https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-488-First-Round-Crushing-Victory/13150990/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-490-The-Top-Scholar-s-Talent-Updated-/13151061/
Chapter 489: The Second Round, Heaven's Will
Chapter 489: The Second Round, Heaven's Will
"Your Majesty!"
Zhang Qufeng, who had spoken up for Lu Qi earlier, once again held his tablet and spoke up, "The examination has only reached its halfway point, and ending it now may seem inappropriate."
Although the Liang Emperor was a Wu Emperor, he was not cruel or impulsive. He would not behead a subject just for expressing their opinions or angering him.
Hearing Zhang Qufeng's words, the Emperor did not get angry but instead looked at his ministers, "Do all of you think that my decision is unfair?"
Zhang Qufeng kept giving his "colleagues" signals, urging them to stand together and persuade the Emperor to revoke his decision.
However, the other officials seemed to be collectively blind, lowering their heads and refusing to meet his gaze.
If the Jinwang and the Crown Prince were evenly matched, it would be difficult to determine a clear winner. In such a case, they could leverage their camp's advantages and argue reasonably.
But this round, the Crown Prince's victory was simply too brilliant, leaving all the descendants speechless.
Both of them had lived among the commoners for many years, but it was evident that Jinwang had clearly drawn a line between his past and his current status as a prince. Being a royal, having noble demeanor, elegant manners, and being well-read and reasonable was not wrong in itself.
If it weren't for the Crown Prince, Jinwang would have already been exceptional.
Today, the Crown Prince won by not forgetting his roots and by putting the people first.
The previous Emperor had said more than once, "Protect the people and rule, and none can stop you."
The Emperor was not testing knowledge but the ability to apply it for the benefit of the people.
Speaking of something he shouldn't, if the Crown Prince had been in charge of flood relief, perhaps those tragedies could have been largely avoided.
"Grand Agricultural Commissioner, what do you think?"
The Emperor passed the precious veto power to the Grand Agricultural Commissioner.
The Grand Agricultural Commissioner put the boiled seeds back into the hemp bag, bowed to the Emperor, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's victory is well-deserved!"
If even the Grand Agricultural Commissioner said so, who else could object to the result of the farming test? Prince Jin frowned, clenching his fist secretly.
Prince Ming patted Prince Fu, "We won! That kid won! The ten thousand taels are ours!"
Prince Fu covered his chest, which was almost slapped by Prince Ming, and said with restraint, "Sixth brother, I know you're excited, but don't get too carried away."
I think your silver is as good as gone...
Jiang Huifei was the most protective of her son. If he lost even a single hair, she would fight to the death...
Prince Ming, immersed in the joy of winning ten thousand taels, looked at Prince Jin's face, which was almost unable to hide his anger, and felt even more delighted, wishing he could ask a painter to capture the moment.
Zi Wu Xian Sheng was also proud, stroking his beard and saying to Gongsun Yanming, "Nephew, no wonder you didn't dare to fight yesterday. I thought you were being modest, but it turns out you have self-awareness."
Gongsun Yanming calmly replied, "It's only the first examination, and it just so happened that I drew the test question set by my senior."
Implying that Lu Yuan's victory was due to luck.
Lu Zhaoyan, seizing the opportunity, said, "My son is indeed a Qilin, even the heavens are helping him."
Everyone: "..."
Prince Ming asked in confusion, "What do you mean by drawing the test question?"
Lu Zhaoyan explained, "Yesterday, the ministers who went to the imperial study all set test questions for Your Majesty to draw from."
Prince Ming understood, "No wonder everyone reacted so strongly. It turns out it was Zi Wu Xian Sheng's question."
Zi Wu Xian Sheng: "No."
Prince Ming asked strangely, "You didn't write it?"
Zi Wu Xian Sheng opened his mouth, "I wrote one, but it wasn't this one."
Prince Ming asked, "What did you write?"
Zi Wu Xian Sheng: "Chest-crushing boulder."
Prince Ming: "..."
How much do you hate that kid?
Prince Ming asked Lu Zhaoyan, "Who put the farming test question in?"
Lu Zhaoyan thought for a moment, "Father Emperor."
Prince Ming: "..." I forgot he could also set questions.
According to the plan, there would be one examination per day, but no one expected Lu Yuan to single-handedly finish the farming test in less than half an hour.
The Liang Emperor thought for a moment and decided to continue the competition.
To accommodate the elderly ministers, they would take a short break of two quarters of an hour.
"Hey, hey!"
Prince Ming signaled to Yu Gong Gong with eye contact and a wave.
At this moment, the Liang Emperor was discussing something with two veteran officials. Yu Gong Gong pointed to himself, seeing Prince Ming nodding vigorously, and asked with his eyes what was the matter.
Prince Ming pointed to the farming scroll that he had closed, silently saying, "Take a look."
Yu Gong Gong turned his head and glanced at the Emperor, saying in a low voice, "Your Majesty."
The Emperor waved his hand, indicating that he could take it.
Yu Gong Gong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he hadn't acted on his own.
The Emperor seemed busy with other matters, but in reality, he was observing everything with his eyes and ears.
He handed the scroll to Prince Ming.
Prince Ming opened it and looked at it together with Lu Zhaoyan and Prince Fu.
They were shocked by what they saw.
They had always thought that their father Emperor only knew how to wield weapons and fight battles, but it turned out he had some knowledge as well.
The farming test question was comprehensive, even covering irrigation and autumn harvest.
Ming Wang clicked his tongue and said, "Good thing we finished early. Otherwise, we'd be here all day."
The Fourth Prince, Prince Qi, approached and asked, "Sixth Brother, may I take a look?"
Ming Wang closed the scroll and tossed it without hesitation.
Prince Qi barely dodged the scroll, quickly stepping back and catching it with his other hand. He glared at Ming Wang and walked away with an icy stare.
Fu Wang asked, "Shouldn't you be more respectful towards your Fourth Brother?"
Ming Wang humphed, "Even if I am, he won't remember my kindness."
Fu Wang glanced at the dragon throne, "But at least you'll avoid a beating."
Ming Wang suddenly felt a chill on his forehead and looked up to see his father's death stare.
His body trembled.
His pig-headedness had finally caught up with him!
Two hours later, the ministers who had left returned to the Jinluan Pavilion.
The Liang Emperor said, "Just now, I discussed with the two elders, and we've decided that for the upcoming competition, each of you will draw a question. Who wants to go first?"
Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Second Brother, you first?"
Lu Qi spoke seriously, "You're the eldest, you go first."
"Then I won't be polite."
Lu Yuan no longer pretended to be modest.
The little court attendant and another eunuch carried a table of scrolls. Lu Yuan casually picked one, "This one."
The little court attendant took the exam questions with both hands and walked up the steps to hand them to Yu Gong Gong.
Yu Gong Gong unrolled the scroll and read it, but hesitated to speak.
The Liang Emperor asked, "What's wrong?"
The ministers perked up their ears, all curious about the question.
Yu Gong Gong, looking troubled, said, "Livestock breeding."
Prince Jin's face changed again, "Livestock...breeding?"
His gaze fell on the scrolls. What kind of messy questions were written in those scrolls?
Agriculture was already absurd, but who put livestock breeding on the list?
They were selecting a Qilin, not a pig!
The officials looked at each other, all wondering which Elder Six had arranged for the Imperial Grandson to breed livestock. Everyone turned to look at the Grand Agricultural Commissioner.
The Grand Agricultural Commissioner quickly said, "It wasn't me."
Fu Wang's gaze swept around, "Uncle, did you write it?"
Jiang Guogong said, "I didn't. Don't talk nonsense."
Fu Wang said, "My uncle used to be the Grand Livestock Supervisor."
Jiang Guogong's hair stood on end, "Didn't I tell you not to mention that?"
In his youth, Jiang Guogong, to stand up for his sister, had gotten the young Liang Emperor drunk and beaten up. As a result, the entire Jiang family was 'exiled' for three years, and Jiang Guogong served as the Grand Livestock Supervisor for three years.
After releasing over a thousand horses for so many days and nights, who would understand?
His suffering, he wanted the Liang Emperor's grandson to taste it too!
A gentleman's revenge is never too late.
The Liang Emperor said, "Continue."
Yu Gong Gong carefully examined the question, making sure he wasn't seeing things, and read aloud, "Release a thousand sheep."
The Liang Emperor: "..."
Soon after, Jiang Guogong was escorted out!
Livestock breeding was out of the question, but where would the palace find a thousand sheep? It was a mistake to have let Jiang Guogong release sheep back then. He should have been sent to the border instead, saving all these years of trouble.
With Jiang Huiyi in the palace and Jiang Guogong outside, the siblings never had a moment's peace.
"This question is invalid."
The Liang Emperor declared.
"I couldn't possibly accept this."
Xiaodezi politely received the scroll and handed it up the steps, passing it to his godfather.
The Liang Emperor took noticeably longer to examine this scroll compared to the previous one.
Prince Jin held his breath in anticipation.
What did Qi'er draw?
Could it be a more challenging topic than livestock breeding?
Prince Jin had misjudged the nature of this competition from the very beginning.
He thought it would be a test for the top scholar, excelling in both literary and martial arts. Who would have thought that the officials would come up with such varied questions, and even 'Chest-Breaking Stone' was considered a serious topic.
After all, among the question setters, there were quite a few unruly military officials, like Jiang Guogong.
The Liang Emperor's expression was hard to describe: "This question is invalid."
Zi Wu Xian Sheng was disappointed.
It was so difficult to get back at that stinky kid.
Prince Ming laughed, "Oh dear, it seems like Heaven isn't showing much favor to this nephew of mine. Is it that the Qilin hasn't followed the will of Heaven and isn't blessed by the Heavenly Dao?"
Lu Qi never once thought of winning without competing.
It was all Zhang Qufeng's doing.
Prince Jin said, "Sixth brother, be careful with your words."
Prince Ming was a bit tipsy and was about to say more, but Lu Zhaoyan stopped him.
With one question invalidated, the next two would take turns drawing questions.
This time, Lu Qi went first.
Lu Qi picked the scroll on the far left of the first layer.
Yu Gong Gong read it aloud for everyone to hear: "Four Books."
Prince Jin breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but smile.
It turned out to be the Four Books.
This was Qi'er's forte.
Lu Lin Yuan, that fool, had definitely lost!
Next was Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan drew the scroll closest to him.
Xiaodezi handed the scroll to Yu Gong Gong.
Yu Gong Gong wanted to show it to the Liang Emperor, but the Emperor said, "Read it."
"Yes."
Yu Gong Gong unrolled the scroll and began to read, "Riding and Archery."
Lu Qi's expression also relaxed.
Whether it was the Four Books or Riding and Archery, they were both his strengths.
Although he had lived among the commoners, he had never been raised as a lowly citizen.
Since he could remember, his mother had told him: "Your father is a very powerful man, and he must have a great background. You are his son, and you also have noble blood running through your veins. You are not like those lowly commoners, so don't associate with them, and even less so, don't be one of them."
"One day, you will return to your father's side."
His mother sent him to a private school, enrolled him in an academy, and taught him the Six Arts. She wanted him to be knowledgeable and reasonable, to be like a noble young master, and to follow the rules.
This was also the reason why he lost to Lu Yuan in the Agricultural Examination.
He already knew Lu Yuan's past.
Although Lu Yuan had an extraordinary background, unfortunately, he had lived among the commoners since childhood, begged on the streets, slept on the streets, and later became a horse boy in the Xiangfu.
It wasn't surprising that he had beaten Lu Qi in the Agricultural Examination.
But from now on, Lu Yuan would definitely not win again.
He had lived like a slave in the Xiangfu, either as a horse boy or a book boy, and later he was sent to the Crown Prince's Mansion to charm the heir apparent. He only had the means to cause chaos in the court but lacked the knowledge to govern the world.
He would prove to everyone that he was the true guardian Qilin, the one worthy of sitting on the dragon throne and inheriting the royal bloodline of the Great Liang Empire.
The examination questions for the Four Books were different from the Agricultural Examination; they were not oral questions but were prepared in advance by the Hanlinyan Xueshi and Wujing Boshi.
Yu Gong Gong arranged for court ladies to set up two tables and two Putuan, and placed pen, ink, paper, and inkstone on each.
He took out the sealed examination papers, which were carefully inspected by several elders to ensure no tampering before distributing them to the two princes' tables.
The Liang Emperor also bestowed Putuan to the ministers.
Everyone sat on the floor and began to observe the Four Books examination.
Among them, some had participated in the imperial examinations in neighboring countries, and at this moment, they felt as if they had returned to the examination hall, experiencing the feeling of supervising the exams in the Gongyuan.
Lu Qi instinctively wanted to call someone to grind the ink, but he swallowed his words, ground the ink himself, picked up the Maobi, dipped it in the ink, and began to answer the questions.
Some ministers curiously stood up, stretched their necks, and glanced at Lu Qi's writing.
"The prince's writing has such a noble style!"
"Yes, it has the style of the Tai Fu. The Tai Fu is a good teacher."
"It's the prince's innate talent. I'm just adding a little flourish."
Everyone praised Lu Qi.
On the other hand, Lu Yuan...
He kept looking at the questions and never picked up his pen.
Everyone shook their heads, thinking that he had been so impressive in the Agricultural Examination, and they thought he was talented, but it turned out he only knew how to farm and couldn't read.
How could an illiterate emperor govern the world?
Prince Ming asked anxiously, "Second brother, doesn't your son know how to write?"
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