Chapter 135

Liu Gu took Xue Jin'an's words to heart and did not hold back during the palace examination, thus leaping into the top rank.

However, Liu Gu's achievement of becoming a top scholar was quite tumultuous, and Xue Jin'an was one of the witnesses to it.

The reason Xue Jin'an came to watch the palace examination was related to the previous New Year's banquet. The eldest prince's lineage was questioned at the New Year's banquet, and he has been keeping a low profile these days. In contrast, the second prince has become very active and has been trying to win people's hearts.

He probably felt that he was about to enter the court and take charge of government affairs, and it was time to cultivate his own team and show his prowess to outsiders. So he took the initiative to ask the emperor if he could come and watch the palace examination, just as a kind of advance preparation.

According to Master Xiao X, the emperor was displeased upon hearing this. That very night, he spent a considerable amount of money to have Master Xiao X calculate his and the second prince's birth charts, but the master was unable to determine if their fates were incompatible, leaving him very disappointed.

Consort Min was also stunned by the Second Prince's sudden and bizarre actions, but she reacted quickly and immediately went to the Emperor to make amends, also implicating the First Prince and the Third Prince.

The Third Prince was not interested in literature and had no intention of going. He tried to decline the spot by citing a leg injury. However, the Eighth Prince found out about this and, after saying something to Consort Xian, Consort Xian told the Third Prince to give the spot to the Eighth Prince.

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince immediately lost his temper and smashed up the main hall of Consort Xian's Yonghe Palace. The eunuchs and maids who tried to stop him were all beaten, and one of them was almost beaten to death.

The third prince stood amidst the mess, panting heavily, his expression ferocious and his eyes bloodshot. He said, "Mother, you don't need to tell me what you're doing next time, unless you want to see me strangle Xue Liuguang to death in front of you!"

His tone was so sinister and cruel that Consort Xian was so frightened that she subconsciously took a step back.

The Third Prince stared intently at her feet, his anger reaching its peak, yet a smile escaped his lips. He ignored Consort Xian's reaction and turned to leave.

"Huan'er!" Consort Xian took two steps after him, but the Third Prince paused slightly before turning back.

As Consort Xian watched that limping, somewhat disheveled figure walk away, tears streamed down her face, her expression filled with panic and helplessness.

She didn't understand why things had turned out this way. She just felt that it was rare to have a true brother by Huan'er's side to help him, so she thought she should be nicer to him. She also thought that it wouldn't hurt to give away things that Huan'er didn't want... What did she do wrong? How did things turn out like this?

Consort Xian didn't understand, and neither did the Third Prince.

The Third Prince left Yonghe Palace with a fierce aura. He walked silently for a while, and when he stood at the crossroads of the Imperial Garden, the anger on his face was finally replaced by desolation and hurt. He didn't want to go back to Mingde Courtyard, didn't want to see Xue Liuguang, and didn't want anyone to see him in this disheveled state... In the end, he turned around and went to Zhaoyang Palace.

He sneaked in by climbing over the wall, and as soon as he landed, a deadly attack came down from the sky, aimed directly at his head.

The third prince reacted quickly, ducking to avoid the attacker and grabbing the attacker's ankle. "Woman?"

Fuling didn't answer. Using the strength of her abdomen, she straightened up and flipped over, bending her knee to smash directly into his face. The Third Prince immediately let go to block, and sneered, "Good, just in time. I've got nowhere to vent my anger today!"

The two started fighting.

Lingzhi ran over upon hearing the commotion and immediately recognized the Third Prince. She was shocked and tried to stop him, but Xue Jin'an stopped her.

"They're enjoying it, let them fight." Fuling is a martial arts fanatic, and the Third Prince is a brute. The two are equally enthusiastic about fighting, and it's rare to find an opponent they can fight with all their might. Stopping them now would only cause dissatisfaction.

“But…” Lingzhi looked at Xue Jin’an with feigned concern.

Lingzhi knew Xue Jin'an wouldn't let Fuling be punished, but the Third Prince had a truly bad reputation and was a reckless scoundrel. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, she didn't want Fuling to suffer. She deliberately put on this act to seek reassurance.

Xue Jin'an did not disappoint her, and said directly, "It's alright, I'll take responsibility if you kill me."

If he were really killed, it would save the Third Prince from bothering him.

Lingzhi smiled broadly, turned around to brew tea to serve the guests, and said nothing more.

The Third Prince and Fuling fought for about fifteen minutes. The Third Prince was strong, while Fuling was skilled. The two exchanged blows and neither could defeat the other for a while, until Fuling noticed that he had a limp and realized his identity, so she withdrew from the fight.

The Third Prince was in high spirits when he saw her withdraw from the fight and became somewhat displeased. "Why are you running away? Let's continue fighting."

"This servant greets Your Highness the Third Prince," Fuling said, bowing.

"I won't bother you if you get hurt. Keep going, don't spoil the fun." The Third Prince was already getting annoyed, and veins were bulging on his forehead.

Fu Ling, however, was a blockhead. After bowing and greeting Xue Jin'an, she immediately used her light-footed skill to escape.

The Third Prince tried to reach out and grab it, but Xue Jin'an, who had anticipated his move, picked up a pebble and shot it away, which grazed his fingertips and embedded itself in the palace wall.

"Third Brother, that's enough." Xue Jin'an's tone was calm and even, but the Third Prince's surging anger was inexplicably suppressed.

The Third Prince took a deep breath, forced a smile, and limped over. "Seventh Brother, your men are quite skilled in martial arts."

"Don't even think about it." Xue Jin'an directly dismissed his unspoken question and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't want to do anything, I just want to stay here in peace and quiet." The Third Prince gulped down half a pot of tea as if chewing on a peony.

The Third Prince didn't say anything, and Xue Jin'an didn't ask. He wanted to stay in Zhaoyang Palace, and Xue Jin'an let him stay, but he wasn't allowed to force the people in the palace to fight.

The Third Prince's brain, which had been dormant for ages, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Seventh Brother, are all the people in your palace martial arts masters? Let them fight me."

He looked very eager to try.

"I neither stop nor advocate for it," Xue Jin'an said, indicating that if someone wanted to fight, they should arrange it themselves.

The Third Prince didn't manage to arrange a single fight. After spending the night there, he returned to the Prince's residence feeling dejected. Before leaving, he casually mentioned to Xue Jin'an, as if asking, "What should we eat today?", "Oh, by the way, remember to go to the palace examination. Father Emperor ordered it."

The Third Prince spoke so naturally that he left immediately after finishing his sentence. Xue Jin'an was completely unaware that he had been tricked and simply left. Then, amidst the ambiguous expressions of the First and Second Princes, he realized that he had been fooled by the Third Prince.

When the emperor saw Xue Jin'an, he not only didn't say anything, but also smiled and beckoned him to come forward, asking if he wanted to come along to inspect the examinations.

The princes stood on the side of the palace, their faces hidden behind gauze curtains and screens. The emperor's words seemed to confirm Xue Jin'an's identity, causing the eldest and second princes to change their expressions.

The eldest prince was fine; he was always composed and quickly composed himself. The second prince, however, gritted his teeth and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath. Both of them thought that the emperor was showing favoritism towards the seventh prince and wanted to push him to the throne. They felt that their father truly loved the seventh prince the most, and that Consort Zhen was indeed their father's true love.

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly. She knew her grandson's personality better and was also more familiar with the power struggles and drama surrounding the succession. If the Emperor really wanted to promote Xue Jin'an to the throne, he shouldn't have let Xue Jin'an stand out at this time.

Xue Jin'an was already conspicuous enough.

However, the Empress Dowager also knew that she could not speak up now. Her relationship with the Emperor was gradually becoming strained and deteriorating. If she spoke up for Xiao Qi at this time, it would only add fuel to the fire and make Xiao Qi's situation more difficult. Moreover, it might expose her connection with Xiao Qi.

The Empress Dowager didn't think that Xiao Qi would be blinded by such a small trick, and she calmly drank her tea.

Xue Jin'an directly rejected the emperor's suggestion. He didn't really care about the emperor's ulterior motives; he simply felt that inspecting the examinations was meaningless, and it wouldn't be good if the five people recognized him and were affected by him, resulting in them not doing well on the exams.

Xue Jin stayed quietly to the side, remaining silent while the eldest and second princes actively mingled with the ministers.

Then we witnessed Liu Gu's loss and subsequent recovery.

Generally speaking, the palace examination was just a formality. Without special reasons, all the candidates who had passed the provincial examination would be on the list, with only slight differences in ranking. Therefore, the questions for the palace examination were drafted by the Grand Secretariat and then drawn by the emperor on the spot; they were all questions that were impossible to answer incorrectly.

The students who entered the hall with trepidation breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the questions, saying with relief: "Thank goodness it's not the questions from the Perfect Prince."

Liu Gu's reputation for talent is well-deserved. His writing style is elegant and grand, with a unique spirituality that makes people forget the mundane. Even Yang Cong, the Minister of Rites who usually dislikes this kind of ornate and impractical writing style, couldn't help but stop and watch for a while when he was inspecting the examinations. He stroked his beard and nodded frequently, almost reciting the poems himself.

When Yang had to leave, his eyes were still filled with reluctance.

His unusual behavior caught the attention of the other examiners, who couldn't help but subtly move over to take a look. Their eyes were filled with undisguised admiration, but after recognizing the examinee, their admiration turned into pity.

Who doesn't know Liu Gu, the talented writer who almost lost his head while writing articles?

Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager at the head of the table. The Emperor, mindful of his status, did not move, but the Empress Dowager had Su Mama help her down to take a look around and got a better understanding of the number of first-class candidates.

The Empress Dowager was quite satisfied with the candidates in this year's imperial examination. She turned around and said to Lu Bingzhu, "This year's candidates are truly talented, and their essays are all quite substantial."

As mentioned before, writing essays that are superficial and unrealistic is a common problem among students. There's nothing that can be done about it. Nowadays, the mainstream thinking of scholars is to "ignore everything outside the window and focus solely on studying the classics." Since the imperial examinations don't test horseback riding and archery, many scholars have abandoned the six arts of a gentleman and become weak and feeble scholars.

The Confucian scholars of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, who could both govern the world with their pens and conquer it on horseback, are now a rare breed.

Lu Bingzhu couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, thinking to himself: How could he not have something to say? Take this year's imperial examination question about writing policy essays based on pictures, for example. Anyone without a certain level of ability simply couldn't pass. Those who survived, excluding those who were lucky and just guessed, were mostly not bookworms. At least they had some knowledge and research in the field of geography.

Was this year's imperial examination difficult? It was very difficult, but not so difficult that it left one speechless. Moreover, whether it was arithmetic or policy questions, the exam tested the basics of being an official. Even if one were just a county magistrate in a remote place, one would still have to calculate taxes, encourage agriculture and commerce, and develop the local area.

The two examiners also declared that anyone who disagreed would have their answer sheet posted in the corresponding section of the question for a month to collect feedback from the people. If the people thought they were right, they would implement the policy directly in the area and transfer the person there to be the county magistrate. If the policy failed to develop, the person would be beheaded and their entire family executed. If the people thought they were wrong, their academic titles would be revoked, considered as contempt for the examiners, and they would be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and banned from taking the exam for three generations.

Once these words were spoken, some powerful and influential families who had originally wanted to interfere immediately dared not make a move.

The number of people who passed the imperial examination this year was less than in previous years, and the proportion of students from poor families was much higher than in previous years, almost reaching one to one. In today's world where academic cliques monopolize knowledge, the saying that it is difficult for children from poor families to rise to prominence is not just an empty phrase. This year can be considered a true year of rise for those from poor families.

Some people were unwilling to accept this and wanted to cheat, but there was nothing they could do. If the math questions were wrong, the examiners could be lenient, but if the essay questions were wrong, the examiners were powerless no matter how hard they wanted to. Not to mention that this year's chief examiners were two big shots, Master Cen and Cui Pengfei, who had long since retired and were not afraid of factional struggles. If they were really provoked, it would be bad.

Anyone who passes this year's imperial examination will at least be a good candidate to become a county magistrate.

Lu Bingzhu thought for a moment, then whispered an explanation to the somewhat confused Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up. She felt that this perfect young man was truly a talent, and thought that the more of this type of question there were, the better. She decided to make it a required question type for the imperial examinations.

Soon the students finished their exams, and the examiners finished grading the papers. They presented the top three papers to the emperor for ranking. The emperor flipped through them listlessly, had no objection to the preliminary ranking proposed by the Ministry of Rites officials, and decided to proceed as he saw fit. Before doing so, he asked the Empress Dowager a question, and that question led to trouble.

After the Empress Dowager flipped through the answer sheets, her expression darkened. She looked at Minister Yang and said in a nonchalant tone, "It seems that one answer sheet is missing."

While the others were still processing the three answer sheets in the Empress Dowager's hand, Minister Yang immediately knew which one she was referring to. However, he only stammered "this," glanced at the Emperor, and lowered his head, remaining silent.

It wasn't that Minister Yang wanted to suppress anyone. When he initially ranked people, he did include Liu Gu in the list. When the Left Vice Minister saw this, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately went over to tell him about Liu Gu's past imprisonment for inappropriate remarks.