On the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, the palace examination was held as scheduled.
It was just past the fifth watch, the sky outside was still dark, and the moon was still hazy in the sky, reluctant to leave. Under the moonlight, Zhu Ping'an rushed to the venue of this palace examination - Xiyuan.
In fact, theoretically speaking, the palace examination should be held in the Jinshen Hall in the Forbidden City. Before Emperor Jiajing, all emperors held their ceremonies and appointed crown princes and empresses in this Jinshen Hall. The highest level of the imperial examination, the palace examination, was also held in this hall.
However, there was an exception during the reign of Emperor Jiajing. In the 21st year of Jiajing's reign, there was the "Renyin Palace Coup". The scene in which a palace maid attempted to assassinate the emperor left an extremely strong psychological shadow in the heart of Emperor Jiajing, causing him to hate the Forbidden City deeply. From then on, Emperor Jiajing no longer lived in the Forbidden City, but moved to the Western Garden, where he devoted himself to cultivating immortality and refining elixirs and did not attend court. Ministers would go to the Western Garden to meet him when they had something to do. From this time on, the Western Garden became the political center of the entire Ming Dynasty, and the palace examination was moved to the Western Garden.
When Zhu Ping'an arrived at Xiyuan, the gate of Xiyuan Palace was already crowded with people. Everyone, dressed neatly and cleanly in their palace examination uniforms, stood in front of the palace gate, excitedly waiting to step into the political center of the Ming Dynasty.
This is a small step in their life, but also a big step in their life.
The palace examination only ranks people and does not eliminate people. No matter how they take the exam, these people will surely pass the palace examination. At least they will be Jinshi graduates. Even if they cannot enter the Hanlin Academy, at least they will be assigned to the six ministries to be the chief officials or sent to the local areas to be county officials. No matter what the situation is, once they take this step, their lives will be the pinnacle that ordinary people look up to. The ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty will be closely associated with them. How can they not be excited
"Zihou, come here." Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen waved to Zhu Ping'an in the crowd.
"Ziwei, Wensheng."
Zhu Pingan couldn't help but smile when he saw the two of them, and walked over in two quick steps, bowed to them in response, and then blended into the group of tribute students waiting for the palace examination.
"Hey, Zihou, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so haggard? The dark circles under your eyes are so obvious. You weren't so excited that you couldn't sleep all night?" After Zhu Ping'an arrived, Zhang Siwei just took a look at Zhu Ping'an and was stunned by his panda eyes.
"Zihou is a calm person, so this shouldn't happen, right?" Wang Shizhen also looked Zhu Ping'an up and down, full of questions.
Under the questioning of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, the crowd who had not paid much attention to Zhu Ping'an's arrival also cast their concerned eyes on Zhu Ping'an, and then in their sight, Zhu Ping'an's image was like this:
He looked haggard, listless, dull, exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and lifeless eyes...
If they are the full grains of rice, Zhu Ping'an is the shriveled dry seeds, the kind covered with dust and black stains!
Therefore, everyone looked down on Zhu Ping'an. They didn't know Zhu Ping'an, let alone that he was the champion. Just by looking at his image, they attributed Zhu Ping'an to someone with extremely low psychological endurance and unable to handle important tasks! It was just a palace examination, and they didn't even reject him. He was so scared that he couldn't sleep. He would never be able to handle important tasks in the future!
However, in addition to Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, there were two other people in the crowd who were not surprised by Zhu Ping'an's appearance. They also did not look down on him like everyone else, but just smiled.
The two men stood together, one of them was Ouyang Zishi, who was flattered by dozens of tribute students. He came with Yan Song's sedan chair. Many tribute students saw him. In addition to Ouyang Zishi, the other one was one of the tribute students surrounding Ouyang Zishi, Xu Penghui, the third Xu from the Duke of Wei's mansion.
They both looked energetic, refreshed, and imposing, which formed a sharp contrast with Zhu Ping'an's haggard appearance. They glanced at Zhu Ping'an and smiled. They knew the reason for Zhu Ping'an's appearance very clearly.
In the imperial examination hall, many heroes compete for the throne. Only success or failure matters. Who cares about the process? You must be crazy to talk about fairness with you!
"Congratulations in advance, Brother Ouyang." Xu Laosan's eyes were bright, with a smile on his lips, and he bowed to Ouyang Zishi.
"Brother Xu, you're joking. The palace examination hasn't started yet." Ouyang Zishi shook his hand slightly and smiled, but his face showed a confident expression.
At this moment, in their minds, the outcome of this palace examination has been decided, and the top scorer must be Ouyang Zishi! The palace examination ranking is almost just a slight adjustment of the ranking of the joint examination. At that time, Zhu Ping'an ranked first and Ouyang Zishi ranked second. However, today Ouyang Zishi is well prepared, and he has the support of Yan Song, the chief minister of the court. Moreover, Ouyang Zishi's level is high, and he is handsome and energetic. Look at Zhu Ping'an at this moment. He has not rested for a day and a night, and his face is haggard and listless. He is not handsome to begin with, and his image score is greatly reduced at this time. In addition, he is lucky to be able to perform half of his usual level today... ...
Why do you, Zhu Ping'an, compete with me
In this comparison, the top scorer must be Ouyang Zishi without a doubt!
When Yan Shifan said goodbye to Ouyang Zishi when he came here today, "No one dares to compete for the top prize this time. It must be you and Zhu Ping'an. I can only help you up to this point. The rest is up to you."
Ouyang Zishi was originally a little worried, but after seeing Zhu Ping'an's expression, he felt relieved.
There is no one else who can compete for the top spot in this issue, and it must be me, Ouyang!
Ouyang Zishi, who was waiting outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace, looked at the towering palace walls with a determined gaze. The moonlight fell on him, sprinkling a layer of silver glow. In the eyes of the tribute scholars, Ouyang Zishi was so majestic at this moment!
At this time, there were many people talking, so it was not appropriate to tell Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen the reason. So after Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen asked, Zhu Pingan just shook his head slightly, smiled bitterly and explained, "This matter is a long story. I will tell you in detail after this palace examination."
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen also guessed a little. They nodded and then whispered to Zhu Ping'an about the relevant precautions for this palace examination. In their eyes, Zhu Ping'an was still young and usually paid more attention to knowledge and lacked common sense.
The tribute scholars waiting outside the palace gate also gathered in groups of three or five and got to know each other, chatting and laughing. They were all Jinshi in the same year and had friendship. In the future when they entered the political tide, they could take care of each other. It takes three to make a hero, and it takes three to make a fence. Everyone understands this truth.
As a result, the relationship between the competing candidates outside the palace grew stronger while they were waiting. Zhang Siwei was good at socializing and had a lively conversation with many candidates, but Zhu Ping'an and Wang Shizhen were relatively lacking.
Just when the feelings of their peers were about to be cooked like a frog in boiling water, the gate of the West Garden palace creaked and slowly opened.
The palace gates are open, the palace examination is coming!
The Imperial Examination has officially begun! (To be continued.)