"Servant Wei, here's a toast to you!"
"You're welcome, Mr. Li."
In the elegant room of Liuxiangju, the top restaurant in the city, Li Tianfeng smiled and raised his glass to Wei Zhide, the examiner's minister of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, who was presiding over the Sishui Prefecture Provincial Examination.
After finishing the drink, Li Tianfeng said with a smile: "I never thought that the imperial court would pay so much attention to the Sishui Prefecture Provincial Examination and send Wei Shilang here. I thought that a censor who was born as an ordinary Jinshi would be dismissed!"
Wei Zhide also smiled and said: "Master Li was promoted from the position of Minister of Rites. Needless to say, the central government attaches great importance to Sishui Prefecture now, haha."
Li Tianfeng nodded, "Yes, Enke, Enke, show kindness to scholars. Now that the situation in Sishui Prefecture is unstable, it is time to open up Enke to win over the hearts of scholars."
"So, Mr. Li, this time I am here to take an absolutely fair and just provincial examination with your majesty's instructions and instructions from the central committee. I will also trouble you, Mr. Li, to help me block those who try to take the wrong way." People, retreat when faced with difficulties."
Wei Zhide looked at Li Tianfeng with a smile. Li Tianfeng was stunned for a moment and then laughed, "That's natural, that's natural. I will help, I will help."
"In that case, thank you very much, Mr. Li."
"Easy to say, easy to say."
——
In the Su Mansion, Xia Jingyun finished writing the questions and lay on Yanzhi's lap as if he was exhausted.
Xie Yanzhi rubbed his head gently, "Sir, Mr. Li is hosting a banquet for the examiner tonight. Do you think he will get the test questions for you?"
Xia Jingyun smiled and said, "No."
"Why?" Xie Yanzhi was a little confused, "The dignified state pastor has come forward, and the young master is now famous, will the examiner not give him that face?"
Xia Jingyun was noncommittal, "Yanzhi, what do you think the imperial examination is?"
Although Xie Yanzhi is extremely intelligent, some things require experience after all and cannot be obtained out of thin air. She thought for a while and then just said: "Select talents for the country and select outstanding scholars to enter the officialdom?"
Xia Jingyun shook his head and said softly: "He is a prisoner."
"This group of scholars are the smartest people in the world. If they accompany the dynasty, they can make the dynasty stable and develop. But if they have no officials or positions, and have the skills to manage the country and benefit the people, the world will be ruined. Chaos is almost inevitable. Therefore, the rulers use the imperial examination as a prison to let these scholars study hard in order to enter the officialdom and become superior people."
"Before this, they had no time to care about anything else and were focused on improving. But once they become officials, they will be timid and worried about gains and losses for the sake of the official hat. They no longer have the lofty ambitions of flying high."
"So, from the perspective of the imperial court, this autumn is a good opportunity to once again strengthen the role of this cage and put all the scholars in Sishui Prefecture into this cage."
"Because of this, if I were His Majesty or a central minister, I would definitely try my best to ensure the fairness and justice of the imperial examination, and even allow more people to be admitted to the next Sishui Prefecture to give more hope. Because once the imperial examination loses credibility, this cage will be destroyed The impact it brings is so great that ordinary people can’t see it, and the chaos in Sishui Prefecture may really be unsolvable.”
"In this case, how could Mr. Li get the test questions!"
Xie Yanzhi was shocked when he heard such strange and unheard-of rumors, but because it was said by Xia Jingyun, he couldn't help but believe it. After thinking about it carefully, he asked worriedly: "Why do you still want to take the exam?"
Xia Jingyun smiled, "What I just said was from the highest and grandest perspective, but for each of us, the imperial examination is the most fair and clear path to advancement that we can have. I don't have Reason to refuse!"
"Forget it, why am I telling you so much about this? What I mean is that this time Qiu Wei should be very fair, and there should be no omissions or fraud. To me, , On the contrary, it’s a good thing, no one will make any extra moves, everything will only depend on the results.”
Xie Yanzhi thought about the rumors she had heard from people outside these days, and couldn't help but feel a little worried, "But I heard someone said that the young master only stayed in the state school for a few days. Could it be that he is not that good at taking exams?"
Xia Jingyun laughed, "Don't worry, it's hard to talk about other things. Compared with my ability to take exams, I have more confidence!"
Are you kidding me? It's all a matter of one night and one pen, creating a miracle. It's easy to finish reading a book three days before the exam.
What's more, in the original owner's mind, he knew all the classics and scriptures by heart, but he lacked some test-taking skills. With him, it was like a heifer meeting an elephant - ____!
After resting for a while, Xia Jingyun continued to get up and brush up on the questions. Yanzhi helped him rub his shoulders, beat his legs, and polish the ink, and he moved from the desk to the bed.
That night, Xie Yanzhi's pair of slender and beautiful legs were just like the general trend of the world. If they stay together for a long time, they will separate, and if they stay apart for a long time, they will unite.
——
Sure enough, as Xia Jingyun expected, Li Tianfeng not only failed to get the examination questions, but also had to publicly summon the gentry and hold a preparation meeting. Together with the chief and deputy examiners, he sternly stated the disciplinary requirements of this provincial examination and clearly expressed his wishes to The unhealthy tendencies and the will to engage in war for personal gain won unanimous praise and joy from the participants, especially ordinary scholars.
In a restaurant in the city, several young men from rich families gathered together. Everyone looked panicked, thinking that something was wrong with the main one.
"What should I do? How can this be serious?"
"Yes, my old man came back and told me that I was stunned and completely unprepared!"
"Is this court crazy? How can we endorse it like those mud-legged people? No distinction is made between high and low, how can it be decent!"
"That makes sense. If we stand together with them and compete, wouldn't all the hard work of our ancestors be in vain?"
"People are inherently different, so why should we pursue fairness? This kind of created fairness is itself a huge injustice!"
One of the leaders sighed, "Okay, stop talking. Talking so much won't help. Think of a solution!"
"What can be done? The old man warned me sternly. Don't cheat. This spring, we have to resign ourselves to fate!"
"That's all, I won't be able to do it this time. Let's talk about the next time. The court can't be so strict forever, otherwise, where will our dignitaries be put!"
"Well, my father also said that the imperial court will provide some quotas for Yin officials. If it continues like this next time, I will not take the imperial examination route."
At this point, everyone sighed. They thought that everything was ready. They just passed the provincial examination, got the qualification to be an official, went to Zhongjing to taste the prosperity of Zhongjing, and spent the rest of their lives hanging out and having fun in the officialdom. I wanted to have fun and enjoy my life, but I didn't expect that I would hit a ghost as soon as I went out, and my dream would die in the first step.
One person forced a smile and said, "Speaking of which, the only good news is that Xia Jingyun may not be on the list this time either."
"Yes, yes! This person is probably more panicked than us!"
Suffering is always a matter of comparison. When they thought of Xia Jingyun, everyone suddenly felt less uncomfortable.
These days, seeing the women in the city shamelessly getting in touch with each other, and some rich girls talking about Xia Jingyun, these unlearned young men have already been burning with jealousy and itching with hatred. .
"We are okay. Everyone knows that we are ignorant and have no ideas. Doesn't he claim to be the number one son of Sishui Prefecture now? I wonder what he will say after he fails the exam!"
"Yes, if we fail, people will only say that the court is indeed fair. If he fails, I'm afraid it will make everyone laugh!"
"He helped Concubine De and Zhou Mu to take away so much of my family's property. Wherever there is no need for others, I will be the first to ridicule him!"
"That's right! I saw those women shamelessly getting angry at him one by one. Why should he be a lucky person?"
"Eh? You guys think, why don't we make some arrangements and explain to him that he will be disgraced in Surabaya Prefecture! This will also ease the issue of our failure."
"Smart! Just do it!"
——
In the Su Mansion, Su Shidao directly set up a bed for Xia Jingyun in the study and asked him to sleep here for the next few days.
Su Shidao's words were very direct, fearing that he would be deceived by beauty and consume his energy.
Xia Jingyun was amused and moved. He said hello to Xie Yanzhi and started studying diligently in the study.
What he mainly thinks about is how to combine his examination skills with the current examination situation.
At the same time, he absorbed all Su Shidao’s understanding and elucidation of Confucian classics.
After Su Shidao saw Xia Jingyun's terrifying ability to summarize and absorb knowledge, he was shocked, but also with some hope, so he increased his efforts.
Just after flipping through the books one by one, it came to the day before the exam started.
Xie Yanzhi handed a big box to Xia Jingyun, with a worried look on his face, "Sir, you should take more care."
Xia Jingyun took it with a smile, stretched out his hand and caressed her face gently, "Don't worry, I'll take the test and see if there are any questions."
Xie Yanzhi also knew that it was impossible for him to go in and help, so he had no choice but to say: "Young Master, you can take the exam with peace of mind. There is no need to worry."
"Well." He then looked at Su Shidao's wife and son, "Master's wife, I'll have to ask you to take care of Rouge these days. My two brothers, I'll come drink with you after the exam."
Mrs. Su smiled kindly, "Go with ease!"
Xia Jingyun turned around, walked to Xu Dapeng, who had been waiting early, and walked into the Gongyuan with a group of students from the state school.
After a while, the search was completed, people were admitted to the palace according to their orders, the gate was locked, and then the gate of Gongyuan was slowly closed, blocking the concerned eyes.
In the 23rd year of Chongning, the Sishui Prefecture Township Examination officially began!
Four chapters, twelve thousand, no more.
Happy May Day everyone, please give me a vote!
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(End of chapter)
