First year of Zhengyuan, March, the warmth of spring was palpable.
Tang Xiaobai woke up from her nap and dazedly lay on the couch for a while before slowly getting up.
"Your Majesty visited the Empress after noon," Ah Song reported eagerly.
Tang Xiaobai humd, washed her face with warm water, and absent-mindedly walked out of the sleeping palace.
Upon entering the main hall, Li Mu, who should have been handling state affairs, was nowhere to be seen.
"His Majesty went to the Forbidden Garden," Yu Jun said.
Tang Xiaobai glanced at the imperial desk, where today’s morials were still piled up.
"Is His Majesty in a bad mood?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
Li Mu’s daily schedule was very orderly.
He would rise at dawn, practice martial arts, and then train with the Xuan Yi Guard.
The morning usually involved court sessions, inspections, and audiences, while the afternoon was reserved for reviewing morials.
His Majesty the Emperor was highly efficient, typically finishing the day’s morials during her nap, sparing so for discussion upon her waking only when in doubt.
Thus, this was the first ti Tang Xiaobai saw such incomplete work without waiting for her input.
However, there had indeed been many troubleso issues these days.
The new emperor’s accession left the people’s hearts unsteady.
The Wang and Yan families were demoted, leaving vacancies in the court for a while.
Moreover, the recently defeated Tibet was sending envoys, professing friendship yet potentially probing.
Ruling a great nation is like cooking a small fish.
The sharpness from the ti as Crown Prince was sowhat out of place now.
Tang Xiaobai had seen him troubled a few tis these past days.
However, discussing the emperor’s mood was not for everyone to ntion casually.
"I do not know," Yu Jun responded cautiously but hinted, "It seems His Majesty has only one morial left unfinished."
With only one left, there was indeed a problem.
Tang Xiaobai approached.
The morials were neatly stacked in a corner of the desk; she picked up the top one and opened it.
It was a list presented by the Ministry of Personnel, detailing the new County Magistrates to be appointed this year.
Tang Xiaobai read it through, frowning.
Seeing this, Yu Jun asked, "Is soone being deceitful?"
Tang Xiaobai didn’t speak, reread it thoroughly, and then shook her head: "Not deceit, per se," she paused, "Go fetch Vice Minister of Ministry of Personnel Huangfu Hong!"
Coming from Duke Yan Mansion and now the Empress, she was familiar with high officials and nobles.
At the level of County Magistrate, she recognized very few nas among the dozens on the list, hardly even familiar surnas.
Li Mu likely shared this problem.
He used to manage the military, personally involved in every unit’s training.
The unfamiliarity with County Magistrate candidates, key to county governance, also felt unsettling to Tang Xiaobai.
When Huangfu Hong arrived, Tang Xiaobai handed over the list for him to briefly introduce each one.
There were thirty-seven in total; Huangfu Hong comnted on each.
After listening, Tang Xiaobai smiled: "Is that all?"
Huangfu Hong calmly replied, "This is the Ministry’s annotation. If Your Majesty has doubts, you may have the Ministry review it again—" he slightly raised his eyelids, "However, retrieving ministry docunts requires the Pri Minister’s handwriting and the Chief of Staff’s seal."
"I require the Pri Minister’s handwriting and Chief of Staff’s seal even to review them?" His Majesty the Emperor’s voice ca from outside the hall.
As the voice fell, Tang Xiaobai looked over to see him erging from the steps.
The gold-embroidered Xuan Yi garnt, the dragon motif reflected sunlight, dazzling.
Tang Xiaobai squinted, watching him stride into the palace, brows sharp like blades, eyes cold, intimidating Huangfu Hong, who was confident monts ago, into changing his deanor.
"I dare not," Huangfu Hong quickly bowed and saluted, his attitude imdiately more restrained.
Li Mu cast a cold glance at him: "A quarter of an hour, fetch it personally!"
Huangfu Hong lifted his head as if to protest but shivered upon eting the Emperor’s eyes.
This indeed was an emperor who wouldn’t listen to reason and could kill...
...
Watching Huangfu Hong’s figure fleeing as if for his life, Li Mu snorted coldly, then turned to ask, "What do you want to review?"
"The annotation for the newly selected County Magistrates nationwide," Tang Xiaobai responded sowhat distractedly.
She was observing the Emperor who had just returned.
"I’ve seen it; there’s nothing on it," Li Mu said calmly.
Tang Xiaobai nodded.
She hadn’t intended to review it; soone had simply co seeking a rebuke.
"To grasp the caliber of these magistrates, rely listening to the Ministry is aningless; it is better to test them directly," Tang Xiaobai suggested.
Li Mu’s eyes lit up: "Precisely my thought!"
Whenever they had a shared thought, it particularly thrilled His Majesty the Emperor.
He stepped quickly to sit beside Tang Xiaobai.
"We shall select a hall in the palace, have the magistrates answer on the spot, and personally grade them—"
Tang Xiaobai nodded while leaning against Li Mu and lightly sniffing his shoulder.
"Let Ah Jiao prepare the exam questions!"
Hmm?
Tang Xiaobai focused and pondered for a mont, then nodded in agreent.
The first palace examination for County Magistrates was indeed best overseen personally rather than entrusted to others.
"Today’s weather is nice; would you like to go horseback riding in the Forbidden Garden?" Li Mu asked.
"Didn’t you just go there?" Tang Xiaobai said while touching his jade crown, "And changed your attire after returning?"
He hadn’t worn this crown in the morning.
Li Mu’s eyes flashed with a hint of awkwardness: "I rode a bit in the Forbidden Garden, got all sweaty, and changed."
Tang Xiaobai laughed: "Why go again after you’ve already ridden?"
"To accompany you."
"No need, I still have to think about the exam questions."
"Then I will think with you..."
...
The County Magistrates’ court examination was scheduled three days later, with the Empress posing questions on the spot at Wude Hall and them responding live.
The grading was done by Tang Xiaobai.
The outco was unsatisfactory, to put it mildly; it was downright disastrous!
Of the thirty-seven magistrates, only eight passed.
A pass rate of twenty percent!
Tang Xiaobai was so furious she nearly tore the papers apart.
Li Mu, however, remained composed: "When we traveled from Liangzhou to Yunzhou in past years, though we did not focus on bureaucratic governance, from what we observed, it was evident. Now that we’ve confird the issue with official selection, we can extend court examinations in the future."
"What about this ti? Only eight passed, what happens to the rest?" Tang Xiaobai said, picking out a few more sheets, "These could barely pass as well..."
"Those in doubt can be summoned, but there is no need to force it; better to have fewer but better," Li Mu said.
Tang Xiaobai nodded: "We can broaden the scope and test again; there might be so overlooked by the Ministry."
Li Mu agreed: "Leave this to Pei Yaqing."
Pei Yaqing, as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was generally reliable.
Although no one seed to be specifically sabotaging the magistrate list, it was an entrenched problem.
With that, the matter reached a resolution and plan, but Tang Xiaobai felt sothing amiss, spending her entire nap tossing on the bed without sleeping.
Finally, she thought of soone.
Once this person ca to mind, Tang Xiaobai sprang excitedly from the bed, abandoning her nap, hurried to dress, and dashed to the main hall to tell Li Mu her idea.
However, upon reaching the main hall, Li Mu was not there.
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