Tears streamed down Shen Yuxi's face as she once again learned what it meant to have no control over her own fate in the workplace.
Emperor Xuanzhao changed the subject without a trace, sparing himself any bargaining from Shen Yuxi.
His steady voice rang out. "The spring examinations are approaching. How are the Ministry of Rites' preparations?"
Minister Shen stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, I have already led the Ministry of Rites' various departments in beginning preparations for the spring examinations."
"The Ministry of Works has been instructed to thoroughly renovate the examination compound. Every examination cell is being inspected and reinforced individually to ensure the candidates' safety while lodging there and answering their papers."
"Patrols will be increased, unauthorized persons will be forbidden from approaching, and there is also the food and medicine prepared for the candidates..."
Shen Lang's arrangements were orderly and methodical. Having prepared for so many spring examinations, he had ample experience.
[System buddy, which one is the Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation?]
At the mention of the spring examinations, the image of Chen Shisong holding Shangguan Niao while Wanxue was abandoned instantly surfaced in Shen Yuxi's mind.
Her fists clenched.
[There, see that middle-aged man behind the chancellor's backside, with a scar at the corner of his eye?]
[He has the face of a treacherous scoundrel. No wonder his daughter has such lousy character,] Shen Yuxi secretly grumbled.
Suddenly called out, the Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation looked utterly aggrieved and bewildered.
His bull-like eyes widened.
Lord Little Shen, those words really stab me in the heart.
[You can't judge a person by their appearance. Host, the duke's looks may be hard to describe, but his heart is full of loyalty and righteousness.]
[See the scar by his eye? Back when he fought on the battlefield, an enemy wounded him with a sword while he was saving one of his subordinate deputy generals.]
[Any closer, and he would have lost that eye completely.]
[After they won that battle, the old emperor was delighted and bestowed the title Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation on him, signifying bringing peace and stability to the country.]
The duke nearly cried. The sharp-tongued system had finally said something pleasant.
But... what did it mean, his looks were hard to describe?
He had been a famously handsome young gentleman in the capital in his youth, all right?
Even if he was old now, he had nothing whatsoever to do with "treacherous."
Shen Yuxi gave a soft snort. [He raised a daughter of poor character who threw herself at Chen Shisong despite knowing he had a family. As her father, the duke bears the main responsibility.]
[How does that old saying go? It follows the roots; it's inherited in the bones.]
"Pfft-"
Someone could not hold back a laugh.
The duke's aging face flushed crimson, and a raging fire of anger blazed in his heart.
His eldest daughter was kind and gentle. The duke was certain that the one who had done something so shameless could only be his younger daughter.
Once he returned home, he would question her thoroughly.
She would face the family's discipline.
A colleague beside him, enjoying the spectacle and happy to fan the flames, said, "Duke, you had better watch yourself. Now that Lord Little Shen has her eye on you, you're in for it."
Once the joking ended, the court continued discussing the spring examinations.
Every detail had to be brought out for thorough discussion.
Listening to one cumbersome procedure after another, Shen Yuxi sighed. [This is even stricter than the college entrance examination.]
Eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and sleeping all had to be done in their own individual cells. They could not take so much as half a step outside.
Just imagining the smell...
[Ancient invigilation measures weren't as advanced or comprehensive as modern ones. Cheating could easily occur without any way to investigate it, especially at the stages of sealing and transcribing papers. Cheating was far too easy.]
[How many scholars who studied through years of cold windows had their identities stolen during the metropolitan examinations, never even getting a chance to participate in the palace selection?]
Yan Huai, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, stepped forward and memorialized, "Your Majesty, the spring examination papers are central to selecting officials. Every stage, from printing and sealing to transcription and comparative proofreading, requires particular rigor."
"I beseech Your Majesty to strictly order the Ministry of Rites to appoint dedicated personnel to oversee the papers and use specially made paper, brushes, and ink during printing to prevent forgery."
"When sealing the papers, dedicated personnel should verify the candidates' names and places of origin and affix seals to ensure their names remain concealed. Transcribers must have neat handwriting and trustworthy character. Comparative proofreaders must check each transcribed paper against its original to eliminate transcription errors and the malpractice of altering papers."
"Furthermore, any candidate who questions their results should be permitted to request access to their examination paper through the Ministry of Rites, ensuring fairness and impartiality."
Emperor Xuanzhao nodded with a hum. "Preparations for the spring examinations are a matter of great importance. The Ministry of Rites shall take overall charge, with the other ministries cooperating. There must not be the slightest negligence."
The officials answered in unison, "We obey Your Majesty's decree!"
"Shen Yuxi shall serve as the examiner for this imperial examination."
"Huh!"
Shen Yuxi pointed at herself in disbelief. "Your Majesty, are you joking with me?"
"Do I look as though I am joking with you?"
With the system at Shen Yuxi's disposal, it would absolutely be the first to know of any cheating in the imperial examinations.
Emperor Xuanzhao could rest easy entrusting the examiner's position to Shen Yuxi.
There would absolutely be no unjust, fabricated, or erroneous cases.
"But I have no experience!"
"The Ministry of Rites will select examiners to assist you."
"I will select them personally," Minister Shen added.
Emperor Xuanzhao swept his hand.
His tone brooked no argument. "It is settled."
Her face drooping, Shen Yuxi roared inwardly, [System buddy, expose His Majesty's gossip for me. Expose it mercilessly.]
[As you command!]
The corner of Emperor Xuanzhao's mouth twitched, and his heart lurched.
His ears buzzed, leaving only one thought in his mind: It's over. They're going to torment me to death again today.
The ministers eagerly pricked up their ears.
They discussed matters with Emperor Xuanzhao at a moderate volume while concentrating intently, refusing to miss a single word from Lord Little Shen.
It had been so long since they had feasted on the emperor's gossip.
Emperor Xuanzhao wanted to slip away, but state affairs were not finished. He could not leave.
The system flipped through its records, then suddenly burst into earth-shaking laughter.
[Hahaha!]
[I can't, I'm dying of laughter...]
Emperor Xuanzhao's eyelid gave a violent twitch.
[Host, let me tell you, the old emperor may put on a steady, dignified air now, but as a child, he was a restless little monkey, constantly turning the palace upside down.]
[When he was five, a young imperial physician newly arrived at the palace was ordered to check the emperor's pulse for a routine health examination. The old emperor spotted a square glass bottle in the young physician's medicine chest.]
[The emperor curiously asked what it was. The physician was young himself, and seeing how cute the old emperor looked, deliberately teased him, saying it was a bottle of immortal water that left both body and mind refreshed, praised by everyone who drank it.]
[After saying that, he even opened the glass bottle for the old emperor to smell. Who knows how the young physician had mixed it, but the liquid smelled sweet and fragrant.]
[The old emperor craved it terribly and wanted a drink, but the young physician refused to give him any.]
[That stirred the old emperor's rebellious streak. The more he was denied it, the more he wanted it.]
[As luck would have it, the young physician went to the privy that day and left his medicine chest on the table. The emperor sneaked in, spotted that square glass bottle, pulled out the stopper, and poured it straight into his mouth.]
[After drinking it, he smugly stuffed the bottle back, pretended nothing had happened, and ran to the imperial study to recite his lessons for the late emperor.]
Emperor Xuanzhao's expression turned unnatural. A closer look even revealed a faint blush on his cheeks.
With the system recounting it, the scene from that day involuntarily resurfaced in his mind.
Mortifying. Utterly mortifying.
[Before even half an incense stick had burned, the emperor's stomach began churning like overturned rivers and seas, rumbling like thunder.]
[Just as he reached a crucial point in his recitation, the emperor's face turned green. He sprang up on the spot, clutched his belly, and charged toward the privy, shouting as he ran, "Quick, this prince needs the privy!"]
[The sudden mishap left the late emperor completely bewildered.]
[When the young physician returned and checked his medicine chest, he was scared half to death. If only he hadn't fooled the little prince.]
[Only after the late emperor questioned him did he learn that the bottle contained no immortal water at all. It was a bowel-cleansing laxative!]
[Seeing the emperor exhausted from diarrhea, the late emperor was secretly delighted, thinking he could finally teach that little monkey a lesson. But the young physician could not be forgiven for causing the prince's diarrhea, so the late emperor punished him with twenty strokes of the board and forfeiture of a year's salary.]
[And there's one more thing you would never guess, host.]
The system lowered its voice. [The young physician who pranked the old emperor back then is none other than the renowned present-day head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Director Han.]
Shen Yuxi looked incredulous. [Holy shit!]
[Haha, surprising, right?]
Rustle-
In an instant, Director Han, who stood at the back and ordinarily attracted little attention, received gazes from every direction.
People always looked very busy when they were embarrassed.
Director Han awkwardly stroked his beard, then patted nonexistent dust from his clothes.
He raised his head to look at the sky as though nothing had happened...
Mm, lovely weather today.