167 The Imperial Examinations (1/2)

”Master, do you need a room to stay in?”

After entering the city, Fang Yuan recalled his way and went to a hotel.

The location of the hotel was a little remote and the sign of the hotel was a little old. However, it was very tidy on the inside and no speck of dust was found on any of the tables and chairs. The antique furniture also brought an ancient feeling to the whole atmosphere.

Of course, the most important thing was that the price for a room here was rather cheap.

As he entered, a humble lad welcomed him.

”Hmm, is the room upstairs available?”

”Yes, of course!”

The lad was smiling brightly.

Fang Yuan nodded his head and booked the room for 10 days. He paid a 3 days worth of rent as deposit. Meals were counted separately.

”You can order whatever you want. If our kitchen doesn't provide, I will be more than happy to get it for you from elsewhere!”

As Fang Yuan reached his room, the waiter told him.

The waiter realised that even though Fang Yuan was dressed normally, his aura was a little different from others. Hence, guessed that Fang Yuan was rich and was travelling on his own, and could, therefore, get tips from him.

”That will be unnecessary. What do you have in the kitchen?”

”You're in luck! Our kitchen has just received two big pieces of beef and a piece of mutton. Chicken and duck are already prepared by our chefs. We also have the Green Lotus Rice, a type of spiritual rice. Anyone who eats this will have a lasting fragrance of the rice in their mouth. It is one of the popular dish ordered here.”

The waiter said everything at one go.

”Hmm, I shall have a plate of beef, two plates of vegetables and a bowl of the Green Lotus Rice!”

He didn't expect such a small hotel to be able to provide spiritual rice.

After a while, the waiter carried a tray out. The sauce from the plate of beef smelled delicious. There was a plate of stir-fried vegetables and a plate of mushrooms with sliced meat. Then, there was a bowl of green rice which filled the air with the fragrance of a lotus. ”Your dishes are all here!”

”Hmm!”

Fang Yuan tipped the waiter and signalled the waiter to leave. He then started with the Green Lotus Rice.

This spiritual rice was fragrant and soft, but it was not sticking to his teeth. The fragrance of the lotus filled his whole mouth. Even though the spiritual force this rice provided was not as much as the Flame Jade Rice, it was comparable to the Vermillion Jade Rice. Since this hotel was so small, this was already considered good.

”Just that…..for a dream world, this feels so real!”

Fang Yuan ate another piece of beef and he was thinking about something else. ”I'm easily addicted to this dream world.”

After a long sigh, he thought about other stuff.

”Now, Lady Wang would have known that something is wrong. It will be hard to guarantee that she will not take any action. I should head to the government office to register myself for the examinations first, just in case!”

The government of the Da Qian empire was richer than the one in Xia Country.

Legend has it that the founder of this empire was so magical and was able to suppress everyone. Even in today, many capable leaders were holding important appointments in the government of the empire. Hence, many of the factions and the rich households still abide by the rules set by the government.

Previously, when Yang Fan had wanted to sign up for the examinations, he probably had the backing from the government officials to go against his family.

However, Fang Yuan wanted to score well in the examinations only because he wanted to find out the method to break through this dream world.

After coming to a conclusion, he left the hotel and went to the city.

The government office was located in the heart of the city. Two stone beast statues were placed at the south entrance. Their heads looked like a tiger's or a lion's, and the eyes of the statues seemed to be glowing. The statues seemed to be alive.

These beasts were called the 'Eye Beasts'. It was said that the eyes could differentiate between good and evil. Hence, the government loved to use these beasts to maintain order in the city.

As Fang Yuan passed by the beasts, he felt something different.

”Magical weapon?”

From the eyes of the statues, he could feel a spiritual spell being cast in them and gave a sigh. The government of Da Qian was indeed spending a lot of effort on such stuff.

”To register, I will have to submit my name, place of birth, appearance, family background and also to nominate another person for guarantee purposes in order to sit for the imperial examinations successfully…..Of course, I'm from the Yang family and there is an advantage for coming from a rich family. However, I will still have to pay for the examinations!”

As he entered through a small door with other scholars, Fang Yuan gave a cold look. He was already familiar with the registration process but inside, he was complaining about it. ”If the government collects fees for every imperial examination back in the olden days, I'm afraid everyone would complain about it...”

When it was his turn, he filled up his surname, his signature and stamped his fingerprint. After making payments, he received a wooden board.

On the board, basic information about him was written on it, including his facial descriptions. He was given two copies of it, and the wooden board was used as an entry proof to the examination hall.

”I have heard that the rules set by the founder of the Da Qian Empire were unconventional and there are many complaints about these rules!”

After he left the government office, Fang Yuan rubbed the wooden board and his face was expressionless.

If this had happened in the olden days, where scholars were insulted with money, some of them would be very grief-stricken and would rather die.

However, this world was different!

Only with strength comes power. It would be strange to see a scholar overthrowing those people with the existence of powerful people like Wu Zongs and spiritual knights around.

If not for the existence of cultivation in some scholars, the scholars probably would not have any power.

”Sir, please stay where you are!”

Just when Fang Yuan was about to leave, a scholar dressed in green came over. ”I'm Xiao Mu. Are you also preparing for this imperial examinations?”

”I'm Yang Fan!”

Fang Yuan greeted him but felt that the expression Xiao Mu was giving was a little strange.

Previously, Fang Yuan did not realise anything strange from him. Now, he could feel a slight dream elemental force from him, and it was in a form of a print.

That print meant that he was under scrutiny from some dream master, and no outsiders could meddle with it.