Chapter 170: Thousand Carps Swimming Through The River
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
A fine drizzle floated down from the sky in Yan Capital. This was not supposed to the right weather for a stroll. However, the moment the first ray of sunshine touched the sky, countless of gifted scholars wore their traditional clothes or silk robes and made their way down the streets.
One after another opened their wax paper umbrellas.
A plethora of patterns was imprinted on these umbrellas. There were rivers and mountain in ink, paintings of rushing rivers. There were red, white, green and a variety of colourful flower imprints that looked like a bouquet from above.
This looked like a living breathing canvas.
Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu walked beside each other in the crowd. Yan Xiu wore Chinese traditional clothes with a decoration of rivers and mountains in ink on it. On the other hand, Fang Zhengzhi donned his usual blue Changshan.
Both carrying a wax paper umbrella each, drifting through the streets.
The location of the Imperial Examinations had always been at the Imperial Academy. As the largest academy in the whole of the Great Xia dynasty, its architecture was classic yet a strong historical aura permeated its walls.
Rumours have it that the history of the Imperial Academy was even longer than that of the Imperial Palace of the Great Xia Dynasty.
It was the previous dynasty's palace. After the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty, the old palace underwent a renovation but the basic structures were preserved.
When Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu arrived at the gates of the Imperial Academy, they found that it was blocked by a sea of young scholars in their different upscale items of clothing.
Of course, there were some ladies all dressed up surrounding them and looking on. There were also some ladies dressed simply and elegantly, reading to compete in this examination on an equal level as the men.
Compared to the examinations in the River of Trust Province, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu did not attract too much attention this time.
After all, in this massive Yan Capital, there were simply too many blinding talents. For example, Xing Qingsui from the Peace Province or the eldest son of the first-class official of the Su family, Su Donglin.
There were even rumours that there was even someone from the secretive Southern Palace Clan was coming.
Su Rui trusted the credibility of this information since it was from Yan Xiu.
Fang Zhengzhi once asked Yan Xiu how capable these people were and Yan Xiu had a veiled reaction and replied with one sentence, " Extremely capable!"
Fang Zhengzhi did not inquire further.
Because, for Yan Xiu to admit their strength, those people must be the real deal.
"What do you think would happen if I became the Double Roll Champion again?" Fang Zhengzhi looked around the crowd surrounding the door and casually mentioned.
Yan Xiu stared at Fang Zhengzhi.
His face showed a hint of shock but it was fleeting. He immediately returned to his cold and aloof persona.
"That would be very difficult!" Yan Xiu opened his mouth.
Although it was an answer, it was not very informative.
Fang Zhengzhi knew very well. Although he achieved Heavenly Reflection State, the Imperial Examinations were different from the Provincial Examinations. Passing the Imperial Examinations meant that they could rise to become palace officials.
This clearly showed the height of the bar set.
Many young scholars who passed the Provincial Examinations were stopped at this stage. They then returned to their books to revise day after day, year after year, diligently preparing for the next one.
This resulted in a phenomenon.
It was the phenomenon of compression. For example, the first ever Imperial Examinations might only pass fifty people. That batch's fifty-first candidate onwards would be compressed to the next Imperial Examinations.
However, in the next Imperial Examinations, there would also be new candidates entering. After the even more merciless competition, there would be more people being compressed to the third Imperial Examinations.
Such was the cycle.
The history since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty was close to a thousand years. The biannual Imperial Examinations had their candidates getting compressed down all the way to today and its difficulty level had reached truly titanic proportions.
The limit of intake set by the Imperial Examinations made it similar to watching thousands of carps swimming through the river. It was a spectacular massacre.
Heavenly Reflection State?
Maybe, there were only two who achieved the Heavenly Reflection State by the age of eighteen in the whole of the Great Xia Dynasty. But what about those who achieved it before age twenty-eight? There was got to be at least fifty or sixty of them.
If the age was thirty-eight, forty-eight or fifty-eight…
Fang Zhengzhi did not know how many people have reached the Heavenly Reflection State in today's Imperial Examinations. However, as he looked forward, he could see that at the gates there were all kinds of middle age men from thirty to forty years old and old men from forty to fifty years old. This was truly like a bloom of a hundred flowers.
"Did Chi Guyan take part in the Imperial Examinations?" Fang Zhengzhi suddenly asked.
"Mm, the previous one before this," Yan Xiu nodded.
"What position did she get?"
"Double Roll Champion!" Yan Xiu was puzzled when Fang Zhengzhi asked for her placing.
Fang Zhengzhi was shocked for a moment but he quickly recovered. Chi Guyan was already at the peak of the Heavenly Reflection State a year ago. She definitely would not be far from that just another year before that.
Taking the Double Roll Champion was not anything surprising to her.
It was just that since Chi Guyan was the Double Roll Champion, then wouldn't he lose face if he did not get the same title?
Would she look down on him?
"It seems like I have no choice but to take the Double Roll Champion title too!" Fang Zhengzhi helplessly sighed.
His voice was not considered loud.
It was just a normal conversation between two people, especially in the rain. Normally, no one would have taken note of it.
However…
This was the Imperial Academy where all the candidates taking the Imperial Examinations were congregated. The three words "Double Roll Champion" at this moment in time held a terrifying lethality.
Therefore, when Fang Zhengzhi uttered the three words " Double Roll Champion", pair after pair of eyes shoot daggers at him.
It was not long before someone recognised Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. After all, previously the information about Fang Zhengzhi obtaining the Heavenly Reflection State spread like wildfire.
"Fang Zhengzhi?!"
"He is indeed a prodigy. However...This is the Imperial Examinations. It was not a stage where a young genius that just entered the Heavenly Reflection state could freely swagger around. Double Roll Champion, haha…"
"Classic case of ignorance is bliss. He is still young!"
Many of the candidates shook their heads as they glanced at Fang Zhengzhi. After that, the rain in front of some of the candidates stopped abruptly. Almost as if it was being controlled.
Heavenly Reflection!
Heavenly Reflection was spotted this easily at the gates of the Imperial Academy.
"This would not be easy. However, I absolutely must obtain the title of Double Roll Champion!" Fang Zhengzhi stared at those candidates controlling the rain. This was the first time since he got here that he became serious.
"Do you really want to become the Double Roll Champion?" Yan Xiu's expression was getting sombre too.
"Yes!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
"Then, you would first have to become the Roll Champion for the Theory Examinations!" Yan Xiu also nodded. He did not think that it was possible for Fang Zhengzhi to become the Double Roll Champion but he chose to believe in him nonetheless.
This trust came from the bottom of his heart. It was pure and did not need any reason.
"Gong!" The gong signalling the opening of the gates reverberated in the air.
All the candidates started entering the examination stage. No one bothered with Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu's conversation. In their eyes, it was merely a presumptuous and arrogant act.
Someone who just reached the Heavenly Reflection State wanted to become the Double Roll Champion?
Merely a frog in a well, ignorant of the world around him.
Fang Zhengzhi was not bothered by the stares. He realised that he was about to enter the examination halls. At this moment, a scholar in a light yellow scholar garb suddenly blocked him from the front.
The scholar held the umbrella very low.
He could not see his face but the body frame was lithe and small.
Fang Zhengzhi was confused. They were already knocking the gong to enter, why was there someone here blocking him? Was this person not scared that he would be beaten up by him?
As he was thinking about this, the umbrella was slowly raised.
Revealing an unblemished face with an otherworldly beauty. The most striking feature was the pair of glassy eyes that glistened like the water under the autumn sun.
"It's you?!" Fang Zhengzhi did not need to guess. Only one person possessed such eyes. That was the Princess Ping Yang from the Ping Yang Residence.
"Yes, it's indeed me! Are you happy to see me?" Ping Yang blinked at Fang Zhengzhi looking very calm.
"Happy my ass! I'm going to take an examination soon, temporarily unavailable to give a damn about you," Fang Zhengzhi made his stance very clear.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you know very well that I'm Princess Ping Yang yet you dare to treat me like this?!" Ping Yang heard Fang Zhengzhi's words. Her eyes projected disbelief.
"Not happy? We made a deal already. You can't send people to assassinate me in the next two years. Why would I be afraid of you?" Fang Zhengzhi eyed Ping Yang dismissively.
"Hmph, I was forced into this by you!" Ping Yang moved her small lips.
"But you already swore? There's no going back. What is the point of saying this now?" Fang Zhengzhi felt that now was not the time to dig up buried bones.
"That's indeed useless. Then shall I talk about something more useful? For example… I have the answers to the Theory Examinations. Do you want to take a look?" Ping Yang discreetly moved nearer to Fang Zhengzhi and took an envelope from her chest.
"Answers?" Fang Zhengzhi scanned the envelope in Ping Yang's hand. He could not shake the feeling of deja vu in this situation.
Previously in the River of Trust Province, Li Zhuangshi also used the same tactic to lure him. In the end, karma bit him from the back.
However, the person in front of him was Ping Yang.
She was the most adored princess of the Sacred Lord. Furthermore, after his few interactions with her, Fang Zhengzhi realised that Ping Yang's intelligence was on a completely different level than Li Zhuangshi.
So…
The answers in Ping Yang's hands just might be real.
At this point, Yan Xiu also noticed the envelope in Ping Yang's hands. Traces of astonishment flashed across his eyes.
From the moment Ping Yang appeared, he had been standing beside these two people. Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi did not purposely keep the conversation from him. Therefore, Yan Xiu eventually realised who Ping Yang was.
"I can swear that these answers here are real. Yesterday night, I send some people to sneakily infiltrate the Imperial Academy and stole one examination script. Over the night, I found a few palace officials to write these out for me," Ping Yang explained in all honesty.
"Why did you want to steal the examination script? It can't be that you want to simply share the answers with me right?" Fang Zhengzhi stopped doubting the legitimacy of the answers.
With Ping Yang's usual methods, stealing an examination script from the Imperial Academy was not that surprising.
It was just that he did not understand what was the reason behind her doing so?