The spring imperial examinations were about to commence.
A gentle, continuous drizzle enshrouded the entire city of Chang'an.
The chief examiner for this round was still the deputy director of the Department of Merit Assessment in the Ministry of Personnel. He was a rather young official in his early thirties named Feng Mincai, a Qiang person. It was said that he was an excellent scholar, which was why he had reached such a high - ranking position at a young age.
However, the imperial examinations were of great significance. Everyone, from Emperor Li Shimin and the grand councilors at the top, to the officials, commoners in the middle, and the candidates about to take the exams at the bottom, was keeping a close eye on them.
This matter could not be taken lightly at all.
Li Jingyun took a bottle of pills from the cabinet and examined them carefully. According to the Taoist priest who made the pills, taking them could prolong one's life and even lead to immortality. Her father would take one every day to prevent his wind - related illness from recurring.
But she didn't trust these pills. With the highly - respected Taoist priest around, other pills were far inferior.
Eunuch Feng said, "Princess, the pills given to you by the high - ranking Taoist priest are said to be very spiritual and should not be exposed to light. It's better to store them."
"Can the pills he gave my father really cure his wind - related illness?"
"After taking them, His Majesty's health has indeed improved a lot. He looks energetic and radiant." Eunuch Feng evaded the crucial point. How could he know if the pills were really effective?
If he said the wrong thing, it would be troublesome.
Li Jingyun nodded without saying a word and put the pills back. Li Shimin walked in from outside, followed by Changsun Wuji. "Hongxuan?"
"Father, Uncle! Last night before I went to bed, the high - ranking Taoist priest told me that we should paste over the names on the candidates' exam papers. In this way, the officials who review the papers won't know whose papers they are."
Li Jingyun immediately changed the topic and seriously put forward this suggestion.
"Your Majesty, this suggestion is quite feasible," Changsun Wuji quickly agreed.
What his niece said was always right.
Moreover, this matter was indeed worth doing.
The purpose of the imperial examinations was to select talents to serve the people for the emperor, not to allow the officials in the Ministry of Personnel to take the opportunity to win over people's hearts, form cliques for personal gain, and disrupt the court.
"You make a good point. Wang De, go to the Policy - making Hall. Yang Shidao should be there," Li Shimin quickly accepted this suggestion. It might not be useful for now, but the future was full of uncertainties. Maybe it would come in handy one day.
"Yes," Wang De replied and left.
Sure enough, the little princess could bring about changes with just a casual suggestion.
Li Jingyun was still very curious about this bottle of pills. The high - ranking Taoist priest had also given her some. They looked almost the same and had a similar pungent smell.
"Father, Uncle, look. I always feel that the pills he gave me look almost the same as the ones he gave Father. But he told Father that they could cure the wind - related illness and prolong life, while he told me that they could strengthen the body, improve memory, and make me energetic. Oh, and his medicine boy told me that after taking this pill, I would be good at studying."
As Li Jingyun recalled, she vividly imitated the expressions of the Taoist priest and the medicine boy when they talked to her, which made Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji burst into laughter.
Li Shimin looked at the pills. His wind - related illness recurred from time to time, and the high - ranking Taoist priest had sent the pills.
He had taken Sun Simiao's medicine before, and his condition had improved a lot. But he couldn't resist taking the new pills. The next morning, he felt refreshed. Although he thought Sun Simiao's medicine was more effective, he also began to trust these pills.
He didn't take many. After all, every medicine had its side effects. He had taken at most three or five pills.
He did feel better.
Later, Eunuch Feng brought up the pills for Li Jingyun. When the two sets of pills were placed side by side for comparison, they really looked alike.
It was hard to tell the difference with the naked eye.
Changsun Wuji saw the father - daughter pair carefully examining the two sets of pills and couldn't help laughing. "Your Majesty, if you and Hongxuan think these pills are unreliable, just don't take them."
"The art of Taoism is profound. Since these pills are refined, they must have their merits," Li Shimin said with a smile.
Li Jingyun propped her chin with one hand. Since she was still worried, why not wait a few days until the spring imperial examinations were over and then take the pills to ask Sun Simiao?
Master Sun also practiced Taoism. Maybe he would know something.
In the Policy - making Hall, Yang Shidao, Tang Jian, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Du Yan and others were sitting together, discussing the imperial examinations.
For example, if there were any young talents who had come forward on their own initiative, whose sons they were, and whether their ancestors had held any official positions.
If these people were recruited, which departments and positions would they be assigned to? Whose subordinates were still short of what kind of talents?
Tang Jian said with a smile, "The library opposite my house still lacks a deputy supervisor. It would be great if some people from the Jinshi or Mingjing subjects could come to take the position this time."
"You! In the first few months after the library was built, you couldn't talk for three sentences without mentioning it. You're still the same now," Fang Xuanling joked.
It was as if he wanted the whole world to know that he had funded the construction of the largest library in the Tang Dynasty.
"Thanks to the little princess, there are more and more books of all kinds these days. Some banned books are mixed in and spreading widely. The officials in the Imperial Library are so busy dealing with this that they are dizzy and have no time to rest. I live opposite the library and I'm a grand councilor of the Tang Dynasty. How can I not take this matter seriously?" Tang Jian said with a smile and at the same time belittled the officials in the Imperial Library.
Just then, Wang De appeared. "Greetings to the grand councilors. His Majesty has an oral edict."
The officials quickly stood up and saluted.
"For the spring imperial examinations two days later, paste over the names of the candidates on the papers. No favoritism or malpractice is allowed," Wang De imitated Li Shimin's tone.
You have to admit that after serving Li Shimin for a long time, he really had that air. At first hearing, it was quite intimidating.
"Yes, we will obey," the officials replied.
After they agreed, Yang Shidao was curious. "Why did His Majesty suddenly come up with this idea?"
"It was the suggestion of the little princess. His Majesty thought it was feasible, so he sent me here to inform you," Wang De said with a smile.
"I see. It has to be the little princess," Yang Shidao nodded.
His only son had clashed with the little princess and Prince Wu. Then he was placed under house arrest, and his affair with Princess Yongjia was discovered. He was killed by Princess Yongjia's husband with his soldiers. None of these things were unjust to Yang Yuzhi. He deserved what he got.
No matter how much he loved his son, Yang Shidao had no choice. Even if he was no longer the head of the Secretariat, he was still the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, holding great power. Now he was dealing with government affairs almost all the time, looking like he wanted to exhaust himself to serve the country.
Especially for this spring imperial examinations, so many people were watching his Ministry of Personnel. He couldn't afford to make the slightest mistake.
Fang Xuanling said meaningfully, "The princess is intelligent, deeply favored by the emperor, and respected by the people of the world. Such achievements are beyond the reach of many people in their whole lives."
"Since you all know, I'll take my leave," Wang De came in a hurry and left in a hurry. He still had to go back to serve Li Shimin.
As for other remarks, it was not his place to listen.