Nine days later, after the three exams were over.

After Murong Jin had the exam papers collected, he saw the fainting examinee. "Examiner."

Because of the mental stress and tension I've been under for so many days, I've finally relaxed, and my mind and body have relaxed as well.

Fainting is normal.

The fainting examinee was taken to rest, while the examinee who seemed fine went to their own place to either sleep soundly, have a big meal, or relax and have some fun.

"Among the candidates this time, there are a few that I really like."

Murong Jin looked at Li Mingzhong, "There are a few that suit my taste."

Li Mingzhong was taken aback. "Your Highness, you wouldn't be trying to take her away from me, would you?"

Murong Jin: "Not exactly. Everything depends on the palace examination. If you are in the top three, you will be the top scholar, the second-ranked scholar, and the third-ranked scholar. These three will be directly employed and appointed by His Majesty."

"The rest will be assigned to other departments to take up their posts. Although the official positions are small, being able to enter the capital's government offices already shows a lot of ability."

"Furthermore, those who enter the palace examination will be given the title of Jinshi, but that doesn't mean everyone can become an official."

"The top three are the first-ranked students, while the second and third-ranked students have the opportunity to enter various departments and start working from lower positions."

"The remaining successful candidates will be assigned based on their abilities."

Li Mingzhong understood, "However, I don't know how many candidates will be able to enter the palace examination this time."

Murong Jin: "I guess that out of 150 people, there's a high probability that 30 will be able to get in."

Li Mingzhong's eyes widened. "Thirty people..."

"There are so few people this time? Last time, only eighty-odd people made it to the palace examination."

Murong Jin: "In each of the three tests I set, I included a small open-ended question."

"It's very simple. I've reviewed the answer sheets from the first exam, and no one has written the answers I need."

Li Mingzhong's eyelids twitched wildly. It seemed that the Regent had single-handedly eliminated many candidates...

"No, Your Highness, what question did you write?"

When he picked it up and looked at it, his face froze.

Why are there so many different answers to such a simple question?

"Well, they didn't take some small things seriously..."

Murong Jin glanced at him sideways, "If you can't even handle small matters, what kind of system can you possibly have for big ones?"

Li Mingzhong: "..."

"Is this the complete set of exam papers?"

Murong Jin: "These are from the three examination rooms. I haven't finished reviewing the scores from the other two examination rooms yet. Currently, no one can meet my requirements. Just based on that, their scores will naturally be lowered by me..."

Li Mingzhong: "..."

Fortunately, my son passed the test a few years ago; otherwise, given his carelessness, he would definitely have been stumped by Murong Jin's questions.

After reviewing all the exam papers, Murong Jin remarked, "These few are not bad."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, he was deeply concerned about the people.

Loyal to the emperor and patriotic.

That's exactly the kind of person she needs.

In the final exam, one of her questions subtly expressed that the monarch's actions towards the people were contrary to natural law, and some people answered that they were loyal to the monarch and loved their country.

This question, on the surface, is about whether or not to obey the monarch's orders. But if one is more discerning, one can see that if the monarch fails to perform his duties and harms the country and its people, what should be done...

While answering with loyalty to the emperor and love for one's country is correct, it does not meet Murong Jin's requirements.

However, there was one person she took a liking to, because his answer was just two words: "Discard."

"But Regent, their previous answers were not very satisfactory."

Murong Jin looked at the examiners beside him and said, "So, I'll take them all."

Li Mingzhong: "..." He once suspected that the Regent had come to compete with His Majesty for talent.

But today's bizarre move...

After the scores were released, thirty students were admitted, just as Murong Jin had said.

"How are Zhao Jinse's grades?"

"Any answer is fine, but in the last exam paper, his final answer was just two words: 'abandon it.' What does that mean?" "And this question is so tricky. Who came up with this question?"

Murong Jin: "This is my question."

"Ah." The Minister of Personnel remained silent, while the Grand Secretary, busy grading exam papers, completely ignored them, eager to finish his work so he could go back to sleep.

Murong Jin, that kid, he's already retired, yet he still invited him to proctor the exam, and he couldn't say much...

Li Mingzhong and several others were studying Murong Jin's questions. The more they studied them, the more they felt something was wrong. The questions about small things for the country and the people were all about. Answering them correctly would get you full marks, answering them even if they were only slightly related would get you a few marks, and answering them completely irrelevant would get you no marks.

"This last question..." Li Mingzhong already understood what it meant.

The other two remained silent.

No wonder the Regent Prince Shun took a liking to several candidates; it took them a long time to figure out the other meaning behind it.

After all, who would write a test question that speaks ill of themselves and their monarch?

The Grand Scholar stroked his beard. "Your Highness, these lads can become my disciples."

Upon hearing this, Murong Jin's expression immediately lit up with approval (〃'▽'〃), "That would be great, then I'll trouble you, sir."

"You're welcome." He could teach a few more Murong Jins! It's just that their talent might not be as good as that brat Murong Jin.

………

"A-Si!!! The last question is really weird."

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!