Harem Daily Life

Chapter 610: The people with connections are trembling

He Linzhang stopped, and the two of them stood under the osmanthus tree. He Linzhang helped her tidy up her hair that was messed up by the wind.

"It's time for a cleanup. I'm thinking that this year, their assessment will be jointly conducted by the six ministries. Only those who are excellent will be retained. Those who are not will all be sent home."

Since we have made up our minds to deal with these people, we must be ruthless and never give up.

Tao Yanyan didn't understand these things, but he thought in his heart that every policy has its countermeasures, and even if it was evaluated by six departments, they might still cover up for each other and give high scores.

The two of them didn't continue the conversation. Seeing the osmanthus flowers in full bloom, Tao Yanyan called Caiyun and the others over to shake off some flowers and dry them for making osmanthus honey.

Several palace maids were quite interested and soon picked all the osmanthus flowers in Changle Palace.

The two twin boys and girls, who had been basking in the sun, kicked their legs excitedly as they watched the osmanthus flowers falling like rain, making babbling sounds and roaring from time to time to express their love for watching.

He Linzhang held Yunuo and teased her. Yunuo drooled and blew bubbles out.

Yu Cheng is a little more obedient and doesn’t spit bubbles, but he likes to suck his fingers, and his chubby little fists are covered with his saliva.

"Oh, Dad, oh, Dad." Yunuo made a soft little voice, which melted He Linzhang's heart.

"Nuo'er, do you want to talk to your father? Come, call your father." He Linzhang looked at the little Yunuo in his arms with anticipation.

Tao Yanyan watched the interaction between the father and daughter, then looked at little Yucheng who was lying on the side sucking his fingers, his eyes full of satisfaction.

The thought that she had been in this world for almost five years and now had a son and a daughter was a wonderful feeling. She couldn't help but pinch her thigh, worried that all this was just a dream.

He Linzhang took care of the child for three days and finally went to court. The first thing to do was to assess the officials.

This year, five other departments were added to participate in the scoring, and assessments were conducted based on various aspects such as daily political achievements, capabilities, work efficiency, and work results. The final results were given half a month.

On this day, Tao Yanyan was taking care of the children in the backyard when she heard Chang Tai come to report that Madam Tao had handed in a sign and entered the palace to ask to see the Queen.

Thinking that Gu Ning was about to give birth, Tao Yanyan was worried about his mother because of Gu Ning, so he arranged for his mother to enter the palace in the afternoon.

Mrs. Tao arrived quite quickly, bringing homemade glutinous rice and lotus root, as well as a few pairs of small shoes for the twins.

"Why does my mother spend so much effort to make these shoes? Her eyes are tired." Tao Yanyan thought the small shoes were very cute and the embroidery patterns were very delicate, but she was also worried that her mother's eyes could not bear it, so she said with heartache.

"It's just a few pairs of shoes, nothing serious. I don't have much to do at home on weekdays, so I embroidered a few more pairs. I came to the palace today to tell you that Imperial Physician Liu has agreed to go to the mansion to take care of Gu Ning during her delivery, so you don't have to worry. Also, there's one more thing your father asked me to tell you."

Mrs. Tao finished her speech, took a sip of tea, and then continued, "This year, a new batch of children from prominent families are being offered official positions. Although they aren't important positions, compared to the imperial examinations, they are a shortcut to officialdom. So, quite a few families have come to our house inquiring. Your father is very worried, as no one has agreed, but we must inform you of this matter first."

Tao Yanyan listened attentively and asked, "Logically, father is in charge of the Ministry of Works and wouldn't be involved in selecting officials for the Ministry of Personnel. Asking father for help wouldn't be of much use, right?"

Madam Tao nodded. "That's right, that's why your father didn't agree to anything. They probably thought we were close to the Ningyuan Marquisate, and you were the Queen. Add to that the recent calls for a crown prince, and the Fourth Prince was the most popular, so they came to our family."

Tao Yanyan comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. Father is an upright official. Just focus on your own affairs and don't pay any attention to them."

Madam Tao nodded. "I heard that this year's assessment of these officials is jointly graded by the six ministries. There are so many people trying to find connections now that the six ministers' homes are almost full of gifts."

It was human nature to use connections to gain backdoors, and Tao Yanyan could understand that. However, if this were the case, He Linzhang's original intention in selecting officials would be greatly compromised, and in the end, it would just be a formality, a show.

After seeing Madam Tao off, Tao Yanyan pondered for the entire afternoon. That evening, while waiting for He Linzhang to arrive, she briefly recounted what her mother had said the previous day: "...Your Majesty, I'm thinking that since we're all officials, whether you came in through a formal examination or through your father's connections, we should all be assessed according to the same requirements when we reach this position. Don't you agree?"

He Linzhang nodded with a smile and motioned for the little queen to continue.

Tao Yanyan continued, "Since the requirements and assessments are the same, then we should treat everyone equally. Let's have an on-the-job exam, and no one should take advantage of loopholes."

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows: "On-the-job exam? How do you take it?"

Tao Yanyan took out what he had written that afternoon and handed it to him. "Your Majesty, please read this. It's divided into a written test and regular performance evaluation. The written test is a real test of the official's code of conduct and behavioral norms. Your Majesty will decide the specific test content. Regular performance evaluation is a test of your ability to handle affairs, and will be graded by your superiors. If you show favoritism or cover-up, your superiors will be investigated and punished as well."

He Linzhang seemed to agree with what he heard, but a question came to his mind: "These officials who have been granted imperial positions certainly don't have the same high scores as those who were admitted through the imperial examinations. What if the score gap is huge and we remove all of them, what will happen if the other families come looking for connections? You don't know, these people have complicated ties to the royal family. Some are relatives of the old concubines, some are distant relatives of the late emperor. In short, the relationships are all varied and they are all related."

If we don't use this connection to help them, people will think that the royal family is heartless. They are relatives, but they are unwilling to help with such a small favor. If we use this connection to help them, they will be useless and will just occupy positions but do nothing.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Passing the assessment will give them a chance to improve their skills and enhance their professional abilities, which is good. On the other hand, it will also serve as a warning to them, telling them not to just muddle through. Moreover, after the scores are released, some high and some low, Your Majesty will know which ones are suitable for use and which ones are truly unsuitable. More importantly, Your Majesty can also grant them a favor."

He Linzhang looked at her curiously: "What grace?"

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please call over those who performed poorly on the exam, along with their fathers and grandfathers. You can gather them together and tell them that you are deeply saddened by their unsatisfactory exam results. However, for the sake of their families, you will give them a chance to retake the exam. If they can catch up in the retake, they will be retained. If not, they will be transferred to other positions and given other opportunities."

He Linzhang understood what he meant: "This other place is naturally not a place where you can just mess around. If you can't make it, just resign. If you can make it, just bear with it yourself."

Tao Yanyan smiled and nodded, holding his face and kissing him: "Your Majesty is really smart, that's it."

Hehe, those with connections should be trembling with fear.