In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1183 - 1095: Flattery Never Gets Old

Chapter 1183: Chapter 1095: Flattery Never Gets Old

Zhang Han’s "Miscellaneous Poems" includes two lines from Sikong Tu’s poetry collection "Alone in Contemplation": "Green strips as if they’re all jade, yellow flowers like scattered gold." "Green trees darken the village, yellow flowers sparse among the wheat."

The yellow flower in this poem does not refer to chrysanthemums, but to the rape flowers of spring.

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

The poem for this trial essay was supposed to describe a spring scene; if he mistakenly depicted it as an autumn scene, he would be far off topic. Who knows how many students lacking in their studies would fall into this trap. If they actually wrote the answer on their dossiers, it would probably be difficult for them to get their names listed on the successful candidates’ roster.

It should be known that neither of these two anthologies is part of the "Four Books" and "Five Classics," and historically, they have not been given much attention. The reason he remembered them was that, before the Autumn Imperial Civil Service Examination, his fourth sister had "casually" mentioned a few topics that were easy to mistake when reviewing the questions. Among them, she mentioned the word "yellow flower."

That evening, he even went back to his room to specifically search for these two books to take a look, but it didn’t catch his attention, and afterwards, he put them away on the high shelf. Unexpectedly, he saw this question today!

This was only the second round of exams, and the topics were so obscure.

It seemed that this year’s Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination was really not simple!

He put down his writing brush and sank into thought for a moment, turning the topic over in his mind several times before he began to write on the draft paper.

This round of examination was not as relaxed as the first one. Su Ke picked up the draft paper and wrote, erased, rewrote, smudging it terribly. As the sky gradually darkened outside, he suddenly realized how time had flown.

He quickly took the food that had already gone cold by the window and ate in a hurry, still organizing his language and sentences in his mind. It wasn’t until he had finished the meal that he continued to scoop food into his mouth without awareness. It wasn’t until his mouth received no more rice grains that he realized, and he passed the bowl and chopsticks to the window, tapping lightly on the window and gesturing two fingers to the soldier who came to collect them.

This meant he wanted to buy two candles.

There were clear regulations regarding the candles on the examination field: each student was only allocated two candles. Any additional amount needed to be purchased by the students themselves. How long could a mere candle last? These students were bound to pay out of their own pockets.

In the past, students could bring their own candles into the examination hall. Since last year’s Autumn Imperial Civil Service Examination, when a student was caught cheating with the wick of a candle, Qin Yi ordered that candidates were no longer allowed to bring their own candles, and they would be supplied by the Imperial Court.

It must be known that there were more than ten thousand students in the examination hall, and the examination lasted nine days, the consumption of manpower and resources amounted to a massive expense!

Emperor Jiantai had only ascended the throne two years ago, and the national treasury was empty. To prepare for this Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination, as much as 500,000 taels of silver had been allocated to the examination hall.

This enormous expense caused His Majesty to divert funds originally allocated for the construction of the ancestral tomb of the late emperor.

Su Ke stood up to stretch for a moment and took care of some private matters before lighting the candles and continuing to work on the draft paper. Not until he was satisfied, did he neatly transcribe the answers onto the dossier.

By the time he had finished transcribing neatly, the two purchased candles had burnt out.

Exhausted, he promptly fell asleep.

While he fell asleep as soon as he lay down, Qin Yi paced around the Imperial Study, unable to sleep all night.

"How is it, have you found anything unusual?"

Lord Wang in front of him also looked exhausted, with two deep dark circles under his eyes. Upon hearing the question, he quickly shook his head: "This humble official has carefully examined everything, whether it’s the officials or the guards, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary. There are no signs of cheating. Moreover, after collecting the papers from the First Imperial Examination, they were immediately sealed anonymously, showing no signs of irregularity."

"The absence of evidence does not mean that no one is cheating."

Qin Yi spoke with certainty, standing up and taking a turn. He thought of Su Ke entering the examination field and wondered if he would discover anything.

Indeed! At the onset of Su Ke’s entry into the examination hall, Qin Yi had entrusted him with a task, imperative to unearth the worms entrenched within the Imperial Examination, to discover how they hid in the examination hall, their modus operandi, and how they dared to carry out such audacious acts.

Yet, the agents he dispatched, both openly and covertly, came back empty-handed, causing him considerable worry.

"If His Majesty is not at ease, perhaps this humble official should make another visit to ensure that nothing goes amiss."

Lord Wang, having received such a significant commission from His Majesty, also feared faltering in this matter. Regardless of his own exhaustion, he immediately proposed.

"Very well," Qin Yi pondered briefly before agreeing, "This matter will indeed be a great burden for Lord Wang. Once this affair is concluded, We certainly will not forget the merit of Lord Wang’s service."

"Merit is too grand a word. It is my duty to accept the ruler’s money and share the ruler’s worries, and I shall exhaust all efforts in serving His Majesty," replied Lord Wang.

Saying this, Lord Wang gave a fist-and-palm salute and turned to leave the Imperial Study, but Qin Yi called after him.

"There’s no need for such haste, Lord Wang. The Imperial Kitchen has sent delicious meals; you may as well dine before you go."

Unable to decline, Lord Wang ate his evening meal before braving the cold to head towards the examination hall.

The Chief Examiner this time was Deputy Minister of Rites, Lord Gao, and Lord Wang, as the inspection official, arrived at the examination hall when First Geng had already passed, by which time Chief Examiner Lord Gao had already retired for the night.

The members of the Imperial Guard responsible for security naturally recognized him and promptly escorted him to the side courtyard designated for entertaining the visiting angels.

Within the quiet examination hall of the examination hall, the faint crackling of candle fire echoed through the silence.

In the depth of night, the examination hall’s vigilance remained stringent.

The guards tasked with close surveillance stood firm in their posts, daring not to blink. The patrolling officers moved to and fro inside the hall, not slackening in their duties despite the late hour.

Su Ke, absorbed in intense writing, put down the final character, completing his verse.

He stood up to stretch his arms and legs.

This Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination tested not so much one’s scholarship as it did human hearts and natures. The students’ knowledge was only part of the assessment; the examination environment also tested their physical endurance. Without robust health, in the chilly early spring, one would likely have succumbed to the cold and fallen ill by now, much like the person beside him, whose sneezing could be occasionally heard.

Having completed one question, Su Ke felt a great deal more relaxed internally.

Now, only the fourth day, he still had two days to tackle the final question.

The topic for the last question was: "Essay on Five Colors."

To analyze the question simply, it suggested that the sun had five colors, prompting the vast number of students to praise the sun.

The significance of the sun is unquestioned, yet the appearance of such a topic during the Metropolitan Examination made it obvious that the examining officials intended to coax the students into a bit of flattery.

However, one must carefully consider how to execute this flattery, how to do it well, and directly hit the mark of human hearts; God forbid one should miss the mark completely and pave the way to one’s doom.

Even if one were to obscure names on these dossiers and find someone to do the copying, in the end, they must undergo scrutiny by several examiners who would finalize the papers before submitting them to the Chief Examiner. Once reviewed by the Chief Examiner, the dossiers would finally be presented before His Majesty’s imperial desk.