Chapter 175 The imperial examination is over, and the Ministry of Rites is faced with a problem!
The first examination hall.
During the Imperial Examination, a huge cry of surprise erupted from the side of a lane.
The sudden sound even scared the candidates in other lanes, causing the reins in someone's hand to shake, and the carriage either hit the narrow gate or deviated from the lane.
A candidate was shooting arrows when he was suddenly startled. The arrow missed the target and almost hit the examiner next to him.
Although they all appealed successfully and got the opportunity to retake the exam, they couldn't help but look in the direction where the sound came from, wondering what was going on there.
At this moment, next to a lane.
Whether it was the candidates or the examiners, the expressions on their faces were full of shock.
In "Ming He Luan", there is no feeling of bumps, and the music is neat and rhythmic; in "Zhu Shui Qu", the vehicle always stays in the center of the lane while passing at high speed; in "Guo Jun Biao", there is no scratch on any narrow gate; in "Wu Jiao Qu", the fork in the road is passed quickly and accurately; in "Zhu Qin Zuo", the arrow hits the center of the bull's eye.
It was a wonderful show.
Not only did it shock the candidates who were watching on the sidelines, but even the examiners gave excellent comments in unison.
Originally, in the imperial examinations, candidates' scores were to be kept confidential.
But the Imperial Examination was not like the Examinations of Literature, Mathematics and Rites. There was no way to maintain absolute confidentiality in such a public setting.
The candidate's performance was so wonderful that all the examiners were impressed, and his excellent results could not be hidden.
Zhou Yu had already finished the Imperial Examination and was attracted by the commotion here. When he learned that someone had obtained an excellent score in the Imperial Examination, he was shocked. When he saw someone jumping off the carriage, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.
Brother Li?
It turned out to be Brother Li!
Half a year ago, he didn't know how to do the Imperial Examination. How could he have mastered it to perfection in such a short period of time?
You really are worthy of being Brother Li!
Zhou Yu was shocked for a moment before accepting the reality. After all, he was the son of the top scholar in six subjects. He might have just been hiding his incompetence in order to make a splash in the imperial examination...
Li Nuo walked over from the driveway, saw Zhou Yu standing there, and asked, "How did you do on the test?"
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Above all, I can't compare to Brother Li... Fortunately, I have Brother Li, otherwise the top spot in the imperial examination would have been taken away by that black boy."
Although Zhou Yu himself did not become the top scorer in the imperial examination, he was very happy that his brother Li won the championship.
Li Nuo originally felt a little guilty for snatching Zhou Yu's title of first place in the Imperial Examination for Li An Ning. However, after learning that even without him, Zhou Yu would not be the first in the Imperial Examination, this guilt quickly disappeared without a trace.
Li Nuo was actually quite surprised that Zhou Yu could get this far. He always thought that he and Song Yu were equally matched, but now it seems that the gap between them is more than just a little bit.
He patted Zhou Yu on the shoulder and said with a smile: "There is only one last subject left, try to get on the list!"
Zhou Yu bowed and said, "Thank you, Brother Li."
A trace of doubt emerged in his mind.
For some reason, when facing Brother Li, he felt the same way as when facing his father...
At the same time, some doubts also emerged in the mind of Zhou Ting, the doctor of the Imperial Guard.
Why is his driving style so similar to mine?
This is the Zhou family's unique control technique. Could it be that Zhou Yu taught him?
He taught his son for more than ten years, but he is not as good as others in half a year. He is indeed worthy of being the son of Lord Li...
…
After screening in the first four subjects, more than 70% of the candidates have been eliminated.
The Six Arts are not something that ordinary people can afford to learn, especially those students from poor families. Even if they pass the music examination, they will be blocked from the imperial examination.
The imperial examination has already been held for five subjects, with only the last one left tomorrow.
After the archery exam is over, this imperial examination will come to an end.
At present, the test papers of the subjects of literature, mathematics, and etiquette have been sent to a special place for sealing.
These test papers will be kept for several years, during which time the imperial court may conduct random inspections of certain test papers at any time.
If there is a problem with the test paper, for example, a paper that should have a low score is given a high score, everyone from the candidate to the examiner will be held accountable.
The top scorers in the first three subjects will not be announced until the end of the imperial examination.
As for the top scorer in Leke, it must be one of those two best ones.
Li Nuo, the son of the Dali Temple Minister, and Gong Zheng, the heir of the Jinzhou music family.
Li Nuo's father was the first in six subjects to be ranked first in the imperial examination.
Gong Zheng's family is a family of music that has been passed down for hundreds of years. It is said that one of their ancestors was a genius who entered the Tao through music.
Many people in Chang'an are looking forward to the final showdown between the two.
After today's imperial examination ended, the top scorer of this subject has emerged.
Among all the examiners, the only one who scored the best in the imperial examination was the son of the Minister of the Dali Temple.
A month ago, he got the first place in six subjects in the spring examination. Although it caused some shock, the difficulty of the spring examination was incomparable to the imperial examination. No one thought that he could replicate the legend of the spring examination in the imperial examination.
But at least so far, he has secured one of the six top spots, and the chances of winning the other one are also fifty-fifty.
Judging from the results of these two subjects, it was inevitable for him to pass the imperial examination.
Ministry of Personnel.
The list of successful candidates will be announced within three days after the imperial examination.
Time is extremely tight, so before the imperial examination is over, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites will summarize the results of the subjects that have been completed.
Each examination institute has already sent over the results of the first few subjects.
The clerks from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites are busy compiling the rankings.
The assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel have been in charge of the Ministry of Personnel these days.
Just wait for today's archery exam to be over, add the results of the last exam, and then we can draw up the list of successful candidates.
Although the list of successful candidates has not yet been determined, the top scorers in each subject have already appeared and are just waiting to be announced.
Every step of the imperial examination is strictly regulated. The invigilator is only responsible for invigilating, the examiner is only responsible for evaluating, there are people who take records, there are people who post the results, and there are people who summarize the results.
Except for special circumstances in the last three subjects, the information of candidates is strictly kept confidential during the imperial examination.
Once the candidate information is leaked, the relevant personnel will be held accountable.
Therefore, even as the chief examiners of this imperial examination, the two still don’t know who the top scorers are.
Inside a room in the Ministry of Personnel.
The Vice Minister of Rites and the Left Vice Minister of Personnel were leisurely sipping tea.
The Minister of Personnel took a sip of tea and said with some emotion: "It is only during the imperial examination that we can have such leisure time. Today, the imperial examination is over, and our comfortable days are over..."
The Minister of Rites agreed with his words and said, "Yes, after the imperial examination is over, the Ministry of Rites will have to prepare for Princess An Ning's marriage..."
As ministers, both of them are busy with official duties on weekdays.
During the imperial examination period, all court affairs had to give way to the examination, and they had more free time.
Speaking of Princess An Ning's marriage, the Minister of Rites remembered something and said, "By the way, please arrange for the number one scholar in the Rites category of this imperial examination, Lord Chen, to work in our Rites Department."
The Minister of Personnel thought for a moment and said, "Isn't it the turn of the Taichang Temple to be the top scholar in this year's rites exam?"
Both the Taichang Temple and the Ministry of Rites need talents in the field of rituals.
In previous years, students who performed well in the ritual section of the imperial examinations were generally given priority in these two government offices. Last year, the top scorer in the ritual section went to the Ministry of Rites, so this time it should be the turn of the Taichang Temple.
The Minister of Rites waved his hand and said, "The number one in the music exam can be given to the Taichang Temple, but the number one in the ritual exam will be decided by the Ministry of Rites. I have seen his exam paper, and I know this man is born to work in the Ministry of Rites. He is as familiar with the ritual system as the doctor of the Ministry of Rites. This time, we are planning the marriage of Princess An Ning, so I plan to let him do it, just to see what he is capable of..."
The Minister of Personnel smiled and asked, "What if the princess chooses him as her consort?"
The Minister of Rites smiled and said jokingly, "Then let him prepare his own wedding..."
This possibility is too small. The best choice for a son-in-law is definitely the top scorer in the imperial examination, followed by the top scorer in the literature examination. The other top scorers cannot be compared with them.
If the Ministry of Rites selects a prince consort, the first two will definitely be given priority.
But this time, His Majesty has made it clear that Princess An Ning can choose her own husband. If the top scorers in the imperial examination and the top scorers in the literature exam are not good-looking, and Her Royal Highness the Princess happens to care about the appearance of the husband's husband, then there is a possibility that the other top scorers may become the husband's husband.
As they were talking, an official from the Ministry of Personnel stepped forward and said, "My Lords, the results of the first five subjects have been summarized."
In his hands, he held a tray.
There were five envelopes on the tray.
In addition to announcing the list of successful candidates, the imperial examination would also announce the top 100 candidates in each subject. Those who performed well in each subject, even if they did not pass the imperial examination, could still get a good job in an academy or elsewhere.
Except for the music subject, which still has some uncertainties, the other four subjects, namely literature, mathematics, etiquette and imperial examination, have already been settled.
The Minister of Rites took the envelope with the word "Li" written on it, opened it, and looked up impatiently. He had been curious about this top scholar in the Rites category with an excellent test paper for a long time.
The next moment, the expression on his face froze.
"hiss……"
On the other side, the official from the Ministry of Personnel, who had just opened several envelopes, took a deep breath.
The two looked at each other and silently exchanged the envelopes in their hands.
"hiss!"
"hiss!"
They both gasped at the same time.
Li Nuo, the top scorer in the rites subject, Li Nuo, the top scorer in the mathematics subject, plus the top scorer in the imperial examination who was confirmed yesterday, he has already won the top prize in three of the six subjects in the imperial examination, and he is also a strong contender for the top prize in the music subject.
There is no need to look at Yu Ke's envelope.
Both of them looked at the envelope with the word "book" written on it.
The Minister of Rites realized that something was very serious. He reached out his hand several times, then retracted it several times. Finally, he could only signal the Minister of Personnel and said, "Master Chen, please open it..."
The Minister of Personnel took the envelope, slowly opened it, and took out a piece of paper full of names.
The Minister of Rites glanced at him and asked, "How is it?"
The Minister of Personnel looked away from the paper and said with emotion, "He is indeed worthy of being the son of Lord Li..."
Before he could finish, the Minister of Rites already knew the result.
There was no doubt who would be the top scorer in this imperial examination. The only uncertainty was whether he could be the top scorer in six subjects like his father.
There was a long silence in the yamen.
Soon, an official came in and said, "My Lords, the shooting test has ended. The various examination halls have sent us their shooting test scores. It is said that a candidate with excellent shooting skills appeared in the first examination hall..."
The two looked at each other. The doctor of the Ministry of Rites looked at him, moved his lips, and asked, "Is this archer excellent called Li Nuo?"
The official was stunned when he heard this and asked in surprise, "Sir, you already know?"
The doctor from the Ministry of Rites did not answer. He sat on the chair and slowly covered his face with his hands.
He had no grudge against Li Nuo, and Li Nuo's winning of several top honors had nothing to do with him.
But Princess An Ning's husband was related to the Ministry of Rites.
His Majesty asked the princess to choose one of the seven top scholars as her husband.
If any of the top scorers does not meet the requirements, just replace him.
But who could have thought that the seventh top scholar would be one person, and a married man at that?
If he is also the top scholar in the music examination, will the princess marry him?
Go ahead and get married, there is no precedent of a royal princess marrying a married man.
Don't marry her. That was said by His Majesty himself in front of all the officials in the world. It is equivalent to an imperial decree. How can it be taken back?
This was an outcome he never expected.
His heart was in a mess and he scratched his hair hard.
Even though he had been the Minister of Rites for so many years and had dealt with countless unexpected situations, he still didn't know what to do in this situation...
(End of this chapter)
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