After initially resolving the visit from the Carnation Kingdom, Elara finally had time to check the progress of Plumera's first imperial examination.
Because the examination site was large enough and the Education Department had made full preparations, the three types of exams were held at the same time and lasted for nearly six hours.
Three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.
By the time Elara finished her discussion with the Carnation Kingdom, the examination had just ended.
When Elara arrived at the site, most of the candidates had already left the venue in an orderly manner under the military's supervision.
The officials from the Education Department carefully collected each exam paper and immediately returned to work overtime to start grading them.
By the time Elara attended court the next morning, the results for all the candidates had already come out. Except for a small number of people who tried to get by without real knowledge, Minister Old Pei wrote down the scores of all the remaining candidates on several long memorials, sorted them, and presented them to Elara.
Elara was very pleased as this was the first large-scale examination organized by Plumera, and the rules were quite different from before. Even though officials personally traveled to each region to recruit talent, most of the examinees this time still came from places like Marigold and other areas where Elara had personally stayed.
Still, the group of scholars recruited by the Education Department from influential families truly showed their real talents in this examination.
For example, the Yan family, Xun family, and Mu family from remote towns in the southern part of Plumera, as well as a few from Belladonna and the three large cities that had belonged to Edelweiss before Plumera took them.
It was clear these young elites from noble families also wanted to secure positions in the newly formed Plumera court.
Other examinees from various backgrounds also gave it their all, writing down everything they knew. Many truly talented individuals stood out.
For example, Puzhi, Puwei, and Gongliang Cheng, whom Elara met outside the Lianyi Building, were indeed scholars with real knowledge.
Puzhi and Puwei, the two uncles, both made it into the top ten of the literary exam.
Gongliang Cheng was even more impressive. He placed directly in the top three of the commerce exam.
After reading his paper, Elara felt he was truly a genius in business. The Commerce Department currently had no high-ranking officials specialized in business. Perfect. He could try the position first and handle the many backlogged tasks from this month. If he performed well, he could be promoted even further.
Besides them, there were many others Elara had never met before who also showed exceptional talent during this exam.
Since Plumera now urgently needed talent in all areas and there were too many vacant positions in the court, Elara had a huge demand for officials. The Education Department knew this challenge well, so they made the criteria for passing the exam a bit more flexible this time.
Combining the three major exam categories, over three hundred people were admitted by the department.
More than half of them were true talents of upper or mid-level skill.
The more Elara read, the happier she became. The entire morning court session the next day was dedicated to assigning positions.
After the court session, the names of these newly appointed officials, along with their exam rankings, would be publicly posted at the entrance of the Education Department.
Then starting tonight, the newly appointed officials could directly report to their assigned departments and officially begin their duties.
Once all the appointments were finalized, Elara felt a sense of fulfillment knowing that the previously empty posts in many departments would finally be mostly filled starting tonight.
Very good. In the past, many things couldn't be done the way she wanted due to the severe lack of manpower in every department.
Now it was different. With enough staff, everything could be handled step by step with care.
The officials sitting in the main hall also let out a collective sigh of relief after hearing about the incoming wave of new colleagues.
Finally, help was coming. If not, they had truly feared dying from overwork.
In the morning, after a rough plan for the exam results and other issues was laid out, Elara left the finer details to the departments.
She told the Education Department to post the rankings right away and instructed all departments to prepare for receiving the new officials.
The officials from all departments left happily.
Elara felt even more delighted when she returned from the palace to the imperial study because she had also received an extra surprise.
Kristof, who had been stationed in Belladonna for over a month, had now successfully completed his mission and was about to return to the capital.
He had spent so much time in Belladonna not only to help the officials in Belladonna City handle all the governance issues, but also to find the plants Elara wanted, squeezing time out of his schedule as she had asked.
And he really found them!
Among them was the one Elara looked forward to the most, the "King of High Yield." In ancient times of the 21st-century Huaguo, it was the potato that saved millions of lives. In this world, Kristof actually found its equivalent!
The potato had turned into a different aquatic plant that looked similar to lotus roots. It happened to grow densely under the wide swamps of Belladonna.
Because it grew so deep underground and Belladonna Swamp had always been full of poisonous miasma, this edible and high-yield plant had never been discovered before.
Until Elara took control of Belladonna and sent Kristof and the others with the antidote made by Oswyn to clear out the swamp's poisonous air.
To find these plants for Elara, Kristof dug nearly three zhang deep into most of the swamp. Only then did he finally manage to dig this thing out from the deep muddy ground.
This world's "potato" was called "mud lotus." Although the shape and name were different, based on the plant encyclopedia provided by the System, Elara was absolutely sure it was this world's potato.
All its characteristics were extremely similar to the potato. It could be eaten, cooked, or ground into flour. It was full of starch and various nutrients. It had a high yield and was easy to grow.
It hardly required any special environment and was the perfect thing to save Plumera's grain reserves.
Right now, the lands in Plumera hadn't been fully renovated by the Ministry of Agriculture, and the kingdom's food was being consumed rapidly. She desperately needed this kind of easy-to-grow, high-yield plant. Kristof had found it just in time.
Besides the "potato," Kristof had also brought back all the other high-yield plants she had listed before.
Elara felt pure joy as she read his letter.
With these easy-to-grow, high-yield plants, the food crisis in Plumera was already half solved. A huge weight was lifted from her heart.
In her happiness, Elara immediately decided to hold a banquet tonight.
She would personally welcome Kristof, this great contributor, and give him a proper reward.
The rotten and corrupt old rules were abolished. A new system was established that truly appointed people based on virtue and talent.
The students from the lower ranks, who laughed and cried in shock, were overwhelmed with indescribable excitement.
Most of the people who read the list knelt down to the ground. They bowed repeatedly in the direction of the palace, which they had once feared and hated.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
On the edge of the crowd, there were people who hadn't taken the exam but still shouted with excitement.
"Mr. Puwei! Mr. Puzhi! Congratulations! Congratulations to both of you! You also passed!"
"And you both ranked in the top ten in the written exam!"
Pu Wei and Pu Zhi, the uncle and nephew, had already changed into clean clothes.
These were the very clothes Elara had given them. They had never wanted to wear them, but yesterday was the imperial exam, so they finally put them on carefully. Today was the results day, and only after getting themselves tidy did they come here.
Unlike the other scholars rushing to the front, the two stood calmly at the back of the crowd. Their faces showed little emotion, but their backs were straight, and their hands were clenched tightly.
When the person helping them read the results shouted joyfully, the tension in their bodies finally eased just a little.
"Congratulations to you both! Both of your scores are in the top ten for the written exam! The positions appointed by Her Majesty have also been posted! Young Master Pu Zhi is now a fifth-rank clerk in the Ministry of Revenue! Young Master Pu Wei is a fourth-rank registrar in the same ministry! Congratulations to both of you! From now on, you'll leave the past behind and become officials of the court, noble men above all! I sincerely offer my congratulations!"
Though uncle and nephew, both were still young. Now dressed cleanly in new clothes, their sharp features and scholarly air from years of study became fully visible.
They were stunned for a while after hearing the congratulatory message.
Only when the announcer tried to bow and congratulate them again did they snap out of it and thank him in return.
The announcer quickly returned the gesture. These two were now important figures in Plumera, and he didn't dare accept their thanks casually.
After thanking him, the two stood among the scholars who were laughing and crying with joy. Only when the dreamlike feeling settled into something real did they slowly raise their hands and bow deeply in the direction of the imperial palace.
"Thank you… Your Majesty!"
They would never forget this kindness.
On the other side—
Gongliang Cheng, who had arrived with the Pu family uncle and nephew, also didn't squeeze to the front. Even more people had gathered around him now.
"Congratulations, Young Master Gongliang! You've truly made it to the top! You ranked third in the commerce exam! Her Majesty has appointed you as the Deputy Director of Trade in the Ministry of Commerce, a third-rank position! From now on, you'll oversee more than half the ministry! You're now the leader and the top figure among all merchants in Plumera! Congratulations, Deputy Director Gongliang!"
He was surrounded by all kinds of flattering and congratulatory voices. Gongliang Cheng's expression remained calm, even more composed than the other scholars who had made the list.
After a moment of silence, he simply raised his hand and thanked the crowd. He was also wearing clothes given to him by Elara. With his naturally sharp features and steady aura, even the people trying to flatter him lowered their voices, afraid of irritating him.
"Thank you, everyone."
After acknowledging the crowd, he looked toward the distant palace and bowed, then turned and walked toward the inn where he was staying.
The other scholars who had passed were still crying with excitement.
On the outer edge of the crowd, the noble family students didn't check the results themselves. They had sent their servants and now stood at the very back of the gate, watching the large number of commoner scholars who had passed.
Compared to the commoners, most noble students had studied classics since childhood. As long as they adjusted their mindset during this exam and gave their full effort, they basically all passed.
Among them were the eldest and second sons of the Zhan family from the south, the younger brother of the Guo family head from the east, and the second son of the Yue family from the west. There was even a son from the Di family, who had traveled a great distance from one of the three major cities just taken by the Empress from Edelweiss.
All of them stood out and ranked among the top few in the various lists.
They were already elites in their families, raised with full support to become heirs.
As long as they were willing to show their real abilities, they naturally performed far above the average.
Still, while most noble sons passed, they didn't expect to see people who once served them as slaves now passing alongside them.
The Empress's new exam system truly valued talent over background.
Most noble students looked at the celebrating commoners with complicated feelings and unease.
They gathered into their own circle, congratulating and chatting with one another. But now and then, their eyes would shift to the crowd of overjoyed commoner scholars.
Though they were uncomfortable with passing the exam alongside those once beneath them, even becoming future colleagues—
The noble families hadn't survived this long by being foolish. No matter how unsettled they felt, they would never let it show.