After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The process involved being called out by name, carrying one's belongings forward, presenting one's official document, being searched by designated personnel, stepping through the Dragon Gate, and entering the examination hall...

Starting at Shenshi (3-5 PM), one by one, the candidates were called out and entered through the Dragon Gate.

When it was his turn, it was already late at night, around 7 PM.

Thanks to being from Jiangning, where all the provincial, metropolitan, and imperial examinations were held at the Jiangnan Examination Hall, Ningnan was already very familiar with the place and did not need the guidance of an experienced official.

Carrying an exam basket, a quilt, and a small stove, they quickly found their exam cell under the light of a few torches.

"Phew..." He exhaled and reached out to fold the movable wooden board.

One piece serves as a stool and bed, and the other as a table.

Place the red floral quilt on the stool, and the stove and exam basket on the ground.

There was charcoal, flint and steel, and kindling in the cell. He piled the charcoal in the stove and lit it with the flint and steel.

A bright red light shone in the cell, warming my hands and thighs, which finally dispelled some of the chill.

I placed a small iron basin on the fire and boiled some water over the charcoal fire.

I took out a dry biscuit, soaked it, tore off a few pieces of salted meat, and slowly chewed them in my mouth, thus managing to eat a casual dinner.

With his stomach half full, Ning Nan sat on the "bed," leaning against the corner, and took off his outer clothes and padded jacket. He was covered with the red floral quilt that Cui Cui's wife had given him to carry.

A north wind was howling, and a few cold stars were scattered across the sky.

He closed his eyes, silently recited the scriptures in his mind, and gradually relaxed his body and mind. Before long, he fell asleep peacefully...

……

The rooster crows three times.

The sky was still dark.

When the charcoal in the stove burned out, at some point, he opened his eyes, exhaled, threw off the quilt, put on his clothes, lit a flint and steel, and lit some more charcoal.

Similar sounds could be heard everywhere in the examination hall.

Before sunrise, sparks dotted the sky above the examination hall.

To prevent flooding, a guard was stationed every few cells to watch over the cells.

Ning Nan also heard the sound of a pot sizzling and smelled the aroma of meat, indicating that some students were cooking.

He thought the pot was too heavy, and carrying the pot would also mean carrying oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, which seemed like too much trouble, so he didn't bring any. Now, smelling the aroma, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

As dawn broke in the east, a mist slowly seeped into the interior of the examination hall.

The sound of gongs and drums rang out.

The first day of the imperial examination began just like that. Servants carried the questions back and forth in the passageway between the examination cells... Ning Nan squinted, picked up his pen, and wrote down the questions one by one...

The entire imperial examination was divided into three sessions, each lasting three days, for a total of nine days.

After one round of exams, the completed papers of the examinees must be collected, and the next round will begin the following morning.

The first exam tested understanding of the classics, requiring candidates to write three essays on the Four Books and four essays on the Five Classics.

Ning Nan carefully scanned the seven questions on the paper, breathed on his hands to warm his palms, and then drew a few circles on the title of the first essay, "Renewal of an Old Nation."

"A four-character phrase." He frowned.

The phrase "old state renews itself" is derived from the saying, "Although Zhou was an old state, its mandate was renewed."

Ning Nan recalled that the two chief examiners for this year's imperial examination were Sun Chengshan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Li Xiangsong, a Grand Secretary.

He picked up his pen and wrote the character "孙" (Sun) on the paper, then wrote the character "李" (Li).

Next, below the character "孙" (Sun), he picked up the brush and wrote the character "变" (bian).

Below the character '李' (Li), there is the character '守' (Shou).

Sun Chengshan was formerly the Crown Prince's Chamberlain and was deeply trusted by the Empress. Appointing Sun Chengshan, a reformist, as the chief examiner was a way to cultivate his reputation and make him the "mentor" of the candidates in this imperial examination, and to select assistants for the reformists from among the candidates.

Li Xiangsong is a Grand Secretary, and I've heard he's always been mature and prudent, so I imagine he clearly doesn't support the reform.

Appointing these two as examiners at the same time was intended to balance the reformists and conservatives, and there must have been some debate in the court... Hmm... Ning Nan thought for a moment and changed the term "conservatives" to "moderates".

"Phew..." He silently exhaled and looked at the other six questions.

The other six questions, while also related to cross-references, are not as specific.

"This is the key question for this exam."

Master Ning clicked his tongue twice, and then fell silent for a moment.

He wasn't really interested in things like being the top scholar in the imperial examinations or the best scholar in the five classics; he just wanted to have a Jinshi degree.

If you want to pass the imperial examination... in fact, on this one question, you have to cater to the reformists to find the answer...

As long as you cater to the reformists and make Sun Chengshan, the leader of the reformists, think that "this is a good fighter who can charge into battle," you'll be almost certain to pass the imperial examination.

"But..." Ning Nan was conflicted. "If we take such a shortcut, we'll inevitably get caught up in factional strife... That wouldn't be good."

A mere Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) could be demoted if the adults sneezed. Even with a powerful uncle, he would likely only be able to remain in the capital as a minor official.

"But if we don't cater to the reformists' approach..." Master Ning felt a bit nauseous. Li Xiangsong might not necessarily protect him, since there were plenty of moderates and they didn't necessarily need him. Sun Chengshan's side was the one in dire need of manpower.

From the first light of dawn on the horizon, I pondered deeply until the full light of dawn broke at the exact hour of Chen (7-9 AM).

Then the sun begins to set in the west.

The faint setting sun hung over the west side of the examination hall.

Ning Nan then selected the most suitable one from the nearly thirty proposed solutions he had written down.

"An old nation is bound to be renewed, for the new maintains the old; if the old nation ceases to exist, how can the new be a tree without roots..."

The sky gradually darkened.

He struck a flint and steel and lit a candle.

A hazy, yellowish light rippled outwards in concentric circles.

The charcoal fire beneath him had long since gone out, and his body was freezing cold.

He spent the entire day on the first question, and with time running out, he didn't have time to care about the cold.

His hands got cold, so he breathed on them and continued writing... It wasn't until midnight that the first essay in the traditional eight-legged style was finally finished... Master Ning let out a long sigh of relief...

……

Time flies.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that he finished writing all seven essays in the eight-legged essay style...

The next morning.

Then came the second round of the imperial examination, where candidates were required to write essays or judgments. The topics were taken from the Four Books and Five Classics, but the eight-legged essay was no longer required; candidates could create their own format.

These tests assess how to write "official documents," requiring candidates to imitate the style of a high-ranking official in writing a document on a particular matter, such as imitating Han Yu's congratulatory memorial from the Tang Dynasty.

Ning Nan had seen many such things in the Gongsun family's library, so he naturally knew this one by heart...

As for the third section, the policy essay, it didn't account for a large portion of the imperial examination, so he was even more relaxed. He finished all the questions a day in advance...

……

The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The weather was cold, and the Dragon Gate of the Imperial Examination Hall was wide open.

The students who emerged from the examination hall had varied appearances: some were rosy-cheeked, some were pale-faced, some were proud and confident, and some were hunched over wiping away tears.

A magnificent yellow horse pulled a carriage, which stopped on the banks of the Qinhuai River.

The curtains on the side of the carriage were slightly drawn back.

A woman dressed in emerald green silently gazed at the students leaping out of the Dragon Gate.

Her bright, clear eyes scanned the surroundings, but she couldn't find the figure she was looking for.

Until the setting sun fell on a bare willow tree.

A figure carrying a red floral quilt slowly walked out of the Dragon Gate.

"Master! Master!"

"Over here! Over here!"

"We and your wife have come to pick you up!..."

Beneath the carriage, the two maids, Chunyu and Qiumu, jumped up, waving their handkerchiefs and shouting joyfully at the figure...

……

Inside the carriage.

The light was somewhat dim.

The two maids huddled together, their faces flushed.

Even as the Empress of Daliang, Zhu Cuiwei had no power to interfere with the imperial examinations.

But out of curiosity about a question in this year's imperial examination, while feeding the Ning family patriarch, who was lying in her arms, she couldn't help but frown and ask:

"What kind of questions are we having this year...? Are they difficult?"