Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Facing the Grand Academician Dou Wenhuan, Chen Chang'an was not afraid at all.

Putting everything else aside, he knew the rules of the officialdom in Da Ning all too well.

He was a genuine top scholar in the imperial examinations, and was personally appointed by His Majesty as a sixth-rank official in the Hanlin Academy, a real official with a formal position.

For officials who came through the orthodox imperial examination system, power was firmly in the hands of the imperial court and the Ministry of Personnel. No one could bypass the Ministry of Personnel and His Majesty to change their official positions.

The Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, seemingly holding a high position and wielding great power, managed the internal affairs of the Hanlin Academy, but in reality, he only had the authority to supervise within the academy and did not have the authority to suspend or punish officials without authorization.

If he backs down this time and obediently endures this absurd harassment, the other party will only become more aggressive in the future.

From now on, in the Hanlin Academy, he will only be completely controlled by the other party, and he will never have a peaceful day.

Dou Wenhuan wanted to make things difficult for him, so Chen Chang'an simply stopped wearing shoes altogether. He figured a barefoot person wouldn't be afraid of someone wearing shoes; if things escalated, it wouldn't be him who lost face…

Inside the Hanlin Academy, the officials who had gathered around all slowed their breathing.

No one expected that the top scholar would be so tough!

Newly promoted officials, upon entering the government office, are all cautious, humble, and respectful, always obedient to their superiors and daring not to disobey in the slightest...

It was he who dared to confront the Grand Secretary, a third-rank official in the Imperial Academy, and a cabinet minister in front of everyone in the Hanlin Academy...

Faced with Chen Chang'an's questioning, Dou Wenhuan's lips trembled, and for a moment he couldn't say anything, his face turning pale and then red...

He really didn't dare say these things in front of His Majesty.

He had been in charge of the Hanlin Academy for many years, holding a high position of the third rank and serving in the Grand Secretariat. On ordinary days, no one in the entire Hanlin Academy dared to disobey him in the slightest, and even officials of the same rank treated him with the utmost respect...

Unexpectedly, today he was publicly contradicted by a newly appointed sixth-rank Hanlin Compiler, who even wanted to drag him to the Emperor for a confrontation...

"Great, very good!"

Dou Wenhuan stared intently at Chen Chang'an and said in a deep voice, "Chen Chang'an, don't think that just because you have some merit and a little imperial favor, you can be disrespectful to your superiors..."

Chen Chang'an remained unfazed and calmly stated, "Da Ning has strict laws and an orderly official system. Everything must be based on law and regulations. No one can set up their own rules or require someone to recite history before leaving the office. The court has never had such a rule or law. This is merely Lord Dou's personal opinion..."

"If Lord Dou believes he has the right to be above the law and act arbitrarily, then we will immediately go to see His Majesty and request His Majesty's judgment..."

Dou Wenhuan's chest heaved violently, his heart burning with rage, yet he couldn't vent it.

He knew very well that he had indeed set up his own rules and deliberately made things difficult for the newcomer. He had intended to use his position as a superior to suppress this overly popular top scholar, to teach the newcomer a lesson, and to vent the anger of the Zhao family.

But to his utter surprise, this person acted completely outside the rules of officialdom, taking even the smallest matter to the emperor's presence...

If the matter reaches His Majesty, I will ultimately be the one who loses the upper hand.

Seeing that Dou Wenhuan remained silent, Chen Chang'an said calmly, "If the Dean has nothing else to say, I will take my leave now."

After saying that, he didn't even glance at Dou Wenhuan, and turned to leave.

Inside the Hanlin Academy, a group of officials watched Chen Chang'an's dashing departing figure, then glanced at the livid-faced head scholar, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Cool!

So cool!

In the Hanlin Academy, there were many who disapproved of the Grand Academician's domineering style, but Chen Chang'an was the first to dare to openly rebel.

At the entrance of a certain duty room, Grand Secretary Zhou stroked his short beard, turned to look at Grand Secretary Lin, and said with a smile, "I suddenly feel quite refreshed today. Shall we go down to the office for a couple of drinks?"

Scholar Lin smiled and nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking too..."

At the entrance of another guardhouse, Zhao Rui witnessed the entire incident, and his face darkened completely.

He had thought that with the head scholar backing him up, he could definitely suppress Chen Chang'an's arrogance today and make him suffer a great loss.

Unexpectedly, Chen Chang'an dared to confront the Grand Academician head ...

Zhang Huaiyu, standing to the side, watched Chen Chang'an's gradually disappearing figure with eyes full of admiration.

He was talented and had a temper; he should have been the top scholar, but he was completely convinced that someone like him had taken the top spot!

News travels very fast in official circles, especially sensational anecdotes like this.

The various government offices were all located within a single area. When officials from the Hanlin Academy encountered familiar officials on their way home from their offices, they couldn't help but reveal the matter.

It happened to be the peak time for officials to leave their posts, and the news spread like wildfire among the officials. Soon, the news that Chen Chang'an, the newly appointed compiler of the Hanlin Academy, had confronted Dou Wenhuan, a third-rank academician, on his first day of work spread rapidly throughout the official circles.

Officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Departments were discussing this matter during their leisure time.

Officials in Daning generally hold two attitudes toward this matter.

Some people think that Chen Chang'an is young and arrogant, arrogant and conceited, and does not understand the rules of officialdom.

These people are mostly high-ranking officials from various departments. If the officials under them are also troublemakers like Chen Chang'an, they will have a lot of headaches.

Many officials felt that Chen Chang'an possessed a integrity that most officials lacked. Although he did not hold a high official position, he was neither arrogant nor servile, dared to confront the private power of his superiors, and was an upright and honest person...

These people were mostly mid- to low-ranking officials who often encountered infighting in the bureaucracy. They could understand Chen Chang'an's situation very well, but unlike Chen Chang'an, they could only be subservient and accept the oppression of their superiors.

It was evening at the Zhao family's dining hall.

Zhao Rui recounted the events that had transpired at the Hanlin Academy that day, his face grim as he said, "That Chen Chang'an is simply outrageous, openly defying his superiors..."

"Snapped!"

Zhao slammed her chopsticks on the table and said in a deep voice, "I'm full!"

After saying that, she left her seat.

She didn't want to hear anything about Chen Chang'an right now...

Zhao Bing glanced at Chen Wenyuan and said, "Wenyuan, you used to say that your eldest son was timid and cowardly by nature, but now it seems that's not the case..."

Chen Wenyuan thought to himself, "Chen Chang'an was indeed cowardly and timid before, but ever since your sister forced him out of the house, he's like a completely different person..."

Although he was also angry at Dou Wenhuan's actions, he did not defend Chen Chang'an.

As the head of the Hanlin Academy and a cabinet minister, Dou Wenhuan's influence on the Zhao family was far greater than that of a mere vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

He ate his meal in silence, unaware that Chen Changxuan beside him had a face full of grievances.

Why should Chen Chang'an be able to refuse when others ask him to endorse something, without suffering any injustice whatsoever...?

But when it came to himself, whether it was Chen Chang'an or his mother making him memorize something, he had to memorize it obediently, and if he didn't finish, he wouldn't even be allowed to eat...

They all have the same father, so why is there such a huge difference between them...?