Rise From the Humble

On March 15th, the imperial examination was held as scheduled.

It was just after the fifth watch, the sky outside was still dark, and the moon was still hazy in the sky and reluctant to leave. Zhu Ping'an rushed to the Xiyuan where the palace examination was held under the moonlight.

In fact, theoretically speaking, the palace examination should be held in Jinshen Hall in the Forbidden City. Before Emperor Jiajing, all emperors held grand ceremonies or established princes and queens in this Jinshen Hall, including the highest level of imperial examinations and palace examinations. The examination room for the exam is also in this hall.

However, we have an exception during the period of Emperor Jiajing. During the "Renyin Palace Incident" in the 21st year of Jiajing, the scene of the palace maid trying to kill the king left a very strong psychological shadow in the heart of Emperor Jiajing, which caused Emperor Jiajing to hate the Forbidden City deeply. After that, Emperor Jiajing no longer lived in the Forbidden City, but moved to Xiyuan. He devoted himself to cultivating immortality and refining elixirs instead of going to court. When ministers had something to do, they would go to Xiyuan to have an audience. From this time on, Xiyuan became the political center of the entire Ming Dynasty. Center, the imperial examination was moved to Xiyuan.

When Zhu Ping'an arrived at Xiyuan, there was already a crowd of people in front of the Xiyuan Palace. Everyone was wearing clean and neat palace uniforms in front of the palace, excitedly waiting to step into the political center of the Ming Dynasty.

This is a small step in their lives, but it is also a giant step in their lives.

The palace examination only ranks people and does not change candidates. No matter how they take the examination, these people can pass the palace examination reliably. At least they are from the same background as Jinshi. Even if they cannot enter the Imperial Academy, they will at least be assigned to the six departments to be chiefs or be sent to local places to be county magistrates. No matter what the situation is, if they take this step, their lives will be the pinnacle that ordinary people look up to. In the future, the ups and downs of the Ming Dynasty will be closely accompanied by them, how can they not be excited.

"Zi Hou, come over here." Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen waved to Zhu Pingan in the crowd.

"Ziwei, Wensheng."

Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile when he saw the two of them. He quickly walked over in two steps, responded to them with his hands raised, and then merged into a group of tributes waiting for the palace examination.

"Hey, Zihou, what's wrong with you? Why are you so haggard? The dark circles under your eyes are too obvious. Are you so excited that you stayed up all night?" Zhang Siwei just looked at Zhu Pingan after Zhu Pingan arrived. At one glance, he was stunned by Zhu Ping'an's panda eyes.

"Shouldn't a calm person be like this?" Wang Shizhen also looked at Zhu Ping'an up and down, full of questions.

Under the questions of Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, everyone who had not paid much attention to Zhu Pingan's arrival also cast their attention on Zhu Pingan at this moment. Then the image of Zhu Pingan in their eyes looked like this:

He looked haggard and listless, his face was dull and tired, his eye circles were dark and swollen, and his eyes were dull.

If they are rice with full grains, Zhu Ping'an is the shriveled dry rice, the kind with dust and black stains!

Therefore, everyone could not help but look down upon Zhu Pingan. They did not know Zhu Pingan, nor did they know that Zhu Pingan was Huiyuan. Just looking at Zhu Pingan's image, they attributed Zhu Pingan to a person with extremely low mental endurance and an embarrassment for big tasks. middle! It's just a palace examination, and I haven't hired anyone yet. I'm so frightened that I'm insomnia and will be embarrassed for my big job in the future!

However, in addition to Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, there were two other people in the crowd who were not surprised by Zhu Ping'an's image, nor were they as contemptuous as everyone else, they just smiled at the corners of their mouths.

The two people stood together. One of them was Ouyang Zishi, who was being complimented by dozens of Gongsheng students. He came with him in the sedan chair of Mr. Yan Songyange. Many Gongsheng students saw it. In addition to Ouyang Zishi, the other One of them is one of the tribute students surrounding Ouyang Zishi, Xu Penghui, the third son of the Duke of Wei.

Both of them were in high spirits, refreshed, and high-spirited, which was in sharp contrast to Zhu Pingan's haggard appearance. The two of them glanced at Zhu Pingan, and smiled at the corners of their mouths. They wondered why Zhu Pingan looked like this. It couldn't be clearer.

In the imperial examination room, there are many heroes vying for the throne. There is only success or failure. Who cares about the process? I will only talk about fairness to you if my brain is full of water!

"Congratulations in advance to Brother Ouyang." Xu Laosan's eyes were bright and he held his hand towards Ouyang Zishi with a smile on his face.

"Brother Xu is joking, the palace examination has not started yet." Ouyang Zishi shook his hand slightly and smiled, but his face showed a confident expression.

At this time, in their minds, the overall situation of this palace examination has been decided, and the number one winner must be Ouyang Zishi! The imperial examination rankings were almost just fine-tuning of the general examination rankings. At that time, Zhu Ping'an was ranked first and Ouyang Zishi was second. However, today Ouyang Zishi is waiting for work, and he still has Yan Song, the chief assistant in the court, to rely on. Moreover, Ouyang Zishi's level is already low. He is tall, and the man is also a jade tree facing the wind, full of energy; look at Zhu Ping'an at this time, he has not rested all day and night, and looks haggard and listless. He is not handsome to begin with, and his image is greatly reduced at this time. In addition, what can he do today? It would be good to perform at half of your usual level.

Why do you, Zhu Pingan, argue with me?

With such a comparison, there is no doubt that the number one winner must be Ouyang Zishi!

When I came today, Yan Shifan said goodbye to Ouyang Zishi, "No third person dares to compete for the top spot in this period, but you and Zhu Ping'an. As a brother, I can only help you so far. Let's see next. It’s yours.”

Ouyang Zishi was a little worried at first, but now seeing Zhu Ping'an's appearance, he had already put his whole heart into his stomach.

There is no second person to compete for the top spot in this issue, and it must be me, Ouyang!

Ouyang Zishi, who was waiting outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace, looked at the majestic palace wall with firm eyes. The moonlight fell on him, casting a layer of silver light. In the eyes of all the tributes, Ouyang Zishi looked like this at this moment. Great!

There were many people talking at this time, and it was not suitable to tell Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen the reason, so after Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen asked, Zhu Ping'an just shook his head slightly and explained with a wry smile, "It's a long story. I'll wait for this." I will explain it to you in detail after the palace examination."

Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen also guessed a few points. They nodded, and then whispered to Zhu Pingan about the relevant precautions for this palace examination. In their eyes, Zhu Pingan was still young and usually focused more on knowledge. , there is still a lack of common sense.

The tributes waiting outside the palace gate all knew each other in small groups and smiled. They were all Jinshi in the same discipline this time and were of the same age. They would be able to take care of each other when they enter the political wave in the future. A good man has three gangs, and a fence has three stakes. Everyone knows this truth.

As a result, the tributes, who were in rival positions with each other outside the palace gate, warmed up while waiting. Zhang Siwei was good at dancing and chatted enthusiastically with many tributes, but Zhu Ping'an and Wang Shizhen were relatively lacking.

Just when the relationship between everyone of the same age was like boiling a frog in warm water, and it was about to be cooked, the palace door of Xiyuan slowly opened with a creak.

The palace door is open, here comes the palace test!

The Enke Palace Examination has officially begun!