Chapter 804: Chapter 764: The Palace Examination, Crown Prince’s Question (First Update)

Xu Jia chose to return to the capital; she couldn’t remain undistracted under the same roof with Yun Huai.

Even after knowing him for many years, in her view, there was no camaraderie between them, but rather more awkward memories that were hard to talk about.

Yun Huai did not stop her; he arranged the affairs here and then set off on the road to return to the capital with Xu Jia and two apprentices.

...

Eastern Palace, Chengming Hall.

Zhao Xi received Yun Huai’s letter, lingering his gaze on the sentence "It’s up to Chu Country to decide whom the Princess marries" for a long time.

Eunuch Sanbao came to serve tea, quietly reminding him, "Your Highness, you’ve been reading the reply from Master Yun for nearly the time it takes a joss stick to burn."

Zhao Xi returned to reality, placing the letter on the writing desk, took the tea from Eunuch Sanbao, and slightly narrowed his eyes.

Northern Border Yan proactively sought peace; whom the Princess marries naturally ought to be decided by Chu Country. This he understood. The reason for writing to Yun Huai was largely to probe.

To probe Yun Huai’s thoughts, and also to probe the Yun Family’s intentions.

If Yun Huai agreed without thinking, then he might need to suspect the Yun Family of colluding with Northern Border Yan with intent to rebel.

The fortunate thing was that Yun Huai was wise and with just a simple sentence, he threw the burden back, freeing himself completely.

Whom the Princess marries, Chu Country decides, then naturally it’s up to the Crown Prince. If ultimately the Princess still marries into the Yun Family, then it is the Crown Prince’s decision, and the court has no reason to suspect the Yun Family of colluding with Northern Border Yan.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xi smiled silently and shook his head.

Eunuch Sanbao was somewhat puzzled, "What is Your Highness smiling at?"

Zhao Xi said with a sense of realization, "I’m laughing because until today, I’ve truly come to understand my father, the Emperor."

In the past, he always felt his father was excessively suspicious, even the loyal ministers whom everyone praised, he held some reservations.

Only after taking charge did he realize that this kind of suspicion is an essential barrier for those in power.

To safeguard the empire without fear, to keep the society steady, you can’t place absolute trust in anyone, whether it’s a favorite concubine or close ministers; there must always be some reservation.

Yun Huai, in Zhao Xi’s previous view, was a rare heroic and noble figure, concerned for the common people, of high integrity, truly worth a deep friendship.

But in Zhao Xi’s view after assuming power, the Yun Family is like a large tree attracting the wind, if not watched carefully, allowing a foreign power to ally with them, it would be an unforeseeable disaster for Chu Country, worse than the plague in the Northern Border.

After confirming the Yun Family’s intentions, Zhao Xi sent a national letter to Northern Border Yan, quoting only Yun Huai’s words.

—— Whom the Princess marries, Chu Country decides.

Now Northern Border Yan wants to take the Chosen One away, begging Chu Country to hand over the person, naturally, the initiative must be held firmly by Chu Country.

...

The day of the palace examination arrives.

This year’s spring examination is special because it’s a grace examination, with the provincial exam moved a month earlier, and the palace exam set for March 26th, with the results temporarily set to be released on April 26th.

It happens to be the marriage date chosen by the Astronomical Bureau for Zhao Xi, and the day Song Yuanbao marries Miss Ye from the Ye Family.

Early in the morning, the 300 scholars admitted from the provincial exam entered Baohe Hall with officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Baohe Hall, used specifically for the palace exam, is vast in area, with carved beams and painted rafters, resplendent and magnificent, a Nine Dragon Golden Chair at the foremost, meant for the Emperor.

However, Emperor Guangxi’s serious illness is now common knowledge; everyone knows this year’s palace exam will be presided over by Crown Prince Zhao Xi.

The examinees find their seats according to their assigned numbers; in front of each is a writing desk, already prepared with ink, inkstone, and draft paper, no outside materials allowed.

The Crown Prince has not yet arrived; outside, the Imperial Guard is stationed, once all the examinees are seated, they remain silent, not daring to make a sound.

Apart from those with high provincial exam ranks, all the other examinees are anxious.

Crown Prince Zhao Xi’s reputation is well known among Chu Country’s scholars; he is someone who pushed himself to the extreme from the age of six, rumored to complete all exam questions within the time it takes a joss stick to burn.

When the rumor first circulated, from nobles to commoners, no one believed it. Later, after Song Yuanbao returned to the Imperial College from reading as a companion in the palace, a classmate asked him about the rumors of the Crown Prince, Song Yuanbao smiled and replied: The rumors are true.

Since then, Zhao Xi’s awe-inspiring self-discipline has become an example everyone in the scholarly world strives to emulate.

Yet over the years, few have succeeded in maintaining it, with most keeping it up for only a short time; some for ten days or half a month, some for half a year, before shaking their heads and sighing in resignation, finding an excuse for themselves, saying the Crown Prince is a Chosen One, naturally incomparable to regular people; it’s normal for them to not persist.

The remaining ten percent are still persisting, but as for how long they can continue, only they themselves know.

And today, the person they admire and fear has become the one presiding over the palace exam.

This means that after today, they will all become the Crown Prince’s Students.

In the minds of these examinees, becoming the Crown Prince’s Student is far rarer than being the Emperor’s Student.

If the Emperor set the exam questions, it might be more conventional; the questions might not be too nerve-wracking, but as for the Crown Prince...

Despite being only seventeen, each major decision since he took charge has rendered the officials in the Political Discussion Hall speechless; his iron-handed approach surpasses even Emperor Guangxi.

Such disposition at a young age is enough to see that he is naturally a born Emperor, and this kind of genius, when setting exam questions, often opts for particularly tricky angles.

This is the source of the examinees’ greatest anxiety.

Everyone was still lost in their thoughts when suddenly Eunuch Sanbao’s voice was heard from outside, "The Crown Prince is arriving—"

Upon hearing these words, the examinees hurriedly stood up and lined up, kneeling uniformly to pay their respects.

Today, Zhao Xi was dressed in formal attire, an apricot yellow dragon robe, with a Purple Gold Crown on his head, dragon boots on his feet, his steps slow and steady, proceeding to the Nine Dragon Golden Chair, and then gazed down at the three hundred examinees, uttering in a calm tone, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

With the orderly expression of gratitude, the examinees returned to their seats, no one dared to raise their heads to glimpse the true appearance of the Crown Prince.

He is only seventeen, yet his presence is already strong enough to send chills down their spines.

Zhao Xi took in the various reactions of the examinees, some calm, some nervous, some anxious, and especially focused on Song Yuanbao, who seemed not to treat this as an examination room, maintaining his usual lazy demeanor as if he were at home.

Zhao Xi inconspicuously withdrew his gaze, slowly began, "Recently, an incident occurred in the capital; there’s a rumor saying that a Jiuli Clan child is hidden in the Left Army Governor Mansion; that child has unusual eye color and has been deemed a demon. The common people think the Su Family should hand him over for a fire sacrifice to heaven to ensure a speedy victory in the Northern Border war; what is your view on this matter?"

An examinee stood up and replied, "There is no discussing strange forces and gods; not to mention that there’s no demon in the world, even if there were, it is merely a three or four-year-old child. If burned to sacrifice to heaven, then how does humanity differ from demons?"

Zhao Xi turned his gaze to Xu Dengke, "You are the top scorer of this year’s provincial exam; what is your view?"

Xu Dengke stood and said, "In response to Your Highness, the student believes the root is not in supernatural forces, but in the issue of cultural integration between Chu Country and the Jiuli Clan."

Zhao Xi raised an eyebrow and asked Song Yuanbao beside him, "And you?"

Song Yuanbao stood, "In response to Your Highness, I second Mr. Xu’s opinion."

Zhao Xi smiled with satisfaction and allowed the three to sit down before stating, "Indeed, the appearance of a ’demon’ in the Su Family is not due to a real demon, but because the people of Chu Country do not sufficiently understand Jiuli Clan culture; this is precisely the examination topic I wish to give you all today: how to rapidly and effectively integrate the cultures of the two countries."

Upon presenting the exam topic, more than half of the examinees were dumbfounded.

The political hot spots of recent times were merely twofold: one being the war in the Northern Border and the other the recent uproar of the "Jiuli Clan demon"; before entering, the examinees gathered in threes and fours to guess the topic, thinking it would be about border warfare or resolving the "demon" issue, yet no one anticipated the Crown Prince would use the "demon" to draw out the integration of the two cultures and use it as the palace examination topic this year.

Difficult, extremely difficult!

Everyone present knew that since West Yue was conquered, the citizens of Chu Country have been unable to accept Jiuli Clan, unable to accept their belief in worshiping ghosts.

This is a sensitive topic.

Writing an essay under the premise of the people of Chu Country unanimously opposing the Jiuli Clan, if not done carefully, could easily lead to becoming a public enemy and ruin one’s future.

Preparing the ink, the examinees silently lamented, hesitating to start writing.