76: art of war

On the fifteenth day.

The 'account quick-switch' situation that Qin Chuan was worried about did not occur.

The Palace Examination was held during the day at the imperial court.

The challenge was at Zijin Mountain under the full moon.

A full moon, naturally, meant nighttime.

Then there was no problem.

Early in the morning, a carriage bearing the 'Chen Residence' plaque, exclusive to him, waited at the entrance.

These were the people hired during this period.

Not only the coachman, but also household servants, a butler, and everything else was complete.

Of course, most of them were helped by the Wang Residence's butler, and many people were even directly 'abducted' by Qin Chuan.

Even most of the missing items in the Chen Residence were 'borrowed' by Qin Chuan from the Wang Residence.

Ahem, it was when Qin Chuan went to visit his teacher that his hand slipped and he 'accidentally' brought them back.

The Wang Residence's butler was even afraid that Qin Chuan wouldn't have enough, constantly stuffing things into his hands.

Among them were even some of Wang Zhongshu's collections.

The result of doing so was—

Wang Zhongshu forbade Qin Chuan from visiting his residence again before formally becoming his disciple!

He was too 'poor' to bear this disciple who 'ate and took'!

Recalling this, Qin Chuan had a smile on his face.

He stepped out and boarded the carriage, waving to Qing Mo inside the door, signaling the coachman to drive.

The wheels of the carriage slowly rolled on the bluestone bricks, and at some point, the doors of the surrounding mansions had all opened.

Many people were looking towards the carriage.

The 'Chen Residence' used to be the mansion of a marquis, and the surrounding area was full of powerful and influential figures.

At this moment, it was the time for everyone to go to court together.

However, these powerful court officials found that the send-off from their families today was a bit too enthusiastic.

They had all boarded their carriages, but their daughters and nieces still hadn't left.

Until Qin Chuan appeared, boarded his carriage, and passed by.

"Chen Gongzi, you will surely be the top scholar this time!"

"Oh! Chen Gongzi is looking at me, what should I do? He won't come to my house to propose marriage, will he?"

"You lowly maid, Chen Gongzi was clearly looking at me!"

"If he brings elders to propose marriage... Grandfather seems to be very afraid of Minister Wang."

Qin Chuan: ...

Court officials: ...

The carriage gradually moved further away, and Qin Chuan sighed, shaking his head.

"It really is crazy."

Just then, the coachman, as if possessed, spoke:

"Gongzi, have you taken a fancy to any young lady?"

Qin Chuan: ???

"What do you mean by that?"

The coachman: "A lot of matchmakers also came to the residence some time ago."

Qin Chuan: ...

Qin Chuan hadn't seen any matchmakers recently, but this coachman also came from Wang Zhongshu's residence, so the 'residence' he spoke of clearly referred to the Wang Residence.

This...

Qin Chuan: "What did my teacher say?"

"The Old Master rejected them."

"That's good."

Qin Chuan didn't dwell on this question for long; at this stage, he hadn't considered it at all.

Setting aside the problem of him 'greening' himself, he currently had no such thoughts.

The carriage continued to move slowly forward.

In front of Zwei Wei Palace, Qin Chuan alighted.

He looked up and around, a large crowd had already gathered here.

All the court officials stood before the palace gate, waiting for it to open.

Behind them were densely packed new tribute scholars.

Unlike previous years, the number of people had suddenly increased tenfold this year, making the quiet Zwei Wei Palace seem a bit livelier.

However, it was clear that there was a distinct difference between these two groups of people.

The officials and dignitaries in front were talking and laughing, while the scholars behind were tense.

But they weren't without common ground—

When Qin Chuan arrived, someone shouted.

"Chen Wenyuan is here!"

As soon as these words fell, regardless of whether it was the officials in front or the nervous scholars behind, they all looked over in unison.

Upon seeing this, Qin Chuan was first stunned for a moment, then quickly calmed down.

He alighted from the carriage and walked forward without glancing sideways.

"Whoosh~"

The scholars directly in front of Qin Chuan uniformly made way, forming a path.

Watching Qin Chuan walk to the very front of the scholars' line, this group of people looked at Qin Chuan's figure with anticipation.

It seemed they hoped Qin Chuan would continue to walk even further forward.

Even the junior officials behind the court officials couldn't help but make way for Qin Chuan.

Who knew, Qin Chuan merely smiled slightly and did not continue forward.

He knew his place.

No matter how great his reputation or what achievements he had made.

Today, here, he was merely a scholar participating in the Palace Examination.

Instead of going forward and making himself disliked, it was better to wait honestly.

Seeing this, Wang Zhongshu, who was at the very front, nodded imperceptibly.

Then he heard someone say in his ear.

"Lord Wang, your disciple's reputation seems quite high, doesn't it?"

"It's just an empty name."

Although he said so, no one knew what Wang Zhongshu was truly thinking in his heart.

A moment later, the eunuch shouted.

"...Court session begins!"

The civil and military officials entered first, while the scholars behind looked at the officials in front with envy.

They yearned for the day when they too could stand alongside them.

Only Qin Chuan remained as unmoving as a mountain.

Those ministers clearly knew their place and did not seek discomfort on this day.

The court session ended quickly.

Not long after, an internal attendant came to deliver a message.

"Please, Chen Huiyuan and the other tribute scholars, enter the hall!"

Aside from Qin Chuan, who was called by name, everyone else was simply referred to as 'the tribute scholars'.

However, no one in the hall dwelled on this point.

Qin Chuan led the way, bringing the many scholars into the grand hall.

Upon entering, they saw that the hall was already filled with long tables, on which test papers were laid out.

Even though the hall was enormous, placing three hundred long tables still made it seem a bit crowded.

As for the court officials, they were nowhere to be seen; they had probably gone to a side hall.

Without any superfluous words, a voice of authority came from behind the pearl curtain:

"Begin."

After the words fell, the eunuch loudly proclaimed:

"All tribute scholars, please take your seats."

Qin Chuan followed the eunuch's guidance, arriving at the center of the first row, where he could faintly see the graceful figure above.

After taking his seat, he looked down at the scroll on the table, having no doubts about its thinness.

The Palace Examination was different from the previous stages of the imperial examination; it tested very few subjects, as the emperor could not wait for days for you to answer.

Most of the time, there was only one subject.

Either policy questions, or poetry and prose, and a small probability of classical exegesis.

Unfortunately, the content of this examination was not poetry, but a topic leaning towards policy questions.

'Military Strategy!'

Seeing this, Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze looking upwards.

Whether it was a misconception or not, he always felt that the gaze from behind the pearl curtain was fixed on him.

At this moment, the eunuch in front shouted: "Begin answering."

As the words fell, the entire hall seemed to come alive.

Some were writing furiously, others were frowning deeply.

It was clear that the Palace Examination testing military strategy had caught most people by surprise.

As for Qin Chuan, he pondered for a moment before beginning to write.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

"Military matters are of great importance to the state, the place of life and death, the way of survival."