Calmly, I sat in one of the free offices of the manor. At this moment I was having some tea while waiting for breakfast to be prepared.
Right on schedule, a maid entered, and after a short bow, she placed the plate of food on the desk. After taking a few steps back, she spoke.
"Apologies for the delay, Lord Cao Peng. The chef had a minor delay."
I simply waved my hand and took another sip of tea before responding.
"Let me guess, Lady Meng is preparing breakfast for Lord Meng again?"
"Yes, I was ordered to deliver Lord Meng's meal while the chef prepared the rest of the manor's meals." She replied with the upmost professionalism.
"Such dedication. If only my wife could prepare meals like Lady Meng does for the Lord." As I spoke, a chuckle came out unwillingly.
"It's almost enough to make a man jealous."
"Quite so." The maid replied simply without commenting one way or the other.
'Head Maid Shi has trained this one well. 'I thought while taking a few bites of my food.
The meal was average at best. Just an egg dish that contained fresh vegetables and small slices of wild game.
After finishing my meal, I pressed the plate to the side and asked the question that had been on my mind since I woke up.
"Speaking of Lord Meng, where is he now?"
I asked. While it was still early, I needed to make enough copies of the tests for the applicants.
"Last time I saw Lord Meng he was still in his off—" Before the maid had time to finish, the topic of our discussion violently burst into the room.
Meng Tao's eyes were bloodshot, and I could see from his slumped posture that he was exhausted. Of course I knew why he was so tired.
I watched Lord Meng the entire week after his suggestion, and not once did he enter his office. Most of his week was spent exercising in the courtyard, likely trying to improve his figure for his wife. An admirable goal.
The rest of his time was spent eating dinner with his wife and son or drinking tea in the dining room while staring out the window.
However, these activities left little time to create tests meant to evaluate the suitability of individuals for council positions.
Because of this, I had already had some questions drafted up in case any mishaps were to occur.
The sound of a heavy stack of papers slamming on my desk broke me out of my musings. On my desk were at least fifty sheets of paper in front of me.
"Lord Meng, this is—" I let my words hang in the air for a second, deliberately teasing him.
Ignoring my teasing, Lord Meng had a thousand-yard stare and replied in a monotone voice.
"Four sets of questions for four different positions. The questions' targets are persons' grasp on communication, mathematics, strategic thinking, and intrigue." Even while he spoke, he seemed to be losing the fight against sleep.
I suppressed my minor disappointment of the total number of tests, considering how many he originally asked for, and grabbed the first few sheets of the test.
According to the cover page, the section that I had grabbed was mathematics. Turning the page, I looked at the first question. Although it was messily written, it was still clearly legible.
Solve for x
-2x + 36 = 16x + 32
'???'
For a second my thoughts ground to a halt.
'Why were there letters in mathematics?'
'Was x a number now?!'
I held the paper and stared at it for a second, hoping the numbers on the page would suddenly make sense. However, the longer I stared, the more confused I became.
Not wanting to appear foolish I focused on the lower portion of my dantian. Feeling the blood qi, I forced it to flow to my head to reinforce my brain. As I did so, the world seemed to slow slightly as all my memories of mathematics flashed briefly before my eyes.
After a few seconds I started to recognize the question. It was similar to one I had read as a child in one of my imperial examination preparation textbooks.
As I continued to read the rest of the section, I noticed while at first glance questions seemed foreign, the concept behind them was advanced beyond the common man.
'How did Lord Meng learn these kind of advanced calculations?'
'Could it be, that he has been secretly studying to join the imperial court?'
I felt my eyes widen as I looked away from the paper to the man standing in front of me. Even though he was half asleep, he remained standing as if waiting to hear my feedback.
While I thought he was neglecting his duties, he was probably writing these questions every night to ensure the exam went well.
To think I thought he was losing himself in familial bliss when, in truth, he was preparing to lift himself and the whole of Skyfall City to a higher status.
I felt myself grow a bit emotional, and my eyes grew wet.
Setting the papers down, I cleared my throat.
"It is simply perfect, Lord Meng! I'll be sure to get copies made and begin the examinations as soon as possible!" I exclaimed in excitement. If Lord Meng were giving it all, then so would I.
At my response, Meng Tao's whole body flinched as if struck by lightning, and his eyes snapped open and darted around the room as if wondering when he got there.
Seeing him in this state, I felt slightly guilty.
"Lord Meng, please go rest. I'll handle everything today." I spoke seriously with no teasing in my voice.
With his eyes starting to droop again, he made his way out of the room on unsteady legs.
I sent a look at the maid, and with a bow, she left the room to escort Meng Tao to his bedroom.
After the footsteps faded, I turned my attention back towards the stack of papers. I stood up and walked to the corner of the room where a large box was sitting. Opening the box, I saw the perfectly shaped stacks of paper numbering at least a thousand sheets.
After bringing the stacks of paper to the desk and puking out several pens, I got to work. Ample amounts of blood qi flowed from my dantian to my arms and eyes. If anyone were around, they would see large veins becoming more visible in those areas.
Then, when I was ready, my left hand flipped through the questions, my bees flew over the words and numbers, and my left hand printed them on a new sheet.
Second by second the sheets were copied and flipped over to a new pile.
'I'll give it my all too Lord Meng!'
{Three Hours Later}
{Exam Venue}
After I finished creating copies for the test, I placed the tests into the chest that once contained the empty sheets of paper and made my way down to the venue I rented on the City Lord's behalf a few days ago. With my accompaniment of maids and guards, we arrived at the venue.
There were easily at least two hundred people here. Taking into account parents and loved ones, it was likely that at least fifty people were here to take the examination. This was well over any expectation that the Lord or I had considered.
As the guards made way for me and the maids, I had an idea to separate the wheat from the chaff. I whispered instructions to the head of the guard as well as several maids and made my way inside.
The venue rented was a large inn that was located near the manor. All the excess furniture was cleared out, and only guards who had been stationed this morning were present inside.
The maid I gave instructions to returned with a pen, a sign, and a string. Taking these from her, I quickly scribbled some words and a big arrow sign pointing to the right.
"Here, go hang this up near the entrance, then after that tell the guards to set up the examination room to the left." I spoke to the maid with a hint of subterfuge.
The maid seemed confused until she read the sign. I saw her lips twitch, and she covered her mouth to prevent giggles from spreading out.
"Right away, sir." She managed to get out.
After a few minutes of the guards moving furniture around, it was finally time to start. I made my way to the entrance. As I exited, I could hear countless conversations occurring.
Some are wishing their children luck in the upcoming challenge.
Others were begging their significant other to go back to work so that they could eat today.
And a few were alone and stared at me without distractions.
I clapped my hands with force, and the sound of thunder echoed down the street. Every conversation ended at once as they waited for my instructions.
"Everyone, the Skyfall Court Examination begins now!"
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I hoped you all enjoyed today's chapter. This time we see things from Cao Peng's point of view, and he too faces the horror of algebra.
If you see any errors or something doesn't sound right, let me know. It's one of my goals to give you guys the best reading experience possible.
Let me know what you liked! Let me know what you hated!
I'll see you all next time. Stay tuned!