deltrittennovels Chapter 83 Who Can Rival Princess Anhe
Chapter 83 Who Can Rival Princess Anhe
Outside Fengtian Hall
While waiting for the exam, Wen Zongji saw many familiar faces.
Wu Fengyuan, Lu Nian'an, and An Guanglu.
The fifth son of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, who had been beaten up by Pei Shirong with a sack over his head, also passed the imperial examination.
They really did become classmates.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Crown Prince has arrived!"
Wen Zongji immediately withdrew his gaze and, along with the other examinees, rose and bowed, saying, "This student greets Your Majesty and the Crown Prince!"
After passing the imperial examination, they could all be considered disciples of the emperor.
"No need for formalities!"
Emperor Shun'an sat on his high seat, his gaze sweeping over the group of examinees, and paused for a moment when he saw Wen Zongji.
"The imperial examination begins!"
Emperor Shun'an said nothing more and directly announced the start of the palace examination.
Zhou Wangliang announced loudly, "The palace examination begins—"
Afterwards, Wen Zongji and others removed the question paper covering the exam paper.
The question paper and exam paper were placed on the table before they entered the room.
However, before the exam officially began, no one dared to look at the exam paper in advance.
With his gaze focused on the exam paper, Wen Zongji also saw the questions that Emperor Shun'an had set for the candidates.
[I have reigned for fifteen years, diligently governing the country, hoping only for full granaries, peace throughout the land, and prosperity for the people...]
The title is long, but the central idea is only one thing—a strategy for enriching the country and strengthening the people.
This topic is very broad, so much so that it's not easy for test takers to go off-topic no matter how they write about it. Whether they talk about rectifying official corruption, reducing taxes and levies, encouraging agriculture and sericulture, or focusing on economic development and strengthening military power, there are no problems.
However, the downside of having a topic that is too broad is that it is easy to make empty promises, seemingly mentioning everything but actually not taking any concrete measures.
Emperor Shun'an liked pragmatic ministers, and he was naturally a pragmatist as well.
After seeing the topic, Wen Zongji decided to first list all the policies he could write about to enrich the country and strengthen the people, and then discuss a specific measure to determine the concrete measures.
In this way, the article won't seem too abstract.
On the steps
The Crown Prince sat beside Emperor Shun'an.
Emperor Shun'an asked, "You have already seen the examination papers for this year's candidates. Who do you think will be the top scholar?"
Three hundred people were admitted to the provincial examination, but only the top three in the final examination were able to catch the eye of Emperor Shun'an.
The Crown Prince said, "Wu Fengyuan is learned and talented, and his writing is elegant yet sharp. Lu Nian'an's writing style is much simpler than Wu Fengyuan's, but he is insightful and has ideas that he dares to put into practice. I believe that both of them have the potential to become the top scholar in the imperial examination."
Emperor Shun'an raised an eyebrow: "The Crown Prince actually thinks Lu Nian'an can threaten Wu Fengyuan? The court is all waiting to see if Wu Fengyuan will achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations."
Wu Fengyuan has already achieved the top score in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and is only one title away from becoming the top scholar in the imperial examinations, thus achieving the triple honor of being the best in all three examinations.
Since the founding of the Great Chu, very few people have achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, and each one of them has been a trusted minister of the king.
No one has yet achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations during the Shun'an reign!
Wu Fengyuan was already renowned for his talent. This time, he won the top two places in the provincial and metropolitan examinations. Not only did the court have high hopes for him, but the common people also had high hopes for him. There were even bets on whether Wu Fengyuan could achieve the triple crown in the imperial examinations.
The odds of betting on Wu Fengyuan to achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations are very low, which shows how highly the public regards him.
The Crown Prince said, "The palace examination has only just begun, and the outcome is still unknown."
The final top three scholars (状元, 榜眼, and 探花) were all decided by Emperor Shun'an himself.
Whether Wu Fengyuan can achieve the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examination depends entirely on whether Emperor Shun'an is willing to grant him the title.
Emperor Shun'an did not continue the discussion, but instead asked, "Has the Crown Prince reviewed Anhe's husband's answer sheet?"
The Crown Prince nodded: "Your subject has read it."
"how?"
"He has a solid foundation and average writing skills, but he has his own unique insights into policy and strategy. If he is used well, he can become a capable minister."
Emperor Shun'an nodded: "After the palace examination, we'll see if he takes the exam for the position of probationary official, and then decide on his next course of action."
After saying this, Emperor Shun'an stayed for a while longer before getting up and leaving: "The Crown Prince will keep an eye on things for me."
The Crown Prince rose and respectfully saw Emperor Shun'an off, saying, "Please rest assured, Father."
The imperial examination would last until almost sunset, and Emperor Shun'an was too busy with state affairs to stay here all day to oversee it.
The Crown Prince accompanied Emperor Shun'an here to oversee the examination.
There were examiners patrolling the examination hall, and imperial guards were also nearby to supervise; the crown prince didn't need to worry about these things.
However, if special circumstances arise during the examination, the Crown Prince will be required to make the decision.
……
Phoenix Palace
Pei Rujing played Go with Princess Changning for an hour, but couldn't stand it anymore. She forced Princess Changning to write large characters, citing the excuse that playing games was a waste of time.
Princess Changning naturally refused.
Pei Rujing threatened, "If you obediently write until lunchtime, I can continue playing with you after lunch. If you don't listen, I won't play with you anymore."
Princess Changning had no choice but to obediently write large characters.
Pei Rujing suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Princess Hejing during her two visits to the palace.
"Has Hejing returned to Yunquan Palace?"
Princess Changning's maid replied, "After the palace banquet, Consort An fell ill due to missing Princess Hejing, and was sick for a while. Her Majesty the Empress, pitying Consort An's longing for her daughter, allowed Princess Hejing to return to Yunquan Palace."
The Empress intended to use this opportunity to punish Consort An, and she could not allow the mother and daughter to remain separated indefinitely.
"What a pity, I wanted to see Hejing too."
Others: "..."
Do they still remember how Pei Rujing scared Princess Hejing to tears?
The "meeting" that Pei Rujing mentioned is obviously not innocent.
Princess Changning was sent to write large characters, while Pei Rujing strolled around the vicinity of Fengyi Palace.
In the warm spring of March, all things revive.
Fengyi Palace is close to the Imperial Garden, and the bluestone paths on both sides have become lush and green again.
The fragrant flowers in the Imperial Garden made the spring atmosphere even more intense.
With nothing else to do, Pei Rujing decided to take a stroll through the Imperial Garden.
As soon as I entered the Imperial Garden, I saw several young women dressed in palace attire strolling together in the distance.
Pei Rujing looked at the unfamiliar faces and asked, "Are those my uncle's concubines?"
The Empress was worried about Pei Rujing, so she specially sent her capable maid to accompany her.
The palace maid replied, "That's right."
Pei Rujing looked closely and said, "They are all beauties. Indeed, my uncle's harem has more beauties."
The palace maid lowered her eyes and did not answer.
But in his heart he was thinking, who could compare to Princess Anhe in terms of beauty?
Pei Rujing was only curious for a moment before losing interest in the concubines and instead admiring the flowers that had already bloomed in the Imperial Garden.
The other concubines also saw Pei Rujing.
Those who didn't recognize Pei Rujing noticed her appearance and exclaimed in surprise, "When did such a beauty appear in the palace?"
"Be careful what you say, that's Princess Anhe!"
Those who knew Pei Rujing quickly reminded her, fearing that her inappropriate words might implicate them.
"The eldest princess's daughter? I saw the eldest princess before she entered the palace. Princess Anhe is even more beautiful than the eldest princess."
"What good is her beauty if she's married to a concubine's son of a noble family? Her husband is unreliable. How long can her glory last once things change?"
Some people sighed in admiration, while others were envious.
Or rather, there were few women in the entire capital who were not jealous of Pei Rujing.
Upon hearing this, everyone else instinctively moved away from the person.
What you think in your heart is one thing, but saying it out loud is just too stupid.