readytorunbook Chapter 146 Palace Examination
Chapter 146 Palace Examination
Pang Mansion was furious when he heard that Shen Ruhai did not come to the banquet.
He took a deep breath, and finally said gloomily: "Since he is so ungrateful, let him have a good taste of what it feels like to offend me."
When Minister Zhang heard about the banquet held by Pang Mansion and Shen Ruhai not attending, he sneered: "Haha, Pang Kun really thinks he can cover the sky with one hand."
A month and a half has passed since the joint examination. Today is the time for the palace examination. Three hundred candidates lined up, with the top three walking in front. Led by the invigilator, they entered the palace one by one.
Shen Ruhai, the winner of this imperial examination, walked in the middle of the front row. He followed the examiner's footsteps with dignity and walked in front calmly.
Although Shen Ruhai seemed calm on the surface, he was actually a little excited inside, as he could finally see the real emperor.
Being able to see the emperor in person was a great honor in this era. He really wanted to know what the emperor looked like and what his personality was like.
Because, if their family wanted to live a good life in this era, they could only rely on the emperor except to overthrow the dynasty.
The emperor is his big boss, and he has to understand the big boss’s preferences in order to go the furthest.
Who made the rankings of today's palace examination decided by the emperor?
Old man Shen walked among the crowd, his eyes rolling around curiously. He was very excited and proud.
He had never thought that he, an old scholar from the mountains, would one day be able to enter the Golden Palace.
Old man Shen held his head high. Among the three hundred people, he ranked high and walked happily in the line of candidates.
He felt that he had reached the peak of his life.
When he returns to Shenjia Village, he can brag about it for a long time.
Haha, Shen Shiwang will also have a day when he will be looked up to by others.
All the students came to the front of the hall, waiting to be summoned. When they thought about meeting the supreme emperor, they were all very nervous.
Some people were so nervous that their legs trembled when they thought about having to do something under the emperor's nose.
After the invigilator came out of the hall to announce the call, the students, led by Shen Laosan, entered the hall one after another.
There were tables placed in the hall, and the invigilator led the students to pay homage to the emperor first.
"I, the chief examiner Li Hong, lead the candidates of the 14th year of Xuanwu to pay my respects to the emperor."
"Your Majesty, may your Majesty be at peace."
The chief examiner shouted to start the exam, and the invigilators took their seats. The students sat at their desks according to their rankings, first looked at the test questions, and then picked up their pens to write.
Shen Laosan was sitting in the middle of the first row. As soon as he entered the hall, Emperor Xuanwu noticed him.
The emperor saw that Shen Laosan quickly picked up the pen to write, so he stood behind Shen Laosan and looked at him, nodded with satisfaction, then walked around behind the other candidates, and finally stayed behind Shen Laosan for a long time.
Shen Laosan was the first to finish writing the test paper, blow it dry, and present it to the emperor.
Emperor Xuanwu asked, "Did you finish writing it so quickly?"
Shen Lao San: "The emperor reviews more than 10,000 words of memorials every day. Compared with the emperor, I am slow."
The emperor's body trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything. The invigilator quickly scolded Shen Lao San:
"How dare you compare yourself to the emperor. You must want to die."
Shen Lao San directly responded: "To be like the saints is the wish of scholars."
"you……"
The invigilator wanted to inspect the whole process, but the emperor gave him a cold look and he immediately shut up.
The other examiners all shook their heads, thinking that Shen Ruhai was probably finished.
The emperor waved his hand and asked the invigilator to present Shen Laosan's test paper and asked Shen Laosan to go outside the hall and wait.
Some other students were so nervous and stressed out by the questions that they fainted. The invigilator had them sent to Yishuguan for treatment.
After everyone handed in their test papers, they paid homage to the emperor again and left the palace.
After leaving the palace, Old Man Shen was so nervous that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Old Third Shen.
"Old Third, do you have any hope this time?"
Shen Lao San looked at Old Man Shen's hopeful eyes and smiled mysteriously:
"you guess?"
Old man Shen turned his head and said, "If I could guess, would I still ask you?"
Shen Lao San asked back: "How do you think you did in the exam?"
Old Man Shen took Old Third Shen to a place with few people and whispered:
"I don't know either. This time the test is about practical politics, economics, and how to govern the country and consolidate the regime. I'm not sure."
Shen Lao San agreed, "No matter what, it's all the emperor's grace. We are able to enter the palace to take the exam, which means we are already disciples of the emperor. Dad, you are already much better than most people in the country, don't pay too much attention to the ranking."
Shen Laosan comforted Old Man Shen. Old Man Shen thought about it and it was true. In the past, he envied the Juren and looked up to them. Now he was a Gongshi who was higher than the Juren, which was already very impressive.
He is already so old, it is a blessing from God that he can pass the imperial examination.
As for ranking and such, doesn’t he have sons and grandsons?
Maybe his son and grandson will be able to help him pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer.
As soon as Mr. Shen finished talking to Old Man Shen, several classmates came over and they returned to the Shen family together.
In the palace, the emperor flipped through the test papers again and again, and finally stopped at Shen Laosan's test paper. The more he looked at Shen Laosan's test paper, the more shocked he was.
The emperor called the chief invigilator Li Hong and showed Li Hong the test papers of Shen Laosan and several other candidates.
Li Hong looked at the test papers carefully and was immediately attracted by Shen Laosan's test paper.
When he saw Shen Laosan's test paper, he took a deep breath and was shocked.
This candidate's test paper is neat and standardized, with a rigorous structure. His regular script is vigorous and powerful, and every character is like a fine painting, demonstrating this person's extremely high attainments in calligraphy and profound skills.
What surprised Li Hong even more was that this person had a very high understanding of current political affairs, as well as economics, governance, and the consolidation of political power. The strategies he proposed were not only in line with the current situation, but also more innovative and unconventional, and were the best strategies.
Li Hong sighed in his heart, this person is really talented!
The emperor saw Li Hong holding Shen Laosan's test paper for a long time without saying anything, so he asked:
"Does Li Qing also think that this person has great talent?"
Li Hong came back to his senses and said bluntly:
"It is indeed as Your Majesty said. The water control and economic methods proposed by this person have shocked me."
The emperor asked with a smile: "Is this person a top scholar?"
Li Hong, sweating profusely, replied, "If the emperor says so, then so be it."
Li Hong was extremely nervous at this time. He was afraid that if he answered incorrectly, he would lose his head.
He knew that Master Pang had held a banquet some time ago.
He also heard that the top scholar Shen Ruhai and several tribute students from Wanxian Prefecture did not go, and thus offended Grand Tutor Pang.
Now that Grand Tutor Pang is the most powerful one, none of the ministers dare to offend him. As a loyalist to the emperor, he knows in his heart that the emperor wants to promote someone who can compete with Grand Tutor Pang.
However, Grand Tutor Pang has been entrenched in the court for many years. How can he be eliminated so easily?
Looking at the entire court, no one can compete with Master Pang and his party.
Does the Emperor want to promote me???
The emperor ignored Li Hong, took the test paper and began to mark it with a red pen.