Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 232 Endangering public order, fined two hundred.

An unknown and obscure "minor official" became the first person among all the officials of the Celestial Court to draw in Qi and enter the path of immortality.

This matter immediately reached Zhang Chengdao's ears.

When Xu Ying reported this, Zhang Chengdao was still playing Bubble Bobble with nothing to do.

The newly emerging timer for breaking through minor realms is quite daunting. Even if he cultivates every day without sleep, it would still take at least 11 days to reach 260 hours. Zhang Chengdao was really anxious.

However, it is also quite important that some natives can successfully cultivate immortality with just a few "guidebooks".

Upon learning the news, Zhang Chengdao immediately went to Lingxiao Palace and met Pei Hanlin, whose face was flushed and who looked uneasy, and Song Chengzhu, whose face was pale and whose eyes were filled with fear.

Song, the city lord, left a deep impression on Zhang Chengdao. Since Wang Yanqing was promoted to the position of Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, Zhang Chengdao had personally selected and appointed city lords from various regions, even though most of them were just prefects with different names.

As the former capital of the Zhou Kingdom and now the most prosperous and largest first-tier main city under the rule of the White Stone Immortal Sect, Lord Song was personally appointed by Zhang Chengdao.

This guy was originally the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, recommended by Wang Yanqing. It was said that they had worked on cases together before. He was meticulous in his work and came from a respectable family... cough, a poor family, not related to a noble or aristocratic family. That's why Zhang Chengdao transferred him here.

Pei Hanlin looked at him unfamiliarly.

The Hanlin Academy typically had six academicians, and Pei Zhao was one of them.

If it were Emperor Yeomin (Lee In-soon) back then, he would probably know these six Hanlin scholars very well. Because these six were close ministers of the emperor, although they did not hold any real power, their rank and influence with the emperor were second only to the Grand Secretary, the Grand Chancellor, and the Grand Councilor, and they were even closer to the emperor than the six ministers.

However, since Zhang Chengdao took over the government, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy lost favor and became "secretaries" like the Grand Secretary. Apart from drafting documents and submitting memorials, they did some miscellaneous tasks, and their status was far worse than before.

However, this was mainly because Zhang Chengdao knew very little about the scholars of the Hanlin Academy.

After all, before his transmigration, he was just an ordinary laborer, and his understanding of ancient official systems came from various TV dramas and mostly fabricated novels. This led him to believe that the Hanlin Academy only had the position of "Compiler," and that the only responsibilities were compiling books, organizing historical materials, and writing the emperor's daily records...

This is truly a misunderstanding limited by Zhang Chengdao's personal level of knowledge.

In reality, the Hanlin Academy was indeed the emperor's secretariat, and it also included Hanlin Lecturers who were specifically responsible for lecturing the emperor.

However, this type of lecturer was not an exception; for example, Li Renshun did not establish such a position.

Moreover, the position of "Compiler" was only established during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, with only one person in the position. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the number of people in the position was increased to three. In other words, there was no such position before the Ming Dynasty!

In addition, there were some professional talents in the Hanlin Academy, called "Hanlin Daizhao" or "Hanlin Gongfeng". As the name suggests, they were people who were kept in the Hanlin Academy and waited for the emperor to summon them at any time.

There were no fixed rules for these Hanlin scholars; they were generally there to entertain the emperor, such as playing the zither, playing chess, writing calligraphy, and painting. In another historical timeline, Li Bai once served as a "Hanlin scholar," specifically writing poems for Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Pei Hanlin was actually quite favored by the emperor because of his good looks and pleasant-sounding name. Although he came from a good family, the Pei clan of Jincheng had always been relatively honest. It was only after Zhang Chengdao came to power that he assumed these people were working in the Hanlin Academy and thus overlooked them.

It's okay to ignore it before, but I will never ignore it again.

Zhang Chengdao was secretly drooling over the two extra cards in the character list. Lord Song's card was just a green card, practically useless, but this Pei Zhao, the Hanlin scholar, was actually a gold card!
For a moment, Zhang Chengdao even wanted to contradict himself about the rule he had made before that no one could enter the sect without going through the Immortal Destiny Assembly, and immediately take Pei Zhao as his disciple. However, he still had some sense of shame, so Zhang Chengdao immediately said to Pei Zhao in a friendly manner, "Pei Hanlin, is that right? I wonder if you are interested in the path of immortality? Why not come to the Immortal Destiny Assembly next year and give it a try? I see that you have a deep affinity for immortality!"

"Thank you, Sect Master..."

Pei Zhao was bewildered by Zhang Chengdao's "invitation"—he thought the sect leader would first reprimand him for misusing the teleportation array!

"Sect Master, I am guilty. I really couldn't stop Lord Pei," said City Lord Song, his face contorted with grief, as he angrily asserted his presence. "Lord Pei deceived me so badly! He said he would only take a look, but who would have thought he would use it!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty also wanted to give it a try..."

Pei Zhao was also feeling guilty, but since he owed Lord Song a favor, he hurriedly explained, "It's not Lord Song's fault. I was just a little anxious. My wife suffered a depletion of her true energy and damaged her true energy meridians because of the protection she received when I broke through to the Qi Induction stage. The physicians at the Imperial Medical Bureau said that only a 'divine medicine' could cure her. I was so anxious that I..."

"Oh, it's alright. Saving lives is urgent and cannot be delayed. It was my fault for not arranging things properly. In the future, we should keep some Ge Gen Tang and Die Da San at the Imperial Medical Bureau in case of emergency."

Zhang Chengdao's flexible principles always seemed to be very lenient when it came to Jin Ka. He nodded and said, "However, although there are extenuating circumstances, there is still a suspicion of endangering the security of Chang'an City. How about this, let City Lord Song take you back for a reprimand and education, and fine you two hundred coins."

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhao felt relieved but also somewhat worried.

"Criticism and education" is easy to say. Although I've never heard of this kind of "criminal law" before, it doesn't seem that serious.

But this fine of two hundred gold coins is a bit of a problem. Two hundred gold coins, and I'll have to go back to my father in Xinjin City to ask for it...

Pei Zhao didn't understand, but City Lord Song knew his sect leader quite well. Seeing the young master Pei frowning and looking worried, he knew that the other party had misunderstood. He quickly followed up to verify, "May I ask the sect leader, is this 'fine of two hundred' a fine of two hundred gold coins?"

Zhang Chengdao was startled: "What nonsense are you spouting? Just fine me two hundred coins!"

It's not like it's a major threat to public safety or a serious damage to public facilities, so a fine of 200 yuan is outrageous!

As he spoke, he added, "As for the medicine you mentioned, just take the diagnosis to the Baishi Immortal Sect shop in Baishi Market and buy it!"

"The diagnosis report!"

Pei Zhao's face turned pale.

Oh no! I ran in such a hurry that I forgot to ask Dr. Dongfang to write a diagnosis!

Zhang Chengdao was taken aback: "Huh? No medical certificate? That's the rule, there's no exception. You'd better go back and get a medical certificate before you come back to make the purchase!"

With such a prestigious gold card, surely he's not here to scam medicine?

To prevent officials from reselling Ge Gen Tang and Die Da San, I specifically designed a process that required a handwritten diagnosis from a qualified physician or medical worker to purchase them. Moreover, the diagnosis was kept on file so that if any problems arose, the physician or medical worker who issued the diagnosis could be traced back to them!

Pei Zhao awkwardly cupped his hands in greeting, and even more guiltily touched his nose, asking with little confidence, "May I ask the Sect Master, um... could I use the teleportation array twice more to retrieve the diagnosis report?"

(End of this chapter)