My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 65: Authentic?

Ministry of Personnel, at the entrance.

Two figures stood there, quietly waiting.

Li Nuo wanted to go to the Ministry of Personnel to check the archives. He couldn't do it alone, and he had only just started to get along with his wife in the past few days, not to mention he had never spoken to his father-in-law.

After being announced by the gatekeeper, a thin middle-aged man soon came out from inside. Seeing Li Nuo and Song Jiaren standing there, he asked in surprise, "What brings you here?"

Before Li Nuo could answer, he said, "Come inside first."

Li Nuo and Song Jiaren followed him, passing through three doors and into a room in the left courtyard.

In terms of real power, the Ministry of Personnel was undoubtedly the foremost among the Six Departments.

It was headed by one Chief of Staff and two Assistant Ministers, overseeing four divisions: the Ministry of Personnel itself, the Sealing Department, the Merit Department, and the Examination Bureau.

Of these, the Ministry of Personnel was the primary division, managed by the Left and Right Ministers. His own father-in-law was indeed the Right Minister.

Although his position was unremarkably low compared to that of his father, a Standard Fifth Rank, in the Ministry of Personnel he was undoubtedly the fifth most powerful figure. Even though the Minister of the Examination Bureau was ostensibly on the same level, he could not match his actual power.

This room was his private office. Song Zhe had them sit on two chairs reserved for guests and then asked, "What has brought you to the Ministry of Personnel today?"

Li Nuo didn't beat around the bush but got straight to the point, "Lord Father-in-law, I want to view the archive of Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan."

"Gu Wenhan?" Song Zhe looked at Li Nuo. The case regarding Gu Wenhan had been brought up again during this morning's court session, and in the afternoon, Li Nuo had come to the Ministry to examine Gu Wenhan's archives. He didn't consent immediately but asked, "What do you need his archives for?"

Li Nuo didn't hide anything and said, "I want to know if he truly is a corrupt official beyond redemption."

Song Zhe looked at Li Nuo again and, after sipping his tea, walked outside and gestured to someone. A figure immediately ran over and asked, "What do you need, Lord Song?"

Song Zhe instructed, "Go to the Archives, have Zhanggu Fang retrieve the original archive for the former Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan, and bring it here."

"Yes."

The Ministry official acknowledged and immediately ran off in a certain direction.

Ministry of Personnel, a secluded little courtyard.

Two Zhanggus sat inside the room, listlessly playing chess.

Every government office under the court produced documents daily. These documents could potentially be queried at any time later and should not be casually destroyed but properly stored. As the archives of the Ministry of Personnel involved the careers and evaluations of government officials, they were especially important.

For this reason, the Ministry had specifically set aside a small courtyard at the very back of the building as the Archives, used solely for storing these documents.

The Zhanggus were responsible for overseeing the Archives.

Their positions were not high, only being ninth-rank, making them some of the lowest-tier officials in Daxia.

However, their daily duties were relatively leisurely. As long as they ensured that the Archives did not catch fire or get burglarized, and periodically aired out the documents to prevent mold and pests, it was quite an easy job.

For officials who enjoyed tranquility and did not harbor great ambitions, it was undoubtedly a desirable position.

But for those ambitious and aspiring to make a difference in officialdom, this position was excessively dull.

One of the younger Zhanggus placed his chess piece down and sighed. "To think that I, Zhao, studied hard for over ten years, mastering the Six Arts, and barely managed to become an Advanced Scholar, only to end up guarding a warehouse..."

He shook his head and added with a sigh, "Had I known this earlier, I would have been better off staying home as a wealthy landlord, enjoying life forever..."

The middle-aged Zhanggu opposite him chuckled, "You've studied hard for just over a decade. I studied for thirty years and only managed to become a Zhanggu. If we are to blame anything, it should be our lack of competitiveness. If we were not at the bottom of the Advanced Scholar rankings but had ranked as top scholars, being granted a Standard Sixth Rank official position initially, or even an average rank, we could have been a seventh-rank County Magistrate in some remote state or county. The fact that we ended up in the lowest ranks of Advanced Scholars means we can only come to guard this warehouse. Many people wish to come to the Ministry to guard the Archives but never get the opportunity..."

The young Zhanggu sighed deeply. Zhanggu Fang was right; even the modest position of a Ministry Zhanggu was chosen from among the cream of the crop. Among the remaining 999 candidates, not one had the qualifications even to watch over the warehouse.

Yet, he remained unconvinced.

He had been a prodigy since youth, always seen as a genius by others.

Indeed, he was a genius. Three years ago, during his first participation in the Imperial Examination, he had lived up to expectations and achieved outstanding results, becoming the only Advanced Scholar from Liang State that session.

Back in his hometown, Shahe County of Liang State, there had only been two Advanced Scholars throughout history, and he was one of them. He would also have his own page in the county records.

Despite already becoming a legend in his hometown, his poor ranking in the Imperial Examination had resulted in a mere ninth-rank position, and he had already spent three years watching over the Archives in the Ministry.

He did not want to waste his life here; this was not the life he wanted. The young Zhanggu took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, and firmly said, "I still believe that one day, I, Zhao He, will make a mark!"

The middle-aged Zhanggu simply shook his head slightly and remarked, "I, for one, do not seek to make my mark. As long as I can retire safely without losing my head, that's good enough for me."

After serving in the Ministry for twenty years without any background, he had long given up hope of advancing. Over those twenty years, government officials had come and gone, and he had personally handled countless archives, having long understood the nature of his position.

"The mediocre officials with no great aspirations usually ended up retiring smoothly, while those who couldn't settle for mediocrity, always striving to stand out, often met gruesome ends, with their heads fallen and families destroyed…"

As the two played several more rounds of chess, a figure entered the Room. They turned to look and the middle-aged Zhanggu smiled, "Lingshi Feng, what brings you here today?"

Lingshi Feng, seeing them playing chess, did not say much, only remarked, "Zhanggu, let's pause the game for now. Minister Song wants the dossier of Gu Wenhan, the former Qinghe County Magistrate. Please find it quickly, I am waiting to deliver it to Lord Song…"

As a Zhanggu, searching for dossiers in the vast Archives was part of their daily work. Zhanggu Fang stood up and said to his younger colleague, "I'll return after I find the dossier Lord Song needs. Let Lingshi Feng play against you in my stead…"

After saying this, he took the keys from the cupboard and headed towards the storeroom.

Lingshi Feng waved a hand dismissively and said, "Forget it, it seems quite urgent at Lord Song's end, I'm not really in the mood for chess. Maybe you can resume the game after you find it…"

After finishing, he waited by the door of the storeroom.

Neither noticed that the younger Zhanggu had a barely noticeable shudder on hearing a certain name, but he quickly returned to his normal demeanor.

Ministry of Personnel.

The Repository at the Ministry of Personnel.

The official had worked quickly, for Li Nuo was only halfway through his tea when the dossier he requested was found.

The so-called dossier was essentially a book that recorded an official's entire career, from induction to retirement, including all promotions and demotions as well as performance evaluations—an equivalent to modern personnel files, which existed since ancient times.

The junior Ministry official respectfully handed the dossier to Song Zhe, saying, "Lord Song, this is the dossier for Gu Wenhan."

Song Zhe took it withoutlooking, then handed it to Li Nuo, advising, "The dossier is old, be careful while browsing, to avoid damage."

An official's dossier began being recorded from the day he entered office.

Gu Wenhan had an official career spanning over ten years, and the dossier, existing for fifteen years, emitted a faint old book smell even before Li Nuo opened it.

The Archives of the Ministry of Personnel were well-preserved, and there was no sign of mold.

Li Nuo placed the book on the table and carefully turned to the first page.

This page documented his initial steps into office.

Gu Wenhan was an Advanced Scholar of the Zhisheng year eighteen, and this year was Zhisheng year thirty-three, meaning he had passed the Imperial Examination fifteen years ago.

That year of the examination had admitted one hundred Advanced Scholars, and Gu Wenhan was ranked ninety-sixth, which only qualified him for a ninth-rank position as a Book Corrector.

The ninth-rank was the lowest among Daxia's official ranks.

The ranks above ninth were differentiated into senior and junior grades, but the ninth-rank had no such distinction and represented the very base of Daxia's official hierarchy. After over ten years of hard study, barely passing as an Advanced Scholar could result in menial tasks like overseeing warehouses or running errands.

However, this was not to say the court was unfair, as the first official appointments for new Advanced Scholars were directly linked to their examination rankings.

Top-ranked scholars started as Standard Sixth Ranks.

The second and third ranks were Secondary Sixth Ranks, fourth to tenth were Standard seventh-ranks, and so on, decreasing until the lowest ninth-rank.

Gu Wenhan's first post was as a Book Corrector for the Inner Straight Bureau of the Eastern Palace, responsible for editing and organizing the palace's books and documents.

Although it was a low-rank position, it held boundless prospects.

Book Correctors in other departments, without any connections, might end their careers as mere librarians. The Inner Straight Bureau, subordinate to the Eastern Palace, could lead to swift promotions should the Crown Prince ascend to the throne.

But Gu Wenhan was unfortunate.

He had entered the Eastern Palace in Zhisheng year eighteen. Five years later, in Zhisheng year twenty-three, the Crown Prince fell ill and passed away. Overnight, his seemingly limitless prospects disappeared like a child losing his mother.

Even though His Majesty soon appointed a new Crown Prince, the new sovereign would bring his own trusted followers into the Eastern Palace.

Moreover, after the Crown Prince's demise, His Majesty was deeply affected and from then on devoted himself to spiritual cultivation, neglecting court affairs. The Eastern Palace was only nominally functioning, and former officials of the Eastern Palace were reassigned.

From a ninth-rank Book Corrector, Gu Wenhan was evenly transferred to an insignificant county thousands of miles from Chang'an, to take up the role of a ninth-rank County Captain.

Over the next ten years, his position rose step by step from Ninth Grade to Secondary Eighth-rank, Standard Eighth-rank, Secondary Seventh-rank…, and finally, four years ago, he was appointed to Qinghe County as the Standard Seventh-rank Qinghe County Magistrate.

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And his performance assessments had consistently been excellent.

Daxia graded its officials with nine levels: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, and C-. A performance of 'A' denoted good, 'B' average, and 'C' unacceptable.

In these ten years, Gu Wenhan's evaluations were predominantly in 'A', with several A+'s, especially in the later years, without a single 'B'.

If the Ministry of Personnel assessments were reliable, then he was not just a clean official, but also a competent one.

After a moment's contemplation, Li Nuo looked towards Song Zhe and cautiously asked, "Lord Father-in-law, can we trust the assessment results from the Ministry of Personnel?"

[PS: Launching early morning on the 13th, will update more by then.]