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

"Gao Zhongwu, Director of the Ceremonial Affairs Department of the Ministry of Rites, greets Prince Hongfeng!"

The audience became bustling with people because of this man's arrival.

Gao Zhongwu, an official from the Ministry of Rites dressed in a green robe, hurried forward with his subordinates.

The other party held a position in the Northern Dynasty akin to that of a prince's heir, so they naturally had to treat him with utmost care.

Gao Zhongwu and his officials bowed to the other party.

Hongfeng was handsome and refined, with a gentle and polite voice. He bowed slightly and smiled, saying:

"Young Wang greets Lord Gao."

Gao Zhongwu nodded and said, "You're too kind, Prince Hongfeng. The palace examination will begin soon. Please wait a moment, Prince."

Hongfeng grunted and nodded indifferently. Several guards behind him stood arrogantly to the side.

Not long after this prince from the Northern Dynasty arrived, the last few scholars also hurriedly arrived in the night.

When the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) arrives.

Gao Zhongwu stepped to the front of the crowd, his face serious, and said loudly:

"Gentlemen, His Majesty has bestowed the grace of opening the imperial examination to select scholars for the nation. You are the leading figures among the candidates in this examination! This is the hope of the people and the expectation of the nation. I hope you will not fail the nation's grace."

"yes!"

Everyone bowed and agreed, their voices filled with excitement.

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty!"

If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last time they refer to themselves as "commoners".

Next, Gao Zhongwu ordered everyone to separate according to their examination rankings, with those in odd numbers standing on the left and those in even numbers on the right.

The positions of the candidates were also determined according to their ranking.

Ning Nan was the top scholar in the imperial examination, so he naturally stood first on the left, with Li Yanting, who was third, behind him.

Looking to the right, the first one on the right is naturally the Tartar who came in second place in the imperial examination—that Prince Hongfeng.

A night wind swept through, and a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon. Ning Nan glanced at it twice, then looked away and gazed ahead.

After the station order was determined, the group, led by officials from the Ministry of Rites, proceeded through the left side gate for the Ningnan group and the right side gate for the Hongfeng group.

Two fish leaped into the palace.

Upon entering the palace gates, the view suddenly cleared, and the group walked all the way to the square in front of the Fengtian Hall and stopped.

A morning breeze swept across the field, and the sky was faintly glowing.

The candidates, entering the palace for the first time, looked up. The damp wind stung their eyes. The majestic Fengtian Hall stood before them, like a giant beast silently watching them from the darkness. For a moment, they widened their eyes and held their breath.

After a while, they all gasped in shock.

"What a magnificent and solemn palace!"

At this moment, the lights in the Fengtian Hall came on, and civil and military officials from all over the court passed by them one after another to attend court.

Red, green, or blue robes passed by them one after another.

The crowd was overwhelmed by the sights.

Those wearing scarlet robes are high-ranking officials of the fourth rank or above; the only difference is the insignia on their chests.

Those wearing blue robes are officials of the fifth to seventh rank.

There were also a few scattered people wearing green robes; these were officials of the eighth to ninth rank.

These minor officials usually do not have the opportunity to attend court. If they do attend court, it means that His Majesty or a high-ranking official has summoned them for something.

When the officials passed by the candidates, some of them didn't even glance at them.

Some, however, looked at them with kind expressions, stroking their beards and smiling as they walked away.

Most officials only glanced at the candidates before hurrying up the steps and into the Golden Hall.

Regardless of the officials' attitudes toward them, the scholars had no complaints, only staring intently at the departing figures.

He imagined the day when he would be dressed in a scarlet robe, rushing to court, and seeing which candidate had passed the imperial examination... Just thinking about this made him feel warm even when the cold winter wind blew, and his eyes would shine with an inexplicable brilliance.

I stood in the cold wind for almost half an hour.

After they had passed by only a few officials, Gao Zhongwu and several officials from the Ministry of Rites gave him a few words of advice.

"You're about to enter the palace," "Remember the palace etiquette the palace staff taught you yesterday," "Don't be impolite"...

At that moment, a series of greetings came from the distant Fengtian Hall, seemingly announcing the arrival of the emperor.

A dozen or so breaths later, the Hall of Supreme Harmony echoed with the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" from civil and military officials...

Hearing this chorus of praise, everyone's eyes lit up slightly, wishing they could be on that golden palace right now, paying homage to the Empress alongside the officials.

Today's court assembly will focus solely on the imperial examination for these candidates.

Not long after.

Then a young eunuch came to report that the Court of State Ceremonial was ready and the candidates for the imperial examination could now enter the palace.

Gao Zhongwu nodded.

With a wave of his hand, he led everyone up the imperial steps.

Fengtian Hall sits atop three tiers of white marble steps.

Ningnan continued to move to the left, while Hongfeng's group moved to the right.

Even Master Ning, who was visiting the Golden Hall for the first time, couldn't help but tense up, his palms slightly sweaty.

Three tiers of white marble steps.

As he stepped onto the stairs, he counted them: there were twenty-one steps on the lower level, and nine steps each on the middle and upper levels.

After counting the ninth level of the upper level.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

He looked up and saw a row of burly generals in golden armor, holding spears and halberds, standing at the entrance of the Fengtian Hall. Each of them had sharp eyes and was imposing.

Ning Nan took a small breath, then held it, remembering the eunuchs' words from yesterday: when stepping over the threshold of Fengtian Hall, one must never step on the threshold.

He lifted his leg and stepped over the nine-inch-high threshold.

The sky suddenly turned from a pale white to a golden yellow inside the palace.

The cold air seemed to be kept out, and the palace was warm as spring.

"I wonder how many stoves they lit," he thought to himself.

Tap, tap, tap, following behind Gao Zhongwu, he walked forward step by step, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the empty hall.

Both sides were filled with civil and military officials, but none of them made a sound, except for the sound of breathing.

"Thump!" Gao Zhongwu paused in his steps.

Ning Nan lowered his head slightly, and when Gao Zhongwu paused, he also paused.

The breath he had been holding slowly eased, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced left and right. About five or six feet to his left and right, there were two dragon pillars with gold leaf applied to them, and the officials were all standing obediently.

then.

After Gao Zhongwu shouted, "Your subject Gao Zhongwu, leading the candidates of this year's imperial examination to pay homage to Your Majesty!", he obediently led the way in bowing and saluting, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times, as instructed by the eunuch.

"This scholar, Ning Nan, kowtows to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

He said "I kowtow" in a loud voice, but he didn't actually kneel.

The eunuch who came to Ning Mansion yesterday said that His Majesty has shown leniency this time, and the kneeling ceremony will not be required tomorrow.

Ning Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

When the prince arrived in the morning, the scholars discussed the matter in hushed tones.

"We're only spared the kneeling ceremony thanks to this Prince; otherwise, we'd have to kneel and kowtow three times..."

Immediately, someone retorted with displeasure, "So what if you kneel and kowtow to the Empress three times? What do you mean by this, brother? Are you showing contempt for the Emperor?"

The man quickly shut his mouth; with just one sentence, he immediately understood the treacherous nature of officialdom...

The ceremony is complete.

From the stage came a drawn-out, eunuch-like chant:

"All candidates for this imperial examination, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Ning Nan and the other sixty tribute students shouted excitedly, their voices echoing throughout the Golden Hall.

Ning Nan, whose mouth was dry with nervousness, slowly straightened up.

As taught by the eunuchs, one must keep one's head bowed and eyes downcast, never looking directly at the emperor.

But as the head of the council, standing at the very front, he was actually not far from the seven-tiered platform where the Empress was located.

At this point, stand up straight and look straight ahead.

The steps of the high platform were less than ten feet away from him.