Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch.18 - Guests

In the third month, old Madam Cheng's yard was full of people as usual. Qingfu was sitting at the small tea table, holding Cheng Enbao. Cheng Enbao was a four-year-old boy, but he was still being hugged all day long, too lazy to walk.

Ruan-shi was not as calm as Qingfu. She stood beside old Madam Cheng, constantly squeezing her handkerchief, and seemed to be a little uneasy. After a while, a servant boy finally ran in and kowtowed from beyond the threshold: "This small one pays respect to the old madam! To madams, to young master, to young miss."

Ruan-shi eyes lighted up suddenly. Even Qingfu also raised her head. Old Madam Cheng was the oldest and had the best disposition. Seemingly unstirred, she asked: "Does the ninth master's official notification come down? What did the announcing people say?"

"Great joy. The ninth master was granted the office at the Ministry of Public Work, as the Director of the Bureau of Forestry and Hunting."

The womenfolk exclaimed, "Ah." But the thing Ruan-shi most concerned about wasn't this, since she didn't understand the long names of official positions. The only thing she knew was: "What rank is he?"

"Standard fifth rank."

"Standard fifth rank." Ruan-shi murmured, her mood was a bit complicated. On the one hand, she was happy seeing Cheng Yuanjing appointed only the standard fifth rank. He got an official's position, but his rank lowered. But on the other hand, she was a bit worried about the Cheng family. After all, Cheng Yuanjing was the man with the highest official position in the manor and also the one with the best future prospect. If he couldn't climb up, then Yichun marquis manor would only decline more and more.

No one else in the room had spoken, but undoubtedly, Ruan-shi's muttering had conveyed everyone's thought. Cheng Min persuaded old Madam Cheng to spend some money on Cheng Yuanjing's career. Both the old Madam and her eldest son was reluctant, but knew that Cheng Min was right. Old Madam Cheng planned to use this matter as a handle, to let this shu son knew his position: even after becoming an official, he couldn't get rid of his legal mother's control. As a result, old Madam Cheng still didn't have a chance to put on the air, but Cheng Yuanjing's official order had been issued.

Standard fifth rank, moreover it was only the Ministry of Public Work. This official position made Old Madam Cheng a little disappointed, but also secretly joyful. This position couldn't be said to be not high, but just as everyone imagined, it was far away from the orthodox path of entering the cabinet via the Hanlin Academy.

The road towards officialdom was very orderly. The really smooth career path was to become a jinshi, entered Hanlin, then endured a few years of hardship. After that, being sent outside the capital to become a prefectural magistrate. After two appointments, transferred back to the capital to enter the six ministries. Those who could enter the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Personnel were the default future cabinet members. After another seven or eight years in the six ministries, steadily getting promoted into assistant minister before finally, a head minister. If there were no major mistakes during the tenure, he could enter the cabinet and become a cabinet minister.

This was the most ideal career path for aspiring scholars in the country. If one couldn't even get the erjia, they might as well not participate in the exam, since their career in the second half of life was destined to be mediocre at best. If the first assignment after getting the jinshi wasn't good and they didn't enter the Hanlin, their future promotion would also be limited.

Cheng Yuanjing was directly sent to an outside post right after passing the palace test. He was indeed starting high and walking low. No wonder Chang duke manor felt that the Cheng family couldn't manage their affair properly and delayed the future of their own descendants. Now it wasn't easy for Cheng Yuanjing to be transferred back to the capital, everyone was waiting for him to be admitted to such a prestigious place like the Official Historian. As a result, he went to the Ministry of Public Work.