Chapter 173

Chapter 173

"Rumble..." Dark clouds churned and thunder boomed. Inside the capital's imperial examination hall, candidates were making their final checks.

The nine-day-long Metropolitan Examination was an immense challenge for everyone. The chief examiner, Minister of Rites Yan Song, sat upright in his chair, glanced at the weather outside, and slightly furrowed his brow.

"What time is it now?"

"Your Excellency, it is already past mid-morning. There are two more hours until we collect the papers."

The final day was grueling for both candidates and examiners alike. Once this day was endured, the Metropolitan Examination would be concluded.

Minister Yan stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked to the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back. A fine, needle-like drizzle was falling. Watching the candidates writing diligently, he wondered who among them would emerge as the top scorer this year.

Chen Qingyan had already finished answering his paper and was making his final fair copy. As anticipated, the last policy question of this year’s Metropolitan Examination was closely tied to current affairs: *The Qiang and Turkic peoples repeatedly invade the borders, harassing the populace. To achieve long-term stability, what strategies should be adopted to defend against them?*

Before the exam, he had discussed this topic with Qing Huai and Chang Yi, each expressing their own distinct views.

Chen Qingyan then wrote a lengthy policy essay advocating strategies such as achieving peace through military strength, strengthening foundations and securing strategic points, sowing discord to divide enemy forces, and using foreign tribes to control each other.

By the time he finished transcribing the last few words, little time remained. With the sound of a gong, all candidates put down their brushes and sat upright on their stools, waiting for the proctors to collect their papers.

Due to the unfavorable weather, four or five people held oil-paper umbrellas as they meticulously placed the papers into boxes to prevent them from getting wet. Special personnel were then assigned to escort the papers to the Ministry of Rites for grading.

After the exam, the candidates lined up and filed out of the examination hall.

When Chen Qingyan exited, he saw that Qing Huai and Chang Yi had already come out. They were standing by the carriage, waiting for him.

"Big brother."

"How did it go?"

Chen Qinghuai said, "It felt alright."

"What about Chang Yi?"

"Definitely better than the provincial exam." Last time, during the provincial exam, Liu Changyi hadn't rested much and fainted right after leaving the examination hall. This time, with fewer candidates, he slept well, and with ample energy, his performance was naturally much better than during the provincial exam.

The results of the Metropolitan Examination would be announced in five days. Those who passed would still need to participate in the palace examination, so the next few days were crucial for resting and recuperating.

Returning to the Liu residence, Chen Qingyan bathed, changed into clean clothes, and entered the study to write a note for Wang Ying. He informed him that he had finished the Metropolitan Examination and felt he had performed quite well. He would wait for the results in five days before proceeding to the palace examination.

It wasn't until nighttime that Wang Ying saw the note. These past few days, he had been so busy with property matters that he nearly forgot about the Metropolitan Examination.

After reading the note, he picked up a brush and wrote a message beside it: "Rest well after the Metropolitan Examination. Don’t be nervous during the palace examination. I hope you achieve great success."

After writing the note, Wang Ying took out another booklet containing the property deeds for Zhenghe Street.

Over the past few days, many people from the western frontier had been arriving in succession in Jizhou Prefecture. Ordinary civilians without travel passes and documents could not enter the city, so most of them detoured to various towns and villages to seek refuge.

Merchants were different. They traveled all over the country for business, generally holding travel permits and silver from various places, making it easy for them to enter Jizhou Prefecture.

As more people entered the city, the demand for housing began to rise sharply.

All the inns in the city were fully booked, and even communal bunks had risen to fifty copper coins per day. With no certainty about how long the war would last, staying in inns long-term was not practical. Many merchants began buying or renting houses in Jizhou.

It was said that a two-courtyard house on Zhengtong Street sold for over six thousand taels of silver, doubling the price!

Property prices on Zhengyang Street also rose. The house Wang Ying had previously rented for one hundred eighty taels a year now cost four hundred taels.

However, truly wealthy people were few. Small merchants reluctant to spend hundreds of strings of coins on rent began looking for houses on Zhenghe Street.

The properties Wang Ying had snapped up earlier saw their rents shoot up accordingly. The original annual rent of ten taels of silver directly tripled, now costing thirty taels per year.

That was not all. If someone wished to buy, a small courtyard that originally cost eighty taels could now be sold for two to three hundred taels, doubling or tripling in price in the blink of an eye!

Wang Ying did not sell the houses. Instead, he first tried renting out a few of the properties, planning to sell later when prices rose further.

*

On the third day of the third lunar month (early spring), the results of the Metropolitan Examination were announced.

The weather this year was not ideal. A light rain had been falling since early morning. The three of them had set off early for the Ministry of Rites under umbrellas. The spring rain fell finely on their umbrellas, creating a soft, pattering sound.

"I wonder if I passed," Liu Changyi said with some anxiety. The Metropolitan Examination only accepted the top one hundred fifty candidates. Based on his previous provincial exam results, it was highly likely he would not make the cut.

Chen Qinghuai said, "Don’t overthink it. What’s done is done. Regardless of the outcome, we must accept it."

"Right. Just passing the provincial exam is already quite an achievement. Many scholars never even make it that far in their lifetimes."

Liu Changyi was a contented person by nature. He had never harbored grand ambitions, having been pampered since childhood. The only hardship he had ever faced was the struggle of studying.

Failing the Metropolitan Examination would not be the end of the world. He could return to Jizhou and have his parents pull strings to secure a minor official position. Staying close to his wife and children, living a simple and peaceful life, would not be bad either.

Many people had come to see the results today. Besides the current candidates, there were plenty of onlookers. Everyone waited eagerly for the results to be posted.

Around 7 a.m., the official responsible for posting the results arrived. The crowd automatically parted to let him through.

As the red cloth slowly unfurled, Chen Qingyan’s eyes widened. First place: Huang Yuanzhou… Second place: Chen Qingyan from Jizhou Prefecture!

"Big brother, you’re second! You came in second!" Chen Qinghuai and Liu Changyi exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down and drawing sidelong glances from others.

Chen Qingyan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. "I see. Keep your voices down."

After the initial excitement, the two hurriedly searched for their own names. Chen Qinghuai started from the top, while Liu Changyi began from the bottom. Having performed poorly in the provincial exam and barely scraping through, he assumed that even if he passed the Metropolitan Examination, his ranking would not be high.

Chen Qinghuai found his name in eleventh place—ten ranks higher than his provincial exam result!

Don't underestimate those ten spots. If his performance in the palace examination didn't go poorly, this ranking would likely remain unchanged. Only the top three in the first rank and the top ten in the second rank could enter the Hanlin Academy.

The Hanlin Academy was known as a training ground for future leaders. Those who entered the Hanlin Academy would have the opportunity to remain in the capital as officials in the future.

Take Fourth Uncle Chen Jing, for example. Although he had passed the second rank back in the day, he did not enter the Hanlin Academy. Over the years, he had served in various posts outside the capital. Despite his outstanding political achievements, he never managed to return to the capital.

Chen Jing had high hopes for his son, wishing for him to pass the imperial examination and remain in the capital. Chen Qinghuai lived up to those expectations this time, achieving an excellent result.

Chen Qinghuai was moved to tears of joy. Chen Qingyan patted him on the shoulder. "You did really well this time. Later, let’s write a letter to Fourth Uncle and inform them."

"Yes."

Beside them, Liu Changyi still had not found his name. Scratching his head, he counted backward one by one. He had already reached the fiftieth place and still had not found his name.

"Could it be… Did I write so poorly that I failed?" Despite having prepared himself, he still found it hard to accept.

Unyielding, he searched again and finally found his name in seventy-second place. "I passed! Big brother, Huai brother, I passed!"

"What rank?"

"Seventy-second!"

Chen Qingyan took a closer look. It was indeed seventy-second place. "You did really well!"

Liu Changyi was overjoyed; with this ranking, as long as he performed normally in the palace examination, he was practically guaranteed a second-tier Jinshi rank!

It’s important to note that there’s a significant difference between the second-tier and third-tier Jinshi. Normally, those in the second-tier could be directly appointed to posts outside the capital, while third-tier Jinshi only had the chance to fill vacant positions.

“I must hurry back and write home to my wife and parents!”

“Let’s go, back to write letters!” The three of them got into the carriage, all smiles.

When they returned to the Liu residence, they happened to run into Liu Yaozhi coming back from court, who stopped them to ask about their exam results.

Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai needed no explanation—their abilities spoke for themselves. But to his surprise, his nephew had performed quite well, even ranking in the top hundred.

“Do your best in the palace examination.” With that, Liu Yaozhi hurried off to his study.

Lately, everyone had noticed how busy he was. Every day after court, a steady stream of visitors came to the house, all discussing the northwestern war situation. Sometimes, the arguments could be heard from far away.

The three of them couldn’t help him with his burdens, so they each returned to their rooms to rest and prepare for the next day’s palace examination.

*

Early the next morning, before dawn had fully broken, Chen Qingyan was already up. It was the day of the palace examination, and they had to gather at the palace gate by around 3:45 a.m.

The three of them boarded the Liu family’s carriage and headed north toward the imperial palace. Along the way, they saw many other candidates headed the same way.

When they reached the palace gate, they got out of the carriage. The spring chill was biting, leaving them shivering.

Since the palace examination would take a long time, everyone avoided eating or drinking to prevent any accidents during the test. A breach of etiquette during the examination would be a serious offense.

“Qing Huai, over here!” Not far away, Cai Jingqi waved to them.

The three walked over; the group gathered there were all scholars from Laizhou.

“We knew you’d all pass!”

Chen Qinghuai laughed, “Jingqi, you did quite well this time too. I saw you ranked thirteenth on the list yesterday.”

“Not at all, not at all. I’m far behind Brother Qing Yan.”

During the provincial examination, Chen Qingyan had ranked third, causing quite a stir in many academies because he had previously been unknown, with only a minor reputation in Jizhou. No one expected him to outperform so many talented scholars and make it into the top three.

This time, in the Metropolitan Examination, he performed even better, securing second place, which made many curious to see who this remarkable candidate was.

After a quick chat, everyone lined up in order according to their Metropolitan Examination rankings. Chen Qingyan, as the second-ranked candidate, stood at the front alongside the top candidate, Huang Yuanzhou.

Both were young and talented, with dignified features. Their blue Confucian robes and hats made them appear even more handsome.

At around 3:15 a.m., roll call began. Palace attendants carrying lanterns led them through a side gate into the imperial palace, where they first went to learn the proper etiquette.

The palace was dark, illuminated only by a few palace lanterns, adding to the mystique under the high walls.

Passing through the gate, the group kept their heads down and followed the attendants in silence toward the outer hall. No one dared to speak; only the sound of footsteps echoed around them.

Those who had made it this far were no fools. Accidentally offending a noble would bring serious consequences.

They continued until they reached outside the Wuyang Hall, where the attendants stopped. “Esteemed candidates, please wait here for a moment. An etiquette official will soon arrive to instruct you on the proper rites for an audience with His Majesty.”

Everyone bowed respectfully, and the attendants returned the gesture before departing. The vast courtyard was left to the more than one hundred candidates. No one dared to move about freely; they simply stamped their feet to keep warm and waited for the etiquette official to arrive.

By the end of the hour, a faint light appeared on the horizon, and the etiquette official arrived. This official, a Vice Minister of Rites, taught them how to kneel before the emperor and other court etiquette. Everyone practiced diligently, not daring to slack off, and continued until 7:45 a.m.

The Vice Minister allowed them to rest briefly while they waited to enter the main hall for the examination.

Chen Qingyan wiped the sweat from his forehead and watched the sun slowly rise outside the window. His body trembled slightly with excitement—he was about to meet the current emperor!