Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1320: Chapter 1273: Chaotic Contestants

”Suzhi, are you planning to participate in the spring examination?” Jia Xu glanced at his eldest son who was transcribing classic books and suddenly asked. Jia Mu was so startled that his hand shook, and a big blot of ink fell directly onto the paper.

Jia Xu glanced at his eldest son and turned away, ”Study well, remember to pass the examination later. Perhaps the chief examiner for your subject might be me.”

Jia Mu was scared nearly to death. His father had always required him to remain low-key. When his father discovered that he was secretly preparing for the spring examination, Jia Mu thought his luck had run out, but unexpectedly Jia Xu raised him high and placed him down gently, which really startled him.

”Father, can I participate?” As Jia Xu walked past Ding Zidao without even glancing, Jia Yun hesitated for a moment but still took a step forward and spoke behind Jia Xu.

Jia Xu, upon hearing this, did not slow his steps as if he hadn’t heard, while Jia Yun watched his father’s back and suddenly said, ”Thank you, Father.”

Jia Xu continued moving forward as if he still hadn’t heard until he vanished around the corner, allowing Jia Yun to breathe a long sigh of relief.

”Your eldest daughter is quite remarkable.” Li Youu, originally not looking pleased, suddenly smiled at Jia Xu.

”Seems like you’ve been taken by your daughter too,” Jia Xu said gloomily to Li Youu.

”Zichuan set a good precedent,” Li Youu said helplessly, ”Just watch.”

It’s not actually Chen Xi who set a good precedent, but on the very first day of registration, Wang Yi successfully signed up and specified that she was female.

Such an overt action naturally raised questions. Chen Xi happened to be present at the time and responded, ”There’s no rule against women participating. If you think it’s inappropriate, then perform better in the exam and outscore her. If you can’t do that, there’s nothing that can be done; the positions will be given to the best candidates. If so many of you can’t surpass her, what’s the point of discussing it?”

Naturally, everyone was left speechless, holding their breaths, rolling up their sleeves, and preparing for the spring examination, aiming to outperform each other. But, of course, who will outscore whom remains to be seen.

”Oh, there’s such an interesting matter?” Wu Yuan, who had been hiding in Liu Bei’s home lately, felt that even though the Wu Family of Yizhou had unfathomable means, there was nothing they could do. Unfortunately, this also slowed Wu Yuan’s exchange of information with the outside world significantly.

”Miss, this time females can indeed participate in the spring examination,” Wu Yuan’s maid bowed her head to report.

”Oh, what are the subjects?” Wu Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked.

”Classics, law, politics, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, etc.” The maid quickly listed the currently established examination subjects; as for military subjects, those were generally too challenging for regular women.

”I’ll take the mathematics exam.” Wu Yuan smiled openly. Although her escape was tacitly approved by Wu Yi, she didn’t have enough money when she left, and following the elders’ reactions of the Wu Family in Jizhou, Wu Yuan found herself in short supply of living expenses, needing to open new sources of income.

But speaking of which, in this era, nothing is better for making a living than becoming an official.

”Boyan, what will you be taking?” Mi Zhen and Lul Xun were sent by Chen Xi to assist Mi Zhu, so they naturally understood the recent situation.

”Politics, law, strategy,” Lul Xun said with resignation, ”I don’t dare take the math exam.”

Mi Zhen covered her mouth and laughed secretly, ”I wonder if my brother plans to hire people too, if so, I shall take that subject. Otherwise, I’ll just take the math exam; a girl doesn’t have such bold ambitions as you do.”

Lul Xun tugged at his lips, considering Mi Zhen was his fiancée, he chose not to say anything.

”Hiring people is necessary, but the questions haven’t been drafted yet.” Mi Zhu just came in through the front door, saw his sister teasing Lul Xun again, and sighed, feeling his sister would eventually get back at Lul Xun for all the teasing.

”The Commercial Department is just beginning, mainly hiring administrative personnel, so there’s no need to draft questions. Simply picking people from the pass list of the Wen Ru Political Division is sufficient, similar to selecting those with a business mindset from Ziyang’s mathematics subjects,” Mi Zhu spoke upon assuming the main seat.

”Why not recruit from within the Merchants’ Guild? Not mentioning other criteria, those within it must have a commercial mindset.” Lul Xun asked, puzzled.

”Personal interests,” Mi Zhen replied on behalf of Mi Zhu, ”Once my brother became the main officer of the Commercial Department, he didn’t involve the Mi Family. He gave me full authority over main family affairs, afraid of mixing public and private matters, and those people may not abide by rules.”

Lul Xun frowned, ”Driven by profit, those with personal interests, those seeking something, are easier to deal with than those who seek nothing, so long as the limitations are within reasonable bounds.”

Mi Zhen glanced at Lul Xun, ”This Government Office is just starting out, but if there’s a problem from the root, can it really last long?”

Lul Xun remained silent, finally understanding Mi Zhu’s intentions. Though the Commercial Department is extremely weak now, Mi Zhu’s thinking reveals that the Government Office might evolve into a position equivalent to one of the Nine Ministers, and as long as he achieves this, even if it’s ceded, he will hold onto it firmly until his death.

Mi Zhu wasn’t bothered by these words, realizing that Lul Xun’s unintended remarks revealed many issues. Naturally, commerce is seldom given its due attention, but it is this neglect that allows a venue he personally builds to remain unoccupied by others.

”I’ll personally select people by then. We won’t set questions, we’ll directly provide them with start-up funds, letting them experiment for six months,” Mi Zhu thought it over and said. Drafting questions might just deter people from applying, so an alternative selection method would be more effective.

”That’s indeed a good method,” Lul Xun nodded in agreement.

”If you both plan to participate in the spring examination, make sure to work harder; this time it won’t be easy to pass. If nothing else, Xiaoo Zhi’s cousin will certainly be a formidable opponent.” Mi Zhu advised them a bit. He had seen part of this spring exam’s roster and already held low expectations for his sister and potential brother-in-law.

”I pride myself on not being inferior to others, we’ll see then,” Lul Xun raised an eyebrow, exuding a slight arrogance. At his age, he was the most proud, so he always felt that his only true opponent was Zhuge Liang.

Mi Zhu said nothing, just thinking how surprising it was that the daughters of Jia Xu and Li Youu were coming out for the spring examination. The two were supposed to be old-fashioned, with strict family traditions, and generally, girls from these families hardly appear in public, yet here they were.

As for the academic ability of those two girls, just looking at Jia Xu and Li Youu says enough. In families with such strict traditions and whose parents are extraordinary, the influence certainly wouldn’t result in qualities lesser than those of ordinary men; their growing environments ultimately determine their aptitude.

”Do your best in the exam; Lu Zijia is participating this time too.” Mi Zhu decided not to set a particular target for Lul Xun, feeling the kid is still a bit too young; it would be better if he and Mi Zhen competed against each other.