9: Chapter 9 Exam Ended

Early morning, Villa No. 4.

Zhu Yuntong held a pencil between his fingers, not rushing to write.

His gaze fell on the computer screen, which displayed a set of civil service exam questions from last year.

"Person A and Person B depart from Point A at the same time..."

Modern imperial examinations do not test classics or policy essays, but instead focus on arithmetic and logic.

For a monarch who had governed an empire for sixty years, the essence of all matters was coordination and allocation.

These types of questions were merely simplified versions of sand table simulations; he grasped their underlying logic in an instant.

As for the essay section, that was his home turf.

"On the Balance Between Grassroots Governance and Economic Development."

In his past life, he had seen no fewer than eight hundred, if not a thousand, such memorials presented by the Office of Transmission every day.

"Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish."

Zhu Yuntong picked up his pen and wrote these seven characters on the draft paper, his strokes vigorous and piercing through the paper.

The core of official jargon remains unchanged throughout the ages.

It is nothing more than making a point through a topic, moving from the surface to the interior, first pointing out the deep-seated ills, and then prescribing a seemingly gentle but pinpointed cure for governance.

The way of the emperor was already deeply ingrained in his heart.

Outside the study, Li Juan stood leaning against the doorframe, holding an iced Americano, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

"I thought you were just pretending to turn over a new leaf, I didn't expect you to actually lock yourself up to study."

Her gaze fell on the registration interface on the screen, "Division Two of the Municipal Party Committee Office? Are you crazy?"

Zhu Yuntong held the mouse and clicked confirm lightly.

"This is called 'darkness under the lamp'."

Li Juan walked in on her high heels and placed the cold coffee cup on the corner of the table.

"The First Division of the Municipal Party Committee Office is Secretary Tian's territory, while the Second Division is Mayor Su Changming's private domain—a fortress. Even if your father is transferred to Deputy Secretary, it will just be a grain of sand forcibly mixed in by the province. If you, a newcomer, dive right in, it would be a wonder if those people under Mayor Su Changming didn't swallow you whole!"

"How can one catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den?"

"What Mayor Su Changming worries about most right now is not being able to find dirt on the Zhu Family."

"I am voluntarily putting my neck under his blade; he will surely think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will do everything possible to keep me in the Municipal Party Committee Office, right under his nose, to slowly cook me."

"You want to borrow his blade to pave your own path?"

"Just going with the flow, nothing more." Zhu Yuntong closed the webpage, his expression calm.

Li Juan crossed her arms and threw out a piece of news she had just received.

"Your fiancée, that eldest daughter of The Su Family, dragged her suitcase out of the house last night and moved into a budget hotel."

"Mayor Su Changming was so angry he smashed three teacups in his office. This matter has already spread through the circle."

Zhu Yuntong stood up and picked up the jacket draped over the back of his chair.

"Do me a favor and lend me that vacant apartment of yours in Donghu Bay."

"The stage is set; I can't let the heroine wander the streets."

"How could I, her 'fiancé', sit idly by?"

"The keys are in the second drawer of the entryway. Don't make my place too messy."

...

An inconspicuous Volkswagen was parked outside a chain hotel.

Su Qinghan walked out of the hotel's automatic doors, pulling a silver suitcase.

The car door opened.

Zhu Yuntong strode over and took the handle of the suitcase from her hand with extreme naturalness.

"Get in."

Su Qinghan didn't move, just glanced at this family car that was completely inconsistent with his status.

"This is my car." Zhu Yuntong seemed to see through her thoughts, "In Linjiang, sometimes, keeping a low profile is more useful than being flashy."

He opened the trunk and put the suitcase inside.

Su Qinghan said no more, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Donghu Bay, an apartment under my stepmother's name. You will live there for the time being." Zhu Yuntong started the car.

"Zhu Wenhao, don't misunderstand. Me cooperating with you is just a transaction. I don't intend to truly fulfill that absurd 'marriage proposal'."

"Of course I understand it's a transaction."

Zhu Yuntong controlled the steering wheel with one hand, and the vehicle merged steadily into the traffic.

"Since Mayor Su Changming has already deemed you a discarded pawn, you can't go back to The Su Family. Living in a budget hotel is not only unsafe, but it will also signal to the outside world that our relationship has broken down. Then the charade we put on yesterday would have been in vain."

"The play must be performed in its entirety."

"News has come from the province, Secretary Yang has made arrangements." Zhu Yuntong's voice sounded abruptly, like a pebble thrown into still water.

"Mayor Su Changming will succeed as Mayor, and my father will be transferred to Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. A transaction, and everyone is happy."

"Yes, what the higher-ups want is stability and face. So both your families have called a truce and shaken hands to divide the spoils."

"Then what am I? A negligible joke in this farce?"

She had broken with her father and run away from home, thinking it was the beginning of a storm.

In the end, a light sentence from the higher-ups had put the weapons away and the horses to pasture.

Only she had become truly alone, with nowhere to advance or retreat.

The red light turned on, and the car stopped steadily.

Zhu Yuntong turned his head, his deep gaze falling on her.

"You study politics and economics, so you should understand that in the arena of power, there are no true truces, only temporary ceasefires."

"Mayor Su Changming holds the purse strings, and my father manages personnel. It looks like an even split, but in reality, undercurrents are surging. This game of chess has only just begun."

"You are not willing to be treated as a pawn, and how could I be willing to be treated by them as a bargaining chip for compromise."

Zhu Yuntong picked up a printed sheet from the center console and handed it to her.

Su Qinghan's gaze fell on the paper.

Position applied for: Division Two of the Municipal Party Committee Office, Linjiang.

"You want to take the exam for the Municipal Party Committee Office? That is my father's den of tigers and dragons!"

"What I want is to personally plunge a knife into his heart."

Su Qinghan looked at the side profile of the man next to her, who was focused on driving.

Is the notorious playboy of rumors, or this man who hides in the abyss and stirs up the wind and clouds while laughing, the real him?

She took a deep breath.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Prepare for the exam." Zhu Yuntong pointed to the residential gate looming ahead, "With your master's degree from Renmin University, getting into the Municipal Finance Bureau will be easy. Once I enter the Municipal Party Committee Office, you in the Finance Bureau will be my eyes and hands planted on the outside."

The car slowly drove into the underground garage of Donghu Bay.

Su Qinghan unbuckled her seatbelt and asked the final question.

"Aren't you afraid that Mayor Su Changming will use the rules to crush you during the interview stage?"

Zhu Yuntong pulled out the car key and smiled.

"He won't."

"Because, having the son of an enemy by his side, where he can find a pretext at any time to trample him into the mud or even send him to prison... this temptation is simply impossible for someone who has just suffered a great loss to refuse."

In the elevator, the metal doors closed slowly, reflecting the figures of the two standing side by side.

Su Qinghan looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly smiled too.

"'Eternal peace and joy, loving and killing each other.' It sounds like a script for a palace drama."

"I don't watch plays." Zhu Yuntong pressed the floor button.

"I only write history books."

...

Linjiang No. 3 Middle School Exam Center.

Zhu Yuntong, in a simple white shirt, blended into the bustling crowd and walked into the exam hall.

The bell rang, and the papers were distributed.

Civil Service Exam (Administrative Aptitude Test).

Numbers, shapes, logic.

To him, it was just another form of military deduction.

In the afternoon, the essay section.

Topic: On how to balance the promotion of urban infrastructure construction and the prevention of local debt risks in the new era.

Zhu Yuntong picked up his pen.

In his past life, the Ming Dynasty treasure notes were over-issued, causing nationwide inflation and an empty national treasury. After he ascended the throne, he overcame all opposition, spent ten years recasting copper coins, implemented the Single Whip Law, and forcibly pulled the finances of a crumbling empire back from the brink of collapse.

Mere local debt was nothing but eating the food of the next season in advance, overdrawing future tax revenues.

"Wealth is the lifeline of the country and the foundation of all things."

He used the words of Su Zhe of the Northern Song Dynasty to break the topic, his pen moving like a dragon or a snake.

Writing over a thousand words, he finished it in one breath.

The article contained no empty words; every word was like a knife, pointing directly at the deep-seated ills of the disorderly expansion of current city investment companies, and analyzed them step by step, providing several iron-fisted strategies to resolve the debt crisis and revitalize the local economy.

After writing, he put down his pen.

Waiting for the exam to end, the bell rang.

He stood up and handed in his paper.

The invigilator, who was over fifty, caught a glimpse of the paper as he took it.

With just one glance, he was stunned.

The handwriting was iron-drawn and silver-hooked, with natural grace and bone, even carrying a majestic momentum of looking down upon all living beings.

...

The day the results were announced.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe was sitting in the living room watching the news when the phone on the table rang abruptly.

Caller ID: An old friend from the Municipal Organization Department.

"Old Zhu! Congratulations! You've kept this so quiet!"

"What is it?" Secretary Zhu Tianhe was bewildered.

"Your son! The written exam results are out! Administrative Aptitude Test 78, Essay 89! Total score is first in the city! He left the second place behind by a full ten points!"

"Especially that essay! The head of the Provincial Party Committee grading group read it and applauded on the spot, saying that this is not a candidate's article, but a governing program that can be submitted directly to the Provincial Party Committee! It has already been treated as a model essay and is being circulated internally!"

Secretary Zhu Tianhe held the phone, his mind blank.

He hung up the phone and looked up mechanically, just in time to see Zhu Yuntong walking down from the second floor.

"You... scored first in the city?"

Zhu Yuntong walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of water, his movements composed.

"Routine operation, nothing special."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe took it as a joke, but the stormy waves in his heart could not calm down for a long time.

He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and finally regained a sense of reality, with irrepressible joy on his face.

"The expression on Mayor Su Changming's face when he sees this report card must be very interesting!"

"This is just an admission ticket."

Zhu Yuntong leaned against the bar, his gaze deep.

"The real game of chess is in the interview."

"He, Mayor Su Changming, will be there, waiting for me."