Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Fang Zhong'an suddenly noticed that Xu Zheng's brows were slightly furrowed, and his fingers were tracing patterns on the case file, as if he was looking for something.

He walked over, glanced down, and asked, "What? Did you spot a problem?"

Xu Zheng looked up. "Fang Qianxing, this case file says the perpetrator claimed it was an accidental injury while intoxicated, not intentional. But there's no testimony from the liquor store, nor any witnesses from the same party. And you've already ruled it a case of assault and injury?"

Fang Zhong'an took the case file, flipped through it, and smiled. "You've been looking at it very carefully. This is a case that accumulated from the year before last, which wasn't handled properly when Clerk Kong was in charge."

"In the end, nothing came of it. The fact that you could see the missing testimony shows that you didn't memorize the articles in vain. However, in matters of the interrogation room, sometimes you can't just fill in what's missing."

He put the case file back on the table. "Alright, familiarize yourself with it first. Don't rush to nitpick the details. The law is nothing more than human sentiment; you'll understand that in time."

Seeing that he nodded in acceptance, Fang Zhong'an gestured with his chin toward Xu Fang, "Come with me, I'll show you the way to each room. You need to know where each room is."

Xu Fang quickly stood up and followed behind Fang Zhong'an.

As Fang Zhong'an walked down the corridor, he kept talking nonstop. "This is the household registration office, which manages money and grain. You're naturally familiar with Zhang Qianxing; he's in charge of all the details of the household registration office now. Tao Yashi is a meticulous person, so don't be all smiles when you go to the household registration office."

"This is the clerk's office, you just went there. After Clerk Kong was transferred, Clerk Feng can be said to be the most powerful person among the county clerks, you know that."

"This is the barracks. Sun Qianxing is in charge of the archer battalion. The people in the barracks are rough around the edges, but they are loyal. If you address them as 'brother,' they will see that you are polite and won't hold a grudge if you make a mistake or cause any inconvenience."

Xu Fang followed behind, noting everything down, a smile always on his face. "Fang Qianxing, where is the workshop?"

Fang Zhong'an pointed to the end of the corridor, "The three departments of military, criminal justice, and public works are in the west, and the three departments of personnel, household registration, and rites are in the east. Yan, the clerk, also manages the county granary and usually stays in the grain and rations yard. He's easy to talk to, and Liu Da, the storekeeper, is his wife's younger brother."

The two chatted and laughed as they approached the vicinity of the ceremony room. Fang Zhong'an looked over in surprise, then suddenly shut his mouth.

Xu Fang found it strange and followed Fang Zhong'an's gaze. He saw that Zhang Sanlang was talking to someone.

Fang Zhong'an stood at the corner of the corridor, shrank back against the wall, and winked at Xu Fang.

Xu Fang understood, and also took half a step back, imitating him by standing close to the wall.

He didn't recognize the man, but Fang Zhong'an did: the Minister of Rites was in charge of the preliminary investigation.

Zhang Sanlang and Zhou Qianxing stood at the entrance of the ceremony room, several documents scattered on the ground between them, clearly having just fallen. Zhou Quan clutched a document about 1.5 feet long and 1 foot wide in his hand, his expression somewhat unnatural.

"Brother Zhou, there's no need to worry about it." Zhang Sanlang's voice wasn't loud, and it was hard to hear clearly from a dozen steps away, but the corridor was empty, and the words still drifted over. "I've already severed ties with him. He can pass the imperial examination, and I'll take his place."

Zhou Quan sighed, "I was worried you wouldn't feel comfortable. The document was delayed for almost two months before it arrived today. They said someone reported it as fraud, and it was only released after the investigation was completed."

Zhang Sanlang nodded. "I understand Brother Zhou's good intentions."

Zhou Quan sighed again, rolled up the document in his hand, and said, "Zhang Silang is not even seventeen yet, is he? He's so young to have become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations). It's been so many years since Juancheng has produced one like him."

"Sixteen," Zhang Sanlang said with a smirk, "He is indeed a capable man."

Zhou Quan glanced at him. "You...are you really alright?"

"It's nothing." Zhang Sanlang cupped his hands in greeting. "Brother Zhou, are you going to deliver this to Registrar Gu? I'll head back to the household registration office now."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the east corridor.

Fang Zhong'an pressed himself against the wall, barely daring to breathe.

Only after Zhang Sanlang's footsteps had faded into the distance did he peek out from around the corner and glance in Zhou Qianxing's direction.

Zhou Qianxing shook his head at the entrance of the ceremony room, then walked through the signing room towards the main hall.

Fang Zhong'an then straightened up, patted the dust off his sleeves, and his expression changed several times.

Xu Fang stood behind him and asked in a low voice, "Fang Qianxing, what you just said was..."

"Zhang Silang," Fang Zhong'an lowered his voice, "Zhang Qianxing's fourth younger brother, passed the imperial examination. Good heavens, a sixteen-year-old scholar! Zhang Qianxing has severed ties with his family, didn't you know that?"

He paused, then added, "His father kicked out the third branch of the family to support Silang's education. The old house and ancestral land were given to Zhang Qianxing as compensation."

Xu Fang was taken aback. "The marriage is over?"

"It's over." Fang Zhong'an shook his head. "Tell me about the mess this has made. Fourth Brother passed the imperial examination, but the Third Branch was kicked out. How could Zhang Qianxing feel good about that?"

After he finished speaking, he remembered something, quickly covered his mouth, looked around to make sure no one was in the corridor, and said, "Let's go back to the torture chamber first. Don't tell anyone about this. Zhang Qianxing doesn't like to hear about it."

Xu Fang responded and followed behind Fang Zhong'an. After taking two steps, he turned back to look in the direction of the ceremony room.

When the two returned to the torture chamber, Zhang Sanlang also returned to the household ward.

Although he was organizing the household registration documents as usual, the document he had just seen clearly flashed through his mind:

Puzhou Examination Results Announcement

The Puyang Prefecture Military and Administrative Office issued a decree to Juancheng County.

The imperial edict was approved: all prefectures shall conduct examinations, select candidates according to their quotas, and submit their applications to the provincial examination.

The imperial edict was approved and implemented in this prefecture. In August of the fourth year of the Taiping Xingguo era, the examination was held at the prefectural school. A total of 342 candidates took the exam, and seven were selected as the final candidates and sent to the Ministry of Rites. Due to complaints and objections, and in accordance with the imperial edict for review, the report was delayed.

In accordance with the imperial edict, a review and clarification have been conducted, and the following are the qualified candidates:

……

Sixth place: Zhang Shouzhi, from Fangguo Village, Juancheng County, Puzhou, was a scholar who practiced poetry and prose. His father, Shiqing, was a Confucian scholar.

Examiner:

Prefect Wang Shouzheng, Senior Official of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices

Prefect Chen Zhongju, Xuanyi Lang

Sun Mingyuan, Professor of State University

The applicant is qualified; this application is hereby approved.

December 5th, the fourth year of the Taiping Xingguo era

State Prefectural Clerk

Zhang Shouzhi passed the imperial examination!

This was something Zhang Sanlang never expected.

Passing the imperial examination at twenty or thirty is considered a young achievement, so Zhang Shouzhi's success at such a young age is truly unexpected.

The news spread even faster than Zhang Sanlang had anticipated.

Before it was time to finish his shift, Tao Cheng came out from the inner room, holding a teacup in his hand.

He walked up to Zhang Sanlang's desk. "You understand?"

Zhang Sanlang looked up and said, "Understood."

Tao Cheng nodded. "The proclamation has been circulated to all departments, and I just saw it myself. A sixteen-year-old who has passed the imperial examination—it's been so many years since Juancheng has produced one. This brings some honor to the local area."

Zhang Sanlang did not respond.

Tao Cheng said this, but there was no smile on his face. "It's just passing the preliminary exam; becoming a Jinshi is another matter entirely. The household affairs are still counting on you, so don't get distracted by such trivial matters."

Without waiting for Zhang Sanlang to reply, he turned and went back into the inner room.

Wang Tiesi peeked out from behind the pile of case files, glanced at Zhang Sanlang's expression, and then withdrew his head again.

Liao Tiesi moved the abacus beads a little too fast, but the sound was somewhat scattered.

Zhang Sanlang remained silent, stood up to make tea, and passed by the official's office with the door open.

Feng Jian's voice came from inside, "It's a blessing for the Zhang family to have produced a scholar. What does it have to do with our office? Everyone should do their job and stop gossiping."