Chapter 253.1: Retaliation
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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Manon] [Smurfinbatik] [Tori D.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Fav Akira] [Leticia P.] [Maria P.] [Nicole] [Passerby]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Reece P.] [Lily J.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Amanda] [Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hong] [kuroneko_chan] [Liznel M.] [Michelle K.] [onepiece]
[Quae] [Ray] [Victoria]
Everyone looked in confusion at Marquis Xuanping’s action.
What was going on? Why was Marquis Xuanping fixing an examinee’s clothes? This wasn’t a simple matter of fondness. Normally, only people who were very close to each other or those who thought highly of the other party would do this.
Xiao Liulang's reputation in the whole capital might not be big, but he was quite well-known in the imperial examination circles. He came from a poor family, but he tied for first place with An Junwang in the metropolitan exam, which made him quite famous.
Furthermore, he was walking on a crutch, which made people pay more attention to him.
He was very recognizable. After all, there was no second cripple who came to take the palace exam.
Most people's first reaction when they saw him was, wasn't this kid too good looking? The second reaction was, why was he a cripple? In addition to these two reactions there was, this little cripple actually became the Huiyuan?
They felt sorry for him, envied him, and despised him... In short, it was a complicated mix of emotions.
But no one present could have predicted that he would enter Marquis Xuanping's eyes.
That’s right, even though Marquis Xuanping showed his special regard for Xiao Liulang, no one guessed that the two of them could have a father-son relationship.
People wondered quietly, wasn't Marquis Xuanping a military general? Wasn't he the most contemptuous of pedantic scholars? So many outstanding talents had come out of the metropolitan exam in the past, how come Marquis Xuanping didn’t favor any of them?
What was it about this little cripple that impressed Marquis Xuanping, so that Marquis Xuanping, who never went to court early, got up early to send him to the examination hall?
Xiao Liulang’s expression remained unchanged, with no sign of joy or gratitude.
Marquis Xuanping didn't get annoyed as he continued to straighten his clothes with great dignity.
In fact, Marquis Xuanping had never been a very competent father. He had spent most of his time in the military camp and had shown little concern for his son at home.
Xiao Heng could be dubbed as the most talented youth in the State of Zhao, in addition to his extraordinary talent, the rest was basically thanks to Princess Xinyang’s contribution.
Princess Xinyang was a loving and strict mother at the same time. She had read poetry and various books since childhood, and she hoped her son would be a knowledgeable man in the future. She taught him with great care, and that was how Xiao Heng came to be known by the world.
When Xiao Heng was very young, he would always wait in the main gate of the estate every day to recite poems to him.
But he would always come back so late that Xiao Heng had already fallen asleep on the threshold.
One time, Xiao Heng was able to recite poems in front of him, but he had just listened perfunctorily, nodding and saying yes from time to time. Xiao Heng got very angry and said, "You’re not listening at all! I clearly recited three words wrong!"
The young and vigorous Marquis Xuanping couldn't lose his face in front of his son, so in order to cover up his lack of literary talent and knowledge, he responded to his son’s anger with a false bravado, "What's so great about reciting poems? Real men should charge at the front to kill the enemy, guarding one’s home and defending the country, this is real ability! Can you hold a spear or wield a sword?"
Xiao Heng was very hurt.
Before Marquis Xuanping could learn how to be a good father, Xiao Heng died in that fire that year. Only himself knew how many regrets he had.
Marquis Xuanping looked at Xiao Liulang who remained expressionless. He regained his senses after being lost in thought for a moment. He patted Xiao Liulang's shoulder and pinched his sleeve, "Go."
This was the first time he sent someone into the examination hall. He had little experience and didn't know exactly what to do. Straightening up people’s clothes was something he just learned upon seeing Grand Preceptor Zhuang and Grand Secretary Yuan doing it when he got off the carriage.
Xiao Liulang went in without looking back.
Du Ruohan, who was behind Xiao Liulang, was a little dumbfounded. Just now, he was the closest person to Marquis Xuanping apart from Xiao Liulang. Marquis Xuanping was taller and more handsome than rumored. His every gesture was full of nobility and his eyes were deep and dignified.
This person beside him was a man who wouldn’t even fear the world falling apart.
His aura was so strong that Du Ruohan felt like he was suffocating.
But such a powerful man came for Xiao Liulang and treated Xiao Liulang like a parent did.
Du Ruohan felt crazy, so jealous! What kind of dumb luck did this guy have?!
Xiao Liulang was oblivious to Du Ruohan's envious gaze all the way. They entered the main hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and found their seat according to their exam number, which was no different from that of the preliminary exam.
The palace exam had only one exam and took only a single day. Exam papers would be handed out at the period of chenshi(7-9 am) and collected at the period of youshi(5-7 pm), but examinees could hand in their exam papers in advance. They were not allowed to eat in the middle of the exam nor bring their own food.
Examinees who had passed the provincial exam and metropolitan exam were in good physical condition. Not eating for a day wouldn’t make them suffer from hunger. The only thing they worried about was having poor performance.
After all, the Emperor would personally supervise the exam today. The Emperor wouldn’t come until the morning court ended, but no one knew how long the morning court would be. In case they were in the middle of writing, and the Emperor suddenly appeared behind them——
Just thinking about that scene made everyone scared stiff.
After a series of tedious ceremonial rites, the examination officially started. Officials of the Ministry of Rites handed out the exam papers to each examinee. The Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Senior Official of the State Ceremonial Bureau, and four great scholars of the cabinet sat on the seats on both sides in front of the examination hall, with a desk and another chair in the middle, which should be reserved for the Emperor.
In addition to these supervising officials, there were also imperial guards and eunuchs on duty in the hall. Therefore, although there were no examination cells separating the examinees, it was still difficult to cheat under so many pairs of eyes.
Furthermore, policy questions did not have fixed answers like classics filling(fill in the blank), and there was little point in cheating.
Xiao Liulang soon got his own exam paper. This was the question given by the Emperor— With regards to the governance and the heart of the Emperor, how would he rule the estate into peace and prosperity?
After going through the topics such as "cutting off the vassals" and "qualifications for establishing an heir", this question was much milder. At least, one couldn’t go wrong with the answer. At most, it depended on whether the content was practical or not.
You could be wordy as long as the writing was splendid enough; you could also cut to the chase, directly strike at the current problems and clear the flag.
It was true that the Emperor was recruiting talents, but none of the examinees had ever been an official. To put it bluntly, it was simply talking about stratagems on paper. The Emperor didn’t expect the examinees of the palace exam to solve the problems that even the civil and military officials hadn’t solved. Otherwise, what did he need so many experienced court officials for?
What the Emperor truly wanted was to see an examinee's sense of scope.
A prime minister was one who could support a boat inside his belly, metaphorically speaking. Thus, a person's sense of scope determined how broad the way forward could be for his whole future.
Most examinees didn’t realize this as they continued to rack their brains and scratch their heads, thinking about new ways to govern the country and keep the country safe and prosperous.
Xiao Liulang didn't hurry to write his answer and made a draft first.
Actually, he didn’t have the habit of making drafts, but drafts were an important piece of evidence when verifying the results.
He weighed his words, deleted and omitted, and about an hour later, he began to formally write an answer on the paper.
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