Mind reading, the emperor saw my fist hard

Chapter 365 The Examination Begins

The third prince: What kind of unlucky creature am I? If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble in vain.

Now there is nothing in the palace. Even the furniture has been exchanged for silver and taken away. Where will he sleep when he returns?

Seeing his son's face looking like he wanted to cry but couldn't, Emperor Xuan felt relieved.

"By the way, when you leave the palace, go see your father-in-law first, reassure him, and then return to your Third Prince's Mansion."

"Father, can I live in the Imperial Palace, my Third Prince's Mansion..."

"Why live in a palace? You've got a wife and children, how can you live in a palace? Don't you know the difference between men and women?"

The third prince stretched out his arms and looked at his father's figure: Father, does the difference between men and women apply here?

The Third Prince's Mansion was empty. In order to bring as many things as possible, I sold out the entire mansion.

If you don't let me live in the palace, where should I live? My father-in-law's house?

Now my father-in-law is probably ready to eat me.

Or I could go to the Second Prince’s Mansion. I heard that I was discovered and ran away because of the Second Prince.

The third prince made the decision happily and went briskly to find the second prince. As the elder brother, he couldn't just ignore him!

Half an hour later, the second and third princes squatted on the bed, each covered with a quilt, shivering together.

The Third Prince: "I say... Second Brother... Hiss... It's freezing cold. Why are there only you and a servant in the Second Prince's mansion? And why is there no fire in the middle of winter... It's freezing cold."

The second prince was also shaking rhythmically: "Your second sister-in-law has sent all the people in the mansion back home to celebrate the New Year. The remaining people are in a Taoist temple to accompany your second sister-in-law to become a nun. Besides, how can we keep the fire burning without money?"

The Third Prince: "You are a prince who needs money, you are teasing me."

The Second Prince said confidently: "You know that the financial power of the Second Prince's Mansion is in the hands of your Second Sister-in-law."

The third prince fell silent.

How could he forget that as soon as his second brother got married, His Majesty handed over the financial power of the family to the Second Prince's wife. Even if his second brother and his mother opposed it together, it was of no use.

Because these two mothers will donate all their money to temples, Taoist temples, and all places related to gods. Anyway, they will not spend it on food and clothing. If they have no money to eat, don’t they still have father?

As for whether the emperor is angry?

What a joke! No matter how angry you are, you can't just watch your son starve to death!

etc·······

The Third Prince: "Let's not talk about the maids in the Second Prince's house, what about the palace maids and eunuchs? Why do they have holidays? Aren't they selling their bodies?"

The second prince's face was full of pity: "Third brother, how can you not have any compassion at all? Those people have been separated from their families since childhood and have probably not seen their families for decades. Your second sister-in-law took pity on them and gave them a six-month vacation so that they could go home and reunite with their families."

The third prince couldn't help but twitch his cheeks: Is it possible that the second sister-in-law is not pitying them, but is simply punishing you?

And those people were sold into the palace at a very young age. Are you sure they still remember where their families are? I'm afraid they don't even remember the direction of their homes.

However, after taking a look at the second prince, whose face was filled with expressions like "My princess is so great, my princess is so good", the third prince swallowed the words in silence.

My second brother and second sister-in-law are both willing to fight and be beaten. They are a harmonious couple, so why should I butt in on the matter?

The Third Prince shut up, and the Second Prince next to him started again: "Third brother, are you still cold? How about we sleep next to each other? If that doesn't work, call my servant over, and then you won't be cold anymore."

The Third Prince: I don’t want to sleep in the same bed with a servant.

Before the third prince could refuse, the second prince started shouting at the top of his voice.

Soon a servant came running in, and after hearing the Second Prince's request, he quickly refused.

"Your Highness, you will definitely not feel cold sleeping with the Third Prince, so I won't join in the fun."

Sudden····

The second prince sniffed and said, "Why do I smell a strong smell of roasted chicken?"

The servant was startled. He thought he had rinsed his mouth before coming in, so how could the Second Prince still smell it?

The princess said that the Second Prince must suffer a little so that he will not continue to make trouble. The servants in their palace absolutely support the princess' decision.

So you must never reveal that you have money to buy roast chicken.

"Your Highness, you can smell the smell because I was too greedy at noon today. I stood in the kitchen of Zhuangyuan Building and smelled the smell for a long time."

At this point, the young man closed his eyes in ecstasy, as if he was still savoring the fragrance of the Zhuangyuan Building.

"My clothes have been pickled."

"Is that so?" The second prince couldn't help but slurp his saliva.

The third prince covered his eyes in dismay. His second brother was already craving for meat. Why not treat him to a delicious meal tomorrow?

next moment······

The third prince was stunned.

He didn't have a single penny on him either. Would he go hungry like his second brother tomorrow?

Otherwise, the two brothers should go together to persuade the second princess not to become a nun.

The third prince thought very seriously.

It was a pity that the Second Prince’s wife had made up her mind to deal with the Second Prince, so she was not willing to come out of the Taoist temple so easily. The Third Prince’s plan was doomed to fail.

When the third prince came back, the New Year had already passed. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the imperial examination and Xu Jinyu, his fellow examiner, was about to take the stage.

On the ninth day of February, the first examination was held.

There are three examinations in total, each lasting three days, namely the 9th, 12th and 15th, for a total of nine days.

On this day, candidates still need to be searched before entering the examination room, but this year, an additional procedure was added before the search.

It was the ninth day of the second lunar month, a time when the weather was still chilly in spring, and especially late at night, the candidates were queuing up, waiting to be examined.

But today, everyone had not been searched yet. They were first driven into the building next door by the police. At the same time, an official loudly announced the latest policy.

"Your Majesty is so gracious. Feeling the coldness of winter, His Majesty has specially granted us a cotton jacket. After everyone bathes and changes clothes, they will all change into uniforms and then be searched."

As soon as the official made this announcement, some of the scholars in the crowd changed their expressions.

However, under the sharp gaze of the jailer, they had no choice but to enter the newly built bathhouse obediently.

When they came out again, they had changed into uniform blue cotton-padded jackets. These clothes were provided by the imperial court. At least the possibility of candidates smuggling cheat sheets under their clothes was eliminated.

But in addition to clothes, candidates also have to bring their own food, bedding, exam basket, writing brushes, inkstones, and all of these things need to be checked.

The inspection hadn't started yet, but the whole place in front of the Imperial Examination Hall was filled with Xu Jinyu's crazy laughter.

[Hahahaha... Bringing cheat sheets with you won't work in front of me. I'll let you bring them with you again.]

[What about copying the Four Books and Five Classics on your clothes, stuffing notes in the soles of your shoes, stuffing cheat sheets in your hair, hiding books in your crotch? Change all your clothes and shoes and see how you can copy again!!!]

The officials nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that it was the right decision to let Lord Xu do the inspection.

Look, after taking a bath and changing clothes, every corner of the bathhouse is filled with notes quietly thrown away by the candidates, as well as clothes soaked in water. Whose decent clothes smell like ink?

Just the process of bathing and changing clothes can eliminate many people who are ready to cheat.

Next comes the proper inspection.

The scholars walked past Xu Jinyu one by one. Xu Jinyu watched the things these people were carrying being checked out of the corner of his eye, and his attention was fully focused on his own system.

"Liu Jinyuan, you can go in." After checking the things that a candidate was carrying, the jailer signaled the candidate to go in.

Suddenly Xu Jinyu said, "Wait!"

Liu Jinyuan was startled, but he still spoke carefully: "Sir, is there any problem?"

Of course there is a problem. Xu Jinyu looked up at the candidate and thought he was very creative!

As soon as he waved his hand, people gathered around him.

"Tear off his cloak."

During the imperial examination, candidates were allowed to bring some thick clothes in addition to the clothes they were wearing to avoid getting sick from the cold.

Liu Jinyuan was so frightened that his face turned pale on the spot. He could not help but look at the jailer who was searching him, but was glared back at by the jailer.