Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 291 The Sage Personally Attends the Palace Examination
Zhang Shuo had long held power over state affairs and could freely command all the civil and military officials, so supervising a special imperial examination was naturally no problem for him.

He ignored the emotions of these young people. After Xi Yu led them into the hall to pay their respects, he ordered them to separate and sit down in the examination hall.

The Guanwen Hall has a large interior space, easily accommodating thousands of people for gatherings. However, only a few dozen people were participating in the imperial examinations, so the seating arrangements were quite spread out. Even after everyone had settled down, the space still felt rather empty.

Seating wasn't arranged in advance, so everyone found their own place. Zhang Dai didn't try to get close to his grandfather at the front; instead, he chose a seat to the side or back.

After everyone was seated, Zhang didn't waste any time. He explained a few rules and regulations for the examination, then ordered the exam papers to be distributed. He then sat down on the side of the hall, overlooking the entire room.

When Zhang Dai received the exam paper, he was taken aback again upon seeing the questions written at the beginning.

The exam paper contained only one question, titled "Ode to Dragon Pool." Chang'an City originally had a Longqing Ward, which became a pond due to a landslide. After the Shenlong Revolution, the current emperor and his brothers all resided in Longqing Ward, a place known as the Residence of the Five Princes.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, Longqingfang was surrounded by a separate garden, and in recent years it has been expanded. Zhang Dai, who served as the escort for the Prince of Qi to Chang'an, passed by the place and took a look from afar. This is the later Xingqing Palace in the Southern Palace.

As for the pond in the ward, it was expanded as early as the beginning of the Kaiyuan era and named Dragon Pond. The current emperor even personally composed "Dragon Pond Music," which was played as one of the court's elegant music pieces during court assemblies and banquets to praise this auspicious omen of the former residence.

During the Kaiyuan era, prominent officials such as Yao Chong, the court poet Shen Quanqi, and the favored minister Jiang Jiao all wrote lyrics, performed, and sang for the "Longchi Yue" (Dragon Pool Music). As for why Zhang Shuo wasn't included, it's because he had been expelled from the court by Yao Chong and sent to fish on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Zhang Dai's surprise wasn't due to this particular story, but rather because this topic itself was one of the main subjects he had been working on recently. His grandfather had even personally written a "Rhapsody on Dragon Pool" for him to imitate and practice.

Zhang Dai originally thought his grandfather was full of regret because he hadn't finished writing "Longchi Music", but now it seems that this was just him cheating on his grandfather!
Realizing this, Zhang Dai was filled with emotion. From the prefectural examination to the provincial examination, almost every step of the way had been fraught with obstacles. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly that being Zhang Shuo's grandson was truly miserable; he gained no benefits and suffered no beatings.

Now it seems that this situation wasn't his grandfather's fault, but rather because he was at a lower level before! Now he has finally managed to get into a field that his grandfather can intervene in, and the cheat device that had been offline for a long time has finally reconnected!

The special examinations were more arbitrary than the regular examinations, so this "Ode to Dragon Pool" was not a rhymed regulated ode required for the Jinshi examination, but rather a regular ode.

Although Zhang Dai couldn't recall any famous ancient poems on this subject, he had a cheat sheet prepared for him by his grandfather. How many people in the world could write such a cheat sheet?

However, he was still a little guilty and didn't dare to be too conspicuous, so he pretended to carefully choose his words and phrases before finally picking up his pen and writing a few sentences.

Seeing the boy's demeanor from his seat above, Zhang thought he hadn't taken the assignment seriously. He frowned, walked down from the hall, and leaned over to examine the boy. He then realized the boy was just putting on an act, and reassured himself, he went to check on the other candidates.

As the saying goes, "A person's reputation precedes them." Zhang Yue's literary fame was widespread. When he stood beside his desk watching his answers, everyone felt somewhat uneasy and anxious, worried that their writing was too poor to meet Zhang Yue's standards.

They never expected the grandfather and grandson to be so despicable. Everyone else was using the back door, but they had already rushed in and even closed half of the door behind them.

Although these sons of nobles and high-ranking officials could enjoy high-quality educational resources, being able to enjoy them did not mean they could effectively absorb them. They were not able to enroll in the Hongwen Academy, either because there were too many children in their families and it was not their turn, or they simply had no interest in studying.

In short, these people were generally inferior in poetry and prose skills compared to those who participated in the imperial examination. Although the essay topic did not set many requirements, they were still relatively slow in conceiving and writing. Except for a few who wrote with great inspiration, most of them stumbled and struggled.

People often have a superstitious belief in family background, but in fact, a privileged family background has no direct correlation with an individual's excellence, and may even bring certain negative effects.

Because they already enjoy superior material conditions, these people do not have the same strong initiative and ambition in their studies as those from poor families.

This has nothing to do with personality. Qualities like being proactive and self-disciplined are inherently against human nature. Human nature is to be lazy and fond of comfort and pleasure, and the conditions that the children of officials have make it naturally easier for them to enjoy these things than children from poor families.

Therefore, apart from those with exceptional talent, aristocratic officials are often less capable with each generation. Even if they are quite hardworking, they can only achieve average talent at best, far inferior to their fathers.

Political families that can last for generations do not rely on the exceptional talent of each generation, but rather on their monopoly and control of resources. They have enough resources and opportunities to elevate mediocre individuals to high positions.

For example, the imperial examination that Zhang Dai participated in was a reflection of family background and resources. If one could not cross this threshold, one would not even have the qualification to compete, let alone seize the opportunity and strive to be the best.

As Zhang Dai sighed, he calmly finished writing his essay. He didn't directly copy his grandfather's original, but instead chose one of his better pieces. While the structure and perspective imitated his grandfather's, the word choice and overall style were his own. After finishing, he put down his pen and turned to look at the other examinees around him. Some had already put down their pens, while others were still scratching their heads, deep in thought.

As Zhang Dai observed the various reactions of the crowd, his stomach suddenly rumbled, and he realized that the sun was already setting. He had eaten breakfast early in the morning and entered the palace, and most of the day had passed, yet he had not eaten or drunk anything, so naturally he was starving.

Just then, the sound of ceremonial drums and trumpets rang out from outside, and an official hurriedly entered the hall to announce that the emperor was about to arrive and that the people inside the hall needed to come out immediately to welcome him.

"All of you disciples, put down your pens, leave your seats, and line up on the left side of the hall to welcome His Majesty!"

Zhang Shuo stood up and asked the candidates to leave their seats. He then ordered the palace guards to stand watch over the examination tables in the palace, while he led the others out of the palace to greet the emperor.

"Lord Yan, you may dispense with the formalities. Did the palace examination go smoothly?"

The emperor, dressed in an ochre-yellow robe, arrived at the palace on a fine horse, followed by more than ten officials who had accompanied him. After dismounting, the emperor smiled and said to Zhang Shuo, "I am tied up in the front hall for some business, so I asked Duke Yan to do it for me for half a day. Once it is done, I will come here to test my disciples."

Zhang Shuo spoke humbly, then led his followers to follow the sage up to the palace. After returning to the hall, the sage sat on the imperial throne before everyone dared to take their seats in turn, and the officials also lined up and took their seats.

Upon learning that the essay test had been going on all afternoon, the sage smiled and said, "Since that's the case, if the essay is completed, then it is; if it is not completed, then it is probably difficult to complete. Whether it is completed or not, put it away. Let us first give you food, and then we will test you again."

The imperial examinations were quite spontaneous; they could even stop midway to eat before continuing. Of course, this spontaneity was only possible because the emperor himself was supervising the exams. If a minister were supervising, the rules would be much stricter.

Upon hearing this, all the candidates rose from their seats to kowtow and express their gratitude. The emperor, sitting on his imperial bed, looked down and, after circling around for a while, finally spotted Zhang Dai's location. He then pointed at him and said with a smile, "Zhang Dai, come forward. Who in the world does not know that you are the grandson of Yan Gongsun? Do you think that sitting in the side of the table can avoid suspicion?"

Zhang Dai felt somewhat embarrassed when he heard the name called, as if his grandfather and grandson's cheating had disturbed the emperor's ears.

But since the emperor had spoken, he had no choice but to leave his seat and walk forward. Two eunuchs then lifted his table and placed it in front of the emperor, more than ten feet above the other candidates' seats, so that he could see the emperor's nostrils when he looked up.

This position was usually reserved for mischievous students who didn't like to study. Teachers, fearing that it would disturb other students, would place them next to the podium so they could manage them more easily and also instruct them on tasks like erasing the blackboard and carrying lesson plans.

When the other candidates saw Zhang Dai being led before the Emperor, they couldn't help but smile broadly. They weren't confident they could defeat Zhang Dai in the examination hall, so it was quite satisfying to influence his exam performance in this way. However, their smiles vanished once the meal was served.

The emperor's bestowal of food was naturally lavish, but that was for the officials in charge of food preparation. The candidates' food was relatively simple: each person received a serving of honey-steamed meat, a steamer of eight kinds of pickled vegetables, a bowl of millet rice, and a cup of cheese. However, everyone was very hungry at the moment, so after expressing their gratitude, they began to eat heartily.

"These golden milk pastries, brocade-wrapped turtles, milk-stuffed fish, and these other kinds are bestowed upon Zhang Dai."

The emperor glanced at Zhang Dai, who was eating with his head down, then pointed to some dishes on his table and ordered the eunuch to bring them to Zhang Dai.

The other candidates were initially delighted that the sage had arrived, bringing justice and fairness. However, they were surprised to find that the sage doted on Zhang Dai even more than his grandfather, and their faces fell.

Zhang Dai was eating his rice when he heard this, and he had to hurriedly get up from his seat, kowtow and express his gratitude. As he stood up and knelt, a mouthful of millet got stuck in his throat. He forced himself to return to his seat and drink a large mouthful of cheese before he could swallow the rice. Luckily, he didn't become the first top scholar to choke to death in the palace examination.

The candidates quickly finished their dinner and then eagerly awaited the sage's next test. After a day of hunger, their stomachs were rumbling with food, and they were all thinking about finishing the test as soon as possible so they could take care of their personal matters.

However, the emperor did not directly announce the examination questions, but instead ordered the palace officials to summon the musicians and actors from the Imperial Music Bureau to the palace.

Zhang Dai was also quite surprised when he heard the sage's words. He had just finished eating and now he was going to enjoy a song and dance performance. Was he not allowed to take the exam properly or make progress?

Especially since his position was the perfect spot to enjoy the performance, if the actors were to actually perform in the palace, would he be looking at his exam papers or watching the show? How could he possibly take the exam!

(End of this chapter)