Putting on the vermilion official uniform and official hat, Kou Ji gained some power, a power unique to the important officials in the court.

Kou Zhong looked at Kou Ji, who was wearing a vermilion official uniform, and praised: "The young master looks so energetic when he puts on this suit... The old servant remembers that when the master put on this suit, he was almost thirty..."

Kou Ji also nodded with satisfaction and said, "It looks a bit like an official now. It's much better than that toad robe."

When Kou Zhong heard this, he couldn't laugh or cry.

The toad robe that Kou Ji said he disliked could not be worn by others if they wanted to.

After Kou Ji was dressed neatly, he put on the imperial hut, got on the official sedan and walked to Donghua Gate.

He did not accompany Kou Zhun to court. The more powerful Kou Zhun is now, the better his treatment.

Every day when it was time to go to court, eunuchs from the palace would personally rush to Kou's house and carry him into the palace.

The same will be true after the next court.

It is said that a side hall was set aside for Kou Zhun to live in the palace, which was not far from Zhao Zhen's palace.

When Kou Ji arrived at Donghua Gate, as soon as he got off the sedan chair, some low-ranking officials came up to him. They all hugged Kou Ji and said some compliments.

They had previously denounced Kou Ji in court, but now they never mentioned Kou Ji's murder in Baozhou, and just kept saying good things.

Kou Ji said a few words casually, and then chatted with Xiang Minzhong, Wang Zeng, and Li Di.

When the officials saw that Kou Ji had entered a circle that was out of reach for them, they did not dare to appear in front of him again.

The four of them chatted for a while, but Xiang Minzhong brought the topic to the wooden frog.

The old man asked Kou Ji in a strange tone, "Boy, I heard that you gave me a small gift for my second granddaughter?"

"Yeah! A wood-carved frog, made with some little traps, so it can move..."

"You didn't give it to my eldest granddaughter?"

The old man Xiang's tone became increasingly weird.

Kou Ji blinked and said seriously: "Sent it away?"

He coughed to the old man and said quietly: "Why didn't I see it?"

"Maybe she hid it from you."

"Ahem..."

The old man Xiang coughed again and said in a deep voice: "Boy, I remember that when you wrote a letter to my eldest granddaughter, you wrote a story about a prince and a frog."

Kou Ji was a little confused.

The old man Xiang stared at him and said seriously: "My second granddaughter was married last year. Don't have any bad intentions..."

Kou Ji was even more confused. When he saw Wang Zeng and Li Di, they looked at him with strange expressions. Kou Ji knew that these two old men were also thinking wrongly.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to explain, he heard Wang Zeng's faint voice: "Boy, you can't be too greedy..."

Li Di hummed and said: "Sisters take it all, be careful of breaking your teeth."

After saying that, Li Di looked at Kou Jiyi and Er, and said with a look of disgust: "I thought you were a gentleman, but I didn't expect that you are also a good-looking guy with a lot of bad things on his face."

Kou Ji quickly explained: "I just gave him a wooden frog. I didn't do anything."

Xiang Minzhong hummed: "What else do you want to do?"

Li Di, Wang Zeng looked at Kou Ji with the same meaning in his eyes.

Kou Ji said angrily: "I didn't just send one wooden frog, I made several and sent them all together."

Li Di said disdainfully: "You want to hide it...why don't you send wooden frogs to my house?"

Wang Zeng said calmly: "I also have grandchildren."

Seeing that he couldn't explain clearly, Kou Jicheng gritted his teeth and said: "Send, send, send, I will send a car to each of you later."

Li Di and Wang Zeng nodded with satisfaction, "That's pretty much it..."

Xiang Minzhong stretched out two fingers and said calmly: "Two cars?"

"What about blackmail?"

"I have many concubines..."

After the three old men passed the Jinshui Bridge leisurely, Kou Ji realized that he seemed to have been deceived by the three old men.

It must be that the second sister of the Xiang family got a wooden frog and took it out to show off.

When the junior members of Wang and Li's houses met, they each clambered over the two old men to ask for it.

The two old men couldn't bear to beg something from a junior like Kou Ji, so they set up a trap for him.

"These old guys are just idle..."

Kou Ji complained and followed them across the Jinshui Bridge to Chui Gong Hall.

Zhao Zhen sat high on the dragon chair, Kou Zhun sat below him, and Chen Lin waited on him carefully.

All the officials entered the Chui Gong Hall and after paying their usual courtesy, the morning court began.

One of the censors grabbed Zhao Zhen and made some nonsense remarks about his absence from court one day before.

Then Kou Zhun said that the matter had been brought to light and there was no need to mention it again, and he shut up.

Then began to recommend candidates for political office.

There were few twists and turns in the selection of candidates to participate in political affairs, and the final selections were Li Di and Wang Zeng.

In the end, Kou Zhun made the decision, and the position of participating in political affairs fell on Wang Zeng.

After the candidates for political affairs were finalized, the officials retreated for a while to discuss the dismantling of the Xiang Army.

Then, amid Kou Zhun's impatient scolding, the officials left Chui Gong Hall and went back to their respective yamen to handle government affairs.

Kou Ji rushed to the official office for the first time to go to work.

When I walked to the official office, I saw the gatekeeper taking a nap.

Kou Ji did not meet with them regularly and quietly entered the official office.

Then I saw officials of all sizes gathered together, drinking tea and having fun.

From time to time, someone would get up and recite a poem or compose a poem.

The group of people had a great time, and they didn't even see Kou Ji when he arrived.

It wasn't until Kou Ji arrived at their side that they noticed Kou Ji's arrival.

They all knew Kou Ji, so after seeing Kou Ji, they hurriedly stood up and said, "Xiaguan and others have met Kou Shilang."

Kou Ji looked around them and asked, "Who are you, and what are your official positions?"

They didn't hide anything, and each of them began to announce their family status.

In addition to the general name, he will also mention which Jinshi list he is in, what his rank is, etc.

Some people who have a certain status in the literary world will also secretly reveal their famous works and other things.

After they finished introducing themselves, Kou Ji nodded and asked, "Don't you have to do anything?"

They were stunned when they heard this, but they did not panic. Each one of them spoke frankly, saying that the officials had nothing to do.

When Kou Ji heard this, he really wanted to give them a thumbs up and praise them one by one.

The official department of a country, which controls the promotion and scheduling of hundreds of thousands of officials within a country, is actually left with nothing to do?

amazing!

Although the officials had no power before and had nothing to do.

But since the disintegration of the Punishment Department, the civil service department has more or less seized some power, so how come there is nothing to do?

Kou Ji was so angry with this group of salted fishes that he had nothing to say, and he was too lazy to waste time on them anymore.

"Where is Wang Shangshu?"

"After court, you should go to the courtyard of the public house to enjoy the cool weather, right?"

When Kou Ji heard this, he turned around and went to find Wang Qinruo.

Kou Ji searched around the Xingbu Yamen and finally found Wang Qinruo in a remote public house.

Wang Qinruo was holding a wine bottle, lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, and sleeping soundly.

Waves of cool breeze blew from the vent next to the public room, which was very refreshing.

Seeing this, Kou Ji frowned.

He didn't know that Wang Qinruo was like this on weekdays, but he knew that he was coming today and gave him a warning.

He stood in front of Wang Qinruo's bed, cupped his hands and said, "I have met Wang Shangshu, Kou Ji."

Kou Ji called three times in a row, but there was no movement from Wang Qinruo.

The corner of his mouth twitched, he squatted down slightly, found a rivet on the bed, poked it with a hairpin, quietly pulled it out, and stuffed it into his sleeve.

Then he quietly exited the office and walked to the place where the officials gathered.
To be continued...