The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

They chatted with the emperor for most of the day, but no one came to urge the emperor to study. It seemed that the empress dowager no longer treated the emperor like a child as she did before.

At noon, they also accompanied the emperor to eat imperial meals. Wanli said: "It is said that the best chefs in the world have entered the palace, but I think the level of the imperial chefs in the palace is not as good as Min Qing's."

Min Xi said hurriedly, "Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty! How dare I compare myself to the imperial chef! The level of the imperial chef is naturally the highest, but Your Majesty has been eating here for so many years, and suddenly you taste something new, so you think that what I cook is better than what the imperial chef cooks. This is similar to what we say in the folks, 'the food of others is always better than your own.'"

Wanli raised his eyebrows after listening, then nodded: "It seems to make sense."

When Min Xi and Yun Ji came out of the emperor's place, Empress Dowager Li sent someone to call them over again. She said she wanted to chat with them, and naturally asked about the details of their secret tour with the emperor.

She must have heard all the details from the eunuchs, the imperial doctors, Zhao Yu and others. Since they were not from the palace, it was not easy for them to meet, so she asked only now.

Empress Dowager Li was actually very curious about Min Xi. She had heard from Zhao Yu and others that Wanli was closest to Min Xi during the entire tour and trusted him the most. She was curious about why her son would listen to the advice of Min Xi, who came from a humble background, so she specially called them over and talked a lot with Min Xi, wanting to get to know him better.

The content is nothing more than the process of the incognito tour and Min Xi's own life experience. Queen Mother Li found that although Min Xi was born in a poor family, his conversation was quite good, and no vulgar words were heard at all. He had a wide range of knowledge and his own ideas. He was a smart man with strong opinions and neither humble nor arrogant. However, if it is said that he was born in a scholarly family, he would not have the elegant conversation. In short, he should be considered a person who has successfully restrained himself.

In fact, from the perspective of Queen Mother Li, she could not completely trust Min Xi. It was not that she did not believe in Min Xi's ability, but she knew that someone like Min Xi, who was born in a humble family and had outstanding abilities, could be a double-edged sword. They wanted to stand out and prove their abilities and value, so they were often ambitious and difficult to control. She herself was no exception, rising from a humble maid to a queen mother.

The most direct example she could see was Zhang Juzheng. After Wanli ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Li and Wanli were orphans and widows, and were weak and powerless. She could only try to win over Zhang Juzheng, who also came from a humble background, and eliminate dissidents in order to consolidate her and her son's positions.

Now that dissidents in the court have been eliminated, Zhang Juzheng's family is the only one in power. Empress Dowager Li needs him, but she is also very wary of him, fearing that he will not return power to Wanli and become a puppet emperor.

She was also worried that her son trusted Min Xi too much. If he passed the imperial examination and became an official like Zhang Juzheng, it would be a double-edged sword that was difficult to control.

But she would not refuse Wanli to get close to Min Xi and Yun Ji. After all, if Wanli really wanted to rule the country, he had to have his own people. Although they were recommended by Zhang Juzheng, Min Xi was smart and would never follow Zhang Juzheng's lead and listen to him in everything. Although Empress Dowager Li was afraid of Zhang Juzheng's monopoly of power, she also knew that he was really capable and Ming needed him. If Min Xi was really capable, it was also what Ming needed.

The two chatted with the Queen Mother until it was almost dark. The Queen Mother then released them and rewarded them with some food from the palace when they came out.

It was not until they returned home and were alone that Yun Ji expressed his doubts: "Why do I feel like the Queen Mother is examining us?"

"You sensed it too?" Min Xi heard too much scrutiny in Empress Dowager Li's eyes and tone. After all, the emperor trusted them too much, and as a mother, she had to screen her son to see if they were worthy of making friends.

Yun Ji nodded: "Do you think the Queen Mother wants us to get close to Mr. Zhang, or does she not want us to get close to him?"

Min Xi said: "Maybe they still don't want to get too close."

"Why? Doesn't Your Majesty trust Lord Zhang the most?"

Min Xi lowered his voice and said, "It can't be called trust, it should be more of a reliance. Your Majesty hasn't taken charge of the government yet."

Yun Ji's thoughts turned and he understood: "So they are actually more afraid of Master Zhang now, right?"

Min Xi nodded. From the fact that Zhang Juzheng's property was immediately confiscated after his death and his corpse was almost whipped, it can be seen that Empress Dowager Li's attitude towards Zhang Juzheng was more like treating a chess piece. When he was still alive, she could indeed make good use of his abilities, but after he died, he was worthless. She could just pull him down or destroy him. After crossing the river, the bridge could naturally be dismantled.

Yun Ji sighed: "It is true that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger!"

"So it's actually good that I didn't take the imperial examination. I don't want to enter the core of power." Min Xi felt that he could influence Wanli's thoughts and behaviors a little, so that Wanli would no longer be a hands-off boss, which would be enough to change the course of history a little. He was not very interested in being a king, a general, or a high-ranking official with high salaries.

Yun Ji, who had always insisted that Min Xi take the imperial examination, suddenly understood: "If you don't want to take the exam, then don't take it. If you can enter the Ministry of Works, then go in. If not, I support you in whatever you want to do."

Min Xi laughed and nudged him with his elbow: "Thank you, Seventh Brother!"

On the third day of the first lunar month, they went to Tao's house to pay New Year's greetings. On the fourth day, they went to see Diego and his wife. On the fifth day, they had dinner with Zhao Yu, Feng Hao, Sun Hua and others. Then, they closed the door and refused to see guests, preparing for the imperial examination. Apart from signing up for the exam, they accompanied Yun Lin to appreciate the lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival, and they never left the house again.

Many candidates were busy visiting the chief examiner and other examiners before the exam, trying to leave their names with the examiners and get some impression points, but they didn't care at all.

On the eighth day of the second lunar month, the day before the examination, they carried their bags and lined up for the exam. Since February in the capital was still a cold winter, they had to bring bedding, food, pens, ink, inkstones and other items. They would spend nine days in the examination room and could not go hungry or cold, otherwise what was the point of taking the exam!

Every year, about 5,000 candidates take part in the imperial examination. In addition to the new candidates from last year, candidates from previous years can also register. However, not all candidates will register, because the cost of going to Beijing to take the exam is extremely high, and many candidates from remote areas may give up participating in the imperial examination. For example, if Min Xi, a candidate who ranks last, is not in the capital, he will probably not go to Beijing to take the exam. Knowing that he is just an accompanying candidate, why waste money and time?

This was Min Xi's first time to take part in the imperial examination in the capital. He was not familiar with the environment here, so he needed some time to adapt.

Yun Ji had taken many exams here and was familiar with the situation here, so he prepared everything for Min Xi, taking into account even the smallest details. So Min Xi found it easy to adapt and felt very comfortable.

There are three examinations in nine days, which are nothing more than the meaning of the Four Books and Five Classics, and policy essays on classics and history. The metropolitan examination has more content than the provincial examination: writing judgments, as well as edicts, imperial decrees, and memorials, which are almost equivalent to the essay, testing the candidates' actual operational ability.

These are mainly what Min Xi and Yun Ji have been learning at home during this period, because they were not used much in previous exams.

From this point it can be seen that the joint examination is closer to the civil service examination because it is an examination for actually recruiting officials.

Not having to write poetry was simply too good for Min Xi, so although the exam was hard, he didn't feel overwhelmed. It was just that the content of the exam was too diverse, and what he had learned before was not covered, which was very embarrassing. After all, he had studied for too short a time and did not have a solid foundation, so he could only use his subjective initiative and make up something.