Chapter 1779 – The Graduation Assessment Begins
In fact, those from humble backgrounds couldn’t sit still either, but their voices were weak and insignificant. As for influential commoners… well, figures like Qi Guanrang and Xu Ke were die-hard loyalists to Jiang Pengji and would never dare to speak out against her. Therefore, the voices of the commoners could mostly be ignored.
At present, the most agitated were still the aristocrats.
“As expected, when interests are not at stake for them, how many people truly care? Once their interests are even slightly jeopardized, they jump up in a frenzy, revealing their truly ugly sides,” Jiang Pengji sneered. “If a massive scandal breaks out during this graduation assessment, they’ll have every reason to criticize the Golden Scales Academy and band together against its decision to admit commoners.”
Wei Ci couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Indeed, in the last life, when the imperial examination was implemented, the first session was exploited by the ever-intrusive aristocrats, resulting in a scandal.
The aristocrats thought they could force the emperor to change his mind by banding together, even threatening the very foundation of the state.
The result—
Heh.
The emperor slaughtered a few of the more raucous offenders during a grand court assembly, executing them with thunderous force.
At that time, Wei Ci genuinely felt a cold sweat for the emperor, but the emperor carried on as usual, even using the unborn Fushou as leverage to create a false delivery crisis that exposed the lurking Red Lotus Sect, tricking the rebellious aristocrats into a coup attempt.
The outcome was delightfully predictable, as the emperor seized another opportunity for a spectacular comeback.
Wei Ci found it perplexing that, despite being baited into traps time and time again, the aristocrats never learned their lesson.
Each time they paid dearly, losing not only their fortunes but also their lives, dragging their families down with them.
Of course, Wei Ci couldn’t criticize them too readily, as his own son Wei Cong also fell victim to the emperor’s elaborate schemes.
Wei Ci dared to bet that if a scandal were to occur this time—
“What would our Lord intend if there really is a scandal?”
Jiang Pengji smirked, “To kill without hesitation, it’s well justified.”
Wei Ci forced a smile, finding that answer quite expected.
He voiced a long-held internal question.
“Our Lord considers every move for the sake of future generations, yet they continuously obstruct her, solely because it harms their interests?”
Wei Ci, being from the aristocracy himself, understood the root of the chaos in the realm.
The trends of the world dictate that unity must eventually lead to division, and division must lead back to unity. However, beneath the surface of these continual shifts lie countless innocent lives lost.
How could they allow so many innocent lives and the state itself to be sacrificed for selfish desires? This choice of the aristocrats left Wei Ci baffled.
Of course, he was also aware that not everyone possessed the selflessness to sacrifice personal and familial interests for the greater good.
Like himself—
Wei Ci silently gazed at Jiang Pengji, recognizing that he too had personal desires.
Jiang Pengji continued, “Some people act solely for their own and their family’s benefit, while others are just plainly short-sighted. If these people possessed even a fraction of my vision and courage, it might not be my turn to rule today. Zixiao, don’t you think these folks are reminiscent of keyboard warriors? When an issue doesn’t involve them, they sit on their moral high ground, offering unsolicited advice and showcasing their tiny bits of cleverness—telling everyone how things should be. But once their interests are touched, they can be both venomous and foolish.”
Wei Ci was left somewhat dazed.
He let out a question that came from the depths of his soul.
“What is a keyboard warrior?”
“Those self-proclaimed smartest people in teahouses and taverns, pointing fingers at the world and pretending to wield power,” Jiang Pengji added with a cold smirk. “And those idle aristocrats who think they understand everything and should call the shots in every matter.”
In short—
You can do what you want; if you can’t, stop complaining.
Now she is a feudal lord; she is the leader. She knows full well the consequences of her actions.
Those who couldn’t match her foresight and still tried to undermine her would inevitably face dire consequences.
“If they really can’t assess the situation and create chaos with a scandal, it would give me the perfect justification to clean house.”
Jiang Pengji maintained a calm exterior, while internally, she was sharpening her blades.
Disappointingly, this batch of aristocrats was proving to be quite lackluster, failing to instigate anything major; the graduation assessment proceeded as scheduled.
Afterward, Wei Ci analyzed the reasons.
First, the current lord had more public support than the emperor in his last life, and there was currently a honeymoon phase with the ministers, far different from the conflicts of his past.
Second, with the existence of the Golden Scales Pavilion influencing appointments, everyone was like frogs being boiled slowly in water. Now slightly warmed, when faced with the upgraded standards of Golden Scales Pavilion, they might fuss about, but their little schemes had little effect, and instead were brushed aside by their own lord.
The third and most crucial point— the Feng Clan was currently aligned with the lord.
In his previous life, several prominent aristocratic families had instigated chaos; without a strong leader, the aristocrats could come together and act cohesively.
Now without a leading figure, no one dared to step up and face the lord head-on, naturally resulting in a scattered group.
Scatterbrained, they couldn’t pose a threat.
“The Feng Clan—”
Wei Ci’s light gaze fell upon Feng Gui, and he sighed deeply.
In his comparison of the two lives, he felt even more sympathy for Feng Jue.
Had fate not been so cruel, the Feng Clan wouldn’t be narrowing their paths, eventually ending up ostracized for a whole decade by the emperor.
Whether the new emperor would be willing to employ the Feng Clan remained uncertain.
Princess Yan appeared magnanimous but was just as vengeful as the emperor.
Until her anger subsided, she would not show any favorable disposition toward the Feng Clan.
The prosperity of the aristocracy was intricately linked to the court; a generation could step away and still survive, but for the second generation, revival would become increasingly difficult. Feng Gui sensed this too, turning to meet Wei Ci’s gaze with a smile, nodding as a form of greeting.
Wei Ci struck up a conversation.
“I’ve heard your eldest son is participating this year as well?”
Feng Gui replied, “The eldest is in this cohort; the second still needs some time to mature.”
Having both sons participating weighed heavily on Feng Gui.
The eldest had more average talents, yet was the legitimate heir.
The second son was fine, as he never planned on making his debut this year; failing to perform well granted him a chance to try again.
In contrast, the eldest bore a tremendous burden.
No matter the talent, as the eldest legitimate son, he was destined to inherit the family name; that fact was unshakeable.
However, the young man possessed a strong sense of pride. No one wanted to feel like they achieved their status solely by virtue of their birthright.
Wei Ci smiled amiably, giving a few compliments; noticing Feng Gui seemed preoccupied, he asked, “Any word on the scoring standards for this assessment?”
Not just Feng Gui, even the participating students were clueless.
The academy called it a surprise, but Feng Gui and the students saw it as a scare. Where was the “joy”?
Wei Ci had insider information, and Feng Gui was eager to know more.
With the exam starting soon, asking now wouldn’t hurt the students.
“The six arts of a gentleman—rite, music, archery, charioteering, mathematics, and writing, a total of six subjects, each worth thirty points, for a total of one hundred eighty points. In addition to these six arts, there will be a general assessment worth one hundred twenty points. The total score will be three hundred points, and rankings will be based on scores.” Wei Ci lowered his voice, leaning closer to Feng Gui, “If a student’s total score is below one hundred eighty points, they will be considered failing and will not graduate.”
This examination format was quite novel; Wei Ci found it a refreshing change, with many differences from his previous life.
“What does ‘general assessment’ entail?”
The six arts were clear, but the general assessment was unclear.
Wei Ci explained, “The general assessment is… anything could be tested, not limited to the six arts, and there will be no classifications.”
Thinking you can guess the questions?
Better give that idea up.
Feng Gui’s heart sank with an ominous premonition.
This batch of students…
Wouldn’t they all be retained?
