TPITWOHEF

Chapter 63

Outside Zhengyang Gate, students were bustling and noisy.

Soon, Emperor Xiao Yunzhou, holding the princess in his arms, arrived at the palace gate in a carriage.

The guards formed two rows, quickly surrounding the Emperor in the center.

Keeping the students at a distance from the Emperor.

"Back off, all of you back off!"

"The Emperor is here, do not approach any further!"

The imperial guards were on high alert, fearing that the students might rush forward and startle the royal carriage.

However, none of the students actually approached.

The students in the first three rows, with decent eyesight, were all stunned as they looked at the first exam paper posted on Zhengyang Gate.

Even with the Emperor himself at the gate, they were too preoccupied to notice.

Because the answers on this exam paper were shockingly terrible!

Terrible to the point that they couldn't believe their eyes, thinking they were mistaken!

—Vice Minister of Personnel, Jiang Yixu.

Having achieved top scores in the imperial examinations in his youth, Jiang Yixu stood out among the sea of students, entering directly into the Censorate and working his way up from an Imperial Censor.

He eventually reached the position of Vice Minister of Personnel in the Ministry of Personnel.

Such a person not only excelled in academics in his youth but should also have had an exceptional understanding of the rules of officialdom!

Without knowledge of court regulations and administrative practices, one would not be able to supervise the officials!

Let alone manage the promotion and demotion of officials in the Ministry of Personnel!

However, this so-called clean official Jiang Yixu, in his ten-answer exam paper— the first two questions on the Four Books and Five Classics were nonsensical, with no coherent structure.

This couldn't be attributed to forgetfulness due to old age or lack of reviewing.

However, for the remaining eight questions, related to the rules for Ministry of Personnel officials and handling of public affairs, Jiang Yixu's answers were equally astonishing!

"How should the misuse of official seals be calculated?"

Jiang Yixu left the answer blank and added three ink dots.

"If an official fails to promptly request a replacement when the official seal's imprint is unclear, what punishment should be given?"

This was a multiple-choice question.

"First, demotion; second, deduction of salary for six months; third, deduction of salary for twelve months."

Regardless of the three options, Jiang Yixu received a big red cross for each!

He even got it wrong...

A colossal mistake!

Protesting students numbered in the hundreds.

Those in the front row fell silent at this moment.

Some with fiery tempers finally realized they had been completely fooled, "Damn it! What a fool!"

The surrounding students blushed and hung their heads in shame upon hearing this curse.

They had always believed they were supporting a good official who spoke up for the people!