The Imperial Academy!
Inside the examination cell, a gentle breeze blew past as Chu Yuan sat at his desk, looking at the first answer sheet he had finished, quite satisfied.
As soon as he looked up!
He met Xu Youzhi's appraising gaze.
Then, he saw the latter give him a "I have high hopes for you" look, before turning his gaze away and continuing to walk forward.
Seeing this!
Even Chu Yuan couldn't help but be taken aback.
He was naturally no stranger to the Minister of Rites.
But he hadn't expected…
This father of the world's renowned generals would actually stop in front of his examination cell and even give him a look of approval?
There was something odd!
This seemed like an ordinary look of approval.
But behind it, the information it conveyed was intriguing!
For a long time.
Chu Yuan shook his head: "Forget it, there's no use dwelling on things I don't understand!"
The first answer sheet had been completed.
Next!
Chu Yuan was just waiting, waiting for people to hand in their papers. Although he had finished, he didn't want to stand out too much.
Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry to hand in his paper!
Sure enough, after about half a day, some of the more confident individuals began to ring the bronze bell hanging in front of their cells, one after another!
Typically!
The guards in the Imperial Academy would hear this and notify the sealing officials responsible for collecting the papers to come and retrieve them.
After the candidates completed their exams and handed in their papers!
The sealing officials would fold up the candidate's name, place of origin, and other information on the exam paper, seal it with sealing paper, and then affix the official seal of the Ministry of Rites.
Of course!
Having your exam paper taken away only meant that you had handed it in, not that the exam was over and you could leave.
Essentially, it was no different from collecting the papers after the first session…
It was no different!
Because even after handing in their papers, candidates couldn't leave immediately.
They had to wait until the official end of the exam before being allowed to leave the Imperial Academy through the main gate along with the other candidates.
At this moment!
Xu Youzhi, who was patrolling, casually walked around the hall a few times.
His gaze briefly swept across the candidates' papers, occasionally pausing and glancing at them with a faint gaze.
He had a general understanding in his heart!
Years of experience in the Ministry of Rites had allowed him to easily judge the true talents of the candidates before him.
Without a doubt!
After seeing so many candidates, he still couldn't find anyone else who, like Chu Yuan, had impressed him so much in terms of the paper itself, handwriting, or content.
The difference was obvious!
…
…
Back on the high platform!
The Prime Minister, Lin, slightly raised his eyes and said nonchalantly, "Minister Xu, did you find anything during your patrol?"
The so-called patrol inspection!
Ultimately, it was also to identify potential candidates and build relationships at the right time. This was an unspoken rule of every Spring Examination.
Everyone had been through this, and they all understood!
Undeniably!
They were all smart people, old foxes in the political arena!
Many things didn't need to be said, Xu Youzhi understood.
Right then and there!
Xu Youzhi also gave a faint smile: "I wouldn't dare deceive the Prime Minister…"
When it came to this!
Xu Youzhi's words became noticeably more frequent: "Indeed, I did."
"There is a juren from Zhuya County who is very talented at a young age, and his handwriting is even more pleasing to the eye!"
The Prime Minister chuckled!
He naturally guessed who Xu Youzhi was talking about, and his deep eyes slightly narrowed: "To be praised by you, the Minister of Rites?"
Xu Youzhi nodded: "His handwriting is truly excellent."
The Prime Minister was slightly surprised.
He had known Xu Youzhi for many years and knew that this man's standards were always high.
Very few candidates caught his eye!
This time.
If he wasn't mistaken, this seemed to be the first time he had ever praised a candidate so highly.
"Are you interested, Minister Xu?"
"My family has a son who is also at the age to start reading and writing. If there is an opportunity, I would really like to have this young man teach him."
"Oh?"
Then, the topic was dropped.
After all, the Spring Examination was still ongoing, and the results had not been announced, so it was natural to stop at this point and only talk about it casually.
If they talked about it further, it would easily be remembered by those with ulterior motives.
——————————
Time passed slowly!
The first day's exams were about to draw to a close.
As for the officials of the Ministry of Rites, they had nothing else to do, so naturally, they had plenty of gossip to share while guarding the Imperial Academy for three days.
They were all used to it.
Because of this, stories about Chu Yuan gradually spread throughout the Imperial Academy.
"Did you hear?"
"I heard that one candidate didn't even use draft paper for the first exam, he wrote directly?!"
"Is he a genius or a fool?!"
"Naturally, he is a genius, haven't you seen Minister Xu and the Prime Minister talking about him?"
"That's amazing!"
"I wonder who this talented person will choose as his mentor and whose student he will become."
For a moment!
The examiners in the Imperial Academy couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
There was envy, jealousy, and sighs…
Their conversations also strayed further and further afield:
"Be careful with the blind marking these two days, don't mix up the papers of the candidates that the two adults are paying attention to, it's bad news if you offend the adults."
"Don't worry, we know what we're doing, we won't."
On the high platform!
The Prime Minister, Lin, remained seated in the hall, ignoring the discussions below.
…
Three days passed, not long nor short.
Finally!
At sunset after the third exam, as the officials of the Ministry of Rites reminded, "Time is up, collect the papers!"
This Spring Examination finally came to an end!
The sound of the gong rang out, the doors of the examination cells opened, and this year's Spring Examination was over.
As he walked out!
Chu Yuan glanced at the figures on the high platform, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Rites, the two chief examiners.
They seemed to notice Chu Yuan's gaze and turned their heads.
They nodded slightly to Chu Yuan.
Chu Yuan smiled and returned the nod.
As he left the Imperial Academy, Chu Yuan was still thinking about why the Minister of Rites had shown him such favor.
Outside the Imperial Academy!
At this moment, the candidates, who had endured three days of torment, were all exhausted.
They couldn't wait to go home and sleep for three days and three nights.
To make up for the hardships of the past three days.
There, you could see—
Ye Ruoruo, along with Ye Sizhe and several servants from the mansion, had been waiting for a long time.
As Chu Yuan came out, she immediately exclaimed excitedly:
"Sir!"
"We're here!"
Seeing the little girl in front of him, Chu Yuan felt a lot better.
"Do you still have energy, sir?"
Little Fatty Ye Sizhe couldn't help but ask from the side.
Chu Yuan smiled slightly: "Why wouldn't I have energy?"
"Look at them…"
Ye Sizhe was speechless. He was just about to point at the passing candidates and say how they looked like walking corpses, having been tortured terribly.
But then, he suddenly saw that Chu Yuan still looked energetic.
He realized he had talked too much.
After all!
Compared to the other candidates with dark circles under their eyes, there wasn't even a hint of fatigue on his own sir's face.
He still looked handsome and charming!
Look at them, each of them looked like they had gone through a tribulation, and they had lost half their lives!
Then look at the sir!
They both took the exam, how could the difference be so big? Is this polite?
…