Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 109 Palace Examination
  After eating with Yun Hao at Jinzunlou, Zhao Wangshu took him to go shopping and accidentally walked outside a gambling house.

There were many people outside the gambling house. Zhao Wangshu was shocked when he heard Zhao Yin's name, "My eldest brother didn't study etiquette at the Ministry of Etiquette, how could he come to the gambling house?"

He had just passed the proficiency test, how dare her eldest brother be so arrogant? She wanted to tell Grandma to break his legs.

"Don't panic, my eldest brother is still in the Ministry of Etiquette and didn't come to the gambling house. These are the top ten in the gambling hall's opening test." Yun Hao pulled her and explained.

"Scared me to death." Zhao Wangshu patted his chest.

The two of them squeezed in to look at the gambling list from the gambling house. The third person was Zhao Yin, nineteen years old, from the capital. It was said that he was the nephew of the current queen, Jinke Jieyuan.

Zhao Wangshu curled his lips, "He is obviously a clan nephew."

It's not like we have such a close relationship as aunt and nephew.

The odds of Zhao Yin winning the top spot are 4 to 1, the odds of winning the second place are 3 to 1, and the odds of winning the top spot are 2 to 1.

Huiyuan's name was Zhou Ye. He was twenty-five years old. He came from a scholarly family in Shandong. He was smart and studious. He was also the Shandong Fuhui Examination Jieyuan.

His odds are three to one for the No. 1 pick, two to one for the second place pick, and one to one for the third overall pick.

The second person in the Huixi examination was named Tang Lin. He was twenty-one years old and was from Tanzhou Prefecture in Xiangfu.

"The top three are all Jinke Jieyuan. The palace examination must be a battle between dragons and tigers." Zhao Wangshu frowned, "My eldest brother's opponents are all very strong."

"I believe eldest brother will stand out." Yun Hao said with a smile.

The two of them squeezed out without looking at each other. Just as they were about to leave, a thug from the gambling house picked up one and threw it out.

Zhao Wangshu took a closer look and said, "Zhao He."

Zhao He didn't notice her and Yun Hao. He got up from the ground, patted the dust on his body twice, and left cursing.

Back home, Zhao Wangshu told Mrs. Zhao Cui about this, and Mrs. Zhao Cui snorted, "What kind of good children can someone named Yang raise?"

Mrs. Zhao Cui has no interest in educating other people's children, and Zhao Wangshu will not bother to go to the mansion to inform about this matter.

What's more, if the mansion is really strict, they won't know about Zhao He's addiction to gambling, and they don't need to tell them.

March 19th, re-examination.

The location of the re-examination is also in the palace, Taichu Hall. Like the palace examination, only policy questions will be tested and papers will be graded, but there will be no ranking and no registration will be announced.

Ten days after the re-examination, on March 29, the palace examination begins. The tributes who participate in the palace examination will not be eliminated, but their rankings will fluctuate slightly.

But who doesn’t want to rank higher?

With a high ranking, being able to show up in front of the emperor is helpful for one's official career.

Zhao Cheng was actually very worried that he would fall into the status of a fellow Jinshi. No one in the Yongguo Palace of the late empress's natal family was a real official. This shows that the emperor did not want a powerful descendant.

Furthermore, the empress has been the empress for several years, but the emperor has not given the Zhao family a title.

The Ministry of Rites once reported in accordance with the etiquette and law that the emperor refused to grant the title of title to the Zhao family on the grounds that he would not have a legitimate son.

Zhao Yin had the same worries. If he fell into the top three, his future would be bleak. It wasn't that he wouldn't be promoted, but the promotion process was very difficult, but he didn't show it.

The poems in Xingyuan are definitely unmatched, but they imitate Xuan Gong and give you Fei.

There is no surname for the official who is standing in the battle, and the robes of the clan across the river are handed down.

The chariot road in the world of mortals is covered with tung trees, and swallows are flying on the green foil.

Crossing the horse, the call is at the same point, and half of the whip silk is brushed with gold.

On the day of the palace examination, it was dawn, and the Zhao family father and son got up, drank a cup of almond dew, ate apricot blossom cake, and went to the palace with the fragrance of apricot blossom all over their bodies.

The carriage was parked a little far away from the palace gate. Today is the palace examination. No one is allowed to approach the palace gate. Even the tributes who enter the palace to participate in the palace examination must go through identity verification before they can enter.

Although there were more than 300 tributes, no noise could be heard at the palace gate except the sound of officials calling their names.

"Zhao Cheng." The official read the brochure, "He is from Zhaojiazhuang in the capital."

"Yes, sir." Zhao Cheng took out the name tag.

The official looked at it and said, "Go over there and wait."

"Thank you, sir." Zhao Cheng cupped his hands and said. The official looked at the brochure and said, "Zhao Yin is also from Zhaojiazhuang in the capital, and you are of the same clan."

"Sir, this is my son." Zhao Cheng smiled.

The official laughed, "Father and son are in the same field. This is a great story."

Zhao Yin cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, this is a ridiculous compliment. Please read the famous brand post."

"Okay, go and wait over there," the official said.

Entering the palace to take part in the imperial examination is also subject to inspection.

The purpose of the search was to ensure the emperor's safety.

He is already a tribute, no one will take him away from him.

Gongshi is already a quasi-official. For their sake, the search will not be done in public. There will be a special room.

After more than 300 people searched, it was already dark.

"At Mao hour, all the tributes will enter the palace gate."

The palace door opened, and in addition to the little chamberlain who led the way, there were eight officials from the Ministry of Rites and four guards.

The location of the palace examination is Taiji Hall. Taiji Hall is the east side hall of Fengtian Hall, and the west side hall is Taichu Hall.

The main hall of Fengtian Hall is where the big court meeting is held, and the small court meeting is in the Zhongji Hall.

Under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, the tributes entered the Taiji Hall and lined up on the east and west sides of Danqi, standing facing the north. All civil and military officials stood in their usual attire.

There was the sound of whips and footsteps outside the palace, and everyone in the palace hurriedly bowed down and said, "See you, Your Majesty."

Amidst the sounds of worship from everyone in the hall, Emperor Chongyuan walked into the hall, glanced at everyone, and nodded with satisfaction, "Your Majesty, get up."

Hearing this, everyone straightened up.

Emperor Chongyuan sat down and said, "Fang Qing, let's get started."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Fang Shu, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was standing aside, took a step forward and said, "The Holy One has decreed that the palace examination will begin in the fifteenth year of Chongyuan."

The tributes took their seats in order of honor, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to hand out curlers.

The palace examination lasted only one day, and the emperor personally set the questions: The way of the world is based on universal love.

The way of the world, based on universal love, comes from "Mozi", which means that if people in the world do not love each other, unfilial and unkind things will happen.

This question may seem simple but has far-reaching implications. It requires candidates to deeply understand its meaning and refine their own opinions in a short period of time.

All the candidates lowered their heads and began to think deeply.

The entire Tai Chi Hall was silent, except for the occasional sound of paper and pen rubbing together.

The emperor was sitting on the throne, and beside him were several assistants, reviewers, and several princes.

The candidates either closed their eyes and meditated, or wrote quickly, or thought over and over again.

Time passed slowly, and the emperor and the ministers silently observed, exchanging opinions from time to time and evaluating the performance of the candidates.

The emperor got up and came down from Danqi. He stayed for a long time beside the three tributes, including Zhao Yin.

The officials were all discerning people. Seeing that the emperor paid more attention to these three people, he took them to heart.

Looking at the seats, you can tell that these three people are the top three in Huiyuan.

"Hui Yuan looks a little older, and I don't know if the other two are compatible." Someone whispered.

Those who have daughters at home have already made secret plans.

At the beginning of noon, the emperor left temporarily to have lunch.

The lunch for the tributes was brought in by the chamberlain, consisting of two steamed buns and a bowl of soup. They were still only quasi-officials, so their treatment was naturally not high.

The examiners' lunch was of a rather high standard, with five plates of tea and four different dishes.

(End of this chapter)