Hongzhou stretched and said wearily, "I'm so tired, but thankfully I've finished everything..."
Hongli calmly tidied the table and chuckled, "Do you think this is the same as regular classes? You can sleep whenever you want and slack off whenever you want?"
Hongzhou picked up the draft paper on the table, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Hongli, who perfectly dodged it.
Hongzhou jumped up in anger: "When did I slack off? I was just tired from studying, okay?"
Hongli deliberately said loudly, "Yes, of course it's tiring to learn to be like a big tabby cat..."
Hongzhou was baffled: "What big tabby cat? What are you talking about?"
The palace maids and eunuchs burst into laughter. Hongzhou stood up, looking bewildered. When he saw the palace maids and eunuchs staring at his face, he suddenly realized what was happening, ran to the inner room, and found a mirror.
"Ah... what happened to my face?" Hongzhou screamed from inside the house.
Hongli shook his head and replied, "You drew it yourself, why ask someone else..."
Hongzhou ran out, vigorously wiping his face: "You knew perfectly well, yet you still wouldn't tell me..."
Hongli shrugged: "I thought you drew it on on purpose, it's quite cute like this..."
After saying this, he ordered a palace maid to fetch water. Hongzhou washed himself three times, then went in to carefully look in the mirror to make sure he had washed off the ink before collapsing to the ground: "This is only the first day of the exam, there are still two days before we're free..."
Hongli had already tidied up his desk and reached out to pull Hongzhou: "You and I are still in the palace, so we can still move around freely. I heard that the candidates at the Imperial Academy are stuck in the examination hall and can't go anywhere. That's real torture for them..."
Hongzhou found the thought terrifying and said, "Food and lodging are understandable, but how can we make things convenient?"
Hongli said, "Of course, I'll relieve myself inside..."
Hongzhou shuddered, waved his hand, and said, "I'd better go back to the palace, take a hot bath, and get a good night's sleep..." After saying that, he quickly left the study, turned to Hongli at the door, and said, "Fourth Brother, I think you shouldn't leave the palace either..."
“That’s true. There’s an exam tomorrow, and going back and forth would be a waste of time,” Hongli said.
Hongzhou and Hongli's exam papers were sent back to the Imperial Academy. The Thirteenth Prince cautiously asked the servant, "Did anything happen on the way?"
The servant replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, I did not inform you that the papers sent to the palace were examination papers. The princes were also waiting in the Imperial Study. I watched the two princes finish their examination papers before leaving..."
The Thirteenth Prince breathed a sigh of relief. After glancing at the exam papers, he sandwiched Hongli and Hongzhou's papers among the other candidates' papers and handed them over to the officials.
The Thirteenth Prince did not reveal the origin of the two examination papers, naturally because he did not want the examiners to be biased. The officials could not ask too many questions, so the examination papers of Hongli and Hongzhou were sent to be graded together with the examination papers of the candidates.
On the second and third days, after the Imperial Academy held its examinations, the Thirteenth Prince, as usual, had two copies of the exam papers copied and sent to the palace by fast horse.
After receiving the exam paper, Hongzhou and Hongli answered the questions seriously, just like the other candidates. After finishing, they handed the paper to a servant to be sent back to the Imperial Academy.
The exam was finally over. Although Hongli and Hongzhou didn't know how they had done, they were in high spirits.
They all wanted to know exactly where their skill level stood.
After thinking about it, Thirteen decided to tell Fourth Master about it.
The Fourth Prince was pleased to know that his two sons were eager to improve themselves, and instructed the Thirteenth Prince to follow Hongli and Hongzhou's wishes.
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