Chapter 1 An Unexpected Incident

Central Golden Luan Hall.

Song Xun sat in his seat, closing his eyes to gather his spirit and adjust his emotions.

Even a clay figure has a bit of temper, let alone a scholar like him who valued his reputation so highly.

But starting a conflict in this kind of setting, arguing with those two aristocratic sons, was too unwise.

He came from a common background and didn't have the luxury of acting impulsively!

If he ruined the palace examination because of this petty squabble, he would surely regret it for the rest of his life, so he could only endure for the time being.

However, just because Song Xun didn't provoke trouble didn't mean others wouldn't come looking for it.

At this moment, Zhang Yongsi and the young master Li, who had been repeatedly ignored, were extremely displeased.

They had always looked down on commoners and often made fun of them in their daily lives.

So, without any hesitation,

they stood up and walked straight towards Song Xun, ready to humiliate this mud-legged fellow as usual.

Ideally, they could 'accidentally' break his hand, so that this lowly commoner could never pick up a brush again, lest he daydreams about joining the court and competing with them, the sons of aristocratic families!

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

The ink and writing implements on Song Xun's desk were all swept to the ground.

He suddenly opened his eyes, frowned as he looked at the two arrogant aristocratic sons in front of his desk.

Zhang Yongsi stood before the desk, looking down condescendingly, and sneered,

"Brother Li, this mud-legged fellow really doesn't know his place. For a young master like me to even glance at him is a blessing from his ancestors, yet he dares to be dissatisfied. Truly ungrateful!"

"Haha, people from small places just can't be brought to the big stage!" Young Master Li's expression was contemptuous.

Then he changed his tone, saying maliciously, "Brother Zhang, since we're idle anyway, why don't we expend a little effort and teach this lowly commoner what's what?"

Zhang Yongsi's eyes lit up, and the malice in his heart could no longer be concealed. He clapped his hands and said, "That's a good suggestion! Let's do it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two exchanged glances and approached Song Xun, as if they were going to capture him on the spot!

Song Xun's expression remained unchanged, but his hands under the table were clenched into fists.

He never expected that the situation would escalate to this point!

Although His Majesty and the various officials had already left, there were still many guards and eunuchs in the hall.

How dare they in full view of everyone?

Zhang Yongsi seemed to see through Song Xun's thoughts and mocked, "Mud-legged fellow, my father is a second-rank senior official, with power that shakes the court. These guards won't offend me for your sake!"

Song Xun looked around after hearing this.

But he found in despair that the guards he looked at all turned their heads to avoid his gaze.

This kind of disregard was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, chilling Song Xun to the bone.

"Brother Zhang, why waste words with this kid? It's best to act quickly. If we delay any longer, His Majesty and the others will be back!"

Zhang Yongsi glanced at Song Xun contemptuously again and said, "Alright, you hold this kid down. I don't want this lowly commoner to dirty my hands!"

As he spoke, he casually picked up an inkstone from the table next to him, weighing it as he glanced at Song Xun's hand.

This malicious gaze made Song Xun instantly regain his senses.

Seeing the man Zhang Yongsi called 'Brother Li' constantly approaching, he suddenly understood.

These two…want to break my hand?

Song Xun looked at the two of them, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Since the other party wanted to completely destroy him, then any more forbearance would be foolish.

Song Xun's expression became serious, and his body tensed up, ready to explode at any moment.

Although he looked weak, he had been farming for many years, and sometimes he had to do some physical labor to supplement his family's income. The strength of his body was not comparable to these aristocratic young masters whose bodies had been hollowed out by dissipation.

If they really fought, the two of them tied together wouldn't be his match!

Harboring malicious intentions, wanting to destroy his foundation? Then come and try!

Looking at the approaching Zhang Yongsi, Song Xun slowly narrowed his eyes, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

However, his calm reaction caused a misunderstanding among the crowd.

The scholar surnamed Li mocked, "Brother Zhang, this kid isn't moving! He must be frightened silly by your father's status, haha!"

Zhang Yongsi was also smug, saying, "This lowly commoner knows what's good for him. After I break his hand later, this young master can reward him with a few taels of silver, so he can buy a few more acres of land when he returns to his hometown!"

As he spoke, he raised the inkstone, and with a lunge, he wanted to commit the crime.

But he didn't know that his movements were full of loopholes in Song Xun's eyes!

With his eyes slightly narrowed, Song Xun, who had been accumulating strength for a long time, threw a punch, hitting Zhang Yongsi directly in the stomach.

The enormous force caused this pampered young master of a noble family to retreat repeatedly, fall to the ground, and scream miserably.

At this time, at the entrance of the main hall, Zhang Liping, who was following behind Jiang Chen, exploded!

"Lowly commoner! How dare you injure my son!"

As he spoke, he rushed to Jiang Chen and knelt down, exclaiming sternly, "Your Majesty, this lowly commoner is committing violence in public, harming fellow scholars in the examination. His nature is extremely vicious. I implore you to revoke his qualification for the imperial examination and throw him into the Ministry of Justice to uphold the law!"

As Zhang Liping spoke, he glared fiercely at Song Xun.

It seemed he wanted to skin him alive and tear him apart to vent his anger for his son!

Jiang Chen stood at the entrance, not uttering a word.

He first sized up Song Xun with great interest, and after confirming that he hadn't suffered any losses, he said indifferently, "I will handle this matter myself. Now that the palace examination is important, esteemed minister, please step back for now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liping trembled all over, raised his eyes to look at Jiang Chen, his face full of unwillingness.

But, one can't argue with the emperor.

The emperor was intent on showing favoritism, so what could he, a mere minister, do?

"Yes, Your subject obeys!"

Zhang Liping said through gritted teeth, then rose and returned to his original position.

Jiang Chen found it boring to see him so restrained.

He had originally thought that this old fox would stand up for his son, but he didn't expect that a single sentence would send him away.

Tsk, another opportunity to rectify a powerful minister was lost!

Regretting this, Jiang Chen strode towards the dragon throne and sat down amidst the gaze of the crowd.

At the same time, the senior officials of the court who had accompanied him also returned to their positions one after another.

Seeing the return of the various officials, the scholars below began to seethe.

They were all very clear that the moment to leap through the dragon gate was approaching.

They had worked so hard for so long, passing through several stages, all for this moment!

One after another, scorching gazes were cast towards the dragon throne at the head of the hall. The source was all the scholars in the hall. They didn't dare to look directly at the emperor's face, because that was an act of great disrespect, but looking at the emperor's boots was still allowed.

Jiang Chen had long been accustomed to this state of being admired by all. There wasn't the slightest ripple in his heart. He directly handed the imperial edict with the determined rankings to Feng Jin.

Seeing this, the gazes of the scholars in the hall became even more fervent, and the high officials on the side couldn't help but cast their gazes over.

Although they were the ones who had determined the rankings, the names of the candidates on the papers had been covered up. They didn't know who the top three scholars were either, so they were also curious at this time.

Moreover, among the hundreds of policy essays, there was one with the opening line "Your subject has heard that when an emperor governs the realm, he must have practical policies for management," which was extremely stunning, and its talent in writing surpassed all others!

They were very interested in the scholar who could write such an essay, and some people even had thoughts of cultivating him.

However, to have such insights, it must be from a famous family…it should be Zhang Yongsi, who was famous throughout the capital!