Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Not long after Chen Chang'an and Zhang Huaiyu sat down in the duty room, Zhao Rui walked in.

The moment he stepped into the duty room, he glanced at Chen Chang'an with a discreet look, but said nothing and sat down in his seat.

The duty room was small and divided into three spaces.

Upon entering the duty room, one first encounters a small hall furnished with several sets of tables and chairs, facilitating communication among colleagues from the Hanlin Academy.

The small hall is divided into two separate spaces on the left and right sides.

Chen Chang'an, as a Hanlin Compiler, enjoyed the entire space on the left by himself, while Zhang Huaiyu and Zhao Rui, who were half a rank lower than him, shared the space on the right.

Zhao Rui sat down behind his desk and began tidying his work surface without speaking to Zhang Huaiyu across from him.

Zhang Huaiyu glanced at him but didn't bother to pay him any attention.

One of them came from a prestigious family, and the other was from an official family. They were supported by different princes and belonged to different camps, so naturally they wouldn't make small talk.

The three of them remained silent, and the duty room fell quiet for a moment.

They were newcomers to the Hanlin Academy, and today was just for reporting for duty. There was no official business to attend to immediately. The other Hanlin members could enjoy tea, play chess, compose poems, and paint. Of course, these three newcomers couldn't learn from these seasoned veterans on their very first day.

Feeling bored, Chen Chang'an reached out and picked up a book from the bookshelf behind him.

The bookshelves are filled with official histories and classic texts from various dynasties, all of which are officially compiled historical works.

Chen Chang'an had a general understanding of this world, but not in depth. Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well take the opportunity to learn more about the history of the mainland.

He casually flipped through a few pages, and couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex

The historical trajectory and dynastic changes of this world are vastly different from those of ancient China. It does not follow the historical evolution of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties, but rather represents a completely independent period of social change.

Strangely, the civilizations of the two worlds are remarkably similar.

Even the schools of thought in the two worlds highly overlap. This world also gave birth to various schools of thought such as Confucianism, Legalism, the School of Diplomacy, and Mohism hundreds of years ago.

These schools of thought share similar core ideas and academic principles; they represent two different worlds, yet their thoughts coincide.

Moreover, the two worlds are highly unified in literature, customs, and even artistic activities such as playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

This place is like a parallel world. At some point in the course of history, a small deviation occurred, and then the world began to evolve in two different directions...

Chen Chang'an found the history, which was both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar, quite interesting.

At one point, footsteps were heard at the door of the duty room.

Dr. Wu Wei, who had just shown them around, appeared outside the duty room. He didn't come in immediately, but stood at the door with a somewhat awkward and embarrassed expression.

Chen Chang'an saw him, got up, walked to the door, and asked, "Dr. Wu, what's wrong?"

"Lord Chen..."

Wu Wei forced himself to speak, his tone full of helplessness, and said with difficulty, "Just now, the head scholar specifically instructed that, as a sixth-rank Hanlin Compiler, your duty is to compile national history and proofread classics. As a historian, you must first be familiar with history and read history..."

As he spoke, he handed the thick book he was holding to Chen Chang'an, saying, "Lord Chen, the Grand Master has ordered you to memorize the first ten pages of this 'General History of Da Ning' today, and I will supervise you. Only when you have memorized the entire book without any mistakes can you and I leave the office..."

The atmosphere in the duty room changed the moment he finished speaking.

Zhao Rui glanced up at Chen Chang'an, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his lips, before lowering his head as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Zhang Huaiyu's expression suddenly changed.

He had read the General History of Da Ning. The book was complex and the language was obscure. Ten pages contained thousands of words and sentences, including many obscure allusions.

Even if an ordinary person studies it attentively, it would take a whole day to fully understand it, let alone memorize the entire text.

Moreover, while reading history books is part of the duties of a Hanlin compiler, reading them is not the same as memorizing them. How can someone be expected to memorize history books on their very first day of work, and not be allowed to leave the office if they cannot memorize them?

This is clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult!

Although this academician is a member of the Zhao family, it is still too much to make things difficult for a hero who made outstanding contributions to the country on his first day of work.

What's frustrating is that even if this is deliberately making things difficult, it's within the scope of the Dean of the Academy's authority.

The Grand Secretary was the head of the Hanlin Academy, and all officials in the academy were under his jurisdiction. He was only required to write and endorse documents, and he could find countless reasons to do so...

This is the helplessness of officialdom: a higher rank can crush you, let alone several ranks higher.

As the superior, he had countless ways to make things difficult for his subordinates.

Chen Chang'an held the thick history book in his hand, flipped through it casually, and showed no anger on his face.

So this is how Chen Changxuan felt?

Unexpectedly, the wheel of fortune turns, and the same thing happened to him.

He didn't see this as the headmaster being strict with him; it was clearly a way to torment him. Chen Chang'an had done the same thing to Chen Changxuan, so he was all too familiar with this method.

Wu Wei looked at Chen Chang'an nervously and said, "Lord Chen, I am only acting under orders. I hope you will forgive me..."

As a lowly eighth-rank official, he was caught between the Grand Academician and this newly risen court official, which was extremely difficult for him.

Chen Chang'an, of course, wouldn't make things difficult for him, and nodded, saying, "It's alright, I understand."

The other party is clearly using their status and rules to target him; saying more will only cause trouble.

However, Chen Chang'an would not let himself be manipulated.

He chose to become an official so that he would not be bullied.

If you pass the imperial examination, become the top scholar, and enter the Hanlin Academy, but are still bullied however you want, then what was the point of taking the imperial examination and becoming an official?

He was an official in the Great Ning Dynasty, not in the Hanlin Academy. If you're so capable, then strip him of his official rank...

Chen Chang'an was no novice who was unfamiliar with the rules of officialdom.

Even a mere Hanlin Academy Chancellor, a cabinet minister, or even the Grand Secretary, wouldn't have this power.

Chen Chang'an glanced at the history book a few times and then tossed it aside.

The books in this world also lack punctuation marks, making these dry historical records even more difficult to read. Publicly published books only use symbols like quotation marks to enclose long paragraphs, requiring readers to punctuate and understand the sentences themselves. Furthermore, the texts are written in classical Chinese, which gave him quite a headache, let alone any desire to memorize them.

The Hanlin Academy provides free meals at noon, but they are very simple: two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, and two steamed buns. Chen Chang'an ate a little bit, and in the afternoon, he browsed through a few books that interested him. Soon it was time to leave the office.

Officials in Da Ning worked from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m., and were required to report to the yamen at 5 a.m., a process known as "dianmao".

Correspondingly, the time to leave the office should be earlier, usually between 3 pm and 5 pm.

Once it's Shen Shi (3-5 PM), if there's nothing else to do, you can go home after get off work.

Wu Wei had already explained these rules to them.

Just as the clerk announced the time, striking the gong for the hour of Shenshi (3-5 PM), Chen Chang'an put down his book, left his duty room, and walked towards the outside of the Hanlin Academy.

"stop!"

He had just reached the door when a voice came from behind him.

Chen Chang'an turned around, and Dou Wenhuan came out of the yamen and asked, "Chen Xiuzhuan, where are you going?"

Chen Chang'an replied naturally, "Now that I'm off duty, it's time to go home."

Dou Wenhuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have you finished memorizing the book I asked you to recite?"

Chen Chang'an answered honestly, "No."

Dou Wenhuan's face darkened, and he said, "Didn't I say you can only leave the office after you've finished reciting it? Didn't Wu Wei tell you that?"

Chen Chang'an said, "Dr. Wu did tell me, but I would also like to ask, which provision in the laws of Da Ning stipulates that a Hanlin Compiler must memorize the entire history book before leaving the office?"

Dou Wenhuan's expression darkened further, and he said coldly, "As the head of the Hanlin Academy, the rules I establish are the rules!"

"What arrogance!" Chen Chang'an showed no mercy, staring directly at him and coldly saying, "The Hanlin Academy belongs to the Great Ning Dynasty, not to you, Lord Dou. Do you dare to say that to His Majesty?"

Hearing the commotion outside, people from all the offices of the Hanlin Academy came out.

They stared wide-eyed at the scene, utterly shocked.

What's going on? The top scholar got into a fight with the head of the academy on his very first day in office!