Chapter 2804

The words of Yun Xi gave Li Gang a deeper understanding of the character for "official."

"The saying goes that the character for official is made of two mouths, so one must know how to speak. But if you look at the character, it is curved. Whether to take a winding path or a straight one is a choice every official must make for themselves," Yun Xi said seriously to Li Gang.

"I have never heard such an explanation for the character official before," Li Gang’s eyes lit up. "But it is undeniable, Wang Zhi, you have opened a new door for me, helping me understand how I should truly act."

Yun Xi smiled gently. "I am just speaking my mind. What I said today was merely a momentary reflection. As officials, we must look to our own hearts. I once read a miscellaneous note that said: The ruler is light, the state is secondary, and the people are heavy. A good official places the people first, thereby protecting the state, and finally serving the emperor. Of course, these three are inseparable. It is like the ruler is the boat and the people are the water. One must always remember that water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it. Therefore, being the helmsman is not easy. We must keep the boat steady, so that we may ride the wind and waves, and sail our cloud-like sails across the vast sea. This is what an official should do."

Li Gang sighed with emotion after listening. "Listening to your words is better than reading books for ten years, Wang Zhi. These words should be spoken aloud, so that all officials in the world can hear them."

Yun Xi smiled gently. "Perhaps one day in the future, I will tell people. But for now, these words must remain in our stomachs."

"The ruler is light, the state is secondary, and the people are heavy. The ruler is the boat, the people are the water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it. Good advice," the Emperor remarked with emotion.

Wang Lanxuan, standing nearby, said, "I consider myself a very good official, but now I realize that I still fall short of Yun Xi’s ideals. Your Majesty, this child Yun Xi is truly rare."

The Emperor hummed in agreement. "Minister Wang, secretly have people protect Yun Wangzhi. I do not wish for those old, stubborn figures to reach out to him." A glint flashed in the Emperor’s eyes. "If necessary, we can chop off a few hands."

Wang Lanxuan understood the Emperor’s meaning.

The princes were growing up. The eldest prince was already fifteen and could enter the court once he turned sixteen. The second and third princes were both fourteen, not far behind. Thus, some people were clearly restless. The Emperor’s move was a warning: the officials produced by the imperial examinations served the court, not the princes or the old ministers. Therefore, killing the chicken to scare the monkey was necessary.

Wang Lanxuan secretly wondered which chicken to sacrifice.

In the days that followed, the court was filled with tension and fear. The Emperor’s strong killing intent warned the ministers that no one was to interfere with this imperial examination.

Although the conservative faction wanted maximum benefit, they knew that to gain profit, one must first stay alive. Therefore, while the Emperor personally oversaw the examination, no one dared to reach out.

Thus, this metropolitan examination was absolutely fair.

Yun Xi and Li Gang, of course, knew nothing of this. Yun Xi, wearing five layers of single cloth, entered his examination cell. He saw clean cotton quilts and coats. Although not of the finest quality, they felt quite good.

Yun Xi’s scholarly aura was already very close to red. With just one opportunity, he could smoothly enter the red state. Therefore, he did not care much about the cold or heat outside.

However, for ordinary candidates, having cotton quilts and coats was very nice.

The examination cells would be closed for nine days and eight nights. Eating, drinking, and relieving oneself all happened within the cell. The weather had entered the cold season, and Yun Xi estimated that the first snow of the year might fall during these days.

Yun Xi was not afraid of cold or heat, but he hoped for some warmth in his food. So, he used the lime he had brought, added some water to heat it up, and placed his food in a small pot on top of the lime to warm it slowly.

What Yun Xi brought was mostly mooncakes, some dried vegetables, and a few eggs. Regardless, it was quite decent. After heating the food, he could place a small teapot on top to keep the water hot, so his stomach would not get cold.

The nine days were the hardest nine days of Yun Xi’s life since birth. Especially in the last three or four days, the foul air in the cell became heavier and heavier. Yun Xi had to block his sense of smell to endure it.

As soon as the nine days were over and the papers submitted, Yun Xi exited the gate of the Imperial Academy. Yun Jian and Yang Xuen were already waiting.

Seeing Yun Xi come out, Yun Jian hurriedly said, "Get into the carriage and rest first. We will wait a bit longer for Qingyang."

Yun Xi nodded and got into the carriage.

Li Gang did not come out much later. About a cup of tea time after Yun Xi, he emerged. Seeing Yun Jian and Yang Xuen approach, he also got into the carriage.

Yun Jian and Yang Xuen brought the two back to the Yun residence. They had them take a bath and invited a doctor, who had been hired in advance, to check their pulses. Confirming that they were only tired, they had them eat and then go to sleep.

Yun Xi returned to his room and slept well. After waking up, he sat cross-legged to cultivate again and found that his scholarly aura had entered the red stage.

It could be said that he could now transform black into red. This was a surprise for Yun Xi.

"Liang Chen, my scholarly aura can turn red," Yun Xi said with joy.

"This is inevitable. Your focus has been very concentrated during this period. Although this exam was nothing to you, your high concentration of mental energy made breaking through the bottleneck a certainty," Liang Chen said. "Here, these are the new books you need to study."

Indeed, every time Yun Xi’s books successfully transformed into a new color, unexpected books would appear. From the initial Three Hundred Qian, to Tang poetry, Song ci, and Yuan qu, to the poetry and songs of various masters, and some books beneficial to the people like Tiangong Kaiwu, as well as basic medical texts. Liang Chen had plenty of books.

"Liang Chen, what is your origin? Why do you give me so many books?" Yun Xi asked curiously.

"When you have achieved success in the future, I will naturally tell you. For now, just consider me your mentor," Liang Chen said seriously.

Yun Xi knew Liang Chen would give him such an answer, but he had no other thoughts. He was just curious, because Liang Chen never seemed to ask for anything in return. Instead, he constantly guided Yun Xi to learn various useful things. It was clear that Liang Chen was indeed a mentor.

Yun Xi consolidated his scholarly aura for a while longer, then went out to see his parents. He also took the opportunity to visit Li Gang, but Li Gang was still sleeping, showing that this metropolitan examination had taken a lot of energy from him.