The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 502 - 253 Abusing Scum_3
Chapter 502: 253 Abusing Scum_3
Chapter 502: 253 Abusing Scum_3
The Emperor quickly walked past Xiao Liulang and took a seat at the front.
Other proctors knew that the emperor had taken notice of a certain candidate, but they weren’t sure whether it was for good or bad reasons.
After the Emperor settled in the proctor’s seat, he didn’t pay much attention to Xiao Liulang anymore. After all, it was too far to see clearly.
He ordered someone to bring his court memorials. He solemnly oversaw the examination while silently reviewing the memorials until the end of the examination.
The candidates stood up and paid respects to the Emperor. He randomly selected and questioned a few. Both the grandson of Prince An and Premier Yuan were chosen.
Xiao Liulang was not chosen.
At You Shi’s third quarter, everyone left the Imperial Palace.
It was only one day of examination, yet everyone felt more exhausted than they had in the preliminary rounds, mentally exhausted.
Most of them hadn’t seen the Emperor in their lives, and under the same roof with the Emperor, they almost did not know how to write anymore.
“So nerve-wracking.” Fen Lin’s back was drenched in sweat.
His exam number was towards the front. He sat in the first row – right under the Emperor’s nose. However, he did not dare to raise his head to look at the Emperor, fearing that he would be accused of disrespect.
“I feel like I messed up. I don’t even know what I was writing towards the end.”
He said, depressed.
Du Ruohan consoled, “Don’t be disheartened. Everyone felt the same way. Everyone forgot what they were thinking once His Majesty entered the room.”
The Emperor was considerate enough to not turn up until after noon. At that time, everyone had their drafts mostly completed. If he had been there from the start, half of the candidates would have been unable to start their drafts.
When the Emperor stood behind Xiao Liulang, he’d jumped in surprise himself. He was seated right next to Xiao Liulang, so behind Xiao Liulang means in front of him. He could smell the Emperor’s Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance and felt his scalp go numb from the tension.
But perhaps exposure to Xuanping’s jabs early in the morning improved his tolerance a bit.
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“How did you do, Liulang?” Fen Lin asked Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang answered, “It was okay. I wrote everything I wanted.”
Fen Lin also asked Du Ruohan and Lin Chengye. Both had normal performances. But the exam had a great deal of subjectivity, and whether they could pass the exam and become a Jinshi depended on the examiner’s preferences.
There was really nothing they could do about that. They could only try their best and obey fate.
Everyone arrived at their homes.
In Taihe Hall, the examiners started to grade the papers. The Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and the chancellor of Honglu Temple were the chief and deputy chief examiners, and the four Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet were the examiners. This time, they graded each exam paper independently instead of in groups, going through every paper six times.
The top twenty papers would be delivered to the Emperor.
Doing well in the preliminaries didn’t mean one could also perform well in the Palace Examination. Some could handle the pressure of the Emperor and perform steadily, and some were fortunate enough to be tested in their area of expertise.
However, candidates like Xiao Liulang who had placed first in the preliminaries along with Prince An had attracted the Emperor’s attention. Not to mention, the Emperor had specifically stayed beside him during the Palace Examination.
Therefore, if his paper did not rank in the top twenty, the Emperor would surely question it, and probably even require his paper to be brought before him to see why he had fallen out of the top twenty.
They didn’t make copies of the Palace Examination papers. After all, they were for the Emperor’s eyes only. He enjoyed looking at the candidates’ actual handwriting. The names of the candidates would be obscured before being presented to the emperor, meaning the examiners wouldn’t know the names of the candidates.
But if they really wanted to know, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Moreover, they had noted down the handwriting styles of some candidates after the preliminary exams.
Xiao Liulang’s examination paper quickly landed in the hands of the Chancellor of the Honglu Temple. He immediately recognized the handwriting as Xiao Liulang’s. The Grand Tutor had given orders not to allow Xiao Liulang to outshine Prince An.
If Xiao Liulang’s essay was not outstanding and didn’t pose a threat to Prince An, the Chancellor of the Honglu Temple would confidently place him in the top twenty.
But clearly, Xiao Liulang’s essay was too outstanding.
It was an essay that no examiner, regardless of taste, could fault. It posed a massive threat to Prince An.
During mealtime, the Chancellor of the Honglu Temple quietly visited the Greeting Room.
The Grand Tutor had already been waiting near Greeting Room for a long time.
“How did it go?” asked the Grand Tutor.
“I haven’t got to Prince An’s paper yet,” said the Chancellor of the Honglu Temple. “I only examined Xiao Liulang’s.”
The Grand Tutor handed him a sheet of draft paper. It was what Prince An had rewritten according to his memory after returning home, and it was almost identical to the paper he submitted during the Palace Examination.
After the Chancellor of the Honglu Temple read it, his expression turned serious: “The papers of the two are evenly matched.”
