no progress whatsoever.Now Li Chen suddenly brought a glimmer of hope, Jin Xueyuan's first reaction was not surprise, but suspicion.It wasn't much, it came a little too lightly."Really" Jin Xueyuan a...Chapter 168: The Donghua Prison

That day after being struck by Li Chen, although it's been until now, Hou Yushou still doesn't know who Li Chen really is.

Su Jinpa's words echoed in Hou Yushu's ears. He knew that if he wanted to defeat the mysterious Li Chen and gain Su Jinpa's approval, he had to enter the palace examination.

This was his grand ambition. With the recommendation of Master Jing, a literary giant, as long as he gained the support of Duan Jinjiang, his career would surely soar to new heights. Then, he would have the chance to be close to Su Jinpa's grace...

Thinking of this, Hou Yushu's eyes were filled with flames and ambition.

"Not bad."

Seeing Hou Yushu's performance, Duan J Jiang stroked his beard and said: "Young man, ambition is a good thing. Without ambition, even if you enter the officialdom, you will inevitably not go far. This old man promises you that as long as you can pass the imperial examination and rank in the top ten, gaining eligibility for the palace examination, this old man will grant you a position within the top three. Such a starting point is high enough, and you won't have to endure hardship in remote and desolate places, slowly accumulating experience over time. Your starting point would be much higher than others."

Hou Yushou was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Lord Duan, for your cultivation. Yushou will never forget it!"

Duan Jinchang chuckled softly and said, "Let's get down to business. Time for dinner."

Soon, a table laden with an extravagant and luxurious feast of dishes arrived like a continuous stream.

On the large table, there were more than thirty dishes already laid out, and over thirty more were waiting to be served once there was room.

Du Jianjiang sat serenely on the chair. On either side of him was a young maid, each in their early twenties, holding bowls, chopsticks, and handkerchiefs to attend to him. Whenever Du Jianjiang's eyes fell upon a dish, they would pick it up and feed it into his mouth. Throughout the entire process, Du Jianjiang didn't move a hand except for opening his mouth and chewing.

Such a formidable lineup left Hou Yushu speechless in awe.

He was also seeing for the first time how beautiful power could be.

"Just scared by this" Duan Jinjiang said leisurely, glancing at Hou Yushu. "There's much more you don't know, haven't seen."

How is the emperor As the Son of Heaven, you are the most esteemed person in the world, aren't you

Duan Jinchang chuckled and said, "But Your Majesty's meals are not for festivals or celebrations. Even on ordinary days, there are only twenty-nine dishes of meat and vegetarian fare. But as for me, I have a full sixty courses."

"My favorite two dishes are chicken tips and .... The name is ordinary, but the ingredients are not simple. It uses a one-year-old young chicken, only taking a small piece like a clove of thyme from the tongue, discarding the rest of the bones and meat. Even with a hundred chickens, you would only get such a small dish."

“There is one more dish, which I call Emerald Red. It is taken from a small strip of meat along the spine of a young deer's back. A deer weighs over a hundred catties, but only this two ounces of the finest meat is used. The flesh is bright red and cooked in clear broth, it is the most tender in the world.”

Looking at Hou Yushu's astonished expression, Duan Jinjiang chuckled lightly: "Why does everyone want to be an official Why does everyone love being an official This emperor, with his heart set on the world, wants to manage the country well. Because if he doesn't manage it well, the country will be lost, and the society will collapse. But being an official is different. One can live more luxuriously than the emperor, as long as one makes the emperor feel that they are a useful minister, then they can sleep soundly."

Duan Jinjiang was in the middle of a lively discussion when the butler rushed over, whispering something urgently in his ear.

Whoosh!

Duan Jinchang suddenly stood up. His face was pale and grim, a stark contrast to the arrogance and joy he had displayed just moments ago.

"You're saying that! Really! Chang Mian, really taken to the Dongchang Imperial Jail!"ng, "Actually, we can now try to look at this problem from the prince's perspective.""Zhao Heshan, though holding the official title of Minister of Finance for Xishan Province, was nothing more than a...