In the blink of an eye, two months passed, and the Metropolitan Examination began. This year's Metropolitan Examination differed from previous years. In the past, it had been held in the second month of spring in the year after the Provincial Examination, but this time it was held in the eleventh month of the same year as the Provincial Examination.
The Ministry of Rites oversaw the Metropolitan Examination. Ning Caichen passed in one stroke and became a Recommended Scholar. Although he ranked only a little over a hundredth place, he had made it through.
Soon after the Metropolitan Examination, the Palace Examination was held, scheduled to conclude before the festival as an auspicious celebration. The Palace Examination tested only policy essays. Though nominally presided over by the emperor, the true examiners were the Chief Chancellor and Second Chancellor. During the examination, Chen Yan and Xue Ji were both present, chatting as they watched the Recommended Scholars answer their papers.
Ning Caichen looked at the policy question on his examination paper.
"Official conduct and public morals"!
He felt that he had countless words he wanted to write.
Having made it all the way to the Palace Examination, what else could he possibly be dissatisfied with? The Court had rules: no one would be eliminated in the Palace Examination. Even the worst result would earn one a Third Rank Tong Jinshi degree.
Ning Caichen gritted his teeth and began writing furiously.
"Corrupt officialdom, lax discipline, decayed human hearts, and declining public morals are all signs of a nation's downfall!"
The examination ended that afternoon, and the candidates gradually handed in their papers. Chief Chancellor Chen Yan and Second Chancellor Xue Ji reviewed them together. When Chen Yan saw Ning Caichen's paper, he paused. The language in this paper was extremely fierce; he