Emperor Yongcheng continued to complain.

But, as he spoke, he was startled by a word and suddenly realized—

"Something’s wrong! It’s not right! Is she really going to ally with the noble families?"

Zheng Nianer looked puzzled, wondering why the topic had suddenly changed.

How could Empress Dowager He form an alliance with the noble families?

As if hearing Zheng Nianer’s question, or perhaps talking to himself, Emperor Yongcheng said slowly:

"Wang Shijiu and other female officers are all aristocratic daughters!"

Zheng Nianer’s lips moved, wanting to tell Emperor Yongcheng: dear, in this era, only the women from noble families received the best education.

Their abilities, insights, among many women, were also the highest.

Empress Dowager He needed to select female officers, so naturally, she would choose those with outstanding abilities.

And aristocratic daughters have the greatest advantage.

This is actually the awkwardness of the current official selection system.

Everyone knows that the power of the noble families is great and has seriously threatened the Emperor’s rule.

During the late Emperor’s time, in order to break the monopoly of the noble families, he carefully implemented an examination system for selecting officials on a small scale.

His intention was to select candidates from poor families to bring fresh blood into the officialdom.

However, sadly, among the young people who came for recruitment, although there were indeed some noble family degenerates who referred to horses as tigers, the top achievers were often noble sons.

No way around it, noble families monopolized the world and controlled the educational resources.

For people from poor families, even getting an education was extremely difficult.

However, noble sons, from the moment they were born, had access to the best educational resources, with countless books at home, and even a house-born slave could casually recite a few classic stories, poems.

With such inherent resources, the success rate of educating noble sons was also very high.

Therefore, even though the late Emperor rejected the noble families, he still couldn’t help but employ the offspring of noble families.

Nowadays, Empress Dowager He is the same way.

Of course, it is also possible that Empress Dowager He is trying to win over the noble families, after all, as a woman who wants to meddle in court politics, she would need the "approval" of the noble families!

"The Director of Bowen Academy is a son of the Langya Wang Family, and the scholars and other officials are also from noble families!"

Emperor Yongcheng couldn’t hear Zheng Nianer’s inner voice and continued analyzing aloud.

The more he spoke, the more puzzled he became, "What exactly is she planning to do? Does she not know Father’s will? For the sake of power, to continue being able to manipulate me, is she really going to negotiate with the tiger?"

Emperor Yongcheng seemed distant from both his father and mother.

But between the two, Emperor Yongcheng admired the former more.

Firstly, the long-term lack of love made him crave the illusory "fatherly love" even more.

Secondly, his father was the Founding Emperor, a true strong figure. And as a man, they naturally admire strength.

Plus, his throne itself was inherited from his father, giving him a sense of "heir" duty and mission.

He wanted to inherit his father’s last will and continue to implement policies to weaken the noble families so that Zhao’s Dynasty could be stable and long-lasting.

But Empress Dowager He, as the most distinguished woman in Dayuan and the late Emperor’s original wife, instead of adhering to the late Emperor’s wishes, colluded with the noble families.

Just thinking about this possibility suddenly filled Emperor Yongcheng with great indignation!

He also felt an indescribable sense of betrayal.

"Indeed, she is a selfish and cold-hearted person. It’s only been a few years since Father’s passing, and she has already forgotten all his wishes!"

"No! She can forget, but I cannot!"

"I must continue the grand cause that Father left unfinished. I must completely reclaim the authority from the hands of the noble families!"

"I will never be a puppet of the noble families and my mother—"

With each word of these declarations, the fire in Emperor Yongcheng’s eyes burned fiercely.

Zheng Nianer had a bad premonition, somewhat fearing that the Emperor would cause trouble again.

However, as the Emperor, Emperor Yongcheng certainly couldn’t afford to be overshadowed by the noble families.

Despite being relatively more "low-key" than in previous years, noble families still wouldn’t casually replace an Emperor.

But the noble families remained a formidable power and had already seriously hindered the centralization of imperial authority.

To break the noble families’ monopoly, the court’s official selection system must be reformed.

Wait——

A spark of realization flashed through Zheng Nianer’s mind, "Civil Service Examination System!"

Yes, that’s the Civil Service Examination System!

Historically, the Sui and Tang dynasties implemented the Civil Service Examination System precisely to break the noble families’ monopoly over court appointments and removals.

And it was this relatively fair system for selecting officials that brought the noble families down from the divine altar.

"What Civil Service Examination System?"

After venting, Emperor Yongcheng calmed down considerably.

At this moment, he overheard his little best friend’s murmur.

"Oh, it’s just..."

Zheng Nianer briefly explained the system and process of the Civil Service Examination.

Unlike the excitement in Zheng Nianer’s tone, Emperor Yongcheng responded somewhat indifferently, "Oh, it’s about using examinations to select officials. Father had tried it before!"

Zheng Nianer: ... Huh?

Palace Fighting System: ... Dear, I told you not to underestimate the wisdom of the ancients!