Chapter 2563 - 2537: Reminder

Bai Shan is still a junior Academic Editor; although he sees various bigwigs before the Emperor daily and even encounters the Emperor more frequently than Zhou Man, because of his unique position, he can’t utter a word.

After much consideration, Zhou Man turned out to be the most suitable.

Both position-wise and identity-wise.

However...

Manbao blinked, "It’s been a while since I’ve seen Bai Er; by the way, has he gone to be an official yet?"

There was silence in the room; everyone looked at each other before they finally glanced at Bai Dalang.

Bai Dalang said gloomily, "No, I thought you were instructing him. Why, weren’t you the ones advising him to lay low?"

This year, the Bai Family had two successful candidates in the imperial examinations, drawing much attention, especially since Bai Erlang was the legitimate son of a princess consort, which garnered even more attention.

Since the Ministry of Personnel examination, countless people were watching their family, Bai Erlang never went to be an official; Bai Dalang thought Bai Shan and Zhou Man taught him this.

After all, now Bai Eryi should consider keeping calm; certainly, the Emperor has arrangements for him.

Otherwise, if both brothers hurriedly went to be officials, it would seem rather impatient in people’s eyes.

And Bai Dalang had been waiting for his appointment for half a month without receiving an official position, further demonstrating the attitude of those in power.

Obviously, the second brother was to stay in the capital, so he couldn’t stay in the capital anymore; one of the brothers had to leave, which was to avoid suspicion.

Bai Dalang’s gaze fell on Bai Shan and Zhou Man opposite him, observing that after Bai Shan took office, Zhou Man remained in purely technical departments like the Imperial Hospital and prestigious ones like Chongwen Pavilion.

Avoiding one of the current departments with real power, the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Otherwise, Bai Shan would have to remain at the Hanlin Academy repairing books all his life.

Bai Shan said gloomily, "I told him to wait a couple of days before going to wait for a vacancy, but I didn’t tell him not to go at all until now."

Manbao said, "Could he have forgotten?"

Old Master Bai became anxious, "How could he forget such an important matter?"

He glanced at the sky outside, there was still a twilight, and he wanted to go to the Princess’ residence to ask; Bai Dalang hurriedly pulled him back and said, "Father, don’t be anxious, you can ask tomorrow, there won’t be much time to talk before curfew."

Old Master Bai couldn’t wait; he stayed here instead of returning to his hometown just to see his two sons get their official positions, which related to their futures.

So he decided to go.

Bai Erlang had nearly forgotten about this matter; he had been playing happily with Mingda lately, and if it weren’t for his father visiting, he probably wouldn’t have remembered for some time.

Facing his father, he felt somewhat guilty and said with forced calmness, "Dad, I’m not in a hurry to choose an official, His Majesty has his arrangements. By the way, did big brother get an official position today?"

"No," Old Master Bai said somewhat gloomily; he glanced at Bai Erlang, feeling disappointed in him, "Even if there is the princess and His Majesty, you can’t be so negligent. It’s been half a month; even observing changes should be enough, go and choose an official tomorrow."

This was a concern of his that needed to be resolved quickly.

"You need to select carefully, try to stay in the capital; if you can enter the Hanlin Academy, that would be even better."

"Dad, don’t worry, I definitely won’t enter the Hanlin Academy," Bai Erlang said, "Do I look like someone who can edit historical books?"

The Hanlin Academy mainly edits books, primarily historical books.

Old Master Bai thought about it and felt it would indeed be misleading, so he changed his opinion, "Entering the Six Ministries would be good too; by the way, you’re good at math, go to the Ministry of Revenue."

It has wealth and prestige.

Bai Erlang’s eyes lit up, and he thought this was a great idea too, "If there’s a vacancy at the Ministry of Revenue, I can try it out."

Meanwhile, the Emperor was also discussing Bai Erlang’s official vacancy with the Empress.

He lifted his foot from the wooden basin, let Gu Zhong dry it, then went directly to bed without putting on shoes, telling the Empress beside him, "I don’t know what Bai Er has been doing lately; the Ministry of Personnel still hasn’t received his application for a vacancy. Is he not planning to choose an official this year?"

He asked, "Did Mingda say why?"

Though Mingda married out, she still had to enter the palace to pay respects on the first and fifteenth of each month as per tradition; outside of these set days, she occasionally visited the Emperor and Empress.

The Emperor tried to recollect the last time he saw Mingda.

Oh, twelve days ago.

The Emperor frowned slightly, questioning again, "Has Mingda not entered the palace for quite a while?"

The Empress smiled, "She sent word that she is now personally managing the royal estate and has many things to do."

"Such matters can be managed by the stewards below; she just needs to give orders on what she wants planted, why is there a need to do it herself?"

The Empress felt that having something to do was better than her staying bored at home, not much different from before marriage.

Still, she didn’t stop the Emperor from caring for their daughter, smiled, and said, "When she enters the palace again, speak with her."

How can the Emperor persuade Mingda?

He certainly couldn’t win her over.

The Emperor vented his frustration at Bai Erlang, "Why hasn’t he gone to the Ministry of Personnel to choose an official?"

The Emperor suspiciously questioned Bai Er’s intentions, "Is he waiting for others to take all the good positions, leaving only those requiring external posting, so he can take Mingda and leave?"

The Empress: ...

She could only comfort him, "Your Majesty, you’re overthinking; does Bai Er look like someone who enjoys hardship or is ambitious in his career?"

Bai Erlang truly wasn’t enthusiastic about his official career; although he doesn’t openly admit it, one reason the Emperor chose Bai Er was precisely because he wasn’t seeking Mingda for career or status.

The Emperor grumbled twice and directly called for Gu Zhong, instructing, "Tomorrow morning have someone go to the Princess’ residence and have the consort go to the Ministry of Personnel to choose an official."

Gu Zhong answered with a smile, bowed, and stepped back.

The next day, Bai Erlang was still sleeping in; palace officials had already arrived.

He got up drowsily, took a moment to react, and turned to see Mingda similarly sleepy-eyed.

Had no choice but to get up to host the inner servant sent by his father-in-law.

After sending off the servant, he was utterly confused, "So many people, generally it takes about two months to select officials; it’s only been half a month, why the rush?"

Though choosing an official takes time, everyone hurriedly goes to fill out application forms at the Ministry of Personnel after finishing the exams.

Bai Erlang said, "Back then, I chose to take Exam One."

The most comprehensive exam, allowing entry into any department, though his scores were average, he still passed, wasn’t it?

He finally started to feel a bit nervous, "Do you think His Majesty will give me an official position?"

He never considered relying entirely on his own abilities to choose an official; prior to this, the Emperor had repeatedly hinted explicitly and implicitly during family banquets, no external postings with Mingda allowed.

Thus, the Emperor certainly had it planned out for him; how could it solely align with his wishes?

Yet, his current wish was to remain in the capital.

Upon reaching the Ministry of Personnel, everyone looked at the newcomer Bai Erlang, practically a newcomer in the practical sense.

First time choosing an official, first time submitting an application, even the petty officials guiding him to fill the forms took a couple more looks at him.

Unless encountering other circumstances like severe illness or mourning, Bai Erlang was the first among those who passed the Ministry of Personnel examination that year to come this late to choose an official in other situations.