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Song Jingyun was the only one still occasionally stuffing pastries into his mouth.
Mung bean cakes and red bean cakes were made into small pieces, and he ate them one by one, chewing them slowly in his mouth. Outsiders wouldn’t notice much, so it wasn’t considered rude.
However, such small actions couldn’t escape the notice of the person walking beside Song Jingyun.
Chen Shuming was the fifty-seventh candidate in this year’s spring examinations and also lived in Splendorous Garden. He was very familiar with Song Jingyun. Seeing his actions, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “Scholar Song, did you not have enough for breakfast?”
Song Jingyun laughed sheepishly, “I had scallion oil noodles, red oil wontons, soy sauce pancakes, eight-treasure porridge, and two five-spice tea eggs for breakfast at Splendorous Garden’s small canteen. I definitely ate enough, but I need to take advantage of this moment to eat a few more bites.”
Otherwise, after the palace examination, nothing would taste good.
In short, one must never miss any opportunity to enjoy delicious food.
Chen Shuming had been living in Splendorous Garden and often encountered Song Jingyun in the small canteen. He knew of Song Jingyun’s love for good food and his enormous appetite. At this moment, he just smiled and didn’t say much. He even made his walking stride slightly larger to help cover for Song Jingyun, so he wouldn’t be caught eating by the officials from the Ministry of Rites.
Seeing this, Song Jingyun secretly handed Chen Shuming two pastries.
“I won’t eat…” Chen Shuming declined.
“Take them, you’ll need them.” Song Jingyun’s eyes crinkled with a smile.
Seeing Song Jingyun’s insistence, Chen Shuming didn’t refuse any further and simply wrapped the two pastries in oil paper and placed them in his sleeve.
The long procession finally stopped at the entrance of Zhongyuan Palace.
The officials from the Ministry of Rites continued to lead the way, and all the candidates entered through the main gate. However, they were required to stop and kneel in worship before the deity statue at the entrance before proceeding further.
In principle, candidates coming for the palace examination were not required to kneel and worship the statue, but because the current emperor believed in ghosts and gods, this additional rule was imposed.
The candidates, who were well-read and aware of current affairs, naturally knew the current political situation and the emperor’s preferences. At this moment, most of them didn’t dare to speak much and simply followed the instructions of the officials from the Ministry of Rites, kneeling and bowing respectfully.
Some candidates were quite dissatisfied with this and merely went through the motions perfunctorily, even rolling their eyes as they left.
There were even candidates who were extremely contemptuous of this practice, refusing to kneel and worship, stiffening their necks and shouting, “A man’s knees are as precious as gold. We kneel only to the monarch above and to our parents below, never to gods or Buddhas.”
“We have studied diligently for decades to serve the court loyally, not to flatter or cater to the emperor’s whims, and certainly not to seek a position or title!”
“If I am forced to kneel to these nonexistent deities, I would rather not take part in today’s palace examination!”
After this outburst, the man was somewhat out of breath, and his face turned slightly pale due to being the center of attention.
But he quickly regained his composure and straightened his back, ready to receive the admiring and respectful gazes of everyone.
However, he soon realized that the looks he was receiving were not as he had imagined. Instead, there was more surprise, confusion, and even disdain.
Minister Tang Zhichuan from the Hanlin Academy approached and looked at the candidate, whose face had now turned red from white, “You’re quite bold to say such things here.”
Seeing Tang Zhichuan’s kind expression and his rather indifferent tone, which lacked much seriousness, the candidate felt somewhat emboldened.