At two quarter past three in the morning, a carriage drove through the long and quiet street in the early morning. Lu Liangsheng sat in the carriage and opened the corner of the curtain. The fallen leaves that used to fill the street were gone.
… Recruiting talents for the country, I think His Majesty values scholars very much, otherwise I haven’t seen anyone coming to clean the streets in the past. If so, he should be able to listen to me patiently.
Lu Liangsheng thought about it and lowered the corner of the curtain. Soon, the carriage slowly stopped. Someone came over and whispered through the window frame:
"Mr. Lu, we have arrived at Xuanyang Gate."
The residence of officials was not far from the palace gate leading to the imperial city, and could be reached in less than half an incense stick of time. After Lu Liangsheng got off the carriage, the eunuch in the carriage in front of him, holding up the orchid and lifting the corner of the curtain, was looking over, with powder on his face dripping down in his flattering smile.
"Lu Lang, wait at Xuanyang Gate. The palace examination has not started yet. It is not convenient for you to go through the road behind. That is for palace servants."
Hearing the name "Lu Lang", Lu Liangsheng trembled all over, it was more creepy than seeing monsters.
He immediately lowered his head, raised his sleeves and bowed, saying, "Sir, take care."
The eunuch pursed his lips, nodded, and lowered the curtain.
"Walk!"
The guard driving the carriage shook the reins, and the horses pulled the carriage slowly away, going along the city wall to another small door and entering.
call…
Lu Liangsheng breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down the disgust in his heart. Although he was a man of letters, the stories in the book forced him to avoid offending the eunuchs in the palace.
Afterwards, he checked his research results, Jinshi status, etc. before turning around and walking towards the Xuanyang Gate over there.
At this moment, the Xuanyang Gate had not yet been opened, and many officials in Beijing had gathered. Lu Liangsheng rolled up his sleeves, politely bowed to several officials who had come over, and went to the side to wait. Not long after, several carriages from the palace drove up, and most of the people who got off were young talents who had stood out in this Ministry of Rites examination. As soon as they got off, they bowed, complimented, and flattered the officials they were familiar with.
After a while, carriages from the palace drove over one after another and stopped here. The people who got off were all participating in this palace examination, nearly twenty people in total.
"The time has come, the candidates for the palace examination are to be included in the imperial city."
On the city wall, an eunuch who was delivering a message shouted loudly, and the officials gathered there quickly walked to both sides. When Lu Liangsheng was about to squeeze through, someone stopped him.
"Don't be nervous during the palace examination. Just answer whatever you have in mind."
The official who spoke was Min Changwen. He never liked forming cliques for personal gain. When he saw Lu Liangsheng getting off the carriage, he did not go over to talk to him. It was only when he saw the scholar passing by that he could not help but admonish the other party.
Lu Liangsheng turned his head and nodded.
"Liangsheng knows."
That's it, go and gather over there, follow the eunuch leading the way, and walk into Xuanyang Gate.
What came into view was not the hall or building that Lu Liangsheng had imagined. Instead, there were long, high red-painted walls on both sides, and it was impossible to see what was inside the walls.
After that, you passed through the Da Sima Gate Office and truly entered the palace.
"That's the Moonlight Pond over there. It was dug by Emperor Gaozu with the guidance of a master. There are pavilions and attics in the pond. It is the favorite place of His Majesty and the concubines every summer. Unfortunately, the golden toad looking at the moon in the pond has been lost for many years..."
Listening to the leading eunuch introducing the scenery of the various palaces in the imperial palace as they passed by, and talking about the big lake in the distance, Lu Liangsheng had heard about the moon-gazing golden toad in Zhou's mansion earlier, but he didn't feel anything.
The only feeling is that the palace is too big...
Soon, Lu Liangsheng and a total of 19 people were waiting under the long eaves outside the Wenzhao Palace to be summoned. A breeze blew, and the square outside the entire hall was deserted. Basically, no sound could be heard. Occasionally, the guards and eunuchs nearby would cast a glance over and then turn away.
Lu Liangsheng turned his head and looked at the palace wall that blocked his view. He could feel the majestic energy of a warrior inside. They should be the guards around the emperor.
"Not much different from Zuo Zhengyang..."
Outside, the sun was shining through the clouds and the white clouds were moving away. Around the hour of 9:00 p.m., someone came to the door of Wenzhao Hall and conducted a second body search. Afterwards, everyone entered one by one.
"All the scholars, please take your seats and do not look around."
The person who spoke was a scholar from Denglong Pavilion. Lu Liangsheng and the others bowed to him, then found their seats and placed their pens and ink on the table.
The furnishings in the hall were simple. Apart from the four pillars, there were only four bronze lamps on both sides providing light. In the middle, there was an empty dragon throne. On each side stood four guards, with their postures erect and their arms hanging at their sides, but their hands were less than half a foot away from the hilt of their swords.
After scanning the area, Lu Liangsheng took out the inkstone and began to grind the ink. After a while, the answer sheets for the palace examination were distributed, and an eunuch brought out the incense burner and lit a stick of incense.
The topic is not surprising, it just asks about some political measures.
"The creation of nature has always benefited the people, and benefiting the people will nourish the country's strength..."
Lu Liangsheng read the question once, grasped the content in his mind, and began to write quickly on the paper with his pen tip like a dragon.
The hall was quiet, except for the rustling sound of brushes on writing paper.
When Lu Liangsheng was writing down his thoughts in words, he suddenly stopped writing and felt two eyes looking at him.
He raised his head slightly, and in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure walking up the imperial steps and sitting on the dragon throne. How could Lu Liangsheng not guess the other person's identity
emperor.
"He can personally supervise the examination, and it doesn't seem like he doesn't care about state affairs as the rumors say..."
As he thought about it, the tip of his pen flew across the paper. In the incense burner, the burning incense broke and fell to ashes. The eunuch standing by opened his voice and suddenly shouted:
"Time is up, close the book, leave the table with both hands, and stand up!"
Lu Liangsheng stood up and looked at the test paper full of words, and he was still satisfied.
He used He Liangzhou to conceive of the content and political measures mentioned in the book, hoping to tell the emperor about his predicament from another perspective.
Looking up, the man had already left Dragon Court on the imperial steps, and only his silhouette could be seen.
After the test papers were sealed and taken away, a few Jinshi candidates sitting in front of their seats sighed. They must have been pressed for time and their papers were not perfect. They seemed to be unaware that the emperor had just visited.
"All the scholars, please wait outside for your summons."
An eunuch came over, stood at the palace gate, bowed and said something, and then Lu Liangsheng and other Jinshi left the hall. It was still early in the morning, and they were surrounded by palace guards who did not allow them to walk around. If they took a few more steps, the eunuchs would come over to persuade them or warn them.
"If I could have a spiritual out-of-body experience, I could tour the palace."
Lu Liangsheng stood at one side and tilted his head to watch the other 18 Jinshi chatting with each other. Perhaps they were deeply influenced by Min Changwen and Shu Huagong and were unwilling to make friends or monopolize the world.
So, even though I was looking at the scenery of the square outside, I was thinking of other things, such as the emperor.
When observing a person, one must first observe his aura. With Lu Liangsheng's current level of cultivation, he can still observe a person's aura at will. With a quick glance in the hall, it is not difficult to find that the other person has been hollowed out by alcohol and sex, and does not look like an emperor.
To use the words of Taoism, this emperor lacked dragon energy.
"Alas... No wonder I was easily deceived by Pudu Cihang."
After thinking for a while, occasionally future colleagues came to greet him and chatted with him, and then a eunuch came to announce the emperor's decree.