246, Palace Examination
246, Palace Examination
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the palace examination.
Early that morning, Lu Mingfei arrived at the palace gate and lined up with other candidates who were taking the exam.
Last time, all the talents went to the Ministry of Rites together to take etiquette classes, so many of them already knew each other this time.
When he arrived here today, Lu Mingfei saw many familiar candidates from the same class, and also met Fu Lianxin again.
They are ranked at the front in the preliminary examination, and will also be arranged at the front in the palace examination.
Thinking that Fu Lianxin was the grandson of the Taifu family and must have been to the palace, and that their examination seats would be arranged together, Lu Mingfei thought that if he followed Fu Lianxin closely, he would definitely not make any mistakes.
"Brother Fu."
"Brother Lu."
After the two men greeted each other, they stood in front of the team.
Although they had met twice before, Lu Mingfei was not familiar with Fu Lianxin and he didn't know what to talk about with him, so he didn't say anything after standing there. He didn't say anything, and this Master Fu was not the kind of person who would take the initiative to chat with others.
So, both of them stood facing the palace gate and remained silent.
Zhang Lingxuan stood in the middle of the team, several dozen people away from Lu Mingfei, who was at the front. Their positions this time were based on their ranking in the previous exam. The higher the ranking in the previous exam, the higher the position this time.
There were more than 300 people who passed the imperial examination, so there were also more than 300 people queuing here today waiting to enter the palace to take part in the palace examination.
Zhang Lingxuan's position was already above the middle, so if nothing unexpected happened, he felt that he should have no problem getting a second-class Jinshi.
Although the second and third place candidates are both Jinshi, the third place candidate is a Tong Jinshi. This is like the position of a wife and a concubine. The second place candidate is a wife, while the third place candidate can only be a concubine. Therefore, although the third place candidate is also a Jinshi, the position of this Jinshi is very awkward.
In addition, in terms of official appointments, the third class is naturally not as advantageous as the second class and is not granted better positions.
He didn't dare to think about being in the top three of the first class, but if he could get a second-class Jinshi ranking, Zhang Lingxuan felt that his life would not be in vain and he would have lived up to the ancestors of the Zhang family.
They waited at the palace gate for a long time before a palace servant came out.
A young eunuch came out and made a formal bow when he saw them. He said, "Greetings, gentlemen of the Imperial Examination. Please follow me inside."
"Sorry to trouble you, father-in-law." Fu Lianxin said.
Lu Mingfei also followed Fu Lianxin in thanking the father-in-law.
At this time, he and Fu Lianxin were standing at the front of the team. He naturally noticed that when the young eunuch looked at Fu Lianxin, he nodded and smiled at Fu Lianxin. Obviously, the young eunuch knew Fu Lianxin, and Fu Lianxin also knew him.
This proved that his initial guess was correct. Young Master Fu had indeed been to the palace, and he might even be a frequent visitor to the palace, otherwise this little eunuch would not have known Fu Lianxin.
Perhaps thanks to Fu Lianxin, the young eunuch also treated him well.
After crossing the palace gate, there is a road leading to the imperial palace. On both sides are towering palace walls, blue bricks and red tiles. The mottled walls bear the traces of time.
Looking at the two towering palace walls, Lu Mingfei thought of those people trapped in this imperial city. In this imperial city, there are masters like the emperor, and there are servants like the eunuch in front of him. Some are high above, and naturally there are also people crawling on the ground.
For these candidates, this door is equivalent to the Dragon Gate. As long as they jump over this door, they will be able to enter the official career and become officials.
He didn't know what other people were feeling at the moment; perhaps they were excited, filled with ideals and ambitions. But he himself was mostly calm, with a feeling of walking through history, as if he, too, had become a part of it.
This feeling is both fresh and full of a sense of mission.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, they followed the young eunuch who led the way and arrived at the entrance of the Golden Throne Hall.
…
The distance from the palace gate to the entrance of the Golden Throne Hall is not too far.
But for these scholars, it took many people more than ten years or even decades to get from the county examination to the palace examination. Some of them went from youth to old age, and it was a difficult journey to get here.
As early as when he participated in the provincial examination, Lu Mingfei had noticed that most of the candidates taking the examination were over 30 years old. When it came to the imperial examination, there were quite a few people in their 40s and 50s, and the oldest ones were even full of white hair.
On the contrary, young people like them, in their teens and twenties, are the minority.
He didn't know how old Fu Lianxin was, but he looked about the same age as him, perhaps even a few years older. The two of them stood at the front of the group, forming a strange pair of figures within the group, simply because they were both very young, one having placed first in the imperial examination, the other second.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Golden Palace, the young eunuch who led the way handed them over to an old eunuch.
The old eunuch gestured to them and said in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, please enter the hall."
Although he didn't know the identity of this old eunuch, since he was standing at the entrance of the Golden Throne Hall, Lu Mingfei guessed that he must be a eunuch close to the emperor. Seeing that Fu Lianxin's attitude towards this old eunuch was more respectful, his guess was confirmed.
When Fu Lianxin bowed to express his gratitude to the old eunuch, he followed Fu Lianxin and did the same.
Then the two of them walked in front and entered the Golden Palace.
The Golden Throne Hall is very large, with many tables and chairs arranged in order inside, and pens, inkstones, and writing brushes on the tables.
Last time at the Ministry of Rites, the official who taught them had already explained some of the rules for entering the Golden Throne Hall on the day of the palace examination, so they all understood the palace rules and etiquette.
When it comes to the palace examination, they no longer need to bring their own writing brushes, inkstones, and other tools. The palace will prepare these things for them, and they just need to show up to take the exam.
This was Lu Mingfei's first time here. Although the officials and eunuchs who had taught them the lesson had explained many rules and etiquette, he was afraid of making mistakes, so he followed Fu Lianxin closely and did whatever Fu Lianxin did.
In short, he knew that it would be right for him to follow the example of Fu Lianxin, the grandson of the Grand Tutor.
As if he realized that he had been following him all the way, when he walked into the Golden Palace, Fu Lianxin turned around and looked at him.
It was inconvenient to talk here, so when he saw Fu Lianxin looking at him, Lu Mingfei smiled back. Seeing Fu Lianxin choose the second seat from the right in the first row, he chose a seat in the front.
The other candidates behind him all chose their seats one by one and stood in front of the table without sitting down.
After they chose their spot, they heard footsteps from behind, someone was coming in. Judging from the footsteps, there were quite a few people.
Then the adults who came in found their seats and sat down.
Knowing that his position was too conspicuous and that many eyes were looking at him, Lu Mingfei didn't dare to look around after entering and standing still. Seeing that Fu Lianxin stood there straight, he also stood straight.
After a while, the eunuch's voice sounded, shouting: "Your Majesty has arrived——"
"Long live the emperor..." All the officials present stood up and turned in the direction of the emperor to salute.
All the tribute scholars present also followed suit and saluted, shouting "Long live the emperor!"
Lu Mingfei stood in the crowd, his head half bowed, his hands raised above his head in a salutation. At this moment, he felt a dignified gaze fall upon him, and he guessed it was the emperor looking at him. Knowing he couldn't look directly into his eyes, he stood with his head lowered, not looking up.
However, the ruling emperor had a very complicated heart.
In the early years, the weather was good, the country was stable, and the people lived a relatively good life. However, in recent years, with the continuous occurrence of natural disasters, many problems in the court were exposed. While studying at the Imperial Academy, they also heard many rumors about the court and the emperor.
I don’t know if it’s because the emperor has been in power for too long that he has neglected state affairs and become obsessed with beauty, but this is exactly the case with the current emperor.
Although he knew that history was a cycle, with prosperity followed by decline, ebb and flow, and many things being inevitable, he still hoped that they would meet a wise and dedicated ruler, that the court and the country would be stable, and that the people would live in peace, so that scholars like him could realize their ideals and ambitions.
But some things are beyond the control of individuals.
"My dear ministers, please stand up." The emperor walked to the dragon throne and sat down, looking at the tribute students below.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." After the emperor took his seat, the officials present sat down in their seats.
Glancing at the officials on the side, he saw that they had all taken their seats. Fu Lianxin also sat down, and Lu Mingfei quickly followed suit.
In front of them were some blank papers, but the test questions had not yet been given to them.
The exam questions for today were given to them by the current emperor himself. If the emperor hadn't given them any questions, they wouldn't have known what they would be tested on.
After taking his seat, Lu Mingfei waited patiently for the emperor in front of him. He was also a little curious about what questions the emperor would ask them.
The emperor, seated on the throne, looked at these new faces before him, pondered for a moment, and then spoke aloud, "Right now, Great Yan faces internal and external troubles. The Hu people are invading from the northwest. Two years ago, there were floods in the south, and last year, there were floods in the north. Countless fertile fields were submerged, leaving many people homeless."
"Today, please write me a policy paper on how to resolve the current external and internal troubles."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hearing this, the tribute scholars stood up, bowed to the emperor, and then sat down again.
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