It was a dark and cloudy afternoon in the city of Chang'an. A downpour descended on the city, making travel difficult for most. However, despite the conditions, this day was significant. It was a day of civil service examinations at the imperial academy. Among those taking such exams was Xu Shouji, a young man of about 23 years. He stood at about five and a half feet and had a full masculine build. One of the exams, which he was now taking, was to write an essay on the founder of the Zhou Dynasty of Wu, Empress Wu Zetian. However, Shouji knew it was not enough to just write the essay; the essay had to be written in such a way that demonstrated his skill in calligraphy, so he took great care as he did this task.

Xu Shouji had written several drafts of the essay until he knew everything he was going to write. As he began writing, he made sure to write with as much skill as he could and to make no mistake with grammar and punctuation. As he finished, he took the essay and made his way to the corridor to find one of the proctors.

"Sir, I have completed my essay." Shouji stated in a soft, deep, but shy voice, trying to hide how nervous he was. He knew that after the essay comes the interview.

"Please this way." the proctor directed after taking Shouji's essay. He led the young man to another room where three men were to be found. Shouji could easily tell these men were government officials by looking by their clothing. One man was obese and was about Shouji's height. The second man had a beard going down to his chest and was shorter than the obese man while the third was taller than the obese man and had a beard going down to his waist. They took their seats across from Shouji with the obese man in the center.

"Good day, sires." Shouji addressed as he bowed to the three men. "I am Xu Shouji. I am honored to be in the presence of such established men as yourselves."

"Good day to you as well, young scholar." said the obese man as he took the essay from the proctor. "I pray that you did well to this point."

"Of course, sire." Shouji replied.

"Very well." said the obese man. "Shall we begin?"

The interview lasted for over fifteen minutes with the three men asking various questions. Most of which were about Shouji's background, such as his social status, his family's ancestry, and his aspirations. Eventually, they asked one last question.

"Why do you wish to enter civil service?"

Xu Shouji took a deep, silent breath before answering, "My wish is to serve and to help preserve the Zhou Dynasty of Wu, from both the outsiders and from rebels. This government has given so much to me. I dare not allow it to fall." Shouji spoke with a smooth calm voice in contrast with the shy voice he showed prior to this interview.

"Very well." said the tall man. "You may take your leave. We shall send for you within the hour."

"Yes, sire." Shouji responded as he bowed to the three men before going back to his dorm.