Upon hearing the burst of Vast Righteous Qi emanating once again from Zhang Jian's calligraphy, Emperor Jingwu's curiosity was piqued.
He first examined the young Imperial Scholar sitting with impeccable posture, whose clean and simple attire and composed demeanor immediately gave the Emperor a good first impression.
Then he turned his gaze to Zhang Jian's exam paper laid flat, and with just a brief glance, a subtle smile appeared in the Emperor's eyes.
Emperor Jingwu was no stranger to being the Chief Examiner for the Palace Examination. Before ascending the throne, during his time as Crown Prince, he had overseen several exams and was very familiar with the level of these Advanced Scholars.
And since ascending the throne, he has already presided over one Palace Examination.
The essay before him was considered to be of excellent quality among the many essays of the Imperial Scholars.
Particularly its ideas on government reform to strengthen the nation resonated deeply with him.
Beside him, Zhuang Ying witnessed this scene and immediately stepped forward. He maintained a slight distance from Emperor Jingwu, slightly bowed, a look of admiration in his eyes.
At the same time, from another angle, he glanced sideways at Zhang Jian's Palace Examination paper, and with just one look he knew that Zhang Jian's angle of approach had hit a nerve with Emperor Jingwu.
This was a bonus point.
And not an ordinary one at that.
Comparing this with the essay of Wangqing Province's top scorer, although the top scorer's essay was also good with a high level of intent, it was somewhat lacking in substance.
Zhang Jian, on the other hand, was highly skilled in this letter-like form or was part of a practical faction with experience and ability in this area.
"Is it a pity he's from a Noble Family?"
This thought flashed across Zhuang Ying's mind.
In fact, at the Ministry of Rites Examination, he had noticed Zhang Jian's essay, which had the potential to be top scorer, but considering the current Emperor Jingwu's wariness of the Noble Families, he gave up the idea of picking Zhang Jian as the top scorer and instead selected the lower-class Wangqing Province.
He glanced at Zhang Jian, thinking that though Zhang Jian's essay was excellent, the chances of being chosen as Champion Scholar were slim.
Emperor Jingwu himself also leaned towards promoting talented individuals from the lower classes to counteract the growing power of the Noble Families, demonstrating his determination to employ talents from all walks of life.
Zhang Jian also noticed Emperor Jingwu, as well as several key courtiers gathering around him. His demeanor paused for a moment as if deliberately making his arm tremble slightly, took a few deep breaths, steadied his mind once more, and continued writing the last three characters.
"I, your servant, respectfully reply!"
Then he continued to check the exam paper to see if there were any omissions in the words and sentences.
By this time, Emperor Jingwu had already moved on, but what followed was several key court officials making Zhang Jian's place their primary focus, with several batches of officials in purple and red robes, each with a different expression.
But Zhang Jian roughly guessed.
He had the Palace Examination in the bag!
It was just a question of whether he would be Champion Scholar, Runner-up, or Third-place.
The three-hour Palace Examination passed quickly, with most Imperial Scholars having completed their answers, leaving only a few Imperial Scholars sweating profusely at the end.
This was due to being overly nervous in the Jinluan Hall, especially under the watchful eye of the Imperial Censor for too long, inevitably causing underperformance.
This was a normal situation.
After finishing the Palace Examination, the group, led solemnly by the Minister of Rites, one of the Nine Ministers, paid their respects to Emperor Jingwu before slowly exiting the Palace Hall.
This could be the highlight of many Imperial Scholars' lives.
In one's life, it's rare to enter the very heart of the Daqian Court's power and have an audience with the Emperor.
After walking out of the Chengtian Hall, many Imperial Scholars noticed that Shi Lun in the inner queue was smiling at him, indicating his exam seemed to have gone well.
At times when you can still smile, those are truly rare.
Zhang Jian remained expressionless, only glancing at the surrounding magnificent and continuous palace complexes with a slight smile in his eyes.
It was not in vain to have studied hard for ten years to enter the Chengtian Hall as an Imperial Scholar.
This also fulfilled a wish in his heart.
Once the group of Imperial Scholars left the palace gates, they finally seemed to catch a breath but were still somewhat cautious.
However, a few who hadn't finished answering the exam questions looked dejected, lamenting that it was over.
Before long, the crowd dispersed.
The results of the Palace Examination would generally be posted in two to three days.
For the many Imperial Scholars who had completed the whole process, this was the final wait.
...
Meanwhile, within the Imperial Palace
In the Changsheng Hall, all the exam papers were lined up before the Imperial Desk, with several key officials in purple robes assisting in reviewing the papers.
This time, the names on the Palace Examination papers were not covered but were open.
Sitting at his table, Emperor Jingwu looked somewhat fatigued.
After sitting for several hours, he was feeling a bit weary.
Beside him, the old eunuch Chao Mu softly said, "Your Majesty, with so many officials assisting you in reviewing the papers, why not take a break and look at them again tomorrow!"
Emperor Jingwu glanced over and said, "No need, I'm just a bit hungry. Fetch me something to eat from the small kitchen!"
The old eunuch nodded softly.
He then swiftly called for a little eunuch nearby and went personally to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare.
Emperor Jingwu's gaze lingered hesitantly on the two sets of exam papers on the desk.
As Imperial Censor Zhuang Ying had anticipated, Emperor Jingwu indeed found it challenging to decide who to appoint as Champion Scholar.
After pondering for a while, Emperor Jingwu decided to set aside the two sets of papers, planning to wait until other court officials had reviewed them to make a decision.
In Changsheng Hall, the officials reviewed the papers at a slow pace, and it was only on the second evening that they had finished reviewing all the Palace Examination papers, discussing them before reorganizing the ranking.
But the new ranking did not differ much from the previous one.
At the Imperial Desk, Emperor Jingwu glanced briefly and knew that among the many candidates, the Champion Scholar, Runner-up, and Third-place would still be chosen from the top three on the Imperial Examination Results.
He thought for a moment and pulled one paper from among the many Palace Examination papers.
It was Shi Lun's.
Because of the memo from Wu Hongqiao, Governor of Jixian County, and Shi Lun's being mentioned in the same memo as Zhang Jian, it had left an impression on him.
Emperor Jingwu took one look and shook his head slightly. Although Shi Lun's answers in the Palace Examination had good sentiments, they were merely above average.
At this time, Shi Lun's ranking had not significantly changed.
The rankings given by the court officials still had him around the hundred and third place, just a bit higher than his previous position of hundred and ninth.
Emperor Jingwu raised his pen and crossed out the hundred and third beside Shi Lun's name, writing twenty-eight instead.
The Daqian Court's tradition was usually to take twenty-eight as the top rank, placing Shi Lun as twenty-eighth, effectively moving him from the second tier to the top tier, even if at the bottom, it was still considered as being awarded the status of Advanced Scholar.
But Emperor Jingwu's eyes still showed hesitation.
Remembering Shi Lun's background, he crossed out twenty-eight and filled in twenty-nine.
Twenty-nine was the first of the second rank.
But there was a clear distinction between being an Advanced Scholar of the second tier and being of the first tier.
The official appointments would also differ.
However, moving from the back of the second tier to the front would also have its differences, providing some preferential rights during appointments, a way to reward loyal ministers.
Seeing this, Emperor Jingwu's expression revealed a touch of satisfaction.
Then he turned his gaze to the names of Zhang Jian and Wangqing Province, and after a moment of hesitation, made his decision, placing a red seal with the imperial pen on Zhang Jian's name.
He had other considerations.
An important reason was that the substance within the essay had indeed struck a chord with him.
It outweighed mere interest bargaining!
If it could improve government management, then this Champion Scholar title would indeed be well-deserved.