Chapter 302: The Emperor's Test
The words "cheating in the test" made Ye Fengmian's face serious.
As an examiner, I naturally cannot tolerate any cheating.
"This is a matter of great importance. We can extend the time, but I wonder how long Your Highness will need?"
Song Yunchu said: "It can be solved within an hour."
After saying this, Liu Xiang turned around and looked at her warily.
One hour... Song Yunchu sounded confident in what he said. Could it be that he already had the evidence and just needed to go through the process?
Song Yunchu was almost telling him that Liu Xin had plotted against Liu Qianyin for his own future.
He didn't want to believe it, nor did he dare to believe that Liu Xin would be so confused.
He hoped very much that this was a misunderstanding. He even wondered if someone had deliberately set a trap to harm his grandson and granddaughter.
But he couldn't guess who it was, and he didn't think it was something Song Yunchu could do. With Song Yunchu's current status, it seemed unnecessary to take action against Yin'er and Yin'er. Even if they could stand out in the selection meeting, the positions they could get would only be the sixth rank.
In Song Yunchu's eyes, the sixth rank was nothing more than a minnow, so there was really no need to be afraid of him. Besides, Miss Jiang, who was good friends with Song Yunchu, did not make it to the final selection for the written test, and Yin'er and Yin'er did not block her way.
If it was other candidates who did this... do they have that much power?
Even though the Liu family is not as powerful as before, not just any Tom, Dick or Harry can get in and cause trouble.
Could it be that Yan'er really caused this trouble herself?
Liu Xiang became more and more uneasy.
If that brat really harms Yin'er, he will be destroying his own future!
"Lord Liu, don't worry." Song Yunchu stroked the fan pendant in his palm and said nonchalantly, "Miss Jiang is a skilled doctor and has seen many difficult and complicated diseases. When she took Miss Liu's pulse, I saw that she looked quite relaxed, which shows that Miss Liu's illness is not difficult for her."
Prime Minister Liu came back to his senses and responded, "Miss Jiang is kind-hearted. After the test, I will thank her in person."
He is no longer worried about Yin'er, but Yan'er...
He looked at Liu Xin in the crowd, hoping that Liu Xin could act more calmly.
Liu Xin sat in the audience. He did not look panicked, but his palms were sweating from nervousness.
He would not be afraid if someone else wanted to interfere in this matter, but it was Prince Ning who wanted to interfere. Not to mention him, even his grandfather couldn't stop him at all.
He just hoped that the two guys who took his money would insist they knew nothing about it and wait for him to return, then he would be able to find a way to deal with the aftermath.
They received so many benefits from him, so they should have some conscience, right? Besides, if they admitted this, it would not be easy for them as helpers.
They will definitely be able to withstand the interrogation.
As time passed slowly, everyone's curiosity grew.
Until a young man in black passed by everyone and knelt on one knee in front of Song Yunchu.
"Your Highness, I have found out that Miss Liu suddenly fell ill today, and it was Young Master Liu who did it."
"The cooks in charge of Miss Liu's food have confessed that Master Liu bribed them to do this for a high salary. They collected a kind of wild mushroom from the mountains and mixed the juice of the mushroom into the ginger and jujube tea Miss Liu drank. Eating a small amount of this kind of wild mushroom will cause people to tremble and shiver, while eating too much will cause fever and hallucinations, which is life-threatening."
As Bai Zhu finished speaking, everyone was in an uproar.
Countless eyes fell on Liu Yan, some were surprised, some were indignant, some were disgusted...
Liu Xin was struck by lightning, and when he came to his senses, the first thing he did was to defend himself.
"What nonsense! How could I bribe a servant? Ah Yin is my own sister, how could I do such a thing? There must be a conspiracy!"
Liu Xin got so excited that he stood up and said, "Your Highness Prince Ning, please forgive me for speaking frankly! You and my grandfather have always been at odds. Now that you are interfering in the affairs of my Liu family, I am afraid..."
"Are you trying to say that I would deliberately suppress Prime Minister Liu's grandson and granddaughter because of my past feud with him?"
Song Yunchu interrupted him and sneered.
"God is watching what you do. If I really can't tolerate you, I can just stand by and watch Miss Liu's sudden illness. Why ask Miss Jiang to treat her? What do I want to do while harming others? To get a good reputation for helping others? I don't think this is worthy of praise from others. As an examiner, if I can't even maintain this fairness, wouldn't I be ashamed of the trust of the emperor? Then how can I have the face to sit here?"
"You bring up the past between me and Prime Minister Liu just to arouse people's suspicion of me, but have you forgotten that you were reported by your cousin Miss Liu herself? I did not intervene in this matter on my own initiative, but Miss Liu asked me to seek justice for her when she was helpless and desperate."
"You just said there was a conspiracy. What conspiracy? Could it be that Miss Liu, a talented woman, poisoned herself and used two competitions that affected her future as the price, just to frame you, a loser who was inferior to her in every competition?"
"Are you worthy?"
Song Yunchu's tone was as cold as ice, and every word was as sharp as a knife.
Liu Xin was so choked that he couldn't continue speaking for a moment.
The looks people cast upon him became more and more contemptuous.
Liu Xiang moved his lips, but ultimately said nothing.
His mind was already in a mess.
Extremely angry and extremely disappointed.
He even felt that as Liu Xin's grandfather, it was somewhat embarrassing for him to sit here.
"The election is for talented and virtuous people. How can we allow a villain like you to participate in the final election? Come here!"
At Song Yunchu's command, two guards came to Liu Yan's side and detained him on the spot.
"The candidate Liu Xin has framed his opponent and has committed despicable acts. He will be removed from the final list and sent to the Dali Temple for imprisonment! After his release from prison, he will be banned from participating in any imperial selection for the rest of his life."
Song Yunchu's words made Liu Xin's pupils widen.
The guards behind him wanted to take him away. His mind was in a mess and he could not care about anything at the moment. He could only shout for help to Liu Xiang.
"Grandfather, save me! I didn't harm anyone. I am innocent! Grandfather, save me—"
Liu Xiang wanted to rush up and give him a slap in the face.
This bastard has done so many stupid things, yet he still has the nerve to ask him for help. He doesn't even realize what kind of occasion this is!
Before this, he had never thought that he would suffer such a huge loss of face at his age.
He even hoped that this kid could bring honor to the Liu family...
Ridiculous, so ridiculous.
"What a disgrace to make so much noise!"
Song Yunchu said sternly, "Why don't you just block his mouth and take him away? Why don't you just let him scream and shout all the way?"
Upon hearing this, the two men who were escorting Liu Xin quickly looked around for something that could help them silence him.
Bai Zhu very considerately took the table rag and handed it to the guard.
The guard took the rag and stuffed it around Liu Xin's mouth, then dragged him out.
Song Yunchu glanced at the candidates in the audience.
"Everyone has seen what happened to Young Master Liu. I hope you will take this as a warning. The imperial court will not tolerate any cheating in the selection process. You are all capable people if you can make it to the final round. It is not shameful to fail. You will have another chance in the future. But if you lose your conscience... you know the consequences."
Everyone bowed and responded, "Students will remember your teachings."
Song Yunchu said no more, picked up the teacup on his right hand and drank a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
What she didn't know was that on the high platform behind her right, a slender figure was standing, his eyes following her movements, and then a gentle smile appeared in his eyes.
Sure enough, his Yun Chu was so dazzling at any time.
Imposing and awe-inspiring.
She attached great importance to the Selection Conference and had no time to help him look at the memorials these days. He had also been busy for several days in a row and only had time today to see the progress of the Selection Conference.
When he arrived, the time for the written test had passed. Naturally, he did not want to make a big noise so as not to attract everyone's attention and affect the performance of the candidates. So he stopped the guards from notifying him and came to the podium very low-key.
After arriving, he learned that one of the candidates had encountered an accident, so Song Yunchu ordered a delay and thoroughly investigated the incident.
And the candidate who got into trouble was exactly the 'potential stock' that she had spotted long ago.
He was not surprised at all that such a thing would happen to the Liu brothers and sisters, because the interpersonal relationships of these candidates were already under the control of him and Yun Chu.
About a quarter of an hour later, Liu Qianyin reappeared in everyone's sight.
Seeing that her complexion was normal and her hands were no longer shaking, Song Yunchu asked her, "Has Miss Liu fully recovered?"
Liu Qianyin replied respectfully: "Your Highness Prince Ning, Miss Jiang is an excellent doctor, and the student is fine now."
"That's good. Your cousin violated the rules and has been expelled from the court and imprisoned. This is considered justice for you."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Liu Qianyin felt extremely happy in her heart, but she did not show any pride on her face. She just bowed to Song Yunchu in gratitude and then walked back to the stage.
Song Yunchu turned to look at Ye Fengmian and said, "We can start now."
Ye Fengmian nodded, turned around and ordered someone to distribute the test papers.
With the sound of a gong, everyone picked up their pens.
The content of the calligraphy test is a combination of calligraphy and one's own talent. The candidates need to use a variety of calligraphy to answer the questions, including filling in the blanks, annotations, and writing poems and songs.
The first nineteen questions were set by him and Mr. Chen, and the last big question was set by the emperor.
Liu Qianyin lowered her head and answered, each word fluent and steady.
She didn't feel any discomfort in her hands at the moment, and she couldn't help feeling a lot of emotion in her heart.
Jiang Rumin had no relation to her, and they were both in the top three in the painting test, so there was competition for their interests, but she was able to help her so wholeheartedly.
In fact, Jiang Rumin could have just agreed to Prince Ning verbally but not really put in her best effort and let her fail the exam. Jiang Rumin didn't owe her anything anyway.
But they did help, and there was Prince Ning... He was not at all as vicious and domineering as the rumors said.
He has ruthless methods and a chivalrous heart.
It is normal for such a person to be valued by the emperor.
Just as everyone lowered their heads to answer, Song Yunchu ordered the guards to bring a large iron basin and lit the firewood to cook the soup directly in front of the table.
Although everyone was puzzled, they did not dare to ask too much. They only dared to wonder in their hearts: Could it be that because the time of the imperial examination was postponed, King Ning was afraid that everyone would not be able to eat at dinner time, so he prepared soup for everyone to fill their stomachs?
After all, exams are more important than eating.
But - it would be nice to have a bowl of hot soup.
After the soup boils, a delicious aroma wafts in the air.
Just then, someone discovered that although the last page of the test paper was left blank, there was no test question written on it.
"Why are there only nineteen questions on this paper?"
Someone stood up and asked, "My Lords, if I remember correctly, both the preliminary and re-examination exams have 20 questions. Did the final exam paper miss a question?"
"Nothing was missed." Song Yunchu said, "These questions on the paper were prepared by the two scholars a few days ago, and this last question was just thought of by Your Majesty yesterday, and I will relay it on the spot. I will tell you after you have answered all 19 questions."
After hearing this, everyone continued to answer in silence.
Soon, everyone had finished answering the nineteen questions.
Song Yunchu ordered Bai Zhu to fetch an hourglass and said leisurely, "For the last question, please compose a poem based on what you saw on the stage. I will use this sand clock to measure time. When the flowing sand runs out, the test is over and we begin."
After Song Yunchu finished speaking, he placed the hourglass on the table in front of him.
Seeing the sand in the glass bottle disappearing quickly, everyone started thinking.
Write a poem based on what you see on stage...
Besides the people on the stage, there is also - that pot of soup!
Your Majesty, do you want them to compose poems about Tang?
Food is the most important thing for people, this should be what it means!
Some people have already started writing.
Liu Qianyin stared at the pot of soup and saw the handle of a spoon sticking out from the edge of the bowl. It was a golden spoon.
This golden spoon must have a purpose, otherwise why not use a wooden spoon or an iron spoon?
Golden spoon, woodpile, soup, flame...
The corresponding elements are gold, wood, water and fire.
As Liu Qianyin was thinking deeply, the hourglass had already flowed almost halfway.
A man on Liu Qianyin's right began to write.
Liu Qianyin gathered her thoughts and picked up her pen to write her answer.
When the hourglass was almost running out, Liu Qianyin finished writing the last word.
With the sound of a gong, the test ended.
The candidates' test papers were collected and evaluated by five examiners in turn.
The first 19 questions are hardly any problem for the examinees, and the most concerning one is naturally the final question.
Song Yunchu looked at several test papers, and without exception, the theme was: Food is the most important thing for people.
Until Ye Fengmian handed over a paper, which was written by the young man in green sitting next to Liu Qianyin.
"Your Highness Prince Ning, this one is good."
Song Yunchu looked over——
The golden crow falls into the silver basin, and the stove on the woodtops lights up. The water is white and empty, and the fire is bright and fragrant.
Song Yunchu raised his eyebrows slightly, "It's really good."
In fact, this question was not asked by Jun Liluo, but by her. She just wanted to see how the candidates would interpret it.
This candidate who wrote an acrostic poem using the five elements of gold, wood, water and fire can be said to have barely understood it correctly.
I wonder how Liu Qianyin will interpret it.
Song Yunchu was just thinking this when he heard Ye Fengmian beside him speak again, "Your Highness Prince Ning, is this what the Emperor meant?"
Ye Fengmian's tone was unusually excited. Song Yunchu turned around and saw him handing over Liu Qianyin's test paper.
Song Yunchu's eyes lit up when he saw Liu Qianyin's answer.
"Looking east, the green mountains are covered with pines, and the southern peaks are covered with thin autumn clouds. The vigorous generals marching west are like thunder and cloud, and the north wind sends a thousand cups of wine to celebrate the victory."
Song Yunchu read out the poem written by Liu Qianyin, and then smiled and said, "Miss Liu, why don't you explain it to everyone?"
Liu Qianyin stood up and bowed.
"Your Highness, I think that the east is wood, the south is fire, the west is gold, and the north is water. These four elements symbolize your majesty's wish to stabilize the four directions. I am not talented enough, so I wrote a poem with the four directions as the theme to express my feelings. I hope that my king will get what he wants, and God will bless the four directions and the seas and rivers will be peaceful and clear."
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