The Imperial Examination review had ended, and all the papers were collected. Several assistant examiners hurried to grade them. Every paper that passed was sent to Chief Examiner Zhou Yucheng for final review. When Zhou Yucheng saw one particular paper, he recognized the handwriting, and his expression paused slightly.
He remembered this handwriting deeply. It had been this same candidate last time whose paper had stirred something in his heart and made him settle on the two words "steadfastness."
Seeing this candidate's handwriting again, he found it elegant on the surface yet strong in its bones. It was proper without lacking style, exquisite and grand.
He read the paper again. The "Sacred Edict and Extensive Instructions" had been copied from memory without a single mistake, and the regulated examination poem was quite good as well. As for the eight-legged essay, it still stood out for its steadiness. Its opening and central argument were both highly accurate, its body frequently cited the classics, and the writing was proper and rigorous.
It simply lacked any breakthrough, making it seem devoid of spiritual flair and sharpness.
At that thought, Zhou Yucheng suddenly smiled.
Spiritual flair!
Sharpness!
Wasn't that precisely what he himself wished to hide?
Having already passed forty, why could he still not suppress his own temperament? One ought to plan matters with the greater picture in mind. Sharpness and spiritual flair were signs of immaturity.
Looking again at the paper before him, Zhou Yucheng felt it must have been written by someone with exceptionally mature life experience. The candidate was likely no younger than forty, perhaps even fifty.
Zhou Yucheng put brush to paper and gave it another top-top rating.
After two intense days of grading, 289 candidates had been selected to pass. Then came the rankings. The scores from both