Du Hui finished another examination paper, set down his brush, and furrowed his brow slightly. The crease was not deep, but it lingered like a fine mark etched into his brow, refusing to fade.
He slowed down on the next few papers.
He read more carefully.
Word by word, sentence by sentence, pausing occasionally to jot down a few remarks in the margins—neat and restrained strokes, with not a hint of haste.
The papers recommended for review were not fundamentally flawed.
They all had their merits: some were smooth in prose, flowing like clouds and water; others were rich in classical citations and allusions, clearly drawing from a deep well of knowledge; some offered original insights that, while not always hitting the mark, were coherent and managed to be impressive.
Compared to the admission standards, the recommendation standards were more lenient.
This was the usual practice.
It was also a way to avoid missing hidden talents—no real harm in it.
This had been the tradition in every previous metropolitan examination.
The chief examiner set the cut-off line. The deputy examiners would then submit those papers that sat right on that line, or showed both slight flaws and promise, for the chief examiner to make the final call.
A tiered screening process.
It preserved quality, and also ensured that one person’s judgment alone would not bury a truly capable candidate.
Du Hui’s focus, then, was not so much on the papers themselves but on how the two princes evaluated them. It was their judgments that had creased his brow.
Sixth Prince Li Chengyu had handled his tasks commendably.
His evaluations were largely objective and fair. He admitted those who deserved admission and dismissed those who didn’t, with remarks that hit the mark—not the usual vague praise like “clear reasoning” or “elegant diction”—but incisive, showing he had genuinely read and pondered each paper. Every line of commentary had substance.
Yet Du Hui could still discern a slight leaning in the prince.
Li Chengyu placed significant emphasis on the policy essays of the third session.
Far more than the first two sessions.
In his system of evaluation, a candidate who shone in policy essays could still earn a high rating, even if their classical exegesis and administrative writing were only middling.
Several papers came to him.
Their classical exegesis barely average, their legal judgments and imperial proclamations merely adequate—but the policy essays were spirited, vibrant, sweeping in ambition. Without hesitation, Li Chengyu elevated these to the recommended list.
This was not a grave mistake.
The policy essay measured insight, breadth of vision, and practical acumen—it was by design the most critical part. The court did not want scholars who only memorized books but those who could carry out real work and make sound decisions in weighty matters. From this angle, prizing the policy essay was correct.
But.
A balance still needed to be struck.
Classical exegesis was the foundation, administrative writing was the craft, and the policy essay was the vision. The three were interwoven and indispensable. Over-prizing the last at the expense of the first two risked admitting candidates who could talk at length but stumbled in practice.
They would speak eloquently in theory but prove powerless when faced with the real thing.
Du Hui made a mental note of this.
He did not rush to a conclusion.
Then he turned his attention to the papers reviewed by Eighth Prince Li Chengyan.
As soon as he looked, his brow furrowed deeper. In the eighth prince’s pile, the papers that received high marks all shared a common trait: ornate writing.
The more embellished the diction, the better. The more refined the parallelism and rhetorical couplets, the more desirable. The denser the literary allusions, the greater intelligence they suggested. Some of the essays read like brocade and embroidery—luxurious, resplendent, every surface polished to perfection.
Those essays with plain language, substantive but lacking rhetorical flourish, mostly earned only a “passable” in the prince’s hand, and sometimes were outright rejected, never making it into the recommended selection.
Personal preference?
Du Hui thought otherwise.
Decades in the court, serving three emperors, he had seen every kind of man.
He knew well how often surface appearances veiled hidden calculations. This move from the eighth prince, Du Hui suspected, was aimed at him.
Du Hui himself, the Right Chancellor of the Great Qian, had a famously ornate literary style.
This was widely known—at court, among the literati, everywhere.
Decades ago, his own policy essay for the palace examination—a mighty piece, of over a thousand characters, dazzling in diction and ingenious in its use of classical allusions—so moved the late emperor that he pounded the table in acclaim and granted him the top scholar position on the spot.
In the decades since.
Every single memorial and essay he wrote had followed that same style.
Now, the eighth prince’s evident special preference for ornate prose might not be genuine taste at all, but an attempt to mirror what he supposed Du Hui himself prefered.
Du Hui found it almost absurd.
In recent days, he had indeed seen many examination papers trying to imitate his literary style. Those candidates had believed that since the chief examiner favored elegance and ornamentation, they should make their own test pieces flowery and none too simple, and that would not go wrong.
Du Hui withheld comment on that.
As long as genuine knowledge and substance were present, he cared little for style.
Everyone had their own habits of writing. Consider the Left Chancellor Lu Fang—his writing was plain and spare, so clumsy at times that no one would think it came from a top scholar. He used the same plain phrases and simple sentences over and over, devoid of in their compositions.
But Du Hui never held Lu Fang’s articles in low regard.
That old man, while harsh-tongued, had submitted memorials that hit the nail on the head every single time, so sharp and piercing that none could gainsay them.
The quality of an essay lies in its substance, not its surface.
A sumptuous surface with hollowness within is but gold-plated junk: an exterior of silk, a core of rot.
The eighth prince, Du Hui noticed, had done whatever this and that for a simpler reason: because Du Hui, though he outwardly allowed the two princes to work freely, is actually the person fact the deciding voice to the last point on all matters. The eighth prince wished to prove himself with such devices with what he considered Du Hui taste and at the same time to confirm him better approach to collate his decisions with what Du Hui's general tendencies or knowings.
The eighth prince aimed. Or to say: If what he chooses matches what Du Hui would choose, or fits with his aesthetics so long, it could therefore seem that only the eighth’s prince the eye worthy top honor with a discovery and agreement for like understanding.
Du Hui shook his head.
The eighth prince was only two years younger than the sixth, but seemed still very naive.
Such a mentality.
Was far too fixated.
A person too eager to stand out, too concerned about others’ judgments, easily loses balance and forgets the core purpose of a test. The examinations for this domain had tasks above all else for their empire if if somebody else approved. The prince’s way? On the surface, clever. From one deeper side, quite and moving and with the loss unworthy of what candidates can to guide.
Every such thought was kept locked inside Du Hui’s thoughts.
Toward the two princes.
His sympathy within his and there are was some favour leaning by actual through for his intent alone not with these partial shift unswaying.
As for the exams?
But if water be the more.
He no tip of no and more that still.
The candidate final announcements be the thing he made after he did but used most deserved for to- The more well as in this course.
He earned, as an upright official, had his minimum overall requirement that what he could acceptable: good, either under path he there he guard any now yet and still remains untinged by this all.
A conscience.
Solid river can across mighty. And all with prospective sons of full in its ages in see ages Du kept clearly keeping steadfast upon then and to answer to this land’s name could gaze across a space until huge and too clear.
For that.
In name in so this was all: Du Hui’s promise given but for actual future and its demand ….
…
Around a month swung past determined both and yet otherwise more than dates only.
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The junior officials responsible for refilling tea and water tiptoed through the crowd, afraid of disturbing these dignitaries.
Li Chengyu and Li Chengyan each drew up their own lists of successful candidates and ranked the numbers of the examination papers according to their merits before submitting them to Du Hui for review.
Du Hui took the two lists and carefully read them through from beginning to end. He read them again. Then he compared them with the list he had drawn up himself. After that, he looked up, his calm gaze sweeping across the faces of the two princes. His look was peaceful but carried a weighty significance.
"Your Highnesses," he began, speaking at a steady pace as casually as if he were talking to his own younger generation. "I've also drawn up a list. Please have a look."
With that, he handed over his list.
Li Chengyu took it with both hands, and Li Chengyan also leaned over. Standing side by side, the two of them looked down at the densely written words on the paper.
After they finished reading, Du Hui continued, "If there are any objections from Your Highnesses, please feel free to speak up. We can discuss it further together."
Although the words were polite, everyone knew that when the words "discuss it further" came from the mouth of Prime Minister Du, they carried a lot of weight.
Li Chengyu and Li Chengyan glanced at each other, then lowered their heads and re - examined the lists in their hands.
To be honest, the examination papers selected on the several lists were largely similar.
Everyone present had a certain level of judgment.
They could tell the good from the bad.
Those truly outstanding papers would surely be selected no matter who reviewed them. There was no doubt about that.
If an examinee wrote a resounding and insightful essay on current affairs, had a solid grasp of Confucian classics, and wrote appropriate official documents, such a paper could not be rejected by any examiner.
If it were rejected, the other two examiners would not agree.
The differences only lay in the rankings of the top candidates and the selection of the papers ranked lower.
Some papers were really on a par with each other, each having its own merits. One candidate was slightly better in the knowledge of Confucian classics, while another had unique insights in the essay on current affairs; one had a mature writing style, and the other had novel ideas. So each of them had their own preferences and choices. You selected this one, and I selected that one; you ranked this one higher, and I ranked that one higher.
All these were reasonable.
After reading Du Hui's list, Li Chengyu was the first to speak.
"Prime Minister Du," he pointed to several numbers on the list, speaking neither over - deferentially nor over - assertively. "These papers have good essays on current affairs. When I was grading the papers, I thought they deserved a mid - upper ranking. But on your list, they are ranked in the lower - middle. Isn't that inappropriate?"
He paused for a moment and then continued, "And as for the top scorer in the metropolitan examination, I still think the paper I selected deserves it. Its essay on current affairs is detailed and innovative. The several policies proposed, although not yet verified, in my opinion as a student, would surely benefit the country and the people if implemented."
"Such insight and responsibility are far beyond those of other papers."
He spoke seriously, looking directly into Du Hui's eyes without the slightest evasion. His young face showed a unique earnestness. Even though he knew that the person sitting in front of him was the current Right Prime Minister, one of the most powerful ministers in the Great Qian Dynasty, and the person sent by his father to observe his performance, he did not back down. He simply stated his thoughts one by one and waited for the other's reply.
After listening, Du Hui showed no sign of displeasure on his face.
He nodded slightly and patiently explained, "Your Highness is right. I've also read that paper's essay on current affairs. It is truly outstanding, with unique insights, and would be among the top in previous metropolitan examinations."
Then, changing the subject, he continued, "However, the imperial examination does not only look at the performance in one session. It requires a comprehensive assessment of the three sessions. This candidate's essay on current affairs can be ranked first, but his knowledge of Confucian classics is only mediocre, and his judgments and imperial edicts can be considered mid - upper. After a weighted calculation of the three sessions, I've ranked him sixth."
He paused for a moment and looked at Li Chengyu gently, "The same principle applies to other examination papers. Although the essay on current affairs is important, we cannot neglect the other two sessions. Do you agree, Your Highness?"
After listening, Li Chengyu was silent for a moment.
The room was very quiet.
The slight crackling sound of the candles could be heard.
Then he bowed slightly and said, "Prime Minister Du is absolutely right. I'm enlightened!"
He really hadn't thought of this aspect.
In his mind, the essay on current affairs carried much more weight than the previous two sessions. So when he saw a paper with an outstanding essay on current affairs, he unconsciously over - evaluated the overall performance.
He thought that a person who could write a good essay on current affairs must have real talent and learning. If his knowledge of Confucian classics and official documents was a bit weak, it was just due to lack of practice on a daily basis and could be improved with a little more training in the future.
But Du Hui's approach was truly fair - neither over - emphasizing nor under - emphasizing, and taking all three sessions into account.
He saw both the highlights of the essay on current affairs and did not ignore the shortcomings in the previous two sessions. After a weighted comprehensive evaluation, he gave a proper assessment. This was the real "way of selecting scholars".
Li Chengyu secretly remembered this lesson in his heart.
Du Hui nodded.
Then he turned to the Eighth Prince, Li Chengyan.
"Your Highness, the Eighth Prince, do you have any objections?"
Li Chengyan was looking down at the list. Hearing this, he looked up, with a proper smile on his face.
"Prime Minister Du has considered it more thoroughly," he said humbly, lowering his stance. "I have no objections."
Although his face was calm, his mind was calculating rapidly.
There were many differences between the list Du Hui had drawn up and his own.
Some candidates he had selected were not on Du Hui's list; some candidates he had ranked higher were pushed back a lot on Du Hui's list, which was very different from what he had thought.
After careful consideration,
he understood the deep meaning. Indeed, his own work was not thorough enough.
Prime Minister Du had his preferences.
But he couldn't be too obvious about it.
After all, Prime Minister Du was the chief examiner, and the whole world was watching. If all the selected papers had a flowery writing style, wouldn't it be like telling the world clearly that "I'm partial"?
Where would the fairness of the metropolitan examination be? Where would Prime Minister Du's reputation be?
So Prime Minister Du couldn't do that.
This way, with proper selection and arrangement, was the correct and fault - free approach. It took both fairness and face - saving into account.
Moreover -
The top scorer in the metropolitan examination was actually the paper he had recommended.
That was enough.
Li Chengyan's eyes skimmed over that line of words, and a flash of satisfaction flickered in his eyes. He had spotted this paper at a glance from hundreds of recommended papers. Its writing style was magnificent, the words were beautiful, the antithesis was almost impeccable, and it was so catchy that it made people applaud.
It must suit Prime Minister Du's taste.
So he had ranked this paper first.
Now Prime Minister Du had also ranked it first, which was enough to prove his talent in identifying scholars. The top scorer was the one he had picked out from thousands of examination papers.
No one could take this credit away.
Since that was the case,
what more could he object to?
Li Chengyan slightly lowered his eyes to cover the flash of satisfaction in his eyes, and his face still showed a humble and respectful look, as if he had just gone with the flow and everything depended on Prime Minister Du's wise decision.
Seeing that neither of them had any objections,
Du Hui nodded.
"Since neither of the two highnesses has any objections," he picked up the finally finalized list. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, like stones falling into a deep pool, stirring up ripples in circles. "Then unseal the envelopes and record the names according to this list."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.
Several examiners in charge of unsealing the envelopes stood up with solemn expressions, as if they were about to do something extremely important. The officials from the Ministry of Rites who had been waiting on the side also stepped forward, spread out paper and brush, and prepared to record.
Unsealing the envelopes was the last step of the Metropolitan Examination and also the most nerve - wracking part.
Before this.
All the test papers were sealed with the candidates' names and native places concealed. The examiners could only see the numbers on the papers, not knowing who had written them. This was an old rule in the imperial examination field, which had been practiced since the founding of the previous dynasty.
This was done.
For the sake of fairness.
Whether you were the offspring of a noble or a scholar from a poor and remote countryside, once you entered the examination room, everyone was equal. The examiners would only judge the articles, not the family backgrounds; they would only evaluate the talents, not the social statuses.
This was the most valuable aspect of the imperial examination and also its foundation.
Now that the rankings were determined, it was time to unseal the envelopes and see which family's offspring and which prefecture's candidates were behind these numbers.
One test paper after another was fetched.
The seals were removed.
The examiner in charge of unsealing the envelopes was very dexterous. He gently picked open the seal with a small knife, making a slight hissing sound. He revealed the candidate's name and native place, and his voice tightened slightly, as if he was uncovering a long - awaited mystery.
The official from the Ministry of Rites beside him picked up the brush to record, stroke by stroke, meticulously. The ink slowly spread on the paper.
Naturally, the first to be unsealed was the top scorer in the Metropolitan Examination.
Everyone's eyes focused on this.
"The top scorer in the Metropolitan Examination - " The examiner who was unsealing the envelope glanced at the name under the seal and his voice rose slightly, with an uncontrollable excitement. "Liu Zhixing, a candidate from Wuxian County, Suzhou Prefecture, Jiangzhe Chief - Secretary."
As soon as this name was announced, there were a few low whispers in the hall.
Liu Zhixing.
Most of the people present were familiar with this name.
He was the top scorer in the Provincial Examination in Jiangzhe, a place renowned for its prosperous literary style.
Jiangzhe was a major region in the imperial examination. In the provincial examination held every three years, there were tens of thousands of candidates. To stand out in such a fierce competition and win the first place, his reputation for learning had long been well - known.
Now that he had won the first place in the Metropolitan Examination again, it was not really a surprise but rather what was expected.
Du Hui nodded slightly. There was no obvious expression on his face, but his eyes lingered on the name for a moment.
Du Hui had read Liu Zhixing's test paper.
His knowledge of the classics was solid. He had answered every question right on point, quoting from classics and historical records effortlessly without any trace of rote memorization. His essay on current affairs was excellent, showing extraordinary insights. The several political views he put forward were clear - minded and logically coherent. With a little polishing, he would be a pillar of the country.
He had performed stably in all three sessions of the examination without any obvious weaknesses.
He truly deserved to be the top scorer in the Metropolitan Examination.
The unsealing continued.
One test paper after another was opened, and one name after another was read out. Some names were ordinary and had never been heard of in the capital. They were probably from remote prefectures and had reached this stage silently. Some were already a bit famous in the capital and were the talents that various academies were vying to recruit. They were recognized wherever they went.
When it came to the sixth place.
A name that the two princes were very familiar with but also a bit surprised to hear emerged.
The examiner who was unsealing the envelope read out, "The sixth place, Pei Cijing from the Marquis of Weiyuan's Mansion in Shuntian Prefecture..."
