Later, after hearing about the Grand Exam in Plumera City, Imema brought two of her husbands and children with her to travel far to Plumera City, hoping to rely on her former skills to earn a job that could let their family live well again.
But even she hadn't expected that, though she only joined with the smallest hope, she actually ended up taking first place in the highest tier of the divination and calculations category.
When Elara saw her results, she raised her eyebrows slightly. This very young woman had outshined all the other competitors with her math and logic skills.
Elara reviewed her test and personal information, then smiled and said, "Imema, your talent is very fitting for the Ministry of Commerce. Would you be willing to go there?"
After finding out her test results, if her two husbands hadn't been by her side taking turns hugging her in celebration, Imema might have fainted on the spot.
Even after calming down, she still felt like she had been hit by an unbelievable blessing. When she finally stood before Elara to receive her appointment, she was still a bit dizzy and instinctively knelt down and bowed to her.
"Your subject will follow Your Majesty's decision."
Elara smiled and said, "Very well, you will go to the Ministry of Commerce. From now on, you will serve as a third-rank records officer in the Ministry, responsible for checking and documenting financial calculations across the ministry and other regions in the nation that handle financial matters. You must be very careful in your work. Don't let our national accounts go mismatched."
Imema could not hide her excitement as she replied, "Your subject accepts the appointment. I will not fail Your Majesty's trust."
After Imema, the last woman who passed the exam was a slightly older lady, around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old.
Her life had been even more difficult compared to Imema's.
Her name was Runa. She was born the daughter of a slave, later sold to become a shared wife, and gave birth to five sons and a daughter. But unfortunately, during the chaos in Plumera Kingdom, all of her husbands and children either died or went missing. She was even kidnapped by bandits for a while, only rescued when Plumera's army wiped out the hideouts across the country.
Because of her hard and painful experiences, though not even forty, her hair had already turned fully white. Yet, her eyes held no signs of weakness or surrender to fate. Instead, they were clear and firm.
She had been a slave, a shared wife, and never learned to read or write.
But she had a divine skill in embroidery.
When Elara saw her test project, the quality of the needlework was truly on the level of a masterwork.
Elara looked down at the woman kneeling in the hall, her back straight despite her age and hardships, and said,
"Runa, your embroidery is outstanding, a true master's work in the embroidery world. This is what I will do. I'll assign you to two positions. First, from today, you are a fifth-rank embroidery officer in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, responsible for all embroidery-related matters. Second, after court today, go to the Ministry of Education. From now on, you will be the lead instructor in embroidery at the Plumera Capital Academy. Do you accept?"
After hearing her appointments, a faint glow appeared in Runa's tired but determined eyes. She bowed deeply to Elara.
"Your subject thanks Your Majesty's grace. I accept."
Besides Wenbin and these three uniquely talented women, the Grand Exam also revealed many skilled individuals from all professions.
In addition to those who had joined the first exam, such as the Zhan family of the southern border, the Guo family of the eastern border, the Yue family of the western border, and the Di family from the three districts of Edelweiss.
Many more hidden noble families across various regions, such as the Teng family, Yuan family, Gongxi family, Bao family, Pu family, Gongzu family and others who had previously been too cautious to send their children to the exam due to mistrust of the new Plumera Kingdom now all came forward in this second exam, sending their top talents to compete.
And aside from noble families, many people from humble origins, such as poor families, commoners, refugees, and those newly freed from slavery who believed in their own skills, also participated in the Grand Exam.
It was because of this wide participation from all walks of life that this round of the exam selected over 390 elite candidates with both character and ability from various professions.
Among these 390 new mid-level officials, aside from the 60-plus Elara planned to send to the Northern Frontier, the rest were all assigned into the nine major ministries, greatly filling up the vacant roles.
As for the 60-plus going to the Northern Frontier, this area had only recently been incorporated into Plumera Kingdom and was vast, covering twice the land area of Plumera's original territory. It stretched all the way across the north to the frozen lands at the very edge.
But the capital, Plumera City, was far too distant from the Northern Frontier. Even though Elara had already sent 21 officials to serve as governors in the northern cities and had given each 5000 elite soldiers to secure and watch over the territories.
The Northern Frontier was simply too big, and Plumera City too far away. It was already difficult for the influence of Plumera City to reach that area, let alone maintain control, especially in an ancient time where communication was so limited.
After much consideration, Elara decided she needed to go to the central region of the Northern Frontier, where the former capitals of the old nations were located, to establish a Northern Governor's Office and fully control the area.
As for who would lead the Northern Governor's Office, she had already made up her mind.
After finally finishing the arrangements for the current examination with the remaining officials in Plumera City, Elara looked toward Francis, who stood among the military ministers.
Francis had led troops for over half a year. Though he had only taken part in one or two real battles, he handled every duty Elara gave him extremely well.
Whether it was his role as commander of the capital's defense forces or his calm and steady position at the rear in various battles, never rushing to the front, always maintaining the morale of the troops, he did it all flawlessly.
Over the past half year, Francis had changed a lot. Sometimes when Elara saw him, she would suddenly recall that very first moment she woke up in this world and saw him angrily charge into her chambers, fearless of death or pain, just to beg for his brother's life.
Now, this young man who once glared at her with so much hatred had grown into a more and more mature general.
The Qi family was a family of generals, and their bloodline was indeed powerful.
General Qi was already Plumera Kingdom's Guardian General, his strength and prestige beyond question, and Francis's rapid growth in various areas showed that his future would not be inferior to his brother's.
More importantly, with Francis's own personality, the family values of the Qi household, and the fact that General Qi was still in Plumera City, Elara believed he would never betray her.
Putting the Northern Governor's Office in his hands, Elara could trust him without doubt.
However, he was still slightly young and did need more experience.
So Elara looked at Francis below and said in a low voice, "Francis."
Francis paused at the sudden call, then immediately stepped out, half-kneeled, and bowed his head to await orders.
"Present, Your Majesty."
"Though you haven't fought directly on the front lines in previous battles, you stabilized the rear and upheld morale. You've earned merit. Starting today, you are promoted to the rank of Junior Jade Commander, Grade Three, and will also serve as Vice Governor of the North. In three days, you will lead 200,000 troops to North Capital City to escort over sixty officials there. From then on, the safety and order of the major counties in the Northern Frontier will be your responsibility as Vice Governor."
North Capital City was once the royal capital of the old nations, located right in the center of the Northern Frontier, a perfect place for establishing the governor's office to control the surrounding areas.
"Hector, Egbert."
"Present."
"Present."
"Francis is taking on a heavy responsibility and may still have some shortcomings. The two of you will act as Left and Right Deputy Governors of the North. Go with him to support and supervise the surrounding cities and counties, helping him manage security until the Northern Governor's Office is stable. Then, you may return."
"Yes. We accept the order."
Only after Hector and Egbert received the order and stepped back into the military ranks did Francis finally recover from the shock of his sudden promotion.
Logically, Hector and Egbert held higher ranks than he did. They should have been the ones leading the Northern Frontier. But Her Majesty actually made them assist him.
Francis was not a fool. The moment Elara finished speaking, his momentarily frozen mind quickly understood her intentions.
She was deliberately training him.
Francis looked up at the woman on the throne, his emotions once again becoming extremely complicated.
Half a year ago, they were still in a hostile, tense relationship. But now, he had become her subject, and she was willing to promote and nurture him.
His heart surged with emotion, which ultimately turned into strong feelings of gratitude and determination.
He bowed deeply and pledged with resolve,
"Yes, Your Majesty. I accept the order."
"I will never fail your trust."