After Being Abducted by the General

Chapter 159

While the scholars anxiously awaited the results, Yuan Li, along with officials from the Ministry of Government Affairs, was busy grading the exam papers.

Six thousand four hundred exam papers were spread out in the Ministry of Government Affairs, a scene never seen before. The officials were both excited and eager, sitting upright and ready to start grading.

To ensure fairness, Yuan Li implemented a system of anonymous grading to prevent any bias. He also ordered the officials grading the papers to stay and eat together until the grading was completed and the results were released.

As for the grading method, Yuan Li adopted the system used in later imperial examinations. Each examiner had a table, and the exam papers circulated among the tables for review. If they found a satisfactory paper, they would mark a "○" on it. Each paper went through multiple examiners to minimize errors in grading. In the end, the number of "○" marks determined the ranking of the paper.

Due to the tight schedule, once the officials understood the grading process, they immediately began reviewing the papers. It was the first time for Zhou Gongdan, Liu Jixin, and others to be examiners, and they were extremely serious and rigorous. When they came across good papers, they couldn't help but share their findings with the people around them.

Yuan Li himself was also grading the papers.

After a while, he put down his brush, picked up a cup of tea, sipped it, and relaxed his shoulders and arms. He turned to Guo Mao at his side and asked, "Grading these papers is much more tiring than handling official documents, isn't it?"

Guo Mao smiled and replied, "That's true, but grading these papers is much more interesting than handling official documents."

Yuan Li chuckled, quenched his thirst, and put down the tea cup. He then picked up another paper.

As soon as he saw this paper, Yuan Li sighed inwardly—excellent handwriting!

Neat and with its own elegance, the clean and beautiful presentation easily earned a favorable impression.

Yuan Li read the content carefully and nodded with a smile after finishing.

The student had not made a single mistake in the classical and arithmetic questions. What impressed him the most was that the policy questions were written with substance and not just empty words. From the content of the answers, he could tell that this was a capable, intelligent, and pragmatic young person.

He marked a circle on the paper with his pen and gently placed it with the other graded papers.

For the scholars, the waiting period for the examiners to grade their papers was the most agonizing.

It was the first time for Northern Zhou's scholars to compete with so many others in a knowledge examination. It would be dishonest to say they weren't nervous about their results. In the past, there was no rank, but now they had to compete against one another, causing them to feel anxious about the outcome.

Even the knowledgeable aristocratic students couldn't help but feel anxious and expectant in their hearts. They wanted to see their names at the top of the list, but they also feared being overshadowed. These complex feelings were not easy to put into words.

During this period, strange scenes could be seen all over Ye County in Ji Zhou.

The scholars unconsciously walked to the government office but realized that the results hadn't been posted yet. They hurriedly left the place.

When the scholars gathered together, they couldn't help but talk about the imperial examination. They tested each other, trying to gauge who had the most confidence and who was more anxious. Xu Kang and the two brothers from the Xiang family were no exception in the Zhou residence.