20demayo Chapter 605 The Princes' Performance
Chapter 605 The Princes' Performance
After escorting the person into the examination hall, Jiang Xiaoqi boarded a carriage, changed into official clothes on the carriage, and headed straight for the Hanlin Academy.
It's not a good time for working people, and he didn't even think about taking a whole day off.
He hadn't worked like a beast of burden in modern society for many years, but the guilt he felt about taking leave still lingered around him and wouldn't go away.
Liu Peng also took leave today. The Liu family is a large family, so naturally there are more members participating in the imperial examination.
As the leading figure of the Liu family's generation, Liu Peng naturally had to appear to offer some encouragement, after all, his former title as the runner-up in the imperial examinations was still quite useful.
Xiao Ming did not ask for leave, after all, there were not many scholars in his family, and even fewer who had passed the imperial examinations. None of them were eligible to participate in the spring examinations this year.
He thought he would have to eat lunch alone today, but unexpectedly, Jiang Xiaoqi arrived in the morning.
"Didn't you go to see the examinees off? Why are you back at the Hanlin Academy?"
"Oh, they've already entered. Are we supposed to wait for them outside the examination hall for three days instead of coming to the Hanlin Academy?"
"Haha, Brother Liu has also taken leave. I bet he won't come halfway through today."
Why even make a bet? Liu Peng is probably already home catching up on sleep.
Before the imperial examination began, the security of the capital was the responsibility of the fourth prince, Zhao Hongsheng, who assisted the Kyoto garrison.
After the imperial examination began, the capital city instantly returned to tranquility, and Zhao Hongsheng finally had some free time.
However, it was the Fifth Prince Zhao Hongjing, who was in charge of maintaining order in the examination hall, who was busy. The day before the candidates entered the examination hall, he condescended to stay in the examination hall with the examiners, putting on a very impressive show.
The officials in charge of invigilating the exams are a source of connections; those who pass the exams and become tribute students or imperial scholars in the future will be a valuable resource.
With resources and connections all in place, the Fifth Prince felt that his father's arrangement had a deeper meaning.
Why was he assigned to the examination hall alone? The fourth son could only do menial tasks and maintain order, not to mention the younger ones, who were all doing insignificant little things.
Only he, only he, could enter the examination hall and get up close to the candidates, the future tribute students.
This is practically paving the way for him. Is his father's heart finally leaning towards him? Is he finally siding with the son he has always ignored?
Just as the Fifth Prince Zhao Hongjing was overjoyed, thinking that his father was beginning to value him, an unexpected situation occurred in the examination hall.
A candidate suddenly fainted, causing a commotion in the examination room.
The Fifth Prince and his men rushed forward to check on the situation, only to find that the examinee was pale and had a weak breath. Could it be that he had suffered from heatstroke?
The weather isn't even hot! If cheating or an accident occurs in the examination room, he will be held responsible.
Upon arriving at the examination room, the candidates had already been carried out and laid flat on the ground.
The Fifth Prince saw that the man was thin and dressed plainly, and knew that the candidate came from a poor family.
What a useless person! They fainted during a test, they're just not destined for wealth!
The Fifth Prince felt contempt in his heart, but outwardly he had to pretend to be concerned.
"How is this person?"
"Your Highness, this person has been bitten by a snake. The doctor who is stationed at the examination hall has arrived, but we don't know if he can be saved."
"Biten by a snake? A venomous snake?"
The Fifth Prince believed that a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall. If there were poisonous snakes in the examination hall, he would definitely find a way to get out and could not stay here any longer.
"It's not certain yet whether it's a venomous snake. The officers are searching the area. The examinee might have fainted from fright, so it's not necessarily a venomous snake."
The Fifth Prince didn't quite believe this. The man's expression was clearly off, and there was a high chance that he had been bitten by a poisonous snake!
Fortunately, he brought two guards with him, so if anything happened, the guards could help him.
There was only one elderly doctor on duty at the examination site. The old man was slow on his feet and had to be carried there by the guards.
Saving lives is like putting out a fire; the constables were very responsible.
The old doctor stepped forward to take the candidate's pulse, and after a moment, lifted the candidate's eyelids.
"Doctor, how is he?" the Fifth Prince asked anxiously.
"No way."
"Huh? Dead? Dead?" If someone really died, even if I did my job perfectly, it would still be flawed and tainted.
"Ah? No, no, what I mean is that continuing the exam is not an option. The person needs to be taken out for treatment. There are not enough medicines in the exam room, and even if the person wakes up temporarily, they will still have a high fever."
Phew~ thank goodness, where did this weird doctor come from? Who taught him to speak with such heavy breathing?
"Is this poisoning?"
The Fifth Prince still didn't forget to ask about the most crucial matter.
"There is no poisoning, but this examinee has a deficiency of both spleen and kidney, and he was just frightened. Now he is completely disoriented and will be dazed for several days even after he wakes up."
It turns out he was just frightened; he's really timid.
Because of a non-venomous snake, they wasted their exam opportunity and now they have to wait another three years.
But none of that matters to me. If they want to associate themselves with someone of noble birth like me, they'll have to pass the palace examination first.
Otherwise, it would be the difference between heaven and earth, clouds and mud, never intersecting for a lifetime.
The Fifth Prince disdains associating with the common people; what good is it if someone is a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations?
Without family background or support, even if one passes the imperial examination, one will only remain a minor official for life, ending up stuck in one place as a county magistrate.
Once it was confirmed to be just a false alarm and there were no poisonous snakes in the examination hall, the Fifth Prince ignored the examinees on the ground, gave a brief explanation, and left.
The student fainting is a minor issue; preventing cheating in the examination room is the major issue.
To prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation, the Fifth Prince would naturally choose to continue his inspection.
"Let's send him out. It's not good for him to stay lying here."
"This……"
According to the regulations inside the examination room, no matter what happens, candidates can only leave the examination room three days later.
This has always been the rule, and it cannot be broken. Doesn't the Fifth Prince know this?
"Three days later? Then three days later, take this person..."
The Fifth Prince glanced at the old doctor and immediately ordered the person to be carried to the old doctor.
There was nothing wrong with the decision itself, except that he didn't know that the old doctor's place was just an office and there was only one bed.
Once the person is carried over, they either have to continue lying on the ground, or the senior doctor has to give up his bed.
The old doctor is over sixty years old; he'd lose his life if he slept on the ground for three days. Of course, we couldn't let him.
But this scholar looked terrifying; it was uncertain whether he would survive the exam after sleeping on the floor for three days.
"Sigh~ Let's listen to the Fifth Prince. We can't let them stay like this forever."
Several bailiffs carried the person away, and the examination hall returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
Outside the examination hall, inside an inconspicuous blue-canopied carriage.
"Hey, is your method even going to work?"
"Your Highness, rest assured, that sickly fellow was clearly identified before he even entered the arena. He looked extremely weak; a single grass snake would be enough to frighten him into illness."
"Is it just from being scared sick?"
"In severe cases, the person might fall into a coma for several days, but in any case, given the Fifth Prince's personality, he wouldn't treat someone of such low status with special consideration."
"Your Highness, please rest assured, the Fifth Prince will not be able to complete this task successfully!"