Can I Become Emperor by Being This Lazy? - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Song Yanfang felt immensely grateful he had arrived early. He estimated it wouldn’t be long before he couldn’t even meet the threshold to enter here.

Observing the dense crowd of blue-robed scholars, Song Yanfang sighed. Simultaneously, he felt the relaxed pleasure of being an insider, and a subtle, indescribable thrill crept into his heart as he contrasted his ease with the scholars’ distress.

The Marshal has decreed that, due to the excessive number of participants and the high cost of writing materials, from today onward, those taking the examination must pay half a string of cash as a registration fee. Payment grants immediate entry to the exam. Clearing his mind of scattered thoughts, Song Yanfang straightened his posture and solemnly announced the news to the crowd. Before they could voice their opinions, he continued, If there are talented individuals facing financial hardship, they may apply to me for a fee waiver. After registration and verification, they will be permitted to take the test.

Upon hearing this, the scholars all showed astonished expressions. Never had they heard of any recruitment for talents that specifically set up an exam and profited from it—was she imitating the imperial examinations?

Without having seized several provinces or cities, nor captured crucial passes, Xu Mao was already putting on a performer’s act, mocking and humiliating virtuous scholars, even extending her money-making schemes to her guests.

While others used vast sums to seek talented individuals, she, on the contrary, went to great lengths to extract money from the hands of these talents. What kind of confidence and audacity was this?

Relying on her minor supernatural abilities and luck to reach this point, her flaws suddenly became apparent: shortsightedness and arrogance, completely overturning everyone’s impression of Xu Mao.

Many harbored grievances and wanted to discuss with Song Yanfang whether it was possible to retract the decision and cancel the registration fee. Unfortunately, they received Song Yanfang’s firm refusal. Unwilling to give up, one scholar complained, It didn’t cost anything just a few days ago. Why suddenly demand payment now?

The implication was that he should be compensated with a fee reduction.

However, Song Yanfang indifferently raised a pair of dead-fish eyes and coldly rejected the request, You should have come earlier, sir. Unfortunately, today coincides with this reform. From now on, everyone must pay.

Even after the scholar wore out his lips pleading, Song Yanfang did not yield. Stuck in a stalemate and unable to back down, the scholar felt he was confirming his status as a poor scholar, arguing endlessly over vulgar matters of money, which was beneath his dignity.

These impoverished scholars couldn’t help but become angry and humiliated. Snorting coldly, one heavily flicked his sleeve. Constrained by Xu Mao’s formidable authority, they dared not utter harsh words, but directed veiled criticisms at Song Yanfang, rolling their eyes and speaking with sarcasm, Today we have learned the new method of ‘welcoming talents with humility.’ The process rivals the imperial exams in rigor. With such high regard, we wonder which worthy talent will emerge victorious. When that time comes, we will surely come to offer congratulations.

Song Yanfang remained expressionless, turning a deaf ear.

Song Yanfang felt an inexplicable delight, enthusiastically carrying firewood with brimming passion.

Xu Mao’s selection examination for talents had concluded with fee collection, stirring up quite a commotion in Fengcheng. Aside from criticisms about her eagerness for quick success and unseemly haste, some attention was drawn to the exam questions themselves.

With so many candidates returning defeated, when people inquired about the details from the scholars who took the exam, they all remained tight-lipped. Even when a little information was finally obtained, the descriptions were vague and incoherent—mentioning diagrams, legal cases, with sentences disjointed and disconnected.

This inevitably piqued the curiosity and competitive spirit of some, who wanted to see what kind of questions could stump so many educated scholars.

After school, wealthy young men gathered idly, laughing and joking. When the topic of Xu Mao’s talent selection controversy came up, the mischievous Wu Boshan, who loved to tease, joked: How about we make a bet on who can pass? Anyone willing to gamble?

Bet it is, but I won’t wager on myself. I’ll bet on our Feng Erlang! Erlang is brilliantly talented, immensely learned, possessing qualifications to sit for the imperial examinations. How could a mere Loyal and Righteous Army Marshal possibly trouble him!

Others quickly followed suit, clamoring: I’ll bet on Feng Erlang passing too.

Feng Erlang sipped his tea with reserved elegance, appearing detached from the noisy commotion as if floating above it all, exceptionally aloof and transcendent.

How annoying—nothing more irritating than someone who puts on such airs.

Wu Boshan couldn’t stand Feng Er’s pretentious demeanor, rolling his eyes and pretending his eyes hurt. He quickly pressed down the betting tokens while waving his other hand: Shoo, shoo! Betting on others doesn’t make you brave! It’s just half a string of coins—can’t even spare that little? What if one of us gets lucky and passes!

Nobody can skip this—only cowards would refuse. Wu Boshan turned and grabbed his cousin Wu Hongying, who had quietly edged half a step away, baring his teeth in warning: You’re not allowed to run away—come with me. The primary condition Father and Mother agreed to let you study with me was that you obey me. Be careful or I’ll report you when we get back—then not only will you stop studying, your mother won’t live peacefully either!

Wu Hongying was slender and small, with sallow, dry skin, wearing faded clothes. Placed beside Wu Boshan, they hardly seemed to come from the same family.

Everyone knew Wu Hongying’s status—born to a concubine, her mother not particularly favored by the master. If not for the persuasion of Wu Boshan’s mother, Lady Su, Wu Hongying’s mother wouldn’t even have been allowed through the Wu family gates. With their lowly status, this mother and child had no choice but to tread carefully under Wu Boshan’s watchful eye.

Wu Hongying trembled as she raised her head, biting her lip until deep marks appeared. Shivering and shrinking into herself, filled with fear and trepidation, she stammered: Elder cousin, I’m poorly educated and untalented… perhaps I shouldn’t waste this half string of coins
Wu Boshan remained firm: No, I’ll pay for you. Our family isn’t so poor we can’t afford a few strings of coins. You’ll come along to make up a lucky number.

Knowing she couldn’t win against him, Wu Hongying reluctantly agreed to accompany them. Unfamiliar with the process, she mustered her courage and softly asked: Elder cousin, how does one enter this exam? What items do they check?

Haven’t heard about any checks. Now that you mention it, I’ve got an idea—why not sneak in some notes to cheat! Wu Boshan slapped his forehead as the bad idea occurred to him.

Someone nearby poked him, laughing: Don’t even think about it! You think nobody’s tried? Since Marshal Xu dares not conduct checks, it means smuggling notes is useless!
Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. These people could not understand the Marshal’s well-intentioned efforts. Even if they were to become her strategists, the eventual outcome would only be a disagreeable parting of ways.

Suddenly, he understood why the Marshal had designed things this way.

—Screening.

Not selecting the most virtuous or the most talented, but only the most suitable and like-minded intellectuals with shared aspirations.

Song Yanfang had an epiphany, realizing how crucial this examination was and how fortunate he was to have merely met Xu Mao and passed the simplest, most direct assessment to stay.

On second thought, Song Yanfang sensed something amiss and suddenly realized that he had already passed the test.

Marshal Xu genuinely recognized his character and abilities, confirmed his ambitions, regarded him as a trusted confidant, and valued him. That was why she hadn’t made him take the exam; otherwise, he too would have fallen prey to those examination papers.

I have inside information. I heard that few of the exam questions come from textbooks. No matter how much effort you put into smuggling notes in, you’ll end up bringing them out untouched.

The group gasped upon hearing this. So difficult, no wonder no one had passed yet—they were just going for the experience.

Without further ado, everyone boarded the carriage to take the exam.

Wu Hongying trembled with fear, cold sweat streaming down his back. He devised various contingency plans during the journey, but when he nervously stepped out of the carriage, paid the fee, and encountered no obstacles before finally sitting in the examination hall, he realized the rumors were true.

A faint ink fragrance permeated the room. When candidates received their test papers, they stared wide-eyed at the inexplicable diagrams and chaotic, patternless lines, utterly unable to begin after prolonged scrutiny.

Was… there even a pattern here?

Wu Hongying confirmed he wasn’t seeing things—the instructions clearly stated to identify the pattern from previous diagrams and select the appropriate graphic. But no matter how he scrutinized them, he couldn’t discern any clues.

Fortunately, he wasn’t genuinely invested in the exam. Wu Hongying sighed in relief—the paper’s difficulty exceeded expectations, so performing poorly would be perfectly normal and unsurprising.

As he adjusted his mindset, perhaps influenced by his changed attitude, he felt somewhat more relaxed. Suddenly, he noticed peculiar intersections among the tangled lines—T-shaped junctions. Except for the first diagram which contained only a single winding line, all other graphics consistently featured exactly two T-shaped intersections regardless of their variations.

Could this be it?

Wu Hongying remained uncertain. Since the first diagram contradicted this hypothesis, he suspected the option with dual T-junctions wasn’t the correct answer—perhaps merely a decoy.

Hesitating briefly, he marked this likely incorrect choice.

Continuing onward, he encountered black-and-white grids and shape substitutions, making random selections based on intuition.

Next appeared soldiers labeled Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui from Huaining, Yanlin, Fengcheng… and Shimen. They could freely choose training events in pairs.

Given:

(1) If Jia and Ding choose long jump, then Bing does not choose high jump.

(2) Unless Yi chooses running, otherwise Wu and Gui choose long jump.

(3) Only if the soldier from Huaining chooses high jump will the soldier from Yanlin choose long jump.

For some reason, Wu Hongying felt dizzy, his head throbbing as if about to explode. All these if-then, unless-otherwise conditions—what nonsense was this?!

Wu Hongying stopped overthinking. Marshal Xu came from Huaining—he selected Huaining. Then, since he was testing in Fengcheng—he picked Fengcheng. For the Jia-Yi-Bing-Ding options, he chose Bing for its symmetrical appearance.

Having randomly guessed through previous questions, Wu Hongying held no expectations for his results. When he reached the personality assessment section, the difficulty plummeted.

The initial questions involved self-evaluation. After brief consideration, Wu Hongying selected options completely opposite to his true nature: imaginative and emotionally volatile.

[If someone angers me, I will:]

Wu Hongying quickly checked:

[Confront them furiously—venting my rage is paramount to show I’m not to be trifled with.]

[When facing setbacks, I will:]

[Feel deeply wounded, doubt my suitability for the task, and seek alternative directions.]

Wu Hongying raced through the remaining questions. As he set down his writing brush, the announcement declaring the exam’s conclusion coincided perfectly. His test papers were collected, and he exhaled a heavy breath of relief.

After completing the exam, they were led to an adjacent room for tea.

Wu Boshan crossed the threshold with a ferocious expression, wailing loudly as he cried, It’s too difficult! I couldn’t make heads or tails of any of the earlier questions!

The others shared Wu Boshan’s sentiment, hanging their heads low and sighing in despair.

Erlang, how do you feel? someone suddenly asked Feng Erlang, curious whether the highly anticipated Feng Erlang would have a different experience from theirs.

Wu Hongying turned to look and saw Feng Erlang’s face as pale as death, his forehead drenched in sweat, his overall condition clearly dire.

Feng Erlang’s lips trembled slightly, his fists clenched tightly. He remained silent for a long while, his silence speaking volumes.

Everyone tacitly understood the implication and wisely refrained from pressing further. But Feng Erlang’s eyes bulged, bloodshot at the corners, his appearance quite terrifying as he stubbornly and frantically supported himself against the table, shakily rising to his feet.

These questions are flawed—mere tools to torment people! They’re asked without any merit, utterly meaningless, nothing but useless trivialities! Feng Erlang gritted his teeth and spat venomously, raising a finger to curse heaven and earth.

Wu Boshan couldn’t help but let out a derisive snort. Failing the exam and blaming the questions? If you fail the imperial examinations someday, will you blame the examination hall for being too cold, the beds too hard, or the questions too tricky?

Feng Erlang completely broke down, pointing at Wu Boshan and stammering you… you… repeatedly, unable to form a complete sentence. His bloodshot eyes rolled wildly, wide open, before he stiffened and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The crowd panicked, scrambling over each other in a chaotic rush to help.

Fainting scholars after exams were common, and Xu Mao had already prepared an emergency protocol, specifically hiring a physician to standby next door.

Shortly after Feng Erlang lost consciousness, the physician arrived upon hearing the commotion. He pushed aside the panicking young noblemen, straightened Feng Erlang’s body, and skillfully began applying acupuncture.