My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 284 Palace Examination
The dim light of early morning fell on the dressing table. Xiao Jiu sat in front of the bronze mirror, looking at the ambitious and handsome face in the mirror and smiled slightly.

It had been several days since the last plan against the emperor unexpectedly failed. Although Xiao Jiu had already thought of the next more vicious plan, he had been lying dormant.

The reason was very simple. The last failure made her extremely annoyed. Therefore, she secretly decided in her heart that she must not make any mistakes next time and must succeed in one fell swoop!
In this case, a more comprehensive arrangement is naturally needed.

Therefore, she decided to follow the original script, take part in the palace examination, win the first place in one fell swoop, become the new top scholar, and then start formal action after she has the identity that allows her to approach Chu Lu legitimately.

"Master, the master is here." At this time, a maid's voice came from outside the door.

Xiao Jiu suppressed the expression on his face, restored his usual calm and capable appearance, stood up and said, "Please let father in."

Not long after, a middle-aged man with an elegant face walked in. It was Xiao Jiu's father in this life, Canaan Bo. He looked at Xiao Jiu with some worry and concern in his eyes.

"Jiu'er, today is the palace examination, and your father has come to see you." Jiananbo paused, his expression somewhat gloomy, "Your mother...she suddenly contracted an acute illness a few days ago, and is now bedridden and unconscious. Your father knows that this must worry you, but the palace examination is approaching, so you must not let it mess your mind. Your mother will be taken care of by your father, you just need to take the exam with peace of mind and perform well. Don't let down all these years of hard study, and don't let down your mother's expectations of you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu showed just the right amount of worry and filial piety on his face. He stood up and said respectfully, "Don't worry, father. I know the seriousness of this matter. I am concerned about your illness, but I will not delay the palace examination because of it. After the examination, I will personally go to your bedside to serve you."

She sneered in her heart. She naturally had no worries about her mother's illness, after all, she had arranged it herself.

As for the palace examination...

Thinking of this, a confident arc appeared on the corner of her mouth.

In her original work, the emperor deliberately made things difficult for her by giving her a difficult question that had never been asked before or since. The other candidates were frightened so much that they turned pale and scratched their heads. Only she was neither anxious nor slow, and had a calm attitude. She easily gave a brilliant answer, perfectly solving the difficult question given by the emperor, and thus astonishing everyone!
This time will naturally be no exception.

After Canaanbo left with numerous instructions, the sadness on Xiao Jiu's face instantly faded away, leaving only cold determination.

She looked in the mirror, adjusted her clothes for the last time, and smiled contemptuously.

——Group leader, you can’t escape from my palm!
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is solemn and dignified.

The morning light shone through the carved window lattices, onto the golden brick floor, reflecting a faint halo. Civil and military officials stood on both sides, holding their breath and concentrating. On the throne, Chu Lu was wearing a dragon robe, his face as gloomy as water.

After a lengthy opening ceremony, the officials of the Honglu Temple called out the names of the new candidates, and the new candidates filed in and stood in their designated positions in order, with Xiao Jiu at the head. She held her head high and her eyes were blazing, as if she had already regarded the title of No. 1 as a sure thing.

In fact, the palace examination in real history had an extremely complicated overall process. From identity verification and receiving the number room a few days before the exam, to the day of the palace examination, the candidates wore official uniforms and entered the examination room under the guidance of eunuchs; and then the emperor personally wrote the examination papers. Most of the questions were about the national economy and people's livelihood. After the examiners read them out in court, the candidates had to complete thousands of words of magnificent essays independently within one day without any reference. During this period, it was strictly forbidden to whisper. After answering the questions, they had to be transcribed with a red pen to prevent the handwriting from being recognized, and then the initial examiner and the re-examiner would review them layer by layer, strictly implementing the policy of covering the names to ensure fairness. In the end, the top ten papers would be placed on the emperor's desk, and the emperor would personally determine the champion, runner-up, and third place...

However, probably because it is in the story line of a female-oriented online novel, the process has been simplified beyond all recognition. It is nothing more than the emperor taking the throne, all officials paying homage, and the tribute students coming forward one by one to pay their respects. The palace examination has even been changed to a format in which Chu Lu asks questions on the spot, and then everyone answers them on the spot.

Chu Lu guessed that the author either didn't know and was too lazy to look up information, or couldn't figure out how to write a plot in real life where the heroine would pretend to be cool and then get slapped in the face, so he simply changed it to this form that fits the stereotype quite well.

But he was too lazy to care.

Chu Lu's eyes swept over the candidates below, and finally landed on Xiao Jiu. He communicated with Qin Su in his mind: "Qin Su, in Xiao Jiu's story line, what questions will the emperor ask in the palace examination?"

"According to the information, the question raised by the emperor in the palace examination in the original book was: 'Our dynasty has been established for more than a hundred years, and the aristocratic families, noble families, and upright officials are intertwined. The number of officials has increased greatly, and redundancy has become a serious problem. What do you think should be done?'" Qin Su responded quickly.

Chu Lu almost couldn't help but complain on the spot when he heard this: "Can such a question that shakes the foundation of the country and involves countless vested interests be directly put on the table and asked? Isn't this emperor too bold?"

He had originally thought that if the question was as simple as Jiang Miaoyan's last time, and it was insulting to one's intelligence, then he would have to change it temporarily. But now it seemed that there was no need for that, as the question itself was deadly enough.

So, he cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice, which echoed in the empty hall: "You are all the future pillars of our dynasty. Today, I have a question for you in the palace examination. Our dynasty has been established for more than a hundred years. The aristocratic families, noble families, and the upright are intertwined. The number of officials is increasing day by day. They are redundant and inefficient, which has become a major problem for our dynasty. What good solutions do you have for this chronic disease?"

When this question was asked, all the candidates in the palace looked solemn and fell into deep thought. Only Xiao Jiu had a gleam in his eyes and a smug smile on his face.

——Here it comes! This is indeed the problem!
In the plot of her original novel, the emperor asked exactly this question. And she, with her astonishing and grand speech, completely conquered the emperor and laid the foundation for her future power.

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I think this matter can be solved!"

"Oh?" Chu Lu responded without comment, "Go ahead."

Xiao Jiu cleared her throat and confidently began to explain the good plan she had prepared: "I think that cutting redundant officials and streamlining the bureaucracy may seem to affect a wide range of interests, but there is actually a reason to follow. Among the officials in our dynasty, there are indeed quite a few who got their positions through favors or appointments. They have no real job and have made no contribution to the country, but the court has to spend a huge amount of money to support them. Cutting redundant officials means cutting these people."

"However, these people often have strong backgrounds, and improper handling can easily lead to unrest. Therefore, my strategy is not to be tough all the time. The first thing is to establish a clear system for the promotion of officials. There will be a small evaluation every month and a big evaluation every year. Not only will the superiors evaluate, but also self-evaluation, supplemented by anonymous peer evaluation. If the difference in scores is too large, the court should send personnel to investigate in detail to clarify rewards and punishments. The assessment will only focus on political achievements, not seniority. Those who have not been promoted or demoted within five years must report to the capital with their direct superiors. Those who have no political achievements to report will be dismissed!"

"This move can not only promote talented people, but also serve as a warning to mediocre people to avoid being idle."

"The second is to bring all the officials who only have titles but no specific positions under the jurisdiction of the 'Emperor's Palace Supervisor'. All palace supervisor officials must report on time. The main duty of the palace supervisor is to assist the six ministries in handling official business. At the same time, the palace supervisor will hold an annual examination, which will not only test poetry, books, rituals and music, but also archery, horse riding, and arithmetic. The top three will be awarded the title of baron by the emperor himself; the top 100 can be alternates for vacancies in the six ministries and local areas; the bottom 100 will be relieved of their titles."

"Your Majesty, this way, those young men who enjoy the protection but do nothing will have the opportunity to obtain real jobs. No one will consider themselves to be in the last 100, they will only see the tangible benefits that those in the front can obtain. The road to the imperial examination is a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops, but this law opens up another way for them. Once this law is implemented, those who have benefited will take the initiative to suppress the voices of opposition, and the resistance to its implementation will be much smaller than expected."

"Your Majesty has gained, first, truly talented people who can pass the assessment of the government supervisor. After all, the noble families are not all good-for-nothings. Second, the useless people who have been cleared out one after another, and they cannot complain about Your Majesty at all, otherwise they will become enemies of more vested interests. In this way, the contradiction between Your Majesty and the noble families has been cleverly transferred to their own internal affairs. Your Majesty has only gained a good reputation!"

Xiao Jiu spoke at length, her voice sonorous and powerful, her expression confident. After she finished, she bowed slightly, waiting for the emperor's praise and the ministers' admiration, just like in the original novel.

At the same time, the heroine's halo quietly emerged behind Xiao Jiu, as if there was an invisible force setting off her figure, making her exude a convincing charm.

In an instant, there was an irrepressible cry of exclamation and praise in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Great! This strategy is truly earth-shattering! Unheard of!" An old minister stroked his beard, his eyes shining.

"Yes, yes. Mr. Xiao's remarks directly point out the long-standing problems of our dynasty and provide such a comprehensive solution. He is truly a pillar of the country!" Another official nodded repeatedly with admiration on his face.

"God bless Dayan! Such a genius, with a broad mind and a sharp vision!"

"Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading! Mr. Xiao's insights are really enlightening!"

Even those candidates who had originally looked hesitant now showed expressions of sudden enlightenment and genuine conviction. They whispered to each other and praised Xiao Jiu's talent, as if what she proposed was the irrefutable truth and the only way to save the country from disaster.

Xiao Jiu's face became more and more proud. However, after hearing this, Chu Lu, who was sitting on the throne, had no expression on his face, but instead sneered in his heart.

At first, seeing Xiao Jiu's confidence and eloquence, he thought Xiao Jiu really had some substance, and was worried that he might not be able to refute it, after all, he didn't have much achievements in this area. But as he listened, this worry disappeared.

This set of arguments seemed to make sense and interconnected, but in fact it was just the level of a keyboard warrior. Although Chu Lu himself could not think of a better solution, there was no problem if it was just a simple rebuttal.

"Are you done?" Chu Lu said lightly.

Xiao Jiu was stunned. The emperor's reaction was very different from what she expected, but she still replied respectfully: "Yes, the student has finished speaking."

"Hmph," Chu Lu snorted with an ambiguous meaning, and his tone suddenly turned harsh. "What a 'diverting contradiction', what a 'only good name'! Let me ask you, who is in charge of your 'Emperor's Palace Supervisor'? Who sets the assessment standards? Who supervises the judges? You only want to set up a new government office to house redundant officials, but you don't think that this will itself give rise to new places for power to seek personal gain and breed new corruption! By then, this 'Emperor's Palace Supervisor' may become a new battlefield for some people to place their cronies and exclude dissidents!"

"Furthermore, your statement that 'the vested interests will take the initiative to suppress the voices of opposition' is even more wishful thinking! Will those officials who you have classified as outside the 'top 100' and their families be willing to be killed? Will their combined strength be less than your illusory 'vested interests'? If they collude with each other internally and externally, and pretend to obey but secretly disobey, won't your so-called assessment be just empty words?"

"And your 'monthly small evaluation and annual big evaluation' sounds sophisticated, but it's actually extremely cumbersome! It adds countless paperwork and consumes a lot of manpower and material resources. In the end, I'm afraid it will only support a group of officials who are specifically responsible for 'evaluation', while the real people who work hard will be dragged down by these endless evaluations! How is this different from having too many people for the job?"

"As for the so-called 'if there is no promotion or demotion for five years, you must report to the capital', it seems fair, but it is actually a one-size-fits-all approach! Local affairs are complicated, how can they be quantified and compared? Some officials work quietly and concentrate on governing a region, and it is difficult to see remarkable achievements in the short term, but they are forced by your rules to be eager for quick success and even take risks and falsify their achievements. Have you ever thought about the consequences of this?"

"You keep saying you want to help the country, but in reality you are just talking on paper and having wild ideas! The strategy you proposed may seem brilliant, but in reality it is not well-founded and not well-thought-out. It is a naive plan that only a child who has no idea where power comes from can come up with! If you really implement it as you said, not only will it not solve the problem of redundant officials, but it may also cause unrest in the government and the country! Absurd! Ridiculous!"

Chu Lu's words came down like a string of cannonballs, criticizing Xiao Jiu completely.

The confidence and pride on Xiao Jiu's face had long since disappeared, replaced by a look of dismay and disbelief. She opened her mouth and wanted to argue, but found that every word Chu Lu said hit the nail on the head, leaving her with no way to refute.

How is this possible? This is not the case in the original novel! The emperor clearly praised her plan!
Seeing her distraught look, Chu Lu was too lazy to say anything more. He directly picked up the red pen and made a heavy stroke on the list in front of him, saying coldly: "Such empty talk is of no use! Xiao Jiu, your essay for the palace examination is ranked last!"

Last?!
Xiao Jiuru was struck by lightning and was completely stunned. She had fallen from being the most confident champion in the imperial examination to the last place in the palace examination in an instant. This huge gap made her almost unable to stand steadily. She even had tears in her eyes, with a sense of grievance that she wanted to cry.

After Chu Lu said this, he did not look away immediately, but stared at Xiao Jiu, secretly alert in his heart. He was ready. If Xiao Jiu got angry and attacked on the spot, he would temporarily avoid her and wait for a chance to kill her later.

However, to his surprise, Xiao Jiu did not get angry.

She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to defend herself, but in the end, her lips only moved a few times, her throat was dry, and she couldn't say a word. The halo of the heroine behind her had long since disappeared without a trace, and the confident momentum was gone.

In the end, Xiao Jiu retreated step by step in a daze, looking particularly desolate, amid the sympathetic or gloating gazes of his colleagues.

Seeing this, Chu Lu raised his eyebrows slightly, and a trace of surprise flashed through his mind. This reaction... was too calm.

The palace examination ended in a strange atmosphere.

Back at the Yangxin Palace, Chu Lu asked in his heart, "Qin Su, what's wrong with Xiao Jiu? I thought that even if she didn't go crazy like Jiang Miaoyan, she would at least struggle a few times. But she just gave in like that?"

"It's indeed a bit abnormal." Qin Su's voice was also a little puzzled, "This doesn't fit the general style of a heroine."

Chu Lu stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Wait a minute, something's wrong..." He suddenly woke up and said, "Qin Su, why did Xiao Jiu suddenly send someone to drug me before?"

"Ah?" Qin Su was stunned, and answered subconsciously: "Of course it's because you are the emperor, and the story line requires... eh?"

At this point, Qin Su suddenly reacted.

"Yes, the story line requires it!" Chu Lu pointed out the key point, "Before, those heroines gave me trouble because of the requirements of their respective story lines. But what about Xiao Jiu? As a fake consort, her goal should be to climb up step by step through imperial examinations, marriages, etc., and finally gain power, avenge her family, and support the princess to ascend the throne.

In this process, the emperor is her important target or springboard. There is no reason for her to use such extreme means to deal with the emperor before the palace examination! Not to mention that it is in line with the story line, it will damage the story line! She shouldn't do this at all!"

Because he had been troubled by various heroines one after another before, Chu Lu didn't really think about Xiao Jiu's motives for a while, and just thought he was another person with a confused mind. Now that he calmed down and thought about it, he found the logical loophole.

Qin Su also reacted: "Yes, it is true."

"And she was willing to damage the story line in order to attack me, but after failing she acted so restrained, as if she was afraid of being discovered something was wrong. This is even more strange." The more Chu Lu thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

"She would attack you for no reason other than to defend the storyline. The only possible reason is that she doubted your true identity. But if that were the case, her actions should have been more radical." Qin Su agreed and continued to analyze, "And if she had no doubts, she shouldn't have attacked you before. It's so inconsistent that it doesn't make sense. It's really weird."

Chu Lu's eyes flashed: "Unless, her target was not me, the emperor, from the beginning!"

He took a deep breath, connected all the clues together, and a bold guess emerged in his mind.

"Qin Su, do you think there is a possibility?" Chu Lu said slowly, "Because of my previous misleading, Fei Wu and the others believed that the group leader was secretly protecting me. So when they looked everywhere for the group leader but returned in vain, they naturally thought of this in distress."

"So, they came up with a plan - to force the group leader to show up by attacking the emperor! Their attacks on me were all performed for the group leader to see!"

"In this way, both problems are explained. The reason they acted was to lure out the group leader. And the reason they acted so restrained was because they did not dare to do things too radically, so as not to expose their plans and intentions and arouse the group leader's vigilance.

They need to find a balance. They have to put me in danger so that it seems that I will be doomed if the group leader doesn't show up, but they can't abuse the halo of the heroine. They have to make it seem like I am following the natural result of the story line, so as to prevent the group leader from just giving up.

Considering that catching the group leader is a serious matter, and they are not clear about the group leader’s true purpose, it is normal for them to be so cautious.”

Qin Su was silent for a moment, digesting Chu Lu's inference, and then said: "It is really possible. If this is true, it is actually a good thing for us. At least before they are completely sure, they dare not easily tear their faces and kill you, so we have more room to delay time."

"That's right. However," Chu Lu changed the subject, "this is just our guess. Next, we still have to observe carefully to see what actions they will take next, so as not to make a wrong judgment and end up in tragedy."

Qin Su nodded, agreeing.

(End of this chapter)