"I respectfully accept your orders."
All the candidates saluted and kowtowed, and then listened to the sound of the whip three times, and the etiquette officer sang in the same voice: "Gong students, please take your seat and answer the questions."
"Thank you!"
It was time to start answering questions. It was impossible for all 500 people to be arranged in the hall, and they couldn't be lined up, so they were lined up densely from front to back according to their ranking.
Those with lower rankings can only sit in the corridor at the back.
If there is a storm, even if there are measures, it is better to stay in the main hall.
But since they are ranked according to their grades, even if some people are depressed, they are not dissatisfied. Who makes their grades inferior to others?
Yu Lu's grades were pretty good and he was seated in the hall.
The weather was still a little cold, so I felt a little scared while walking in the palace, and my hands were somewhat stiff.
He clenched his fist hard, and the stiffness in his fingers slowly disappeared.
Looking at the white paper in front of him and thinking about the topic, Yu Lu did not hold the pen easily and did not dare to peek upward. He tilted the bamboo tube containing water, poured some on the inkstone, and slowly started grinding it with the ink stick.
Taisun's original teachings still echo in his ears.
Yu Lu also reflected upon his return and felt that Taisun's words were indeed reasonable. Scholars looked at things differently from officials who looked at things.
Even people who are officials look at things differently and think differently in different official positions.
The higher you are in a high position, the more you consider the overall situation.
People in low positions want to consider the overall situation, but they are also limited by their vision, knowledge and environment, making it difficult to think comprehensively.
Yu Lu was talented and intelligent, but without the guidance of his great-grandson, a person from a small town without the guidance of a famous teacher would probably have to make one or two detours before he could find his way out.
But now, Yu Lu has a clear mind and knows how to write.
After calming down for a while and the ink getting thicker, I picked up the soft brush with my fingers, licked the ink until the pen was full, my eyes fell on the paper, I took a deep breath, and concentrated on my work.
When the pen tip landed on the paper, the first word was the word "chen".
"I am ignorant in intelligence and shallow in academic knowledge, and I am not qualified to ask questions..."
Since the first sentence was written smoothly, the rest of the content followed. The more I wrote, the smoother it became. It was as if I was no longer writing, but copying the article that had already been formed in my mind. Come down normally.
Yu Lu only felt that he was writing with energy. The more he wrote, the more comfortable he became. The dull feeling that was still pressing on his chest disappeared without a trace as he continued to write quickly.
"...I am reading the imperial policy and am concerned about seeing His Majesty's efforts to deprive the people of their livelihood, and are anxious to provide food and clothing for the people. This is my sincere and sincere sympathy for the benefit of Yuanyuan..."
There is a feeling of intoxication, as if air is coming out from every pore, which makes you immersed in it and makes it difficult to extricate yourself.
If others turned around to look at him at this moment, they would only see that this young man seemed to be immersed in a state of extreme enjoyment. He was so focused that he had excluded everything in the outside world, including time.
"..."
The emperor glanced at the candidates in the room, then at Yu Lu, paused, and looked away, as if he didn't care at all about his grandson's former classmate and friend.
His physical condition seemed better than before, but he also showed signs of fatigue.
Without making a sound, the emperor walked down, paused in front of some people, looked at them a few times, quickly passed through the candidates, and walked out directly.
Candidates along the way secretly breathed a sigh of relief, touched it, and their backs became wet.
"I'll leave soon, don't disturb the exam."
The emperor left. Su Zi was a grandson and it was not good to stay here for a long time. He also glanced around and glanced at Yu Lu. He saw that Yu Lu was still writing quickly, not even noticing that the emperor and himself were both. After reading it, Su Ziji smiled slightly and had a feeling that Yu Lu must have followed his advice and had already entered the state.
This state often means that the article is completed in one go.
Other candidates were obviously disturbed when the emperor walked over, their movements paused, or their movements became stiff. In short, they were not as immersed as Yu Lu.
Seeing that Taisun also stood up, the remaining ministers and examiners all stood up. They were all stunned when they heard this. They didn't say much and followed each other.
Su Ziji walked out and walked out of the hall. He looked at a large number of tables and chairs placed on the corridor outside the hall. The candidates, who still looked in pain, kept walking and walked out through the gap in the middle.
"Is this how the matter ends?"
After going out, Su Ziji frowned. In this imperial examination, the emperor made the first move, and he counterattacked fiercely. He thought there might be problems in this imperial examination, but now everything is going well. Did the emperor really give up?
"No, that's not the case." Su Ziji looked gloomy. He understood a creature like the emperor and said thoughtfully, "Just wait and see."
"Dang, Dang, Dang!" Taisun went to the side hall to rest, and someone knocked a few times. At noon, someone came carrying a basket, indicating to the candidates that half of the time had passed.
"Here, two pieces of bread and a pot of tea for each person."
This is the rule in the examination room, only flour cakes are given out, because meat and fish are easy to become stale and cause diarrhea, which would be a huge disgrace at that time. In the palace examination, they just put some sweets in them.
"ah……"
Yu Lu suddenly woke up from that state, glanced at the cakes and tea, and nodded slightly in greeting, but he was not hungry. He just looked at the densely written draft paper and happened to write at the end, which was "I sincerely acknowledge you." Three words.
It’s written!
Yu Lu let out a long breath. His chest was already feeling relaxed and no longer blocked, and now it felt even better!
After reading the article again, he couldn't help but smile. Only then did he really feel hungry. He took the pancake and wolfed down the tea.
After finishing eating, I picked up my pen and copied the articles in the draft onto the answer sheet one by one.
In the exam before the palace, there must be no loss of etiquette and no mistakes. This is actually very energy-consuming. After I finished transcribing everything, I checked it carefully three times and found that there were no mistakes or taboos. I saw that it was a little dark in the palace and there were already officials. Come forward and light the candles one by one.
"It's almost dusk." Yu Lu looked around and saw that the hall was a bit dark and gloomy. There was a gust of wind in the distance, and then a few drops of rain fell.
"It's raining, hurry up, take an umbrella."
Naturally, there was a plan for the imperial examination, and rows of umbrellas were blocking the corridor. However, it was already late at this time, and some candidates had already submitted their essays one after another. Yu Lu always wanted to be steady. Even after he finished writing, he did not submit it immediately, but waited until he left. More than half of the people signaled the supervisor to seal the paper and put it aside.
People who went out all walked around, so when Yu Lu and Fang Xi met, they were already outside the palace gate.
Fang Xi handed in the paper a little later than Yu Lu, but it wasn't too late. Yu Lu waited for less than a cup of tea outside the palace gate when he saw a familiar figure coming out of the crowd.
Because although this place was outside the palace gate, it was not far from the armored soldiers guarding the palace gate. Gong Sheng did not dare to make any noise after he came out, and Yu Lu just waved to Fang Xi.
At this time, the rain was getting heavy, and the pine waves were gradually approaching. The entire towering palace of the Forbidden City was submerged in the rain curtain, and the clouds and waves were even darker, as if thunder was brewing.
Several eunuchs rushed over in a hurry, with quick steps.
"Quick, the emperor wants to read the exam papers quickly."
