FID – Chapter 446

  Chapter 446: Champion Examinee

  The Hall of Supreme Harmony

  Ten new students stood in unison in the audience hall, flanked by the civil and military officials.

  Feng Qingbai stood at the head of the civil and military officials, and on top of the throne was the young Emperor in his imperial garb. Although he was young, he radiated the Emperor’s aura.

  Feng Qingbai drafted the court exam question.

  The pressure on the students in the hall wasn’t the difficulty of the test question, but from the oppressive aura of the King of Nanling.

  He just stood there quietly, dressed in a dark purple official robe embroidered with a four-clawed dragon pattern. He was cool and noble, radiating an aura from head to foot that deterred anyone from looking directly at him.

  His thin lips gently opened as he read out the test question, making everyone feel the oppressive aura coming to the surface.

  The court exam consisted of only one question.

  The test was merely to gauge the students’ reaction on the spot combined with what they had learned previously.

  The scholars answered one by one first, and after they finished answering the question, the ministers gave their opinions.

  After a heated debate, the hall was filled with silence.

  The scholars stood there nervously waiting for the result.

  Whether the carp could jump into the imperial gate and soar to the sky depended on whose name the new Emperor read.

  A sound started. 

  A sound fell.

  ”Those who are able to stand in this hall for the court exam are the best among thousands of scholars in the whole of Nanling. Each of you is full of erudition. No matter what your ranking is, as long as your heart is on the right path, you’ll definitely be the pillars of our country with your knowledge. This isn’t the end of your journey, but the beginning. We have high hopes for you. We hope that in the future, the stability of the country and the peace of the people will have a share of your help.”

  As the new Emperor, Feng Mohan first encouraged them before naming the top scholar and the top three.

  After that, he handed the decree he had prepared to the court eunuch.

  Amidst the nervousness of the students, as well as the hundred officials watching, the eunuch’s shrill voice resounded throughout the hall.

  ”Today’s court exam gave us a glimpse of the talents of Nanling students. Everyone is brilliant and wise in this generation. It makes our hearts relieved. Among you, top scholar of Yunzhou, Liu Zhixia, exhibited extensive knowledge, shrewdness, and proficiency; he’s worthy of being the top scorer of the court exam. He deserves to be our appointed Number One Scholar.”

  ”Scholar Zhan Bolun of Weizhou, has good arguments and is strategic. He should be the second top scholar.”

  ”Scholar Lu Xuan of Yuzhou is talented and aggressive in his thinking. He should be third top scholar.”

  Once the decree was read, the hall was filled with an uproar. Immediately, congratulations were heard.

  Liu Zhixia stood at the head of the scholars, quietly closed his eyes and opened them only after a while.

  In an instant, he suppressed the emotions that were stirring and raging inside him. He was in control of his emotions freely.

  After ten years of hard study, he never thought highly of himself or looked down on himself. Therefore, he was neither surprised nor not surprised by being named the Number One Scholar.

  It was true. As Feng Mohan said, this wasn’t the end, but just the beginning, his first step into officialdom and into the whirlpool.

  On that occasion, talking about stratagems on paper wouldn’t survive. Real ability would have to be seen when it came down to it.

  People all around came to congratulate Liu Zhixia, and he responded to them one by one, without sounding condescending. He was neither humble nor pert and knew how to advance or retreat. Many officials looked at him and nodded inwardly.

  After the final imperial examination, the Emperor led all officials and scholars to the imperial garden, letting the monarch and his subjects enjoy time together.

  As the spring flowers bloomed and the ice and snow melted, all kinds of precious flowers in the imperial garden had bloomed one after another.

  The scenery was extremely beautiful.

  In the column of scholars, Liu Zhixia was surrounded by other scholars, walking and talking.

  Feng Mohan led the line of officials, followed by Feng Qingshan and the prime minister, then came the hundreds of officials. The procession was quite vast and spectacular.

  ”This minister has not yet congratulated Your Highness. Your Highness has added another general to your hands. The future is promising.”

  ”Prime Minister, you must be joking. Compared to your large assembly of men of talent, this King is ashamed. The people I can use are really not much.”

  ”Your Highness is young. When you reach the age of this minister, you’ll naturally see another scene. There’s no need to envy. You must walk on the road step by step to be able to walk steadily. This is also how this minister came to be.”

  ”This King has learned from Prime Minister’s experience. We must walk steadily and properly, lest we accidentally tumble and fall.”

  The hundreds of officials behind them heard a bit of their verbal confrontation. No one dared to talk to each other. The battle between the two giants had been long-standing. No matter which side they were on, they wouldn’t expose themselves at this time. 

  Early birds always die too fast.

  When they arrived at the imperial garden, the two giants separated, surrounded by their respective vassals. There was no more talk, not even eye contact.

  The Prime Minister stood in the crowd and watched the group of scholars.

  Liu Zhixia wasn’t the most conspicuous, but his temperament and calm and introverted attitude, was more outstanding than the other scholars. He gave off the impression of a stork in a flock of fowls.

  If he was given time to develop, he would be of great use.

  Who among the civil and military officials of the court didn’t know the relationship between Liu Zhixia and the King of Nanling?

  When studying at the Imperial Academy, he lived in the King’s Manor.

  From the start, he had made up his mind to suppress him in today’s court exam.

  Unfortunately, the situation spiraled out of control. This child’s performance was too bright, and he fit the phrase amazing talent. He didn’t even find a cause to suppress him.

  In this game, he lost entirely to Feng Qingbai.

  Only in the future could he find ways to suppress Feng Qingbai’s forces.

  With this in mind, the Prime Minister’s eyes sank gloomily.

  Feng Qingbai was too difficult to deal with. He could always deploy unexpected moves every time.

  If in the past, the fight between the two could still maintain the balance, everything had now become increasingly difficult to the end.

  He was beginning to feel powerless now.

  Firstly, the Liu family, who served as their bank, suffered accidents frequently.

  Next came Consort Liu. She had always acted steadily, but he didn’t know which tendon had gone wrong. She was stimulated every time and lost all sense of reason.  Her means and style were becoming more and more mediocre with little difference to married women. Most of her tricks were the narrow-minded means of some harem women, which were entirely useless in major events.

  Qin Xiao spent most of his time and energy in the military camp. Although he belonged to the faction, he had little contact with them, and they rarely saw him show his face.

  The entire imperial court, which was almost equivalent to the entire faction to which Dowager Consort Liu belonged, was the only one who was facing Feng Qingbai head-on.

  Their difficulty to support themselves alone was becoming more obvious.

  And Feng Mohan was also starting to grow speedily.

  The day Feng Mohan officially took over the political affairs, it would be very difficult to turn things around.

  This makes the Prime Minister’s heart anxious.

  The more restless and discomposed this side of the room was, the more calm and the more stable Feng Qingbai acted.

  In court games, the mind and the heart were the means of fighting.

  The weaker side would be defeated.

  Now, where did that leave them?

  The Emperor took all officials and scholars in the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers, while the news of the top, the second, and the third top scholars spread out of the palace gates. It instantly set off a furor over the capital. The imperial decree, announcing it to the world, was also posted on the wall at the entrance of the city at the same time.

  The names of the scholars written in thick ink were on the bright yellow imperial decree. The first row was the five big words written in bold ink —— Number One Scholar – Liu Zhixia.