If Nangong Hao did not say this himself, no one would believe that he was not invited to meet with the Emperor. Even when he did...
No one believed he wouldn’t make the list.
So what happened?
Could it be...
All of the candidates thought of only one possibility. That was the only plausible reason. Nangong Hao had handed in his script early.
Was that the reason?
The candidates could not be sure. If the Emperor had seemed that someone who handed in their script early was disrespectful to him...
That did not seem very wise or fair.
All of the candidates looked at Nangong Hao with looks of doubt and sadness. Yet, Nangong Zhao himself showed no emotion.
It was almost as if him being on the list or not made no difference to him.
The candidates did not believe that Nangong Hao did not care. Even if Nangong Hao did not care, he had to live up to the expectations of his ancestors.
Top three.
That was the minimum for any Nangong Family member.
If they were not confident of making the top three, they would withdraw. Some of them would not even participate in the examinations.
The fact that Nangong Hao was here meant that he had the confidence to make the top three. Furthermore, Nangong Hao was expected to top both the theory and combat examinations.
Wu Feng was speechless as he looked at Nangong Hao.
Comfort?
He thought that it would be inappropriate to comfort Nangong Hao. Mockery and irony were out of the question as well.
As such, Wu Feng nodded and calmed himself down. Then, he returned to his original position.
He would not be able to take it if he stood next to Nangong Hao.
"Nangong Hao didn’t meet the Emperor? Hahaha, I am definitely going to top the theory examinations this time. It is mine, hahaha..." Wu Feng was incredibly excited. His face filled with color and he felt as though he was on a cloud.
Just at this moment, they saw a figure in the distance.
An elderly man walked over. He did not sit in a carriage, but, all of the Royal guards accorded him great respect as he passed.
No one stopped him along the way.
He cleared his throat lightly.
All of the candidates looked on solemnly. They knew who this was.
This was an aged man, but his eyes were still very cryptic. One could not make out what he was thinking.
However, the silver official robes that he wore made everyone afraid to show anything less than complete respect.
He was King Liqin.
Wu Feng’s haze froze. It was unusual for King Liqin to be here. After all, he rarely concerned himself with the affairs of the court.
So why would he come to the court examinations results announcement?
What was his motive?
"Your highness!" Wu Feng could not figure it out, but he still greeted King Liqin respectfully. His respect for King Liqin was true.
The reason was simple.
His master, the Clear Water Sage had given him only one instruction before he left for the capital.
"You can disrespect anyone in the capital bar King Liqin!"
This was an instruction, but it was also a warning.
"Your highness!" All of the other candidates recovered from their shock, greeting King Liqin with utmost respect.
"Mm, hello to you all." King Liqin’s raspy voice rang out. Then, he smiled at all the candidates affectionately.
King Liqin’s greeting was casual, almost like a grandfather greeting his grandchildren. It was difficult to link this man to the father of the Emperor.
All of the officials stood at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall. It was almost time for the results to be announced, but there was no movement inside the hall.
They could only wait patiently.
However, when King Liqin appeared, they could not keep their composure any longer.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yuping’s eyes revealed traces of doubt. Why would King Liqin come here? He never concerned himself with the affairs of the court! This is abnormal!
The other officials had the same suspicions. However, King Liqin was heading right towards them, his steps a little haphazard.
Even though he looked like he was not very stable, one would realize upon closer inspection that he managed to maintain the same speed throughout.
"Your highness!" All of the officials bowed and greeted King Liqin respectfully.
"Mm, hello to all of you too." King Liqin smiled at them but did not slow down.
Before long, King Liqin had passed through all of them and walked to the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall.
At this point, the door to the Imperial Decree Hall was nudged open, leaving a space just enough for one person to pass through.
"King Liqin entered the hall?" All of the officials were slightly shocked. There was only one man inside the Imperial Decree Hall.
The Emperor.
They were doubtful, but they could not stop him.
Even the two rows of golden armored guards by the gates of the Imperial Decree Hall did not stop him.
King Liqin entered the Imperial Decree Hall as easily as he would enter his own house. It made people wonder if he was even here in the first place?
...
Inside the Imperial Decree Hall, it was much calmer than it was outside.
A light incense floated around inside the hall. There was a glowing red light in the incense pot, the light shining on a young man’s face.
That man was wearing a golden dragon robe. Only one man could wear such a robe.
Emperor Lin Mubai.
His eyebrows were scrunched together.
There was a golden parchment in front of him. This was the results slip for the court examinations. There were already names on it.
Once it was released, the results were set.
Wu Feng’s name was on it, with some comments next to his name.
However, the parchment did not have Fang Zhengzhi’s name. Neither did it have Yan Xiu or Nangong Hao’s name.
"You’re here!" Emperor Lin Mubai was calm when he saw King Liqin enter.
"Since the Emperor asked me to come, I came." King Liqin stepped forward.
"It’s been tough on you." Emperor Lin Mubai stood up from the desk and placed three joss sticks in front of King Liqin.
King Liqin took it.
Then, he kowtowed three times before taking seven steps forward and placing them in the golden holder.
"What does the Emperor need from me?" King Liqin stood back at his original position after finishing the ritual.
"I am thinking of sending troops to the Southern Mountain Range, what do you think?" Emperor Lin Mubai whispered.
"Do you want to invade them or pacify them?" King Liqin asked, his expression unchanging.
"What do you think of both?" Emperor Lin Mubai pressed.
"If you are invading them, the Southern Mountain Range is vast. The woods are thick and ruled by beasts. Who will lead the expedition?" King Liqin asked.
"What about Xing Hou?"
"Yuanguo is loyal. Letting him lead the army is not a problem. However, his battle has always been with the demons, so he is not familiar with the Southern Mountain Range. Furthermore, the Mountain Breaking Army is skilled in siege. They will suffer heavy losses engaging in guerilla warfare. Conquering them would take at least a decade, probably more!"
"So what if I went in peace?" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and asked.
"The Emperor already has a good plan. I shall not comment further." King Liqin looked towards the golden parchment.
"I have three scripts here from three different candidates. I would like you to take a look." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and placed the three scripts in King Liqin’s hand.
King Liqin took the scripts in his hand, his gaze scanning over the one at the top. Then, his eyes glimmered.
He quickly finished looking through that one.
He began to look through the second script.
This time, after a mere glance, his eyes cleared up, a bright light shining in his pupils.
After reading it twice, he picked up the third script.
The moment he picked it up, his eyes darkened significantly. However, this did not last long.
Before long, his eyes began to shine. The more he read, the brighter it became. His eyes began to widen, light rays shining out of them.
It was almost as if there was a rainbow coming out of his eyes.
Then, he picked up the second script once again and read the both of them over and over.
"Good!" After reading both scripts five times, King Liqin finally spoke. He only said one word, but his voice was not raspy. It was magnificent and deep, almost like a dragon which had awoken from its deep slumber.
If Nangong Hao did not say this himself, no one would believe that he was not invited to meet with the Emperor. Even when he did...
No one believed he wouldn’t make the list.
So what happened?
Could it be...
All of the candidates thought of only one possibility. That was the only plausible reason. Nangong Hao had handed in his script early.
Was that the reason?
The candidates could not be sure. If the Emperor had seemed that someone who handed in their script early was disrespectful to him...
That did not seem very wise or fair.
All of the candidates looked at Nangong Hao with looks of doubt and sadness. Yet, Nangong Zhao himself showed no emotion.
It was almost as if him being on the list or not made no difference to him.
The candidates did not believe that Nangong Hao did not care. Even if Nangong Hao did not care, he had to live up to the expectations of his ancestors.
Top three.
That was the minimum for any Nangong Family member.
If they were not confident of making the top three, they would withdraw. Some of them would not even participate in the examinations.
The fact that Nangong Hao was here meant that he had the confidence to make the top three. Furthermore, Nangong Hao was expected to top both the theory and combat examinations.
Wu Feng was speechless as he looked at Nangong Hao.
Comfort?
He thought that it would be inappropriate to comfort Nangong Hao. Mockery and irony were out of the question as well.
As such, Wu Feng nodded and calmed himself down. Then, he returned to his original position.
He would not be able to take it if he stood next to Nangong Hao.
"Nangong Hao didn’t meet the Emperor? Hahaha, I am definitely going to top the theory examinations this time. It is mine, hahaha..." Wu Feng was incredibly excited. His face filled with color and he felt as though he was on a cloud.
Just at this moment, they saw a figure in the distance.
An elderly man walked over. He did not sit in a carriage, but, all of the Royal guards accorded him great respect as he passed.
No one stopped him along the way.
He cleared his throat lightly.
All of the candidates looked on solemnly. They knew who this was.
This was an aged man, but his eyes were still very cryptic. One could not make out what he was thinking.
However, the silver official robes that he wore made everyone afraid to show anything less than complete respect.
He was King Liqin.
Wu Feng’s haze froze. It was unusual for King Liqin to be here. After all, he rarely concerned himself with the affairs of the court.
So why would he come to the court examinations results announcement?
What was his motive?
"Your highness!" Wu Feng could not figure it out, but he still greeted King Liqin respectfully. His respect for King Liqin was true.
The reason was simple.
His master, the Clear Water Sage had given him only one instruction before he left for the capital.
"You can disrespect anyone in the capital bar King Liqin!"
This was an instruction, but it was also a warning.
"Your highness!" All of the other candidates recovered from their shock, greeting King Liqin with utmost respect.
"Mm, hello to you all." King Liqin’s raspy voice rang out. Then, he smiled at all the candidates affectionately.
King Liqin’s greeting was casual, almost like a grandfather greeting his grandchildren. It was difficult to link this man to the father of the Emperor.
All of the officials stood at the entrance to the Imperial Decree Hall. It was almost time for the results to be announced, but there was no movement inside the hall.
They could only wait patiently.
However, when King Liqin appeared, they could not keep their composure any longer.
Left Prime Minister Yu Yuping’s eyes revealed traces of doubt. Why would King Liqin come here? He never concerned himself with the affairs of the court! This is abnormal!
The other officials had the same suspicions. However, King Liqin was heading right towards them, his steps a little haphazard.
Even though he looked like he was not very stable, one would realize upon closer inspection that he managed to maintain the same speed throughout.
"Your highness!" All of the officials bowed and greeted King Liqin respectfully.
"Mm, hello to all of you too." King Liqin smiled at them but did not slow down.
Before long, King Liqin had passed through all of them and walked to the entrance of the Imperial Decree Hall.
At this point, the door to the Imperial Decree Hall was nudged open, leaving a space just enough for one person to pass through.
"King Liqin entered the hall?" All of the officials were slightly shocked. There was only one man inside the Imperial Decree Hall.
The Emperor.
They were doubtful, but they could not stop him.
Even the two rows of golden armored guards by the gates of the Imperial Decree Hall did not stop him.
King Liqin entered the Imperial Decree Hall as easily as he would enter his own house. It made people wonder if he was even here in the first place?
...
Inside the Imperial Decree Hall, it was much calmer than it was outside.
A light incense floated around inside the hall. There was a glowing red light in the incense pot, the light shining on a young man’s face.
That man was wearing a golden dragon robe. Only one man could wear such a robe.
Emperor Lin Mubai.
His eyebrows were scrunched together.
There was a golden parchment in front of him. This was the results slip for the court examinations. There were already names on it.
Once it was released, the results were set.
Wu Feng’s name was on it, with some comments next to his name.
However, the parchment did not have Fang Zhengzhi’s name. Neither did it have Yan Xiu or Nangong Hao’s name.
"You’re here!" Emperor Lin Mubai was calm when he saw King Liqin enter.
"Since the Emperor asked me to come, I came." King Liqin stepped forward.
"It’s been tough on you." Emperor Lin Mubai stood up from the desk and placed three joss sticks in front of King Liqin.
King Liqin took it.
Then, he kowtowed three times before taking seven steps forward and placing them in the golden holder.
"What does the Emperor need from me?" King Liqin stood back at his original position after finishing the ritual.
"I am thinking of sending troops to the Southern Mountain Range, what do you think?" Emperor Lin Mubai whispered.
"Do you want to invade them or pacify them?" King Liqin asked, his expression unchanging.
"What do you think of both?" Emperor Lin Mubai pressed.
"If you are invading them, the Southern Mountain Range is vast. The woods are thick and ruled by beasts. Who will lead the expedition?" King Liqin asked.
"What about Xing Hou?"
"Yuanguo is loyal. Letting him lead the army is not a problem. However, his battle has always been with the demons, so he is not familiar with the Southern Mountain Range. Furthermore, the Mountain Breaking Army is skilled in siege. They will suffer heavy losses engaging in guerilla warfare. Conquering them would take at least a decade, probably more!"
"So what if I went in peace?" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and asked.
"The Emperor already has a good plan. I shall not comment further." King Liqin looked towards the golden parchment.
"I have three scripts here from three different candidates. I would like you to take a look." Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and placed the three scripts in King Liqin’s hand.
King Liqin took the scripts in his hand, his gaze scanning over the one at the top. Then, his eyes glimmered.
He quickly finished looking through that one.
He began to look through the second script.
This time, after a mere glance, his eyes cleared up, a bright light shining in his pupils.
After reading it twice, he picked up the third script.
The moment he picked it up, his eyes darkened significantly. However, this did not last long.
Before long, his eyes began to shine. The more he read, the brighter it became. His eyes began to widen, light rays shining out of them.
It was almost as if there was a rainbow coming out of his eyes.
Then, he picked up the second script once again and read the both of them over and over.
"Good!" After reading both scripts five times, King Liqin finally spoke. He only said one word, but his voice was not raspy. It was magnificent and deep, almost like a dragon which had awoken from its deep slumber.
