In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1195 - 1107: Compromise

Chapter 1195: Chapter 1107: Compromise

"Rather than fixating on this matter, it would be better to properly discover the talents within. You must know that the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination is merely a stepping stone, knocking open the door to officialdom. However, the truly useful talents for governing a nation must be derived from practice in the days to come. Those who possess talents yet cannot be employed by their sovereign are not truly talented. Aren’t they?"

Su Pan’er spoke at length in one breath, but her words resonated with Qin Yi, solving the problem that had troubled him for many days.

He slowly eased the restlessness in his eyes and pondered for a good while, then suddenly smiled sincerely.

"Pan’er, you truly are my wise consort!"

He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her impulsively, "You are right, I should not abandon substance for shadow. I am in search of talents for governance, and who has the real ability will be clear when tested in practice."

"If Your Majesty can realize these things, it is a blessing for the people of Great Zhou, for the Civil and Military Officials of Great Zhou, and even more so for your humble consort."

"What does it have to do with your fortune?"

"Because I am proud to have such a good husband like you!"

Su Pan’er blinked playfully.

"Good! With your words, I will certainly try my best to do so."

Perhaps because of this conversation, Qin Yi stayed the night in Huayang Palace and did not go to the examination hall.

In the examination hall, the review of the dossiers continued in full swing.

All the Review Officers were hurrying to and fro, their expressions busy, their hands moving like snakes on their writing brushes, with an overwhelming amount of affairs to attend to, certainly not something that could be accomplished in a day’s work.

By the time the initial review was completed, the days had already entered March.

March with Long Grass and Singing Orioles.

A scene brimming with the vitality of spring.

However, inside the examination hall, the atmosphere was fervent, with arguments rising one after another.

Although scholars from all over the world participate, there are still countless unspoken rules to follow. For example, every Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination has different quotas for those from the north, south, and center. Since ancient times, Suzhou and Hangzhou have produced many scholars, and students from these areas have traditionally taken up a large number of places. In addition to Shengjing, which also occupied a portion of the ratio, there are a few allocations for academies, and the remaining spots are left for students from remote mountain areas and all corners of the land.

Now, after the preliminary screening, Lord Gao, Lord Wang, the two Deputy Examiners, as well as Lord Wu, who was sent late to assist, and the eight Review Officers, gathered together to re-evaluate and sift through the articles for their merit.

Lord Gao held a thick dossier in his hands, reviewing each one by one, his writing brush lightly tapping, sometimes smiling and sometimes shaking his head, apparently his emotions changing with the quality of the articles.

At the lower end of the table, the two Deputy Examiners were red-faced in argument.

"This essay is a masterpiece with every word a pearl, it should be ranked first. What reason do you have to reject it?"

The short and plump Deputy Examiner shouted at his tall and gaunt counterpart.

"This writing has substantiation but lacks embellishment, the choice of words is highly inelegant, not to mention the author of the essay comes off as arrogant and lazy. How can such a person be ranked first?"

The tall Chief Examiner stood his ground and even passed the dossier around for everyone to see, "Let everyone take a look at this one, how does it compare? This essay flows like towering mountains and flowing streams, with magnificent and rich text and graceful diction, it deserves to be ranked first."

The short and plump Deputy Examiner slapped the dossier, his neck stiff as he bellowed.

"What is arrogance? This is momentum! If you don’t select such a paper with rainbow momentum and instead choose one that is flashy but lacks substance, with unclear reasoning, it really feels utterly unreasonable!"

The two argued more and more fiercely, their voices getting louder and harsher.

The onlookers, however, were not surprised and even exchanged knowing glances among themselves.

Both were so adamant about the dossiers they had chosen—could there be some trickery involved?

"Enough arguing! Bring them here, let me take a look."

Lord Gao, the Chief Examiner, finally spoke up. He placed the two dossiers side by side and compared them carefully.

After a moment, he shook his head, pointing at one essay: "This essay certainly pays attention to diction and phrasing, but it’s all flash and no substance, and the quotations are too forced. Such a bombastic style must not be encouraged. Leave this one aside for now."

With that, he put the dossier aside.

The short, plump Deputy Examiner immediately raised his head in smug satisfaction.

Lord Gao then picked up the other dossier: "The language used in this dossier is indeed not the most graceful, and although this student possesses genuine knowledge, I fear that in the future, trouble may arise from his words, so it is better to be cautious. Also leave this one aside for now."

Saying this, he unexpectedly put that dossier aside too, then looked up at the two dumbstruck Deputy Examiners with an amiable smile on his face.

"Since both dossiers are on par with each other, why not trouble the two Deputy Examiners to select another good candidate? That way, we can all complete His Majesty’s task sooner and settle this matter, so everyone can return home to rest earlier, yes?"

Lord Gao played the peacemaker. He had already planned his course of action: overseeing the Spring Imperial Civil Service Examination, his aim was not to distinguish himself but simply to avoid mistakes.

Watching the two become red-faced and vehement while fighting over who should be preferred, he feared there was more to it than he knew, so he decided to put a definitive end to it. After all, besides the first and second place, there were still hundreds of ranks left. If the two really had skill, they could still determine the winner at the palace examination.

The two were momentarily deflated, not daring to forcefully argue with the Chief Examiner any longer, and they both picked up the dossiers again to try to find another paper that would stand out.

Strictly speaking, the topics of this spring’s examination were quite biased. The "Yellow flowers are all over the ground" topic was likely unfamiliar to many of the student candidates; they probably hadn’t even read it, so how could they respond? Not knowing the source, they naturally resorted to writing about the autumn scenery. They remembered a few essays on autumn scenery that were particularly outstanding. Too bad they were off-topic...

Sadly, how regrettable!

Amidst the sighs of the crowd, the final rankings of the dossiers were finally released. These rankings were naturally selected first based on geographic restrictions.

Finally, the moment to discern the results had arrived.

People began to unseal names, starting to check the surnames and hometowns of the successful candidates against the dossiers.

And at this very moment, the time given by His Majesty as the final deadline had come, with evening glow filling the sky.

The next day would be the joyous occasion of the announcement of examination results.

In front of the examination hall on Bangpeng Street, the crowd was bustling; before dawn even broke, people jammed in front of the "Zhang Bang" pavilion. Everyone was craning their necks in anticipation, waiting for the moment that could change the course of a person’s life.

As daylight approached, a small pavilion was carried by several officers, making their way with pomp and fanfare to the center of Bangpeng Street and placed in front of the post. Countless commoners thronged forward, buzzing with discussion. No one was willing to step back even half a step, fearing they would miss out on the first-hand good news.

Su Ke and Xue Qian also booked an elegant room on the top floor of the Zhanbang Building in Bangpeng Street, quietly awaiting the important moment.

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