Chapter 106 Phoenix's Self-doubt
early morning.
The Imperial Palace.
A court meeting convened temporarily by Prince Chun had just ended, and all the officials walked out of the hall.
This month, Prince Chun is the regent. According to past practice, each regent prince will hold a court meeting on the last day of each month to summarize all the major and minor affairs of the court during that month.
Today is August 28th, and there are still two days before Prince Chun ends his regency. However, he convened a court meeting ahead of schedule, and at the meeting, he discussed an unexpected matter.
Yesterday, the three provinces passed a resolution on reforming the imperial examination system on the grounds of fairness.
Starting from August, all students who want to enter an academy, whether it is an academy directly under the imperial court and the states, or a small private academy, must pass the spring examination.
Without passing the spring examination and having one's name registered in the Ministry of Rites, one cannot enter the academy to study. Even if one does, one is not eligible to take the imperial examination.
Before August, those who entered the academies through special recruitment or donation of silver will not be held accountable.
After August, including August, the court will not recognize those who entered the academy through various means.
The powerful have wanted to implement this reform for a long time.
The reason why it was not passed was that there were still some officials in the court who held opposing views.
This reform seems fair, but in fact it completely cuts off the path for poor students.
The children of the powerful and wealthy who entered the academy by donating silver would not be able to get any honors even if they took the imperial examinations.
However, the poor students who were specially recruited could occupy a certain number of Jinshi places in every imperial examination.
Students from poor families have no advantage in the spring exam.
Only by entering the academy could they truly come into contact with the Six Arts.
Many officials in the court came from poor families, so naturally they did not want to see the future of poor students completely cut off.
However, officials who came from poor families were a minority after all.
There is another part, even if they were born in poor families, but after becoming officials in the court, they established intricate ties with the powerful and wealthy, and you are in me and I am in you.
In short, this long-pending resolution was passed yesterday thanks to the efforts of the powerful.
This means that the court in the future will be entirely dominated by the powerful and aristocratic families.
It was really puzzling that Prince Chun would oppose this resolution, and it was beyond everyone's expectations.
Some officials with vested interests and the powerful people behind the scenes who planned this matter naturally argued to prevent Prince Chun from abolishing the new law.
But for some reason, Prince Chun was determined not to implement this law and wanted to reject the resolution of the three provinces.
He is the prince who serves as regent, and he has the power to do so during the one-month term of regent.
The two sides argued fiercely in the court, and finally decided to take a step back.
Prince Chun no longer insisted on abolishing the new law.
The dignitaries also agreed to Prince Chun's request to move the spring examination before the imperial examination.
In the past, the spring examination was held after the imperial examination, using the examination venue and examiners.
The spring examination is a small test, and the imperial examination is a big test.
It is reasonable and logical to hold small tests first and then large tests.
This small change has no impact on the overall situation.
But it had a great impact on Li Nuo.
He had to wait another four years before taking the imperial examination in spring.
First take the spring examination and then the imperial examination. After passing the spring examination, he can smoothly take the imperial examination as a student of the academy.
Yesterday when he was at Prince Chun's Mansion, he had considered that the imperial examination reform that the powerful and the gentry had pushed forward with great difficulty would not be so easy to abolish.
The reason why they were in a hurry to launch this reform was to target him.
If it had been proposed at the beginning to move the spring exam to before the imperial examination, they would definitely not agree.
However, if we do not mention the changes to the spring exams but directly propose to abolish the new law, they will most likely agree to move the spring exams forward.
Li Nuo, who learned the news first, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the dignitaries who had just finished the court meeting and returned to their mansions were full of anger.
They implemented this decree when the time was not ripe, because they did not want Li Xuanjing's son to take part in the imperial examination half a year later. They spent more than 100,000 taels of silver and finally got through this hurdle.
Unexpectedly, just one day later, their carefully prepared plan was destroyed by Prince Chun.
They stopped it with legislation.
Prince Chun allowed it to be implemented through legislative means.
They couldn't understand it. Prince Chun was also a powerful official, so why was he so partial to a commoner? Could it be that Li Nuo was Prince Chun's son?
If that person didn't look so similar to Li Xuanjing, they would probably really think so.
After all this trouble, nothing has changed, and instead so much money has been invested in vain.
That kid has no identity yet, but he is so difficult to deal with.
If he really passes the exam and becomes an official, and he and his father Li Xuanjing serve in the same court, can they still live a good life?
That kind of scene makes me feel bad just thinking about it...
At the Song Mansion, Li Nuo was in a good mood.
Butler Wu said that the court had just sent a lot of rewards to the Li Mansion.
It was a reward for his contribution to the Sifangguan case.
As the family had no use for cloth, silk and other items, Li Nuo asked housekeeper Wu to send them to the Song residence. After the old lady had made her selections, she sent some to each room.
These days, he ate and slept at the Song family.
The other party was clearly marrying off their daughter, but it made him feel like he was marrying into the family. Li Nuo felt a little embarrassed.
Yesterday, Mu'er received a lot of rewards from Prince Chun's Mansion. Li Nuo thought that Ning'er would quarrel with her after returning home.
But what happened later was far beyond her expectations.
Mu'er generously gave some of her gifts to Ning'er, and also agreed to lend the only wooden kite to Ning'er to play with.
The gifts bestowed by Prince Chun naturally could not be double the same. Even though the clothes and jewelry she got were not as pretty as Mu'er's, Ning'er rarely made a fuss.
Mu'er was originally well-behaved, but Ning'er's change surprised Li Nuo.
She seemed to become well behaved all of a sudden.
Li Nuo couldn't help but feel curious. Could it be that practicing martial arts could change one's personality?
Song Mansion.
In a remote courtyard, Song Ning'er placed a pile of jewelry on the stone table and said, "Master Sister, these are all given to me by Song Mu'er. Take whatever you like..."
The veiled woman looked at the sparkling jewelry and said, "Your sister is really generous. These things are all made by skilled craftsmen. I'm afraid they must have come from the royal family."
Song Ning'er said with a smile: "Master sister guessed right, Song Mu'er said that this was given to her by a prince uncle. That prince uncle also gave sister Jiaren a precious necklace. I saw it last time. It was really beautiful..."
Song Ning'er was describing her sister Jia Ren's beautiful necklace with great interest, without noticing that a golden hairpin in the veiled woman's hand had been crushed beyond recognition by her.
…
At the gate of Song Mansion, Li Nuo jumped onto the carriage easily.
Butler Wu looked at him in surprise and asked, "Master, are you okay?"
He thought the young master was really weak, but now it seems that he might be trying to take advantage of the young lady?
After all, they are husband and wife, so hugging each other doesn't count as taking advantage.
Li Nuo nodded and said, "Much better."
With the help of the doctor's true qi, his body has fully recovered.
Butler Wu smiled, picked up the whip, and asked, "Master, where are you going?"
Li Nuo said, "Let's go to the horse farm we went to yesterday."
The issue of imperial examination qualifications has been temporarily resolved.
But he himself does not have the ability to pass the spring exam.
Among the six subjects, he was good at mathematics and part of literature.
He knew basically nothing about the four subjects of etiquette, music, charioteering and archery.
Although he could master it in a short time by lighting up the portrait, he still had to lay a solid foundation, otherwise he would always feel unsure.
Li Nuo couldn't praise Butler Wu's driving skills.
It's been a bumpy journey, so he should learn some imperial examinations.
As a martial arts expert at the fourth level, he just hasn't learned to drive in a systematic way. With his profound martial arts skills, it will definitely be easier for him to get started than Li Nuo.
The carriage stopped at some point. Li Nuo thought they had arrived, and was still wondering why today seemed to be much faster than yesterday.
At this time, Butler Wu opened the curtain and said, "Master, it's Song Yu and the others. Do you want to say hello?"
Li Nuo looked outside and saw the figures of Song Yu and the other two not far ahead.
Just as Song Yu was about to enter Yuyin Pavilion, a carriage stopped beside him.
He subconsciously turned his head to look, then his face lit up and he said, "Brother-in-law, you are here too. Are you here to look for Miss Phoenix?"
Li Nuo was not here to look for Miss Phoenix, he was looking for someone else.
He looked at Zhou Yu who was standing beside Song Yu and asked, "Have you practiced the Imperial Examination today?"
Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "No..."
Why come to Yuyin Pavilion if you haven't practiced the Imperial Examination?
As a popular candidate for the next imperial examination champion and the most talented young man with the best driving skills in Daxia, Li Nuo's life and fortune depend on him.
The Ministry of Justice has no cases these days and he cannot make a judgment. Seeing his life span getting shorter day by day, Li Nuo is almost dying of anxiety. How could he still have the mind to listen to music?
Li Nuo looked at Zhou Yu and said angrily, "There is only half a year left before the imperial examination. Many students are trying their best to catch up. At this stage, how can you have the heart to come here to listen to music? Have you done impeccable results in the imperial examination, or does your father have connections in the court, and you have already been selected as the top scorer in the imperial examination?"
Zhou Yu shuddered and said in a trembling voice: "I, I followed Brother Song and Brother Pei..."
Li Nuo pointed at Song Yu and Pei Jun, frowned and said: "Compared with them, are you the same as them? They just went through the motions in the imperial examinations, and after the exams they were assigned to the army for training. You are different. You may become the number one in the imperial examinations. By then, even if you are not good at other subjects, you can be selected as an exception and become a civil servant comfortably. Do you need to endure the hardships in the army?"
Zhou Yu moved his lips but said nothing.
Although Brother Li's words were very impolite...
But he is right!
Who would be willing to endure the hardships of serving in the army when one can pass the imperial examination and become a civil servant?
Song Yu and Pei Jun would definitely not pass the imperial examination, but he was different. He had a specialty in the imperial examination. If he could get the top prize, he could work in the Ministry of War or the Imperial Household Department, which was much better than being a private soldier...
Brother Li’s words really woke me up!
With a look of shame on his face, he said, "I, I'm not going in. I'm going to the horse farm to practice now!"
Li Nuo said: "Get in the car, I'm going the same way as you, you drive!"
Watching the carriage start and speed away, Song Yu had a dull expression on his face. For a moment he couldn't tell whose brother-in-law he was.
When did he care about Zhou Yu so much?
The same dull expression was also seen on Fenghuang who had just come out to greet Li Nuo upon learning that he was here.
She changed her clothes and put on makeup carefully, and walked out of Yuyin Pavilion, smiling and about to say hello to Li Nuo, but he didn't even look at her, he lowered the curtain, got in the carriage, and left without a trace...
She looked down at the beautiful clothes she had just put on for him and felt a strong sense of self-doubt.
It’s okay to lose to his wife.
How did she lose to the man named Zhou?
At least I can't lose because she can't drive, right?
…
Li Nuo actually saw Miss Phoenix just now.
But the carriage had already started, so he didn't greet her.
To be honest, Miss Phoenix is not as attractive to him as Zhou Yu.
At least Zhou Yu knew how to drive, and he drove the carriage fast and steadily. Li Nuo hardly felt any bumps, which was in stark contrast to Butler Wu.
It would be fine if Miss Phoenix could fight, but unfortunately she can't.
How could she protect him if she couldn't even protect herself?
It is better to have less contact with such insecure women to avoid gossip.
It was the first time that Butler Wu sat in the carriage with Li Nuo. He was wondering why the boy named Zhou was allowed to drive, but soon after the carriage started, he noticed something different.
He looked at the figure sitting outside the carriage and said in surprise: "This kid's driving skills are quite good..."
Li Nuo glanced at him, this was just the beginning.
It was not yet Zhou Yu's turn to show off his driving skills on the streets of Chang'an city.
He still has a lot to learn.
Zhou Yu drove fast and steadily, and before Li Nuo could even feel anything, they arrived at the Yunmeng Academy's horse farm.
Zhou Yu is a student of Yunmeng Academy, and there is no charge for entering the horse farm.
He was obviously very familiar with the people at the horse farm. He came in with Zhou Yu, and they didn't even take Li Nuo's money.
When he arrived at Yu Ke’s training ground, Zhou Yu still chose the same horse from yesterday.
But he did not choose the car from yesterday because that car was damaged by his wife.
Although the imperial examination tests people's driving skills more, the same person will perform differently when driving different horses and different cars.
Before the imperial examination officially begins, there will be some time for the driver to become familiar with the carriage and the road.
The book says that the most skilled charioteer is one who can achieve unity between man and chariot and horses, and is no longer limited by the chariot and horses.
Zhou Yu obviously hasn't reached this level yet.
Li Nuo watched him run a lap, which was not as good as the one yesterday.
There were no problems with the three items of Chasing the Water, Passing the King's Table and Dancing at the Crossroads, but the bells of Ming and Luan were obviously a little messy, and in the last item, Chasing the Birds Left, the arrow just hit the edge of the target.
Zhou Yu jumped off the carriage and said somewhat ashamedly, "I'm not very familiar with this carriage. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Brother Li."
Li Nuo comforted him, "This is normal, nothing to laugh at. You will become familiar with it after practicing it a few times. During the imperial examination, there were also three opportunities to get familiar with the carriages and horses."
Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "A truly great person in the Imperial Examination would never encounter such a situation. My father was the top scorer in the Imperial Examination. He passed the examination on his first try..."
Hearing this, Li Nuo raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Your father?"
Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Brother Li is right. I am still far from being as good as my father was in the past."
Li Nuo already had other ideas in mind.
Although Zhou Yu's imperial examination skills are very strong, they are not strong enough to be recognized by the law code.
I don’t know if I can train him in these six months.
Perhaps, I can find an opportunity to give his father, the doctor in the imperial carriage, a try.
However, this idea may not be feasible.
No matter how high your talent is, if you don't practice for a long time, it will decline.
According to Li Nuo's understanding, the code captures their current abilities, not their peak period.
Even if Zhou Yu's father had a stronger talent in imperial examinations, he is certainly not as good as he was when he was young.
He couldn't just take a fifth-rank doctor from the Imperial Horse Department to the horse farm for daily training, so for now he had to place his hopes on Zhou Yu.
During the short conversation between the two, Butler Wu had already driven his car through one of the Five Guards checkpoints.
The result was that Zhou Yu had to change another car.
When you leave, you have to compensate the horse farm for its losses.
He once again proved to Li Nuo that martial arts and driving skills really have nothing to do with each other.
Li Nuo also picked a carriage and chose another track. He drove the carriage slowly along the track to familiarize himself with the road conditions.
The Ming and Luan section of Subject 1 is a long, straight and bumpy road.
Although there are no bends, the ground conditions are poor and it is difficult to avoid bumps.
Not only must one be extremely familiar with the road conditions and carriages, one must also have a good brain and be able to calculate the optimal route while traveling at high speed.
This ability is simply impossible to achieve without three to five years of practice.
Even for Zhou Yu, this subject is his weak point.
Not to mention those poor students who only started to take the Imperial Examination after entering the academy. Several years of hard practice can only ensure that they are not left too far behind others in this subject.
Although the second level of the water chase has many bends, the road surface is relatively flat and is simpler than the first level.
Subject three, passing the Junbiao, and subject four, dancing the cross, are not difficult. The key is to be accurate while ensuring speed.
Time is also an important criterion for evaluating the results of the Imperial Examination.
The last subject, Chasing Birds from the Left, is a comprehensive subject of archery and imperial defense, and is also the most difficult one among the five imperial defenses.
For this item, most students will choose to sacrifice speed in pursuit of accuracy.
The speed is too slow and the score will be lowered by one level at most.
If the arrow misses the target, the candidate will be directly judged as failed in the imperial examination. Unless he or she can rank first in other subjects, he or she will have no chance of becoming a Jinshi.
The imperial examination is so cruel.
Those who can pass the imperial examination are not ordinary people. Any small mistake may lead to their elimination.
Even though Zhou Yu drove at lightning speed, it was completely different for Li Nuo when he drove on his own.
Even though he was moving at an extremely slow speed, the horse was just taking a stroll, and its butt still hurt when it passed the first section of road.
In the second section of continuous bends, if Steward Wu hadn't used his inner energy to support him, he would have fallen into the ditch three times.
On the third section of the road, even if you drive at a snail's pace through the narrow gate, you can't avoid scratching it.
He walked slowly through the fork in the fourth section of the road and did not take the wrong path.
But in the last test, he shot five times and missed the target five times, not even hitting the edge of the target...
After driving back to the original spot, Li Nuo looked at Zhou Yu who was speeding on the track, and murmured in his heart: "Depending on you..."
Not far away, there was a figure who had been staring at Li Nuo. He saw everything and almost couldn't help laughing.
Among the five imperial guards, one is blocked.
That’s all, and you still want to take the imperial examination?
I really don't know what the Marquis is worried about. For such a mediocre person, he made such a big fuss and wasted hundreds of thousands of taels of silver just to prevent him from participating in the next imperial examination...
With his current condition, he can't even pass the spring examination, so how can he become a Jinshi?
He smiled sarcastically, no longer wanting to watch any further, and quickly left the stable and got into a carriage.
The carriage drove along the streets of Chang'an for a while and soon arrived in front of a tall gate.
Yongshou Marquis Mansion.
After listening to his subordinate's description, Yongshou Hou's first reaction was also disbelief. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you didn't see the wrong person? Is that really Li Xuanjing's son?"
The man nodded and said confidently, "My Lord, I couldn't have been wrong. I know what Li Xuanjing's son looks like. I saw him get off the carriage at the Li Mansion with my own eyes..."
Yongshou Hou still didn't believe it and continued to ask, "Is his imperial examination score very bad?"
The man couldn't help laughing and said, "Not only is he bad, he doesn't know how to drive at all. Even the dog in the mansion can drive better than him. My Lord, you are really worrying too much this time..."
Marquis Yongshou sat back in his chair and took a sip of tea.
Is he really overthinking it?
Even if he was overthinking it, he couldn't be blamed.
It’s all Li Xuanjing’s fault, as he left him with indelible memories.
He was very worried that another Li Xuanjing would appear in the court.
Li Xuanjing alone is difficult enough to deal with, not to mention that although Li Xuanjing is cruel and ruthless, he is still cautious in doing things and will not easily attack the powerful.
His son is even more lawless than him.
Now it seems that he really was worrying too much.
Li Xuanjing's son is not as brilliant as his father, but a complete mediocrity.
No, he just couldn't understand, if that boy had no ability, why was he so anxious to enter the academy?
I had worried for nothing. In order to stop him, I had to advance my original plan and forcibly spend silver to establish connections among the three provinces, losing more than 100,000 taels of silver in vain.
If those dozen officials had taken their time and divided up the group one by one, the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver could have been saved and used for more important things.
He originally thought that Li Xuanjing's son was a fool and that he had just spread false information.
Maybe this is a trick to divert other people's attention.
Judging from his performance these days, Li Xuanjing's son is not only not a fool, but also inherited Li Xuanjing's intelligence.
He was very worried that all this was Li Xuanjing's plan.
Perhaps, during these eighteen years, he had already secretly trained his son to be proficient in the six arts, in order to make a splash in the imperial examinations, and then have the father and son serve as officials in the same court, completely controlling the court in their hands.
Fortunately, he was overthinking...
(End of this chapter)
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