73: Finish

If one doesn't consider the ‘Palace Examination’ which won't lead to demotion, the Metropolitan Examination can be said to be the last hurdle on the path to officialdom.

To be listed on the golden Ranking (list of successful candidates) was the lifelong pursuit of most scholars in Great Zhou.

To avoid being entangled by that group of people, Qin Chuan entered the Imperial Examination Hall first.

He didn't know, however, that this act of entering first was called ‘Deng Xian’ among the common folk, implying a good omen.

But regarding his early entry, all the examinees in the hall, including the Imperial Examination Hall officials, had no objections whatsoever.

Or rather, they considered it a matter of course.

Upon entering the Imperial Examination Hall, Qin Chuan saw his old acquaintance at first glance.

Hmm, an old dragon!

Bixi didn't even bother to pretend anymore; he shot up onto Qin Chuan's shoulder with a ‘whoosh’.

Qin Chuan: ...

He pointed at Bixi and said, “Don’t cause trouble for me this time. Just get through the Metropolitan Examination safely; I’m not planning to stir anything up.”

—He had attracted too much attention recently, and Qin Chuan felt it would be better to settle down a bit.

Being too conspicuous wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Let this Metropolitan Examination pass peacefully for him.

He entered his cubicle and began the examination.

After the examination papers were distributed, Qin Chuan merely scanned them and then began to answer quickly.

He didn't know if it was his illusion—

He always felt that the difficulty of the examination papers was not quite right.

Not too difficult, but too simple!

Although the difficulty of the questions had naturally improved compared to the Provincial Examination, it was far from the level of those ‘past true questions’ and ‘X-Gang secret papers’ that Wang Zhongshu had found for him.

Qin Chuan recalled the Empress's words about opening an ‘Enke’ (special imperial examination) in the Ming Hall, and he had a judgment in his heart.

Great Zhou was also getting anxious.

However, with this, it would be easy for everyone to meet the standard or get high scores, making the ranking judgment more subjective.

Qin Chuan shook his head, not thinking about these things, and continued to answer the questions.

He wondered if Qin Chuan's prior threat had worked.

This time, Bixi really didn't cause any trouble.

At most, a few dragon patterns suddenly appeared on his examination paper.

By now, Qin Chuan was no longer so concerned about these ‘ink marks’.

According to Wang Zhongshu, these things would not only not cause deductions but would also be a bonus.

The premise was—these were added by Bixi, not scribbled by himself.

With his pen flying, Qin Chuan immersed himself wholeheartedly.

At the same time, within the Zwei Wei Palace, in the Ming Hall.

The monarch and ministers were discussing.

Wang Zhongshu seemed to be trying to dissuade something, but the Empress's expression was very firm.

“Your Majesty, the re-opening of the Enke has been prepared. Although difficult, our Great Zhou has this foundation. However, to admit three hundred scholars in this imperial examination… I have never heard of such a number! In previous years, it was only twenty or thirty. A tenfold increase like this will have too great an impact on the imperial dynasty's destiny.”

The Empress's tone was firm: “My decision is made. Minister Wang, there is no need to persuade me further.”

Seeing this, Wang Zhongshu had no choice but to ask from a different angle:

“Are those so-called ‘Abyssal’ demons truly so terrifying? Our Great Zhou has made all preparations for war, currently…”

“They might be one of the root causes of the destruction of the ancestors of the previous era.”

The Empress's tone was flat, as if stating an insignificant fact.

Wang Zhongshu frowned upon hearing this: “Is that true?”

“Nine times out of ten.”

“Then this old subject was careless. I will urge the scholars of the world not to be negligent.”

The Empress nodded, her gaze looking towards the Imperial Examination Hall.

As if thinking of something, she suddenly smiled and said, “Your disciple is currently in the Imperial Examination Hall, isn’t he?”

Wang Zhongshu: “Yes, I hope he can pass the examination and be listed.”

“To admit three hundred people just for passing the examination, you think too little of him… I heard you value this disciple very much.”

Wang Zhongshu did not directly deny the Empress's statement, but said:

“On the path of imperial examinations, this old subject has no great demands for him. What I value is…”

Imperial Examination Hall.

“Phew—done in one go!”

Inside the Imperial Examination Hall, Qin Chuan stopped writing to check, nodding with satisfaction.

This examination, due to his complete concentration, was considered an exceptional performance.

The knowledge of several lifetimes was condensed onto a few examination papers.

Hearing the sound of gongs from outside, Qin Chuan closed his eyes and rested.

He could clearly feel that his Haoran Righteousness was increasing.

Although the increase was not large, it was enough to be exhilarating.

Thus, it continued until the last subject on the third day—

Poetry and Rhyme!

The topic was clear—‘War’.

War poem?

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote.

“Even great bandits have their ways, disdained by poetry and books.”

“Human heads as wine cups, drinking the blood of enemies.”

After finishing the poem, a heroic spirit seemed to enter his gut.

Qin Chuan was about to get up and call the examiner to hand in his paper early.

He suddenly remembered that the Metropolitan Examination seemed to have an unwritten rule—no early submission of papers.

This…

It was still early, so he checked his paper again. After finding no omissions, his attention shifted elsewhere.

Inside the examination cubicle, apart from the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, there was nothing particularly unusual.

However, there was not nothing worth studying either.

For example—

Bixi: ( 灬°ω° 灬)?

Qin Chuan lifted the lazy dragon son to his eye level.

He had always been extremely curious about such mythological beings!

Previously, during the Prefectural Examination and the Provincial Examination, he had no opportunity to study him, but now he did.

Bixi squinted at him, but did not resist.

Qin Chuan looked this way and that, turning Bixi over and over.

It wasn't until he tried to tie Bixi's dragon body into a bow that Bixi finally couldn't stand it and glared at Qin Chuan.

“Alright, alright, I won't touch you anymore… just look.”

Qin Chuan secretly thought ‘how petty’, and quickly coaxed him.

After studying for a moment, Qin Chuan came to a conclusion.

Which was—no conclusion at all.

After all, he wasn't a biologist, and he couldn't dissect Bixi to examine him.

However, the more he looked, the more Qin Chuan vaguely understood.

‘An incarnation of Haoran Righteousness, or an attached rule?’

No wonder he could, to a certain extent, help Qin Chuan perform the deeds of a sage in advance and engrave the principles of heaven and earth.

At this moment, Bixi was finally annoyed by this mischievous fellow in front of him.

After a slight flip and struggle, he disappeared with a whoosh.

Qin Chuan was embarrassed, but he didn't care much and continued to wait for the imperial examination to end.

“...Time is up. Everyone, stop writing, leave in an orderly manner, and wait for the announcement of the results.”

As soon as the time was up, to prevent being entangled again, Qin Chuan handed in his paper and disappeared from the Imperial Examination Hall at the fastest possible speed.