The next morning, at the same time, Yongqi, along with Xiaoyanzi and the others, were already seated in the study, waiting for Ji Xiaolan to arrive!
When Ji Xiaolan came in, he was holding a lot of blank sheets of paper. He handed them out one by one and said, "Today's test will be in the form of me directly asking you questions, and then you will write down the answers. There are ten questions in total. You will have 15 minutes for the short questions and 35 minutes for the long questions..."
After Ji Xiaolan finished explaining the rules, he began to read the first question. Perhaps to ease their tension, the first question was a simple one: write down what the Four Books and Five Classics are.
And they wrote down the sentence that impressed them the most.
During the examination, everyone was writing furiously. After the examination began, Emperor Qianlong and the Empress Dowager quietly came to the Imperial Study. The two sat at the top and could see the actions of the people below very clearly.
The assessment time passed quickly, yet slowly; everyone's hands were almost worn out from writing so much before the assessment time was finally up!
As soon as they put down their pens, they heard Emperor Qianlong say, "Put down your pens immediately and go to the Qianqing Palace to eat something and regain your strength. The Empress Dowager is already waiting for you there!"
"..." Everyone was silent for a moment, then immediately got up and ran towards the Qianqing Palace. Yongqi and the others stayed at the back. As they walked slowly out, they heard Qianlong say to Ji Xiaolan, "Xiaolan, I'll have to trouble you to hurry up and review the papers!"
"This is my duty, so there's no question of whether it's troublesome or not. Besides, both Little Swallow and Qing'er are incredibly smart, so they find the lessons quite easy!"
"That's true. You'd only break down if Xiao Yanzi couldn't keep up with the pace or couldn't understand what you were saying in class..."
Ji Xiaolan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm just afraid she won't understand and will misunderstand what I mean. In that case, it will be both painful and joyful. Last time, the Fifth Prince mentioned to me that when he first introduced the Four Great Talents to Xiao Yanzi, Zhu Zhishan had a name called Zhizhisheng. Xiao Yanzi not only didn't understand the name, but also pronounced it as a 'squeak' sound, and said that he should be called Duoyizhi instead."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianlong smiled and said, "I never imagined that Little Swallow would be so interesting when she first started learning!"
"Yes, it's fortunate that the Fifth Prince gave her some prior knowledge, otherwise our Imperial Study would probably be filled with laughter all year round, and I, as the master, wouldn't be able to show off my authority!"
"Haha, it's not bad to be laughing all the time. Being able to learn while playing is a good method!"
Yongqi, who had been eavesdropping outside, had no choice but to come out. "Master Ji, I was just saying it casually to you. Why did you tell Father Emperor?"
"Why can't she tell me? I'm not an outsider. Besides, she's a little swallow from outside the palace. It's not a big problem if she hasn't studied before and doesn't know these common sense things. Moreover, she has a wonderful explanation, and I think it's good!"
Little Swallow couldn't resist running out, and Qing'er and the others naturally couldn't hide any longer, so they all came out. "Your Majesty, do you really find this amusing? Don't you think I'm ignorant and incompetent?"
"Who is born knowing all this? Doesn't everyone need to learn gradually? You didn't know before, so it's normal to be confused and not understand when you first heard it. Some misunderstandings are normal. You'll understand later! It's not a big problem!"
Emperor Qianlong paused for a moment and then said, "Yongqi and the others only started attending school at the age of six, and they've only been there for a few years. You've just started, so if you can catch up to their level, then you'll be a genius, and I'll be the one who gains something!"
Such a wonderful girl, with an interesting way of speaking that makes people happy just by listening to her. Even if Yongqi doesn't like her, he really wants to keep her by his side as a daughter!
"Little Swallow, you can rest assured, the Emperor won't dislike you!"
"Alright, you children, hurry up and go to the Qianqing Palace to get something to eat. You've been writing all morning, you must be hungry. Qing'er, don't keep the Empress Dowager waiting!" Emperor Qianlong planned to stay here with Ji Xiaolan until the children finished reading their papers before going to eat, which is why he asked the Empress Dowager to go to the Qianqing Palace to oversee them. "Go on."
Then everyone headed towards the Qianqing Palace, where all the other princes and young masters were already seated. The Empress Dowager was also seated there, and everyone bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Empress Dowager!"
The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "Get up, everyone. Go wash your hands quickly, then eat something. Don't starve yourselves!"
After everyone washed their hands, they sat down to eat. "The Emperor said that you're all on holiday this afternoon so you can have a good rest. But you mustn't be too unruly!"
Upon hearing this news, Yongzhang and the others were naturally overjoyed and shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Yongqi and the others were also very happy, especially Yongqi. In fact, he was thinking that no matter how Xiaoyanzi and Qing'er did on the exam, he would talk to Qianlong and ask him to take the two girls out of the palace for a walk. However, if they did well on the exam, it would be easier for him to ask!
After they finished eating, around 1:45 PM, Emperor Qianlong and Ji Xiaolan entered the Qianqing Palace one after the other. After paying their respects to the Empress Dowager, they looked at the children and said, "Xiaolan and I have reviewed all your papers. I must say, you haven't been lazy this past month; in fact, you've made some progress!"
"After comparing your exam papers, I selected the three best. The first one is undoubtedly the Fifth Prince's. Firstly, his handwriting is neat and clean, and secondly, the content is most closely related to the question..."
In short, after praising Yongqi, Xiaoyanzi and the others were genuinely happy for him. Xiaoyanzi, in particular, couldn't help but start showering him with compliments, saying, "Yongqi, you're amazing! I originally thought that having you teach me would be a waste of your time, but I didn't expect that not only would it not be a waste of your time, but it would also help you improve!"
Ji Xiaolan explained, "Little Swallow, when the Fifth Prince is teaching you, he is essentially reviewing the material himself. So, his teaching isn't a waste of time; on the contrary, it allows both of you to improve together!"
Then Ji Xiaolan announced the remaining two names, "The second one is Qing Gege's, and the third one is the Fourth Prince's..." After praising the others in turn, Ji Xiaolan finally talked about Xiao Yanzi.
"Although you ranked lower this time, your progress is still visible to the naked eye; although you are still far behind the Fifth Prince, I believe that as long as you persevere, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle. As long as you continue to persist, one day you will be able to catch up with him!"
"Xiaolan is right, Little Swallow, you still have a lot of room for improvement. I hope you can continue to work hard!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty and Master Ji. Little Swallow will definitely continue to work hard and not let you down!"
After Xiao Yanzi finished speaking, Qianlong nodded in satisfaction. Then Yongqi said, "Father, I have a favor to ask, and I hope you will grant it!"
Emperor Qianlong looked at Yongqi curiously, "Yongqi, what new ideas do you have now?"
"Your Majesty, I promised Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er that I would take them out of the palace to play, no matter how they did in their assessments. That's why I dared to ask you for permission!"
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