Song Xing: I am cultivating immortals in Qingcheng Mountain

Chapter 552: Enke begins, Jun Yu is surprised
As the morning light faded, the streets of Tianqi City gradually became lively.

Outside the Imperial Examination Hall, the bluestone road was slightly wet with dew, reflecting the rising sun and giving off a faint luster.

Under the phoenix tree, several scholars were sorting their exam baskets. One of them muttered in a low voice: "Governing with virtue is like the North Star... What's the next sentence?"

His companion patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "When you are in a certain place, all the stars will come to you. How late did you recite it last night? How come you even forgot this?"

"It was around three o'clock in the morning. Then I couldn't hold on any longer."

The man rubbed his red eyes and said with a wry smile: "This time the Enke came so suddenly that I haven't even practiced the policy paper yet!"

Not far away, Xiao Chong, Xiao Se, and Xiao Yu stood in front of the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, watching from afar the students queuing in an orderly manner.

Xiao Yu folded his hands in front of his chest, looking at these students with immature faces, he said slowly: "Second brother, they say that the imperial examination is to select talents for the country. This is the first time I have seen it this year."

Xiao Chong raised his head, glanced past these students, and looked towards the Imperial Examination Hall, the place that could determine the future path of thousands of students.

There is a plaque above the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, with four large gold-plated characters "Seeking Talents for the Country" shining brightly.

There is a door couplet on both sides.

"The best are selected based on their test scores, regardless of their humble or noble family background; the outstanding are selected by the ministers in white clothes."

After a moment of silence, he said, "Seventh brother, the governance of a country does not rely on one person, but on a group of officials. If you do too much evil, you will eventually perish. I hope you will take care of yourself."

Xiao Yu snorted and did not respond. If he had not known something about the situation from Minister Cao, he would have probably been deceived by Xiao Chong's righteous appearance.

But it's better this way. The other party has its own calculations, and he has his own plans. As for his sixth brother, Xiao Chuhe, he has almost no connections with the civil servants, so he is afraid that he will be powerless in this imperial examination.

Tang Lian, Lei Wujie and Sikong Qianluo, who came with them, stood under a big tree on the east side of the Imperial Examination Hall and started chatting with the candidates who came in one after another.

Lei Wujie scratched his head and said, "There are so many people here, it's even more lively than the sect conferences we saw when we were wandering around in the martial arts world."

"This is the imperial examination. How many people have studied hard for ten years just for this exam."

Suddenly a voice was heard, Lei Wujie subconsciously looked back, and saw a girl walking slowly towards him.

“Roi!!”

The person who came was Ye Ruoyi.

“Sister Ruoyi!!”

Sikong Qianluo saw Ye Ruoyi and greeted her.

"The imperial examination is related to the stability of the entire Beili. Over the years, the court has attached great importance to the imperial examination. Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has generally been the chief examiner of the palace examination. However, in recent years, the emperor's health has deteriorated, so Prince Bai and several other adults have jointly presided over the examination. In the end, he only showed up once."

Ye Ruoyi obviously knew more about the affairs of the court. Tang Lian and his companions had the support of Xueyue City, so they naturally had no problem with intelligence. However, the entanglement of the forces in the court was often difficult to explain with those things alone.

"In the past few years, Xiao Se has left Tianqi and the court. Not only has the court officials changed, but there have also been a lot of transfers. Many people don't recognize him anymore."

"The emperor sent Xiao Se to participate in the imperial examination this time. This is an opportunity for him."

Tang Lian seemed to have thought of something and looked at Ye Ruoyi. Indeed, from this perspective, letting Xiao Se show up in this Enke would be of certain help to his future growth.

"Miss Ye, are you saying that the emperor intends to train Xiao Se?"

When Sikong Qianluo and Lei Wujie heard this, there was some suspicion in their eyes. This emperor did not take life and death lightly. The position of the crown prince was still undecided, but it was just a means for the other party to balance the court.

It is understandable that he values ​​Xiao Se, but they don't believe that he intends to cultivate him.

"Hey, isn't that the scholar from yesterday?" Sikong Qianluo glanced at the crowd, suddenly paused, and pointed ahead.

Lei Wujie looked in the direction of her finger and saw Zhuge Jingxuan walking slowly towards him, holding a book in his hand and muttering something as he walked.

There were a few students dressed in the same way beside him. One of them patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Brother Zhuge, why are you still looking? It's too late to sharpen your spear before the battle."

Zhuge Jingxuan closed the book and shook his head, saying, "I'm not sharpening my sword, I'm just afraid that I'll forget it."

When he looked up, he happened to see Sikong Qianluo and the other two. He was slightly startled, then bowed and saluted.

Sikong Qianluo waved at him: "Hey, scholar, don't get pushed down again today!"

Zhuge Jingxuan burst into laughter when he heard this and was about to respond when he heard a commotion behind him.

When everyone looked back, they saw a group of elegantly dressed young men walking towards Tianranju, led by Cao Mingyuan, the son of the Minister of Works.

He waved his folding fan and said with a lazy smile: "Everyone, after today, we will serve in the same court."

Seeing the other party being so arrogant, a poor student nearby couldn't help but whispered, "You haven't taken the exam yet, are you so sure?"

Cao Mingyuan had sharp ears and sneered when he heard this: "Why, you don't believe it?"

He casually took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and waved it in front of everyone.

"Would you like to take a look at the topic predicted by the Southern Review Institute?"

The scholars around him suddenly became agitated when they heard this. Some of them couldn't help but move closer, but were stopped by their companions: "Don't look at it. It may not be useful to look at it."

In the final analysis, what was useful was not the topic predicted by the Southern Review Institute, but the father of the other party's Minister of Works.

Zhuge Jingxuan retracted his gaze, shook his head, and said to his friend beside him: "Let's go, the time is almost up."

At this moment, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall slowly opened, and the official from the Ministry of Rites stood on the steps and said loudly: "Examinees, enter the hall—"

The crowd surged towards the gate like a tide. Lei Wujie and Sikong Qianluo stood aside, looking at those faces that were either nervous, confident, or uneasy. They suddenly felt that for these scholars, this exam might be even more cruel than the swordplay in the martial arts world.

“How many of them can achieve their wish?”

Lei Wujie asked in a low voice.

Tang Lian sighed. How many people can get what they want? I'm afraid that 90% of people will not get what they want. The palace examination is the last part of the imperial examination. Generally speaking, there is no such thing as failure. But this time, the special examination is different. The joint examination and the palace examination are combined. Emperor Mingde will no longer come forward, and the three princes will do it for him.

"Nine out of ten things in life are not satisfactory, and this is true for most people. It will be the same for this Enke. In the end, only a handful of people will be able to succeed."

Ye Ruoyi sighed softly. What Tang Lian said was right. Among these hundreds of people, only a few could finally get what they wanted.

"In fact, they have come all the way to Tianqi and participated in this special exam. They are already better than ordinary people."

"As for whether or not we can achieve our wish in the end, it may all depend on God's will!!"

In the backyard of Xueluo Villa, Jun Yu suddenly opened his eyes with a look of doubt. He looked in the direction of Tianqi City Tribute Hall, as if searching for something. After a while, he frowned and looked away.

"what happened??"

“Did I feel wrong just now?”

(End of this chapter)