Inside the Imperial Academy, a tense examination was underway, but Hongzhou in the Imperial Study was so anxious that he was jumping up and down in a panic.
Hongli sat on the table with his eyes closed, trying to calm himself. He was exasperated by Hongzhou's behavior: "Hongzhou, can't you just sit for a while? What are you doing walking around like this?"
Hongzhou squatted down in front of Hongli and said anxiously, "I'm worried! Look at the time! Is Uncle Thirteen reliable?"
“There’s no use in being anxious. Uncle Thirteen promised us that he would definitely send the exam papers…” Hongli took a deep breath and ignored Hongzhou.
Hongzhou waved his hand and continued pacing: "No, no, if we wait any longer, we'll run out of time..."
Hongli opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead: "Why are you in such a hurry? It's not a real exam... it's just a test of what we've learned..."
Hongzhou waved his hand: "Oh dear, I've already spoken with Uncle Thirteen. Although we're not considered examinees, we'll still return the exam papers to the Imperial Academy with the examinees after the exam so the examiners can grade them. That way, the examiners will know our identities, and they won't give us any special treatment when awarding marks."
Hongli smiled and said, "You've thought of everything."
Hongzhou peered out the window, saying, "I still want to see what the real level is like outside. Think about it, if the examiners knew who we are, they naturally wouldn't dare to give us low scores. What's the point of getting those scores then..."
Hongli got tired of sitting, stood up, patted his back, and was also looking forward to it: "Uncle Thirteen needs time to copy the exam paper, and it will take time to deliver it to the Imperial Academy. There's no use urging you anymore. You might as well rest now and concentrate on answering the questions when the exam paper arrives."
Hongzhou glanced back at Hongli: "I don't need to rest. I can't beat you no matter what I do. I'm just curious about my own abilities..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Thirteen’s servants, led by a eunuch, hurriedly entered.
Just as the servant was about to kneel down to pay his respects, Hongzhou jumped up, rushed over, snatched the paper bag from the man's hand, and hurriedly opened it.
Hongli calmly gestured for the servant to get up: "It's alright, you can get up now. You must be tired from the journey..."
The servant laughed and said, "It's no trouble at all. As soon as the Thirteenth Master received the exam papers, he instructed me to bring them to the two masters..."
"How did the exam at the Imperial Academy go?" Hongli asked calmly, while Hongzhou, standing beside him, eagerly took out his exam paper and flipped it over.
The servant replied, "The examinations at the Imperial Academy proceeded smoothly. The Thirteenth Prince and others were supervising the exams. Before they left, they instructed me to wait here for my two masters to finish so I could take the exam papers back with me..."
Hongzhou tossed a test paper to Hongli and rushed to his seat: "Stop nagging! There's not enough time to begin with, hurry up and answer the questions, or you won't finish..."
Hongzhou, annoyed that his servant was too slow in grinding ink, snatched the inkstone from him, accidentally bumped into the corner of the table, and almost knocked it over, but his hands were covered in ink.
Hongzhou, oblivious, wiped his mouth with his ink-stained hands, perfectly resembling a large tabby cat. While Hongzhou was very cautious as a child, he became increasingly comical with age.
The eunuchs and maids in the Imperial Study all covered their mouths and chuckled, but Hongzhou didn't notice and picked up his pen to begin the exam.
After making a "shh" gesture to the crowd, Hongli also buried his head and began answering the questions.
Hongzhou and Hongli knew this was the best opportunity to test themselves, so they took the exam very seriously. They were even more excited when they learned that the person who set the exam was the Fourth Prince.
Although the examination venues were different, Hongli and Hongzhou took the exams just like any other exams at the Imperial Academy. After a day of intense exams, they finally finished all the exams at the last moment, handed the exam papers to the servant intact, and sent them back to the Imperial Academy.
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