Chapter 16

In the night, the soldiers had not yet dispersed, and the grand hall was brightly lit.

At this time, the county magistrate could rest, while the four hundred examination papers were laid on the desks of the three examiners, but they were not anonymized.

On Earth, the anonymization system was implemented to prevent cheating, sealing all information that could be used to identify the candidates, including their names and origins, and even having clerks copy the papers to prevent recognition of handwriting, ensuring that the chief examiner and the paper markers could not identify the candidates.

Over time, Earth proved that anonymization was the most reasonable and fair method.

However, in this world, such measures were unnecessary, as it was the result of divine power, fortune, and literary qi working together.

Unlike the examiners on Earth, these three examiners at least had the status of juren (advanced scholars) and practiced Daoist techniques. Although they could not achieve immortality, they were provided with abundant energy and physical strength, making the evaluation of the papers both rapid and efficient.

The four hundred examination papers were carefully examined one by one, and after repeated discussions and evaluations, the top fifty were selected by late night, at which point the examiners stopped automatically.

"Sir, the selection is complete."

"Good, it's done!" The examiner wiped his sweat, looked at the golden copper seal hanging above, and instructed, "Go and invite the two Daoists!"

After saying this, he breathed a sigh of relief, as the rest was no longer his concern. Of course, these two were not yet considered true Daoists, but it was a form of respect.

"Yes!" A voice came from outside, and in fact, the two Daoists were not far away, waiting in the side hall.

Sure enough, footsteps soon followed, steady and rhythmic. The examiner squinted and stood up to see two Daoists enter the hall, wearing green robes and wooden sandals, with clear and dignified features, exuding a noble aura. They were the two Daoists that Ye Qing had encountered on the road.

The two examiners stood up and bowed, "Greetings, Daoists!"

The two Daoists returned the bow, "Greetings, gentlemen!"

Without further ado, they directly addressed the examiners, "Can we begin?"

Typical Daoist style, as this was largely a voluntary duty with no significant power or benefits, hence their indifference. The examiners were already accustomed to this and simply nodded.

Once they agreed, the Daoists did not say more, but bowed to the golden copper seal. After the bow, one of them pressed the seal, and it glowed golden before dimming.

"This is to release the suppression of literary qi and present the field of the magical artifact. Please wait a moment."

After a short while, threads of literary qi emerged from the four hundred papers, initially appearing as faint white wisps, which gradually became denser. However, after a while, some of them stopped growing.

Everyone waited patiently. After a while, the papers with dense white qi began to differentiate, showing red hues, shining brightly in the spacious hall. One paper was golden yellow, with a slight red tinge, drawing the most attention!

Seeing that most of the red papers were among the top fifty, the examiners breathed a sigh of relief. One of them sighed, "These are the crystallizations of the wisdom of our ancestors, allowing even those without the ability to see to perceive them through this magical artifact."

The two Daoists paid no attention to this, observing that most of the literary qi was concentrated in the top fifty papers. They then took out a paper and marked it as "excellent"!

This was essentially a form of supervision, indicating that the selection process and results were quite reasonable and fair. The three examiners all smiled and signed their approval on the paper.

Next, the two Daoists performed another ritual, pressing the copper seal, which immediately extinguished its golden light. "This is to release the suppression of all the fortune in the papers!"

With a "boom," the four hundred papers immediately revealed their respective fortunes, all appearing in the field, including personal and family fortunes.

Many papers quickly showed a rapid increase in fortune. After a while, when they stabilized, sixty or so streams of fortune rose in the hall, many of which were golden yellow. In contrast, the papers that were originally close to golden yellow were less noticeable, growing slowly and barely making it to the edge of the top twenty, which surprised everyone. Could the author of this paper be from a humble background?

With this doubt in mind, the examiners evaluated the top twenty based on the depth of fortune.

According to the laws of the Great Cai Dynasty: candidates are selected based on their literary talent, and ranked based on their fortune.

In fact, since the Red Emperor established the Daoist examination system, for hundreds of thousands of years, all dynasties have followed this rule. Literature reflects wisdom, and fortune reflects blessings, with a balance of interests ensuring long-term prosperity.

The Daoists did not interfere in this process, watching as the examiners rearranged some of the papers that were originally ranked lower within the top fifty to the front, with no expression.

After the examiners finished, the Daoists turned their hands and put the copper seal back into their sleeves. Once the magical artifact was removed, all the colorful fortunes disappeared.

The grand hall returned to its spaciousness, illuminated by candles.

The three examiners felt a sense of loss, knowing that, according to the rotation and avoidance principles, they would likely never see this scene again in their lives.

"Let's review the original papers again... The number of child scholars in the county this time is twenty!"

"Ye Qing... that was the paper just now, first in literature, but unfortunately lacking in fortune!" The examiner took out the original paper, recalling the young man, and sighed, recording his name: "Ye Qing, selected as the nineteenth, how do you all feel about this?"

At this moment, a voice came from the door, "The county magistrate has arrived!"

The Daoists and examiners stood up to look.

Before the person arrived, a three-foot light shone into their spiritual eyes, bright and clear.

Then a man in his thirties entered, composed and dignified, exuding an aura of authority. He was the county magistrate, Lu Ming, who, in this setting, did not conceal himself and let his aura flow freely.

"Three feet of clear light, understanding profound principles, just one step away from breaking through the barrier between Dao and law, to truly achieve... the path of the jinshi (advanced scholar) is indeed faster than our arduous cultivation!"

The two Daoists were momentarily solemn and bowed again, "Greetings, fellow Daoist."

The three examiners also stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings, sir!"

The county magistrate simply clasped his hands, "Literature is a great matter, a national matter, a matter of great virtue, and requires your utmost attention."

"Heaven's way is clear, the law is vast, how can we neglect our duties?" The Daoist smiled.

"That is very true." The county magistrate nodded, walked to the desk, and sat down, "Have you all reached a consensus?"

"The top twenty have been decided, please sir, confirm the final ranking." The examiner held a stack of papers and approached. The county magistrate did not interfere in the process but had the final veto power, and the list of child scholars must be personally signed by him to be announced.

The county magistrate did not say much, reading through the twenty papers without showing any emotion.

These papers all had their merits, but who was this county magistrate?

He was a jinshi, and one could say that, except for his understanding of the great Dao, he was already proficient in everything else. He did not take them seriously, just glancing through them.

Until the nineteenth paper, he smiled slightly at the handwriting, which was very pleasing to the eye: "Indeed, it is him!"

He then carefully read the ink meanings, arguments, and articles of this candidate, which gave him a small surprise... The style was elegant, and the reasoning was pure, making it a paper that could catch the eye of a jinshi.

Seeing this, the county magistrate smiled again, confirming his judgment.

The examiner, observing his expression, said, "This paper is first in literature, but unfortunately, the fortune is poor, so I placed it at nineteenth."

The county magistrate glanced at him, said nothing, and continued to the twentieth paper. He then randomly selected a few more from the top fifty, and his frown gradually eased.

Finally, the county magistrate nodded in satisfaction, "You have done well, follow this order."

The examiner bowed respectfully, "Yes, sir, it is decided!"

A golden yellow paper with cloud patterns was taken out, and the examiner filled in the names of the top twenty, arranging them neatly, and wrote the date: July 13, the eleventh year of Pingjing, in the county of Pingshou.

After writing, the examiner's expression was solemn, and he took out a small seal, gathered his strength, and stamped it without ink.

The paper immediately turned golden yellow, and when the seal was lifted, a golden seal mark appeared.

The county magistrate then took out a seal and stamped it as well, and the paper, still golden, showed another golden seal mark.

Finally, the Daoist took out a seal and stamped it, and with the three seals complete, the names of the twenty candidates on the paper lit up.

This indicated that the twenty names had been recognized, and they had achieved the status of child scholars.

Seeing this, the county magistrate waved his hand, "Let's choose a date to announce it."

"Yes!" The Daoist and the examiner both agreed, and when they looked up, they were all relaxed, as this task was completed.

Seeing the matter resolved, the county magistrate changed his expression, looking as if he was basking in a spring breeze, "Come, it's late, there is a simple banquet, please move to the next room."

The Daoist and the examiner did not refuse, as this was a matter of course, and they all agreed.

It was now late at night, and the surroundings were shrouded in darkness. Lanterns were lit, and autumn rain fell, the drops following the wind. As they emerged from the grand hall, everyone felt a refreshing coolness.

They moved to a small hall, where each person had their own seat, with four dishes and a soup in front of them, a cup of ginseng wine to replenish their energy, and a bowl of fruit slices for casual use.

Everyone was very satisfied with the meal, and the examiner spoke about the process, sighing, "I have read Ye Qing's paper, and it is indeed the best, but unfortunately, his fortune is low... Is he not from the Ye clan?"

The county magistrate smiled slightly, "I know this!"

He then recounted Ye Qing's story, including the events with the copper cup and the murder, and even his cunning and reactions, smiling, "This boy has some cunning, which probably caused dissatisfaction within the clan, hence his fortune is much less."

"No wonder, the Ye clan is a major clan in the county, and it would not have such low fortune, falling outside the top twenty." The examiner was somewhat moved, "If not for his literary talent, he might not even have made it to the nineteenth place, and would have been demoted this time."

"The court has its system, what can be done?" The county magistrate smiled, "But the boy made the right bet, it's not the jinshi list, and even as the nineteenth child scholar, he is still a child scholar, not a single bit less!"

At this point, the county magistrate felt a bit melancholic, as he himself had achieved the status of a jinshi, and this small difference might take a lifetime to bridge.

Is this fate?

The page turns, and the advertisement begins.

The page turns, and the advertisement ends.