723. The Treacherous Scroll (Seeking Subscriptions)

Inside the examination compound.

After the candidates left, the tense grading phase began.

With several thousand papers to review, they were naturally not graded by a single person, but by examiners assigned to different sections.

After reviewing them and filtering out those to be eliminated, they passed the rest to the chief officials' deputies for a second review.

Those who could still be recommended to the chief examiner after these two stages were the finest scholars of this year's examination.

Papers were piled high as mountains in every study.

"This one won't do. The writing is incoherent, and he dared to take the exam?"

"This one... actually has misspelled characters... Wait, it's from the Wang Family. Forget it, let him barely pass..."

An examiner scrutinized the papers with complete concentration.

After all, this world differed from an ordinary ancient age. It possessed mysterious powers, and naturally there were clans established through such powers. Even the imperial court could not afford to ignore them and had to make certain compromises.

In each year's examination, at least half of those admitted had to be these "aristocratic clan descendants."

The other half depended entirely on literary talent, so those with genuine ability still had an opportunity.

At that moment, he picked up a paper, and his eyes lit up. "This handwriting... excellent! Truly excellent! Round and polished like countless Vajra Mani pearls. Never mind anything else—this handwriting alone is reason enough to admit him."

When he read the essay, he was even more astonished. "Profound matters explained in simple terms, with a fine grasp of the essence of the classics. Good! Truly good!"

There was nothing more to say when encountering such a paper. He immediately marked it as accepted and handed it to the examiner in the upper office.

The upper-office examiner