Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 102: Leaping Over the Dragon Gate

The sky at the mao hour (5-7 am) was not yet fully bright.

The morning in the capital carried a biting, damp chill.

In front of the Examination Hall, a crowd had already gathered long ago.

But unlike the usual clamor, today this place was silent as a graveyard.

Hundreds of armored soldiers clad in cold iron armor, holding long halberds, stood in two rows, forming a stern, killing-intent-filled passage leading to the "Dragon Gate." The expressions on their faces were even colder and harder than the iron armor they wore.

The scholars lined up in a long queue, each with a pale face and a nervous expression.

"Undo your hair buns!"

"Outer robe, inner garment, take them all off!"

"Open your mouth, stick out your tongue!"

The voices of the soldiers conducting the search were hoarse, their movements rough and merciless. Like inspecting livestock, they felt up each scholar from head to toe, even pinching apart hair buns to confirm no slips of paper were hidden inside.A scholar from a poor family, wearing a patched inner garment close to his skin, was roughly pulled out by a searching soldier.

"What's hidden in these patches? Rip it open!"

"Sir, this was sewn by this humble student's mother, there's really nothing inside..."

*Rip!* With a harsh sound, the patch was violently torn open, revealing the grayish-white cotton wadding inside.

Finding nothing, the soldier relentlessly slapped the scholar.

"Pathetic wretch! Get inside!"

The scholar covered his face, eyes reddening, but dared not utter a word. Clutching his torn clothes, he scrambled awkwardly into the Examination Hall.

The atmosphere in the line grew increasingly oppressive.

Su Ming stood in the middle of the queue, his expression calm, only slowing his breathing further.

He saw ahead, a luxurious carriage drove directly to the entrance, completely ignoring the long line.

Several attendants escorted a young man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe out of the carriage.

It was that young master from the Wei Duke's house.

He didn't even walk; two sturdy servants practically half-carried him to the search checkpoint, one on each side.

The soldier in charge of the search immediately put on a fawning smile, merely symbolically brushing his sleeve, then bowed to let him pass.

"Young Master, please!"

From start to finish, the young master Wei didn't even lift his eyelids.

Their gazes met briefly in the air.

The other's eyes still held that aloof indifference, as if looking at an ant by the roadside.

Su Ming withdrew his gaze, his heart as still as water.

Lin Yu whistled in his mind. Wow, what a spectacle, what privilege. The dregs of feudal society were truly on full display.

"Disciple, see that? That's the kind of creature we need to keep a low profile and avoid in the future."

When it was Su Ming's turn, the searching soldier, seeing his plain clothing, showed a trace of impatience.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!"

Su Ming said nothing, cooperatively taking off his outer robe and undoing his hair bun.

The soldier's hands patted him roughly. When they touched the cold, old bronze token in his embrace, the movement paused.

"What's this?"

used for calming

it. The blurred cloud patterns on

contempt and tossed it back to

"Playing mystical tricks."

Ming walked through that vermilion "Dragon Gate." The clamor and cold

was deep and dark, flanked by densely packed examination cells resembling

air was thick with a stale, moldy smell, mixed with the odors of

Ming found his examination

"Xuan Character, Number Seventy-Three."

Two wooden boards served as desk and chair during

the entire world

immediately

external oppression, tension, the muffled coughs from neighboring cells, the monotonous footsteps of patrolling armored soldiers... all of it

slow and powerful, his entire being entering

come to take the fate-deciding imperial examination, but had merely

steady as a rock," Lin Yu commented

later, the bell signaling the

Dull, prolonged.

in through a small opening under the cell

unrolled the

tested knowledge of classics and

of ordinary people, this was as easy as

brush, set it to paper,

in sharpness, but also guaranteed

day,

Ming's gaze swept

Also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of methods like military farming and the 'Kai Zhong' system, to secure the

and people's

What a grand topic.

topic, several world-shaking, unconventional approaches to tackling the theme flashed

"pacification," waging a national war that sustained

the Kai Zhong system was controlled by the powerful, ultimately leading to inadequate provisions for border troops, layers of exploitation, and

enough to shock the entire examination hall, making the graders slap the

that would also instantly make him the focus

pawn the upright officials faction would want to recruit, a target of

was not

one by one, all those ideas dazzling enough to

the light, blend with the dust. Unfurl and furl with the

teacher's instruction still

goal is to

Yu's voice sounded

Ming's eyes regained

choosing the safest, most "correct," and

of the sages, not

described the severity of the border troubles, quoting words from the "Book of Documents" to discuss the ruler's duty to defend the land, establishing the

how the people are more important than the ruler, stating that border people are also subjects of the Great Xing and should not

military farming and the Kai Zhong system, he completely followed the mainstream discourse of the court in recent years, praising their merits, briefly stating their flaws, and

lifted his brush, dipped it

across the paper, with ornate rhetoric, quoting classics,

constructed pavilion, every beam and pillar in

literary talent was brilliant, enough to display his solid

steady, balanced and peaceful, like a cup of

but absolutely

Safe, absolutely safe.

...

a long, drawn-out

with extreme temperature differences between day and night. During the day, it was as stuffy as a steamer; at night, cold seeped in from

was uniformly distributed hard, dry flatbreads, and drinking water was also

came from the neighboring cell, followed by violent

going mad! I want out! I