Chapter 307: The examination begins
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The solution to persistent droughts was not to build the Great Wall or forts. It was to direct water from the sea into the rivers and lakes before redirecting them to each village and city.
This was beneficial to the citizens.
Furthermore, he had to bear in mind that this world had not invented the dam or cloud seeding just yet.
Fang Zhengzhi decided to make water scarcity the basis for his paper.
However, without an understanding of the dynasty’s history, he would not know what had happened where. He also did not know what infrastructure each city had.
More importantly, he knew nothing about the geography of the empire.
Where were the seas? Where were the lakes? Where were the rivers? Where were the water sources... where was water in abundance? Where was water in short supply all year round? How was he going to begin without knowledge of any of this?
This exam was no different from the thesis he had wrote in his previous world. Without real world examples, it would be a useless paper.
Fang Zhengzhi sweat profusely.
Was he really going to fail?
Just as he was thinking about it, the sound of a gong rang out. Then, rows of imperial messengers in black robes approached from afar.
The one leading the group was Su Qing. He wore the robes of a rank four official.
Su Qing’s face was filled with color. He had a list of all the candidates in his hand. He led the group of messengers to the crowd of candidates.
All of the candidates stopped talking, patiently waiting for Su Qing to speak.
He was simply going to announce the rules for the entering the exam hall, as well as the guidelines for the examination itself.
"The Great Xia Dynasty..." Su Qing did not waste any time. He began to recite all the rules for the examination. Then, he looked at the candidates, "This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Enter the hall!"
"Thank you your honor!" All of the candidates bowed in thanks.
Fang Zhengzhi did not bow like the rest of them. He was an official himself, why should he bow? Furthermore, he was of the same rank as Su Qing.
There were quite a few like Fang Zhengzhi who did not bow. The dozen of them included people like Yan Xiu and Wu Feng.
There were at least a dozen candidates who came from powerful and influential families.
Fang Zhengzhi was not one of them.
All of the candidates were screened one more time, their identities reverified. After all, the examination was to be held in the palace. Double checking was quite understandable.
This second check was even more detailed than the first. First, one was questioned on their background before a blood test was done.
This was to prevent a second incident like the one which happened in the World of the Sage.
Fang Zhengzhi had seen such a blood test before back in the Southern Mountain Village. This time, the blood test was to screen for members of the demons. As such, it was much faster than the one in the Southern Mountain Village.
Before long, all of the candidates had been screened and verified.
They were now officially invited into the hall. The imperial messengers led them all to the entrance of the square.
Fang Zhengzhi began to get a little suspicious.
He knew that Nangong Hao had announced his intention to partake in the court examinations. However, he could not feel this man’s presence in the crowd.
"Is this Nangong Hao so easy to miss?" Fang Zhengzhi did not ask anymore. He remembered that Nangong Mu was also quite easy to miss back at the imperial examination.
How is Nangong Mu now?
Fang Zhengzhi looked towards the south. He did not know if that was where the Nangong Family was, but he subconsciously glanced in that direction.
...
All of the candidates arrived at the entrance to the White Jade Square very quickly. Two rows of armored guards stood by the entrance.
They were all solemn.
Fang Zhengzhi had been here before and he knew how well guarded the palace was. There was virtually a guard every ten steps. However, the number of guards seemed to be even more today.
After entering through the doors, his field of vision expanded.
The White Jade Square was true to its name. The entire floor was made out of White Jade and it was surrounded with White Jade fences. Each one had exquisite engravings of dragons and phoenixes.
Today, there was a golden stage in the middle of the square. It was covered in a cloth weaves from gold thread. A huge umbrella adorned with dragons was in the middle of the stage. It blocked out the sun that was beating down on the stage.
A red cloth covered the ground below the stage. There were over 200 redwood tables on the square. Each one was at least three meters from each other.
Okay then...
This was going to be a whole new experience.
Fang Zhengzhi could almost confirm that it would be impossible to cheat here. Furthermore, there were at least 20 imperial messengers around them.
"Let’s go." Yan Xiu spoke as he looked at the square.
"Mm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
All of the other candidates walked towards the redwood tables. This was different from the other examinations. This time, everyone tried to sit as close to the front as possible.
Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze fell on a pair of great seats. They were right at the mouth of the dragon on the golden door. Furthermore, it provided a wide field of vision.
Since he had little confidence going into this competition, Fang Zhengzhi decided to rely a little on Feng Shui to turn his fortunes around.
Just as he was preparing to go over, he saw a fat candidate rush over maniacally.
"Stealing my seat?" Fang Zhengzhi had come unprepared. He was already incredibly nervous. Should his seat be taken from him, it would the nail in the coffin.
He flicked his hand and a nail flew over.
"Ouch... why is there a nail on this seat?" The fat youth bounced right back up just as he prepared to sit down.
All of the candidates were stunned by what the fat youth had just said. They all looked at their own chairs, concerned that this may be a test.
However...
Their seats were nail-free.
"It is a good omen to have some redness at the beginning of such an event!" Fang Zhengzhi was pleased with the result. He walked over to the seat, retrieved his nail and sat down.
"Fang Zhengzhi, what are you doing?" The fat youth was furious.
"Nothing much. I am bullying you. Do you have an opinion?" Fang Zhengzhi said straightforwardly.
"You... you dare to bully me? Do you know who I am? I am the Nanqun..." The fat youth fumed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi’s reply. He pounded his chest as he spoke.
"Are you looking for a fight?" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted.
"Yes!"
"I would like to make a report. He wants to assault me!"
"What? This is the theory examination. If you continue to make trouble, I will disqualify you!" One of the imperial messengers walked over upon seeing this.
The fat youth shrunk when he saw this. He immediately motioned to the imperial messenger that he will not attack. Then, he glared at Fang Zhengzhi after the messenger left.
"Humph, Fang Zhengzhi, just wait and see!"
"Why? Are you looking for a fight?" Yan Xiu walked next to Fang Zhengzhi. He waved his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan as he glared at the fat youth icily.
"No... I don’t dare." The fat youth’s expression changed as he tucked his tail between his legs and ran.
All of the other candidates sat by the side when they saw this. No one dared to antagonize Fang Zhengzhi.
This way, Fang Zhengzhi was given quite a lot of space to himself. He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.
"Works?"
"Water?"
Fang Zhengzhi kept thinking of all the passages he had read before. Da Yu who conquered the floods? Not very appropriate... Sun Wukong in the Eastern Dragon Palace?
Erm...
That didn’t seem on topic either.
What about a poem about labour and farmers?
Aish!
Fang Zhengzhi’s mind was in a mess. He could not think of anything that could work at the moment. He decided against thinking about it anymore.
"Bong!"
Just at this moment, a gong rang out.
All of the candidates straightened in their seats. The second gong announced the arrival of the Emperor.
Indeed, after the gong echoed through the air, a voice rang out.
"All hail the Emperor!"
"All hail the Emperor!"
The voice neared and a huge carriage came into view. It was entirely made from gold. There were a few dragons engraved on it. Each golden dragon was filled with complicated patterns.
"This pattern..." Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes brightened. This was the first time he had seen the carriage of the Emperor, however, this was the third time he had seen such patterns. The first time was back on Cang Ling Mountain in The Vast World. The second was on Wu Feng’s jade flute.
Three times?
This was definitely not a coincidence.
Fang Zhengzhi felt that this pattern definitely had a special meaning. The one he saw must have been linked to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. As for Wu Feng, his master was one of the four sages.
As for Emperor Lin Mubai...
He was ranked above the sages.
This should be the Sagely Pattern!
Okay, this was his guess. He thought that he should just ask Yan Xiu about it after the examination. This guessing was pointless.
The carriage arrived at the White Jade Square. The door was opened and Emperor Lin Mubai walked out slowly. He wore a golden robe.
Fang Zhengzhi noticed a youth next to Emperor Lin Mubai. He wore white but his robe was stained with some red.
The red was reminiscent of blood, but its shape was rather unique. All of them were pentagons and looked like maple leaves.
"Nangong Hao!"
"Who would have thought that he was already in the palace!"
"And he is travelling with the Emperor!"
All of the candidates noticed the youth as well. When they recognized who it was, they could not help but discuss it heatedly amongst themselves.
"Nangong Hao?" Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the youth in white. He found that Nangong Hao looked completely different from Nangong Mu.
Nangong Mu was plain. It would be difficult to notice him in a crowd. However, Nangong Hao was like a bright light.
This light was not glaring. It came from within.
There was an apt term for someone like this.
Bright!
His eyebrows were sharp, his pupils black and shining. He was expressionless, his thin lips revealing no trace of emotion. He made one feel like he was above all worldly concerns.
Emperor Lin Mubai had already exited the carriage. He seemed to notice the discussions below. He turned to nod at Nangong Hao.
Nangong Hao returned the greeting.
However, it was not one between an official and the Emperor, but rather one between a junior and a senior. Nangong Hao walked towards a redwood desk below.
He sat down.
He did not say a single word from start to finish.
Emperor Lin Mubai did not say anything either. He walked to the stage and took his seat on the throne.
Just at this moment, all of the officials began to approach. They were led by Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping as they took their seats on stage.
All of the candidates held their breath.
The court examinations were held once every two years. Many people chose to become officials right after the imperial examination.
However, this caused them to have insufficient preparation for the court examination.
Of the 200 candidates, few were officials. Some of them could not find vacancies in the court. Others were drawn the the academic rigour of the court examinations.
Everyone wanted to attain the highest honor.
The court examinations.
This was the last mountain to cross. As long as they crossed this, they would be greeted by a boundless future. This was the key moment.
Who wouldn’t be nervous.
What will the question be this time? Everyone was concerned about this. After all, this question will determine if their preparation had been a waste or not.
Did they manage to guess the topic correctly?
That was the golden question.
"Bong!"
The gong rang out for the third time. This represented the beginning of the court examination. Their questions were about to be answered.
All of the candidates were silent as they stared at Emperor Lin Mubai. They waited for him to speak...