After arriving in Gyeonggi Prefecture, Yin Zhaoxian came into contact with many students from Dazhen, and even chatted with people like the Junior Tutor Li Mushu. Over the past few months, he was quite confident in his knowledge.
But Yin Zhaoxian himself is not an arrogant person. In fact, his personality is quite similar to Ji Yuan. Being confident is one thing, but he just thinks that there is no way he will fail the exam.
After all, Gyeonggi Province is now home to many talented people, and there are definitely more powerful people than just Yin Zhaoxian. There are also many people who have power, connections, and knowledge.
So although Yin Zhaoxian was as eager to win the first place as other candidates, he only had a wish and did not dare to say that he was sure to win.
But the voices in the crowd all proved that Yin Zhaoxian had won the first place.
"Is Yin Huiyuan here?" "Who knows Yin Zhaoxian?"
“I know the name but I’ve never seen him!”
"Let us pass!"
"Don't push!"
…
Shi Yusheng and Yin Zhaoxian were both excited now. Even Yin Zhaoxian tried his best to squeeze forward. He didn't need to go too far forward. He could see the list clearly by just squeezing a few steps from the edge to the middle.
Sure enough, the eye-catching big characters at the top of the Xingbang read: Huiyuan, Jizhou Yin Zhaoxian.
The moment he confirmed the results, Yin Zhaoxian felt a little dizzy.
. . .
In the Prince of Jin's mansion, Prince of Jin Zhao Yan was having tea and chatting with his teacher in front of the fireplace, also discussing the imperial examination.
"Master Li, aren't you going to join in the fun at the Imperial Examination Hall?"
"What's there to gather? I don't have many students to refer to this time. I'm actually quite surprised that you didn't go, Your Majesty."
Having taught the Prince since he was a child, Li Mushu knew his student very well. However, he knew that the Prince of Jin was actually a person who loved to join in the fun. However, his question was not out of doubt, but was meant to be teasing.
"No, no, no, after the last incident with Xiangrui, my elder brother now dislikes me in every way. Anyway, I won't go to any major events involving the government and the opposition unless it is necessary."
Li Mushu grabbed the teacup, took a sip of tea, and smiled.
"This may not be a good thing for the prince, but it is definitely a bad thing for His Royal Highness the King of Wu..."
The kind of people who are likely to do outrageous things are naturally those who are angry and frustrated.
The current situation of the King of Wu is similar. He is the oldest and most experienced among all the princes. From the perspective of establishing the eldest son as the heir, he is definitely the choice for the crown prince.
But in recent years, the atmosphere in the court and the country has been delicate, and the King of Wu has felt more and more uncomfortable, especially when several ministers proposed to establish a crown prince, but the emperor did not respond well. At this time, the auspicious sign from the Jin Palace was very eye-catching.
Fortunately, the emperor was present at the time, so it could be said that the arrival of the Holy Saint brought about auspicious signs. However, even so, the third brother of the Prince of Jin became a thorn in the side of the Prince of Wu, and it was inevitable that he would find fault with him. However, these things could be seen by all the eyes in and above the court.
But then again, didn't the King of Wu know this? Even if he didn't know, was there no one who knew to point it out? I guess not. But knowing is one thing, and being angry about it is another.
At this moment, a servant hurriedly ran from outside to the side hall of the palace.
"Your Majesty, Master Li, the list of top scorers has come out, and the first place winner is Jizhou Yin Zhaoxian!"
Even though they had high hopes for Yin Zhaoxian, when they heard the news, the master and disciple still looked at each other in confusion. Li Mushu put down his teacup and sighed.
"Yin Zhaoxian is indeed not a common person!"
Prince Jin also laughed complacently.
"I don't know where this rumor came from, but it's said that Yin Zhaoxian possesses a righteous spirit and is a rare wise minister in the world. But it is undeniable that his talent is indeed outstanding. He has already won two first prizes in a row!"
After hearing what King Jin said, Li Mushu turned to look at his student with a very serious look.
"If he hadn't died prematurely, and with the help of the prince, he would have been a powerful official in the court in a dozen or twenty years. And this time, he might have become the second person to pass the imperial examination since the founding of Dazhen."
Master Li's evaluation made King Zhao Yan of Jin stop smiling. This evaluation was much more important than the last one.
The King of Jin originally wanted to say that no matter how well a scholar writes, he may not be able to govern the country. However, when he thought of "On Birds" and "On Knowing Righteousness", he did not say it, but instead said something else.
"Three top honors? Master Li thinks Yin Zhaoxian is good enough?"
"Hehehe... the imperial examination is already a unified examination, which is equivalent to Yin Jieyuan. No, Yin Huiyuan has already won a round. Some people cannot beat him even when they know the general direction of the imperial examination. The emperor personally intervenes in the palace examination, hehe..."
Li Mushu's laugh made King Jin think for a moment, and then he continued.
"Besides, the current emperor is too thoughtful. If there is a choice, it would be in line with the emperor's will to let a genuine poor boy be the top scholar. Yin Zhaoxian is the best choice regardless of his talent or background."
This is Li Mushu. Even though he was only a junior teacher, King Jin respected him since he was a child. Sometimes he was really glad that his childhood teacher was Li Mushu.
At this moment, Prince Jin nodded slightly when he heard this. Even if someone with ulterior motives really found out that Yin Zhaoxian had attended a banquet at the prince's mansion in the future, it was after all before the imperial examination. As long as he avoided suspicion and had less contact with Yin Zhaoxian in the future, Yin Zhaoxian's background could not be faked.
The results of the imperial examination have been announced. Some are happy while others are sad. In the remaining five days, everyone is preparing for the upcoming palace examination with their own feelings.
The Dazhen Palace Examination has undergone several changes, from the first day of March to the fifteenth day of March, and finally to the current fixed date of the fifth day of March. The examination questions are listed in many forms by various departments of the court, and the current emperor personally selects the topics, and in theory he also presides over the examination himself.
The examination was no longer held in the Imperial Examination Hall, but in the palace, so it was called the Palace Examination.
For candidates from poor families, significant psychological pressure is also one of the hurdles.
The majestic imperial palace was heavily guarded, with one checkpoint after another to enter. After undergoing official document checks and multiple body searches, one could finally reach the final palace for the examination.
The partitions of the individual rooms this time were different from the previous ones. The palace examination only lasted for one day. Desks were set up in the spacious palace. Candidates who were closer to each other could even see the sweat on each other's necks and cheeks.
There are inspectors everywhere, and sometimes the current emperor will come to inspect to show his authority as the chief examiner.
At the end of the day, all the candidates tried their best under tremendous pressure, competing not only in talent and memory, but also in calligraphy.
When the horrific palace examination finally ended, all the candidates checked into the post houses and inns arranged by the court, waiting for the results of the examination to be announced, while the officials from various departments were busy marking the papers.
Although the number of references is much smaller than before, those with high quality are all there, which requires more time and effort, not to mention that the emperor is watching over them.
Ten days later, in the imperial study of the palace, Emperor Yuande was reading a book, which was Yin Zhaoxian's "On Birds - Phoenix Singing in the Wutong Tree".
"What a wonderful story! All birds in the world flock to the phoenix, but the storks on the thousand islands cannot cross it."
In the eyes of Emperor Yuande, this represents the supremacy of imperial power, and the ministers under him should not act recklessly like the storks, thinking that the emperor is far away and the sky is high.
As early as after knowing that Yin Zhaoxian won two first prizes in a row, some of his deeds had aroused the interest of Emperor Yuande, so it was naturally not difficult to obtain the books written by him. Not to mention that he had not had time to read "Wei Zhi Yi", "On Birds" was not only written in a witty and interesting way, but the content was also in line with the emperor's wishes.
Every emperor hopes to be as wise and supreme as the phoenix in the book.
At this time, a eunuch would slowly approach the emperor's desk and report in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, several officials from the Ministry of Rites are here."
Emperor Yuande raised his head and closed the book in his hand.
"Let them in."
"yes!"
Soon after the eunuch left, several court officials came to the imperial study holding trays and bowed in front of the emperor's desk.
"Your Majesty, the palace examination review has ended, and the officials of each department have reviewed the papers. Here are the candidates recommended by each department for the first place. Please review them, Your Majesty!"
There are three people in the first class, and only the emperor has the right to decide the ranking. Once it is decided, the three people in the first class are considered the emperor's disciples.
"Show it up!"
"yes!"
There are three trays in total, containing the papers of seven people, all of which were the result of careful selection.
Sometimes the emperor would personally participate in the marking of the papers, and the rankings would be determined basically after the papers were marked. Even though Emperor Yuande did not participate in the marking of the papers, no one dared to do anything in this regard.
Emperor Yuande flipped over the tray and saw Yin Zhaoxian's name, which was covered with red cloth like the other two test papers, which to some extent represented that they were evenly matched.
"You guys go down. I'll take a good look at these papers tonight and decide on the top scorer tomorrow morning."
"As you wish!"
After everyone from the Ministry of Rites bowed and left, Emperor Yuande sat alone in his study and carefully read the seven papers. He also skimmed through the others and focused on the three red papers.
"Not bad… "
After giving this compliment, Emperor Yuande took up his pen and wrote an inscription...
. . .
A few days later, the news that Yin Zhaoxian won the first place in the three major examinations in succession, becoming the second person to win the top three places in the imperial examinations since the founding of the Dazhen Dynasty, spread throughout the capital. It was also rumored that the emperor personally gave wine to him at the Qionglin Banquet, and it became a topic of conversation among officials and ordinary people after dinner.
As the top scholar, Yin Zhaoxian felt both the frustration of being tired of socializing and the excitement and joy of having won the top three places in the imperial examination. Even though he did not hold an official position yet, he was still the most famous person in the capital at that time.
This news will soon be spread to Jizhou at full speed, and then to Ning'an County, Desheng Prefecture without stopping.
Standing on the library of the Chu Mansion, Ji Yuan looked at the solid white pieces belonging to Yin Zhaoxian in his hand, which were shining with the aura of literature and righteousness, and murmured.
"Ten years of hard study went by without anyone noticing, but one stroke of fame brought fame to the world."
After saying that, Ji Yuan stood up from the desk on the third floor of the study, reached out to take his bag from the curtain, then slowly walked to the attic door and gently pushed it open.
The green vine sword beside the table floated up and followed Ji Yuan.
"Master Yin, take care of yourself!"
While muttering to himself, he looked in the direction of the post house in the city and closed the door of the study. Mist appeared under Ji Yuan's feet, and it slowly floated up. After it flew over the capital, it drifted away towards the east.
On the desk on the third floor of the Chu Mansion's study, there was a piece of rice paper with words on it. It was unclear when the Chu family discovered it.