"Go back first!" Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcism Department, ordered the guard.
"As you command, my lord." The guard respectfully excused himself.
After the guards left, Luo Chuan picked up a document on the table and began to browse it casually.
The first thing he saw was Ma Qin's ink scroll.
Ma Qin answered 60% of the questions on the ink scroll correctly, 30% wrongly, and 10% was blank.
The feedback Princess Zhaoning wrote on the ink scroll was also very simple.
There is only one word - "read".
Luochuan smiled slightly.
This was completely within his expectation.
Luochuan knew the character of Princess Zhaoning Xiao Wanjun very well and knew that she was a capable and neat person.
She would never waste another second on anything that didn't deserve her attention.
Then Luo Chuan put Ma Qin's answer sheet aside and began to read Gu Xu's answer sheet.
I saw that his neat and clear handwriting filled every question, which was almost the same as the standard answer, and there was no flaw at all.
Even the most uncommon and difficult test questions, Gu Xu answered them in detail.
Luo Chuan knew that the only way to get this question paper to Gu Xu's level was to know the thousands of volumes of books by heart.
If he hadn't been proficient in the art of heavenly secrets, he might have suspected that Gu Xu had brought answers into the examination room.
Luo Chuan smiled and turned the test paper to the back.
Princess Zhaoning’s feedback was still very concise, with only one sentence——
"There is still a long history missing in this palace. May I ask, Lord Chief Secretary, if you are willing to endure the pain and part ways with me?"
"This girl Wanjun actually wants to come and steal the people from our exorcism department?" Luo Chuan shook his head slightly and said to himself.
The long history is in charge of the government orders of the feudal prince or princess, assisting the ministers to correct the faults of the feudal prince or princess, and commanding the government officials to perform their duties.
It can be understood as the secretary-general or chief steward of the feudal prince's or princess's palace.
As the saying goes, "There are seven officials in front of the prime minister's door."
Since Princess Zhaoning held real power in the court, her power was at its peak at this time.
Although the long history of her family is not of high rank, his status in the eyes of everyone is almost like that of a real and anonymous prime minister.
Although I don’t know why Princess Zhaoning became so interested in Gu Xu after just seeing an ink scroll...
But if Gu Xu is not a cultivator of the Exorcism Department, but follows the secular development path, then becoming the Princess Palace Chief Shi will be a step to the sky for him.
"Xiaojin, you go to the princess mansion later and convey my answer to Her Royal Highness Princess Zhaoning - 'No'." Luo Chuan turned his head and ordered Shangguan Jin beside him.
"Yes." Shangguan Jin agreed immediately.
"Also, regarding Gu Xu's performance in this assessment, please be sure to keep it secret, especially not let the Imperial Master know," Luo Chuan continued, "The Imperial Master has recently been struggling to find a person with good qualifications who can inherit his A disciple of Fu Dao. If he finds out that our Exorcism Department has a genius of Fu Dao, he will definitely try his best to rob him.
"But since Gu Xu has joined our exorcism department, he will be a member of our exorcism department for the rest of his life. I will not allow outsiders to take him away casually."
Shangguan Jin nodded repeatedly.
She was used to seeing the chief minister's usual calm behavior.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, he would go out of his way and show such importance to the young man named Gu Xu!
This made Shangguan Jin become more and more curious about Gu Xu.
"I really want to meet that little genius from Yishui County as soon as possible!" She thought to herself.
…………
Yishui County, Exorcism Department Yamen.
Today, Shi Xiaohan still didn't take the mission.
She sat alone on the railing of the corridor in the backyard of the Yamen, her legs swaying in the autumn wind, her bright almond-shaped eyes staring at the ground in a daze, and she was so bored that she started to count the ants on the ground.
"...One, two, three, four...ten...twenty...it's been so long, why hasn't that guy Gu Xu come out...twenty-five...thirty... …”
During this period, many onlookers came to her, greeted her warmly, and wanted to chat with her.
But Shi Xiaohan's attitude had always been cold and he ignored them.
Because she knew that the reason why these people were so courteous to her was entirely because of her family background, and because of her father, who was the fifth-rank official of Qianhu in Laizhou Prefecture.
However, deep down in Shi Xiaohan's heart, there has always been a kind of innocent girl's pretentiousness.
She hopes that those who want to be friends with her are not attracted by her family background, wealth or appearance, but are spiritually like-minded.
"I wonder how Gu Xu performed in today's assessment..." She thought silently in her heart.
Although she has always had great confidence in Gu Xu, Gu Xu's competitor has ten years of experience in slaying demons after all - in terms of actual combat, it may be difficult for Gu Xu to take advantage.
At this moment, a flood of noise suddenly broke out from the crowd not far away.
"They're out!"
Hearing this voice, Shi Xiaohan immediately jumped up, then passed through the bustling crowd and tried his best to squeeze towards the Yamen lobby.
"Give in, give in!" she shouted over and over again.
The crowd is just too dense.
Officials from the capital, officials from the county government next door, and officials from the Yishui Exorcism Department were all crowded into this small courtyard.
This caused the hairpin on Shi Xiaohan's head to accidentally fall to the ground amid repeated bumps.
But she didn't realize it.
At this time, she finally saw Gu Xu walking out of the Yamen lobby.
I saw that the young man's clothes were fluttering and his grace was graceful, just like an orchid or a jade tree.
Even under the spotlight, he still had a calm smile and quiet eyes.
The early sun is rising slowly.
Golden rays of light fell on him, illuminating his fair and handsome face.
At this moment, he took over the entire scene.
"Well, it would be great if I could grow a little taller..." Among the crowd, Shi Xiaohan thought to himself rather depressedly.
Because he was not tall enough, even if Shi Xiaohan tried to stand on tiptoes, he could not get over the crowd in front and see the scene completely.
As a second-level monk who is known far and wide for the "Ruthless Ghost-Slaying Sword", which can cut ghosts like vegetables, she actually felt a strong sense of powerlessness in her heart.
At the same time, Gu Xu's die-hard fan Wang Yang climbed directly to the stone pier in the yard and shouted to Gu Xu: "Brother Gu, what's the result?"
Gu Xu smiled calmly and said, "Master Chu asked me to wait for a moment."
"With Brother Gu's astonishing cultivation talent, promotion to an official position is a sure thing. You are waiting for you to treat us all to dinner tonight!" someone else shouted.
The corners of Gu Xu's mouth raised, but he didn't respond.
At this time, he turned his head and caught a glimpse of Shi Xiaohan, who was trying to tiptoe among the crowd——
The petite girl, with slightly messy hair and bright eyes, was raising her head expectantly, like a fledgling with fluffy feathers waiting to be fed.
"Oh, this idiot didn't notice that the hairpin on his head fell off." Gu Xu shook his head gently and complained silently.
Then he walked straight towards where Shi Xiaohan was.
The crowd dispersed to both sides to make way for him.
He bent down, picked up the fallen hairpin from the ground, and wiped away the dust with a handkerchief.
"Don't move," he said softly.
"Yeah." Shi Xiaohan stood still, motionless, his eyes completely focused on him.
He carefully inserted the hairpin into her bun.
Her long black hair exudes a light fragrance.
"Okay," he said with a faint smile on his face, "you take care of my headscarf, and I'll put on your hairpins. We're even, no one owes the other."
"No, you still owe me several meals!" Shi Xiaohan frowned slightly.
It was as if he had transformed from a cute little bird into a ferocious little beast.
"I will pay you back, I will pay you back."
