Chapter 313: Choosing a Zhuangyuan

The few people present had spent quite some time with Zhu Youxiao, and they knew well that His Majesty never did anything so simply—behind seemingly absurd matters, there always lurked secrets unknown to others.

Once or twice they might not understand, but after it happened so many times, how could they fail to catch on?

After all, they had spent this long together, and it was not a matter of once or twice—clearly this time His Majesty was not simply going to pay respects to his ancestors; there must be other things he intended to do.

The Grand Secretaries exchanged glances and saw the caution in one another's eyes.

If His Majesty was going to worship his ancestors, he would certainly go to Fengyang and Nanjing, yet the few of them felt that the places His Majesty truly wanted to go were Shandong and Henan—those places struck by earthquakes.

Though they did not know why such a thought arose, once it appeared, it could not be suppressed.

Sun Chengzong, for instance, thought exactly this in his heart. So after hesitating a moment, Sun Chengzong spoke up: "Your Majesty's health is not good—better to wait until you have recovered before going. Otherwise, the fatigue of travel worries me."

Seeing Sun Chengzong's face full of concern, the others snapped back to attention.

Xu Guangqi spoke directly: "Your Majesty, I believe what Grand Secretary Sun says is right. There is no rush to worship your ancestors—better to recover your health first before setting out."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the few of them, slowly nodded, and then said: "What you say is reasonable, my ministers. I was rash."

"Then we will wait until my health recovers before setting out on this matter. But you should make preparations in advance, so we won't be scrambling when the time comes."

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao leaned sideways against the daybed, wearing a listless expression.

The meaning was clear enough—I've said what I needed to say, and now I don't want to deal with you, so you may leave. The few of them exchanged glances and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Then we shall take our leave." The several of them spoke.

Though there was some hesitation in their hearts, since things had already reached this point, there was nothing more to be said, so they turned and walked out.

After leaving the palace, the few of them exchanged glances, all somewhat embarrassed, but no one spoke.

They were all old foxes—some things needed no lengthy explanation; a single glance told them what was meant. Clearly everyone felt that this time they had fallen for His Majesty's trick.

What should have been a question of whether to go or not had now become a question of when to go.

The former question had been decided without any discussion at all—they were going. As for the latter question of when, the decision had also been handed to His Majesty. By the time His Majesty's health recovered, well, his health would probably already be nearly recovered.

Though they did not know the details, they were not fools themselves.

His Majesty seemed to have a habit of feigning illness. Though no one would say it aloud, each of them had gleaned some inkling of it in their hearts, so it seemed they had been tricked.

But the few of them could not say it out loud—knowing in their hearts was enough; saying it would be too embarrassing.

"Make proper arrangements." Han Kuang looked at the others and spoke slowly: "Since His Majesty insists on the southern tour, we are powerless to stop it. So let us do our work well and draft a document as quickly as possible."

"If His Majesty leaves the capital, how many people need to accompany him, and who should remain to guard Nanjing—let us prepare all of this."

Hearing these words, the others quickly nodded. Xu Guangqi spoke: "Grand Secretary Han, as Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, naturally must remain in the capital. But we should also have someone by His Majesty's side."

"Shall we discuss candidates after we return?"

After Xu Guangqi said this, his gaze swept across the faces of the others. The meaning was obvious—Han Kuang had no chance; shall the rest of us discuss it?

As for Xu Guangqi's words, Han Kuang said nothing.

The reason was simple—because what Xu Guangqi said made perfect sense. He indeed had no chance. As Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, he naturally had to remain in the capital; there was simply no room for discussion.

Still, with the Emperor away from the capital, if he were the one making decisions, that would naturally be a sign of the Emperor's regard for him.

"Let's talk about it after we return." Han Kuang said with a smile.

The matter of His Majesty worshipping his ancestors naturally could not be kept secret, and word soon spread—this too was Zhu Youxiao's intention. Of course, he was not leaving now, but would wait some days.

After this news came out, Han Li instantly became the target of public criticism again.

Could this demonic Taoist not stir up trouble for even a single day? Countless routine memorials entered the palace, all impeaching Han Li, as if they would not rest until he was done for.

Zhu Youxiao did not even look at them—how could he dispose of Han Li?

For such a master, he had to keep him close; there was no way he would let him go. Still, the rewards that ought to be given must be given.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said to Chen Hong: "Take all these routine memorials away."

"Have the Directorate of Ceremonial draft an edict: bestow upon Perfected Han a purple robe and jade belt, along with one seal each of gold, jade, silver, and ivory. Add the title 'Jingwei Miaojie Shoujing Xiuzhen Ningyuan Yanfan Zhimo Bingcheng Zhiyi Perfected One.'"

"Select a residence in the capital and build a Perfected One's mansion."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Hong quickly replied: "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will immediately instruct them to handle it."

"Alright, go!" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand.

If one favored Han Li, one had to put on the appearance of favoring him—what ought to be given still had to be given. Of course, it was only on the surface; even if given now, it would not reach Han Li's hands.

Take the mansion, for instance—even after it was built, he would have no way to live in it, since he had to stay in the palace to attend the Emperor.

Though this matter caused quite a stir, another matter in the capital also drew great attention—the imperial examination results were being posted. This year's examination had been rather strange, and no small number of incidents had arisen from it.

First, the Academy students flaunted themselves ostentatiously, arousing resentment among many.

This even led to major conflicts. Then the examiners set the questions, and Xunzi's "Discourse on Heaven" appeared on the examination—sparking a great storm of public opinion.

Some scholars even caused disturbances in the capital, and it was said that quite a few people had been arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

For a time, public sentiment was boiling. Now the results were finally being posted, naturally drawing even greater attention. At the same time, all the government offices in the capital were extremely tense, because every time results were posted, it was the peak period for disturbances.

Many who failed would question the fairness of the examination.

They would cause trouble, so everyone in the capital's offices was nervous.

Desheng Tower was one of the larger restaurants in the capital, located not far from the examination hall. Every year, many candidates gathered there to await news, but this year the place had been booked out.

The ones who had paid were the Academy students—quite a lavish gesture, to say the least.

The several dozen Academy members taking the examination were all there, idly chatting, sipping tea, and waiting for the results from up front. Though they appeared to be chatting and laughing with ease, everyone was rather tense.

In a private room on the second floor, several people sat there.

At the head was Zhang Yu, styled Zhang Tuizhi, with the Song brothers beside him. There were also Lu Xiangsheng, Cao Wenzhao, and Wu Xiang. The most unremarkable one was Liu Xian—all of them were waiting for the results.

None of them had much heart for conversation. They were familiar with one another and had no desire for superficial pleasantries, so the room was very quiet.

Just then, the street outside suddenly burst into commotion.

Someone shouted loudly that the results had been posted. In an instant, the street grew lively. The few of them exchanged glances—though their faces were calm, they were rather anxious inside.

Faced with such a momentous event in life, no one could maintain perfect composure.

The noise outside was chaotic when suddenly the sound of a bronze gong rang out. Someone ran over quickly, shouting loudly: "Congratulations! Song Yingsheng of Fengxin County, Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi—Master Song has placed first in the metropolitan examination!"

Hearing this shout, everyone in the room became excited.

Song Yingxing leaped up abruptly, turned to look at his elder brother, and said loudly, "Brother, you passed — you placed first in the metropolitan examination!" He himself burst into loud laughter as he spoke.

The others laughed too. Clearly, Song Yingsheng's first-place result in the metropolitan examination was a source of pride for all of them.

For a moment, the room was filled entirely with voices of congratulations. Song Yingsheng sat there, a look of disbelief on his face. That he could pass — he had thought about that; failing would have been the truly inconceivable outcome.

But placing first — that was something Song Yingsheng had never expected.

Soon the messengers bearing good news arrived, and the people around were already all offering congratulations. Rewards were quickly distributed, followed by one announcement of good news after another.

For the students of the Academy, this examination had been to their advantage.

Because what they studied daily at the Academy was precisely this material, and the examiners were still their own teachers — there was essentially no possibility of failing. After all, this wasn't a ranking, so passing was hardly surprising.

Soon the entire Desheng Tower was filled with voices of congratulation; many people had passed.

Having passed this time, when they reached the palace examination, it was merely a matter of ranking. Although that was still important, they could no longer be dismissed — everyone present could now step into officialdom.

For a moment, laughter and cheerful voices filled Desheng Tower, though some had not passed — joy and sorrow were split between two worlds.

Among the few people in their small circle, no one had failed. Add to that Song Yingsheng's first-place result, and the occasion was naturally one of great celebration. Wine and dishes were laid out, and the banquet began directly.

In the imperial palace, Zhu Youxiao naturally received the news as well.

This metropolitan examination had admitted 356 people, which counted as a relatively large cohort. Of these, 47 had passed from the Academy — an exceedingly, exceedingly high proportion.

Zhu Youxiao took the list and began searching it for familiar names.

According to Zhu Youxiao's memory, this particular examination could indeed produce some genuinely useful talents. Next came the palace examination, which was about ranking — so he would need to study this carefully.

Deciding whom to name as Zhuangyuan — that was the crucial point.

Day after day passed, and the celebrations in the capital never ceased. Soon the day of the palace examination arrived.

The palace examination was held in the Jianji Hall. Through the ceremonies of roll call, distributing papers, paying homage, and performing bows, Zhu Youxiao could only act as a tool, going along with everyone else.

After all the ceremonies were completed, Zhu Youxiao sat on the dragon throne and declared the palace examination to begin.

The palace examination tested only policy questions, with the topics drafted in advance by the Grand Secretariat and then submitted for the Emperor's selection.

This time, however, that was not done. The question was set by Zhu Youxiao himself — only a single question, testing policy discourse. As for the topic, it was just a few characters: "Control the Mandate of Heaven and put it to use."

When the question was distributed, everyone looked at it before them — some rejoiced, some worried.

For the students of the Academy, this question posed no difficulty, for it was the core philosophy of Xunzi. They had studied it often and practiced it often in their daily lessons, so writing on it presented no challenge.

As for the others present, most would not find it too difficult either.

Because having distinguished themselves in the metropolitan examination, they would naturally not write about irrelevant matters. They were certainly followers of Xunzi as well — otherwise, they could not have passed.

Among those present, most could find the thread of the argument.

Basically, they were all men of the various Grand Secretaries. Even if they had not studied at the Academy, most were reserve forces of their respective factions, with very conspicuous labels upon them.

At the same time, it was also one of the more ideologically unified examinations in the history of the imperial examinations.

Those who felt anxious were mostly people unfamiliar with this topic, or unsure how to write on it. After all, this concept was rather broad — if one could not argue it well, there was nothing substantial to write.

Zhu Youxiao naturally could not remain there to accompany them, because the palace examination lasted a full day, with papers handed in at sunset.

For Zhu Youxiao, waiting that long was naturally impossible. He could not sit there watching these people take an examination all day, so after finishing what he was supposed to do, he went back to rest.

The papers would not require him to select them either; he only needed to rank the top few names at the end.

When the day of grading came, the papers were distributed among eight readers, each at his own table, passing them around in turn.

Each was marked with one of five symbols — "○", "△", "\", "1", "×" — and the papers with the most "○" were the excellent ones. Then, from all the papers, the ten with the most "○" were selected and presented to Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao would personally decree the first, second, and third of the first rank — namely the Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua.

Soon all the papers were fully graded, and the ten selected individuals were all delivered to Zhu Youxiao, who would determine the final ranking of the examination.

The papers were laid out to the side, but Zhu Youxiao did not look at them at all.

He took the list from Chen Hong's hands and began reading the names upon it. He saw Song Yingsheng — this year's top metropolitan graduate was naturally on the list.

But the Zhuangyuan could not be given to him; give him second place instead.

His younger brother Song Yingxing was not on it. It seemed he had not studied as well as his brother. Still, with one of the two brothers in the top three, that was already sufficient.

As for the choice of Zhuangyuan, Zhu Youxiao quickly spotted a person. This one would also set an example.

Lu Xiangsheng — a talent in both letters and arms, it shall be you. Let you take the Zhuangyuan, so that you may be heavily employed in the future. The ranking in the imperial examinations was far too important for an official's advancement, so Zhu Youxiao gave Lu Xiangsheng the Zhuangyuan.

With first and second place settled, who would be suitable for the third-place Bangyan?

After looking around the list, Han Li's gaze fell upon a certain name.