In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1216 - 1128: Palace Examination

Chapter 1216: Chapter 1128: Palace Examination

Looking at the tightly closed door and thinking of Xue Qian’s apologetic gaze before entering, Su Ke, who had come to an understanding, smiled, bowed with his fists to the door, and then took leave from the officials of the mansion, exiting the Lei Family’s Mansion.

He saw through such matters quite clearly.

He was not made of silver or gold, so why expect everyone to like him?

Then again, even if he were silver or gold, wouldn’t there still be those who despise the smell of copper?

On his way back to the mansion, he encountered many acquaintances, all aware that Su Ke had made it into the top ten and could participate in the palace examination, and they approached him with smiles to offer congratulations.

Su Ke had no choice but to return the courtesy. The journey back to the mansion was arduous, yet it allowed Su Ke to fully witness the warmth and coldness of the world.

At the moment, thriving, he found many people currying favor. However, if he were to fall from grace in the future, it was quite possible that those who would flee the fastest were these very same people.

Having realized this, once he returned to his mansion, he closed the doors tightly and went straight to his room to rest well for the night, waiting for the palace examination the next day.

The next day dawned fair and warm, a rare occurrence since the start of spring.

The top ten students gathered again at the palace gate. They had in fact met several times before, and being fellow officials in the future, should naturally establish good relationships. Meeting again, they inevitably greeted each other with fist salutes and polite exchanges.

Su Ke’s gaze swept over the group. Among the top ten students, there was only one about fifty years old and two just over forty, while the rest were mostly young men of merit.

He suddenly understood!

It seems judging by appearances has been a common practice from ancient times to the present!

As dawn had not yet fully broken, the palace gates were wide open, and a line of eunuchs streamed out, leading the scholars inside. Everyone was noticeably more nervous than they had been three days before the retest, yet also tinged with barely concealed excitement. Having come this far, it was a done deal to become a Jinshi Scholar; now it was a matter of who would rank higher and who would rank lower.

This time was different from the previous retest; instead of directly entering the Jiying Hall, they were led by eunuchs towards the direction of the West Garden.

Along the way, the Imperial Guard in their exquisite armor stood sentinel at vital points. After undergoing three thorough searches at three checkpoints as if they were vetting criminals, they were finally let through.

Su Ke had only been to the West Garden once before, and it was a chance occurrence when he had accompanied His Majesty. But when he had been there, it was the deep cold of winter, with everything shrouded in a layer of frost.

However, at this moment, the West Garden was in full bloom, the palaces adorned with dragons and phoenixes enveloped by lush greenery, with mist entwining itself around the pavilion corridors and waterside pavilions, accenting a sea of gold and undulating emerald waves that stretched into the distance, obscuring the fairy islands like Penglai in the heart of the lake within the half-hidden mists. The green peaks reflected in the lake water, setting off the distant palaces, barely visible, as if they had arrived at Fairyland itself.

The group was entirely captivated; it felt as if their feet had taken root, unable to take another step.

"Once inside the palace, you should walk with your steps measured and your head bowed."

The eunuchs, accustomed to such reactions, merely coughed loudly twice. When they saw that everyone had regained their composure, they then led them onto the floating bridge.

Beneath the floating bridge, the water rippled gently, the hazy mist twining around the feet of the scholars, presenting an incomparable vision of beauty.

Crossing the floating bridge, they entered the heart of the West Garden. The eunuch didn’t lead everyone directly into the Jiying Hall; instead, he brought them to the front of a side palace hall.

Su Ke was particularly puzzled and hadn’t yet figured out what these eunuchs intended, so he couldn’t help but glance at the others. The people walking in front didn’t even move an eyebrow, stepping in one after another. Su Ke, trailing at the end, followed suit.

The sight that met his eyes made him realize in an instant!

So this place was a hot spring bath, and the eunuchs had brought them here to bathe and change clothes.

Su Ke sneaked a peek at Xue Qian and saw that his face was calm, presumably because the mentor Lei Yin had explained all these rules to him yesterday, one by one.

Only he and two other students, obviously from poor families, wore expressions of realization, apparently not having been forewarned either.

The water in the hot spring bath here was drawn from Taiye Pool, and although it wasn’t as hot as the water in Taiye Pool, it was sufficient for bathing and changing. They entered in single file, and there were many separate cubicles inside. Su Ke chose a cubicle at random, drew the curtain at the entrance, and then indulged in his bath.

This bathing ritual held broad significance. First, one needed to bath and change clothes before meeting His Majesty as a sign of respect; second, after the bath, dressing in new clothes meant that not a single piece of paper or fabric could be brought into the palace examination, keeping clean and also eliminating the worry of any assassination attempts.

After all the hectic preparations, the sun had already risen. Su Ke and all the other students, now dressed in new clothes, headed towards the Jiying Hall.

Qin Yi had specially made time for the palace examination today because of the importance he placed on these ten individuals.

The location of the palace examination was still the Jiying Hall, but instead of accommodating more than four hundred students, the original desks and chairs had all been removed, leaving only ten neatly arranged at the lower end, while His Majesty and several examiners were seated at the upper end.

"Summon the Tribute Scholars of the Beneficent Examination of the Jiantai Era Yi-Hai Year for an audience with His Majesty!"

The eunuch, who had lost his pizzazz in speaking, always came across with a certain theatrical sharpness, like the leading actress singing an aria on the stage. The layered chanting of greetings came from inside.

Su Ke and others answered the summons and entered the hall, inevitably paying respects to His Majesty.

"We, your subjects, pay respects to His Majesty."

"You may dispense with the formalities."

His Majesty initiated the pleasantries, "The last year’s Beneficent Examination, a hundred auspicious signs. You all are outstanding gentlemen and scholars who have emerged after numerous selections by Our Great Zhou. I believe you are also pillars of Our Great Zhou’s land and kingdom. I hope that in the future, you can offer much advice for Our Great Zhou’s land and kingdom and seek benefits for the commoners, ensuring the centuries-long legacy of Our Great Zhou is passed on."

After he deemed the speech reasonably concluded, he then presented the examination topic.

"Today’s palace examination is also your opportunity to prove your mettle, compete for positions in the court, and showcase your ambitious aspirations. And I, too, look forward to seeing if you are indeed moldable materials capable of shouldering the rise and fall, glory and disgrace of Our Great Zhou. So I won’t belabor the point further."

"In recent years, Our Great Zhou has experienced constant battles, exhausting the people and draining the treasury, leaving commoners displaced. Fortunately, now the realm is initially settled, and everything is showing vibrant vitality. Nevertheless, the Yellow River overflows every year, causing disasters, and the pressing issue of the flood period after the ice breaks on the Canal is also imminent. With the flood period upon us, deep concerns weigh on my mind."

"Frequent mountain bandit raids plague our lands, with frontier Tatars and Western Xia repeatedly violating Our Great Zhou’s territory, leaving commoners on the borderlands in unspeakable suffering. The topic for today’s palace examination, then, will be about how to govern Great Zhou. You may simply write a policy essay."

The Yellow River is an elevated river, with its broad channels and slow flow transporting torrents of sediment-laden water. Year after year, the silt accumulates in the riverbed, causing the channel to rise higher and higher, and despite ever-raising dikes, the threat of the river flooding during the flood period is unstoppable. The navigation issues in the Canal are similar. Addressing these issues is an urgent concern.

Frequent bandit raids are also a cause of constant headache for His Majesty. What he has yet to mention is the growing influence of a few feudal lords, with signs of their potential rebellion occasionally surfacing.