Long Live the Empress

Chapter 311 On-site Examination

"Evidence is easy to prove!" Yan Liyuan continued to play with the sachet in his hand and said, "Call all the students on the red list!"

What? Call them all over? There are two hundred and ninety-nine of them!

"Father, I don't think this is appropriate! What if so many students really riot?" The second prince was a little flustered and wanted to stop it.

"What can a few weak scholars do? Are they more powerful than thousands of troops on the battlefield?"

The students couldn't lift or carry the students, and the Second Prince was so scared, he must be a coward or something very serious! The old emperor felt a little disappointed, if this incident was really related to the Second Prince, no one could protect him!

"Go and pass it!"

The guards took the order and left!

The Crown Prince, the Second Prince and others were at a loss as to what to do. They wanted to report the news but didn't know where to start.

The three top scorers were even more nervous. They were just one step away. Were they really going to lose everything?

It was indeed difficult to gather nearly 300 people at once! As time went on, the officials who were used to a life of luxury had leg pains that made it difficult for them to stand. It was almost noon, and they were really tired and hungry! How could they have suffered such hardship since they became officials?

But...what can I do?

The emperor closed his eyes and rested on the dragon chair, drinking tea from time to time to moisten his throat; the emperor leaned back in the gilded chair and looked at every official quietly. Some officials would occasionally look into the emperor's eyes and quickly avoid him, fearing that his fascinating eyes could peek into their inner secrets...

It was not until the afternoon that the students were brought up by the guards.

After kneeling and paying their respects, the students lowered their heads and waited for the old emperor to give them a lecture.

"Nine Thousand Years Old, you are in charge of the Supervisory Office, so I leave this matter to you! I am a little tired, so you start the interrogation! I am listening!" After all, the old emperor was old and easily felt unwell.

"Yes!"

Yan Liyuan held out his hand, and Wang Yi behind him handed over the red list. "Is there anyone who hasn't arrived?"

"Return to the Nine Thousand Year Old Master. Together with the top three, the top three, a total of 299 people are all here!"

The guard thought to himself: Fortunately we acted quickly, if it were too late, those students who failed the exam would have to return home!

How could he know that Yan Liyuan had already issued an order prohibiting students from leaving the capital. Some students had already walked to the city gate with their bags on their backs, but were driven back by the generals guarding the city!

"Put on some ink!"

At Yan Liyuan's command, eunuchs and palace maids filed out and placed a table and writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone outside the hall. The students sat upright on the ground, including the three top scorers!

Is this going to be... an on-the-spot exam?

The Second Prince and Fan Changyue looked at each other, wondering what to do!

The second prince gave a look to an inconspicuous eunuch, and the eunuch quietly left...

"Today's topic is: A small person cannot hold a big dream, and a short rope cannot draw water from a deep well. The time limit is 15 minutes! Everyone, start writing!"

The students at the scene all lowered their heads to write, and a few of them were quietly wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads!

Guards with swords stood around the students, their hands on the hilts. One student was so scared that he fainted.

The guards carried the man aside expressionlessly and asked the imperial physician to treat him.

Seven people fainted before the exam was even over! One of them even had to be injected with several silver needles by the imperial physician before he woke up...

Although the weather is a bit cold now, it is definitely not cold enough to freeze people unconscious!

The chief eunuch saw that the old emperor had a gloomy face, and hurriedly took out a calming pill and helped the old emperor take it.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly, and the guards collected the test papers and presented them to Yan Liyuan.

Yan Liyuan didn't even look at it, but waved his hand, indicating that it should be presented to the old emperor.

The chief eunuch placed the test paper on the dragon table and took a sneak peek. Tsk tsk… the handwriting on the top test paper was so messy that it would be a compliment to say it was written in a shabby manner!

The old emperor glanced at Yan Liyuan and sighed in his heart. Yan Liyuan wanted him to see with his own eyes the good things his son and ministers had done!

The old emperor looked at them one by one. Without even looking at the content, he screened out more than a dozen based on the font alone!

Looking at the content again, it is clearly a simple saying by Zhuangzi, but some of the answers are totally irrelevant!

"Pah!" The old emperor couldn't bear it any longer and threw the paper to the ground, "My dear ministers, please take a look!"

All the officials bent down to pick up the test papers scattered on the ground. Those who were good at liberal arts could tell how the test was answered just by taking a glance!

"Crown Prince! Second Prince! Are these the talents you have chosen for me?" The old emperor laughed in anger. The Spring Examination is the threshold for selecting talents. If the first one is wrong, how can the others be right?

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince knelt on the ground.

"Father, this matter is unusual. I will investigate it..." Suddenly, the Second Prince seemed to have thought of something and pointed at the Crown Prince and said, "The examination is very strict. Only the Crown Prince is always patrolling the examination room. If you want to know where the problem is..."

"What are you talking about, Second Prince? Are you saying that I passed the answers to them? This is ridiculous!" The Crown Prince glared at the Second Prince for interrupting him, bowed to the old emperor and said, "Father, please understand! Although I inspected the examination room, it was just to be on the safe side. Besides, the soldiers arranged by Lord Su are all second-class students and third-class soldiers. How can I pass on the answers? Second Prince, you are slandering me!"