Chapter 068 The Annual Examination Begins

August 21st.

For the Bureau of Astronomy, it was an extraordinary day.

For all the hereditary students in the records room, it marked a crucial moment that would determine their fate.

The annual assessment for hereditary students was usually held at the end of the year, with examiners appointed by the Ministry of Rites presiding over the proceedings. However, this time, due to a shortage of personnel within the bureau, the examination had been advanced by more than three months.

For the academic elites, passing the astronomical student assessment early meant receiving their stipend sooner, something they were naturally eager for. But for the less gifted, the abrupt change was rather cruel.

The first half of the year had gone smoothly enough—Xue Yuanhao had taught with great diligence, and the hereditary students had made considerable progress. But since Peng Ying had become the new school secretary, their studies had stagnated, and now the exam was to be held three months earlier; the weaker students could hardly be pleased.

Thus, the struggling students arrived at the Bureau of Astronomy half an hour ahead of schedule, seeking solidarity, determined to weather the storm together.

What vexed Xue Rui was that Fan Yan and the others would rather seek help from their old rival Liu Jin than come to him for assistance in cheating, which wounded his pride greatly.

At that moment, Xue Rui was tempted to utter a phrase: "Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west, never underestimate..."

As he was pondering this, two men entered the records room.

One was the Chief Officer Xu Dun, and the other was Registrar Cui Shizuo.

According to Fan Yan, who had repeated the year, the assessment of hereditary students was always overseen by three examiners—two officials from the Bureau of Astronomy and one selected by the Ministry of Rites, for supervision.

Xu Dun and Cui Shizuo were likely the resident examiners for this assessment.

Xue Rui poked his head out to take a look but saw no other officials accompanying them.

Upon entering the records room, Xu Dun counted the students and addressed them: "This assessment concerns your future prospects. You must apply yourselves diligently and treat it with utmost care. An official from the Ministry of Rites will inspect the proceedings today. Behave yourselves. If I discover anyone cheating, their status as hereditary students will be stripped, and they will be reduced to menial clerks. Do you understand?"

"We obey your command, sir," came the reply.

Such routine admonitions were taken lightly by the hereditary students.

Yet curiosity lingered among them. Who was this Ministry of Rites examiner? The exam was about to begin, but no one had appeared—wasn’t that rather presumptuous?

However, Xu Dun showed no sign of impatience. When the time arrived, he instructed Cui Shizuo to distribute the exam papers.

The astronomical student assessment was different from the civil service examinations. The papers had been transcribed in advance and contained interpretation questions, arithmetic problems, and essay prompts, varying in number, somewhat akin to modern examinations.

Xue Rui took his paper and scanned through all the questions, frowning as he did so.

Although Xu Dun had hinted the questions would be much simpler this time, Xue Rui had still underestimated the difficulty of the assessment. The interpretation questions were indeed basic, mostly foundational concepts, which posed no challenge to him.

But the subsequent arithmetic and essay questions included several problems he couldn’t solve with the methods of this era.

These questions clearly carried much more weight than the interpretation ones; failing to answer them would undoubtedly affect his score.

There was no other way—Xue Rui could only do his best, hoping his answers would at least appear plausible.

Halfway through the examination, hurried footsteps sounded outside the records room.

Soon, Clerk Zhang entered and whispered a few words to Xu Dun.

"Is this true?" Xu Dun exclaimed, springing up from his seat.

Clerk Zhang gave a wry smile. "He’s already at the door, coming this way."

"What are you waiting for? Go and welcome him!" Xu Dun, flustered, hurried out of the records room.

Cui Shizuo, unaware of what was happening, considered following Xu Dun, but realizing he was now the sole examiner, suppressed his curiosity and continued his invigilation.

With one examiner gone, the students’ furtive actions increased.

Cui Shizuo was a kind man. Knowing how much this exam meant for many, he wasn’t overly strict. Aside from blatant cheating, which he would stop, he turned a blind eye to lesser infractions.

After a while, the sound of many footsteps echoed outside; clearly, a large group had arrived.

The hereditary students all looked toward the doorway.

A few moments later, an elderly man in a crimson official robe entered, followed by Xu Dun, Gao Mian, and four or five other bureau officials.

Xue Rui immediately noticed the embroidered insignia on the old man’s robe—a beautiful golden pheasant—which meant the visitor was a high-ranking official of the second rank!

The old man in the crimson robe entered, glanced back at the officials following him, and waved his hand: "Go about your business, I don’t need so many attendants."

"Then we’ll take our leave," Gao Mian and the others quickly bowed and withdrew.

Once the crowd dispersed, Cui Shizuo hurried forward to pay his respects: "Your subordinate, Cui Shizuo, greets Minister Hu. I regret not welcoming you sooner and beg your pardon."

"Hehe, you are engaged in your duties—hardly a breach of etiquette. If anything, I, as the examiner, have arrived late and am at fault. Has there been any mishap during the assessment?"

The old man in the crimson robe cast a smiling glance over the students and asked.

"I have been watching closely, sir, and no errors have occurred," Cui Shizuo replied promptly.

"Very well," said the old man, saying no more, and took Xu Dun’s seat.

Seeing the students’ astonished faces, Xu Dun quickly introduced him: "This is Minister Hu from the Ministry of Rites. Pay your respects."

"Minister Hu Ying of the Ministry of Rites!" the students exclaimed in shock.

Hu Ying, styled Yuanjie, hailing from Jiangsu, now seventy-four years old, was the only minister of the Ming dynasty to have served through six reigns.

Before Emperor Xuanzong passed away, he had appointed five ministers to safeguard the throne, and Hu Ying was one of them.

It was said that during the Yongle era, Hu Ying had been tasked by the emperor to search for the whereabouts of the deposed Jianwen emperor for over a decade, ceasing only when Zheng He set sail for the Western Oceans.

By now, Hu Ying had served as Minister of Rites for eighteen years. Known for his kindness and popularity in court, he was highly respected by successive emperors.

No one could have imagined that such a minor assessment for hereditary students would be personally overseen by Minister Hu Ying—an unprecedented occurrence.

"Students, pay your respects," the students, after their initial shock, stood and bowed.

"Sit, sit. It’s exam time. Focus on your papers; I won’t disturb you," Hu Ying said amiably, no different from any ordinary old man.

Though his eyesight was dim with age, his presence was enough to deter any attempts at cheating. The students, fearing to be caught by this second-rank examiner, could only rack their brains for answers.

Before long, Xue Rui finished his paper, filling in all the questions, even those he couldn’t solve.

By his estimation, his score would hover around the passing mark—one misstep and he might have to repeat the year.

Seeing Xu Dun’s respectful demeanor towards Hu Ying, Xue Rui deliberated for a moment, then stood up and handed in his paper.

The other students, seeing this, assumed Xue Rui had given up, and some followed suit, resigning themselves to fate.

Among the three examiners, Hu Ying ranked highest, so Xue Rui naturally placed his paper before him.

Hu Ying picked up the paper and glanced at it, seeing it was filled top to bottom. He smiled and said: "Handing in your paper before the exam is over—surely you must be confident in your answers?"