Chapter 235 Re-examination
When Qiao Youyou heard him say this, she couldn't help but frowned slightly, but she didn't know how to refute.
She thought about it and simply changed the question.
"I heard that His Majesty wanted to summon you to join the Imperial Academy. Why didn't you go? Why did you have to compete for this highly sought-after Jinshi position?"
Wenren Yuebai lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her face, and she said nothing.
He knew that his brothers had all been exiled, and the reason why His Majesty was willing to keep him in the capital was not only because he was the only son of the Left Prime Minister, but also because of his legs.
A disabled person naturally poses no threat at all.
As for why he refused His Majesty's order to summon him to the Imperial Academy...
"After studying hard for more than ten years, if you can't test what you have learned in the imperial examination, won't you regret it for the rest of your life?"
Wenren Yuebai spoke so calmly, but Qiao Youyou looked into his eyes, yet she always felt as if there was a layer of something between them, making them hazy and unclear.
Qiao Youyou didn't know whether what he said was true or not, but hearing his confidence, she couldn't help but say:
"Have you seen the girl sitting at the head of the class over there? Her surname is Zhu, and she is the winner of this spring's imperial examination. Do you have the confidence to beat her?"
Qiao Youyou glanced at Wenren Yuebai. In short, when it came to studying, she didn't believe that anyone could be better than Lanlan.
"Why not give it a try?" Wenren Yuebai's voice was not loud, but every word he spoke was spoken very carefully.
Qiao Youyou raised her eyebrows, thinking that this guy was really brave.
"Okay, I respect you as a man for having such ambition." Qiao Youyou picked up the wine jug on Wenren Yuebai's table and found that it was still full.
She poured herself a glass, poured another for Wenren Yuebai, raised her glass and said, "Whether you succeed or not, I'll make friends with you."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
Wenren Yuebai didn't move at all, and didn't even reach out to take the glass of wine on the table. He just tilted his head slightly and looked at Qiao Youyou, his eyes vaguely filled with inquiry.
When Qiao Youyou finished drinking, she found that he didn't move, and immediately said unhappily: "Hey, what do you mean?"
Wenren Yuebai retracted his gaze, "I don't make friends."
After saying this, he pushed his wheelchair out without caring that the banquet was not over yet.
As he turned around, a hint of panic and helplessness finally revealed in his cold eyes.
"Impolite weirdo."
Qiao Youyou felt embarrassed and made a face at Wenren Yuebai's back, then returned to her seat muttering.
The Qionglin Banquet did not last long. After all, after the results of the provincial examination were announced, the palace examination was not far away. Who would dare to relax at this time?
Therefore, the Qionglin Banquet was just a formality. When the time was almost up, Zhou Xianqing reappeared at the banquet and announced that the students could leave on their own.
…
On April 17th, the tribute students gathered outside the Anhe Hall, where the palace examination was held, waiting for inspection to enter.
However, this was not the real palace examination, but a preparatory examination before the palace examination, called the "re-examination."
The purpose of the re-examination is to further examine whether the students have the academic ability to participate in the palace examination. After all, the examiner of the palace examination is the emperor. If there are candidates who have passed the examination by chance, and then they make inappropriate comments in front of the emperor or lose their manners in front of the emperor, it would be disrespectful. If the emperor punishes them, it will also damage their kindness.
Of course, the re-examination was chosen to be held in the Anhe Hall, which was inevitably intended to allow the candidates to become familiar with the palace etiquette in advance and avoid making mistakes during the palace examination.
"Lanlan, is it my illusion? Why do I feel like there are so many people here today? There must be more than 300 people, right?"
Qiao Youyou looked around in some surprise. There were only 280 candidates admitted this year. She counted them again and again, but nothing seemed right.
Zhu Lan whispered, "Of course, today's exam is for screening for the palace examination. If you don't perform well today, you will be punished by being suspended from the palace examination for one to three times.
You see, these extra people are those who were suspended in previous years and are taking the retest again this year."
Qiao Youyou said "Oh" and glanced back involuntarily. After searching for a long time, she finally found Wenren Yuebai's figure in a secluded place far away from the crowd.
As for what Wenren Yuebai said last time about wanting to compete with Zhu Lan, Qiao Youyou didn't take it to heart at all.
She was even thinking at this moment, Wenren Yuebai was the one who ranked last in the examination. This re-examination not only screened out more people, but also brought in many competitors from previous years. Wouldn't it be easy for Wenren Yuebai to be squeezed out?
How pitiful. Qiao Youyou shook her head regretfully.
…
There were a total of 332 participants in this re-examination, and the examiner was still Zhou Xianqing, the Minister of Rites appointed by the emperor.
The content of the re-examination was one question on the Four Books and one question on poetry. The number of questions was not large, and the candidates handed in their papers and finished the exam on the same day.
The reviewing officials compared the handwriting of the candidates' test papers with the original papers from the joint examination, and after confirming that there were no problems, they were handed over to Zhou Xianqing, who then ranked them in order and reported the results to the emperor.
…
On April 18, Zhou Xianqing personally conveyed the imperial edict at the Ministry of Rites, reading out the names of fifty tribute students who had performed poorly and were punished by being suspended from the palace examination.
Qiao Youyou pricked up her ears and listened. Surprisingly, Wenren Yuebai was not among them. It seemed that this guy was lucky.
Zhou Xianqing then went on to announce that the remaining qualified candidates would be allowed to directly participate in the palace examination, which was scheduled for three days later.
…
In the Ziyun Hall, the eight examiners appointed by Emperor Liang walked in respectfully and kowtowed to pay their respects.
Among these eight people, four were from the Imperial College, and the rest were erudite scholars drawn from various departments of the court. The eight of them were responsible for setting questions and reviewing the answers.
Li Duchang, one of the examiners, was a minor official in the Honglu Temple. It was the first time he was entrusted with such an important task, and he was so excited that he even broke out in a thin layer of sweat on his face.
He presented the test questions that several people had worked out to Emperor Liang, and waited silently with his head lowered.
Emperor Liang flipped through the questions without saying anything for a long time. Li Duchang did not dare to breathe and could only secretly look up at Emperor Liang's expression.
"Li Duchang." Emperor Liang suddenly called his name.
Li Duchang's legs softened and he knelt on the ground, "Your Highness, Your Highness, I am here!"
Emperor Liang laughed, "I remember you were a Jinshi in the 13th year of Kangping, right?"
"...That's right!" Li Duchang was a little excited. He had been in the officialdom for more than twenty years and had been a small official in the Honglu Temple without being promoted for many years. He didn't expect that the emperor still remembered him!
"Yes." Emperor Liang nodded. "Yes, your question on the strategy of farming is very well-written. You have cited a lot of evidence and the problem you mentioned is indeed one of the difficulties facing Daliang."
Before Li Duchang could feel happy, he heard Emperor Liang continue:
"Yes - the new law on the military farming policy is being implemented and has shown initial results. I think there is no need to ask these tribute students to offer advice on this matter."
Li Duchang wiped his sweat and said, "Yes, I will consider it carefully!"
Emperor Liang was silent for a moment before he said, "Mr. Li, what do you think of the new policy that our dynasty is currently implementing to allow women to enter school and government?"
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