After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 138 The Ceremony of the Passion

[The previous chapter has been completed; those who haven't read it can go back and read it now!]

After the official finished speaking, all the candidates immediately stopped writing and sat back down in their seats.

They placed their hands at their sides, and a special official came forward to collect the exam papers from the table.

After the palace examination, all the candidates were required to remain in the palace.

Because their exam questions needed to be reviewed by officials and Emperor Jian'an before the results were announced on the same day, a group of guards entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony and removed all the tables and desks. Zheng Hao and the other candidates were led by special officials to a side hall to wait for the results of the palace examination.

Following the official who led the way, Zheng Hao and his entourage arrived at a side hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Since it was the first time for all of them to enter the palace and meet the Emperor, and they did not know how well they had performed, even if they were allowed to rest, in order to avoid making mistakes, the candidates still stood cautiously in their original positions, maintaining two neat rows, remaining silent and almost motionless.

After all the exam papers were collected, the six ministers and other officials who were grading the papers began to review them.

Because of the limited time, they did not spend much time on each paper. Soon, one paper after another was swept past the officials who were grading the papers. These papers, which the candidates had painstakingly written for half a day, were thus divided into different grades by the officials who were grading the papers.

Suddenly, amidst the rustling of papers, the Minister of Rites spoke up: "The poems on this exam paper are quite good!"

Someone leaned closer, took the paper, and commented, "It's truly remarkable that someone could write such a spirited poem in such a short time, while still fulfilling the policy questions!"

Before the Minister of Rites could respond, the Minister of Personnel, who was reviewing the papers, looked up and glanced at him, saying, "The core of this palace examination is the policy questions; the poetry and prose sections are not important."

The implication was that they should not let their own preferences affect their ranking in the final imperial examination.

The Minister of Rites and the Minister of Works exchanged a glance. The former opened his mouth slightly as if to say something, but suddenly, another voice rang out in the hall.

"Good word!"

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the person who had spoken. They saw that it was the Minister of Revenue.

The other party is most skilled in calligraphy and loves to collect calligraphy copybooks by famous scholars. If he praises your handwriting, it means that the writer has some skill.

The Minister of Revenue continued to look at the examination paper in his hand, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became. "This young man not only has excellent handwriting, but his answers to the questions are also reasonable and not just empty talk."

When I saw other people answering the question about how to deal with the northern barbarians invading the border, their ideas were all unrealistic and irrelevant. Some were impulsive and arrogant, mobilizing a large army to attack, while others were cowardly and lacked the courage to order the border people to move back.

The former could at least be praised for its courage, but the latter was utterly shameless. It's baffling how they studied the classics; they have no sense of national responsibility whatsoever, contemplating handing over the Great Qian territory to the Northern Barbarians.

Upon hearing the Minister of Revenue's words, the crowd couldn't help but move closer to him.

Normally, the Minister of Revenue is the most demanding person. No one in the entire officialdom can get a good look from him, not even the Emperor Jian'an. But since he comes from a prominent family and is married into the Zhen family, no one expresses their dissatisfaction in public, even if he doesn't give people a good look.

Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, the Minister of Revenue continued reading. When he came across the poem, his eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face: "There is also this poem. What a novel perspective! With 'Spring Day' as the theme, other candidates either write about trees, flowers, or birds. This young man, however, starts with winter to bid farewell to winter and welcome spring. He uses winter to highlight spring. He doesn't use a single word to describe the vibrant spring, yet the lines are full of the charm of spring."

"He could be ranked first! He could be ranked first!"

The Minister of Revenue raised his hand, intending to place the exam paper where there were only two or three papers, but when he looked up, he saw a crowd surrounding him.

He was momentarily taken aback, looked at everyone, and asked in confusion, "What is the purpose of your actions?"

The Minister of Works, always kind to others, spoke up: "Just now we saw Lord Li praising the papers he had reviewed as outstanding, and we were very curious. After hearing Lord Li say that this paper was of the highest caliber, we also wish to review it."

Minister of Revenue Li did not object. Since he wanted to place this paper in the top rank, it must be reviewed by those present before it could be handed over to Emperor Jian'an.

He was completely at ease, and with a wave of his hand, he handed the examination paper to the Minister of Works who was closest to him.

After receiving it, the Minister of Works ignored everyone else and began to read it himself.

At first, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that a group of scholars who had only read Confucianism and Mencius' teachings, lived in a paradise, and were unaware of current affairs could not come up with any good strategies. However, when he saw the policy questions on the exam papers, especially those on economics and people's livelihood, which explained how to build water conservancy projects, the Minister of Works gradually became engrossed and read with great interest!

"Lord Ye! Lord Ye!"

The Minister of Works was surnamed Ye. When the Minister of Rites saw that Ye had been looking at the examination paper for a long time and that a group of officials around him were eyeing him menacingly, he quickly woke him up.

"Lord Chen?" The Minister of Works came to his senses and looked up at the Minister of Rites. Then, his face shone with a different kind of radiance, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to fill out.

The Minister of Works was practically grinning from ear to ear. He said to the Minister of Rites and the others, "I never expected this! The water conservancy project that has troubled our Ministry of Works for so many months has actually yielded a solution in this young man's paper."

The Minister of Works looked delighted and satisfied, and then, like the Minister of Revenue, confidently declared to the crowd, "This young man is capable of becoming a top-ranking scholar!"

If the Minister of Revenue was initially very satisfied with this scroll, it could be said that the scroll just happened to suit his taste. However, the Minister of Works also stated that this scroll could solve the Ministry of Works' difficult problem of water conservancy construction, so everyone gradually became more interested.

They were all very curious about what kind of exam paper had satisfied the two ministers so much.

The Minister of Works handed the scrolls forward and said, "Take a look. Perhaps you can find the answers to the difficult questions that are troubling you here."

The crowd exchanged glances, realizing that this statement was a very high compliment.

Just as the Minister of Rites was about to reach out and take the paper, the Minister of Personnel snatched it away. The former's face darkened, but because they were in a side hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he finally swallowed his anger and held back.

The Minister of Personnel frowned more and more as he read the document, finally saying, "This fellow actually wants the court to relax corvée labor; he's utterly absurd! If corvée labor is relaxed, who will build important facilities like city walls and dams?"

The Minister of Revenue frowned, then his expression calmed down. He said to the Minister of Personnel, "Lord Zhao, you might as well read the policy questions carefully before making your evaluation."

The Minister of Revenue continued, "Although this young man advocates relaxing corvée labor, he is not acting impulsively as Lord Zhao thinks. On the contrary, his plan is conducive to easing people's livelihood and calming public anger and resentment."

The Minister of Works nodded in agreement and continued the words of the Minister of Revenue: "In the past, whenever it was time for corvée labor, many wealthy households were unwilling to do so. They would spend money to bribe officials and make innocent people bear corvée labor that did not belong to them, year after year."

As a result, many families lost their able-bodied members for extended periods, and when the able-bodied men finally returned home after their military service, it was not uncommon for their parents and wives to have starved to death.

"Currently, this son's solution is that wealthy households can be exempted from corvée labor, but they must pay a heavy fine, half of which will be used to hire people who volunteer for corvée labor. If this policy can be implemented, it will surely bring many benefits."

Unlike the Minister of Works and others who were optimistic, the Minister of Personnel snorted and said, "We know how the people below behave. This fine is just a way to change the reputation and make the people below more open about accepting bribes."

The Minister of Revenue shook his head and said, "I don't think so. This plan is an open scheme. It makes wealthy households who are unwilling to perform corvée labor pay huge fines, half of which is used to hire poor people to perform corvée labor, and the other half is used to feed the officials in charge."

Since the practice of bribery at the lower levels cannot be stopped, it's better to make the matter clear and open. Lower-level officials might not use half the fines to hire willing citizens for service, but once this law is officially promulgated, those who understand the severity and have reservations will at least give 10% of the fines to those who serve, if not 50%. For ordinary people, this 10% fine is a huge sum of money.

"As for those who are irrationally greedy and insatiable, such fools..."

The Minister of Revenue did not continue speaking, but those present had inscrutable expressions, for they all understood the implication of his words.

Such greedy and incapable people are rarely in high positions. Even if they are, those present should be prepared to see whose subordinate they are and either keep a close watch on them and discipline them strictly, or be on high alert to prevent other officials from taking advantage of the situation and impeaching them.

The Minister of Rites made the decision directly: "Then the minority shall obey the majority. Officials who disagree with including this paper in the first rank shall step back, while officials who agree to include this paper in the first rank shall stand still."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Minister of Personnel immediately took a step back. Then his face darkened and became extremely ugly, because everyone else was standing still.

When the officials were reviewing the papers, Emperor Jian'an and the Crown Prince naturally couldn't wait for them in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

An hour later, Eunuch Wang stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, the ministers of the Six Ministries and other officials have finished reviewing the papers. Please review them!"

Eunuch Wang carried a stack of scrolls and placed them on Emperor Jian'an's desk.

The papers of the top three students would not be presented to the emperor. Only the papers of the top seven students in the second class and the papers of the top three students in the first class would be placed in front of Emperor Jian'an.

The six ministers have already roughly decided on the rankings for this palace examination. Next, Emperor Jian'an will review them again to determine the final rankings.

Emperor Jian'an showed no reaction when he read the first paper, but when he saw the third paper, he slowed down his review. After reading it, his expression was complicated. Then, when he saw the name on the paper, the emperor asked Eunuch Wang, "Is Zheng Hao the top scholar in the provincial examination?"

Eunuch Wang nodded hurriedly and replied, "Your Majesty, Zheng Huiyuan is the scholar you asked about this morning."

Emperor Jian'an had a deep impression of that scholar, whom he had met that morning.

He nodded, then his face showed displeasure as he said, "This boy's article is excellent. How do the Six Ministers grade papers? They actually put it third!"

Without waiting for Eunuch Wang's reply, the emperor snorted and said, "They must be bullying Zheng Hao because he is of commoner origin and not from a noble family, which is why they ranked his essay last, even though it was better than the first two papers."

"Powerful families truly cannot tolerate the rise of those from humble backgrounds!"

Emperor Jian'an had complex feelings about powerful and influential families.

He needed to rely on powerful clans to maintain his rule, but at the same time, he was tired of being constrained by them as the ruler of the world.

This world belongs to the Great Qian imperial family, and this land belongs to the Li people.

At first, Eunuch Wang was quite surprised by Emperor Jian'an's outwardly kind treatment of the powerful clans, but inwardly harboring extreme resentment towards them. However, he gradually grew accustomed to it.

He smiled obsequiously and flattered Emperor Jian'an, saying, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the emperor. Whether it is the ministers in the court or these tribute scholars, they are all your subjects."

Then, Eunuch Wang changed the subject: "Naturally, compared to aristocratic families, many of these tribute students come from humble backgrounds. As the emperor's protégés, they are probably more loyal to the emperor than the sons of aristocratic families."

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Jian'an placed the third examination paper at the top and then said, "Take the papers down and announce the rankings of the palace examination."

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Emperor Jian'an, dressed in imperial robes, sat on the dragon throne, while princes and ministers, all in official robes, stood on either side of the main hall.

The scholars were led out of the side hall by officials and stood outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony again.

Facing the intense afternoon sunlight hitting their faces and bodies, the candidates felt their bodies burning hot. However, they were at the most important moment of their lives, and each of them was eagerly anticipating their ranking.

He Yanzhi appeared to lower his head slightly, but in reality, he subtly lifted his eyelids and watched the back of the person in front of him without making a sound.

A month ago, in the imperial examination, he was just a hair's breadth behind Zheng Hao, ranking second, while Zheng Hao was at the top of the list.

He was well-prepared for the palace examination. His grandfather and father had predicted the questions, and he answered all of them with ease, except for one question on policy.

He Yanzhi maintained a respectful posture, but his heart was surging with emotion.

It was true that he missed out on the top spot in the provincial examination, but he was determined to become the top scholar in the first-class examination. He Yanzhi closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.

Standing in front of the other candidates, Zheng Hao was calm and composed, unlike the other candidates who were putting on a show of composure. He was calm and rational in body and mind, unlike ordinary people, as if he did not care at all about his ranking in the palace examination.

Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly.

Just as the candidates were becoming increasingly anxious, a loud voice came from the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"The announcement ceremony begins! The top three in the first class are granted the title of Jinshi (进士) and Jidi (及第), the top few in the second class are granted the title of Jinshi Chushen (进士出身), and the top few in the third class are granted the title of Tong Jinshi Chushen (同进士出身)!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the breathing of the group of scholars became rapid. Their expressions tightened, and they focused their attention, afraid of missing anything.

A loud voice rang out again from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and then the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony announced it in turn. The candidates were stunned and looked at the tall and handsome young man standing at the front.

Some of them had complicated expressions, some couldn't believe it, and some were overjoyed...

Zheng Hao raised his dark eyes and looked towards the magnificent Hall of Supreme Harmony.