Misty Rain of the Old Times

The hall was so quiet that one could clearly hear people's breathing and the rustling of pens touching paper. In such an atmosphere, some of this year's successful candidates had throat discomfort but were trying hard to hold back their coughs. They had finally made it this far, and if they misbehaved in front of the hall and lost their fame, they would probably want to die.

The ministers around waited patiently for a group of younger generations to answer, without making any noise to disturb them, and even kept their voices low when they were talking. Those successful candidates who were writing furiously would be their colleagues in the future, and it was very likely that they would serve in the same hall or even surpass them without them noticing.

Some waiting ministers looked at the successful candidates of this year's imperial examination with a sigh in their hearts. This moment was just like that moment. They had also been through this step. They had also been cautious and walked on thin ice. Unknowingly, they had all become old hands in the officialdom in a blink of an eye.

Gao Jingming, who was writing furiously, paused for a moment, his posture unchanged, but his eyes looked around. He had a strange feeling in his heart, as if someone was peeping at him in secret, and he was very familiar with that feeling.

"Could it be that Ah Xuan is watching from the dark? Could he have sneaked in? No way, he is indeed very capable, but how can he mess around in a place like this?"

Considering Chen Xuan's lawless character, he might really do something like this.

You must have been overthinking it. A Xuan is not a person without sense of propriety, and he himself has no interest in things like the imperial examination.

Putting his thoughts aside, Gao Jingming forced himself not to think too much and continued writing furiously...

The little princess watched secretly for a while and then looked away, feeling a little bored. The so-called palace examination was different from what she had imagined. It was not as fun as the usual court affairs. During court affairs, she could see ministers quarreling, and sometimes they would roll up their sleeves and fight. It was much more exciting and interesting than this.

She looked away and saw that Chen Xuan seemed to be itching all over and was still scratching his butt. She laughed and said, "Brother Xuan, are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah? No... Yes, Xianning, how about you help me scratch it?" Chen Xuan turned around and changed his words in time. It was fun to tease the little princess, and the girl's blush was better than anything beautiful in the world.

As expected, her cheeks flushed slightly and she said unwillingly: "Brother Xuan only knows how to bully me, bad guy"

"How did I bully you?" Chen Xuan continued to tease her.

The embarrassed little princess rolled her eyes and said with a smile: "Okay, then I will help Brother Xuan scratch it."

Immediately, under Chen Xuan's expectant gaze, the little princess raised her hand and placed it on his waist. She pinched the soft flesh with her small hand and twisted it hard, humming, "Brother Xuan, do you feel comfortable with the tickling I gave you?"

"Hiss, be gentle," Chen Xuan said with a fake gasp and a grin. It didn't hurt at all, but rather a little numb and itchy. He just pretended to cooperate to give the girl some face, otherwise she would not feel a sense of accomplishment.

At the same time, I was speechless. Could it be that girls of all ages can learn this technique of pinching soft flesh without any instruction?
She glared at Chen Xuan and said, "See if you dare to bully me again." After a pause, she said with a bit of distress, "Does it hurt? How about I rub it for you?"

"It hurts, it's probably all blue," Chen Xuan nodded, as if it were real.

Rolling her eyes beautifully, the little princess said, "You deserve it. Then you can suffer the pain. I won't fall for your tricks."

A group of successful candidates were struggling for their fate next door, while the two of them were flirting over here. They really had the same people but different fates.

This interruption no longer concerned Chen Xuan about what was happening next door. No matter how their fate would affect him, even if it was Xiao Gao, Chen Xuan would not intervene actively. He had to make his own way.

The little princess sat down on the side and said boredly, "Oh, I'm hungry. Brother Xuan, do you want to eat something?"

It was already past noon, and all the food he had eaten in the morning had already been digested. Chen Xuan replied with a single word and nodded, "Eat."

Then the little princess ordered the eunuchs waiting nearby to bring some food. Then she thought of something and looked at Chen Xuan, covering her mouth and laughing.

"Xianning, what are you laughing at?" Chen Xuan, who was sitting next to her, asked curiously.

She immediately put away her smile, shook her head and said, "Nothing, I just remembered something happy."

"Could it be that someone gave birth to a child?" Chen Xuan was speechless.

The little princess burst out laughing and said, "You told me this joke a long time ago, it's not funny at all, hehe."

She was actually thinking about how the old emperor always called Chen Xuan a pig, and then when she asked him if he wanted to eat something, Chen Xuan agreed immediately, which she found very funny.

In short, for people you care about, even the smallest things can trigger their emotions.

After a while, eunuchs and palace maids brought food one after another. The two of them ate and talked while waiting for the results next door.

On the dragon throne next door, the old emperor was not staring at the group of scholars below all the time. He only looked up occasionally, and more of his attention was focused on the memorials in front of him.

As he looked, he glanced towards the next door and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

As an emperor, his every move was watched by countless people. Some sharp-eyed ministers noticed his expression and thought to themselves, "Your Majesty, has something happy happened to you? It seems that you should be able to relax today. If Your Majesty is happy, then it will be a sunny day."

After putting down the memorial, the old emperor glanced at the hall below, then raised his hand to signal to the humble Eunuch Wang beside him. Then Eunuch Wang said something to the side and helped the old emperor out of the hall in full view of the crowd. This kind of situation happened frequently. The emperor was not a sculpture, and he was old. It was normal for him to move around or go to the next room to rest after sitting for a long time.

However, his action made many of the Jinshi candidates nervous. They sat upright and uneasy. Could it be that His Majesty was coming to inspect? They had to perform well.

It turned out that they thought too much. The old emperor went to the next room behind the curtains and beaded curtains without looking back.

As soon as he arrived, the old emperor was furious when he saw his daughter and Chen Xuan chatting and laughing while eating and drinking. He lowered his voice and gritted his teeth and said, "You little bastard, is this a place you can come to? I'm so sore from sitting over there, and you're so uncomfortable here. This is really unreasonable!"

This was jealousy. There was something else going on next door. Chen Xuan didn't argue with him. He stood up and said, "Uncle, please sit down. Would you like to have something to eat?"

"Father, please sit down and rest. You must be tired. Let me massage your shoulders," the little princess also followed to comfort him.

The two of them sang the same tune, making the old emperor lose his temper. He sat down and said with great relief: "Little Fuyao still knows how to feel sorry for his father." Then he looked at Chen Xuan with disgust and said: "What's the point of you coming to see me, you unmotivated brat? If you have the ability, work hard on your own. Who knows, you might be the one sitting next to me. If you really want to sit there, even if I am arbitrary and tyrannical, I will still... Humph"

"What do you want? Give me the top scorer?" Chen Xuan said speechlessly as he handed him the bowl and chopsticks.

Lao Deng snorted, "You? You're the top scholar, do you think you can do it? I want to send you to dig in the bitter cold."

"What you said is true. Not to mention that I am not there, even if you throw me into a bitter and cold place, mountains of swords and seas of fire are nothing to me," Chen Xuan said indifferently.

Thinking of Chen Xuan's cultivation, it was really like this. The old emperor was speechless and said, "Look at what you can do."

Not to mention, when he was next door, he was an old emperor with endless majesty, but when he was with Chen Xuan, he was like an old naughty boy next door, extremely relaxed, as if all his worries had gone away.

A few people ate and drank, and amused themselves for a while, when eunuch Wang beside them coughed lightly to remind them.

The old emperor put down his chopsticks with a reluctant look on his face and said, "It's almost time, you little brat, behave yourself! If you dare disrupt the palace examination, I will... I will confine little Fuyao to house arrest for three months!"

The little princess was stunned. No, what does this have to do with me?

The old emperor stole a moment of leisure and went back to preside over the palace examination. From the first time he met Chen Xuan until now when he knew Chen Xuan's cultivation, he never talked about any family or national affairs. They were just like ordinary friends regardless of age difference, never talking about serious matters.

The fact is that a single word from the two of them can decide the fate of countless people. The old emperor does it based on his status and position, while Chen Xuan does it based on his strength. Precisely because of this, they deliberately avoid these things, tacitly, without any purpose, and it is extremely pure.

The old emperor, returning to the throne, regained his composure and dignity. After a moment, he nodded slightly, and Eunuch Wang spoke, "It's almost time. Everyone, please stop. It has been a difficult journey. Thank you for your hard work. His Majesty has received such talented people, and has specially granted you a banquet of honor. I hope you will be diligent in serving the country and live up to your learning."

About an hour had passed since the group of this year's Jinshi candidates had been answering their questions. When Eunuch Wang finished speaking, it didn't matter whether they answered well or whether they had finished writing what they wanted to express.

The palace examination is not an imperial examination, so they won't be given too much time. What is tested is their ability to adapt to circumstances and handle affairs. Could it be that they are making the emperor wait for them?

So all the scholars of this year's imperial examination stopped writing, some nervously, some calmly, and some still wanting more. They all stood up and saluted, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

A banquet of grace and honor, which probably only happens once in a lifetime, is awarded by the emperor. For them at the moment, it is simply the supreme honor.

"No need to be polite, my dear ministers, please take a seat," the old emperor said with a smile, then looked at the ministers around him and said, "Natural disasters have existed since ancient times and are difficult to predict. We can only make up for them later. My dear ministers, please circulate them and see what good plans I have to deal with them."

This statement indicated that the palace examination had reached its most critical moment. The answers of this year's successful candidates needed to be judged by the ministers, which would determine whether they would be ranked in the first, second or third place.

Although they are all Jinshi, the top three rankings are related to their future achievements, so the Jinshi of this year are all nervous.

At the same time, a group of eunuchs came in and collected the answers and papers of the scholars, and distributed them to the ministers around them for circulation and evaluation. Another group of palace maids came and filed in, bringing meals and placing them on the tables of the scholars. Of course, the ministers around them had a share.

Chen Xuan, who was sitting next to him, took a moment to take a look, then turned back and smiled at the little princess, "Is this the Enrong Banquet? Just a plate of mutton, a duck, and a plate of fruit. A bit shabby, isn't it?"

"I don't know, it seems that this is the etiquette and rules," the little princess shook her head.

At this moment, a cold snort came from next door. Someone slammed the table and said in a deep voice, "Ridiculous! Such remarks are simply... simply unreasonable. As a scholar, how can I have the dignity to sit here? I am ashamed to be associated with them!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan's eyebrows jumped, and he thought to himself, here it comes, I thought the palace examination would end smoothly and without any incident.

As soon as those words were spoken, the entire council fell silent, and people turned their eyes to the person who spoke. Especially the group of Jinshi who had just passed the imperial examination, their hearts were hanging in the air. Who had written such inappropriate remarks to make this person so indignant?
Don't be yourself.

Even saying that it's shame to be associated with someone like that, to put it bluntly, is clearly saying that someone is not worthy of being here, and it's almost like saying that such a person should be stripped of their honor and thrown out... (End of this chapter)