Chapter Thirty-Two: The Final Act

The second round of the examination concluded.

Someone immediately came to collect the papers. Zhu Hao kept a watchful eye on Lu Bing, the youngest among them, and noticed him standing there with a blank expression. Looking further away, he saw that Lu Song, who had been responsible for maintaining order, was nowhere to be seen, and he immediately understood.

These questions...

To say Sui Gongyan was pedantic might not be entirely accurate; the questions fell within the scope of "holistic education" and were not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics. The questions were not difficult, and using them to test the cultural knowledge reserves of the candidates seemed reasonable enough, yet Zhu Hao always felt an underlying sense of malice about this man.

After the answer sheets were collected, the grading began.

Sui Gongyan did it alone.

Half a day later, he set aside a dozen papers and tossed the remaining papers—less than half of the total—to the side, implying that only those dozen had a chance of being selected.

A clerk went over to check them carefully, then smiled and said, "Thirteen answered two questions correctly, and six answered three or more."

Out of six questions and twenty-three candidates, only six people had answered three or more correctly. It was clear how biased the questions were. Now, the issue was whether to shortlist thirteen people or only six.

Thirteen felt like too many, while six seemed too few.

The clerk looked over them again and smiled, saying, "One person answered five questions correctly, taking the top spot."

Zhu Hao immediately felt that something was wrong.

Judging by the reaction of the young Master Jing beside him, he was likely the one who had answered five questions correctly. He had been a bit dejected earlier, probably because he felt regret over a question he couldn't answer, but upon realizing he had the most correct answers among all candidates, he immediately became proud again.

Zhu Hao raised his hand.

Do you take me for a fool?

How could I not know that I answered all of them correctly?

"Wait, there seems to be another paper here."

Jiang Lun, who had been watching the commotion from the side, caught a glimpse of something unusual with Zhu Hao. He frowned and immediately leaned over to rummage through the discarded papers. His eyes lit up, "This child answered all the questions correctly; why was his paper placed here?"

The clerk was startled. "Sir, what you say... that's impossible, right?"

Jiang Lun handed the paper to the clerk: "Look for yourself, where is it wrong? This child is named Zhu Hao. I know him; he is the son of a military household. His father was a centurion who died for his country during the suppression of bandits, and his mother was honored by the imperial court as a chaste widow. Such a background is impeccable and perfectly meets the Prince's selection requirements."

Jiang Lun had preemptively blocked any excuses Sui Gongyan might use... don't even think about making an issue of the boy's background.

The clerk was dumbfounded after looking at it.

There really was one who got them all right.

"Master Sui, look..."

The clerk didn't know what to say.

The muscles on Sui Gongyan's face twitched twice. He didn't reach for the paper and instead spouted nonsense: "Oh, perhaps I was mistaken just now."

What a ridiculous yet all-purpose excuse.

Mistaken?

You old dog, I originally thought you hadn't noticed me, but it turns out you recognized me from the start. You deliberately pretended not to know me, didn't even glance in my direction, and were just waiting for the grading to cause trouble, weren't you?

If it weren't for Jiang Lun finding my paper in time, I'm afraid that even if I had stood up to argue, it would have been meaningless. You would have certainly ordered people to drive me out!

This is truly despicable!

Sui Gongyan had lived up to his initial assessment; he was nothing more than a petty, corrupt scholar who had actually transferred his jealousy of Master Lu onto his nominal disciple.

The clerk said, "That makes seven people who answered three or more questions correctly. We can keep them for the final assessment by Chief Clerk Yuan. Master Sui, what do you think..."

Sui Gongyan looked up, glared fiercely at Zhu Hao, and said with obvious impatience, "My task is finished. As for the rest, you all handle it yourselves."

Perhaps because he was frustrated that Zhu Hao's paper had been uncovered, Sui Gongyan flicked his sleeves and left as soon as the examination was over.

Those present looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling confused.

Why did he suddenly get angry?

Was it just because Jiang Lun pointed out that he had misgraded a paper?

Or was it because you deliberately didn't want that child named Zhu Hao to be selected? As a child from a military household, he shouldn't have had any grievances with you, so why target him so relentlessly?

Others couldn't figure it out and stopped trying, assuming Master Sui was just in a bad mood today. Only Zhu Hao understood what was really going on.

Jiang Lun, the clerk, and others left one after another. The children who weren't selected were escorted out of the Prince's mansion by guards, leaving only seven people in the courtyard.

And Lu Bing, whom Zhu Hao had initially pegged as having strong connections... was actually eliminated!?

This was truly beyond Zhu Hao's expectations.

But upon reflection, it made sense. The questions must have been improvised by Sui Gongyan on the spot. Perhaps there had been another set of questions, but he hadn't used them, leaving a child like Lu Bing—who was waiting for ready-made answers to pass the exam—completely helpless when faced with questions that looked like heavenly scripts.

"How did you manage to answer all six questions correctly?" After the field quieted down, Master Jing stared at Zhu Hao with eyes full of disbelief and suspicion.

Zhu Hao spread his hands: "I knew the answers, so I could answer them. If you asked me something I didn't know, I naturally wouldn't be able to answer... Are you satisfied with that answer?"

Master Jing frowned: "Did you know the questions beforehand?"

Zhu Hao smiled to himself, thinking: To be so young and already aware that exams can have leaks and cheating, you're quite knowledgeable, kid. But while you have knowledge, you lack insight. If you were sharp-eyed, you would have seen at once that I'm not some well-connected child; otherwise, would I have answered everything correctly only to be sabotaged by the examiner and nearly kicked out?

"In life, don't harbor so much darkness; try to look at the beautiful things in the world... This Master Sui is a provincial graduate who set the questions on the spot. Can't you see that? Unless I was a tapeworm in his stomach, how could I have known the questions in advance?"

Zhu Hao smiled and explained to Master Jing.

Master Jing's expression was cold, his eyes fixed on Zhu Hao, obviously not believing his words.

Outside the moon gate, the guards who had escorted the children out returned and were now gathered together, whispering: "...Master Sui was really in a foul mood today, sitting there with a face like thunder, looking like everyone owed him a fortune... Perhaps his days in the Prince's mansion are numbered!"

Zhu Hao's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Could this be considered useful information?

If Sui Gongyan remained in the mansion as an instructor and he had to attend his classes later... he would be in trouble.

This man was narrow-minded. Since he hadn't succeeded in tripping him up during the selection, would he give him a kind look during future classes? What if he couldn't even enter the classroom, or if the man filed petty reports against him every day, eventually leading to him being kicked out of the mansion in disgrace...

No.

Zhu Hao secretly made up his mind: such a person could not be allowed to stay in the mansion. The threat needed to be eliminated early.

...

...

As the third round of the examination began.

Zhu Hao and Master Jing were clearly isolated. Among the seven remaining candidates, it was easy to guess after a bit of inquiry that they were the two who had answered the most questions correctly.

Since Master Jing was the son of a county magistrate, he naturally became the primary rival and was not accepted by the others.

The only one who could truly speak to Master Jing was Zhu Hao.

"Hey, your name is Zhu Hao? You knew all six of those questions?"

Several children walked toward Zhu Hao together.

The one asking was the oldest among the candidates, two or three years older than Zhu Hao and Master Jing, and much taller. His tone was arrogant.

Conflicts between children were often resolved with fists. Zhu Hao's performance was too outstanding and clearly harmed their interests, so they came to apply pressure.

Zhu Hao nodded and smiled: "That's right, I knew them all. How about you ask me a few more questions to test me?"

Before the others could react, Master Jing asked from the side: "Who is the Grand Historian?"

Zhu Hao chuckled at this.

Master Jing was too competitive and unable to accept his own failure. He remained resentful, always feeling that Zhu Hao was a "connected" student who had obtained the questions in advance. Since the previous exam had involved Legalist discourse related to the Grand Historian, he simply asked a question that seemed like a "step back."

If you don't even know the Grand Historian, how could you understand what his words meant?

That would mean you cheated!

"Say, Master Jing, some people are trying to intimidate me; could you please not cause trouble here? Can't you see that if I can't answer, they'll turn their focus on you... Don't you realize we should be on the same side?"

Zhu Hao didn't answer the question, but instead shifted the conflict.

You guys are so eager to target me, let me give you a helpful reminder: shouldn't you deal with this arrogant kid beside me too?

If we're talking about connections, who could be more connected than the son of the local county magistrate?

Master Jing was waiting for Zhu Hao's answer when he suddenly noticed the other five children looking at him with hostile eyes, their expressions full of jealousy and suspicion. He suddenly realized he had been played.

Just as the group of children were at each other's throats for the sake of pride, the guards who had been whispering suddenly fell silent, each standing straight and looking to one side.

The children sensed the change in atmosphere and followed the guards' gaze, only to see several people entering the courtyard, led by an old man in a Confucian robe.

As the old man approached, the guards bowed and greeted him: "Greetings, Master Yuan."

"Greetings, Chief Clerk Yuan!"

Zhu Hao was shocked. This man was the Prince of Xing's primary strategist and the person who would later contribute the most to Zhu Houcong's ascension—Yuan Zonggao.

In history, it was Yuan Zonggao who initiated the Great Rites Controversy for the Jiajing Emperor. A top-tier civil official capable of proposing such a seemingly insane strategy to a powerless young emperor—which nevertheless succeeded in consolidating imperial power—possessed vision and strategy far beyond the ordinary.

Yuan Zonggao smiled and nodded in return to the guards, then waved his hand: "Alright, alright, I am only here to set some questions for the candidates to test their learning and insight. You all go back to your duties."