Chapter 20: The Imperial Examination – Top of the List!
After Emperor Yongcheng established the Great Zhou Dynasty, he continued the old system of the imperial examinations from the previous dynasty, holding a spring examination every three years, with the chief examiners mostly being important officials in the court.
Three years ago, Yang Sheng had just served as the chief examiner, which caused him a great deal of trouble. Although only a few people knew the inside story, when Emperor Yongcheng jokingly suggested that he continue to serve as the chief examiner this year, Yang Sheng still declined as if he were avoiding a plague. He even politely declined to be a grader for the palace examination, for fear of getting involved in any scandals and ruining his reputation.
Emperor Yongcheng did not force him. He appointed Xia Qiyuan, the Minister of Rites, as the chief examiner for this year's spring imperial examination, along with three deputy chief examiners and more than a dozen co-examiners. The examiners would stay at the examination hall three days before the candidates and then jointly draft the three examination questions. After the questions were drafted, they would be submitted to Emperor Yongcheng for selection. The final questions would then be sent back to the examination hall for printing, thus completely eliminating the risk of the examiners leaking the examination questions.
Xia Qiyuan, the Minister of Rites, happened to have seen Xiao Yu's examination paper from the last spring imperial examination. When he first saw it, he did not know who the candidate was. He was amazed by the author's erudite, insightful, and powerful arguments. He found it to be a treasure and a fine wine. Just when he was convinced that this candidate would be the top scorer in the imperial examination, Xia Qiyuan read the last few paragraphs of the paper.
When discussing virtuous ministers, one would certainly cite several examples of virtuous ministers or counterexamples of treacherous ministers from history. The virtuous ministers cited by this candidate earlier were quite good. However, at the end, he lavishly praised a minister of the current dynasty who was executed for offending the emperor by advising him against a second northern expedition against the Yin state. He also satirized Yang Sheng, the Left Chancellor who did not support the emperor's continued northern expedition but remained silent because of the case, saying that his fear of death and avoidance of advice was not the behavior of a virtuous minister.
Xia Qiyuan was amazed when he first read the exam paper, but he was terrified after finishing it. The examinee dared to write it, but he dared not put such an exam paper in front of the emperor! Well, praising the remonstrating minister who was executed by the emperor as a virtuous minister, isn't that indirectly accusing the emperor of killing the wrong person?
Since the exam paper concerned not only a candidate's future but also the emperor's whim, Xia Qiyuan, the deputy chief examiner at the time, dared not make the decision alone. Therefore, he sent the exam paper to the chief examiner, Yang Sheng, on his own.
As expected of a prime minister, the Left Prime Minister remained calm after reading the rest of the article, only saying one sentence: "To actually present such an article, which relies on disgracing the emperor to gain fame, to the emperor is a dereliction of duty on our part as ministers."
Xia Qiyuan fully agreed. After the two chief examiners reached an agreement, Xia Qiyuan only needed to intervene slightly to classify this exam paper as a failed paper. The examination hall would only keep these failed papers for three years. After the next spring examination, unless a new Jinshi was lucky enough to gain the emperor's favor and wanted to look at the previous failed papers, all the papers would be destroyed to make room for a new batch of failed papers.
Xia Qiyuan was very curious about the candidate's identity. Besides curiosity, he was also worried that the candidate might have a powerful background, and if so, the candidate might cause trouble after failing the exam. The Left Prime Minister obviously shared the same curiosity and concerns, so before burying the exam paper, Xia Qiyuan checked the candidate's seal. It was Xiao Yu, the third son of Xiao Rong, the Left Prime Minister's relative by marriage.
Xia Qiyuan was relieved. With the Left Prime Minister keeping Xiao Rong in check, Xiao Rong wouldn't dare to cause trouble. If Xiao Rong didn't help his son, Xiao Yu wouldn't be able to stir up any waves. As for how the Left Prime Minister felt after being betrayed by his in-laws, Xia Qiyuan dared not look up and peek.
The past is past, and this year the Left Prime Minister has distanced himself from the imperial examinations. However, Xia Qiyuan must be on his guard, lest Xiao Yu write another sensational article.
Half a day after the start of the exam, Xia Qiyuan began to patrol along the rows of examination cells. He did not approach the candidates, but only checked whether they had violated any rules.
When he encountered familiar candidates from the capital, Xia Qiyuan showed no unusual reaction. It wasn't until after passing two more examination cells that a truly handsome and pleasing face appeared before him.
Unconsciously, Xia Qiyuan slowed his pace slightly.
Taking advantage of the warm afternoon sun to answer the questions in time, Xiao Yu glanced up.
Xia Qiyuan immediately looked ahead, and only after Xiao Yu lowered his head, whom he caught in his peripheral vision, did Xia Qiyuan quickly scan Xiao Yu's cell.
After that, Xia Qiyuan would only go down to inspect the exam hall on the first day of each exam.
Six days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first day of the third session.
Xia Qiyuan didn't start his inspection until the afternoon. As he walked, he came to Xiao Yu's side again. Looking inside, he saw that Xiao Yu had already put away the table and turned it into a bed. He was lying on the simple wooden bed with his back to him, wrapped tightly in a cotton quilt with a fine cloth cover, with only his head showing. He even had his hair down!
.
Outside the examination hall, the sisters Luo Fu and Luo Lan felt like each day was an eternity. To relieve their anxiety from waiting, the sisters would go to the market one day, visit temples the next, and then go to the outskirts to find a suitable village or town for their parents to move to and build a house. The day after that, they would listen to Luo Fu's female teacher teach them how to appreciate famous paintings and calligraphy. In short, they tried every means to keep themselves busy.
Finally, on February 17th, at dusk, the examination hall opened its doors, which had been closed for nine days.
Luo Fu wanted to pick up Xiao Yu, so she hid inside the carriage. Deng Shi dissuaded her daughter-in-law, giving a very simple reason: "He hasn't bathed for nine days and is covered in dust. Even if you don't mind him, he'll mind himself. He'd rather clean himself up before meeting you. If you don't believe me, just wait for him in Shensi Hall and see."
Luo Fu listened to her mother-in-law and pretended to be calm as she sat in the Shensi Hall, waiting for her husband.
Without his wife's permission, Chaosheng had the water room prepare hot water early on, and then moved the bath tub into the east wing room, adding water as needed to maintain the temperature.
After Chaosheng went back and forth between the water room and the east wing several times, Qingchuan finally brought back the male master of Shensi Hall. At this time, night was just falling, and the light under the eaves was not bright enough. Luo Fu saw Xiao Yu wearing a blue brocade robe and a black scholar's hat. From a distance, he still had fair skin, clear eyes, and was as handsome as a bamboo.
Luo Fu ran happily out of the main room: "You're back! Are you cold?"
In Xiao Yu's eyes, his wife was wearing a light pink or white high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) underneath, and a pomegranate red silk shawl over it, which made her cheeks rosy. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of joy, and she stared at him without blinking. It was clear at a glance that she longed for her husband.
Xiao Yu smiled, stopped, and kept his distance, saying, "You're back. It's not cold. You can wait inside while I tidy up the side room."
Luo Fu glanced at Qingchuan, who was a few steps behind him. Too embarrassed to offer her help, she nodded, but remained standing there motionless, half genuinely concerned and half feigning concern as she scrutinized her husband. A scholar returning from the examination hall was no different from a soldier returning from the battlefield.
Xiao Yu had to quicken his pace toward the east wing; if he slowed down, his wife would notice the unsightly hair beneath his hat.
Only after his figure disappeared through the moon gate leading to the side room did Luo Fu retreat back to the side room, waiting anxiously.
More than two quarters of an hour passed, and Luo Fu was getting hungry when Xiao Yu finally arrived. He had changed into a tea-white brocade robe, and his long, freshly washed hair was loose and neatly combed. As he got closer and the light became brighter, Luo Fu could see that he had lost weight and his complexion was not as good as before the exam, showing that life in the examination hall was indeed tough.
She stared intently at her husband, and Xiao Yu also silently gazed at his wife whom he had not seen for nine days. Then, Luo Fu took the initiative to rush forward and throw herself into his arms. Only then did Xiao Yu hug his wife tightly and lower his head to take a deep sniff of her hair.
Luo Fu bit her lip and whispered, "Can I ask you how your exam went?"
Xiao Yu: "Of course, but you believed me when I said I could pass the exam?"
Luo Fu looked up and saw the ease and confidence in Xiao Yu's eyes. Of course she believed him. Overjoyed, Luo Fu stood on tiptoe and gave him a beautiful kiss on the cheek. Just as she was about to stand up after the kiss, her waist tightened. It was Xiao Yu who had pulled her back by the waist. His slightly cool lips pressed urgently against hers, then quickly became hot.
The pomegranate-red cloak was taken off and thrown onto the couch in the side room, with one soft-soled embroidered shoe lying outside and the other by the bed.
Half an hour later, the couple, who were huddled together and panting, both heard each other's stomachs growling.
Xiao Yu: "...The dry rations were really hard to swallow. I thought I could go home for dinner, so I didn't eat the lunch I had at noon."
Luo Fu: "...You didn't look like you'd been starving just now."
Xiao Yu held his wife's soft shoulders, wanting to tell her that he could go again even if he was hungry, as long as she was willing.
The couple spent the whole night in tenderness, and Xiao Rong also held back all night. The next morning, he sent someone to summon Xiao Yu and ask him what questions were asked in this year's imperial examination.
Xiao Rong couldn't understand the Four Classics and Five Books, but he was most concerned about the policy questions. When he learned that this year's policy questions were about water management and that his son's answers hadn't gone astray, Xiao Rong breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his son even more favorably: "You may not be good at martial arts, but you are smarter than your two older brothers combined. As long as you learn how to conduct yourself in officialdom, perhaps our Xiao family can produce another prime minister."
When the time comes, the Xiao family will be granted titles of nobility and prime ministership, and they will have it all!
Xiao Rong had dreamed of this as early as when his son passed the imperial examination at the age of nineteen.
Xiao Yu had never been able to get along with his father, so he simply didn't respond to the conversation; doing so would only upset his father.
.
Luo Fu went to her sister's place again and saw that her brother-in-law also looked confident and relaxed. The two sisters then patiently waited for the results to be announced.
On March 12th, Xia Qiyuan, the chief examiner of this imperial examination, and three deputy chief examiners delivered the ten examination papers they had jointly selected to the Imperial Study. The list of successful candidates had been prepared, and Emperor Yongcheng only needed to select the top three, with the top candidate, "Huiyuan," being the most sought-after by the candidates and the people.
Emperor Yongcheng read through each answer sheet one by one, nodding approvingly from time to time. Finally, he solemnly selected the top answer sheet, while the second and third place answers were ranked after a slight hesitation.
On March 13th, the Ministry of Rites will post the list on the outer wall of the Examination Hall.
This time, Luo Fu refused to wait at home any longer. She dragged Xiao Yu to meet her sister and brother-in-law outside the examination hall. The two sisters stayed in the carriage, while Pei Xingshu led Xiao Yu into the dense crowd of examinees. Before the New Year, Pei Xingshu had indeed been burying himself in his studies. After the New Year, as examinees from all over the country arrived in the capital, Pei Xingshu also increased the number of times he went out. Each time he went out, he could make friends with several fellow examinees. Therefore, wherever Pei Xingshu went, there were always one or two people greeting him.
Luo Fu peeked through the crack in the window and muttered, "In terms of interpersonal skills, Xiao Yu is far inferior to my brother-in-law."
Roland laughed and said, "Even brothers have their own personalities, let alone brothers-in-law. A brother-in-law has his own good qualities."
As the sun rose higher, the outer walls of the examination hall were already packed with candidates and servants sent by their families to check the results. Xiao Yu and Pei Xingshu both had their attendants take up positions, while their brothers-in-law waited on the outside.
Finally, the official who was to post the results came out, led by soldiers with swords, and no one dared to disturb him.
The list was posted in order, and as soon as the first one was finished, Qingchuan pushed his way out against the flow of people, raised his head, and swung his arms, loudly announcing the good news to the carriage: "The Third Young Master has passed! He's at the top of the list! At the top!"
-----------------------
Author's note: Hehe, I'm going to get first place!
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow! [kiss][kiss][kiss]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com