The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor

Time flew by and the day of the palace competition soon arrived.

The palace started at three o'clock in the morning, and those who participated in the public trial the day before yesterday were waiting at the palace gate early today. Many people who had no chance to participate in the public trial tried their best to enter the palace, but were stopped by the guards at the palace gate. They could only watch with envy and jealousy as those students entered the palace in groups.

Mo Yan also arrived early. Compared to the last time, this time she was no longer so nervous. As soon as she got off the carriage, she saw Xiao Ruiyuan standing at the edge of the palace gate.

Xiao Ruiyuan left Chu Heng alone and came earlier than last time. He had been paying attention to the passing carriages and spotted Mo Yan immediately.

Across the long queue, the two of them looked at each other and smiled. Mo Yan was let in directly by the guards at the palace gate. Xiao Ruiyuan followed closely behind, talking to her at a distance of not far and not too close. This was okay. Didn't attract too much attention from others.

The palace competition was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the examination questions were formulated by the current academicians and a dozen Hanlin Academy officials based on the difficulty and scope of the test in Qiu Wei.

However, it is naturally impossible to take the seven-day examination like Qiu Wei, because that would waste too much time. These test questions have been streamlined and combined into one volume, and all must be answered within three hours.

As a result, even though the difficulty is almost the same as Qiu Wei's, the time is much tighter. It is not easy to answer all the questions in three hours, not to mention how well the exam goes.

In particular, there is still a policy question in the test paper. Although the word count requirement has been reduced from 8,000 words to 1,000 words, everyone knows that the more concise the article, the more difficult it is to write it brilliantly. Generally speaking, it is much more difficult to achieve good results in this palace competition than in Qiu Wei.

In order to more intuitively verify Mo Qingze's true strength, a total of ten examination questions were issued. In addition to Mo Qingze and the three witnesses, six students were selected from the top twenty students who obtained the title of Juren in this autumn. They participated in the palace competition together.

The vast majority of students study hard in poverty, and their ultimate goal is to gain fame and fortune through reading. For this kind of thing to show their face in front of the king of a country, the six people are naturally very happy. Even if they can't catch the eye of Emperor Hui'an, being favored by other nobles present can save them ten or twenty years of struggle.

However, when the results of the palace competition came out, it was found that some of these six people were indeed very capable. They were not among the top twenty, but they were completely reduced to Mo Qingze's foil.

When Emperor Hui'an arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, after everyone had finished saluting, ten sets of tables and chairs were carried into the hall, and pens, inks, paper and inkstones were put on them. After the student representatives present checked that there were no abnormalities, Mo Qingze and the other four were escorted by the guards. They brought it up and sat in their respective seats together with the other six people who were participating.

Mo Qingze had changed out of his previously burned clothes and was now wearing a green cotton robe. His handsome face looked more elegant and calm, and he seemed to be winning.

On the other hand, the three witnesses were uneasy, and their brows had not relaxed since they entered the hall.

Answering questions in the public eye, you don’t have to worry about anyone cheating or cheating, the test is about everyone’s true strength. However, with so many people present, it would be difficult for those taking the exam to calm down and answer the questions if they have poor psychological quality. This can be regarded as a kind of test!

Seeing that the time was almost up, Emperor Hui'an nodded to Eunuch Liang, indicating that he could start.

Eunuch Liang agreed and shouted loudly to the people in the palace, "The fifth quarter of the hour has arrived, and the palace competition has begun——"

As soon as he finished speaking, the little eunuch beside him inserted the newly lit incense into the incense burner. This kind of incense is specially used for timing, and the lit stick can burn for exactly three hours.