After Xiao Fubao's life was stolen, he became the favorite of everyone in the capital

Chapter 278 The Style of a General
After the announcement of the results of the joint examination, the palace examination will take place. The interval between the two is extremely short. Only after passing the palace examination can one become a Jinshi and obtain the real qualification to be selected as an official.

The palace examination is different from the metropolitan examination. Candidates will almost never be dismissed from the palace examination. It will only re-rank candidates through this examination, allowing all of them to pass the emperor's review and be given the title of "disciples of the emperor."

Therefore, compared with the joint examination, everyone was more relaxed in this palace examination.

Gu Mingda was carrying the examination basket and was guided by a middle-aged palace servant to the front of the line.

"Huiyuanlang, it's like this every year, with Huiyuan at the head." The white-bearded palace attendant explained with a smile.

Gu Mingda bowed to him to show his gratitude.

The middle-aged palace attendant had been castrated when he was young, and had been doing the work of guiding candidates for the palace examinations for many years. However, just because he was a eunuch, few of the candidates he met were willing to look him in the eye.

He was also prepared to be looked down upon by these promising scholars, but he was met with Gu Mingda's gentle and calm eyes, as well as his polite and restrained attitude.

The middle-aged palace servant was paused and led the way backward. The second place candidate, with his eyes raised to the sky, waved his sleeves casually, said "got it", and then tried his best to avoid the middle-aged palace servant.

The middle-aged palace attendant had long been numb to watching this scene, but at this moment he still couldn't help but look forward to Gu Mingda, thinking that people like Gu Mingda were the minority.

After the team was lined up, the candidates who had just passed the imperial examination filed into the palace and, under the guidance of their guide, successfully arrived at the Taiji Hall.

There are already quite a few people waiting inside the Baohe Hall.

Four of the seven cabinet ministers came, and all the officials from the Ministry of Rites were present.

"It seems that many of the tribute students this year are talented, but it's a pity that Lord Chen can't see them." Lord Li sighed in a low voice to Lord Liu beside him.

Liu Ge Lao said: "There is no other way. Chen Ge Lao's grandson is also among them. He has to avoid suspicion."

When Li Ge Lao heard this, he couldn't help but show envy on his face: "The Duke of Xian's Mansion is really lucky. A 20-year-old tribute scholar is about to become a new Jinshi, and he is also the prince of the Duke's Mansion. He will have a title to inherit in the future. I'm afraid that people in the capital will fight for him this year. I don't know who will get this rich son-in-law."

After hearing this, Lord Liu just smiled and said nothing.

Li Gelao immediately looked at him with eyes wide open and said, "Could it be... that you are married to Brother Liu?"

Elder Liu shook his head slightly and said, "I have never interfered with the marriage of my children. If they marry into my family, shouldn't I avoid suspicion?"

Li Ge Lao asked: "Whose family is that?"

Elder Liu whispered, "Song."

Lord Song is the second in command of the cabinet. According to seniority, he will be the next chief minister.

Only then did Lord Li understand why Lord Song also avoided coming today.

He couldn't help but feel sad at this moment. He originally thought that his granddaughter's marriage was a good one, but now it's really a case of comparing goods to goods. How could the eldest son of the Earl of Jing'an compare to the son of the Duke of Xianguo?

He knew in his heart that these noble families would not marry into the families of their civil officials unless they were in decline. But now that Qin Jing had passed the imperial examination, the Duke of Xian's Mansion was on the verge of prospering again.

Lord Li thought of his granddaughter who was currently at home and was determined to cancel the engagement, and his head suddenly became overwhelmed.

At this time, Lord Liu had already started chatting with Lord Zhan, and said, "My wife really liked the play that was being put on in Lord Zhan's theater. We had Fuwang stewed food on our table for many days in a row."

After hearing this, Master Zhan still had a smile on his face and said, "This stewed food really tastes good. I also like it very much. No wonder the people in the opera are so greedy for it."

Elder Liu smacked his lips, as if he was savoring the taste, but he was well-informed and said, "I vaguely remember eating this stewed food in Guang'an Prefecture more than ten years ago."

Lord Zhan also became interested in listening to his story and said, "Such a delicious taste, it's a pity that I can only taste it now." Elder Liu said, "It was in a restaurant. It was said that the chef was the descendant of an imperial chef. During that period, the restaurant and the Li family had a fierce quarrel. Later, the Li family gained power. When I went to look for the restaurant again, it had changed hands."

When Lord Zhan heard him say this, he frowned slightly.

The Li family was originally just an ordinary merchant family, but now that Concubine Li is favored in the palace, their entire family has risen to prominence. Not only did their younger sister marry into the Duke Xianguo's mansion, but even Concubine Li's younger brother married the daughter of a wealthy family and became a high-ranking official.

It can be said that the civil officials and nobles were unwilling to submit to each other, but when it came to the in-laws, they all had a unanimous attitude and wanted to step on them.

It was just that the emperor doted on Concubine Li, and Concubine Li had no children, so sooner or later she would become a thing of the past, so the two ministers did not continue the topic.

Elder Liu changed the subject and said, "In this examination, in addition to Qin Jing, there are indeed several good candidates. The first place winner, Gu Mingda, wrote a well-balanced essay, which is quite similar to your style back then, Elder Zhan."

After hearing this, Zhan Ge Lao couldn't help laughing, but he didn't mention what he had seen with Gu Mingda. Instead, he said, "I actually prefer the third place article. It's gorgeous and quite good."

After hearing this, Elder Liu did not think much about it and said with a smile: "It's a pity that the third place is not as talented as his writing. I'm afraid he can't be selected as the third place."

Lord Zhan happened to look in the direction of these words, and suddenly his throat choked.

The third person's appearance was really not decent, with a face full of pits and bumps like a toad. Lord Zhan instantly lowered his head and even felt no liking for the article.

Gu Mingda didn’t know that the adults above were chatting. He had just been led to sit in the front seat.

The emperor had not arrived yet and there were constant whispers in the hall, but the overall atmosphere was still very relaxed.

Gu Mingda gradually calmed down when he thought about how his journey today was smooth without any setbacks.

"The Emperor has arrived——!"

Hearing this voice, the tribute students in the hall couldn't help but get agitated, and Gu Mingda instinctively wanted to stretch his head to watch the fun.

But the middle-aged palace attendant who had led the way suddenly reminded him, "Don't look directly at the emperor. Just sit still, Mr. Huiyuan."

Gu Mingda did not move after hearing this.

As soon as the emperor came in, some people instinctively wanted to kneel, while others hurriedly stood up from their chairs. The examination area in the palace suddenly became as noisy as a vegetable market.

The emperor frowned slightly when he saw the others making a fuss. When his eyes fell on Gu Mingda, his brows relaxed.

After the emperor sat down, an eunuch shouted, "Newly-appointed scholars, pay homage to the emperor!"

Gu Mingda stood up only after hearing the voice and respectfully bowed to the emperor sitting at the top.

After the ceremony, Gu Mingda did not stand up immediately, but waited for a moment.

The eunuch shouted: "The ceremony is over, stand up!"

Only then did Gu Mingda stand up.

But many of the tribute scholars behind him who were attending the ceremony for the first time had pale faces. Many of them had never had the opportunity to meet the emperor, and no one gave them any advice, so naturally the ceremony was a mess.

Until they sat down and received the test papers, they were still thinking about their impoliteness in front of the emperor. They felt anxious and uneasy, and it was inevitable that they were distracted when answering the questions.

Gu Mingda, on the other hand, behaved in accordance with etiquette from beginning to end. After receiving the test paper, he only had the test paper in front of him in his mind and worked hard to answer the questions.

The chief minister of the cabinet, Zhang Gelao, had not joined in the idle chatter of his colleagues before. After looking around at all the candidates in the hall, he sighed: "Hui Yuanlang is calm in the face of battle, and he has the demeanor of a great general."