After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

The banquet began, but to everyone's surprise, the emperor did not appear in the main hall.

The one who arrived was the eldest prince, Zhao Hongjue.

Zhao Hongjue had already come of age and was the only prince to leave the palace and build his own residence, as well as the only prince to marry a princess.

Zhao Hongjue began attending court this year to observe politics. If it weren't for his status as a son of a concubine, he would likely have already been made crown prince.

Even now, he is still the most popular candidate for the position of Crown Prince, and some officials in the court have already begun to lean towards the eldest prince, Zhao Hongjue.

The other princes in the palace were still young and lived in the Princes' Quarters, where court officials taught them every day.

When the imperial students saw the Crown Prince arrive, they all stood up and bowed. Zhao Hongjue warmly invited everyone not to be nervous and to enjoy the feast.

Li Haisheng could feel that throughout the banquet, he was constantly being looked at by one or even several gazes, some from the tribute students present, and some from those above him.

There was nothing I could do but pretend to eat diligently to cover up my helplessness, which made me seem like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world!

In the evening, after the banquet, the tribute students were led by eunuchs and walked for more than half an hour before reaching the palace gate, where they boarded their own waiting carriages to return home.

"This eldest prince seems very approachable and down-to-earth."

Once the scholar returned to his carriage, he began to talk to his companions about the eldest prince, Zhao Hongjue.

"It doesn't matter what we look like as members of the royal family; we can't bear this level of intimacy."

"Brother Zhang, do you mean that the eldest prince is deliberately acting friendly in order to win over the future newly appointed scholars and use them for his own purposes?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything. These are all things you said yourself, Brother Feng."

"Oh dear, I spoke out of turn. How could I speak so presumptuously about members of the royal family? Brother Zhang, just pretend you didn't hear anything, don't hear anything."

Did we just speak?

"No! No! Hahahahahaha..."

Inside the carriages outside the palace gates, the tribute students had different thoughts. The Jiang family's carriages were not particularly conspicuous, and they drove away in a line, neither one in front nor one behind.

"Grandfather, please rest early. We'll head back to our own courtyard now."

"Yes, go ahead, you go too." Landlord Jiang glanced at Jiang Wenqing, who seemed hesitant to speak, and shooed him away first.

After being father and son for so many years, doesn't he know what his son is going to say at this moment? It's better not to say anything; the more you say, the more mistakes you'll make.

Haven't you seen how many grandsons-in-law don't say or ask anything? That's what it means to be steady, meticulous, and composed.

Dong Jin actually wanted to ask a couple of questions, but he was more eager to go back and share his experiences of the day with his wife, so he hurriedly took his leave.

Li Haisheng wanted to quickly find his junior brother for advice, because he felt that he was being watched today.

Xue Xu wanted to go back and cram before the exam, to make a final push. After all, he had seen the top ten in the provincial exam today, and he felt that he still had a chance.

Only Jiang Wenqing wanted to say a few words to Landlord Jiang about today's eldest prince, but Landlord Jiang cut him off first.

Are you kidding me? This is the crucial moment of the palace examination. What do princes and princesses matter?

If they become officials in the future, they only need to remember one thing: they can only be loyal to the emperor.

Princes and crown princes should be treated with respect, but one should never get too close to them.

Even fathers and sons can develop suspicions and rifts over the affairs of the country and the throne.

Those small fry with no connections should just lie low and wait until they've risen to higher positions before making any moves.

But to rise to a high official position, you also need your own boss, that is, to gain the emperor's favor. If you get close to people who are eyeing his throne, will he still tolerate you?

Landlord Jiang almost lost sleep again because of his son, but given his son's abilities, he would at most end up as a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

When the time comes, let him serve as a county magistrate far away, not seeking merit but only avoiding mistakes.

This should be the best arrangement. He doesn't need to worry about his grandsons-in-law; they are all sensible.

Landlord Jiang only hoped that within the next three to six years, one of his family members could be favored by the emperor, so that his grandson could have some assistance when he entered the court as an official in the future.

Jiang Wenqing actually had something else he wanted to say to Landlord Jiang, but he didn't have the chance.

At the banquet in front of the palace, he seemed to see a familiar face, the one who had tricked him and caused him to be expelled from the county school.

Oh well, we'll meet again someday. I'll just confirm then if it's really him...

Before the official start of the palace examination, a temporary examination venue would be specially set up inside the palace.

Typically, a platform would be set up in the main hall or main hall, upon which tables and chairs would be placed for the emperor and officials to view.

In front of the hall, there were examination desks with examination papers and writing implements for the candidates to use.

The rules for the palace examination were different from those for the provincial and metropolitan examinations. In addition to wearing uniform clothing, candidates were not allowed to bring personal items into the examination hall, including writing implements.

Before entering the palace, there would be a body search, but there was no need to remove clothing; this was a basic respect for the tribute students.

Before the palace examination, candidates had to submit their written manuscripts, a process known as "paying tribute."

This was a ceremony to show respect and pay homage to the emperor, and also a way to test one's writing skills and a certain degree of sincerity.

By paying tribute, the emperor and officials could preview the talents and abilities of the candidates.

When the palace examination officially begins, the candidates will be guided by officials and enter the examination hall in an orderly manner according to their assigned numbers.

Before entering, visitors must pay homage to the memorial tablets of martyrs to express their respect for the loyalty and bravery of the ancestors.

After entering the examination room, candidates need to write their names and exam numbers on the exam paper and fill in the exam paper title.

In addition, the names of one's grandfather and father must be written down to confirm that there are no criminals within three generations.

This is also an important step in ensuring that examiners can correctly identify the candidates, since there were also people with the same name in ancient times.

Candidates will choose one question from the list of classics, history, philosophy, and literature to answer, according to their own selection.

The exam usually consists of one or two sessions (one session is one hour). If it is two sessions, there will be a break in between, which is quite considerate.

Candidates must answer within the specified time and ensure that their handwriting is clear and their writing is fluent. Once the time is up, they cannot continue answering regardless of whether they have finished writing or not.

After answering the questions, candidates must hand their exam papers to the official in charge of collecting them. The official will then verify the candidate's identity again on the spot.

After the papers are submitted, they will be collected by officials and put into the grading process.

Three hundred exam papers will be circulated among the examiners several times. Those that are satisfactory will be circled, those that are acceptable will be marked with dots, and those that are not so good will be marked with crosses.

After much scrutiny, the top ten exam papers were selected and presented to His Majesty the Emperor for his personal review. The Emperor then personally selected the top three.

"Grandfather, Father, Eldest brother-in-law, Second brother-in-law, and Third brother-in-law, Mingfei wishes you all success in this imperial examination, may you all achieve great things, and may our families' fortunes change!"

"Hahaha, very well, we will certainly live up to Ming Fei's words and not fail in our mission!"

"Yes, I will not fail you!"

The carriage creaked and groaned as it arrived at the palace gates before dawn.

After another period of waiting and queuing, by the time they were searched and seated in the palace examination hall, dawn had already broken, and the hall was already bright enough that there was no need to light candles.

By this time, the exam papers had been handed out, along with some snacks and a bowl of water.

However, no one touched the snacks; some people did drink a sip or two of water, but didn't dare drink more.

The Jiang family poured some water into the inkstone and slowly began grinding the ink.

When the examiner signaled that everyone could begin answering the questions, they immediately immersed themselves in the exam and paid no attention to anything else.

That bright yellow figure entered the scene midway through, and some astute students noticed it, causing even greater tension.

Some people, oblivious to the world around them, continued to write, such as the Jiang family.

Li Haisheng sat at the very front of the main hall, and Emperor Zhao Yong of the Great Zhou Dynasty immediately spotted the young Huiyuan.

Of course, I also saw Xue Xu, who was sitting in the fifth seat, three students away from me. There was no way around it; he was just too good-looking.

Even emperors are human. Humans appreciate beautiful things, and Huiyuan was not bad-looking and was quite young.

The fifth-ranked candidate is even better looking. Although he has some masculine features, he doesn't come across as effeminate.

Li Haisheng and Xue Xu successfully made a good first impression on the emperor by virtue of their high scores in the imperial examination, their youth, and their good looks.

Being remembered by the emperor before the final imperial examination is considered a good thing.