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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.]
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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.] [Mich.e.l.le K.] [onepiece]
[Quae] [Ray] [Victoria]
The Emperor was reviewing the examinees" papers in the Emperor"s audience hall with the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau and several cabinet scholars on the side.
Although the exam papers had already been marked by several people, if the Emperor had any questions, he would ask them about it.
Several people were very tense, and the most nervous one was the Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau.
It went without saying that not all exam papers presented to His Majesty were clean. There were some examinees who had been pushed up by the various parties they belonged to. Of course, their strength wasn’t bad and was enough to get to the palace exam.
They were afraid that the Emperor wouldn’t like their candidates’ exam paper, put it separately from other papers and reject it alone, and then re-select another exam paper from outside the top twenty exam papers. This kind of situation was rare, but wasn’t unheard of.
Every time the Emperor finished reading an exam paper, it would be placed on the right side, which meant that it pa.s.sed his evaluation and could be kept; if it was placed on the left side, it meant that there was an objection on the Emperor’s side.
Exam papers that received objections basically had no chance to get on the first-cla.s.s Jinshi anymore, but generally it would not fall to the third-cla.s.s Jinshi.
The Emperor had finished reading ten exam papers, and so far there wasn’t a single one that had been rejected yet.
The weather was fine today. Silence pervaded the imperial study, only the sound of a warm spring breeze blowing in slowly from outside the door could be heard.
The corner of the exam papers was blown up, and Eunuch Wei hurriedly took a topaz paperweight to press the exam papers down.
The Emperor did not raise his head, but he was also very pleased with Eunuch Wei"s carefulness. He was truly worthy to be an old man who had been with him for many years.
The Emperor coughed in a low voice, and Eunuch Wei handed him a cup of hot tea.
Look, even the temperature of the tea was just right.
"Your Majesty, you have been reviewing all morning. Please take a rest." Minister Li worriedly advised, "Your dragon body is very important."
"Zhen is fine." It was just some excessive internal heat. This was one bad thing about being an Emperor. The slightest swaying of gra.s.s in the wind would throw people in great panic, that was why he never liked admitting that he was unwell.
The Emperor took a sip of tea and continued to review the rest of the exam papers. He had just finished reviewing the exam papers of Yuan Yu and Ning Zhiyuan, a gifted scholar from the south, and their exam papers seemed to rank in the top three at present.
The overall strength of the examinees in this subject was better than that of the previous palace exam’s partic.i.p.ants, which made it difficult to make a choice.
The Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau was one of the people who tampered with the exam papers. He knew that the Emperor would review Xiao Liulang"s exam paper soon, which wouldn’t be able to get a high score, only ranking at the bottom of the top twenty.
There was naturally a reason for this, that was, he ‘wrote’ some treacherous words in his article. The reason why he was still included in the top twenty was because he was a Huiyuan, and Huiyuan couldn’t be dropped out of the top twenty. This was an established rule. Even if they wanted to drop it, it wasn"t their turn to. The Emperor had to do it himself.
Everything was so seamless.
The Senior official of State Ceremonial Bureau kept his eyes fixed on the following exam papers.
After reviewing Song Ping"s exam paper, the Emperor wasn’t quite satisfied, and thus placed it on the left side.
Minster Li’s heart sank. Song Ping was his backed candidate, but it seemed hopeless now.
The Emperor raised his hand to grab the next exam paper, which was the exam paper of an examinee named Zhu Guangmao. He was a poor student with little background, and his performance in the metropolitan exam wasn’t too outstanding either. In the provincial exam, his ranking was barely among the top ten in the local area, which did not arouse the interest of any party for the time being.
After his exam paper, next to be reviewed should be Xiao Liulang"s.
The Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau"s heart was in his throat. Although nothing could possibly go wrong, what he did was still a corrupt thing, giving him a little guilty conscience. He couldn’t stop wondering what he should do if ever the Emperor recognized that it wasn’t Xiao Liulang"s handwriting.
In fact, Xiao Liulang’s handwriting was imitated so well that it was unlikely for anyone to tell at a glance that it was an imitation. The Emperor certainly had no way to find out.
Just as the Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau was feeling very nervous and apprehensive, an eunuch suddenly reported from outside the door, "Your Majesty, Grand Preceptor Zhuang requests for an audience."
The Senior Official of State Ceremonial Bureau"s eyes moved away from Xiao Liulang"s exam paper and looked at the door.
Why was Grand Preceptor Zhuang here at this time?
The exam paper that the Emperor just picked up was put down again, and he said towards the door, "Allow."
"Yes." The eunuch complied then shouted, "His Majesty the Emperor allows Grand Preceptor Zhuang an audience——"
Eunuch Wei creased his brows. This was a newly appointed eunuch. He was promoted, but the way he handled things was too conventional. His Majesty didn"t have so many rules.
Why bother announcing it? Just directly let people in.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was also stunned. He had originally planned to just walk in directly and cupped his hand in salute, but the new eunuch made the scene so formal that he got down on his knees and bowed to the Emperor after entering the imperial study.
The Emperor waved his hand lightly, signaling Grand Preceptor Zhuang to rise, "What"s the matter, Grand Preceptor?"
The other officials in the room also saluted Grand Preceptor Zhuang.
After returning their greeting with cupped hands, Grand Preceptor Zhuang looked at the Emperor and said, "This official has something to talk about with Your Majesty."
"Right now?" The Emperor looked at him.
"Yes." Grand Preceptor Zhuang continued to cup his hands in obeisance.
Minster Li said with interest, "Then this official will withdraw first."
"Alright." The Emperor agreed.
Minister Li and others went out of the imperial study but did not go far, using the tea room in the nearby side hall.
Once again, the Emperor"s eyes fell on Grand Preceptor Zhuang"s face, "What"s the hurry? Can"t you wait for Zhen to finish reviewing the exam papers?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang’s gaze swept the exam papers on his desk un.o.btrusively, and he was secretly relieved to see that Xiao Liulang"s paper was the next one to be reviewed.
He stepped forward and said, "On my way back, this official suddenly remembered that Empress Dowager"s birthday is just a few days away. This official… May this official be so bold as to visit the Empress Dowager in the temporary imperial residence?"
The Emperor was slightly taken aback. He put down his imperial brush, lowered his eyes, and took a sip of tea. Then he looked at Grand Preceptor Zhuang and said, "Imperial mother is in poor health. The imperial physician said it is not suitable for her to catch the wind outside or meet visitors. Later, Zhen will send someone to the temporary imperial residence to see if imperial mother is getting better, and then inform Grand Preceptor."
"Many thanks, Your Majesty!" Grand Preceptor Zhuang gave a deep bow, and when he got up, he accidentally hit the stack of exam papers on the table, which then hit the Emperor"s teacup. The teacup fell over and the exam papers also fell on the floor.
"This official deserves death!" He knelt down to plead his guilt, and hurriedly picked up the scattered exam papers.
Eunuch Wei went up to see if the Emperor had been scalded by tea. The Emperor also bowed his head, removing the drops of tea on his body.
While the two of them were not paying him attention, Grand Preceptor Zhuang hid the fake exam paper of Xiao Liulang in his left sleeve, and took out the original paper from his right sleeve and put it among the exam papers.
……
After leaving the palace, Grand Preceptor Zhuang met up with Marquis Xuanping who had his hands in his hand warmer pillow.
It was already the fourth month, he wondered why this man was still using this stuff.
Marquis Xuanping had a cold countenance and deep temperament. However, when Grand Preceptor Zhuang came over, he raised an eyebrow very wantonly, saying, "Yo, Grand Preceptor walks quite fast, surely old but still vigorous."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was so furious that he felt a lump stuck in his throat that he could neither swallow or spit out. He said, "I"ve already put the exam paper back, quickly release Junw.a.n.g!"
"Let him go." Marquis Xuanping turned his head and said lightly, "Chang Jing."
Chang Jing directly threw An Junw.a.n.g out of the carriage——
Grand Preceptor Zhuang：“…”
The coachman of the Zhuang Family was also freed, and he hurriedly carried An Junw.a.n.g to their own carriage. An Junw.a.n.g was injured and his leg was bleeding.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang clenched his fists.Raz P."s Thoughts
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