the last imperial examination, currently an Assistant Lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, and the other is Lin Zhong, an Advanced Scholar from the last examination, currently the County Magistrate of Lu’an County." Geng Songfu said.

"Assistant Lecturer? Wasn’t it Xiu Zuan at the Hanlin Academy?" Chen Mo was taken aback.

"Your Majesty, it’s now the third year of Zhenghe, more than three years have passed, and he was promoted to Assistant Lecturer." Geng Songfu said,

Xiu Zuan at the Hanlin Academy is a Secondary Sixth Grade, while an Assistant Lecturer is a Secondary Fifth Grade.

It seems Sun Cheng is doing quite well, as promotion in the Capital is rather difficult.

If assigned to the River Sea.

It would mean being dispatched from the Central to the local.

"Sun Cheng, I remember him, but he has always been in the Capital, with little grassroots experience." Chen Mo said, asking, "What about Lin Zhong?"

Certainly, Chen Mo was asking what Lin Zhong had done to capture Geng Songfu’s attention.

"Your Majesty, Lu’an County is now governed very well by him, especially in the implementation of new policies, Lu’an County has almost fully implemented them, and in just over three years, it has leapt from a Lower County to an Upper County. It shows that this person has great ability in governing a place, and we can add more responsibility to him." Geng Songfu said.

"From a Seventh-Grade County Magistrate to a Fourth-Grade Governor in one go, isn’t that a bit too fast?" Chen Mo pondered.

"This would highlight Your Majesty’s regard for scholars from the imperial examination, and could incite enthusiasm among lower-ranked officials."

"Then let’s do it that way." Chen Mo nodded.

"Your Majesty, previously the River Sea was both military and civil, now that Lord Wu is being recalled, these can be separated, and another person can be sent to River Sea to command the troops." Geng Songfu added.

"Do you have any recommendations?" Chen Mo asked.

"It is up to Your Majesty’s instruction."

If Geng Songfu is involved in the appointments of civil officials, it’s fine, but if he gets too involved in military appointments, it would overextend his reach.

Moreover, he’s not the Prime Minister anymore, he needs to know boundaries.

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "When Zhao Liang returns, send Zhao Liang."

"Your Majesty is wise." Geng Songfu bowed.

"Alright." Chen Mo waved his hand, indicating such flattery was unnecessary and said, "Is there anything else?"

Geng Songfu nodded and said, "Your Majesty, there’s one more thing, which is the imperial examination."

This is the first imperial examination of the Xin Dynasty and must be conducted with grandeur.

The last examination was indeed somewhat "improvised".