End of Chapter 198 (First Update)
On February 15th, the third exam also came to an end. The candidates spent an exciting yet unbearable night in the examination hall. On the 16th, after another round of strict searches, they were released one by one from the examination hall.
There were many people outside the examination hall.
Gu Jiao arrived early and managed to snag a good spot.
The gates of the examination hall opened, and candidates emerged one after another.
Apart from the county examination where Gu Jiao accepted Xiao Liulang's challenge, she missed the rest of the prefectural, provincial, and municipal examinations because she was traveling to take them in other places.
This was the first time Gu Jiao had waited for him to come out of the examination hall amidst a sea of people, much like the family members waiting outside the college entrance examination hall in her previous life.
Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long before we saw Xiao Liulang come out carrying a bundle.
You can spot him immediately in a crowd.
It wasn't because he was using a cane, but because his demeanor and appearance were simply too exceptional.
Gu Jiao curved her lips into a smile, and a smile unconsciously welled up in her eyes.
Xiao Liulang spotted her immediately and walked towards her through the crowd. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight, brighter than the stars in the Milky Way.
"How are you? Are you alright?" Gu Jiao took the bundle from his hands. The bundle wasn't heavy, so she put it directly into her small basket.
Xiao Liulang nodded: "Yes, it went fairly smoothly."
The first two exams were unbearably cold, but the weather was kind enough to clear up for the third exam.
"Why are you here?" Xiao Liulang looked at the little dumpling next to Gu Jiao.
Xiao Jingkong crossed her arms over her chest, raised her chin, and snorted, "Do you think I wanted to come? I finally got a day off, and if it weren't for spending time with Jiaojiao, I wouldn't have come!"
"Little thing," Xiao Liulang moved his short hair, the hair stubble starting to prick his hand.
The group turned and headed into the alley at the other end, where Liu Quan was already waiting.
The family of three boarded the carriage.
Xiao Jingkong sat opposite Xiao Liulang, his arms still crossed over his chest, looking at him with a serious expression.
Xiao Liulang was puzzled by his gaze and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Xiao Jingkong said seriously, "I want to see how you did on the exam, and whether you actually did well."
While waiting outside, he observed the candidates who came out. Some looked dejected, some were crestfallen, and some were indifferent. Not one of them was cheerful.
He was observing which type of bad brother-in-law he was.
Xiao Liulang gave Xiao Jingkong a strange look.
Gu Jiao leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "He has a good friend now. He said that if you don't do well on the exam, he'll lose face in front of his classmates."
Xiao Liulang: "..."
Gu Jiao said nonchalantly, "The exams are over, so the results don't matter!"
Xiao Liulang breathed a sigh of relief; his wife was the most considerate person after all.
Wait, wife?
Why would he have such an idea?
Before he could even finish his shock, Xiao Jingkong dropped another bombshell: "Jiaojiao bet you'd get first place in the provincial examination, she bet a thousand taels!"
Xiao Liulang's body trembled: "...!!"
Gu Jiao looked up at the sky, but couldn't see it, so she didn't exist.
The clinic is still in the investment phase. Because of the mass production of drugs, a small pharmaceutical factory has also been set up. Xiao Liulang is very curious about where the 1,000 taels came from.
Gu Jiao: It all depends on exploiting Gu Chengfeng.
Xiao Liulang rubbed his forehead. He had only taken the exam for nine days, unlike the previous children's exam and the provincial exam which took two months. Why did it still feel like the world had turned upside down at home?
"So did you do well on the exam or not?" Xiao Jingkong asked seriously.
Xiao Liulang took a deep breath: "Yes."
I did study hard for the exam, and thankfully I did, otherwise that thousand taels would have been wasted.
However, unlike arithmetic and astronomy, the imperial examinations did not have standard answers where right was right and wrong was wrong. They were highly arbitrary, so getting first place was not a sure thing.
Fortunately, it was only a thousand taels. In case—he meant in case he didn't get first place—he could recruit a few more students like Lin Chengye, work hard for a year or two, and that would be enough to fill the gap.
As it turned out, he was too optimistic.
Xiao Jingkong nodded seriously: "You'd better do well on the exam. The neighbors are all betting on you to get first place."
Xiao Liulang was taken aback again: "How much did you bet?"
The wealthy landlord, Jingkong, calmly said, "Not much, maybe seven or eight thousand taels in total."
It's only about seven or eight thousand taels.
Xiao Liulang clutched his chest: "..."
Back in Bishui Hutong, the old chief priest summoned Xiao Liulang over.
The old chief examiner already knows the exam questions. Although the court forbids leaking exam questions, once the exam starts, the questions will be circulated in various ways within an hour. Therefore, candidates are not allowed to enter the examination room after the exam has started.
The old chief priest was not worried about the first round. Xiao Liulang could recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently, and the questions on the Four Books were not difficult for him. In addition, the candidates also needed to compose a five-character eight-line poem and four poems on the interpretation of the classics.
Xiao Liulang recited his five-character, eight-line poem and its interpretation.
The old chief priest nodded.
No problem.
The old chief priest then asked Xiao Liulang about his eight-legged essay and policy questions.
The old chief examiner had some opposition to the eight-legged essay style, arguing that its excessive emphasis on form limited the candidates' performance. However, his opinion didn't matter, nor did the emperor's; the rules passed down from their ancestors weren't so easily abolished.
Xiao Liulang's eight-legged essays were also excellent.
However, the questioning part made the old chief priest break out in a cold sweat.
The question of whether a son is the eldest and most virtuous has always been a sensitive one. The current emperor is neither the eldest nor the most virtuous, and strictly speaking, he cannot be considered virtuous either.
He kept a low profile, and at least at the time, he seemed somewhat unworthy of his position.
Of course, the series of methods and talents he displayed after taking the throne were amazing. Even a veteran like the old chief priest wouldn't dare say that His Majesty was unworthy to sit on the dragon throne.
Compared to the late emperor, he was far more ruthless in his methods.
At least the late emperor couldn't defeat Empress Dowager Zhuang, but he managed to send her to the imperial palace.
In Zhao Kingdom, the questions for the annual spring imperial examinations are drafted by the Hanlin Academy and sent to the Imperial Study for His Majesty to select. His Majesty will choose one set of official questions and five sets of backup questions.
The old Grand Master of Ceremonies was certain that the Hanlin Academy would not send out questions about the eldest son of the virtuous and capable; it must have been His Majesty who added them himself.
"This Emperor is truly unfathomable." The old Grand Master of Ceremonies had the same thought as Prince An: Was His Majesty dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, or with the eldest prince who coveted the position of heir apparent? Or was he warning those princes who were neither born of the legitimate wife nor the eldest son, yet believed themselves to be worthy of the position and could replicate his path to the throne?
The candidates' answers revolved around which type of successor was more beneficial to the country, or they cited classical texts to point out the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three.
Both fall within the scope of hereditary succession, but Xiao Liulang has broken free from this framework.
Isn't this telling the emperor that if his son isn't good enough, then someone else's son should take his place?
Such remarks could have been directly punished in the previous dynasty.
Even in this dynasty where freedom of speech is relatively high, this is still too bold.
The old master simply couldn't understand how his apprentice's brain worked; how could he dare to write such an article?
Fortunately, his last compliment was quite good.
The reason why His Majesty was able to inherit the throne is because he is the most virtuous and capable person in the world, and it has nothing to do with his birth or bloodline.
The old priest's cold sweat turned into hot sweat halfway through.
Seriously, where did this kid learn his flattery skills from? Is he really that shameless?
Why does it feel like this kid has suddenly unlocked some amazing skill?
She definitely didn't learn it from him!
He would never have raised such a sycophant!
The old chief priest felt that Xiao Liulang's own strength was not a problem, and the rest could only be left to fate.
After nine days of the spring imperial examinations, many candidates fell ill, and clinics became busy again.
Meanwhile, the order for wound medicine that Gu Changqing placed before the New Year was also completed. Gu Jiao checked the efficacy of the medicine and only sent it to the military camp after it passed the test.
Before the New Year, she sent a letter to Xue Ningxiang, saying that Zhou Erzhuang was doing well. Xue Ningxiang replied, telling her about the village and the progress of the medicinal herb field, and also sent her some gifts.
Some were given to her, and some to Zhou Erzhuang.
Gu Changqing often visited Gu Chenglin at the clinic. Gu Jiao gave him the things Xue Ningxiang had sent to Zhou Erzhuang and asked him to deliver them to Zhou Erzhuang. She also asked him to bring back any letters Zhou Erzhuang wrote back so she could send them back to the village.
While replying to Xue Ningxiang, Gu Jiao suddenly discovered something very sad.
That is, Xue Ningxiang's calligraphy is actually better than hers!
Gu Jiao: "Hmm, is this girl learning to write with someone? She's improved so much!"
Xiao Liulang, who was passing by the door, glanced at her, then silently went back inside and doubled the number of calligraphy practice sheets that Gu Jiao had to do every day!
There were over a thousand exam papers for the spring imperial examination. They were copied and sent to the Imperial Household Department for review. There were twenty examiners in total, divided into groups of four. This meant that each exam paper had to be reviewed by four examiners. If two examiners gave it a failing grade, the exam paper was no longer worth sending.
However, the disqualification of examiners is not arbitrary. There will be a special team to review the poor papers, and examiners who make malicious corrections will be severely punished.
Each group of examiners would select the top fifty from five hundred exam papers and hand them over to the chief and deputy chief examiners. These were basically the candidates who could become tribute students.
Of course, the president and vice president would carefully review the papers, setting aside any objections. The eliminated papers were also ranked according to their scores, and the president and vice president would select candidates from the top few eliminated candidates based on how many places they were short of the required number of places.
There are also ten special spots available.
These are the people His Majesty and his ministers have placed inside.
These people's names were reported directly to higher authorities; it didn't matter whether they were among the two hundred exam papers or not.
If they happen to be there, then there will be two hundred successful candidates this year; if they are not, then it will just be a few more.
As for how these people would rank in the subsequent palace examination, that was not the examiners' concern.
After a series of processes including copying, grading, preliminary review, final review, and ranking, the results won't be released until next month.
Xiao Liulang remained calm, taking Xiao Jingkong to and from school every day as usual, just like the days before the exams.
Gu Jiao remained calm, showing no sign that she had bet her entire fortune.
Gu Jinyu has been having a tough time lately. Ever since Zhuang Mengdie exposed her background, her popularity at the girls' school has plummeted, and several young ladies who used to fawn over her have gradually distanced themselves from her.
In a fit of anger, she took sick leave from home.
On this day, she was recuperating at home when suddenly Granny Qi came to her door.
Granny Qi was an old nanny who served Consort Shu and was highly regarded by her.
Gu Jinyu warmly greeted her: "What brings Granny Qi here?"
Granny Qi patted Gu Jinyu's hand with a smile and said, "You, if Her Majesty hadn't asked about the Marquis, I wouldn't have known you were sick. You didn't even tell Her Majesty you were sick. Don't you know how much Her Majesty cares for you?"
Gu Jinyu was touched and said softly, "It's not a serious illness, so I shouldn't bother you, Aunt."
Granny Qi gave her a reproachful look: "Aren't you being too polite?"
Gu Jinyu lowered her eyes and smiled.
Granny Qi instructed a young palace maid to place several brocade boxes on the table: "These are all gifts from Her Majesty. There are snow lotus and ginseng, all top-quality items. You must remember to eat them."
Gu Jinyu was moved and said, "Thank you very much, Aunt."
Granny Qi held her hand and said, "We're family, so let's not be formal. Her Majesty has no daughters of her own, but she has always treated you like her own daughter. You must take good care of yourself and not worry Her Majesty anymore."
"Yes, Jinyu has remembered," Gu Jinyu said obediently.
Granny Qi got to the point: "Oh, right, there's another thing I've come to do today. Her Majesty wants to see you."
Gu Jinyu followed Granny Qi into the palace.
Consort Shu was the head of a palace. She had her own independent palace and did not have to let other concubines live in her side palace like a second-rank consort. She lived in Changchun Palace with the Fifth Prince and was extremely carefree.
The weather was fine today, and Consort Shu was looking through the Fifth Prince's homework in the pavilion of Changchun Palace.
Gu Jinyu stepped forward and greeted her: "Auntie."
Consort Shu waved to her: "You've come at the right time. Xiao Wu just wrote an article. Take a look."
"Yes." Gu Jinyu sat down next to Consort Shu, who handed her the Fifth Prince's essay.
The fifth prince was the same age as Gu Chenglin. Every day, he and his brothers went to the Imperial Study to study, where they were taught by a highly respected Confucian scholar.
To be honest, the Fifth Prince's academic achievements are not very good.
Gu Jinyu did most of his homework.
After reading it, Gu Jinyu smiled and praised, "Fifth Prince has made progress."
"I think so too!" Consort Shu was pleased with this answer. She told the maid to put the article away, then looked at Gu Jinyu and said affectionately, "You child, you did such a big thing in the county town, how come you didn't say a word?"
"Huh?" Gu Jinyu was taken aback.
The topic changed abruptly.
Consort Shu glared at her, then pulled her hand and said, "You're still trying to hide it? If I hadn't gone to deliver some refreshments to His Majesty just now, I wouldn't have known you'd done something so big behind the family's back! How could you be so discreet?"
Gu Jinyu was even more confused. What had she done?
Consort Shu held her hand tightly, her eyes filled with excitement: "The bellows!"
Can I ask for a monthly pass?
(End of this chapter)
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