Sitting on the stool in his examination cell, Song Qiming heard nothing but the sounds of footsteps and the grinding of ink around him. It sounded like mice gnawing on wood, making him uncontrollably tense and panicked.
As the exam was about to begin, just as the outer curtain official was about to open the sealed exam questions, a dark blue figure hurriedly lifted the door curtain and walked in.
Flicking his whisk high and resting it on his elbow, Zhao Yande took an imperial edict from his sleeve and unfolded it.
"The Emperor decrees: the first session of the metropolitan examination shall use the backup exam questions."
The room was quiet at first, and then instantly erupted into an uproar.
"The exam is about to start, why would the Emperor suddenly change the questions?"
"What backup questions? Were backup questions even prepared for this metropolitan exam?"
The outer curtain official holding the sealed bag took the imperial edict, somewhat at a loss, and asked Zhao Yande in confusion.
"Eunuch Zhao, where are these backup exam questions?"
He had not received any news about this at all.
Since when did the metropolitan exam have backup questions? Wasn't there always only one set?
Zhao Yande raised his chin and said righteously, "They will be delivered immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, an armored soldier walked in holding a sealed bag, exactly the same as the one in the outer curtain official's hand.
Everyone was astonished. There really were backup questions? Had the Emperor prepared these long ago?
The thousands of candidates sitting in their cells were completely unaware of what had happened in the room. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the exam questions to be distributed.
Once the questions were announced, Song Qiming thought for a moment before he started writing on his draft paper.
In contrast, the candidate sitting opposite Song Qiming was filled with confusion when he saw the questions.
Why was it different from what was agreed upon? It was completely poles apart.
There were many candidates in the examination hall who had the same reaction, sitting on their stools unable to figure it out.
It was impossible that they were deceived, but what was going on now? Could they have been discovered?
The more they thought about it, the more panicked they became. Their minds turned to mush, and they couldn't remember anything.
Song Qiming strictly managed his time for eating, sleeping, and waking up. His body, accustomed to practicing martial arts year-round, allowed him to easily cope with the cold and damp environment of the examination cell.
On the other side, Cui Zhengyang, who had just recovered from a severe illness, was wrapped in a thick fox fur coat, not daring to let any draft in.
The edge of the fox fur coat had been cut open by the inspecting official with a knife for checking. Cold wind sneaked in through the opening, so Cui Zhengyang used his buttocks and thighs to press down on the torn spot.
The full three days of exam time were agonizingly long for everyone.
As the drumbeat signaling the submission of papers rang out, some sighed in relief, some pulled their hair, and some even wiped away tears over their answer sheets.
Song Qiming slowly organized his exam papers. It wasn't until he handed them over to the collecting official that the first heavy stone hanging in his heart was finally lifted.
At a quarter to four in the afternoon, the main gates of the examination compound slowly opened, and a massive crowd of people flowed out, accompanied by chattering voices.
The sharp-eyed Song Jinzhao spotted Song Qiming in the crowd at a glance and immediately led her people to greet him.
Song Qiming, who was being squeezed like a twisted dough stick in the crowd, suddenly felt his sleeve being grabbed. He turned his head, and a smile blossomed on his face.
"Sister."
Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue each pulled one of his sleeves, dragging Song Qiming out of the flow of people, while Lanxi and the others were responsible for holding back the surging crowd.
It wasn't until they climbed into the carriage that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly relaxing, Song Qiming now felt a deep sense of drowsiness and could not help but yawn.
Song Jinzhao didn't ask him how he performed but instead said, "Dinner is already prepared at the manor. You can eat as soon as we get back."
There was no real break between the three exam sessions; they could only hurry to wash up, eat, and sleep, lest they fail to wake up with enough energy the next day.
Upon returning home, Song Qiming first had a hearty meal, then quickly took a bath and went straight to meet the Duke of Zhou in his dreams.
Unlike the majority of people who hurried to rest, a small group of people rushed home and immediately started complaining.
"Father, the exam questions were completely different from what you told me!"
"How could that be? Are you sure they were different?" Teng Fei, the Vice Director of the Ministry of War, frowned and stood up, his face looking extremely stern.
Teng Shaoqin stomped his foot hard. "I took the exam myself, how could I not know? They were completely unrelated, without the slightest similarity."
"What you told me was 'He who uses virtue to practice benevolence is a true king,' but what was written on it was 'He who uses force while pretending to be benevolent is a hegemon.'"
"And then there was 'When a gentleman takes office, he carries out his righteousness,' versus 'When the Way prevails in the world, show yourself; when it does not, hide yourself.' One is about entering society and the other is about withdrawing from it. They are in completely opposite directions..."
With every sentence Teng Shaoqin spoke, the frown on the face of Teng Fei, the Vice Director of the Ministry of War, deepened.
The exam questions were told to him by His Highness the Prince of Qi. How could there be a mistake?
Teng Shaoqin sat down with a look of utter defeat. "I definitely won't pass to become a tribute student this time."
"Father, who exactly told you these exam questions?"
The same situation was happening simultaneously in the manors of several court ministers. Not long after, these people split into two factions and hurriedly rushed towards the Prince of Qi's Manor and the Prince of Ying's Manor.
Xiao Rongche, who was drinking wine and listening to music in his manor, suddenly heard this news and found it unbelievable.
"How can this be? Are you certain that the questions for this metropolitan exam were different from what I said?"
The official whose son had participated in the exam nodded vigorously. "My son told me about it the moment he returned."
He asked uncertainly, "Your Highness, was the previous information incorrect, or were the exam questions changed at the last minute? Could our scheme have been discovered?"
At this moment, the expression on Xiao Rongche's face had turned extremely ugly.
He turned and instructed his trusted aide, "Go to the examination compound immediately and find Yun Simiao. See what exactly is going on."
The subordinate responded heavily, "Yes, your subordinate will do it right away."
On the other side, the situation at the Prince of Ying's Manor was exactly the same.
Teng Fei looked at Xiao Rongyan, whose brows were tightly furrowed, and his heart sank deeper and deeper.
The two groups of people dispatched arrived almost simultaneously at the courtyard where the examiners were staying within the examination compound.
Upon seeing the armored soldiers standing guard at the gate, they walked a lap around the courtyard and discovered that the entire area was completely surrounded by the armored military.
Realizing something was wrong, both sides swiftly turned around and ran back to report the news.
"Your Highness, the courtyard where the examiners are staying is completely surrounded by armored soldiers. They are armed with spears and bows. Let alone finding someone to pass a message, not even a bird could fly in."
The personal bodyguard knelt before the Prince of Ying, his back breaking out in a cold sweat from anxiety.
Teng Fei's legs went weak, and he fell to his knees on the ground, his trembling voice filled with terror.
"We are doomed now. The Emperor has surely found out."
Bribing examiners and leaking exam questions—once discovered, meant beheading.
Xiao Rongyan sharply reprimanded, "With me here, what are you panicking for!"
"Imperial Father has not summoned us; perhaps there is another reason for this."
"You go back and wait for news first. Once I have investigated the course of events clearly, I will send someone to inform you. Let your son participate in tomorrow's exam as usual. Pretend that nothing has happened. Whatever you do, do not lose your composure and expose yourself."
When Teng Fei left the Prince of Ying's Manor, his footsteps were unsteady.
While descending the steps, he was not paying attention, twisted his ankle, and rolled down. His forehead hit the axle of the carriage, and a large lump swelled up on the spot.
