NOVPUBHe said apologetically, "I’m really sorry, such a small matter, and I wasn’t able to help Mr. Li..."
Li Nuo comforted him, "Dean Tang, you shouldn’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault."
Tang Xian handed a wooden plaque to Li Nuo and said, "Although Mr. Li cannot formally become a student of the academy for now, I have arranged that, with this plaque, Mr. Li can attend classes at the academy anytime, and the academy’s Horse Field and archery range are also open to you..."
He looked at Li Nuo and smiled, "I believe with Mr. Li’s intelligence, passing the spring examination shouldn’t be difficult, and as long as you can pass it, even if you rank at the back, the academy would make an exception to admit you. It’s fine if you don’t succeed the first time, you can take the spring examination every year..."
Mr. Lu glanced at him and said unhappily, "What kind of talk is that? How could Mr. Li possibly rank at the back if he participates in the spring examination?"
Among the Six Arts, in mathematics, he is undoubtedly unparalleled.
As for the Book Department, his painting skills, which several have witnessed, are only a hair’s breadth away from the masters.
With such a level of skill in painting, in the Imperial Examination, he wouldn’t claim to sweep all the candidates, but he certainly could stand among the top contenders.
Though his calligraphy is somewhat lacking, being so proficient in painting, with a bit of practice in calligraphy, he wouldn’t be far behind.
There is no need to mention the Law, as he himself is a Law Practitioner, and no one has ever entered the Law Practitioner before the Imperial Examination; how could those young scholars surpass him in this subject?
Regarding Composition, his poetry is well-written, and although his political essays are mediocre, the first three subjects should compensate for this slight shortcoming.
The Ritual Department isn’t difficult—it’s almost impossible to score an A+, but getting a B is also rare.
The key subjects are music, horsemanship, and archery.
These subjects are difficult to master quickly, and even with extreme diligence, they require several years of practice.
But with the Li Family’s wealth, hiring a few good teachers for him wouldn’t be difficult.
Tang Xian, having attended a few classes with the teachers, understood Mr. Li well. Smiling at the words, he said, "Mr. Lu is right, with Mr. Li’s intelligence, as long as he works hard on the other subjects, becoming an Advanced Scholar is certainly within reach. If he cannot participate in this term of the Imperial Examination, on the next term he surely will achieve something significant..."
After his words fell, Mr. Chen looked at Li Nuo and said, "Mr. Li is unwell; we won’t bother you any further. Take good care of yourself, and we’ll visit another day..."
After sending off the several teachers and Dean Tang, Li Nuo returned to the Song Residence courtyard.
Sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, he unconsciously played with the wooden plaque, his gaze deep in thought.
This reform of the Imperial Examination couldn’t just be a coincidence.
He wasn’t admitted to Qingfeng Academy.
Nothing was happening.
Today he was about to enter Qingfeng Academy, and tomorrow the academy was reforming.
To say that no one was sabotaging this from behind, he wouldn’t believe it if anybody beat him to death.
Clearly, someone was preventing him from taking the Imperial Examination.
More precisely, they were preventing him from studying Legalism.
What brilliant schemes they have!
Not only did they suppress his rank by decree from the three provinces,
But they also legislated to block his participation, making him unable to attend the next term of the Imperial Examination.
Taking a deep breath, Li Nuo thought, great, that’s how you want to play?
...
Chang’an, Marquis Yongshou’s Mansion.
In a certain hall, a dancing girl gracefully danced while the sound of strings and woodwinds filled the air.
Seated on either side of the hall were today’s nobles.
As the dance ended and the dancer slowly receded, one of them turned and spoke, "To mobilize such grand efforts for this man seems somewhat unworthwhile. This proposal wasn’t even introduced yet, and to push its early passage, we had to spend at least one hundred thousand taels..."
A man beside him also spoke, "What Marquis Lantian said makes sense. If we could wait a few more years to introduce this proposal, we could save those tens of thousands of taels. Has Marquis Yongshou been too hasty?"
Marquis Yongshou looked at both men and said gravely, "If it were anyone else, it would be afine, but this man is entering Qingfeng Academy now, obviously aiming for the next Imperial Examination. Do you really want to see him succeed as an Advanced Scholar and enter the court as an officer?"
He picked up his wine glass and drank it in one gulp, adding, "Don’t forget, he is a Law Practitioner, who hasn’t even entered court yet but has already killed a son of a first-class marquis. If he were to become an official, wouldn’t Chang’an be turned upside down?"
Marquis Lantian chuckled, "Isn’t Marquis Yongshou overestimating him? Two months ago, he was still a fool who knew nothing. With only half a year until the Imperial Examination, does Marquis Yongshou honestly think he could become an Advanced Scholar? The Advanced Scholars of Daxia, they are not so easily attained."
In these recent terms of the Imperial Examination of Daxia, there were over one hundred thousand candidates.
Out of a hundred thousand, only one hundred are selected, almost every one of them a rare talent in all Six Arts.
And these one hundred thousand were not ordinary people, but talents who had emerged victorious from the spring examinations of various provinces.
They knew the difficulty of the Imperial Examination better than anyone.
Even their own family members, under the tutelage of renowned teachers, had studied the Six Arts from young and had spent countless amounts of silver, yet they couldn’t even pass the first round of the provincial examinations.
If a fool who had just recovered from a severe illness could pass as Advanced Scholar, wouldn’t the silver they had spent over the years be as if they had fed it to dogs?
The nobles laughed.
"Marquis Yongshou is perhaps too cautious."
"A green youth, what storms can he stir?"
"If he could become an Advanced Scholar, I’d eat the table in front of me..."
Marquis Yongshou scanned his eyes over the crowd and said indifferently, "Don’t forget, his father is Li Xuanjing."
The laughter in the hall abruptly stopped.
Nineteen years ago, when Li Xuanjing participated in the Imperial Examination, they were just young men.
Many of them had also participated in that examination.
The reminder from Marquis Yongshou brought back some memories from the past.
The Sixth-Ranking Scholar, unprecedented.
The major families of Chang’an had gone mad trying to recruit him, offering incredibly generous terms.
Countless daughters of distinguished families lined up outside the inn where he stayed, volunteering themselves for pillow companionship.
How wide Chang’an Street was, accommodating eight carriages side by side.
That day, it was packed to the point of immobility, even carriages had to give way when passing.
They only knew that this person was the son of the current Minister of Justice, Li Xuanjing.
But they overlooked that he was also the son of Li Xuanjing, the top scholar from nineteen years ago.
The smile on Marquis Lantian’s face froze, and after swallowing his saliva several times, he spoke, "Marquis Yongshou’s concerns are not unreasonable, those tens of thousands of taels were indeed well spent..."
