After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 137 Palace Examination

A month after the provincial examination, the palace examination quietly arrived.

Because the imperial examination was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the palace, all the candidates had to get up before dawn and go to the palace to assemble.

Zheng Hao explained the situation to Gu Lin beforehand, telling him that Gu Lin didn't need to see him off.

Gu Lin felt a little regretful after hearing this, but the other party's departure time was indeed too early. That morning, he still had to discuss business with Madam Fang, and the shop in the capital was about to open, so there couldn't be any mistakes. Gu Lin was really too busy to be in two places at once.

The night was deep and dark, and the entire inn was pitch black. In the silence of the night, a few muffled snores could be clearly heard coming from some of the rooms.

Suddenly, several rooms on the second floor lit up, but the other rooms remained dark.

Stepping out of the house, Zheng Hao closed the door and turned to leave.

But then he heard the door next to him creak. His eyes flickered, and he turned his head to look behind the wide-open door.

"Uncle Gu."

Upon seeing the young man in a white undershirt standing behind the door, Zheng Hao immediately lowered his eyes, but quickly walked over.

The undergarment was an extremely close-fitting garment. The young man wasn't wearing a cloak or an outer garment, only a snow-white undergarment. He opened the door with a dazed look and sleepy eyes, appearing completely unguarded.

Zheng Hao parted his lips slightly, wanting to let the other person into the house, but then he heard the young man in front of him speak in a hazy yet clear voice.

"Zheng Hao".

In private, Gu Lin rarely called Zheng Hao by his full name. He got up from the bed and stood by the door for a while, gradually regaining his senses.

Gu Lin raised his head and looked at the young man standing in front of him, who was much taller than him. He had never failed in the county examination, the prefectural examination, the academy examination, the provincial examination, and the metropolitan examination, and had always been at the top of the list.

Today's palace examination is of paramount importance. If the provincial examination was a turning point in Zheng Hao's life, then the palace examination will determine his starting point in officialdom.

Gu Lin had a lot to say. He had been deep in thought all night before he could fall asleep, but looking at Zheng Hao's calm and composed face, Gu Lin thought, let him decide everything.

With a smile on his fair face, Gu Lin said to Zheng Hao, "I wish you the best of luck in the imperial examination and that your name will be on the list of successful candidates!"

Upon hearing the young man's congratulations, Zheng Hao swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He lowered his eyes slightly, not daring to look at the young man's appearance in his close-fitting clothes. At the same time, his tall body completely enveloped the young man in front of him, preventing outsiders from having any chance to glimpse Uncle Gu's private state.

With his eyes slightly lowered, Zheng Hao could clearly see Uncle Gu looking up at him with focused eyes.

In this situation, he should have said something like, "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Gu," but whether it was because he had gotten up too early and his mind was not yet clear, or because he was in complete darkness with only the flickering candlelight of the lamp in Uncle Gu's hand, looking at the other man's slender and frail figure, which only reached his neck, Zheng Hao suddenly did not want to continue to maintain his image as a respectful and filial junior in front of Uncle Gu.

However, his inherent rationality restrained his rare impulse, and beneath his eyelids, Zheng Hao's emotions surged continuously.

He raised his head, but not completely. His gaze traveled from the young man's neck to his chin, and Zheng Hao's voice was hoarse from the early morning: "Uncle Gu, wait for me to come back."

Hearing the young man's slightly deep voice, Gu Lin's heart stirred slightly.

Zheng Hao stared at him with a serious and devout expression. Although he was telling him to wait for him to come back, he seemed to be murmuring other words in a low voice.

Gu Lin felt that the other person's gaze was somewhat burning, or perhaps it was because it was the dark night that made people prone to having chaotic feelings that they didn't have during the day.

Gu Lin didn't want to delve into the details. He shifted his gaze slightly, turning away from Zheng Hao.

Watching the other person leave the inn, with the sky outside still pitch black, Gu Lin stood at the door for a moment before turning back into the room.

After seeing Zheng Hao off, he couldn't fall asleep, but the candlelight in the room was dim and couldn't illuminate all areas, so Gu Lin went back to bed.

Staring at the ceiling above his bed, Gu Lin's thoughts began to wander. Zheng Hao had already gone to participate in the palace examination, and the results would be known today. Based on the other party's strength, Gu Lin was not too worried. No matter how badly he ranked first in the provincial examination, he was destined to do well in the palace examination, and he would definitely be at least a second-class Jinshi.

After making up his mind, Gu Lin began to think about opening a shop in the capital. He and Madam Fang had reached an agreement, and the shop was almost finished with renovations. It would open within ten days at the latest.

Today I met with Madam Fang to finalize the details for the shop's opening day.

To ensure his shop had a successful opening day and to gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive capital city, Gu Lin would not let any opportunity slip by, and he would make full use of all the connections he had.

Zheng Hao boarded the carriage and arrived outside the palace. He stepped off the carriage, and a group of tribute students arrived one after another.

The officials responsible for receiving the tribute students into the Hall of Supreme Harmony did not leave them to their own devices; they began to read aloud the rules that should be observed when entering the palace.

Following the other party's instructions, the candidates stood in two rows. Since Zheng Hao was the top scholar in the imperial examination, and the left was considered the most honorable position in the Great Qian Dynasty, he was placed at the head of the left row of candidates.

After a stick of incense had burned, the officials read out the rules to them. Then, he led the group of scholars to learn etiquette.

While instructing the group of candidates, the official politely said, "Your palace examination will be held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Before the examination begins, the top candidate will lead the other candidates to pay their respects to His Majesty. Just remember how to perform the grand ceremony to Emperor Jian'an. As for the other etiquette, it is just in case you encounter other dignitaries."

The dignitaries here are not the concubines of the harem, but the Crown Prince and a group of princes and nobles. Although they did not preside over the palace examination, it is possible that they will appear in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

After teaching them the rules and etiquette, and seeing that they had not made any major mistakes, the official said, "All candidates, please proceed to the palace."

Officials led the way, and the two rows of tribute scholars walked separately. Only Emperor Jian'an could pass through the main gate of the palace, so they had to go around the main gate and enter the palace through the side gates on the left and right until they reached the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Following the footsteps of the officials, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly and walked forward, crossing the left side gate.

According to the regulations of the palace examination, they were all dressed in light blue robes. A group of young talents entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the golden sunlight of the rising sun. In particular, the top scholar, dressed in an extremely simple robe, could not hide his demeanor. Some officials were surprised to see this. Wasn't this year's top scholar supposed to be a farmer's son? He didn't look like one at all.

The officials led them to the gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and then stepped aside. Leading the group of tribute scholars behind him into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Zheng Hao remained calm, knelt down and bowed, saying to the emperor sitting above him, "This humble subject pays his respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"

The group of scholars knelt down and paid their respects behind Zheng Hao.

A moment later, a majestic male voice came down from above: "You may all rise."

Zheng Hao stood up, and the other candidates followed suit.

Then, an official specifically responsible for maintaining order during the palace examination stepped forward and guided the candidates to sit down at the tables that had been prepared in advance.

After everyone was seated, Emperor Jian'an gave the order, and immediately guards carried sheets of snow-white paper and distributed them to the tables in front of all the candidates.

Immediately afterwards, the official in charge of the palace examination stepped forward and stood in the center of the hall to read out the examination questions. Eight guards walked back and forth in the hall, carrying wooden boards filled with the examination questions.

After the exam questions were read aloud, the official, with a serious expression, announced in a deep voice: "The palace examination begins!"

After he finished speaking, all the scholars present immediately laid out their papers and then quickly picked up their ink sticks and inkstones.

As they prepared their inkstones, they pondered the contents of the examination questions. Some candidates would immediately stop preparing their inkstones and pick up their brushes to write down their thoughts on paper as soon as an idea crossed their minds.

It's no wonder they were nervous. Unlike the provincial and metropolitan examinations that lasted for several days and nights, the palace examination only lasted half a day. If they didn't manage their time well, they could easily end up not finishing the exam.

Zheng Hao sat upright, unlike the other candidates present who were nervous and anxious. The young man was calm and composed, slowly adding water and ink to the inkstone. His wrist movements revealed his composure.

Emperor Jian'an's gaze wandered downwards, and suddenly, his eyes fell on the leading scholar on the left, whose appearance and temperament were outstanding.

He asked the eunuch beside him, "Who is that person?"

Although Emperor Jian'an never paid attention to state affairs, he was particularly concerned about the appearance of court officials.

Following Emperor Jian'an's gaze, the eunuch recalled the other person's identity and replied, "Your Majesty, that is Zheng Hao, the top scholar in this imperial examination. I heard that he comes from a commoner family, yet he managed to outperform all the other aristocratic students in the examination."

Emperor Jian'an was very surprised to hear this. He had spent many years in the inner palace and was obsessed with alchemy, so he entrusted the imperial examination to the Minister of Rites and the Crown Prince.

After the list of successful candidates for the metropolitan examination was released, he did not pay much attention to who the top scholar was, because according to the pattern of previous years, the top scholar was either a descendant of the minister or a disciple of the great Confucian scholar.

Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened this year.

Emperor Jian'an's gaze involuntarily fell on Zheng Hao again. He saw that the young man was calm and composed, not at all like someone of commoner origin. While the other candidates were tense and frowning as they faced the test questions, he remained unhurried and confident.

This comparison made Emperor Jian'an curious about the difficulty of the palace examination questions, which made so many candidates feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy. However, judging from the performance of this top scholar, it seemed as if the questions were not difficult at all.

He turned his head and instructed the eunuch beside him: "Go and call the Crown Prince to bring the test questions over."

"Yes." The eunuch bowed, then walked down the steps toward the crown prince.

The Crown Prince kept an eye on Emperor Jian'an from time to time, so he immediately noticed the eunuch coming down.

When he saw the other person walking towards him, the Crown Prince said, "Eunuch Wang, what can I do for Father Emperor?"

Eunuch Wang approached the Crown Prince and whispered, "This servant greets Your Highness. His Majesty has ordered that you be summoned to bring the palace examination questions for questioning."

The Crown Prince's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes shifted. After exchanging a glance with the Grand Tutor beside him, he walked towards Emperor Jian'an.

"My son has met my father."

Upon arriving before Emperor Jian'an, the Crown Prince respectfully bowed.

Emperor Jian'an nodded, then said to the Crown Prince, "Crown Prince, let me see the questions for the palace examination."

"Yes."

Although he couldn't figure out his father's intentions, the Crown Prince didn't show any doubt and handed over the test questions.

After receiving the test questions, Emperor Jian'an glanced at the poems and essays, his gaze lingering on the policy questions. He frowned, and his usually sage-like face lost its pleasant expression.

"They actually came up with this kind of question."

He raised his head, his gaze falling on the Crown Prince, a hint of dissatisfaction appearing in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince immediately replied: "A few days ago, I discussed with several officials that the Southern Red-Clad Army was rebelling against its superiors, and the Northern Barbarians were burning, killing, and looting our border people without any integrity. The court officials were struggling to find a good solution, so we set this as a question to see if we could find a good solution in the palace examination."

"Ah"

Withdrawing his gaze, Emperor Jian'an first sneered, then said, "Those people in the court are only concerned with protecting their own positions and wealth. They don't care about the rebellion in the south or the invasion of the northern barbarians."

At this point, Emperor Jian'an paused, and finally said to the Crown Prince: "Crown Prince, as the heir apparent, you must have your own ideas and not be led astray by the officials below you. You must remember that this world belongs to the Great Qian imperial family, and everything you do must be conducive to maintaining the rule of our Great Qian."

Emperor Jian'an's words were ambiguous.

The Crown Prince bowed his head respectfully and replied, "Your subject will humbly follow Your Majesty's teachings."

The matter was dropped. Apart from Emperor Jian'an and his son, and Eunuch Wang, no one else in the hall knew that the royal father and son were discussing other matters in front of them. However, even if they did know, they probably wouldn't care.

Because if the Daqian royal family wants to secure their throne, they need their support regardless of any dissatisfaction they may have with them.

Emperor Jian'an said, "Even the court officials can't answer these kinds of questions. These scholars can only talk the talk."

The crown prince remained silent.

Emperor Jian'an waved his hand and said, "Enough, it's time for the court to incorporate some new blood."

After grinding the ink, Zheng Hao had already sorted out his thoughts on all the test questions. He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write on the snow-white paper.

The imperial examination of the Daqian Dynasty had two types of questions: policy questions and poetry. There were three policy questions: those on governance strategies, those on economics and people's livelihood, and those on military and national defense. The poetry questions were not simply about composing poems, but about composing poems and essays on designated themes.

Zheng Hao had ideas for answering both the policy questions and the poems, but answering the policy questions required more time, so Zheng Hao wrote the policy questions first.

From governance strategies and economic and social development to military and national defense, he wrote with a calm and steady hand, without pausing for a moment. While other candidates were cautiously worried about making mistakes, he wrote down his thoughts and ideas with flowing strokes. His characters were vivid and expressive, elegant yet disciplined, disciplined yet not rigid.

After writing down each policy question, Zheng Hao would place the paper in an empty space to let the ink dry before continuing to write the next policy question.

After answering the three policy questions, more than half of the palace examination time had passed. Zheng Hao did not stop; with a flick of his wrist, he continued to compose poems and essays.

After answering all the questions, Zheng Hao put down his brush and sat upright in his original position.

After a cup of tea.

The official presiding over the palace examination announced in a deep voice, "The palace examination is over. Everyone, stop writing!"