Chapter 2442: Chapter 33: Yao Po’s Assignment Outside the Capital

After Shu Yu was married, Yao Po stayed on at Zhenglu Academy, studying under the two teachers.

And it was true: the parts that had once been obscure and hard to understand, after the two teachers’ guidance, took on a different light. It was as if his mind had suddenly opened up, and he found a new way of learning.

He remained in Dongan Province for half a year, then, six months later, returned to the Imperial College in the capital with his wife and child to continue his studies.

From then on, his progress in learning advanced by leaps and bounds.

Two years ago he sat for the Imperial Examination and won the title of scholarly examination in one stroke. Then he pressed on, and in last year’s Imperial Examination he took second scorer, and finally, in the palace examination he became a second-rank Advanced Scholar.

Given Yao Po’s background, with Yao Tianqin helping to pull some strings, it would have been no problem at all for him to stay in the capital and be assigned a good post.

But both Yao Tianqin and Yao Po are straightforward, down-to-earth men who keep their heads down and work hard.

Yao Po himself wanted to do some solid work, and the capital is a great dye vat; with the knowledge and ability he has now, it’s uncertain not only whether he could rise, but even whether he could preserve his integrity.

He wanted to wait until he had accumulated experience, gained some seasoning and hands-on governance, and then come back.

Yao Tianqin supported him, and even wrote to ask Meng Yunzheng’s opinion. Meng Yunzheng thought it was very good—since ancient times, those who reach high office have mostly gone out to serve elsewhere, step by step letting their achievements speak for them.

So Yao Po was transferred to serve as the county magistrate of a certain county town in the southeast.

As his wife, Ms. Kang, and his son Mumu naturally went with him.

Yao Tianqin and Madam Yao have only this one son; once the three of them left, the house suddenly felt much emptier.

Especially with Mumu still so young, Madam Yao truly could not bear to part with him.

If she didn’t know that, at his age, staying with his parents would be better for him, Madam Yao would really have wanted to keep him by her side—after all, she had nothing much to do at home.

Fortunately, Yao Po promised that at most every two years Ms. Kang would bring the child back for a visit, to see the two elders and stay for a while, so that when the boy grew up he wouldn’t fail to recognize them.

Only then did Madam Yao feel somewhat comforted, and now, seeing these two little ones, she was overjoyed.

She said to Shu Yu, "I get on quite well with your Aunt Fang nowadays. Her family lives on the third street behind us, but it’s a pity they’ve gone back to their hometown for a while. They say now that the children are grown, traveling is no longer a problem, and since their days are better, they want to go back and repair the ancestral graves. It’s said that when their whole family was framed and exiled back then, the ancestral tombs were destroyed along with them. Last time Ma Lu went to help the Fang Family overturn the case, he did have people do some simple repairs. But you know, Ma Lu was badly wounded at the time, and what he could do was limited, so it’s been put off until now."

Ma Lu has been working with Qi Lie, and over these four years he has already become Qi Lie’s right-hand man.

He throws himself into his work; if Lord Cheng hadn’t already had confidants like Cheng Xian by his side back then, Ma Lu would certainly have made a name for himself before Lord Cheng very quickly.

Now, following Qi Lie, there is plenty to be done; he does a great deal and has pulled off several fine tasks, naturally earning more and more of Qi Lie’s appreciation.

Aside from Ma Lu, those few brothers of his also work neatly and efficiently. Though they can’t quite match Ma Lu, they are all very driven now.

It’s said that those brothers of his have all married, each one now with his own small household, and one of them even became a father just this year.

When Qi Lie wrote to Meng Yunzheng, he also said that if those few hadn’t been forced up Liang Mountain to become mountain bandits back then, but had gone straight into the army, they might already have reached the ranks of hundred-household or thousand-household by now.

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