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Then, to my utter astonishment, Erlinzi slowly pulled a jade flute from his sleeve, smiled deeply at me, and just as I was about to faint, he began to play an unknown melody, its poignant beauty leaving me utterly heartbroken. Oh no, what's wrong with this world? Isn't he a great general? Even a great general knows these romantic tales?

Clouds Drunk and Moon Slightly Sleeping (Revised Edition) Volume One: When We Met, We Were All Joyful - The Imperial Examination

Chapter word count: 3454 Last updated: 08-12-20 15:50

Imperial Examination

Under Erlinzi's forceful aura, and with Longhuli's righteous yet helpless expression, I closed my eyes and swallowed the full glass of wine.

It was so spicy! I choked for a while, then drank a big glass of water before my throat felt a bit better. My head started to feel heavy, my stomach felt hot and burning, yet I was also a little excited. My face was flushed, but the cool night breeze blowing in from the window felt very comforting. I turned around, knelt on the soft couch, and leaned against the window.

How beautiful! The bright moon hangs in the dark blue, silk-like sky, its reflection shimmering on the turquoise lake, its silver light gleaming in the stillness. Red lanterns hang along both banks, like two red dragons winding into the distance until their red shadows blur and disappear. Under the lanterns, you can see that the weeping willows on the shore are covered with tender green leaves, dancing gracefully in the wind. The peach trees between the willows are in full bloom, and although the peach blossoms are not in full bloom at night, their tiny buds are especially enchanting under the red light. Several painted boats float on the lake, their lights twinkling, the sound of zithers lingering, songs filling the air, and laughter echoing through the air... I never imagined that I would see such a beautiful scene in my life, bustling yet not noisy, tranquil yet not quiet.

"It's just like the Qinhuai River with its sounds of oars and lanterns!" I murmured to myself, then chuckled, momentarily forgetting where I was.

"Third brother, third brother, are you alright?" It sounded like a fox's voice.

I turned to look at the source of the voice. Yes, he was really good-looking, with perfect features, a perfect face, and long, black hair. I couldn't help but reach out, but stopped less than two centimeters from his face. I withdrew my hand, gently patted my increasingly hot forehead, and said with a silly grin, "Call me... Qianqian."

"Qianqian?"

"Yes." I nodded solemnly, then turned around and sat obediently on the soft couch, reaching out to grab the wine glass again.

Fox cleared the wine cups from the table before I could, then turned to look at me. His peach-blossom eyes were full of unreadable messages, but his voice was unusually gentle as he asked, "Third brother, who do you think should be recommended for the position of Prefect of Grain Supply?"

"The Minister of Grain Supply?" I blinked a few times, and it took me a while to remember that there seemed to be such a thing. "Oh, right, the position of Minister of Grain Supply is vacant, but why recommend someone? It's not a good recommendation, it's not a good recommendation." I waved my hand excitedly as I spoke. They really never learn their lesson. The last person they recommended just got into trouble, why are they already thinking of recommending someone else?

"What else do you think, Third Brother?" the fox asked lazily, but a glint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

"The system of recommending officials for appointment has led to the prevalence of nepotism. You can't possibly investigate everyone's abilities and character in detail. In the long run, this will eventually lead to the bloated and inefficient government, as well as the formation of intricate power groups. The consequences are clear from the past, so..." I let out a satisfied burp, then stood up unsteadily.

"So what?"

“So, it’s the imperial examination system!” I rolled my eyes at the fox and said matter-of-factly.

"The imperial examination?" Two bewildered faces. They'd seen Erlinzi's blank expression many times before, so it didn't bother them. But this was the first time they'd seen the fox look so silly; so cute, hahaha.

“Yes, the imperial examination.” I nodded solemnly again, and then explained with a lisp, “The so-called imperial examination is a system for selecting officials through examinations. It is called the imperial examination because it is divided into subjects for selecting officials.”

A cup of tea appeared before me. Without hesitation, I took it and drank it down in one gulp. As I reached out to hand the cup back, I vaguely saw Erlinzi's delighted expression and Longhuli's sparkling eyes.

"Third brother, please continue, what exactly is this imperial examination system all about?"

I closed my eyes and patted my forehead. Oh my god, I was so sleepy. I sat down and leaned on the table, continuing in a daze, "The imperial examinations were held every three years, open to all learned and talented people in the country, regardless of social status or birth. The examinations were divided into four levels: the provincial examination, the prefectural examination, the provincial examination, and the palace examination. The top three in the provincial examination advanced to the prefectural examination, the top ten in the prefectural examination advanced to the provincial examination, and the top twenty in the provincial examination advanced to the palace examination, which was presided over by the emperor himself. After the palace examination, the emperor decided the ranking of the successful candidates. The top ten were selected, and the top three were publicly announced and directly appointed to official positions. The rest were considered on a case-by-case basis. All those who passed the imperial examinations were collectively called the emperor's disciples."

Why did I blurt out all the things I was thinking about when I was bored a few days ago? 5555, my head is so dizzy.

"A disciple of the Emperor?" The fox's eyes were fixed on me, shining brightly like two top-grade obsidian stones. Against his black clothes, they were as dazzling as stars, making it impossible to look away.

"Um...so that means...they're your students...not surnamed Gu...not surnamed Han." I stared at the fox, lost in thought for a long while, swallowing several times before rambling on incoherently. I can't take it anymore, my eyes are closing, my head is so heavy, I need to sleep.

"Young master, young master, wake up!"

"Shut up." Why is there always someone buzzing around me whenever I want to sleep?

"Young master, get up quickly, or you'll miss the morning court session."

The morning court session? The morning court session? Oh, I remember now. I only get one day off, and it seems there's an morning court session today. You can be late for work, but you can't be late for court. This is no joke. I rolled out of bed in a flash, instantly wide awake, although my head still ached and felt heavy. But who told me to drink alcohol?

Drinking? Hangover? I remember now.

"Cui'er, how did I get back to the manor last night?" I brushed my teeth with my homemade toothbrush, washed my face, and then stretched out my arms to let Cui'er help me change my clothes, asking with a slight hesitation.

The so-called toothbrush was a design I drew for a 21st-century toothbrush, which Zhang De had someone make. Since it lacked soft bristles, I used cotton cloth to replace them, dipped it in salt, and cleaned my teeth by rubbing. While the effect was far inferior to a real toothbrush, it was better than rinsing. Sigh, the living conditions here are really backward. Showering is alright, but using the toilet is incredibly difficult.

"Young master, you can't come back so late anymore. Cui'er was so worried. She waited and looked but couldn't find you. She almost sent the guards out to look for you. When she finally saw you, you were drunk. You were clinging to the curtain of General Mu's carriage and refused to get off. Later..." The girl was already dressed as a servant and was very talkative. Once she started talking, she wouldn't stop. But despite her talkativeness, she was still as quick and efficient as ever.

"What happened next? Did they tear the curtain of his carriage?" Good heavens, I knew drinking never brought good things. I'm sure Erlinzi will laugh me to death at court today.

Cui'er gave me a strange look, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Yes, General Mu's face turned green. Young Master is really... scary when he's drunk. Cui'er originally wanted Yunhui to carry Young Master back to his room, but it was that... that young master I saw in the music hall who carried him back to his room." After Cui'er finished speaking, she looked at me hesitantly, and her body trembled slightly as if she remembered something: "That young master, his eyes were so scary, and his expression was so frightening."

What? That fox carried me back to my room? Damn it, he actually broke into my room while I was drunk? Does a fox think he can just barge into a young lady's boudoir like that? Luckily, my room was clean and tidy, without any cosmetics or girly things, or I'd be dead meat!

My previous worries were not unfounded at all. I ran into Mu Qinglin outside the second palace gate. That guy had a sly smile on his face and completely ignored my cold glare. He insisted on walking beside me towards the Qianqing Hall. "Oh my, Prime Minister Yun is walking like the wind today. He's completely different from last night!"

I glared at him fiercely and continued walking quickly forward, wanting to leave that guy far behind.

"Hey, Yunxiang, when are we going for a drink together? I heard Yunxiang has an amazing capacity for alcohol, haha!"

Looking at his face, which was laughing so hard it was shaking, I wanted to slap him so hard he wouldn't be able to show his face in public.

"Oh dear, I've heard that Prime Minister Yun is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I've long admired him..."

"Erlinzi!" I smiled sweetly at Mu Qinglin, interrupting him halfway through his sentence. I was pleased to see his face twitch when he heard me call him "Erlinzi," and his smirking face suddenly couldn't hold back anymore.

"Erlinzi, your face is all wrinkled when you smile. You could easily trap a few mosquitoes in that wrinkle. In the summer, you're welcome to smile at me more, but now there's neither Erlinzi nor mosquitoes, so you'd better stop smiling." If you don't show your power, people will think you're Garfield.

Sure enough, Mu Qinglin obediently stopped smiling, and his face twitched.

"Erlinzi," I only got halfway through my sentence when he suddenly lunged forward, appearing right in front of me in an instant. His speed was lightning fast; I only felt a blur, not even seeing how he got there. A magnified face appeared before me, and a voice filled with gritted teeth whispered in my ear: "Third brother, don't you dare call me that damned name again!"

"Oh dear, second brother, you're threatening me and bullying me! I'm going to tell eldest brother!" I said this in a pitiful tone.

Mu Qinglin's face twitched violently several times. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he laughed like a lovesick fool and looked me up and down: "Third brother, has anyone told you what you did last night?" After saying that, he smiled at me with a sly grin. His cunning expression was seven or eight tenths of what Long Huli had learned.

So what if I tore the curtain off your carriage? How much is that worth? You're using such a small thing to threaten me? Am I still Lin Qianqian? But looking at Er Linzi's smug and smirking face, did I do something even more shameful?