Chapter 322 - 177: This Zombie Is Truly Evil!
The palace examination only had one session of policy-making, and the paper had to be submitted on the same day. With their thoughts resolved, the Wu brothers seemed to write with divine assistance.
Meanwhile, two hundred miles away from the Capital City, within the Fu Yong Mausoleum.
In the depth of the tomb, where no sunlight could reach, the surface of the coffin made of nanmu wood unexpectedly sprouted numerous green branches at some point, as if the lifeless tomb chamber suddenly gained vitality.
By midday, at the hour when the sun was strongest on Zhao Mountain, countless black water suddenly overflowed from the green oil-like chamber of Empress Duran inside, emerging from the cracks of the coffin. Instantly, the thick Yin Evil Qi isolated the penetrating solar energy.
The light was distorted, with a slanting moon hanging high. As the night fell, when the Yin energy was at its peak and the Yang energy was just beginning to grow, a nameless inferno suddenly ignited within the chamber full of black water. The flames were as hot as the molten core of the earth, with the black water as the fuel.
The following day, the scene within Empress Duran’s tomb chamber repeated, cycling continuously until the end of April, the day when the palace examination results were revealed, and finally the commotion subsided.
This time, three individuals were ranked first in the palace examination, with their writings all tailored to strengths and revealing strategies that pleased the ruler.
Yet, among the second-place graduates, many were of remarkable talent, offering genuine insights, but due to speaking too many harsh truths, they failed to enter the top ranks.
The Wu brothers both ranked among the second class, while of the three top-ranked scholars, apart from the one who topped the national examination, the other two everyone without exception were positioned behind Wu Zhiyuan.
Some voiced inequality outside the Taihe Hall, but immediately, a scholar near the throne spoke out to stop them:
"The fairness or lack thereof will be determined. This has been reviewed by the Emperor, akin to a revelation from Heaven; how dare you dispute here!"
Just as the scholar’s words finished, suddenly a thunderous explosion sounded from afar the Capital City. Though the thunder was distant, inexplicably, the entire Imperial Palace trembled because of it.