Chapter 740: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 740: Shock and Awe (1)
Time flew by quickly, and the day of the public contest arrived.
The contest was set to begin at the third watch of the morning. By then, many of those who had participated in the public trial were already waiting at the palace gates. Those who hadn't had the chance to participate crowded the gates, but were stopped by the guards and could only watch enviously as groups of scholars entered the palace.
Mo Yan also arrived early. Compared to the last time, she felt less anxious today. As soon as she got out of the carriage, she saw Xiao Ruiyuan standing elegantly by the palace gate.
Xiao Ruiyuan had come earlier than before, having left Chu Heng to arrive on his own. He kept a watchful eye on the passing carriages and spotted Mo Yan immediately.
Across the long queue, the two exchanged smiles. Mo Yan was admitted by the palace guards directly, and Xiao Ruiyuan followed closely behind. They conversed at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, avoiding drawing excessive attention from others.
The contest was to be held in the Taihe Hall. The examination questions were formulated by the current Grand Secretary and several Hanlin Academy scholars, based on the difficulty and scope of the autumn examination.
However, the contest could not take seven days like the autumn examination; that would be too time-consuming. The questions were condensed into a single booklet, which had to be completed within three hours.
This made the contest much more pressing in terms of time, even if the difficulty level was similar to the autumn examination. Completing the test within three hours, let alone achieving a good score, was a challenging task.
Among the questions was a policy essay, which, although reduced from eight thousand words to one thousand, was known to be even harder to write brilliantly when condensed. Overall, achieving a good score in this contest was significantly more difficult than the autumn examination.
To more accurately assess Mo Qingze’s true abilities, ten sets of questions were prepared. In addition to Mo Qingze and the three witnesses, six of the top twenty successful candidates from the autumn examination were randomly selected to participate.
Most scholars who had endured years of hard study sought fame and success through their education. Such an opportunity to appear before the emperor was extremely appealing to these six candidates. Even if they did not catch the emperor’s eye, being noticed by other nobles present could significantly shorten their path to success.
However, once the results were announced, some of these six candidates, despite their real talents, ended up overshadowed as mere background to Mo Qingze.
When Emperor Huian arrived at the Taihe Hall, everyone paid their respects. Ten desks and chairs were then brought into the hall, with ink, brushes, and paper set up. After the scholars present inspected them to ensure no tampering, Mo Qingze and the other three were escorted in by the guards and took their places among the six other participants.
Mo Qingze had changed out of the damaged clothing from before and was now dressed in a blue cotton robe, which made his already handsome face appear even more composed and elegant, as if victory was assured.
In contrast, the three witnesses looked restless, their brows furrowed since entering the hall.
With everyone watching, the exam was conducted under the scrutiny of all present. This ensured that no cheating or falsification could occur, testing the true abilities of each participant. The presence of so many people was itself a test of mental fortitude.
As the time approached, Emperor Huian nodded to Eunuch Liang, signaling that it was time to begin.
Eunuch Liang understood and announced loudly to the hall, “The time is now five quarters past the hour, and the contest begins—”
As his words ended, a young eunuch placed the lit incense into the incense burner. This incense was specially used to keep time, burning for exactly three hours.
(End of Chapter)
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