Chapter 176: Sin!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
As three dull bells rang, announcing the end of the archery exam, this imperial examination also came to an end.
All the candidates need to do is wait.
According to convention, three days later, the list of successful candidates in this year’s imperial examinations would be posted outside the palace walls.
What is different from previous imperial examinations is that there is no suspense on some of the names on this year's list of Jinshi.
The top scorers in the imperial examination and archery examination were determined on the spot. They were both Li Nuo, the son of the Minister of the Dali Temple.
He was the only one who achieved excellent results in these two subjects.
The champion of Leke will be chosen between him and another person.
The imperial court should have known the top scorers in the literature, mathematics and rites subjects, but they would not be announced to the public until three days later.
Of course, the imperial court already knew the list of top scorers in these three subjects.
But the officials concerned would rather remain unaware.
Ministry of Personnel.
The Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Rites, the Left and Right Vice Ministers of Personnel, and the Vice Minister of Rites, high-ranking officials from the two ministries gathered together, but were troubled by several small lists.
The Minister of Rites looked at everyone and asked, "Everyone, what should we do about this matter?"
The Minister of Personnel said calmly, "I don't understand what Lord Du means. The imperial examination is fair and just. Even if the top scorer in the six subjects is the same person, it can be announced truthfully. This kind of thing has happened before..."
The Minister of Rites cursed inwardly, this old fox, this matter has nothing to do with their Ministry of Personnel, but it has a lot to do with the Ministry of Rites.
It concerns the selection of the son-in-law. If the top scorers in the six subjects are really the same person, one of His Majesty's own face and the royal family's face must be lost.
It’s better not to lose face if you can.
He stood up, snorted coldly, and said with a flick of his sleeves: "Okay, okay, if your Ministry of Personnel doesn't care, then our Ministry of Rites won't care either. Let the royal family worry about their own affairs!"
Prince You's Palace.
Inside a certain hall, King You put down the book in his hand, raised his head, and asked in surprise: "Minister of Rites?"
The imperial examination had just ended, and the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel should be busy with the imperial examination. Why would the Minister of Rites come to Prince You's mansion?
King You stood up and said, "Let Lord Du come in."
After a while, seeing a figure walking into the hall, King You asked, "Why is Lord Du here? Did something go wrong with the imperial examination?"
The Minister of Rites said, "Nothing has happened with the imperial examination, but something is about to happen to the royal family. Your Highness Prince You, you are the regent this month, so you should make the decision. The Ministry of Rites cannot make the decision on this matter..."
Soon, King You was stunned and murmured, "How could this happen?"
The Minister of Rites didn't say anything, but he complained countless times in his heart.
Who is so talkative? There is no rush to choose a prince consort. Can't we wait until the imperial examination is over?
It seems that it was proposed by their Ministry of Rites.
That's okay.
If you want to blame someone, you can only blame Your Majesty for talking nonsense.
Whether he takes back his decision or thinks of other solutions, the Ministry of Rites will not be blamed.
After thinking for a moment, King You said, "Don't make this public yet. I will give you a reply tomorrow after I have discussed it with someone."
The Minister of Rites said, "Your Highness, please hurry up. The imperial examination cannot be delayed for even a moment."
King You nodded and said, "I will give you an answer before noon tomorrow."
March 13th.
The first day after the imperial examination.
A lot of things happened last night.
After ten years of hard study, the students finally got rid of their shackles and started partying all night long in Chang'an.
Someone forgot that there was a curfew in Chang'an, and a group of people got drunk and wandered around the streets late at night, and were severely reprimanded by the patrolling guards.
However, due to their status, they did not receive severe punishment.
In addition, many women from brothels and music halls were arrested last night.
In the past few months, students from Daxia have gathered in Chang'an. These places of entertainment are where they often linger. Some brothels and music houses, seeing that they are outsiders and will leave Chang'an soon, start to have evil intentions towards them.
These included deliberately raising prices, fraud and intimidation, which seriously violated industry rules and tarnished the impression of Chang'an in the minds of students from other places. The Chang'an County Government imposed strict penalties on these merchants who broke the rules.
Last night, the Chang'an County jail was packed with people, almost all of them women. It was said that after they were punished and fined and released the next day, the whole cell was filled with the fragrance.
The Imperial Palace.
As soon as day broke, the princes received a summons.
The one who summoned them was King You, who was also the regent this month and temporarily exercised the power of the emperor during this month.
Prince Ji was the last to arrive. As soon as he entered the hall, he covered his mouth and yawned repeatedly, saying, "Brother Prince You, why did you call us here so early? I just went to bed and was woken up by your people..."
King You glanced at him, and he found a seat and sat down obediently.
After Prince Ji arrived, all the princes who served as regents had already arrived.
Unlike Prince Ji, the other princes knew that Prince You summoned everyone together early in the morning because there must be something very important, so important that he could not make the decision alone.
Considering the timing, this matter must be related to the imperial examination.
Sure enough, after Prince Ji sat down, Prince You slowly said, "I'm sorry to summon my brother the Prince of Han and my brothers so early. There is really an urgent and important matter. I can't make the decision alone, and I need to discuss it with everyone..."
After hearing King You's words, even the princes who had seen many storms showed surprise and shock on their faces.
The King of Han stood up and said in disbelief, "What? The top scorers in the six imperial examinations are all Li Xuanjing's sons?"
King You said, "Although it is not the sixth subject yet, there is a 50% chance that it is the sixth subject."
Prince Chun had a dull expression and only one thought in his mind.
He really guessed it right, Xuan Jing's son is going to become his brother-in-law!
Prince Gong recalled something and said, "My father seemed to have said that he wanted An Ning to choose one of the top scholars as her consort. In this case, she would only have one choice, but I remember that Li Nuo seemed to be married..."
King You said: "This is the problem. An Ning cannot marry a married man, and the words that father has spoken cannot be taken back."
Prince Gong thought for a moment and spoke again, "Father's words cannot be taken back, but if he is allowed to divorce his wife, then he will no longer be a married man, right?"
Before King You could speak, the King of Han waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about? You want someone to divorce his wife just to marry the princess. Do you still want to save the royal family's reputation?"
Prince Gong thought about it for a while, and then said, "Why not take back his number one scholar and replace him with someone who is not married? Then there will be a second choice, right?"
Seeing that everyone, including Prince Ji, was looking at him, Prince Gong asked, "Why are you all looking at me?"
No one spoke.
Taking back a top scholar is easy to say...
The imperial examination was the foundation of the imperial court. It was precisely because of the imperial examination that the children of major families were able to enter the center of power and the various states of Daxia were able to maintain long-term stability.
The reason why the imperial examination is recognized by everyone is because of its fairness.
Once the fairness of the imperial examination is openly undermined, many things will begin to collapse.
All his current subjects are excellent, which have been unanimously certified by different examiners, acknowledged by the chief examiner, and approved after review by the chief examiner. The process has been witnessed by many people.
It is simply impossible to take back a top scholar.
Whoever among them does this will lose the qualification to regent.
This is more important than the royal face.
King You waved his hand and said, "This is absolutely impossible."
Prince Gong folded his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said, "This won't work, and that won't work either. I won't say anything more. You guys can do whatever you want..."
At this time, Prince Rui thought for a moment and said, "Hasn't the number one scholar of the Leke been decided yet? Isn't it enough to just make sure he doesn't become the number one scholar of the Leke?"
King You said: "Both of them are excellent in music. The other candidate may not be able to beat him."
King Rui smiled and said, "This is not easy. The results are determined by the examiners. They are all excellent. No one is better than the other. Just tell the examiners that no matter how they play, they should choose the other one. Isn't this problem solved?"
He didn't understand why his royal brothers couldn't think of such a simple solution.
At this time, King You looked at him and said with a smile: "Good idea, since this idea was thought up by my brother, you can carry it out. Okay, everyone disperse..."
…
Prince Chun's Mansion.
When Prince Chun returned to the palace, he was still feeling emotional.
They are truly father and son, exactly like his father back then.
It’s a pity that because it involves the reputation of the royal family, he can no longer monopolize the six subjects this time.
The royal family would not allow him to monopolize the top spot in six subjects.
The court would not allow it either.
This matter has been unanimously agreed upon by all the princes who serve as regents. King You even informed the three provinces, and even the two prime ministers acquiesced to this matter.
He had just walked into the palace when a figure jumped out from the bushes.
"Royal brother!"
Prince Chun patted his chest, looked at the pretty figure, and said, "An Ning, please stop making such a fuss every time. My brother is old, and sooner or later he will be frightened sick by you..."
"Okay, okay, I'll pay attention next time..."
Li An Ning looked at him and asked impatiently, "Brother Emperor, what are you doing in the palace so early in the morning? Do you already know who the champion is?..."
Prince Chun smiled and said, "You are concerned about who your husband is, right?"
Li Anning blushed, and then said embarrassedly: "Nonsense, what girl doesn't care about her own lifelong affairs?"
Prince Chun sighed: "Our little An Ning has grown up..."
Li An Ning urged: "Brother, tell me quickly..."
Prince Chun had no choice but to say, "Alright, alright, originally these things cannot be revealed, but who made you An Ning? The number one in this imperial examination is Li Nuo, and he is also the number one in the literature, mathematics, ritual, imperial examination, and archery examinations..."
Seeing the uncontrollable joy on her face, Prince Chun was stunned and asked, "You don't want Li Nuo to be your consort, do you?"
Li Anning's face turned redder after being touched by his brother's words. He immediately said, "How is that possible? We are good friends..."
Prince Chun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good."
Li Anning was stunned: "What's good?"
Prince Chun said: "Because he was not the top scorer in the music exam."
Li Anning's face turned pale at first, then he realized something and asked, "Why, isn't Leco not over yet?"
Prince Chun explained: "Although the Leke has not ended yet, he cannot be the Leke champion, otherwise, you will have to marry him. The royal family will not allow such a thing to happen, and the court will not allow it..."
Li Anning's body trembled, and she felt dizzy. She barely stood up and said angrily: "This is unfair, this is cheating, I will go find my father!"
Prince Chun looked at her expression, his eyes thoughtful, and shook his head, "It's useless. My father is in seclusion and will not see anyone. This matter is the result of a discussion among all the regent princes. The two prime ministers and the three ministries have also acquiesced. That Le Ke genius is said to be both talented and beautiful... An Ning, An Ning!"
Before Prince Chun could finish his words, Li An Ning had already turned and left.
Looking at the distraught figure, Prince Chun finally confirmed what he was thinking. He sighed and said slowly, "What a sin..."
(End of this chapter)
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