Chapter 4: The Storm of the Imperial Examination

  The sun sets with stars, a bright moon in the starry sky, within the majestic Bianjing Imperial City, at this time the sky is just slightly bright, and the snow has gradually stopped.

  Many officials had already gathered in the Zichen Hall. Before long, Song Huizong Zhao Ji walked in from the side hall with a tired yawn, looked around and casually sat on the dragon chair. The officials knelt down and shouted "Long live" in unison. Song Huizong Zhao Ji (also known as Grandfather of Zhao Xian) waved his hand casually and said faintly: "All loved ones, rise."

  As everyone stood still and returned to their positions, Emperor Huizong of Song nodded slightly towards his attendants beside him, then closed his eyes.

  The old man nodded his head and bowed, turned around and took a step forward, saying loudly to the officials: "If there is something to report, report it early. If not, dismiss the court."

  One person stood out from under the stage, and said in a loud voice: "I have an important matter to report." This man was eight feet tall, with an extraordinary appearance, his eyes were bright and piercing, his sword-like eyebrows and nose were sharp, his body had a hint of fierce energy, yet he also had a refined and elegant demeanor that made people surrender. He was Li Gang, the current Taichang Shangqing, who would later become the Right Chancellor, with the courtesy name Boji.

  Emperor Huizong of Song furrowed his brow, annoyed in his heart, with a hint of impatience on his face. Last night, Emperor Huizong had just acquired a new famous painting and after appreciating it for a long time, he suddenly felt inspired to paint one himself, so he didn't sleep all night and was now eager to go back and catch up on his rest. How could he have the leisure to deal with court affairs? Li Gang was surprisingly so tactless.

  Li Gang was also quite helpless, anyone could see the emperor's fatigue and impatience, let alone him who had been an official for many years. The military situation was urgent, and Emperor Huizong of Song had not held court for many days. It was a blessing from the Buddha that he came today, and Li Gang couldn't care about so much anymore.

  "I report to Your Majesty, the Jin State is treacherous and will surely intercept our retreating army. I request that you dispatch the Imperial Guard from Bianjing to provide support and protect our troops' morale."

  Before Emperor Huizong of Song could speak, a gloomy voice arose from beside him: "Why is Li You so anxious for Your Majesty to dispatch troops? Is there some unmentionable secret?"

  “

  "Wang Boyan! Don't spout blood from your mouth, I am a man of integrity, heaven and earth can testify!" Zhao Gang said indignantly.

  At this time, another voice replied slowly and calmly: "Lord Li has spoken too much, how dare a small country like Jin provoke the sacred power of our great Song Dynasty? Moreover, the two countries of Song and Jin have already signed a treaty of reconciliation and formed an alliance to jointly attack the Liao State's old enemy and recover the sixteen states of Yunyun. Is Lord Right Chancellor trying to hinder the Emperor's grand plan?"

  Zhao Gang was so angry that he almost vomited blood. The Song and Jin armies launched a two-pronged attack on the Liao State, but while the Jin army won a great victory, the Song army suffered a crushing defeat and retreated in disarray. In the end, they had to ransom back the sixteen prefectures of Yunzhou from the Jin army's occupation of the Liao State with money. This humiliation was still touted as a meritorious achievement, truly shameless.

  But if he continued to refute, it would be a slap in the face of Emperor Huizong of Song, because redeeming land with money was a "wonderful strategy" thought up by Zhao Huizong. Zhao Gang was tough but not stupid, and could only retreat without speaking further. Emperor Huizong gave a satisfied glance to Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan, who had just blocked Zhao Gang's speech, and immediately announced the end of the court session. The speed at which they left was many times faster than when they arrived. Zhao Gang had great prestige, and Emperor Huizong could not afford to offend him, so he could only hide and avoid seeing him as much as possible.

  Zhao Gang sighed helplessly, his heart filled with disappointment. With internal and external troubles, the Emperor was not thinking of making progress, and the Song Dynasty was in danger. However, it was useless to indulge in empty thoughts, so he could only leave the hall with a straight back, his figure seeming to have aged suddenly.

  Zhao Yan returned to the Ziyang Hall and directly entered the study room. De Heng had been waiting for a long time, and upon seeing Zhao Yan return, he spoke in a gentle voice: "I thought Your Highness would stay with the Crown Prince's consort, but you've returned so early. It's not yet time for dinner, but I've already prepared your favorite pastries. I hope you'll like them."

  Zhao Kan knew it would be too common to thank De Heng, who had been watching him grow up since he was a child. Smiling, he said: "You should rest early too, I can take care of myself."

  De Heng looked at Zhao Yan in front of him, wanting to speak but stopping himself. In the end, he didn't say anything and took out a silk scroll from his sleeve, placing it on the desk before turning around and leaving Zhao Yan's study. Actually, Zhao Yan wasn't afraid of the imperial examination at all. His knowledge reserves were from a thousand years in the future. The main thing to consider was whether answering well would be beneficial or pretending to be foolish would be more advantageous for himself. He had to leave Bianjing; it was too dangerous here.

  Zhao Yi thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, because the thoughts of ancient emperors were really hard to guess. He walked to the desk and picked up the brocade scroll, his brow furrowed, an idea struck him, he smiled slightly and began to organize his thoughts.

  A week later

  This week, Zhao Yi has been spending his days exercising and familiarizing himself with his equipment. Today is the day of the imperial examination, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhao Hui Zong woke up from his rare daytime nap, stretched his body, and was helped by his maid to dress neatly before heading to the Zichen Hall for the annual imperial examination. The imperial examination is a grand event that produces excellent works every year, which not only brings glory to him but also often praises him, who doesn't like flattering words? It's just human nature.

  Zhao Yin also arrived early outside the palace to wait for the emperor's summons. In the crowd, he saw Zhao Shenyu from afar and smiled and nodded in greeting, and Zhao Shenyu responded with a warm gaze. Before long, all six candidates who were going to take the imperial examination had arrived, including Zhao Yin and Zhao Shenyu, as well as four others: Zhao Mu, son of the King of Yue; Zhao Chunpeng, nephew of the King of Feng; Zhao Yueru, Princess of Dongnan; and Zhao Xiran, Princess De Rui.

  Four people are also dragon and phoenix among men, and the crowd of ministers who are waiting on one side at any time praise and praise them. They respond with ease, while Zhao Yin is not in mind, and Zhao Yin smiles lightly, also taking it for granted.

  Before long, a young servant came out and led the crowd to the grand hall. The grand hall had already been newly arranged, with six exquisite dragon-carved golden-edged desks in the center of the hall, on which were placed jade inkstones and jade pens. The paper used was also Anhui's raw rice paper, which was truly luxurious and worthy of royalty. Zhao Bian secretly sighed.

  Today, Zhao Hui Zong arrived at the grand hall within a quarter of an hour, calmly gazing at the crowd as they paid their respects to him. Without delay, he announced the start of the imperial examination, for this was an internal "evaluation" within the royal family and naturally did not require any pomp or circumstance. The high-ranking officials stood on either side, clearing the middle area for the imperial scholars, but when someone spotted Zhao Jian in line, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, though more people gave him disdainful looks - after all, Zhao Jian was still quite famous.

  The six people took their seats in the pre-arranged order, and after Zhao Jiong entered, one person kept staring at him. When Zhao Jiong looked back, they met each other's eyes, and this person was none other than Zhao Jiong's father, the current Crown Prince and future Emperor Song Qinzong, Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan looked at Zhao Jiong with an expressionless face, his thoughts unknown.

  Emperor Zhao suddenly said: "The willow tree in front of us has frozen to death, I find it a pity. This snow is sacred but lacks a hint of spiritual energy. Hmm, and this screen is not bad either. Now, let's compose a poem first, incorporating all the things I just mentioned into the poem. What do you few people think?"

  In fact, Zhao Hui Zong also suddenly came up with the idea and didn't hold much hope, because he knew that some of the students who came to this temple had been well-prepared by others, and there were also some parts where they could freely improvise to answer the traditional poems of previous years.

  At this moment, several people were stunned, the sudden situation was unexpected, and just as everyone was thinking deeply, a voice rang out: "Qing Cheng Liu Yue Yi, Dan Xue Lian Li Yan. Ping Feng Chu Hao Yue, Piao Miao Xian Kong Ling." This voice came from Zhao Tian, and Zhao Hui Zong also hesitated for a moment, not expecting someone to be so quick-witted, let alone the fact that it was Zhao Tian, who had always been known for his poor academic performance.

  Zhao Hui-zong was a master of poetry, although he felt that the poem was slightly inadequate and awkward, but it was still quite good considering the short time it took to compose. "Haha, good, good." Li Gang, who was meditating with his eyes closed on the side, also opened his eyes and glanced at Zhao Hui-zong. For Zhao Hui-zong, poetry was much more enjoyable than handling government affairs, so he naturally praised it.

  "Since that's the case, I'll also compose a poem." Zhao Hui Zong pondered for a moment and softly spoke: "Purple imperial palace moistens with gentle dew, drifting and spreading across the universe, lake mist veils the divine elegance, empty and transparent as auspicious joy."

  Huang Qianshan immediately stood up and flattered: "The emperor's words are indeed profound, making us feel like a sweet spring, with an aftertaste that is endless." Everyone likes to hear good things, and Zhao Hui Zong was no exception. He liked Huang Qianshan even more in his heart, and his eyes showed a hint of approval.

  A mandarin stepped forward and said in a loud voice: "Next, please look at your own composition topics."

  The examination questions had already been placed on the desk, and Zhao Yi casually flipped through them. As expected, they were the same as those prepared by De Heng. There was nothing impressive about the rest of the questions. Since the questions had been leaked, everyone naturally had an easy time, but if anyone dared not to prepare carefully, the emperor's anger would not be a small matter. The examination soon came to an end, and Zhao Mu, the son of the King of Yue, got the first place with the best essay. Zhao Yi got a mediocre grade, which was what he had hoped for in order to leave a good impression on Zhao Hui.

  Emperor Song Huizong was also quite pleased, this time coming to the temple to test the potential of the crowd, all of whom were not bad, and would certainly become stars in the literary world in the future. The dragon's face was delighted, and the rewards were indeed very rich. Zhao Mu, who won first prize, received a very precious purple sandalwood jade Ruyi, which made everyone quite envious. The other few people also had rewards, but only the last one, Zhao Dan, did not have any reward. Zhao Shenyu, standing on the side, completely lost interest in the purple crystal teapot he had just received, and looked at Zhao Dan with some worry.

  The high-ranking officials in the palace thought Zhao Yi had just stumbled upon a dead mouse, and most of them were waiting to see Zhao Yi's joke. Standing not far away, Zhao Heng's eyes lit up when his son Zhao Yi responded with poetry, but now seeing Zhao Yi get no comments, plus the officials' occasional teasing glances, his face looked unpleasant.

  Zhao Yi was quite calm, this result was within his expectations. His writing style often adopted the Yuanqu, and as for Tang poetry and Song lyrics, he had a deep understanding of Song Huizong's work, which transcended time. He didn't believe that Zhao Huizong would not take the bait. The officials in the court were all whispering to each other, many people looked at Zhao Yi with eyes full of schadenfreude, and those who were unrelated to the matter were considered good people.

  "Zhao Xian, come to my imperial study for a moment. I have something to ask you. Dismiss the court." After finishing speaking, Emperor Zhao Hui left the dragon throne and walked towards the rear hall. The officials were initially surprised that today's evaluation did not result in punishment? But no one dared to question the emperor, so they all retreated.

  Zhao Kuang was also nervous, if he failed, there would be no turning back. He wanted to curry favor with Emperor Song Huizong and gain benefits. Ideally, he could lead a military unit in a border town and have a say in the future turbulent world. Zhao Kuang gave Zhao Shenyou a reassuring glance and smiled slightly as he walked towards the imperial study. Zhao Mu saw that Zhao Shenyou was worried about Zhao Kuang and felt annoyed. The two had grown up together and were even engaged to be married, yet his future wife was concerned about someone else - how could he tolerate it? Moreover, he was superior to Zhao Kuang in both literature and martial arts, so he felt angry but still smiled as he walked over to Zhao Shenyou.

  Wen Sheng said to Zhao Shenyou, "Father has just invited two chefs from the Tang family's Fenghuang Building. Will you do me the honor of coming to my place later to taste their cooking together?"

  If it were usual, Zhao Shenyu would not have refused, but now he was worried about Zhao Yan's safety and naturally had no interest in attending the banquet. He said indifferently: "I'm a bit unwell, can't go to the prince's mansion to disturb him, hope you understand." After finishing speaking, he turned around and left the grand hall. Zhao Mu became even more enraged, although angry but couldn't vent anywhere, soon turned anger into hatred, of course all remembered on Zhao Yan's body, if Zhao Yan knew, would definitely sigh, ancient children are really mature early.