The three stood up and respectfully cupped their hands in greeting.
However, despite saying these words, their eyes were never able to leave the gold in front of them.
Sima Lie was a shrewd man, and he immediately saw through the greedy look on the three men's faces.
But that's exactly what he wanted.
Although these three people are not particularly talented, they are now the genuine top three in the imperial examination.
This title alone is enough to make him spend three thousand taels of gold or even more to win their hearts.
"I have heard that the three of you come from humble backgrounds, but now that you have achieved official rank, you will need money for social interactions in the capital. I have always valued young scholars the most, and I cannot allow you to fall into the embarrassing situation of having no money to pay for such things. Therefore, please accept this gift. If you are truly grateful for my kindness, then serve me well in the future."
Sima Lie looked at the three of them with a smile on his face and said.
The three of them immediately became serious.
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, we will never dare to refuse your orders in the slightest."
Seeing that the three had pledged their loyalty, Sima Lie's face lit up with joy, and he was already thinking about which of the six ministries he would assign them to.
However, just as they were enjoying themselves,
"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened!"
A frantic shout rang out.
Upon hearing the commotion, Sima Lie's face immediately showed displeasure.
He's still entertaining his guests; this loud noise is making him lose face.
"What's all this commotion about? If it's not something serious, I'll cut your tongue out."
Sima Lie looked at the steward of the Prime Minister's residence who had rushed in and asked with displeasure.
His cold and fierce appearance made the butler shiver and he quickly bowed and answered.
"Your Excellency, something terrible has happened. For some reason, many people in the capital are spreading rumors that you and your ministers praised the top three essays of the imperial examination during the court assembly. They've even spread the details of what each official said. Many scholars also want to visit Your Excellency, saying they want to hear just how amazing the top scholar's essay, which Your Excellency has been savoring for so long, really is."
"What?!"
Before the steward could finish speaking, Sima Lie stood up in surprise.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
Sima Lie grabbed the steward by the collar and glared at him fiercely.
The butler quickly nodded.
"I had the people in the Prime Minister's residence inquire around, and they were indeed all talking about this."
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie's face darkened.
"Damn it, didn't I already say that this matter must not be spread? Which idiot dared to spread this news!"
Sima Lie slammed his fist on the table in front of him, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
Today, he was forced by the tyrannical emperor to comment on an article, and he had already warned all the court officials to refrain from spreading the matter.
After all, this was something that would damage one's reputation, so the other court officials naturally agreed immediately.
But what's going on now?!
"Your Excellency, there is a group of students from the capital who wish to see you outside the residence. You must see them..."
Seeing that Sima Lie remained silent for a long time, the steward couldn't help but ask.
Snap!
However, before he could finish speaking, a plate of food was smashed on his head.
"What's the point of seeing them? I'm not in the mood right now. Tell them all to get lost."
Sima Lie snorted coldly.
He couldn't very well tell these students that he was just praising a sycophantic article without any real substance.
"Yes, yes, I'll go and chase those people away from the door right away."
After being served a plate, the steward didn't dare say anything more and quickly nodded and withdrew.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tingyu and the other two, who had remained silent, exchanged glances and already guessed who had done it.
...
The next day, in front of the Imperial College.
Before dawn, the area outside the Imperial College was already crowded with people.
The crowds that came to watch the announcement of the results stretched from the front of the Imperial College all the way to Dangyang Bridge, making the entire street completely jammed.
The reason so many people came to see the list is simply because of the rumor that circulated in Beijing yesterday.
Everyone was eager to know just how amazing the article was that could garner such high praise from the court officials and leave the prime minister with endless aftertaste.
The people in line waited from before dawn until sunrise, but the number of people only increased instead of decreasing.
Ding ding ding!
Finally, amidst everyone's expectant gaze, the gates of the Imperial College opened, and officials from the Ministry of Rites walked out, banging gongs.
However, when they saw what was in front of them, they were all shocked.
They had seen students scrambling to see the list of successful candidates before, but this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a massive crowd, so dense that it was impossible to move and the line stretched as far as the eye could see.
"My lords, please post the notices quickly! And please post the essays of the top scholars as well. We are waiting to copy them down to show our masters at home!"
Seeing the group of Ministry of Rites officials standing there in a daze, the crowd that had come to watch quickly urged them on.
Several officials from the Ministry of Rites then realized what was happening and hurriedly hung the notice on the red wall.
When everyone saw the list posted, their faces showed shock.
Zhang Tingyu, the top scholar
Second overall pick March
Zhou Peishen, the third-ranked scholar
...
"Why do these three names look so familiar?"
"Of course they look familiar! Aren't they the top three in the imperial examination?"
"What? Those three only wrote a sycophantic article before. With their level of skill, how could they have gotten into the top three in the palace examination? And even won the praise of the officials in the court!"
Everyone still remembered the situation during the imperial examination, so when they saw the names of the three people on the list, their hearts skipped a beat.
After the list of names was posted, the officials of the Ministry of Rites also posted the top-ranking essays copied onto large sheets of paper.
Everyone quickly looked at the articles.
They still held onto a sliver of hope.
Perhaps those three were pretending to be weak when they took the imperial examination!
Perhaps they had a burst of inspiration and actually wrote a masterpiece!
But when they saw what was on the paper, they were all stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
"What...what is this?!"
"Is this the masterpiece that everyone in the court praises?"
"Absurd, utterly absurd!"
"Hmph, those high-ranking officials in the imperial court, I thought they were all leaders in literature, but I never expected them to be so clumsy and incompetent, awarding such an essay the title of top scholar!"
A group of people started discussing it excitedly.
They never expected that the top scholar, chosen by the officials in the imperial court, would write such an essay.
The scholar, who had been excited to copy it down for study, angrily slammed his brush on the ground and began to curse.
"I see that the people in the court are all pigs with human bodies and pig brains. They are not worthy of being the leaders of literature in our Great Xia."
As more and more people began to shout and curse, the officials of the Imperial Academy, who had initially intended to come out and drive them away, closed the gates tightly and hid inside.
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