webnovelfull Chapter 525 The Palace Examination Begins
Chapter 525 The Palace Examination Begins
The Xie family was holding a funeral, and the emperor approved a half-month leave for Prime Minister Xie, still in the name of mourning for his father's spirit...
Nan Shang attached great importance to filial piety, so Xie Si naturally did not dare to reject His Majesty's wishes and could only agree.
He was idle at home and had no influence on the affairs of the court. Many officials headed by him were leaderless...it was difficult to accomplish anything. However, the matters concerning the palace examination were progressing smoothly.
Without Xie Si getting in the way at court, the little girl's life was rarely comfortable. After attending court every day, she would return home to catch up on her sleep, sleeping until noon.
When you reach out your hand, someone will give you clothes to wear, and meals are brought into the house from a small stove. Life is so carefree!
If she wasn't afraid of disturbing Yuanyuan and Xingsang's studies, she would have wanted to invite some sisters to come to her house to dance a few songs.
Happy days always pass quickly...
In a blink of an eye, it is the day of the palace examination~
The young girl did not care about avoiding suspicion and personally brought Yuanyuan and Xingsang into the palace that day.
She met many people along the way, but no one dared to accuse her of favoritism or anything else.
In fact, as soon as the list of the imperial examination was released, rumors began to spread among the people when Qi Shanyuan and Li Xingsang took the first and second places on the list.
The general meaning is that since these two young masters have Jiang An behind them, it is easy for them to get any ranking!
When the rumor first started, Song Shen broke into Jiang An's residence at night.
But Jiang An didn’t see him…
She only asked Zhengyan to tell him that she had a bookstore in the north, which had made good profits in recent years and had opened many branches, including one in Kyoto.
"There are many talented candidates in the autumn examination this year. The Southern Business School has not seen such a wonderful examination in a hundred years. My young lady dared to ask the Ministry of Personnel if there is any idea to compile the essays of the candidates on the list into a book and sell it through Chongshan Bookstore. The profits will be divided equally. How do you think?"
Song Shen was wearing a dark cloak, and there was a gleam in his eyes.
The county lady is really shrewd!
Maybe she had already thought of a solution and was just waiting for it to come to her.
The booklet of the Autumn Examination sold very well in Kyoto. People dressed as scholars could be seen everywhere on the streets, studying the booklet with their heads down.
Some people marveled at the brilliance of the essays mentioned by the students, while others beat their chests and stamped their feet, wondering why they had not thought of such arguments during the autumn examination!
It was at this time that the rumors gradually dissipated...
If anyone else mentions it, they will probably just be pointed at and scolded.
There is no other reason, it’s just that the strategies proposed by these two people are so brilliant that they make people admire them sincerely!
"I've met the county chief..."
The students who also entered the palace to take part in the palace examination all had shining eyes when they looked at Yuanyuan and Xingsang.
The two of them felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and they just nodded to the student in a friendly manner as a greeting.
The little girl turned around to glance at Yuanyuan and Xingsang's embarrassment, and couldn't hide the smile on her lips.
They have come to this day too!
She was in a good mood and talked more. "How did the student enter the palace by himself? Where is the palace maid who led the way?"
The man was a little embarrassed. "The students came a little late. The gatekeeper said that the palace servants had all left..."
The palace servants were responsible for receiving students who came to the palace to take the palace examination. If not all of them were received... they should have been waiting at the palace gate.
It's simply that these students all come from poor families and have no identity or background, so these palace servants just treat them differently!
Now they thought they had arrived too late and missed the palace maid...
Jiang An didn't intend to say it, but just called them over, "The palace is complicated, you guys should be careful not to break the rules if you barge in like this..."
"Come with me."
Several students were surprised and became even more embarrassed. "Thank you, County Lord!"
Who said that the county princess is moody? She is obviously a very good girl!
In front of the Golden Palace,
The young eunuch who served His Majesty closely saw Jiang An from afar and hurried to greet him.
"Why is the county lady free to come here today?"
As he spoke, the young eunuch glanced at the students behind the girl.
The two leading gentlemen should be the ones from the north, as for the others...
He looked respectful, and laughed with Jiang An in a low posture, "Did the county lady help us to bring a few people into the palace?"
"How can I trouble you..."
The young eunuch was testing whether these people were familiar with Jiang An and needed his care, or whether they were just casual acquaintances.
Jiang An: "It's okay."
"It's just that these students are left alone. It's just a small favor for this county lady."
“So this is how it is…”
There was a sharp flash in the young eunuch's drooping eyes. It seemed that those snobbish dogs were sneaking away!
It's just itchy!
He leaned sideways and said, "Everyone, follow me into the hall!"
The palace examination was about to begin. No outsiders were allowed in the palace, and people from the harem were not allowed to come to the front court. So the girl walked back to the palace gate leisurely and waited.
"Little Second!"
Jiang An took his people to a restaurant near the palace gate, ordered a table of dishes, and ate while waiting!
Different from her leisurely life, the people in the palace... especially in the throne room, were so tense that it was almost like a heart attack.
Most of the students had never been to the palace, let alone met the emperor. Some of them had poor psychological qualities... let alone writing policy papers, they fainted as soon as they entered the palace.
His Majesty waved his hand behind the screen and ordered someone to send them to a side hall.
After the person wakes up, he will be sent out of the palace.
He called the young eunuch over and asked, "Do you know which two are from the north?"
The young eunuch bent his upper body and shook his head, saying: "I just waited for the county lady at the palace gate..."
"But she brought a lot of students with her into the palace, and it would be hard to draw attention to herself, so I didn't ask."
Your Majesty was puzzled, why did he bring so many students with him?
The young eunuch knelt down and said, "The palace servants were lazy. The student was not received at the palace gate. It was the county lady who brought him to the Golden Throne Hall..."
"I have already ordered people to investigate the crime. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
The emperor looked annoyed, "It's not your fault, just deal with him, get up now."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The young eunuch served tea to the emperor and deliberately said, "Your Majesty, although I don't know which two young masters are from the north, I remember all the people who came with the county lady!"
"Why don't we..."
"No!"
It would be too conspicuous if all the students brought in by Jiang An were eliminated.
He was in the palace, and the people in the harem were watching him covetously. He didn't dare let anyone see that he had any intention of being at odds with Jiang An.
But he really didn't want to raise another man-eating tiger, so he thought that no matter how talented the two students from the north were, he should not let them have the opportunity to serve as officials in the court and become Jiang An's helper.
Everything turned out just as the young eunuch had thought. He then confessed his guilt, saying, "It was my stupidity that caused me to be so stupid."
When the time came, the gong sounded in front of the Golden Palace.
The students picked up their pens and wrote on the rice paper in front of them...
From sunrise to sunset,
The tightly closed palace gate was finally opened.
The little girl, who had eaten and drunk her fill and had even listened to a few bits of storytelling, stood on tiptoe in front of the palace gate and looked inside.