Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"Even though that's what the Empress Dowager said, I still need to study hard and try my best to pass the exam."

After leaving the palace and getting into the carriage, Princess Pingning couldn't help but give some instructions.

Giving Qi Heng a position directly is, in the end, still a favor bestowed upon him through nepotism. What about Xie Nian's efforts?

"I understand," Qi Heng nodded.

The carriage stopped at the gate of the mansion, and the gatekeeper came to greet it.

Qi Heng helped his mother out of the carriage. After the gatekeeper bowed, he presented Qi Heng with an invitation, saying, "Young Master, a man named Su Shi recently sent you an invitation."

"Brother Zizhan is back?"

Qi Heng was delighted upon hearing this, took the invitation, and unfolded it to read it.

When Princess Pingning heard the name, she thought for a moment before remembering Su Shi. She did not stop Qi Heng from going to the banquet, but told him to drink less and come back early.

In the evening, Qi Heng took Buwei out and they traveled by carriage to Fanlou.

Led by Xiao Si, they arrived at the private room reserved by Su Shi.

Xiao Si knocked on the door, and soon the door opened, and Su Shi and Su Zhe came out to greet them.

"Yuan Ruo!"

"Brother Zizhan, brother Ziyou!"

The three were quite excited to see each other. After not seeing each other for several years, Su Shi looked much more composed.

"Haha, it's been a long time. Yuan Ruo is as handsome as ever. He truly deserves to be called the most handsome man in Bianjing."

"Brother Zizhan, please stop teasing me!" Qi Heng said with a wry smile.

Qi Heng is now seventeen years old, handsome and elegant.

Two years ago, he was hailed by busybodies as the most handsome man in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

If Qi Heng were to go to those high-class brothels now, the most beautiful courtesans would probably all come to see him.

You should know that the most sought-after courtesans in high-end brothels are highly coveted, thanks to deliberate marketing.

Even if a young nobleman wanted to see him, he would have to make an appointment in advance.

Don't underestimate these women just because they are from brothels. After being groomed by the brothel and having learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age, they possess various talents and are highly sought after by the sons of noble families.

The number of customers that brothels arrange for their women to see each day is limited.

Under such adoration, even the sons of wealthy and powerful families dared not force anyone and could only obediently queue up.

Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the lady and would incur her wrath.

Those courtesans had repeatedly expressed their admiration for Qi Heng and hoped to meet him at least once.

This solidified Qi Heng's reputation as the most handsome man in Bianjing.

But because of this, many stories about Qi Heng and courtesans have been passed down, and even appeared in some folk tales, which Qi Heng himself has read.

Anyone who didn't know better would think Qi Heng was a regular at brothels, but in reality, Qi Heng had never been to a brothel.

"Brother, Yuanruo, come in and sit down so we can talk," Su Zhe said.

"Yes, yes, please come in!" Su Shi greeted.

The three went into the inner room, and after sitting down, Su Shi said, "Zecheng should be here soon. It's been so long since we last met; I've missed him terribly!"

Qi Heng was not surprised that Su Shi invited Sheng Changbai. After they first met, they had met privately a few times to discuss scholarship.

After chatting with the Su brothers for a while, Qi Heng got a general understanding of their situation over the past few years.

The standards for observing mourning are not as strict as they used to be. According to ancient customs, one should live in a hut near the graves of one's parents during the mourning period.

But nowadays, people observe mourning by staying in their ancestral home, visiting the grave every few days to offer incense, dressing simply, and not participating in any gatherings.

I can read and study normally, and keep up with external affairs without neglecting them.

Su Shi and his two sons stayed at home reading during this period, and there was nothing else to do.

As the mourning period was about to end, Su Xun was dealing with his family business. Once the mourning period was over, he moved his entire family to Bianjing.

The Su family was to settle down in Bianjing, while Su Shi and his brothers would have to wait for appointments from the imperial court.

Qi Heng also shared some of his recent situation, mentioning that he had been studying at the Sheng family's school for the past few years.

He should have taken the county examination the year before last, but because of the birth of the little prince, the emperor was pleased and held an extra examination.

The special imperial examination was held temporarily when the emperor had a major happy event, and strictly speaking, it did not directly conflict with the imperial examination.

The imperial examinations were held every three years. If a special examination was held in between, the count would not start again from that special examination.

Strictly speaking, the imperial examinations were held every two years, including both the beginning and the end.

That is, the imperial examination was held in the first year, and the next one was in the fourth year.

Even if an extra imperial examination is held in the middle, it will not change the normal timing of the imperial examinations.

This is a great opportunity for scholars all over the world.

If we assume that each imperial examination admits more than 300 people, and if an additional special examination is held between two examinations, the total number of people admitted in three examinations would exceed 1,000, far surpassing the normal 600-plus people admitted in two examinations.

More spots mean greater opportunities, naturally making it a celebration for scholars.

However, the Zhou Dynasty suffered from a severe overabundance of officials. The combination of the imperial examination system and hereditary privilege resulted in an extremely large number of officials.

Adding special imperial examinations would only exacerbate this phenomenon, but since these special examinations were a favor bestowed by the emperor upon scholars, it was impossible to simply stop them.

During the reforms a few years ago, it was changed to be postponed.

In other words, the special examination can be held, but after the special examination is held, the next provincial examination will also be counted from the special examination, and it will not be held until three years later.

Because of the additional examination, the imperial examination, which was originally scheduled for this year, has been postponed to next year.

Similarly, the county and provincial examinations should also be postponed to ensure a rotation of one year for the county examination, one year for the provincial examination, and one year for the metropolitan examination.

Therefore, Qi Heng originally planned to participate in the county examination the year before last, but he only participated last year.

The provincial examinations just ended two days ago, and the results have not yet been released.

The three chatted for a while before Sheng Changbai arrived.

After catching up and waiting for the food and drinks to be served, the awkwardness between the group of friends who hadn't seen each other for several years gradually dissipated after a few drinks.

"Yuanruo, you said back then that the situation in the court was not yet the right time for reform, but is now the right time for reform?" Su Shi asked.

"Um?"

Qi Heng was taken aback upon hearing this, and asked in confusion, "Why did Brother Zizhan suddenly bring this up?"

"Yesterday I accompanied my father to visit Scholar Ouyang, and he mentioned that Wang Duzhi had recently submitted a memorial requesting reforms."

Su Shi said, "I think the court is stable now, and it is indeed an opportunity for reform."

Two years ago, Wang Anshi had achieved remarkable results in local government and was transferred to the capital to serve as a judge in the Ministry of Revenue.

The three departments were the Salt and Iron Department, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Department of Finance, which were in charge of the Zhou Dynasty's money, grain, and taxes.

The Department of Revenue and Expenditure was responsible for the overall planning, accounting, and allocation of the nation's fiscal revenue and expenditure, including specific matters such as grain transport, officials' salaries, and military supplies, wielding immense power.

Wang Anshi served as the Revenue Judge, which was in charge of accounting.

All expenditures of the imperial court had to be calculated and approved by the Revenue Judge before funds could be allocated.

Therefore, he had heard about Wang Anshi's promotion to the position of Revenue Judge.

Unexpectedly, Wang Anshi could no longer restrain himself and submitted a memorial to the emperor requesting reforms.

"In fact, Brother Zizhan already has the answer, doesn't he?" Qi Heng said.

Su Shi fell silent upon hearing this. It was abnormal that no news had come out of Wang Anshi's memorial requesting reforms.

If the emperor intends to implement reforms, he will definitely leak the news to test the court's reaction.

No news has been released yet; the only possibility is that the officials have kept the edict hidden.

Officials' petitions can be broadly divided into three types. One type is the routine report, which only local officials are qualified to submit.

Its function was to periodically report to the authorities on the local situation and the measures it had taken in the area.

This is considered a regular work report.