After all the three hundred tributes were lined up, the palace gate slowly opened.

All the tributes are the backbone of the future imperial court, so this time into the palace gate, not just the small gate, but the main gate, after passing through the Jing'an Gate, and then go through the noon gate, all the way through the small corridor, and then cross the Jinshui Bridge, until the Fengtian Gate, the main hall of the palace is also in front of you.

This is also Ji Ning's first time entering the palace, and he can also appreciate the style of the palace of the Dayong Dynasty up close.

The palace of the Great Yong Dynasty is also regarded as an ancient imperial palace, although it has also undergone several repairs in the Great Yong Dynasty, but at this time, the palace still looks brilliant, and it is also because the palace will carry out a major renovation almost every few years, and the silver used for each repair is often millions of taels, so that the palace has been able to maintain such a magnificent momentum.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please inside, if anyone makes a noise, don't blame me and other guards for being rude!"

The palace guards came out, and a person who looked like a captain said to the tribute soldiers present, for fear that the front would not be heard by the people in front and the back, the captain conveyed it a few more times, in fact, there was no need to say it, and the people present also understood the rules and would not talk nonsense when they entered the palace.

After all, they are not grass people in the market, these people are all from lifting people, and now they are the best among all the people who have won the tribute, even if there is a conspiracy and treachery in their hearts, but they are also a gentleman in appearance, and the truth that should be understood is clear.

"Please!" Finally, the guards came back, walked in front of Ji Ning, and walked down the small corridor with a few people, walking in the direction of the main hall of Fengtian Temple.

Ji Ning looked up, this was also his rare opportunity to come and see the appearance of the palace.

He thought to himself: "I am different from others, other people's ambition may have been determined to be a court official from the beginning, and they may often go in and out of the palace in the future." My ambition is to be in the Temple of Literature, and the Imperial Palace is a place that is very unfamiliar to me, so I should appreciate the ancient architecture! ”

While everyone was worried about the upcoming palace test, only Ji Ning was very relaxed admiring the ancient buildings, because he was at the forefront, and there was no one to block his vision, and it was actually very convenient to see what he wanted.

After walking a short distance, I heard a eunuch with a very sharp voice shouting in the distance: "Please stop!" ”

Although this voice was sharp, it was also very loud, Ji Ning, as a person in charge, must also stand still in place according to the eunuch's instructions, and then several little eunuchs followed an old eunuch over, the old eunuch had a smile on his face, and the smile seemed very friendly, but Ji Ning saw a trace of sinister cunning on his face.

Ji Ning thought to himself: "The people in this palace, needless to say, are all with the desire to compete for fame and profit, it is better for this kind of person to have less contact!" ”

The captain of the guard stepped forward and said, "Gonggong Long, three hundred tributes have arrived, are you arranging to sit at the table?" ”

The person who came was none other than Longcheng, who was very ambitious among the palace eunuchs. Long Cheng smiled: "It's not a banquet, what kind of banquet is it?" Hurry up and ask all future Jinshi to come to the exam table, which is already ready in front! ”

Long Cheng is also very good at talking, as if he has regarded the candidate in front of him as a jinshi, although it is correct from a logical point of view, but as a person in the palace, he should be careful to avoid being attacked when he speaks, but this Dragon City can speak without scruples, in Ji Ning's opinion, the status of this Dragon City in the palace should not be low.

Ji Ning thought to herself: "Before, Princess Wenren said that in the palace, the eunuch Long Cheng next to Concubine Li Guifei was very ambitious, wouldn't it be this 'Gonggong Long'?" ”

Because Ji Ning didn't know how many people with the surname Long in the palace, to say that many of the eunuchs in the palace were orphans, and they didn't have a surname, if they followed any steward eunuch, their surnames would follow the steward eunuch, so there were often some strange surnames with many eunuchs with the same surname, so Ji Ning couldn't directly judge whether the person in front of him was Longcheng.

Long Cheng would not introduce himself in front of Ji Ning and the others, he led people to the direction of the main hall of Fengtian Temple, and before he reached Fengtian Palace, he saw two columns of examination tables on each side, a total of four columns, each with seventy-five seats.

The exam table is not high, it is a very low desk, there is no bench or chair, not even a higher cushion, one person is given a futon, at most a piece of cloth is spread on it, and then you can sit on it to prepare for the exam.

"Ji Huiyuan, please!" The captain of the guard suddenly came over and said a word to Ji Ning.

Ji Ning didn't expect that the captain of the guard actually knew him, and he didn't say much, as the leader of the three hundred tributes, Ji Ning was in the first four seats, and after he sat down, the people behind him could sit down in turn.

As soon as Ji Ning sat down cross-legged, he felt a chill, when the weather was warm and cold in March, sitting in the open air, almost sitting on the ground, this feeling was still very bad.

When everyone sat down, someone immediately blew the trumpet, and more than a dozen people dressed in scribe uniforms came out, these people looked like the candidates present, but if you look closely, you will know that the scribe clothes on these people are actually standardized, and at first glance they are the clothes of the Hanlin Academy.

These Shuji scholars are likely to be Jinshi after the last palace examination, and this time they came here for one thing, that is, to invigilate the exam.

The system of the palace examination of the Dayong Dynasty is co-hosted by the Ministry of Rites, the Hanlin Academy, the Honglu Temple, the Confucian Temple and other yamen and institutions, and it stands to reason that the emperor will attend, but it may not be true, but logically speaking, the people of the Zhongjin Shi are all protégés of the Son of Heaven, and the examination should be presided over by the Son of Heaven.

After the Shu Jishi of the Hanlin Academy arrived, there were some scholars from the Temple of Literature, and there were more than a dozen people, and these people were probably the examiners who had been able to take the exam before.

These people are different from the candidates who sit on the futon, they have seats, but the sitting position is basically the same as the Gongshi in front of them.

On the steps of the Fengtian Palace, there are also a lot of seats, which are prepared for the hall examination examiner.

Until four o'clock in the morning, almost half an hour before the start of the examination, some little eunuchs walked out of the Fengtian Palace, and these little eunuchs would hold a wooden tray in their hands, on which were placed pen, ink, paper, inkstone, and paperweights and other tools, and finally even the pen wash was ready.

Each candidate will have some paper as scratch paper, three brushes per person, and ink cartridges, candidates do not need to grind the ink by themselves, and everyone will have a eunuch around them to help grind the ink, and these eunuchs are also equivalent to acting as the most direct invigilator for each candidate.

Ji Ning sat at the front, and walked over to this little eunuch, looking very delicate, these little eunuchs didn't have futons to do, so they were going to kneel on the cold ground.

After the little eunuch put down the wooden pallet, Ji Ning subconsciously said, "Thank you!" ”