latelenovela Chapter 95 The imperial examination of the seventh year of Longyun finally came to an end.
Chapter 95 The imperial examination of the seventh year of Longyun finally came to an end.
Once the footsteps outside the hall gradually subsided, no one was allowed to enter or leave the Zhonghe Hall anymore.
Li An flicked his whisk, "Hair curls!"
As his long voice faded, twenty eunuchs quickly stepped forward and deftly placed the examination papers and papers on the examinees' desks one by one.
It had a bit of a modern college entrance examination feel to it. Lin Shiming looked around and guessed that it was the work of that little Taoist priest Lin You again.
As the exam papers were distributed one by one and the invigilating officials returned to their posts, the clock struck Chenshi (7-9 AM).
"The exam begins—"
The students in the hall, who had been eagerly awaiting the exam, finally nervously flipped open the exam papers that had been hidden on the table, ready to show off their skills.
A few breaths later, the hall was filled with gasps of disbelief.
What is this third question?!
If it weren't for the rule against looking directly at the emperor, they probably would have looked up at Emperor Longyun on the spot.
The shocking scene caused Lin Shiming, who was standing to the side, to burst into silent laughter, clutching his stomach and bending over backward. If Lu Yuxi hadn't been prepared and reached out to stop him behind him, he probably would have laughed himself to the ground.
Emperor Longyun, sitting at the head of the table, also used his sleeve to cover the corners of his mouth that he couldn't help but turn up, while his other hand gripped his robe tightly, as if afraid that he would laugh out loud.
For a moment, only the invigilators, who still didn't know the exam questions, looked at each other in bewilderment. Curious, Fang Shihai, the Minister of Personnel, walked over to one of the candidates and peered at him.
Fang Shihai: "... ..."
Fang Shihai's pupils dilated in shock as he instantly looked at Lin Shiming, who was still laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
Well, that's obvious. He swore on his life that if this question hadn't come from the Crown Princess, he'd twist his own head off and use it as a football.
Fang Shihai shook his head helplessly and returned to his seat.
What can we do? We can't afford to offend them!
Lin Shiming's move was indeed a huge surprise to these candidates.
Many people with weak mental fortitude have already started scratching their heads and feeling flustered. Not to mention that the first two questions were enough to make them struggle with whether to stick to the status quo or explore new topics, just looking at this last question, everyone is wondering if there is some special meaning that they haven't figured out yet.
A quarter of an hour passed, and still no one dared to write anything.
Lin Shiming gave a silent, cold laugh. What he hated most was this kind of thing where simple things were clearly laid out there, but people insisted on over-interpreting them.
Such people are full of suspicion and doubt, weighing the pros and cons, and their words are full of hidden traps; they are not straightforward or honest at all.
However, some braver individuals withstood the psychological pressure and finally picked up their pens to start answering the questions.
*
The palace examination was tense and exciting for the candidates, but it was quite boring for Lin Shiming.
He quickly became restless and started fidgeting, pinching Lu Yuxi's hand one moment and tugging at her belt the next, until he had almost completely rummaged through her clothes. Only then, under Lu Yuxi's threatening gaze, did he reluctantly withdraw his hands and begin to snore loudly against her.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already noon. Li An called out in a drawn-out voice, "It's noon! Serve the meal!"
The eunuchs from the side hall poured in carrying trays of food and quickly served lunch to each examinee.
Lin Shiming and Lu Yuxi naturally had several freshly prepared hot dishes. The taste was indeed not as good as their usual meals. Lin Shiming casually ate a little, then put down his chopsticks, stretched, and began to stare blankly at the students in the room.
Perhaps this year's exam questions were too outrageous, and with half the exam time already gone, many candidates were so nervous that they couldn't even eat, their hands trembling as they held steamed buns.
One student with particularly poor mental resilience even trembled so much that they spilled water all over their test paper, and then burst into tears in a panic.
The examiners and eunuchs nearby quickly moved over, gagged him, and dragged him to a side hall.
Lin Shiming leaned close to Lu Yuxi's ear and asked, "What's this?"
"If your exam paper gets dirty or spilled with water, you can raise your hand to signal for a replacement. Even if it's recorded and affects your score, you'll still be able to finish the exam and get a degree. But this person just burst into tears. He's psychologically fragile and disrupted the exam, so he'll be taken away and not allowed to take the exam again."
"Can he take the test again next time?"
Lu Yuxi shook her head. "No. He will be stripped of his academic title. If he wants to take the exam again, he will have to start all over again, and he will not be allowed to start again for five years."
It's forbidden to start for five years, and it takes at least five years from the Changping examination to the palace examination. Adding it all up, that's ten years.
Lin Shiming looked at the struggling examinee; his beard was quite long, and he was probably in his forties or fifties. Whether he could have another decade—who knew?
Perhaps this incident shocked the other test takers, as many of them chose to stop eating and drinking and simply endure the meal.
She's still too fragile! She refuses to eat or drink because of this little bit of pressure; she'll probably faint from fright when facing Emperor Longyun's might in the future. It's better to eliminate her early to avoid another incident of disrespect before the Emperor and being punished.
*
The two-quarters-hour mealtime passed quickly, and the eunuchs came in in an orderly fashion and swiftly cleared away the remaining food and dishes.
Lin Shiming got tired of sitting, so he stretched and started wandering around the examination room.
He went straight to the top scorer's paper and quickly browsed through Yang Wenshuo's paper.
Yang Wenshuo had just finished writing the second draft when Lin Shiming glanced at it casually and left. The writing was quite brilliant, but it was still too conservative and rigid, much like the old men in the court today.
Although Lu Yuxi graded the papers during the provincial examination, many court officials also participated, and the questions were consistent with his usual style, so this person could still be considered a top scholar. However, once it came to the palace examination, especially the palace examination where Emperor Longyun required "ideals and courage," he would not be up to the task.
In the Changping era, the top-ranking candidates in the provincial examination would typically be promoted to junior examiners in the palace examination. This was not only a testament to the candidate's own abilities but also an affirmation of the chief examiner of the provincial examination, a kind of tacit understanding.
But this person...
No wonder Lu Yuxi said, "If he didn't have the third question, he would have had a chance to get into the junior rank." Now that there's this third question, the top scorer will probably be relegated to the second rank.
Lin Shiming shook his head; this man was probably going to utterly disgrace the association leader.
Yang Wenshuo felt a chill creeping into his heart.
Today, Lin Shiming was dressed in the bright yellow Crown Princess's everyday robes as required by custom. Therefore, when Yang Wenshuo caught a glimpse of a bright yellow figure lingering for a moment before quickly disappearing, he realized that his exam paper had probably not caught the eye of the noble person. Regardless of whether this noble person was His Majesty, the Crown Prince, or the Crown Princess, he probably wouldn't get a good result.
The candidates sitting behind him were trembling with nervousness.
Even the top scholar couldn't keep the dignitary there for long, so wouldn't ordinary students like them have to wait even longer?
Suddenly, several more candidates began to tremble, and some even dripped ink onto their exam papers.
Oh no, this time we'll have to go even further back in the queue!
Lin Shiming didn't care about the coldness in these people's hearts. He continued to stroll around the room in order, stopping occasionally for a while when he encountered a paper that interested him. It was just a pity that among the nearly three hundred people in the room, not a single one could quickly calculate the third question; they all started from the beginning and added one by one.
Moreover, quite a few people have already made a mistake shortly after starting out, so even if they finish calculating everything, it will probably just be a waste of effort.
Discovering a mathematical genius all at once is not something that happens easily to him.
Lin Shiming returned to his seat with a hint of disappointment and began to lean against Lu Yuxi in a daze again.
*
The sunlight filtering through the window paper slowly moved from the west to the east, and time finally arrived at the hour of Shen (3-5 PM).
Amidst the tense atmosphere where all the examinees were sweating profusely, Li An straightened his robes and finally stepped forward, announcing, "Collect the papers—"
The imperial examination of the seventeenth year of the Longyun era has finally come to an end.
The eunuchs quickly collected all the scrolls, and the doors of the Hall of Central Harmony opened, with one eunuch rushing in.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress has been in trouble!"