Chapter 112: The Bizarre Temple Exam Questions (Please Subscribe)

  It was almost dusk when a heavy rain finally fell in the capital. The streets quickly emptied of people.

  A horse-drawn carriage was pulling a coffin, on which an oil paper was placed to prevent it from getting wet in the rain. In front of the carriage sat two people, an old man and a young boy. Neither of them held an umbrella, letting the rain soak their bodies. The boy kept sobbing, and it was unclear whether what fell from his eyes was rain or tears. The old man's eyes were slightly red, and it was also unclear if he had cried.

  The horse-drawn carriage headed south towards the city gate, while Jiang Xia, Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin and Zhang Yong, dressed in casual attire, watched as it disappeared into the distance. The coffin being pulled by the carriage contained the body of Xingxian King Zhu Youzhang. Just a few days ago, he had entered the capital through the south gate, but now he was leaving as a cold, lifeless corpse. Fate is unpredictable and ever-changing; who can truly grasp it?

  As he watched the carriage disappear into the rain, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but sigh: "Everyone says that the imperial uncle is loyal and honest with no wild ambitions, but who can know that in reality he is clever and cunning, skilled at plotting? Fortunately, big brother, you helped me get rid of him this time, otherwise leaving him in the world would only bring endless disaster."

  "Are you really thanking me?" Jiang Xia suddenly asked Zhu Houzhao.

  Zhu Houzhao immediately became vigilant, taking a step back and pulling Zhang Yong, who was holding an umbrella for him, back as well. Only then did Zhu nod his head and say, "I'm very grateful to you."

  Jiang Xia smiled and stretched out his hand: "Then tell me, what are the topics of the imperial examination three days later?"

  Zhu Houzhao also smiled and then his face changed, saying: "You will naturally know in three days." After finishing speaking, Zhu Houzhao loudly said: "Withdraw the sedan chair, return to the palace!"

  "Return to the palace!" Zhang Yong shouted loudly, and two teams of brocade-clad guards rushed out from the rain curtain. A luxurious and exquisite carriage drawn by three sorrel horses was flanked by the two teams of guards. Zhu Houzhao and Zhang Yong walked towards the carriage together, only to hear Jiang Xia shouting loudly behind him: "I don't care, if I weren't the top scholar, I wouldn't have written Chapter 11 of 'Jin Ping Mei'!"

  Zhu Houzhao's footsteps paused for a moment, but he still endured and ignored Jiang Xia, continuing to walk. Jiang Xia continued, "I told Chunmei that you secretly watched her take a bath!"

  Zhu Houzhao halted his footsteps once again, this time for a slightly longer period than before. However, he eventually took firm strides forward.

  Jiang Xia shook his head and said in a low voice, "You forced me to use my trump card."

  "I won't tell you there's a way to make Tongzi Gong break his vow three times!"

  "What?" Zhu Houzhao suddenly let out a loud cry and jumped up, immediately turning around to rush towards Jiang Xia and saying: "Ah, good brother, my good brother. You are handsome and elegant, refined and dignified, with an impressive appearance. In the entire Ming dynasty, no one surpasses you in talent or intelligence, and no one can match your looks. I, Zhu Houzhao, am honored to be able to call you brother three times...

  "Hmph!" Jiang Xia ignored Zhu Houzhao's string of flattering words and walked away with a proud and arrogant face.

  However, Zhu Houzhao was not one to give up easily. He immediately puffed out his chest and followed Jiang Xia, flattering him with wave after wave of praise. Along the way, he swore that not only would Jiang Xia be the top scholar, but also the position of Grand Secretary would definitely be his.

  Zhang Yong and Liu Jin, who were following behind Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Xia, couldn't help but look at each other in dismay. They both suspected that they had seen things wrongly - was this really the current emperor, the ruler of the Great Ming?

  After walking for a long time, Zhu Houzhao finally stopped in his tracks. He looked at Zhu Houzhao and immediately smiled with a flattering expression. Jiang Xia shook her head, stretched out her right hand index finger and hooked it, meaning she wanted to have a quiet conversation with Zhu Houzhao.

  Zhu Houzhao immediately leaned in, his face full of excitement. Jiang Xia suddenly said loudly: "Fool, I was deceiving you. If there really was a way to break the curse, I would have told you long ago."

  "What?!" Zhu Houzhao shrieked again, bellowing loudly: "Jiang Xia, you dare to deceive the emperor?! Come and dismember him into eight pieces!!"

  Clang! Clang! Clang...... The two teams of Brocade Guards immediately drew out the embroidered spring knives from their waists, and the murderous aura, even through the rain, was directed at Jiang Xia. Some Brocade Guards even took out repeating crossbows, with the arrows directly aimed at Jiang Xia.

  Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Xia were both startled, and only then did Zhu Houzhao remember that there were also Imperial Guards here, not just Liu Jin and Zhang Yong who were used to their jokes. Zhu Houzhao immediately shouted loudly: "Stop! Whoever dares to hurt a single hair on Jiang Xia's head, I will have him punished by confiscating his family property and exterminating his clan!"

  The Jin Yiwei guards were stunned, the imperial order had changed too quickly. They stood there for several seconds before putting their embroidered spring knives back in their scabbards, and the murderous atmosphere disappeared without a trace. Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Xia finally let out a sigh of relief. Jiang Xia didn't dare to joke with Zhu Houzhao in public again, and neither did Zhu Houzhao.

  Three days passed in a flash, and finally it was the day of the imperial examination.

  The imperial examination of the Great Ming was held in the Baohe Hall of the Imperial Palace. Those who went to take the exam had to enter at dawn and were searched three times before they could enter the Baohe Hall. The four sides of the Baohe Hall were lined with brocade-clad guards, and on the front steps there was a dragon chair and a long table covered with yellow cloth. Under the long table was a small desk where several officials from the Ministry of Rites sat to assist in supervising the examination.

  The imperial examination is the key for ordinary students to decide whether they can leap over the dragon gate and fly high, as the saying goes: "In the morning, I was a farmer's boy, in the evening, I became an emperor" means just that.

  In general, the title of the imperial examination is nominally provided by the emperor himself, but in fact, it will usually be discussed with the Minister of Rites and his assistants, as well as officials from the Ministry of Personnel.

  In the previous imperial examination of the Great Ming, Zhu Houzhao did not participate in any part of the palace test. When the top three names were finalized and approved by the emperor, it was also completed by Li Dongyang, the chief assistant of the inner cabinet at that time, and several other senior ministers.

  But this time it's different, the topic of the imperial examination was personally set by Zhu Houzhao, and even the officials in the Ministry of Rites were not informed beforehand. Even Jing Gui is curious about what topic the Emperor has come up with on his own this time.

  Such an important exam, all the students naturally wouldn't be late. After almost everyone arrived, the officials from the Ministry of Rites began to take roll call and confirm that everyone was present before distributing the test papers. The so-called test paper was actually just a piece of Xuan paper, with only a specially printed area for writing one's name and hometown.

  Taking up the ceremonial paper, the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to loudly chant out the rituals for paying respects to the Emperor. The first item was "Respectfully welcoming the Holy Emperor."

  The scholars had to kneel down immediately and wait for the emperor to come out from the side hall. Jiang Xia muttered in her heart, not knowing whether Zhu Houzhao was doing it on purpose or not, she knelt for a long time before he came out from the side hall and walked all the way to the front of the dragon chair.

  Zhu Houzhao glanced at Jiang Xia, who was kneeling in the first row on his left, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. In his heart, Jiang Xia was secretly cursing: "The elder brother kneels to the younger brother, heaven strikes and thunderbolts." However, due to etiquette requirements that students cannot lift their heads to gaze directly at the imperial countenance, Jiang Xia could only lower his head.

  After a while, the official continued to shout: "Bow."

  Jiang Xia and a group of scholars all knocked their heads on the ground and shouted: "Long live our emperor, long live our emperor, forever and ever!"

  Zhu Houzhao coughed lightly and said, "At ease."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  After the students stood up, Zhu Houzhao nodded to Cui Zhengyi, the Minister of Rites, and Cui shouted: "Everyone, please take your seats."

  Jiang Xia was finally able to sit down.

  The Minister of Rites, Jing Gui, then proceeded to the imperial throne and said: "Your Majesty, the candidates for the palace examination have all arrived. I beg Your Majesty to bestow upon them the subjects for this year's examination."

  Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "Approved." Then two small eunuchs carried out a beautifully crafted wooden box and walked out. Jing Gui knelt on the ground and shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" He then stood up and opened the lid of the wooden box, taking out a scroll of painting from inside.

  At the moment it was opened, Jinggui was the first person to see the test questions, and he was slightly stunned.

  Jing Gui then handed over the test questions to two officials from the Ministry of Rites, who hung them on a lacquered red frame. Now all the students could see the test questions.

  At the moment he saw the test questions, Jiang Xia couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva with a "pu" sound.

  The title of the question is "Since ancient times, gratitude and resentment have been accumulated, and dust has not been raised for thousands of years."

  The students in the grand hall were all bewildered, and even those who had read the Four Books and Five Classics fluently couldn't help but whisper: "This isn't right, this isn't a question from the Four Books and Five Classics. The Four Books and Five Classics definitely don't have this sentence."

  Jing Gui coughed slightly, and a Ministry of Rites official immediately said seriously: "No noise is allowed in the great hall!"

  The students immediately fell silent, while Jiang Xia couldn't help but raise his head and glare at Zhu Houzhao fiercely. If he could speak, he would definitely curse: "This... damn bastard."

  That "since ancient times, gratitude and resentment have been accumulated, and for thousands of years, no dust has been raised." is indeed not a sentence from the Four Books and Five Classics. Its real origin is...... Chapter 11 of "Jin Ping Mei". Jiang Xia really did not expect that in this great Ming dynasty, there was actually such a strange emperor, who used a sentence from "Jin Ping Mei" as a palace examination topic, and yet it looked quite authentic.

  When many students first saw this topic, they were at a loss and didn't know where to start. But after thinking about it, everyone understood that they couldn't just hand in a blank paper anyway. So no matter whether you are familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics or not, I will use sentences from them to solve the problem.

  It is generally known that the most important part of the eight-part essay is the first item, which is to break down the topic. That is, use a sentence from the Four Books to clearly explain the meaning of the topic.

  The Master said: "Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."

  With just one sentence, Jiang Xia immediately solved the problem, and it was cleverly done.

  Zhu Houzhao's question means roughly that human love and hate will not change with the passage of time, it is a manifestation of being obsessed with grudges. Jiang Xia's sentence "repay resentment with straightforwardness, repay kindness with virtue" happens to answer the question, telling Zhu Houzhao how to learn from the sage's treatment of grudges.

  It is possible that even Jiang Xia and Zhu Houzhao, this pair of weird brothers, could have produced the Four Books in response to Jin Ping Mei.

  PS: Thank you to Da Shang Lou for your generous support, and welcome another protector to the Da Ming Emperor fan chart. Also, thank you to Xiao Qiang Ge, Bai Mian Shu Sheng oo, Ba Qi Tang Tang, and Fu Xiao Feng Da for your generous support, thank you all. The official explosion of the tiger is scheduled for tomorrow, I hope everyone can subscribe more tomorrow, the more subscriptions, the more explosions from the tiger. Today is the most touching day for the tiger.