A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 885 Palace Examination

Those who passed the imperial examination were called Gongshi, and passing the Gongshi examination was basically equivalent to passing the Jinshi examination.

The following palace examination was presided over by the emperor himself, who determined the ranking of the candidates and set the top three lists.

The palace examination is divided into three categories: the first category is the top three, and they are awarded the title of Jinshi, namely Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua. The second category is awarded the title of Jinshi, and the first place in the second category is also called Chuanlu. The third category is awarded the title of Tong Jinshi.

As long as he could pass the imperial examination and become a Gongshi, at the very least he would be a Tongjinshi, and would be qualified to be an official, and he would be appointed as a county magistrate.

The top three in the first class were naturally assigned to the Hanlin Academy. The other second and third place candidates also had the hope of entering the Hanlin Academy, but they had to pass further assessments.

There is also a chain of contempt in the imperial examination. Those who come from the Hanlin Academy look down on the second-class, those who come from the second-class look down on the third-class, and those who come from the third-class look down on the Juren.

Some lucky scholars may also be able to become officials.

As Lu Cheng won the first place in the imperial examination, stories about him began to spread widely in Kyoto.

He lost his mother in childhood and his father in youth. He worked hard to improve himself and studied poetry and books. He was kidnapped at the age of ten, but met a noble man who helped him. At the age of eleven, he made a name for himself and won the third place in the imperial examination. At the age of fourteen, he won the first place in the provincial examination and won the title of Jieyuan. At the age of fifteen, he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and won the title of Huiyuan again.

This growth process is as legendary as the characters in historical novels and vernacular stories.

A fifteen-year-old boy with talent is already very rare. Now he has passed all the tests in the imperial examination and won five first prizes. Who wouldn't call him a young genius?

For a time, the people of Kyoto were talking about it, and they all speculated that this year's top scholar might be Wenquxing. Some people even set up a handicap to bet on whether Lu Cheng would be the top scholar.

Of course, there are also some people who are not optimistic about Lu Cheng, thinking that Lu Cheng is too young and too outstanding.

However, all this cannot conceal Lu Cheng's excellence.

Along with his talent, Lu Cheng was also famous in Kyoto for his extraordinary appearance and gentle temperament.

No matter what era, when a person's figure and appearance reach the highest level and are widely recognized, they can also go down in history.

Some handsome men in history books have even become adjectives, such as Pan An and Song Yu.

If a young genius also possesses an extraordinary appearance and temperament, he will become famous instantly.

Although Lu Cheng behaved in a low-key manner, he never tried to hide his appearance. Many people living nearby knew his appearance. After hearing that Lu Cheng had won the first place in the imperial examination, the people around him also felt proud and began to publicize Lu Cheng's talent and appearance.

Upon hearing the news, the people of Kyoto and students from all over the country flocked to the alley where Lu Cheng lived, wanting to catch a glimpse of the extraordinary demeanor of the young talent.

Even many ladies from wealthy and powerful families sent their maids and servants to inquire about the news and see if Lu Cheng was really as beautiful as the rumors said.

Just a few days after the announcement of the results of the imperial examination, the alley of Lu Cheng's house was often surrounded by people. The patrol guards of the Five Cities Military Department had to send people to maintain order.

For a time, Lu Cheng instantly topped the "hot search list" of the Ming Dynasty and became famous in Kyoto.

This made it inconvenient for the maids and servants of the Lu family to go out to buy vegetables.

When Emperor Changtai in the Forbidden City heard the news, he couldn't help but smile.

In this lively atmosphere, time soon arrived for the palace examination.

At dawn on April 21st, all the candidates for the imperial examination were strictly examined and taken to the Baohe Hall in the Forbidden City. After a series of etiquette such as roll call, distribution of papers, praises, and salutes, the one-day palace examination began.

The palace examination only tests policy questions, which are set by the emperor himself. There is no limit to the length of the policy essay, but it is generally around 2000 words. The introduction, development, transition and conclusion of the essay have a certain format. Answers must be made in the "Tai Ge style", which is what was called the "Guan Ge style" in the Qing Dynasty.

Lu Cheng looked at the topic, thought carefully about how to solve it, and began to think about the idea in his mind. Soon, he formed an article in his mind. He also thought about the words and sentences in his mind, making sure that every punctuation mark was correct. Only then did Lu Cheng start writing.

At this time, many students present were still busy solving the problem and thinking about where to start.

An unknown amount of time had passed before, in the imperial study, Emperor Changtai put down the memorial in his hand and suddenly asked, "Big Companion, send someone to Baohe Hall to see how Lu Cheng responded to the essay."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Soon, a young eunuch came over and reported: "Your Majesty, has Lu Huiyuan almost finished answering?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Changtai couldn't help but look up at the young eunuch and asked, "What time is it now?"

"Your Majesty, it is now three quarters past four o'clock."

Emperor Changtai was also a little surprised. The palace examination was the last step of the imperial examination and also the most crucial step. The examination lasted a whole day, starting from sunrise and ending at dusk when the papers were submitted.

The morning is only halfway over, so Lu Cheng is almost done answering?

Emperor Changtai hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's go and take a look."

Soon, Emperor Changtai brought his people to Baohe Hall. The chief examiner, patrolling officials, and the eunuchs of all ranks around him all wanted to salute, but Emperor Changtai waved his hand to stop them.

Emperor Changtai had changed his clothes at this time. He first glanced at the entire venue, then walked half a circle, and unknowingly came to where Lu Cheng was, stopped, and began to watch.

The test questions this time were set by Emperor Changtai himself. Naturally, he knew best what he wanted to test. After taking a look at the contents on the test paper, he was immediately attracted by them and couldn't help but read them carefully.

The topics of this session include military farming and salt tax, as well as how to deal with floods and droughts.

These questions are neither difficult nor easy. The reason why they are easy is that there have been similar questions in the past, and there are even some answers for reference.

It is said to be difficult because this kind of question is most afraid of clichés, which fail to understand the emperor's mind and fall into clichés.

Lu Cheng's answer was not superficial. Instead, he pointed out the essence of the problem and proposed detailed, practical and reliable strategies, as well as a complete set of feasible plans and response measures for various emergencies.

Looking at the whole text, it is logically rigorous, innovative, surprising and clear. Reading it makes people feel like drinking sweet spring wine, which is refreshing.

It was a pity that Lu Cheng had already finished writing and put the previous test papers aside to dry. Emperor Changtai didn't want to go over and look at them directly, for fear of affecting Lu Cheng's answers.

Watching Lu Cheng put down the last stroke and finish it perfectly, the characters on it were large and round, arranged in rows horizontally and vertically, like a strictly trained military formation with neat appearance.

After reading it, Emperor Changtai looked at Lu Cheng's appearance again, couldn't help but nodded repeatedly, then turned and left.

In fact, Lu Cheng had already noticed Emperor Changtai's arrival just now. He even judged that he was the current emperor from the way he walked and the majesty in his eyes.

However, Lu Cheng still maintained his original rhythm and finished the test paper smoothly.

Seeing Lu Cheng put pen to paper, Emperor Changtai walked out of the palace, feeling very happy: "He is truly a gift from heaven."

The eunuch Dai Quan beside him naturally understood who the emperor was talking about, and he also echoed: "Your Majesty, it's not even noon yet."