Chapter 342: I can only help you here as a brother
On the fifteenth day of the third month of the year, the palace examination was held as scheduled.
At this time, it had just passed the fifth watch, the sky outside was still dark, and the moon was still hazy in the sky and reluctant to leave. Zhu Ping'an rushed to Xiyuan, where the imperial examination was held, under the moonlight.
In fact, theoretically speaking, the palace examination should be held in the Jinshen Hall in the Forbidden City. Before the Jiajing Emperor, all emperors held grand ceremonies or established princes and queens in the Jinshen Hall, including the highest-level imperial examinations and palace examinations.
The examination room for the exam is also in this hall.
However, we have an exception during the period of Emperor Jiajing. During the "Renyin Palace Incident" in the 21st year of Jiajing, the scene of the palace maid trying to kill the king left a very strong psychological shadow in Emperor Jiajing's heart, which caused Emperor Jiajing to hate the Forbidden City deeply.
After that, Emperor Jiajing no longer lived in the Forbidden City, but moved to Xiyuan. He devoted himself to cultivating immortality and refining elixirs instead of going to court. When ministers had something to do, they would go to Xiyuan to have an audience. From this time on, Xiyuan became the political center of the entire Ming Dynasty.
Center, the imperial examination was moved to Xiyuan.
When Zhu Ping'an rushed to Xiyuan, there was already a crowd of people in front of the Xiyuan Palace. Everyone was wearing clean and neat palace uniforms in front of the palace, excitedly waiting to step into the political center of the Ming Dynasty.
This is a small step in their lives, but it is also a giant step in their lives.
The Imperial Examination is only about rankings and not candidates. These people can pass the imperial examination reliably no matter how they take the examination. At least they are from the same background as the Jinshi. Even if they cannot enter the Imperial Academy, they will at least be divided into six departments to be chief ministers or be sent to local places to be county magistrates.
No matter what the situation is, if they take this step, their lives will be the pinnacle that ordinary people look up to. In the future, the ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty will be closely accompanied by them, how can they not be excited.
"Zihou, come here." Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen waved to Zhu Pingan in the crowd.
"Ziwei, Wensheng."
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile when he saw the two of them. He quickly walked over in two steps, raised his hands to them in response, and then merged into a group of tributes waiting for the palace examination.
"Hey, Zihou, what's wrong with you? Why are you so haggard? The dark circles under your eyes are too obvious. Are you so excited that you stayed up all night?" Zhang Siwei just looked at Zhu Pingan after Zhu Pingan arrived.
At one glance, I was stunned by Zhu Ping'an's panda eyes.
"A person who is thick and calm shouldn't be like this?" Wang Shizhen also looked at Zhu Ping'an up and down, full of questions.
Under the questions of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, everyone who had not paid much attention to Zhu Pingan's arrival also cast their attention on Zhu Pingan at this moment, and the image of Zhu Pingan in their eyes looked like this:
Looking haggard, listless, dull, tired, dark circles under the eyes, dull eyes
If they are rice with full grains, Zhu Ping'an is the shriveled dry rice, the kind with dust and black stains!
Therefore, everyone could not help but look down upon Zhu Pingan. They did not know Zhu Pingan, let alone know that Zhu Pingan was Huiyuan. Just looking at Zhu Pingan's image, they attributed Zhu Pingan to the ranks of people with extremely low psychological endurance and embarrassing big responsibilities.
Passed! It’s just a palace examination, and I haven’t swiped anyone yet. I’m so scared that I’ve lost sleep and become like this. I’ll never be able to hold a big job in the future!
However, apart from Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, there were two other people in the crowd who were not surprised by Zhu Ping'an's image. They were not as contemptuous as everyone else, but they just smiled at the corners of their mouths.
The two people were standing together. One of them was Ouyang Zishi, who was being complimented by dozens of Gongsheng students. He came with him in the sedan chair of Mr. Yan Songyange. Many Gongsheng students saw it; except Ouyang Zishi, the other
One of them is one of the tribute students surrounding Ouyang Zishi, Xu Penghui, the third son of the Duke of Wei.
Both of them were in high spirits, refreshed, and high-spirited, which was in sharp contrast to Zhu Pingan's haggard appearance. The two of them glanced at Zhu Pingan, and smiled at the corners of their mouths. They wondered why Zhu Pingan looked like this.
It couldn't be clearer.
In the imperial examination room, there are many heroes vying for the throne. There is only success or failure. Who cares about the process? I will only talk about fairness to you if my brain is full of water!
"Congratulations in advance to Brother Ouyang." Xu Laosan's eyes were bright, and with a smile on his lips, he held his hand towards Ouyang Zishi.
"Brother Xu is joking, the palace examination has not yet started." Ouyang Zishi shook his hand slightly and smiled, but his face showed a confident expression.
At this time, in their minds, the overall situation of this palace examination has been decided, and the number one winner must be Ouyang Zishi! The palace examination rankings are almost just fine-tuning of the examination rankings. At that time, Zhu Pingan was first and Ouyang Zishi was second, but today Ouyang Zishi
The scholars waited for work with ease, and there were Yan Song and Yan Fu to rely on in the court. Moreover, Ouyang's scholar level was already high, and he grew up with jade trees in the wind, full of energy. Look at Zhu Ping'an at this time, he had not rested all day and night, and looked haggard and listless.
, the person is not handsome to begin with, and his image is greatly reduced at this time. In addition, it would be good if he can perform at half of his usual level today.
Why do you, Zhu Pingan, argue with me?
With such a comparison, there is no doubt that the number one scholar must be Ouyang Zishi!
When I came today, Yan Shifan said goodbye to Ouyang Zishi, "No third person dares to compete for the top spot in this issue, but you and Zhu Ping'an. As a brother, I can only help you so far. Let's see next.
It’s yours.”
Ouyang Zishi was a little worried at first, but now seeing Zhu Ping'an's appearance, his whole heart was in his stomach.
There is no second person to compete for the number one spot in this issue, and it must be me, Ouyang!
Ouyang Zishi, who was waiting outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace, looked at the majestic palace wall with firm eyes. The moonlight fell on him, casting a layer of silver light. In the eyes of all the tributes, Ouyang Zishi looked like this at this moment.
Great!
There were many people talking at this time, and it was not suitable to tell Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen the reason, so after Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen asked, Zhu Ping'an just shook his head slightly and explained with a wry smile, "It's a long story. I'll wait for this."
I will explain it in detail to you after the imperial examination."
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen also guessed a few points. They nodded, and then whispered to Zhu Pingan about the relevant precautions for this palace examination. In their eyes, Zhu Pingan was still young and usually focused more on knowledge.
, there is still a lack of common sense.
All the tributes waiting outside the palace gate also knew each other in small groups and smiled. They were all Jinshi in the same discipline this time, and they belong to the same year of friendship. When they enter the political wave in the future, they will be able to take care of each other.
A good man has three gangs, and a fence has three stakes. Everyone knows this truth.
As a result, the tributes who were rivals with each other outside the palace began to warm up while waiting. Zhang Siwei was good at dancing and chatted enthusiastically with many tributes, but Zhu Ping'an and Wang Shizhen were relatively lacking.
Just when the relationship between everyone of the same age was like boiling a frog in warm water, and it was about to be cooked, the palace door of Xiyuan slowly opened with a creak.
The palace door is open, here comes the palace examination!
Enke's imperial examination has officially begun! (To be continued.)