Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 588 - 587 The Second Day of Exams

"Oh." The examiner breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that no conflict had arisen. If there had been an incident, his future career prospects would likely have been even more difficult. "But why has it been so lively?"

"Actually, it’s because this morning, the young master came with that commoner." The servant explained.

"Came together?" The examiner didn’t grasp the significance of the statement and continued to ask, "Do you mean they happened to meet when the young master arrived?"

"No." The servant said, "That commoner came in the same carriage with the young master. Many young noblemen saw it, and it was the commoner who got out of the carriage first, followed by the young master."

"What?!" The examiner exclaimed in shock, his fingers trembling slightly.

"It’s true, I asked several people and they all told me the same thing." The servant said.

"I see." The examiner nodded, the impact was too great to digest all at once.

To speak of Lord Chai Shao, he was originally the Great General who followed the Emperor in quelling rebellions, a brother-in-arms who faced life and death together, and later, he even married the Emperor’s sister, Princess Pingyang Zhao.

This was an honor beyond measure, and in Chang’an City, there were few whom the young master regarded highly.

Although people would mock the young master behind his back for his arrogance, saying he had never made a decent friend from childhood to adulthood,

in truth, there was not one who did not envy him. With such glory and wealth, what need was there for friends?

In Chang’an City, the noble clans’ youth were all envious, jealous, and yet trying to get close to him to make friends, as the Chai family was known to be fiercely protective. If one became friends with the young master, one’s fortune would be secured.

But the more eagerly these noble youths tried to ingratiate themselves with the young master, the less he esteemed them.

What they never imagined was that all their efforts to please the young master could not compare to a single fight with that commoner.

It wasn’t that no one wanted to imitate the commoner’s approach; it was just that they couldn’t even defeat the young master, let alone the commoner who bested the young master in a single move.

However it may be, the commotion of the morning had passed.

Today’s examination was on equestrian combat.

Each contestant wore three round discs on their bodies, wielding a long spear, though the spearhead had been removed and replaced with a round cloth bag dipped in ink.

If the ink from the spear marked all three discs on someone’s body, that person would be considered defeated. The contest was held on horseback without any time restrictions.

Tian Peng felt that the martial exams were child’s play. Being a martial artist, one should know the severity of combat. Were these excessive safety measures really necessary when they eventually would go to the battlefield wrapped in similar cloth bags?

Naturally, Tian Peng was unaware of the heartache of those managing the examinations. They too used to think such pretense was unnecessary.

But a few years ago, after a noble’s son was injured and his powerful family caused an uproar at the Martial Exam Venue, these safety measures were put in place.

Although it seemed overly childlike, it was unbeatable in terms of safety. As long as it was safe, a little loss of dignity was deemed insignificant.

This time, the candidates’ names had been scrambled, different from the previous day, and each participant had two opportunities.

This meant that those who lost their first match could compete again, a sort of resurrection match, added to prevent participants from being disadvantaged by an initial poor performance.

"I had heard before coming that the exams would be biased in favor of the noble clans’ youth. But I’m too young to understand it all—this isn’t merely bias; it’s practically a deluge." Tian Peng commented.

The young master himself had little respect for these systems, but the exam staff were not truly inclined to show favoritism.

However, these officials all have their own ranks, and if they were too strict, they would be the ones to suffer in the end. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I know, Zhu, you don’t think much of this either. It’s just that the martial examination is merely a stepping stone for these people; there’s no need to fuss over it so much," Chai Wei consoled.

Tian Peng didn’t want to fuss over it so much either, but the favoritism being shown was just too blatant. He couldn’t help but blurt out, "The martial exam has been going on for so many years now, has no one ever thought of reforming it?"

"Of course it has been considered, but it’s just not feasible," Chai Wei said.

"Why not?" Tian Peng asked, puzzled. "What’s the point of testing if it’s all just for show? You might as well wait until your capping ceremony and have the emperor line up and hand out official positions, one by one. That would save a lot of trouble."

"Zhu," Chai Wei looked at Tian Peng helplessly. "It’s not that they haven’t thought about it, but they have their own offspring to consider. For the sake of their children, they are willing to turn a blind eye. Besides, it’s better to avoid trouble when possible."

His point was indeed valid; the lifespan of mortals is quite short, merely a few decades.

A few decades might flash by in the blink of an eye for the Immortals, but mortals must experience a great deal during that time.

The existence of the martial examination is indeed unnecessary. The emperor is aware of this too, but he has other matters to attend to and thus turns a blind eye.

Moreover, the official positions granted through the martial examination are insignificant ones, and these individuals will still inherit noble titles later on.

"The emperor really has it tough, too busy to deal with this and yet has to pour so much silver into it every year," Tian Peng remarked with a sigh.

Chai Wei agreed with Tian Peng’s sentiment and nodded, not saying anything further.

"If it were you, once you have an official position and the authority to reform the martial examination, would you do it?" Tian Peng inquired.

"I probably would," Chai Wei said after a pause.

Participating in the martial examination didn’t seem very meaningful to Chai Wei; it was like a chicken rib—of little use, yet seemingly useful all the same.

"Does your father have the authority to do that?" Tian Peng asked. "Why doesn’t he take action?"

Tian Peng recalled Lord Chai Shao, who appeared to be a good official based on their interaction from the night before.

Yet, despite being a seemingly good official courted by many, why didn’t he take action concerning the martial examination?

"My father doesn’t have such authority," Chai Wei replied.

"It seems to me that Lord is quite influential in Chang’an City. Even you receive so much flattery. How could your father not have that kind of power?"

"I guess you’re not much of a reader, are you?" Chai Wei asked.

Tian Peng nodded. Indeed, he wasn’t fond of reading, but he still didn’t see how that was relevant.

"The way of a sovereign and his ministers is different from that of ministers among themselves," Chai Wei explained. "My father’s official rank is already very high, and on top of that, my mother is the emperor’s sister. Our family may seem to be flourishing in the Imperial City, but our position is actually quite precarious."

"How so?" Tian Peng didn’t understand. What could be dangerous about being second only to one person, a matter of such glory?

"My father was originally the Great General. He followed the emperor to quell rebellions and established a great deal of merit, commanding many generals under him," Chai Wei said. "If he wished, these generals would follow his orders."

"Oh, I understand now." Though Chai Wei had only just begun to explain, Tian Peng already grasped the implications.