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

……

The results of the palace examination will be announced two days later, at the grand ceremony on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month.

I have to stay home and wait patiently today and tomorrow.

As Master Ning slowly walked out of the majestic palace gate with its red walls and golden tiles, snow began to fall again from the pale sky.

Looking up at the swirling snow, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

The handwriting is still too average, and some parts are written rather sloppily.

I write slowly, and in order to make time to copy it once, the polishing is not very good.

However, I never really wanted to make it into the top tier; I was content to be in the middle of the pack in the second tier.

As I approached the carriage, the snow began to fall heavier, with fluffy snowflakes drifting down. My eyes squinted slightly as a snowflake touched them.

Uncle Ping sat cross-legged on the carriage, rubbing roasted soybeans.

Located near the palace, the coachman carefully wrapped the bean curd skins he rubbed off in cloth, not daring to drop even a fingernail's worth on the ground.

"Wishing you, sir, success in the imperial examinations and a triumphant victory!"

The old coachman wrapped up the soybean skins, put them away, grinned, and shouted as he jumped off the carriage.

Since the first county-level examination more than three months ago, the old coachman would repeat a similar sentence after each exam.

Today's palace examination... is the final exam.

Master Ning smiled and said, "We've made it onto the list of successful candidates, but a resounding victory is not necessarily guaranteed."

Uncle Ping couldn't understand what the master was saying, so he just nodded, bowed, and put down the low stool with a simple smile.

The first month of the lunar calendar is almost here.

The city was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the couplets and door gods pasted on the doors were all brand new.

People on the street carried cloth and meat, exchanging New Year's greetings with smiles on their faces.

Several snowmen that hadn't completely melted were piled up outside a few houses.

Seeing that snow was falling again, some children wearing cotton-padded coats ran around the snowman, shouting and sniffling.

As night was about to fall.

The Ning family's carriage slowly drove into the side gate of the Ning family mansion.

……

……

into the night.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

The eight tables at the head of the table are arranged in a row.

The young eunuch, with his back bent, went back and forth, lighting lamps in various parts of the hall.

Eight high-ranking officials sat behind their desks, wearing scarlet robes representing officials of the fourth rank or above in the imperial court.

Each person held a blue writing brush, their faces dignified and authoritative, as they reviewed the imperial examination papers for this year's final examination.

"This strategy discusses the relationship between the Chinese and the barbarians, upholding righteousness and displaying remarkable talent and literary brilliance. However, it is devoid of substance; let's just leave it at that."

"This policy proposes a maritime ban, arguing that lifting the ban would bring a hundred harms and no benefits. This is a tired old argument and somewhat biased. However, it adheres to the laws of our ancestors and deserves a second-best rating."

"This policy discusses agriculture and sericulture, saying that the people should work tirelessly throughout the four seasons. They should cultivate the land during busy seasons and reclaim wasteland during slack seasons. In less than ten years, the cultivated land will double. Alas, the words of a scholar, who cannot distinguish between the five grains. (Chapter 2)"

"This policy debate on the distinction between Chinese and barbarians states that 'the laws of the Spring and Autumn Annals include the Chinese and exclude the barbarians, thus establishing strict rules for clothing and distinguishing between Chinese and barbarian peoples... Rites, music, and clothing are pure Chinese; a topknot and left-fastening attire are barbarian... I respectfully present my final thoughts, hoping that Your Majesty will make the final decision.' It was awarded the highest score."

……

Eight junior eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial were grinding high-quality Huizhou ink for the esteemed officials.

Meanwhile, several eunuchs were also present, responsible for guiding and circulating the comments of these adults.

Each article had to be reviewed by at least three of the eight officials, who would then give it a rating before the eunuchs would put it aside on the desk.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs arranged the candidates' essays in order of their highest ranking among the four essays, until the preliminary evaluation was completed.

Tomorrow afternoon, the officials will conduct a second evaluation to determine the final rankings of the candidates.

At dusk, officials from the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Court of State Ceremonial, and the Ministry of Rites would jointly present the top ten names to the Qianqing Palace, where His Majesty would make the final decision and select the top three.

Jia Shi'an, the Vice Minister of War, was only thirty-six years old. He was thin and wiry, with a dignified demeanor and bright, piercing eyes. He possessed a calming and captivating quality, and his appearance was like that of a lean tiger.

He held a pen in his right hand and a policy essay on the "debate between Chinese and barbarians" in his left, and frowned slightly.

When it comes to the debate between Chinese and barbarians, other candidates often follow the orthodox approach, saying that "the debate between Chinese and barbarians lies in clothing and etiquette."

This article, however, emphasizes "moral transformation" even more, saying:

"The clothing and headwear of the Han dynasty differed from those of the Spring and Autumn period, and were of the same origin as the Xia people. The clothing and headwear of the Tang dynasty differed from those of the Han dynasty, and were of the same origin as the Xia people. The clothing and headwear of the Zhao dynasty differed from those of the Tang dynasty, and were also of the same origin as the Xia people... Therefore it is said: 'Only those who spread the name of the Xia people to the four directions and bring the lands of the four directions under the rule of the Xia people are truly the Xia people...' It is also said: 'If one loses land to neighbors, loses temples to ancestors, and loses virtue to descendants, the country will perish and become barbarians.'"

Jia Shi'an's sharp eyes scanned the policy essay.

The clothing of people in the Han Dynasty was different from that of people in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Han Dynasty was a time of great prosperity and prosperity.

The clothing of people in the Tang Dynasty was different from that of people in the Han Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty was still part of the Chinese nation.

The clothing of the people of the Zhao Dynasty was different from that of the people of the Tang Dynasty; the Zhao Dynasty was still one of the various Xia states.

The true meaning of China is to spread its name far and wide, and to bring all the lands of the world under its control.

A nation that abandons its land and responsibilities, destroys its ancestral temples, and whose descendants lack virtue will ultimately become a barbarian state.

The light in Jia Shi'an's eyes flashed for a moment, then dimmed again.

The viewpoint in this "Debate on the Sinology" coincides with that of the "Strategies for Differentiation among the Chinese" written by the three Han Chinese Confucian scholars in the Northern Dynasties delegation. It seems that...

This must have been written by that prince from the Northern Dynasty.

Apart from that prince who went south in a grand manner to participate in the Southern Dynasty's imperial examinations and even proposed marriage to the Empress, other scholars probably wouldn't have dared to write such articles advocating for the Northern Dynasty.

He glanced at the two comments on the policy essay with a slightly heavy heart.

"A-level".

"Above."

Two red seals.

One of the dishes came from Xiao Shaocheng, the Minister of Rites.

One of the dishes came from Zhao Silang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

After pondering for a long time, Jia Shi'an sighed slightly, picked up his brush and wrote the two characters "乙上" (Yi Shang), and then stamped it with his vermilion seal.

According to the rules of the palace examination, if the ratings of the three examiners differ too much, for example, one gives an "A" and another gives a "C", then the three examiners must review the papers, raise the issue, and discuss it together to reach a final decision.

Jia Shi'an thought about it carefully.

I felt it was not the right time to create any further complications, and that it would be more sensible to first establish a so-called "alliance" with the Northern Dynasty.

He still gave him a "second-class" grade, which wasn't much different from the two officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Grading papers.

assessment.

Cover with a red seal.

The eunuch next to him picked up the article and passed it on to the next reader.

From the time night fell until the young eunuch came to the Wenhua Hall to change the "Hai" timekeeping tablet, Jia Shi'an had no idea how many articles he had reviewed, only that his wrists felt slightly sore.

Among these, apart from one policy essay on "rectifying officialdom," which carefully weighed the pros and cons and hit the nail on the head regarding the officialdom of the Great Liang Dynasty, and was given a "top-ranking" grade, none of the other policy essays were given a "top-ranking" grade.

However, the article he favored the most was still immature and lacked maturity.

The other two examiners, Grand Secretary Liu, gave it a grade of "A" (top-tier), while Grand Secretary Gao only gave it a grade of "B" (bottom-tier), which was a bit of a pity.

As night deepened, the wind howled.

Large, feathery snowflakes poured down, piling up an inch thick outside the palace.

The eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs busied themselves adding fuel and charcoal to the stove inside the hall to prevent the officials from catching a cold.

While he was ironing his hands on the hand warmer, the hunched-over eunuch handed Jia Shi'an the next article.

He glanced at the title of the article.

"Strategies for Agriculture and Sericulture".

At first glance, Vice Minister Jia, who was a renowned scholar of his time despite not holding an official position, was somewhat disliked.

The handwriting is terrible.

The writing style used in policy essays should be formal and elegant, with neat and clear characters.

Although this candidate also used the official script style, the handwriting was somewhat crooked and not neat.

Based on this handwriting, this policy essay would at most be rated as "B-level".