These days, Li Si's performance really exceeded Li Mu's expectations.
Back in the North County, with Chen Miaomiao by his side, it was understandable that Li Si restrained himself.
But this was the Divine Capital, thousands of miles away from the North County. Chen Miaomiao was far away on Baiyun Mountain. Li Si didn't hang around brothels or hook up with girls.
After all, he had lost his Primordial Yang long ago. Even if he really messed around in the Divine Capital, Chen Miaomiao wouldn't find out.
But he didn't. He locked himself in his room all day to prepare for the exam. If he didn't have to go to the Ministry of Justice to check his identity today, he might not even leave the inn.
When he indulged himself, Li Mu was shocked.
When he restrained himself, Li Mu was shocked.
On the way to the Ministry of Justice, Li Si asked, "How's your friend?"
Li Mu asked, "Which friend?"
As soon as he said this, he remembered who Li Si was talking about.
Li Mu said, "You're right. He and that girl have reconciled, but it's not like what you said. There's just a small misunderstanding between them. It'll be fine after they explain it clearly."
Li Si raised his eyebrows. "It's not like that?"
Li Mu said, "Between a man and a woman, besides love, there's also friendship. It's not necessarily like what you said."
Li Si asked, "Is she beautiful?"
Li Mu nodded. "Yes."
In all fairness, the Empress's appearance was at least in the top ten of the Divine Capital's 100 beauties. Whether she wore a dragon robe or ordinary clothes, she was beautiful.
Li Si asked again, "Is your friend handsome?"
Li Mu said, "He's as handsome as me."
Li Si looked at him meaningfully but didn't say anything. Li Mu looked up and said, "We've arrived at the Ministry of Justice."
Even though the 36 counties had already investigated the identities of the candidates, the imperial court still had to investigate again in order to prevent people with ulterior motives from mixing in.
A long queue had already formed at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice. They were all the examinees who were here for the identity verification today.
Among them, Li Mu saw many wearing the uniforms of the three academies.
Although the imperial court no longer chose officials directly from the students of the Academy, the students of the Academy still had a lot of privileges in the imperial examinations. Any student of the Academy could directly participate in the imperial examinations without being nominated by the local government.
The Academy had a history of a hundred years and had contributed far more to the Great Zhou than to the destruction. It was unrealistic to directly exclude the Academy from the Imperial Examination.
In fact, although the imperial court had introduced the imperial examination, it still could not change the special status of the Academy.
The students who had been taught in the Academy for a few years were far superior to the local talents in terms of character and talent in all aspects.
In order to completely change the Academy's domination of the imperial court, they had to strengthen the local basic education. This was not something that could be changed overnight. Of course, the Academy was also aware of this. Therefore, when the Empress almost arbitrarily carried out the imperial examination, there was not much resistance from the Academy.
Whether it was changed or not, it did not have a big impact on the Academy.
Although Li Mu had acquaintances in the Ministry of Justice, he did not openly seek special treatment. He stood at the back of the queue with Li Si.
However, when he stood in the queue, a few students in front of him who were wearing the Academy's uniforms did not even line up. They moved far away and looked at him in horror.
The scene of Li Mu grabbing people at the entrance of the three academies with a metal chain in his hand was still engraved in their minds.
They were really worried that Li Mu would suddenly conjure a metal chain in his hand and directly put it around their necks.
In the three academies, Li Mu's name was taboo.
The bailiffs of the Ministry of Justice quickly noticed the abnormality here. They thought that someone was causing trouble. Immediately, two bailiffs came over. When they saw Li Mu, they were shocked and quickly invited him into the Ministry of Justice.
Li Mu was here to check his identity this time, not to cause trouble. However, it was obvious that his presence here would affect the normal order of the examination. He had no choice but to walk into the Ministry of Justice with Li Si.
The examination this time was supervised by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Clan Temple.
In the front yard of the Ministry of Justice stood several officials from different offices. It was obvious that the imperial court attached great importance to the imperial examination.
Zhou Zhong walked over slowly and asked, "Lord Li, what brings you to the Ministry of Justice today?"
Li Mu said, "To participate in the identity examination."
Zhou Zhong asked, "Lord Li wants to participate in the imperial examination?"
Li Mu glanced at him and asked, "Can't I?"
The officials then realized that although Li Mu had caused a lot of trouble in the Divine Capital, he was not an official of the imperial court from the academy. He was only a bailiff and an imperial censor, but he was already able to cause a lot of trouble in the imperial court. If he passed the imperial examination and had an official identity, what would happen?
"Yes." Zhou Zhong nodded and said, "Lord Li, you don't have to be examined anymore."
Li Mu shook his head and said, "There are no exceptions before the imperial examination. Lord Zhou, just treat me as an ordinary examinee."
Zhou Zhong did not say anything else. He brought Li Mu to a government office. In the office, an official from the Ministry of Justice was sitting and questioning a young man.
"Name."
"Chen Liang."
"Place of birth."
"Jiangyin County, Jiangcheng County."
"Who recommended you?"
"The county magistrate of Jiangcheng."
…
There was a small bell on the table in front of the young man. It should be a Dharma instrument used to detect lies. If he lied and caused the instrument to respond, it would be difficult for him to walk out of the Ministry of Justice today.
After the young man walked out, the official from the Ministry of Justice said, "Next."
Another examinee was about to enter but was stopped by Zhou Zhong. He was unhappy and looked sideways. Then he immediately retracted his head and took a step back to make room.
Li Mu walked in under Zhou Zhong's signal and placed the examination papers on the table.
The official from the Ministry of Justice did not even raise his head and asked, "Name?"
"Li Mu."
"Place of birth?"
"North County, Yangqiu County."
"Who recommended you?"
"Your Majesty."
"Who?"
…
The official from the Ministry of Justice raised his head. The people recommended by the local people were usually the county magistrate or governor. He did not know who the emperor was. When he raised his head to confirm, he saw Li Mu and was stunned for a moment. He immediately stood up and said, "Lord, Lord Li …"
"That's enough." Zhou Zhong looked at the official and said, "Write me down as the recommended person."
This kind of examination was just a formality. It was difficult to detect people with ulterior motives through the Dharma instrument. After the imperial examinations ended, those who passed would be examined in more detail.
After Li Mu, Li Si passed the examination quickly.
When the two of them walked back to the courtyard, an official hurried in and said to Zhou Zhong and the others, "Sorry, I'm late …"
The assistant minister looked at him and frowned. "The imperial examinations are the most important thing in the imperial court. How can you be so careless?"
"Sorry, sorry, cough cough …" The official said apologetically. Suddenly, he covered his mouth and coughed. There was blood coming out of his mouth.
The officials were shocked and quickly asked, "Lord Liu, what's wrong?"
The official waved his hand and said, "Something went wrong with my cultivation last night and I suffered internal injuries. It's nothing, nothing …"
One of the officials said, "Lord Liu, why don't you return to your residence and rest? With us here, nothing will happen. Lord Liu, take care of your body is more important …"
The official shook his head and said, "The imperial examinations are the most important thing in the imperial court. How can I leave my post without permission? It's just a small injury. It's nothing."
Li Mu already knew the identity of this person. He was the new assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. Last time, when Li Mu was framed, this person was the one who benefited the most.
When the Ministry of Rites was short of manpower and was facing the imperial examinations, they urgently needed officials to preside over them. He, who had just been transferred to the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. This saved him at least ten years of struggle.
Seeing him vomit blood, there were still officials who asked uncertainly, "Lord Liu, are you really okay?"
Liu Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "I'm fine."
When the crowd saw this, they could not help but respect him.
Before today, when they mentioned this assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, they only thought that he was lucky to climb to his current position.
Now, it seemed that this person was so ruthless to himself that it was no coincidence that he was able to climb to his current position.
This was also the first time Li Mu had seen such a ruthless person. He couldn't help but take a few more glances. He realized that, besides being ruthless to himself, this assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites was also rather handsome.
Although he was not as bewitching as Cui Ming, he could definitely be considered a handsome man, comparable to several Zhang Chuns.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites also noticed him. He clasped his hands and said, "This must be Lord Li Mu. My apologies, my apologies …"
Li Mu clasped his hands and said, "Lord Liu has truly worked hard for the imperial court …"
Liu Qing chuckled and said, "This official is only doing what is required of me. I can't compare to Lord Li's contributions to the imperial court …"
As the two exchanged a few words of praise, they suddenly heard quarreling from the side.
"Why can't I take the examination? Give it back to me!"
"Go, go, go. Don't delay the others here …"
… …
Li Mu turned his head and saw a familiar figure. Wei Peng was being pushed out by two officials from the Ministry of Justice. His face was red as he argued with them about something.
Li Mu quickly understood the reason.
If Wei Peng had come to the Ministry of Justice to examine his qualifications for the imperial examination, there was a very high chance that he would not pass.
His father, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue, Wei Teng, had just been removed from his post by the empress. According to the rules, the first three generations of the Wei clan could not participate in the imperial examination.
Wei Peng was currently the son of a guilty official, so he naturally could not pass the examination of the Ministry of Justice.
Zhou Zhong walked over and glanced at Wei Peng. He asked the official from the Ministry of Justice, "What's going on?"
The official bowed and said, "Lord Liu, this person is the son of a guilty official. According to the law, he cannot participate in the imperial examination …"
Zhou Zhong said, "The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue was convicted after he received the examination. The Ministry of Justice's examination is only for those with bad intentions. Since he received the examination, he has the qualifications to participate in the imperial examination. The Ministry of Justice has no right to take away his right to participate."
Since the assistant minister had already spoken, the official from the Ministry of Justice did not dare to say more. He obediently returned the examination to Wei Peng.
Wei Peng took the examination and bowed to Zhou Zhong. "Thank you, Lord Liu."
Zhou Zhong indifferently glanced at him and said, "I am acting according to the law …"
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