Gate of God

"Nangong Hao?!"

When the ragtags heard Nangong Hao’s name, their expressions all changed, all of them becoming silent almost instantly.

"Nangong Hao... is participating in the court examination?"

"If Nangong Hao participates, then it will be very difficult. Even though Fang Zhengzhi is powerful, I doubt he can defeat Nangong Hao?"

"Aish... it would be good if he can get a decent ranking, why must he defeat Nangong Hao?"

"That’s true."

Even though Nangong Hao’s participation in the court examination was no secret in the capital, some of those in the outskirts had yet to hear the news.

Four years ago, he was already the top talent of his generation. Four years later...

How powerful would he be?

Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi ignored the chatter around him. He was now rather experienced with all these examinations having been through three of them.

He felt that he needed to calm down.

It was just an examination on the Law of Dao, it couldn’t get much easier.

Yan Xiu wore a green robe as he stood next to Fang Zhengzhi. They looked quite matching as they walked through the doors.

Once they entered the palace, a few armored soldiers stopped Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. After checking their identities and a thorough pat down, they directed both of them to the side.

Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything. After all, this was the court examinations. Everything had to go by the book.

At this point, there were hundreds of candidates waiting inside the palace. They were all huddled around anxiously.

"Young Master Yan, Young Master Fang!"

Before Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu could walk into the crowd, a smiling youth walked towards them. Behind him was a group of impeccably dressed youths.

It was Wu Feng.

"Mm." Yan Xiu nodded icily without a second word.

Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze once again fell on the jade green flute in Wu Feng’s hand. He felt a strange feeling just looking at the clouds inscribed on it.

"Young Master Fang, how did you prepare for the court examinations?" Wu Feng smiled. He walked closer towards Fang Zhengzhi.

"Is there a need to prepare?" Fang Zhengzhi replied flatly.

"Haha... you’re right. I heard that Young Master Fang finished all six scripts in the theory examination. You have set a record." Wu Feng nodded.

"It is true. If the court examination was testing the Book of Dao again, we will definitely have to concede to you." One of the youths behind Wu Feng nodded.

"If we were to compare understanding of the Law of Dao, I think that only Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan are your match. It is a pity..." Yet another youth hesitated.

"What is a pity?" Fang Zhengzhi grew increasingly suspicious as he looked at the two of them.

"Do you not know?" The two youths looked at each other, smirking as they did so.

Fang Zhengzhi did not probe further. He knew that they would tell him anyways, even if he did not ask.

Just as he expected, the two youths could not hold back their excitement.

Just as they were about to speak, Wu Feng stopped them.

"It is normal that Young Master Fang does not know. However, I would have thought that you would have known a little after spending so much time with Yan Xiu."

Yan Xiu’s expression changed. Then, almost as if he thought of something, he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi.

"I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that the court examination does not test the Law of Dao!" Yan Xiu looked on apologetically.

"It doesn’t test the Law of Dao?!" Fang Zhengzhi’s expression froze.

Yan Xiu had been recuperating from his injuries before this. As such, Fang Zhengzhi did not disturb him. After Yan Xiu recovered, he had focused all his energy on partying.

He had paid little attention to the court examinations.

After all, he had thought that the court examinations would be similar to all the previous ones. He had expected to be tested on the Law of Dao.

As such, he did not probe.

"Hahaha... do you really not know? There is still an hour before the examinations begin. You should really use this time to prepare." The two youths behind Wu Feng chuckled when they heard this.

All of the other candidates also chuckled when they heard this.

"Fang Zhengzhi doesn’t know that the Law of Dao is not tested at the court examinations?"

"This is interesting. We prepared for two years just for this exam. He did not even prepare at all? Hahaha..."

"I haven’t seen someone enter the court examinations unprepared."

"I would like to see how he will even begin to answer the questions!"

All of the candidates looked like they had just saw the most unbelievable thing ever. They looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly.

"Since Young Master Fang doesn’t know, we shall not disturb you any further. We will go off first. You should prepare a little." Wu Feng smirked as he left.

Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything.

Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi apologetically, "About this, I..."

"Why do you think Wu Feng said those words to me just now?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu. He knew that Yan Xiu did not withhold the information from him on purpose.

Wu Feng had pointed the finger at Yan Xiu on purpose to cause a rift between them.

He did not even attempt to mask it.

"I understand." Yan Xiu nodded but did not explain further. He whispered, "The court examination questions have always been set by the Emperor. As such, they have never been questions about the Law of Dao."

"Then what does it test?" Fang Zhengzhi began to understand. Even though there were many theories encompassed by the Law of Dao, the Emperor could not possibly come up with the questions on the spot.

It was impossible for him to set six scripts beforehand.

Furthermore...

More importantly, the Emperor could not possibly set so many questions. The maximum number of questions he could set was two.

This was easier to understand.

If the questions had come from the Law of Dao, then they would have hundreds of scripts with the same answer.

How would they find the best of the best?

"Policy!" Yan Xiu replied.

"I see." Fang Zhengzhi had guessed as much.

He had never expected to be back where he started. In his previous world, they were frequently examined on policy issues.

They would ask the candidates a question based on the political climate.

The candidates would present a policy to address the said issue. In effect, they were proposing a policy to the courts.

Now...

There was a problem.

Just as these talents had said, other than incorporating various theories, a good policy paper had to take into account current affairs and political climate.

Only through an understanding of the issues faced by the government could One present a good paper.

Furthermore, one would probably need tens, if not hundreds, of drafts for a policy paper to be watertight.

That was the only way to stand out from the crowd.

This was also the reason why they would look at Fang Zhengzhi with such mocking gazes.

They had prepared for two years, concerning themselves with the political developments over the past two years. Furthermore, they had been improving their papers throughout this entire time.

They probably had at least five such thesis.

Fang Zhengzhi did not prepare. He simply came to the examination without any prior knowledge.

If he could pass the theory examination.

It would really be a miracle.

"What will I do now?" Fang Zhengzhi frowned. He cursed in his heart.

Even if he knew this beforehand...

It would be impossible to know everything that had happened in the past two years within the past few days. Furthermore, he had to have a grasp of the problems the government was facing in recent times.

It bordered on the impossible.

"I have a few papers..." Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi before hesitating.

"Yes, you should copy some of Yan Xiu’s papers!"

"Fang Zhengzhi, if I were you, I would ask Yan Xiu to tell me what he had too."

"Mm... we would like to hear Young Master Yan’s thesis too. Could you please impart some knowledge to us?"

When the surrounding candidates heard Yan Xiu, they surrounded the two of them like moths to a flame.

Yan Xiu’s expression turned icy instantaneously.

Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.

He knew exactly what these candidates were thinking. His lack of preparation was a dream come true for them. Why would they let him have a chance to copy from Yan Xiu?

"Don’t worry, I have my own plans. I will definitely be able to pass the theory examination!" Fang Zhengzhi rejected Yan Xiu as he glanced at the surrounding candidates.

He felt like he had just been stabbed in the heart.

Yan Xiu’s policy paper!

I wish I could copy it.

Fang Zhengzhi did not care if this was cheating. If he could cheat under the nose of the Emperor, it would be an achievement in itself.

But now even that was gone...

He would not be able to cheat even if he wanted to.

Everyone knew that he did not prepare a policy paper. As such, he could not even switch it around with someone else.

Was he really going to flunk the examinations?

"He can definitely pass the examination? Did I hear that wrong?"

"Hahaha... Brother Li, you did not hear that wrong. Young Master Fang is the top scorer for the imperial examination. It would be impossible for someone of that caliber to fail the court theory examination."

"That is true, I was wrong. Young Master Fang, my apologies!"

"In my opinion, Young Master Fang is truly a talent. Even we would find it impossible to rush out a policy paper now. Don’t you all agree?"

"Yes indeed! Hahaha..."

All of the talents could not help but guffaw when they heard Fang Zhengzhi assert that he would pass. They all looked at Fang Zhengzhi mockingly.

"F*ck!" Fang Zhengzhi raised his middle finger towards the rest of the candidates. Then, he turned to look at Yan Xiu. He wanted Yan Xiu to fill him in on some current affairs.

Yan Xiu stiffened, then pondered for a moment. He turned to look at his surroundings before replying with only one word.

"Works!"

"Works? Okay I got it." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

Even though he had not been in touch with recent happenings in the court, he knew that there were no major wars in the past two years.

Even though the demons were up to their antics once again, it was not something a single policy could solve.

As such, the question could not have anything to do with war.

The six ministries represented the country’s policy.

Without wars, the Ministry Of Defence was out of the question. The Ministry Of Manpower was rarely involved in policy. The Ministry Of Finance dealt with money and rations. Since there was no war, neither of these things were a problem.

All that was left was Ministry Of Law, Rites, and Works.

Since it was peacetime, the Ministry Of Law could be eliminated.

To decide between Works and Rites, anyone with some knowledge would guess the Ministry Of Works.

The Ministry Of Works was in charge of developments and infrastructure. In recent years, the Great Xia Dynasty was riddled with droughts. Even the villagers were affected by this.

Over the past few years, only the Northern Mountain Village had managed to bounce back slightly. Other villages in the surrounding were still immensely poor.

Even though Yan Xiu had only said a single word, it was the biggest hint he could possibly give.

All of the other candidates were stunned when they heard what Yan Xiu said. They wanted to say something and accuse them of cheating, but they could not find anything to say.

After all, the word ‘works’ meant little on its own.

"So what if he knows it has to do with works?"

"Exactly! Without sufficient preparation, knowing the topic is useless!"

"The court examinations are not so simple. They only select 10 out of the hundreds that take part. I don’t think he can write anything particularly stunning in such a short time!"

All of the candidates left after saying their piece. However, every now and then, they would look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu, afraid that Yan Xiu will tell Fang Zhengzhi his plans.

Fang Zhengzhi ignored all of the surrounding candidates. He focused on how he was going to begin this policy paper.

He racked his brain...

But he found a problem... he knew virtually nothing about the history and geography of the Great Xia Dynasty!