At this time, Ning Que was staring at a man. He stared very seriously and unscrupulously. He was one of the hundreds of candidates, and the man was standing in front of hundreds of candidates, talking with confidence and composure. Originally, he would receive hundreds of admiring and even scorching gazes, so he was not worried about being discovered by the man. He just stared at him like this, as if he wanted to eat the man into Mo Ruye's pupils and swallow the man into Mo Ruye's memories.
The man was wearing a deep black robe with gold embroidery. He was handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, thin lips and a straight nose. When he smiled, there were a few wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. If he looked mature, he could be said to be in his forties, or young, he could be said to be in his thirties. In short, he was a very charming man.
He was Li Peiyan, the second most powerful man in the Tang Empire, the only brother of His Majesty, and the famous Prince. He was also the culprit who took advantage of His Majesty's trip to the Great Lake 13 years ago to join forces with several important departments and General Xiahou to put Xuanwei General Lin Guangyuan into prison for treason and execute the entire General's Mansion.
From escaping from Chang 'an in the first year of Tianqi era to returning from the City of Wei this year, Ning Que had been painfully struggling to survive in the world for 13 years. Not only did his hatred not fade, but because of the blood that burst out from the blade, the pain in his body and spirit, and the self-reproach hidden in the depths of his heart, it became stronger and clearer.
There were many people in Chang 'an that he had to kill, and Prince Li Peiyan was undoubtedly the first on the list. And today, in the Academy, he saw his target for the first time, so he looked very seriously. He wanted to imprint the handsome and elegant Prince's appearance in his mind, remember his eyebrows, his eyes, and the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes when he smiled, and remember the way his thin lips opened when he spoke, and then at some point in the future, he would tear it all apart.
Prince Li Peiyan smiled gently and encouraged like a spring breeze, "Young people, you are all the best in the world. Today, you must use all your skills to deal with the academy entrance exam, but you must not be too nervous. After entering the Academy, you must study hard. When you finish your studies, there will be countless positions in the Tang Empire waiting for you to bring glory to the Empire."
Ning Que stared at him and gently blinked, his eyelashes cutting the spring breeze.
Prince Li Peiyan looked to his left and looked at the candidates who were dressed differently from the Tangs. He opened his arms and laughed. "Although you are not from the Tang Empire, the Academy of the Tang Empire has always been impartial in its education. Please do not worry about the fairness of the admission. If you are successful in your studies, the Tang Empire will still wait for your service."
Ning Que stared at him coldly, his pupils as dark as the sun.
Concentration could be understood as passion, and hatred could be understood as awe by diluting it with two other emotions. The students waiting for the exam outside the Academy looked at the prince who was giving a speech before the exam. It was easy to understand the look in their eyes, so no one noticed Ning Que's abnormality. Only Sangsang raised her little face and looked at him worriedly. Then, she quietly reached her hand into his sleeve and gently held his slightly trembling hand.
At this moment, an examinee from the Yan Kingdom mustered up his courage and exchanged a few words with the prince of the Tang Empire. No one knew what joke the prince said, but it caused the extremely nervous examinees to burst into laughter. Li Peiyan took the opportunity to laugh and talk about some interesting things, intending to let the crowd relax a little. The examinees were tactful and no longer stood still and solemn like before. Those who should rub their hands, those who should rub their waists, those who should chat idly, and those who should praise … praised.
"The Tang Empire really has a wise king."
"The Prince's virtue is just as the rumors say, like the spring breeze and the sun, making people happy."
"Virtue."
Not all the candidates were flattering the Prince, but Ning Que could not help but frown slightly when he heard all the words around him. Thinking of Li Yu's title of Virtuous Princess of the Tang Empire, he murmured sarcastically, "Is there anyone who is not virtuous?"
"Yes, the porridge is not salty."
A candidate beside Ning Que answered very seriously. It was unknown when the person standing beside Ning Que was a young man. The young man was wearing a silk gown, with a gold belt and a precious jade pendant hanging on his waist. At first glance, Ning Que could tell that the young man was from a rich family, and he was Ning Que's acquaintance.
"Chu Youxian? You are also here for the Academy exam? " Ning Que turned to look at the young man and asked in surprise, "Why didn't you mention it when I went to the building a few days ago?"
This young man was the favorite only son of one of the Seven Noble Families in Eastern City. He was also the person whom Mistress Jian scolded when Ning Que stepped into the House of Red Sleeves for the first time. This person's name was Wang and his given name was Youxian. He was generous and liked to make friends. When they first met, he wanted to treat Ning Que to a banquet. Unfortunately, things did not go well. Later, when Ning Que went to the House of Red Sleeves to chat with Dewdrop and the other girls, they met several times and drank a few cups of wine.
Chu Youxian looked straight ahead, squinted at Ning Que, and said with a painful face, "My old man forced me to take the exam. He said that if I didn't pass the Academy Entrance Examination in Chang 'an, the bride's family would be picky when I got married in the future, and they would have to give more betrothal gifts. I was really forced by my old man, so I had to come."
Ning Que turned around and looked at the Prince who was talking to the candidates one by one, and said in a low voice, "The time for the Initial Examination has long passed. How did you pass it?"
Chu Youxian raised his hand and made a "two" sign in front of him. He looked straight ahead and said, "I went through the Military Ministry."
Ning Que knew that there were more candidates recommended by the Military Ministry this year than in previous years. He thought that it was because the imperial court was worried about the shortage of young generals in the army, but he did not expect that there were so many inside stories. Thinking of how he had been killing enemies and chopping firewood in the grassland of the frontier fortress for the past few years, he could not help but feel aggrieved. He cursed in a low voice and said with emotion, "Two thousand taels of silver … It's only enough to cover half a quilt, but it's enough to buy a place in the Academy!"
Hearing this, Sangsang, who had been standing quietly on the other side of him, could not help but look up at him and thought, "Young master, you are not happy. Why do you keep talking about that?"
"Two thousand taels of silver? It's not even enough to send off the gatekeeper of the Academy! My old man begged and begged for 20,000 taels of silver … And it's just a qualification for the Academy Entrance Examination. There's no guarantee that you can get into the Academy! "
Chu Youxian looked at him with disdain and said, "There is no government in the Tang Empire that dares to guarantee that you can get into the Academy after receiving money. Not to mention those ministers, even His Majesty can't guarantee it. So don't despise me. My old man said that I'm just here to get some experience so that I can get married in the future. "
While they were chatting, Prince Li Peiyan, accompanied by the officials and instructors, walked over. He ignored Ning Que and Chu Youxian and fixed his eyes on Sangsang. Looking at this short and thin little girl, he turned around and said to the instructor with a smile, "I didn't expect to see such a young female candidate. She's even two years younger than Wang Ying from Lin City, right?"
Wang Ying from Lin City was the young candidate who was brought back to Chang 'an from the village school by the instructors of the Academy. He was under 14 years old and was introduced to the prince by the officials. But they did not expect to see a little girl with a tanned face who was even more childish. But judging from her clothes, she was really …
"This is my handmaiden." Ning Que gently bowed and explained.
Prince Li Peiyan knew that he had mistaken her for someone else and felt a little embarrassed. The officials behind him immediately stared at the instructor of the Academy and said, "How can a handmaiden enter the Start-of-Term Ceremony?"
The middle-aged instructor of the Academy did not seem to feel the anger of the officials at all and replied indifferently, "There is no restriction for handmaidens to enter the Academy. This is a ceremony, not an examination. Just don't let her in later."
Being rebutted by the instructor, the official could not get angry. After all, no matter how high his status was and how much power he had, it was useless in a place like the Academy. The prince laughed at himself and patted on Ning Que's shoulder. Without saying anything more, he led the officials to move forward.
Ning Que gently bumped Chu Youxian with his shoulder and looked at the instructor beside Li Peiyan. He whispered and praised, "Xian, this is what it means to be neither bland nor salty. I like the Academy more and more."
The bell rang for the second time and it was the last time.
The instructor of the Academy told them the rules of the examination room expressionlessly. But the students were too nervous to remember because the rules of the Academy Entrance Examination were so loose that they were not forbidden to chat or ask questions, but they were not allowed to tell each other the answers.
Stepping on the scattered peach petals on the flagstones, the students in long robes walked up the stairs and entered the classrooms to prepare for the examination. Sangsang was left standing alone on the stone ground outside. At this moment, a few drops of spring rain fell. She looked up and squinted at the rain. Then she opened the big black umbrella on her back.
The content of the Academy Entrance Examination was similar to that of the imperial examinations of the Tang Empire. There were six subjects in total: etiquette, music, archery, driving, calligraphy, and mathematics. The total score was calculated and the students were admitted. In the morning of the Academy Entrance Examination, there were three subjects, namely etiquette, calligraphy, and mathematics. The first one was mathematics, which the Tangs were not good at or were not interested in.
It was quiet in the exam hall. The window frames on the wall framed the white walls and pink plum blossoms outside. It was like a peaceful and beautiful pastel painting, creating an environment that was very suitable for the mind to move. However, after receiving the mathematics test papers, the students who were sitting in front of their desks suddenly fell into chaos and sighed in a low voice.
"How can it be a comprehensive question?" Some students pulled their hair in pain.
"Are we so unlucky?" Some students looked pale.
Because there was no rule against making noise in the examination room, the students could not help but express their dissatisfaction and sorrow in various ways. In previous years, mathematics was the most difficult question in the Academy Entrance Examination. It was usually set by a doctor of literature and a professor of general mathematics. Sometimes the students did not even understand what the question was really about.
Ning Que put the brush on the inkstone and took a deep breath of the cool air. Then he opened the paper and saw only one question on it. There were about a dozen words on it.
"That spring, the Headmaster of the Academy traveled to another country and found a peach mountain with good wine. He climbed the mountain to enjoy the peaches and wine. He picked flowers and drank wine along the way. At first, he cut a catty of peach blossoms and drank a pot of wine. Later, he cherished wine, so he cut another catty of peach blossoms and drank half a pot of wine. Then he cut another catty of peach blossoms and drank half a pot of wine. Then he cut another catty of peach blossoms and drank half a pot of wine. Then he reached the top of the mountain and finished his wine. He looked around and asked the students," How many catties of peach blossoms and how many bottles of wine have you drunk today? "
…
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