Chapter 34 The Imperial Examination
Inside the carriage, Ye Jianshan and the Crown Prince sat facing each other.
Ye Jianshan thought about Jiang Song, whom his mother had told him, and wondered why she hadn't come to find him. His name must have been known throughout the capital by now.
The whole capital should be gossiping about this; surely the news shouldn't be so out of touch. And even if a young lady isn't allowed to go out, there should be someone to pass on a message to her.
Ye Jianshan couldn't understand why she would come to find him whenever he went to Qingyang Prefecture, whether they actually met or not.
Unfortunately, I didn't talk to her at the time, and I don't know why he went to stay at Master Zhang's house.
The Crown Prince was somewhat surprised to see that Ye Jianshan's expression was grave and his eyes were wandering, clearly indicating that he was distracted.
When have I ever seen him with this expression?
Curious, I asked, "What happened?"
Ye Jianshan shook his head and remained silent.
The Crown Prince assumed he was nervous and couldn't speak up, so he comforted him, saying, "It's alright, relax. Everyone in this year's cohort has a good foundation, but you are even more outstanding."
Even the excellent Crown Prince felt a pang of sympathy. Knowing so much, it's clear he's been through a lot and suffered countless hardships in private.
The crown prince, not wanting him to continue feeling depressed, changed the subject, saying, "By the way, has your mother been busy with the embroidery workshop all these years?"
The Crown Prince has investigated the Ye family thoroughly and knows that Ye Yun runs an embroidery workshop.
Ye Jianshan glanced at the Crown Prince: "No, that's not it."
"Then what are we busy with?"
The crown prince was a little nervous, realizing there were things he didn't know.
"They're busy teaching me to read and write."
Ye Jianshan shook his head, looking as if he couldn't have guessed this either.
The crown prince breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little guilty, as this was something he should have done.
Ye Yun could even imitate his handwriting. Ye Yun was very clever, and after they got married, Ye Yun loved to accompany him in his study while he read.
Moreover, his photographic memory is remarkable; Ye Jianshan's intelligence is clearly inherited from both of them.
“My mother taught me during my early childhood education, but after learning a lot, I went to a private school.”
His mother was also busy and couldn't watch him study every day.
"It's Dad's fault."
The prince admitted his mistake.
Ye Jianshan didn't understand why he was suddenly apologizing again.
"Don't be nervous during the palace examination."
Because Ye Jianshan was in seclusion, the Crown Prince didn't use his private collection of rare and precious books much during this time.
"I know, you've said it many times."
He had been told not to be nervous since he was eating at home, and he had to hear it again when he got to the carriage. He was so tired of hearing it that his ears were practically calloused.
Seeing his impatience, the crown prince chuckled.
He liked this atmosphere, where Ye Jianshan could freely express his emotions, which made the two of them feel like they had known each other for a long time.
The carriages had to stop at the palace gate, where the candidates would gather and then proceed together to the Wenzhong Hall.
This is the examination venue for this palace examination.
The Crown Prince stepped down from the carriage first, and the candidates next to him immediately bowed to him nervously: "This student greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
After the Crown Prince nodded and said "Rise," everyone stood up. They thought he would go straight to the palace, but instead he stood by the carriage for a moment and knocked on the door: "Are you ready?"
Ye Jianshan had closed his eyes for a while on the way here, and feeling that he wasn't feeling well, he asked the Crown Prince to get out of the carriage first while he straightened his clothes.
Everyone immediately had a guess: Could Ye Jianshan be sitting in the car?
The next second, Ye Jianshan got off the carriage. The Crown Prince was about to help him up when Ye Jianshan thanked him, saying, "Thank you for giving me a ride, Your Highness."
Crown Prince: ...
"They're putting on an act now. Oh well, if the kid wants to act, let him act." So he went along with him and said, "You're too kind. I'll go in first, you two chat."
The crown prince left in a hurry.
But the candidates were left in shock.
The Crown Prince and Ye Jianshan arrived together in a carriage.
Ye Jianshan is being treated like this.
Why bother competing with them for the top scorer when things are already like this?
Ye Jianshan is completely different from them.
From now on, they will all be under Ye Jianshan's command, and they won't have to worry about promotions. They'll be directly assigned the position of Crown Prince, and they can go wherever they want. In fact, they might even be in high demand.
After all, it's easier to get things done if you have such a capable boss in the department. You have to give them face, even if you don't care about the person.
Ye Jianshan is that giant Buddha.
Ye Jianshan naturally knew what these people were shocked about, but he didn't dare to say anything, given his strength.
Ye Jianshan greeted the familiar candidates as usual, and when he saw Luo Shaohui, he smiled and said, "You look great, Brother Luo."
Luo Shaohui was dressed very smartly today.
It was their first time entering the palace, and they were all dressed very smartly.
Seeing that Ye Jianshan was so easy to talk to, the atmosphere became relaxed again.
"Who else hasn't arrived yet?"
Everyone had spontaneously lined up as instructed by the palace attendants, waiting for the entrance exam.
"And Cui Jianbing, he seems to have been sick lately and hasn't been out much?"
An insider explained.
Ye Jianshan raised an eyebrow. It wasn't just recently; the last time he saw Cui Jianbing at the Crown Prince's residence, he looked unwell, and he even advised him to go back. He didn't expect that Cui Jianbing was still sick.
As if on cue, another carriage arrived, and Cui Jianbing alighted from it.
Everyone was somewhat surprised by his transformation.
"Young Master Cui, you really need to take better care of your health. You've lost a lot of weight."
This is a matter of concern to some.
Her cheeks are all gone, and her eye sockets are sunken.
I don't know what's wrong with him.
Cui Jianbing spotted Ye Jianshan at a glance, pursed his lips and said, "Thank you for your concern. I had a bit of a cold recently, but I'm all better now."
He only fully recovered two days before the imperial examination, but after being sick for so many days, he was still in poor spirits.
Ye Jianshan also said with concern, "Brother Cui, please take good care of your health."
"Thank you for your concern, Huiyuan. It's getting late, let's go inside."
"good."
The crowd entered the palace in a grand procession, and once inside, they took their seats according to the signs.
Ye Jianshan was in the middle of the first row, facing a bright yellow imperial throne.
It's empty now, and I don't know if the Emperor will come, though he should.
When it was almost time, someone sent out the exam questions. Ye Jianshan glanced at the questions and there was no doubt that they were related to agricultural taxes.
Ye Jianshan had an idea as soon as he saw the topic; he divided the discussion into classes.
The poor, commoners, landlords, nobles... these classes discussed issues related to tax rates and the leasing and buying/selling of land.
The content was quite extensive, and with limited time and a heavy workload, Ye Jianshan picked up his pen and began writing diligently after determining the direction.
He was at the very front, and everyone could see his movements as soon as they looked up, which made them all go numb.
While they were still analyzing the questions, Ye Jianshan had already begun writing furiously.
Ye Jianshan was so engrossed that he only realized the Emperor had arrived when a bright yellow robe blocked the light.
The Emperor had just finished the morning court session, and due to the many affairs of the court, he was delayed for a while.
The questions for the palace examination were ones he had seen beforehand and were all suitable.
As soon as he entered the Wenzhong Hall, he saw Ye Jianshan's figure; he was the most eye-catching person in the entire hall.
After all, that face is instantly recognizable.
The ministers who were following along were meeting Ye Jianshan for the first time, and they were so surprised that they were speechless.
Although many people have already been surprised.
But to be honest, they had just seen that face during the morning court session, and now seeing Ye Huiyuan with that face answering questions in the front row felt rather strange.
Moreover, the Crown Prince is currently by the Emperor's side.
Now standing before Ye Jianshan alongside the Emperor, Ye Jianshan looked up in surprise, his two faces mirroring each other.
Even the emperor found it amusing and couldn't help but let out a soft "pfft".
"puff."
It's already so much fun now, I can't even imagine how interesting and fun it will be every day after Ye Jianshan returns to the palace.
This dull palace is finally going to become lively.
The Emperor's commotion immediately attracted the attention of others. The candidates all quietly looked up to see what was going on, but couldn't find the commotion, so they could only obediently lower their heads and answer the questions.
As everyone has said, you can't look around when you enter the palace; you have to restrain yourself.
Ye Jianshan looked up, wondering what the Emperor was laughing at.
Fearing it would affect Ye Jianshan's performance, the Emperor quickly took the Crown Prince to visit the other candidates. Now, the other candidates no longer cared about Ye Jianshan and started worrying about themselves.
They were afraid of leaving a bad impression on the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
Although the Emperor and Crown Prince I met at the Crown Prince's residence were very kind, the feeling was different when I came to this palace. The Emperor is still the Emperor.
Awe-inspiring without anger.
Chief Minister Cui was also present today. After entering and seeing Ye Jianshan's face, he stood there stunned for a moment, somewhat understanding why Cui Jianbing had reacted so strongly.
How did this person grow up to look exactly the same as the Crown Prince when he was young?
Moreover, he is a bit different from the Crown Prince; when he answers questions with a stern face, he is even more frightening than the Crown Prince.
No wonder no one questions it; they really do look alike.
They look exactly the same.
After enduring hardship for over a decade, Chen Jian was finally seeing his good days. Ye Jianshan's appearance caught everyone completely off guard.
Not only Ye Jianshan was stunned, but everyone who was meeting Ye Jianshan for the first time was also stunned.
Now it's not about the palace examination anymore; it's time to prepare and plan the ceremony for establishing the crown prince.
Logically speaking, things shouldn't have been rushed, but this was partly due to Chief Minister Cui's efforts.
Previously, it was said that the Crown Prince had no son, and that a prince should be found among the princes to be groomed as his successor.
If nothing unexpected happens to Ye Jianshan, he will force the Emperor and Crown Prince to establish a new imperial grandson next year.
Now we've done all the work for the Emperor and his allies. There's no need to pressure them anymore. The Emperor is eager to establish a Crown Prince right now. He has mentioned Ye Jianshan many times during court sessions and shows a strong preference for officials from Qingyang, wanting to learn more about Ye Jianshan from them.
The fact that the Crown Prince is Ye Jianshan is beyond doubt, based on his face alone.
It's only a matter of time.
Ye Jianshan was working hard to answer the questions when the Emperor led his entourage on a tour and then left.
If he were there, the candidates' hands were trembling as they held their pens. It wasn't the first time they had met, yet they were still so nervous.
Chief Minister Cui looked at Cui Jianbing and Ye Jianshan sitting side by side and sighed.
The difference between the two is already apparent just by looking at them from the outside.
After they went outside, someone whispered to Chief Minister Cui, "Did the Chief Minister's grandson also participate in the palace examination?"
"Yes, he was sitting right next to Ye Huiyuan. Bing'er even said that Ye Huiyuan is a very nice person and that they have a good relationship."
Whether it's true or false, the person who said it has already made a fool of themselves.
They don't seem to have a good relationship, but it's true that both the Cui grandfather and grandson were so angry they collapsed.
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Author's note: Goodnight! [Sprinkling flowers]
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