12dz Chapter 407
Chapter 407
The door hinges creaked with a long, dull sound, as if grinding across the hearts of every provincial candidate approaching the main gate.They watched as Yue Fuguang's carriage passed smoothly, as if entering an uninhabited land. The sharp-eyed ones even noticed that the imposing soldiers on both sides stopped their work, involuntarily standing tall and solemn as the carriage went by.
"Brother Wang, do you know which official just passed by?" A candidate from out of town gazed at the departing exquisite carriage and its disciplined escort, full of admiration. Such grandeur was surely reserved only for the purple-robed officials in the imperial court.
The local candidate addressed as Brother Wang revealed a mysterious smile. "That one? If I tell you, you've definitely heard of her..."
Yue Fuguang's carriage had already arrived at the Zhigong Hall.
She stepped down from the carriage and headed straight for the outer curtain of the Zhigong Hall. Above the lintel of the outer curtain were four gilded characters reading "Seeking Talent for the Nation." The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, harboring a hidden strength, and gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the faint light of the lanterns hanging from the eaves.
Inside the Zhigong Hall at this moment, aside from Yue Fuguang, all the officials—including the Crown Prince, who was the chief examiner—had moved in the previous night.
No sooner had Yue Fuguang set foot inside the Zhigong Hall than the courtyard was locked behind her, a gesture to demonstrate fairness and impartiality.
Seeing the busy chief examiner and co-examiners, Yue Fuguang greeted them and then found a place to drink tea and rest. After all, she was just a mascot brought in to hold the fort; unless something major happened, no one would bother her.
"Little Zhu, I'm so bored, and I can't sleep. I want to see what's happening outside."
Didn't they say someone wanted to cheat? It was the perfect opportunity for her to see if the examination searches of these ancients were as strict as those back home.
She also wanted to see how these predecessors managed to smuggle in cheat sheets.
"Master, it's very lively outside!" The system's cheerful voice rang out, showing that its attention had been entirely focused outside all this time.
Hmph! Yue Fuguang snorted softly. This guy was secretly watching the fun all by itself and didn't even think to call her!
Hearing Yue Fuguang's soft snort, the system silently hugged itself, and a live broadcast screen quickly opened.
From the live stream, one could see the thousands of people at the gate displaying a myriad of attitudes.
The few people at the very front were all top scorers from their respective provinces. Dressed in neat green robes, their backs were as straight as pines, and their faces were filled with pride.
Since they were all top scorers, it was inevitable that they would secretly compete and compare themselves with one another, both openly and covertly. Even through the live stream, Yue Fuguang could feel that this was quite a dramatic scene.
One top scorer, about thirty years old with a slightly dark complexion and a short beard, held his examination basket steadily in both hands, though his knuckles were slightly white from the force.
He did not look left or right, only gazing deeply at the dark outer gate. His lips moved silently, as if he were reciting the writings of the sages.
It was a deliberately maintained calmness, like a fully drawn bow, storing immense power within.
Beside him was a young candidate in his twenties, fair-faced and beardless, with bright eyes. Even the slightly worn coarse green robe he wore gave off a handsome and free-spirited vibe.
It had to be said that a successful candidate in his twenties indeed had the foundation to be proud. Among all the top scorers, he and the candidate next to him were the youngest.
However, although that other person also wore a green robe, one could tell from the fabric that he came from a wealthy family. The noble air about him and the unconscious sense of superiority in his every movement made the others instinctively more polite and distant when speaking to him.
"Does Master see any talents you fancy?"
Yue Fuguang shook her head. She hadn't had time to check their backgrounds yet, so naturally, she wouldn't blindly select talents based solely on first impressions.
She wasn't very confident in her ability to judge people. Once everyone entered the examination hall and she activated her merit detection, it would be a different story.
Yue Fuguang's perspective shifted backward with the live stream. Behind the top scorers were the ordinary candidates from various provinces and prefectures.
Yue Fuguang noticed a middle-aged candidate whose short beard was already showing signs of gray. His brow was furrowed with deep lines carved by years of hard study. He repeatedly touched the inkstone and brushes in his examination basket, his movements almost devout, as if these items were magical artifacts to calm his mind.
A gust of morning wind swept by, fluttering the hem of his washed-out robe. He suddenly trembled, vigilantly guarding his basket, and looked around. Seeing nothing unusual, he let out a long breath of white mist, which lingered in the cold night air for a long time.
Yue Fuguang raised an eyebrow. This was definitely not his first time participating in the spring examination. Judging by his behavior, he had probably been harmed by someone before, or had seen someone else harmed.
Indeed, one could never be too careful. It was entirely possible that there were people with crooked intentions here who wanted to eliminate dissidents and reduce the competition by slipping cheat sheets into other candidates' baskets. Honestly, as long as one was quick and secretive enough, it was a highly effective tactic.
"Little Zhu, keep an eye out. Don't let people with ulterior motives smuggle in cheat sheets to frame others."
Hearing Yue Fuguang's words, Xie Zhiyan, who had finally found a moment to drink a cup of tea amidst his busyness, immediately looked up nervously at the live broadcast screen.
It wasn't as if he hadn't heard of such situations. When his imperial father first ascended the throne, during one year's metropolitan examination, a candidate was found with a smuggled cheat sheet and flatly denied that the item belonged to him.
Later, upon investigation, it was proven that he had indeed been intentionally framed, simply because he was quite talented and had a good chance of passing.
In the live stream, there were young candidates whose faces still bore traces of childishness, yet two clusters of fire burned in their eyes. Impatient with waiting, they stood on their tiptoes and craned their necks, wishing they could immediately throw themselves into the battlefield that would decide their fate.
One person accidentally stepped on someone else's black boots and hurriedly bowed, muttering excuses non-stop, while fine sweat beaded on his forehead, whether from anxiety or shame, it was hard to tell.
In a corner, an elderly candidate stood out conspicuously. His hair was already gray, his back slightly hunched, and he was supported by a young servant. His frail, thin hands tightly gripped a polished bamboo cane, his knuckles as rugged as old tree roots.
He didn't look at the gate or the people; his cloudy eyes only stared blankly at the fading stars in the sky. He muttered to himself, and it was unclear whether he was praying or lamenting how many times he had already stepped through this gate.
Years and disappointments weighed heavily on his shoulders. Before Yue Fuguang could even sigh over this man's persistence and dedication to official rank, she heard the system suddenly exclaim in excitement, "Master, I've found something!"
"Little Zhu, where?"
As soon as Yue Fuguang spoke, the system immediately marked the problematic individuals with red and green colors above their heads.
The red boxes glowing like traffic lights shone onto the faces of those few people, making them look as if they were about to suffer a bloody disaster. Inside the boxes were several large white characters reading, I am a bad person, I use cheat sheets to frame my fellow candidates.
Meanwhile, the few marked in green had bright, striking green glowing above their heads. There were also words inside the green boxes, but this time they read, Someone is framing me, there is a cheat sheet in my examination basket.
Seeing this scene, Yue Fuguang almost laughed out loud but managed to cover her upward-curving lips in time by taking a sip of tea.
She really wanted to remind the system: did you even ask for their permission before making their heads glow bright green?
However, what she actually said was, "So these three in red stuffed cheat sheets into the baskets of these ones in green?"
Yue Fuguang looked closely and realized that among these little green men was that extremely cautious middle-aged man who clearly had a story.