Gate of God

However, there were pleasantries to be said before the announcement. This was no problem for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping. He was a seasoned veteran in the courts.

Even though this was the first time he was announcing the results...

He had heard it umpteen times.

Firstly, he had to praise Emperor Lin Mubai on his achievements throughout the years and emphasize the value the Emperor put on the court examinations.

Left Prime Minister had the gift of the gap and he knew all of Emperor Lin Mubai’s exploits like the back of his hand.

He managed to recite all the achievements since Emperor Lin Mubai’s inauguration.

All of the other officials and candidates listened to the speech quietly.

After almost 15 minutes, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stopped. After all, this was the court examination results release. The announcement was the main show today.

When he finished, he turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.

Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, his intentions clear. Good enough, please proceed.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping immediately understood the Emperor’s intentions. He began to unfurl the parchments, revealing the names.

The court examination results were announced differently from the imperial examination.

The imperial examination announced the second honor roll first, then the first honor roll, before revealing the names of the top three. For the court examinations, the results were announced from top to bottom.

Furthermore, there were only 10 names.

For the 11th to 30th ranked candidates, they would have to check out the full list placed at the entrance of the palace.

Left Prime MInister Yu Yiping looked at the parchment, the rock in his heart disappearing in that instant. His smile widened.

Because...

Fang Zhengzhi’s name was not on it.

At the very top of the parchment were two words, Wu Feng!

Fang Zhengzhi was not on the list!

"For this edition of the court examinations..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping stopped in his tracks, his smile frozen.

He saw the word behind Wu Feng’s name.

Fourth!

How could this happen?

Wu Feng’s name was right at the top, yet he was fourth. The Emperor’s comments were written clearly at the side as well.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping could not figure out what was going on.

Normally, the results were announced from top to bottom. Could it be that the top three were behind?

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping looked at the last row on the parchment.

Even so...

There was no mention of the top three candidates. The last name on the parchment was ranked tenth.

What was the problem?

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping’s gaze froze. He could not find the top three candidates. This was something he did not expect.

But, could he ask about it now?

Of course not, so he could only look through the entire parchment.

Then, he realized that the parchment only contained the names of those ranked fourth to tenth. There was no mention of the top three.

There were only seven names on it.

"Seven names..." Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping found the problem. There was still some blank space above Wu Feng’s name.

This space was for the top three candidates.

But why was it not written down?

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not dare to ask, but he looked back at Emperor Lin Mubai with a confused expression.

Emperor Lin Mubai knew what Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was thinking.

He was very exasperated as well.

The time for the announcement of results had come too soon. He had no time to write down their names and his comments.

Timing was crucial here.

It represented fate and luck.

If he missed the timing, it would not be a good omen for the empire. Furthermore, he was just about to engage the Southern Mountain Range.

As such, he decided to leave it blank rather than writing some words haphazardly.

This did not affect the announcement of the results.

Initially, he had planned to announce the top three candidates himself before handing the parchment to the Minister of Rites to announce the rest.

However, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping had stepped out.

Emperor Lin Mubai was stunned by his actions. However, if he did not pass the parchment over to him, it would be extremely embarrassing for Yu Yiping.

After some consideration, he decided to spare a thought for his Left Prime Minister.

Then, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping began to talk about him. As a result, he could only wait by the side. He had hoped that Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would look at the parchment after the speech.

Then...

If Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was smart, he would return the parchment to the Emperor. That would have been a smooth transition.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did glance at it.

But, he immediately began to announce the results...

This resulted in this embarrassing impasse. He could not continue announcing, but it was too late for Emperor Lin Mubai to stop him.

"Announce what you see!" Emperor Lin Mubai knew that if he didn’t speak, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would stand there awkwardly.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping was shocked when he heard this.

It was a simple instruction, however, the implications caused Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to take a step back.

Announce what you see...

Really?

Anyone who would do that was an idiot.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not know why the top three were missing from the parchment, but he knew the rules of the announcement.

He racked his brains for a way to salvage the situation. Finally, his eyes glittered.

"Many people might not know the emphasis and special meaning this court examination holds. I shall only say one thing. The Emperor had spent the past three days in the Imperial Decree Hall, personally marking all the scripts. He did not leave at any time!" Yu Yiping emphasized the last sentence.

All of the officials knew that Emperor Lin Mubai had marked the scripts personally.

However, the candidates did not.

All of them became visibly excited. Even though the rules dictated that the Emperor must mark each script himself, they knew that he was busy with court affairs.

In previous examinations, it was an open secret that officials would vet the scripts before submitting the best to the Emperor.

Yu Yiping knew this as well, so he emphasized what happened during this examination without mentioning the previous ones.

It was a deliberate omission.

Then, he looked at all of the excited candidates, steeling himself before he turned and knelt towards Emperor Lin Mubai.

"Your highness, I know the rules of the court examination. However, your highness has always cared for the people, so I’ll make a request on behalf of the people today. I hope that you will change the rules slightly for this announcement!"

"Oh? What are you proposing?" Emperor Lin Mubai looked on doubtfully.

"I would like to propose that I will announce the rankings from fourth to tenth. Then, your highness can personally announce the top three candidates to show how much you value talent!" He had wanted the Emperor to announce the top three candidates first, but he had already begun the announcement.

Furthermore, the Emperor had already placed the parchment in his hands and ordered him to announce what he saw.

If he returned the parchment to the Emperor first before taking it back after...

The mistake would be too obvious.

Of course, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping also had selfish concerns. If he handed the parchment back now, his long speech would have been for nothing.

He would be utterly embarrassed.

All of the candidates and officials looked at each other in confusion when they heard this.

However, they all came to a consensus that this was Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping’s attempt at bootlicking.

"We hope that your highness will announce the top three candidates personally!" All of the officials replied almost immediately. Who would pass on such a great opportunity to bootlick?

Emperor Lin Mubai looked at all the officials and Yu Yiping, who was kneeling in front of him. He was extremely contented.

Even though Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping would announce the results first, the situation would be resolved without any awkwardness.

"Approved!" Emperor Lin Mubai nodded.

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and the others began to thank him. The candidates were overjoyed to hear that the Emperor was going to personally announce the names of the top three candidates

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping heaved a sigh of relief.

He began announcing the names without hesitation.

"Ranked fourth for the examinations... Wu Feng!" Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping’s voice was confident and he said the name with conviction.

Even so...

All of the candidates were stunned when Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping announced this result? Fourth? How is that possible?!

Shouldn’t he be first?

Nangong Hao didn’t meet with the Emperor. Neither did Fang Zhengzhi not Yan Xiu. Who could possibly defeat Wu Feng? That was impossible.

Wu Feng stood rooted to the ground.

He felt as if he had just been struck by lightning.

He was extremely excited when he heard that the Emperor was going to announce the names of the top three candidates personally. He was going to be the recipient of this great honor.

Everything happened so quickly.

He didn’t even manage to react in time. The honor of his name being called out was not what he wanted.

Fourth?

Why was he fourth?!

Who were the top three?

Wu Feng desperately wanted to know.

Another thought flashed in his mind. Did Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping make the wrong announcement? He was first! The Left Prime Minister must have made a mistake!

That must be it!

Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping must have read the names off from top to bottom. His name was first on the list... it... it must be a mistake!

"Wu Feng, come forward and show your thanks!" A voice rang out.

Wu Feng really didn’t want to move. This was not the result he wanted. He really wanted to ask what was happening. However, seeing as the Emperor himself was there, he could not bring himself to ask the question.

"Wu Feng!"

"I, Wu Feng, thank your highness!" Wu Feng shuffled forward and fell to his knees.

Even so, he kept screaming in his heart.

This is a mistake, it must be a mistake!

As Wu Feng fell to his knees, voices began to ring out around him.

"Ranked fourth, Wu Feng!"

"Ranked fourth, Wu Feng!"

"Ranked fourth..."

The voices formed a chain from the Imperial Decree Hall all the way to the main entrance.

When all of the talents at the gates heard Wu Feng’s name, they all got excited. The first name was Wu Feng.

Wu Feng had topped the court examination!

Fang Zhengzhi did not make the list!

Just as they were about to celebrate, they realized something was amiss. Fourth?

Some of the golden armored soldiers on well groomed stallions also took a double take. They were about to gallop off in their respective directions with the news.

Fourth position first?

Historically, only the top three candidates were given the honor of having their names spread to the surrounding cities. Since the announcement was for fourth, they didn’t have to go.

"Eunuch Li, did you get that right? Why is the first announcement for the fourth position?"

"The people in front said fourth, so I followed!" The man in a robe replied exasperatingly.

The golden armored guard’s lip twitched but he did not ask any other questions.

Wait.

All he could do was wait. He had to wait for the other names to be announced.

Wu Feng was also waiting. He was waiting for Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping to remedy the mistake. To his disappointment, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping did not.

He continued the announcement.

"Ranked fifth..."

"Ranked sixth..."

"Ranked seventh..."

"..."

"Ranked tenth..."

These announcements reverberated throughout the palace, eventually making their way out to the palace gates.