Even though they previously helped the Grand Emperor with his affairs, that was their mistake, but it wasn’t his intention, with his father on one side and his brothers on the other, they naturally had to listen to their father.
As for other matters, the Seventh Prince refused to acknowledge them.
What does it have to do with him if candidates slept in the exam room? Everyone is making a fuss over nothing; if soone falls asleep during the exam, it must be because they didn’t sleep well the night before. How else could it be? Everyone’s heart is too filled with conspiracy theories.
Thinking of the Seventh Prince’s complaints, Ye Zi’an’s face darkened.
Could it be that they truly overthought things?
"Did Qingrui and Qingtong leave the residence?" Ye Zi’an asked again, "I haven’t had a chance to ask them how the exam went."
"Qingtong left the residence, said he was invited by two classmates from Funan to go to the Gentleman Pavilion. Qingrui is at ho."
Ye Zi’an nodded and rested in the room for a while before asking soone to call Yang Qingrui to the study.
"How do you feel?" Upon seeing him, Ye Zi’an poured him a cup of water, "Did you perform normally?"
"It’s alright," Yang Qingrui said with a smile, "Although the exam room was chaotic, I wasn’t influenced. As you previously ntioned, those proctors would occasionally check candidates’ information, so I wrote mine down early and placed it to the side, so when a proctor ca by, they could easily pick it up and check. Plus, I slept well and had tea when I felt sleepy, felt quite good overall."
"That puts at ease." Ye Zi’an nodded, "Many candidates were affected this ti, but it also indirectly shows the lack of inner resolve in these individuals. Being easily influenced is a major taboo in official circles."
"You’re right, brother-in-law."
Ye Zi’an noticed his attentive listening and smiled, then continued, "If you don’t succeed this ti, don’t be discouraged. I’ll recomnd you to study at the Imperial Academy for a while. I received word from the Emperor that there’s going to be an additional autumn exam this fall, and another spring exam next year. With the new Emperor’s ascension, extra exams are held, and although the spring exam collided this year, the conventions of holding additional exams won’t break."
Hearing this, Yang Qingrui’s eyes lit up, "Thank you, brother-in-law!"
"We are family, no need for thanks, but the news about extra exams hasn’t been confird yet, so don’t spread it around. Just you and Qingtong know about it."
"Don’t worry, brother-in-law, we won’t tell anyone."
Ye Zi’an nodded and asked again, "By the way, tell more about how candidates ended up falling asleep?"
"Brother-in-law, I found this issue sowhat odd. I’ve never felt so sleepy before; it seed like just closing my eyes would put to sleep imdiately."
Yang Qingrui shook his head, "I slept very well the night before; there was no reason for it to be like that."
"Did anything unusual happen that day?"
"Unusual circumstances?" Yang Qingrui thought for a mont, then shook his head, "No, it was just like the day before, and no outsiders ca in. Even the ice blocks were distributed personally by several proctors."
"Did you notice any strange odors?"
Ye Zi’an thought, if sothing could make the entire exam room drowsy, it was likely so kind of sedative incense or similar substance.
They checked the water the candidates drank and found no issues.
"Brother-in-law, that’s a difficult question to answer," Yang Qingrui complained, "You know, in those partitioned sections, eating, drinking, and other necessities all happen inside, so the scent in there couldn’t possibly be right."
The more Ye Zi’an thought about it, the more he realized, even if there were so unusual scents, they were surely all concealed.
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