After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 45 Shen Zhiyi: This person is talking badly about me behind my back!

The two stared at each other for a while.

In the end, the old emperor was the first to be defeated.

"Can you tell me the reason? I'm curious, Shen Zhiyi, when did you have a conflict with this Master Cheng?"

"Uh, no."

This is the absolute truth. I don't have any conflict with this manager, but he talks badly about me behind my back every day.

[This Examination and Recruitment Department is in charge of evaluating the merits and demerits, good and evil deeds of civil and military officials, as well as their conduct. I don't know what I did to offend them, but they only mentioned my faults, such as that I often work with my eyes closed, and how could I not be sleepy after getting up so early! I didn't even get up this early when I was in high school!]

[And what about me rolling my eyes at people all the time?! Pshaw! I never roll my eyes at people all the time! Nonsense! Pure fabrication.]

Oh, he even knows I'm sneaking snacks! Could he have a crush on me? No way!

Zhang Sheren suppressed a laugh.

Everyone knew perfectly well that Shen Zhiyi was eating, but they pretended not to see it.

I just didn't expect that Master Cheng would remember it so clearly.

The old emperor was somewhat unhappy, feeling that this guy was going against his wishes, so he simply crossed out the name as well.

The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the Six Ministries, and the selection of its Minister must be done with great care.

The selection of this person was ultimately delayed.

Shen Zhiyi, who had been asked the same questions all day, was also annoyed.

Whenever the old emperor brought up someone, Shen Zhiyi would simply dismiss them with the words "very good."

[Is the old emperor out of his mind? Why does he insist on promoting people from the Ministry of Personnel? Can't he think outside the box?]

The old emperor actually had someone in mind for a long time, but he couldn't make a decision.

The person chosen was indeed not from the Ministry of Personnel, but from the Ministry of Revenue.

Seeing that it was getting late, the old emperor finally revealed the name of that person.

"Minister Shen, what do you think about transferring the Vice Minister of Revenue to the Ministry of Personnel?"

"what?"

That stingy old man?

The Minister of Revenue is already stingy enough, but the Vice Minister is even more so. Last time, he tried to reduce my salary using various excuses. If he continues to stay in the Ministry of Revenue, won't my salary decrease in the future?

When Shen Zhiyi thought of this, a big smile appeared on her face.

"Your Majesty, I think it is excellent, excellent."

Zhang Sheren followed suit.

"I also think it's appropriate."

Good heavens, the salary is already low enough, if it's cut any further, we'll really starve.

[Yes, that's it. Quickly transfer that old miser to the Ministry of Personnel. This guy is neither corrupt, nor is he as stubborn and unyielding as a rock in a latrine. He would never engage in any cheating in the imperial examinations or accept bribes. Thirdly, he actually has some ability; it's just that he's too stingy. The old emperor doesn't dare to let him really become the head of the Ministry of Revenue, otherwise, he'll be a real pain when it comes to getting money.]

The old emperor wished he could hold Shen Zhiyi's hand right then and there.

Shen Zhiyi is the one who truly understands me.

That Vice Minister of Revenue was excellent in every way, and he was also young, only twenty-six years old. He was also one of the few people in the more than a thousand years since the establishment of the imperial examination system to have achieved the rare feat of passing all three levels of the examination with top honors.

What does it mean to win three consecutive top honors?

The imperial examination consisted of three parts: the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the palace examination. The top scorer in the provincial examination was called the Jieyuan, the top scorer in the metropolitan examination was called the Huiyuan, and the top scorer in the palace examination was called the Zhuangyuan.

To be able to achieve first place in two rounds of three exams is to "win the triple crown".

I won't go into too much detail; those who frequently read about the imperial examinations are already familiar with them. In short, the difficulty was so immense that it was practically hellish. The entire historical record only mentions about ten people who passed the exams, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was that tenth.

[The old emperor seems to really like this Vice Minister of Revenue. If he likes him so much, he should transfer him to the Ministry of Personnel immediately. Why is he still so hesitant and conflicted?]

The old emperor remained silent for a moment.

How can you be so careless about things in officialdom?

He was conflicted all day because the other person was just too young.

The position of Minister of Personnel is very important.

[Oh dear, the old emperor is so indecisive. If it's not working out, just replace him with another one. We've already gotten rid of two already.]

The old emperor's lips twitched violently; it seemed to make sense.

"Okay, that's settled then."

Shen Zhiyi cheered with joy in her heart.

[Great! The Ministry of Revenue is finally rid of one of those old misers. Let's give a round of applause and welcome the new Minister of Personnel.]

[You'd better cause me trouble and then impeach me.]

The old emperor sneered, "Keep dreaming."

After finally getting rid of the old emperor, Shen Zhiyi rubbed her eyes, and her drowsiness instantly disappeared.

【Is it time yet?】

I'm so curious which one the old emperor will choose to sleep with today.

[Old Emperor, when are you going to relieve yourself? You should be getting restless by now.]

The old emperor initially ignored Shen Zhiyi, but the gaze she was giving him, which was fixed on his buttocks, grew increasingly intense, until finally he could no longer bear it and went to relieve himself.

As soon as the person left, Shen Zhiyi didn't even write the daily record before eagerly pulling Zhang Sheren along.

Zhang Sheren did not move.

Shen Zhiyi asked, puzzled, "Zhang Sheren, are you feeling unwell?"

"That's not it."

"Oh, so what are we betting on this time?"

Zhang Sheren: Can we skip playing today? (bursts into tears)

“There’s a roast duck shop that opened in the East Market. I want to try it out. How about we bet on it today? The loser gets to eat the roast duck in moderation.”

At this moment, the old emperor, who was standing close to the door, said to Chen Decai beside him, "Do they often do this?"

Chen Decai smiled subconsciously: "No way, Your Majesty. This servant has been following you all day, how would I know what they're playing at?"

Why isn't Zhang Sheren being enthusiastic today? Is it because the great talent didn't come?

Chen Decai could no longer laugh.

The old emperor's eyes were like knives.

He seemed to be smiling.

Chen Decai's knees buckled, and he knelt down.

"Your Majesty, we, we really didn't do anything."

【Then let's wait for the great scholar. It'll give me a chance to think about which concubine the old emperor will sleep with tonight. First, we can rule out the Empress. Today is the 22nd, so he should be with another concubine. We also have to rule out Consort Li; it was her yesterday.】

[Oh dear, why is the old emperor stuffing so many women into his harem? It's hard to guess, but I'll risk it all for a free Peking duck!]

I bet the old emperor will go to Consort Shu's place today. After all, it's been a while since he last visited, and he'll have to show some courtesy, especially since the old emperor is a man who cares about his reputation.

The old emperor chuckled softly.

He nudged Chen Decai and said, "Go out and gamble with her."

When Chen Decai was pushed out, he saw Shen Zhiyi with her shining eyes and Zhang Sheren with his lifeless eyes, and he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Shen Zhiyi waved her claws at Chen Decai.

Ugh, so slow and indecisive.

Chen Decai quickly came over, and Shen Zhiyi directly stated that she would bet on Consort Zhang tonight.

Zhang Sheren and Chen Decai would certainly not choose this option; the old emperor already knew, so it was absolutely impossible.

Both of them chose someone else.

The old emperor, returning from the toilet, said in a deep voice, "Let's go to Consort Zhang's place tonight. You two can go back now."

Zhang Sheren and Chen Decai: ? ? ? Your Majesty, aren't you spoiling me too much!

Shen Zhiyi: [Oh yeah! Old Emperor, you and I are on the same wavelength! Hahahaha.]

Two! There are two roast ducks now!