A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Li Bai turned back to the first page of the exam paper and picked up his pen to answer the questions.

Although these questions were extremely obscure, they did not stump him.

Even though there were many questions from Taoist scriptures that were beyond the scope of the curriculum, Li Bai was not afraid at all.

Don't you know that besides composing poetry and practicing swordsmanship, his favorite thing is Taoist scriptures?!

How rich is his background?

He studied under a great master and mastered the knowledge of many schools of thought.

Even if the question is incredibly tricky...

Li Bai wanted to say that no matter how tricky the question was, it couldn't escape his grasp, and then he saw a passage.

Why does this sentence look so familiar?

Li Bai looked at the question before him, but his pen wouldn't come down.

The questions don't seem difficult; they're simple fill-in-the-blank questions. You just need to fill in the sentence below this one.

But the key point is that this statement is about the principles governing the world.

Li Bai looked at him and found him familiar.

These four characters appear in various classic texts and have been quoted by scholars from all walks of life.

You can find these four characters in important classics of various schools of thought, including Taoism, Confucianism, Mohism, military strategy, Legalism, and Yin-Yang philosophy.

Therefore, the sentence following "When the world is in harmony" has dozens of possible answers.

That's so despicable!

That's absolutely despicable!

Li Bai could sense the malice of the person who set the question by its difficulty; it was clearly intended to prevent anyone from getting any points.

No matter which answer you choose, the examiner can mark it with an X.

Li Bai wrote the four characters "天下无道" (meaning "the world is without morality") on the back and looked at the next question with a blank expression.

Cultivate oneself and manage one's family well.

Fill in the blank with the same sentence below.

Let's put it this way: these four characters are present in any Confucian classic.

What silenced Li Bai even more was that the question of "cultivating oneself and regulating one's family" required a full 50 answers.

Even if Li Bai had read countless classic texts and possessed a photographic memory, he still couldn't answer 50 questions.

He could barely answer more than 30 questions, which was already his limit. He wasn't a Confucian scholar, so it was impossible for him to memorize every book in the Confucian school.

After thinking for a moment, Li Bai did not continue writing, but put his pen down.

He began to wonder what the examiner was trying to do this time.

No, perhaps it wasn't the chief examiner, but Li Linfu.

This exam paper was probably not seen by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang; it was Li Linfu who gave the hint.

Li Linfu did not want anyone to achieve good results in this imperial examination.

Why?

Even if he were the top scholar, he could not possibly threaten Li Linfu's position.

Surely they can't be so petty as to be afraid of talented people entering the court and seizing power from them?

A prime minister who has reached such a high position should not be so short-sighted.

But Li Bai couldn't think of any other answer besides this.

Could it really be like that?

King Chungmu once said that after eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining conclusion, no matter how bizarre or absurd, must be the truth.

Li Bai was speechless. Was Li Linfu, the prime minister of the court, really that serious?

And wasn't he afraid of being blamed by Emperor Xuanzong afterward?!

After considering Emperor Xuanzong's current incompetence and his trust in Li Linfu, Li Bai shook his head, thinking that it might actually be true.

If he hadn't participated in this imperial examination, Li Linfu might have actually succeeded in his treacherous scheme.

But that's impossible now.

A disciple personally instructed by the Prince of Yan, he participated in the imperial examination but failed.

This will cause a global uproar and an uproar both at home and abroad.

At that time, Li Linfu's underhanded actions would definitely not be able to be concealed. Even Emperor Xuanzong of Tang would have to severely punish Li Linfu to appease public anger and express his apology to the Prince of Yan.

Does this mean Li Linfu shot himself in the foot?

Thinking of this, Li Bai picked up his pen again. He had to finish the exam completely and do it brilliantly.

Otherwise, Li Linfu would have an excuse to say that Li Bai was not sincere in taking the exam and did not even finish the paper, so he could not be blamed.

After understanding the truth behind the exam, Li Bai stopped worrying and began to focus on answering the questions.

Especially in the later poems and lyrics, Li Bai responded with ease, his words blooming like flowers, utterly brilliant.

Based on his performance, he was undoubtedly the top scorer.

Now let's just wait and see what happens.

After the arduous examination, Li Bai and others met at the entrance of the examination hall, and Wang Wei also came to greet them.

The group exchanged glances, and all of them except Li Bai and Wang Wei wore wry smiles.

Just as Du Fu was about to say something, Li Bai interrupted him.

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Li Bai said.

The group noticed the seriousness in Li Bai's words and nodded in agreement, saying nothing more.

Back at Li Bai's residence, the group sat down in the courtyard where they usually gathered.

Du Fu spoke first: "Brothers, don't you feel that the difficulty of this year's imperial examination has increased by several levels compared to previous ones?"

"Moreover, some of the questions are rather complicated."

Gao Shi chimed in, "That's right, especially the questions about 'the world is governed by the Way' and 'cultivating oneself and regulating one's family.' One question only allows one answer, while the other requires fifty answers."

"To be honest, I only got 13 right."

Gao Shi only studied the main Confucian classics; how could he have filled in so many answers?

"I am better than Brother Gao. I have read a lot of Confucian books and answered more than 30 questions correctly."

Cen Shen smiled wryly.

"I only managed to answer about 20 of them."

Yuan Jie also gave a bitter smile, realizing he hadn't even reached half of the goal.

"I also have more than thirty."

Du Fu sighed, "And you, Brother Li Bai?"

Me too.

Li Bai also said helplessly.

"Brother Wei, was the imperial examination you took this difficult before?"

Cen Shen asked Wang Wei.

Hearing what everyone said, Wang Wei felt somewhat fortunate, as he had participated in the imperial examinations early on and had passed with flying colors.

If I were to participate in the imperial examination this year, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to pass, let alone become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Upon hearing Cen Shen's question, Wang Wei quickly shook his head.

"Our imperial examination that year was normal, just like any other year."

"You guys are really going to be ridiculous this year. Why would the imperial court issue such a test?"

Wang Wei asked in confusion.

The group looked at Li Bai together. If any of them knew the answer, it would undoubtedly be Li Bai.

"What I'm about to say is just for you brothers to hear; don't tell anyone else."

Li Bai suddenly became serious.

Several people nodded, stuck their heads out, and gathered together.

Li Bai voiced his doubts, which caused the others to look at each other in bewilderment.

"Is Li Linfu really that audacious?"

Cen Shen said, his face still showing disbelief after hearing the news.

"Isn't he afraid of His Majesty's wrath?"

Du Fu was equally shocked.

"He probably didn't expect Brother Taibai to participate in this imperial examination, did he?"

Gao Shi's expression was strange, but he was inwardly very pleased.