Top Scholar

Chapter 481 Heroes Across Three Hundred Generations, I Walk Towards Yingzhou
The fifteenth day of the third month of the third year of Zhengde (1512).

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the Chinese candidates rose, dressed neatly, and carrying the smallest examination baskets, gathering from all directions in front of the Daming Gate.

The candidates looked solemn, their faces showing the tension of about to face the emperor, but even more so excitement and anticipation.

After ten years of hard study and countless attempts to pass the exam, overcoming numerous challenges and overcoming numerous obstacles, you have finally arrived at this final hurdle!
Moreover, regardless of the outcome, they will all become legitimate Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), so today's palace examination is more like a reward for them, allowing them to bring their studies to a perfect conclusion!

Zhang Chan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Fei Hong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who were also appointed as co-examiners for the palace examination, arrived early at the Daming Gate and called out names according to the results of the metropolitan examination by lantern light.

“Su Lu from Luzhou, Sichuan!” Zhang Chan stood in front of the left side of the Daming Gate, holding the roster of odd-numbered names.

"Yes." Su Lu quickly and crisply replied, took a piece of ebony waist token for entering the palace, carefully hung it on his waist, and stood first in front of Vice Minister Zhang according to the pre-arranged rehearsal.

“Shao Rui from Hangzhou, Zhejiang!” Fei Hong stood in front of the right side of the Daming Gate, holding the roster with even-numbered rankings.

"Yes." Shao Rui responded, took the waist token, and stood first in front of Fei Hong.

The subsequent Chinese candidates also lined up in two long queues, with odd-numbered candidates on the left and even-numbered candidates on the right, behind the first two.

After roll call, 350 people were expected to be present, and 349 people were actually present. One person was absent due to bereavement and will have to wait for the next imperial examination.

After the roll call, Zhang Chan and Fei Hong each led the candidates into the gates on either side of the Daming Gate.

As for the main gate in the middle, it is always closed and is only opened when the emperor and empress travel.

Entering the Daming Gate, the central road leads directly to the Chengtian Gate. On both sides of the Imperial Street are corridors with continuous eaves and ridges. This is the office of the central government offices—the Thousand-Step Corridor.

Outside the east corridor, the five ministries of Rites, Revenue, Personnel, War, and Works are arranged in order, along with the Imperial Clan Court, the Imperial Observatory, and the Imperial Medical Academy.

Outside the west corridor, the Ministry of Justice, the Five Military Commissions, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices are arranged in sequence.

Left side for civil affairs, right side for military affairs; strict regulations and order.

The Chinese scholars followed the two officials straight ahead, walking along the thousand-step corridor and through the Heavenly Street. When they arrived at the Golden Water Bridge, the morning light had just pierced through the thin mist, and dewdrops still clung to the white marble railings.

Before the magnificent Chengtian Gate, the Imperial Guards responsible for searching candidates had been waiting for some time. But unlike the provincial and metropolitan examinations, the purpose this time was to prevent candidates from carrying weapons. The Emperor would be present for the palace examination, along with so many high-ranking officials and ministers, so security was naturally of paramount importance.

Of course, this is really unnecessary. The candidates have gone through layers of examinations and gone through all kinds of hardships to finally stand here. Are they here to assassinate the emperor?
This reminded Su Lu of a question he had seen on a Q&A platform in his later life—

In ancient times, if someone deliberately tripped the emperor during the palace examination, would they be disqualified from becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)?
~~
During the body search, the bell tower rang to mark the time, and the gates on both sides of Chengtian Gate slowly opened.

The candidates followed instructions and traveled light, so the body search was completed quickly and no contraband was found.

The two vice ministers then announced in unison, "All students, please follow me inside!"

After saying this, each of them led a group of candidates through the deep and secluded gate of Chengtian Gate.

Inside the gate, on both sides of the imperial road, twenty-six vermilion-columned offices are neatly arranged. The central office on the east side is the Taimiao Street Gate, and the west side is the Sheji Street Gate, strictly adhering to the ritual system of "ancestral temple on the left and altar of the land on the right".

Further ahead is Duanmen Gate. After passing through Duanmen Gate, the magnificent Meridian Gate finally comes into view!
Beneath the Five Phoenix Tower, two hundred imposing Han generals, clad in golden armor and wielding golden maces and axes, gleamed in the morning sun, resembling celestial soldiers and generals.

Two other teams of Imperial Guards searched the candidates again at the left and right side gates, checked their waist tags, and then allowed them to enter the Forbidden City!

These left and right side gates are usually kept closed, and are only opened for grand ceremonies such as the palace examination and the grand court. Even princes and officials can only enter the palace through the side gate of the Meridian Gate.

As for the central archway, it was reserved exclusively for the emperor; only the empress could walk through it once during her wedding.

In addition, after the results of the palace examination were announced, the top three scholars (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua) could exit through the main gate—a glory that all scholars in the world yearned for throughout their lives!

Passing through the left and right side gates, you are greeted by a spacious square. Further ahead is the fifth gate of this journey, and also the largest palace gate in the Forbidden City—Fengtian Gate.

The road from Meridian Gate to Fengtian Gate has Huiji Gate on the east side, which is the main road leading to Wenhua Hall and the Inner Cabinet, and Guiji Gate on the west side, which leads to Wuying Hall.

On the north and south sides of the two gates, there are eleven side rooms on each side, with the Veritable Records Hall, the Imperial Genealogy Hall, the Daily Records Hall, and the Collected Statutes Hall located in between. If any candidate is fortunate enough to be selected as a member of the Hanlin Academy, they will inevitably have to work here as slaves for several years in the future.

At this time, the towering Fengtian Gate remained tightly closed.

As the candidates lined up to wait, the officials in charge of reading and receiving the papers, along with a hundred or so other officials, led by cabinet ministers, also filed in front of Fengtian Gate.

Li Dongyang and Jiao Fang walked side by side in front, while Wang Ao and Yang Tinghe deliberately lagged behind. This was not out of respect for the chief and deputy chief ministers, but simply because they wanted to stay away from the two of them...

The atmosphere between the two big shots was not harmonious. To be precise, Jiao Fang kept cursing Li Dongyang in a low voice, and her spittle even sprayed onto his face.

"You son of a bitch! You promised it with your bare hands, and then you just threw it all away like it was nothing!"

“My son Huang Zhong, and all those other young men from Henan, aren’t they all truly talented? And yet, not one of them passed the exam! Have you lost all your conscience?”

"I must have been blind to believe your words! I'm not letting this go!"

Seeing Li Dongyang ignore the insults and even manage a smile, Jiao Fang was even more enraged. She gritted her teeth and said, "Speak like a human being and spew dog shit! You call yourself the Grand Secretary? Bah! Just you wait, I'll show you what cruelty is!"

“Hehe, Grand Secretary Jiao.” Li Dongyang finally spoke. “What?” Jiao Fang thought he was finally going to argue, but Li Dongyang just pointed to the group of Chinese scholars and laughed, “Let’s go see them separately.”

As he spoke, he led Wang Ao and the others toward Su Lu's team on the left.

"Hmph, cowards!" Jiao Fang spat and led Yang Tinghe and the others toward the group of scholars on the right.

"Why aren't you paying your respects to the Grand Secretary and the ministers who are reading the papers?" Vice Minister Zhang hurriedly ordered.

Su Lu then led his fellow students in bowing and paying their respects.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Grand Secretary."

"Hehe, do your best on the exam and strive for even greater achievements." Li Dongyang smiled kindly and nodded, showing no sign of the embarrassment of being scolded the whole way.

"Meet the teacher."

The examiner, Wang Ao, smiled and nodded. After the examiners accepted the candidates' homage, they stood before them and waited.

~~
At Chenshi (7-9 AM), a burst of drum and music sounded from all around, and the Meridian Gate slowly opened. The examiners led the candidates through the vermilion-lacquered and gold-studded Fengtian Gate. The 349 successful candidates finally arrived at their destination—the Fengtian Hall, the main hall of the Imperial Palace!
Looking up, the entire Fengtian Hall appeared in the morning light.

What a magnificent golden palace it was—a three-tiered white marble staircase supporting a nine-bay hall, its double-eaved hip roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The eaves soared upwards, and majestic roof beasts crouched beneath, gleaming brightly in the morning sun, almost blinding!
In an instant, the scholars understood why it was also called the Golden Palace; it was truly magnificent and resplendent, far beyond the imagination of ordinary people…

Many candidates were moved to tears, and even Su Lu was somewhat emotional. This wasn't his first time here; he had bought a ticket to come here in his previous life for fifty yuan.

But they're completely different, okay? That's called a museum, this is called the Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace!

In the morning he was Tian Shelang, and in the evening he ascended to the Hall of the Son of Heaven.

Nobility is not inherited; a man should strive for it!
At this moment, it has finally become a reality!

The day before the palace examination, the officials of the Court of State Ceremonies had already set up the "examination table" in the east room of the Fengtian Hall, while the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had neatly arranged 350 examination tables in the east and west wings outside the hall.

In front of the Fengtian Hall, a golden platform and canopy had already been set up, and the ceremonial band was already in place.

The two vice ministers led the candidates to the Danchi (a platform in front of the Fengtian Hall), where they stood facing north in two groups, east and west.

The officials stood on the steps, maintaining proper court etiquette, and awaited the emperor's arrival!
At a quarter past dawn, two eunuchs dressed in python robes simultaneously swung their whips—

'Snapped……'

'Snapped……'

Three crisp cracks of the whip echoed across the entire square in front of the Fengtian Hall.

"The Emperor has arrived!" A long, drawn-out announcement rang out as drums and music resounded before the Golden Palace.

All the officials, along with the scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, bowed and knelt in reverence to welcome the emperor.

Under the nine-dragon yellow parasol, Emperor Zhengde, Zhu Houzhao, wearing a bright yellow imperial robe embroidered with the twelve symbols and a double-dragon-playing-with-pearl winged crown, walked steadily onto the golden platform with the support of Liu Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Liu Jin lifted the back of the emperor's dragon robe, and Zhu Houzhao sat on the throne, receiving the homage of the officials and candidates.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Amidst the thunderous roar of kneeling obeisance, Emperor Zhengde's gaze swept quickly past the officials and settled on the leading scholar, staring at him with a serious expression.

When Liu Jin saw that the emperor had come out and looked straight at that brat, with no one else in his eyes, his heart sank.

That kid really is still the emperor's favorite...

He composed himself, draped his whisk over his arm, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials and scholars rose together. Many scholars were extremely curious about what the emperor looked like.

However, during the training at the Ministry of Rites, they were instructed not to look up or gaze, and even more so not to look at the Emperor's face. Otherwise, it would be considered a breach of etiquette before the Emperor, and if the Imperial Censor, who was in charge of patrolling the palace, saw it, his paper would be demoted to the very bottom of the third rank.

Therefore, all the candidates kept their eyes down and dared not look at anything that could not be looked at directly.

In fact, Su Lu was standing quite close to the front; he could have seen the emperor's face simply by raising his eyelids. But he didn't look up, because making eye contact with the emperor would present a problem—how could Zhu Shou continue his performance?
Can the two continue being friends?

Although it's utterly ridiculous to be friends with the emperor's secret agent, this relationship certainly can't be ended by Su Lu; the choice lies with the emperor...

At this moment, Liu Jin, holding a scroll of yellow silk imperial edict, slowly walked to the golden platform, unrolled the scroll, and loudly read:
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that the only models a ruler should follow are Heaven and his ancestors. The rulers of the Tang, Yu, and Three Dynasties all followed Heaven and their ancestors to achieve prosperous rule, as can be verified in the classics. Are those who say they act on behalf of Heaven, conform to Heaven, or accord with Heaven, or follow their ancestors, or regard their ancestors, the same or different?"

P.S. This is the last exam, so I can't settle for less. I need to polish it up properly and make the protagonist's policy essay stand out, which is why I've only written half of Chapter Two. I might only finish two chapters today.

(End of this chapter)