Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The Chen residence.

Chen Wenyuan was about to go to court when his brow suddenly twitched.

He always felt that something bad was about to happen.

However, he quickly shook his head, banishing these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

Minister Xu of the Ministry of Personnel is getting old and recently planned to retire to his hometown. In the past few months, he has offered to resign twice, but His Majesty has politely declined both times. This is also the rule in the officialdom of Da Ning, which means that His Majesty recognizes his career in office.

According to custom, His Majesty should have accepted his resignation on his third attempt.

After Minister Xu left, the position of Minister of Personnel became vacant.

The most promising candidates to succeed the Minister are the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel.

Chen Wenyuan is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, whose position is slightly higher than that of the Right Vice Minister. He also has more seniority and is more familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, he should be the one to succeed as the Minister of Personnel.

Moreover, with his father-in-law pulling strings in the court, his promotion is practically a done deal.

Thinking of this, his depressed mood of the past few days finally eased, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Inside the room, Madam Zhao straightened his collar as she said, "My father has received definite news that Minister Xu will resign again at the morning court session this day. He has already made all the arrangements, and someone will nominate you, sir, to succeed him as Minister. With your qualifications, no one should object..."

Chen Wenyuan smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law."

Zhao's depressed mood of the past few days has eased somewhat, and she said with a smile, "I'll be waiting at home for your good news, sir."

……

Qinzheng Hall.

The morning court session proceeded as usual, with civil officials lined up on both sides, and the Emperor of Daming sitting high on the dragon throne.

About half an hour later, after handling a few routine administrative matters, Xu Chongnian, the Minister of Personnel, stepped forward shakily from the ranks of civil officials, holding his official tablet, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister is old and frail, and my old illness has recently relapsed. I am truly unable to continue serving the court. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission for this old minister to retire and return to my hometown."

As the Minister of Personnel finished speaking, the hall fell into a brief silence.

This is the third time the Minister of Personnel has requested to resign; His Majesty declined the first two times.

This time, all the court officials knew perfectly well that, according to custom, after he had declined the offer three times, His Majesty should have approved his resignation.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor of Da Ning rose from his dragon throne, walked to the Minister of Personnel, personally helped him up, and sighed, "Minister Xu has served as an official for over forty years with diligence and loyalty, which has greatly pleased me. Since you insist on resigning, I will not force you to stay..."

He turned to look at the eunuch beside him and said, "By imperial decree, Minister Xu, during his tenure as Minister of Personnel, was upright and diligent, and made great contributions to the country. He is hereby awarded three hundred taels of gold, one hundred bolts of Shu brocade, a farm, and granted the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. He is permitted to return to his hometown in honor and continue to supervise local officials on my behalf..."

Xu Chongnian knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and said in a trembling voice, "This old minister... thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

He kowtowed three times solemnly before slowly standing up and returning to the queue.

As the court officials watched this scene, some looked on with envy, while others lowered their heads in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, yet no one uttered a sound.

Emperor Da Ning returned to his dragon throne and sat down again, then said, "The position of Minister of Personnel cannot remain vacant for too long. Do any of you ministers have a suitable candidate to recommend?"

After he finished speaking, the court officials fell silent once again.

The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the promotion of officials, and the Minister was known as the Minister of Heaven. In terms of power, he was undoubtedly the head of the Six Ministries.

Whoever can sit in this position will control the lifeline of the promotion and assessment of officials, making it a position that all major political parties in the court must fight for.

At that moment, a censor from the Grand Tutor's faction stepped forward from the ranks of civil officials, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Chen Wenyuan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has served in the Ministry for many years, is familiar with its affairs, has a clean reputation, and is highly qualified. He is the best candidate to succeed the Minister..."

Immediately afterwards, an official who was a follower of the Grand Tutor stepped forward and echoed, "Lord Chen is an honest and upright official who handles matters fairly. Everyone in the Ministry of Personnel respects him. It is the popular choice for him to succeed as Minister..."

"I also believe that Lord Chen is the most suitable."

"I second that proposal!"

……

More and more officials are coming forward to support Chen Wenyuan.

Without exception, they were all disciples and cronies of the Grand Tutor. Although officials from other factions also wanted to compete for this position, they had to admit that Chen Wenyuan was the most suitable candidate in terms of background, seniority, and status.

Chen Wenyuan stood in the line, his head slightly lowered, his face expressionless, but his fist clenched tightly in his sleeve.

All of this was expected. His father-in-law had already made arrangements for nominating him as Minister of Personnel. Today's morning court session was merely a formality.

The Emperor of Da Ning leaned back on his dragon throne, his gaze fixed on Chen Wenyuan, and remained silent for a moment.

Chen Wenyuan is indeed a suitable candidate for the position of Minister of Personnel.

Having worked in the Ministry of Personnel for so many years, he is qualified and experienced enough to be appointed as Minister.

But he also knew what kind of person Chen Wenyuan was: a sycophant, heartless and ungrateful man who, in order to please the Grand Tutor, had ignored even his own son for more than ten years.

If someone like that becomes Minister, the Ministry of Personnel will likely become a one-man show run by the Grand Tutor.

But there was no better option at the moment. The Emperor of Da Ning tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest, glanced at his ministers, and asked, "Do any of you ministers have any objections?"

The court officials remained silent; no one wanted to offend Chen Wenyuan and the Grand Tutor's faction on this matter.

Anyone who dares to oppose us at this time will be punished once Chen Wenyuan becomes the Minister of Personnel.

But at that moment, a strong voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Your Majesty, I have a reason!"

The entire court was stunned as they watched Wu Guojiu emerge from the group of nobles.

Although Wu Guojiu was the emperor's brother-in-law, he rarely appeared in court and was even less involved in the appointment and removal of officials.

His sudden opposition to the appointment of the Minister of Personnel today surprised everyone.

Chen Wenyuan's expression changed for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.

He didn't think he had any grudge against Wu Guojiu. At most, it was because Chen Chang'an smashed up Ruyi Tower last time, and he had to pay five thousand taels of silver in compensation, but that matter had long been settled.

Emperor Da Ning raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Wu Guojiu with interest, and asked, "Oh, does Wu Guojiu have any objections?"

Wu Guojiu straightened up, his gaze sweeping over Chen Wenyuan without hesitation, and said coldly, "Your Majesty, although Minister Chen is qualified, I believe that the Minister of Personnel is a crucial position in the court, responsible for the promotion and evaluation of officials throughout the country. The person appointed must possess both virtue and talent, and have an upright family background. Minister Chen recently drove his eldest son, Chen Chang'an, out of the house, father and son arguing in the street and severing ties, causing a great uproar throughout the city and sparking much discussion among the people. If he can't even resolve such a family matter, how can he be expected to oversee the evaluation and appointment of officials throughout the country?"

He snorted coldly and added, "I have heard that after Lord Chen's wife passed away, he treated his eldest son very harshly, which led to his son running away from home. The position of Minister of Personnel should be filled by a virtuous and capable person. How can such a morally flawed official be entrusted with such an important task?"