Time passed slowly like this, and in a blink of an eye, it was time for the imperial examination.
On the night before the examination, according to past practice, Yan Shifan, as the examiner of this examination, must be present in person to preside over the corresponding sacrificial ceremony in the Gongyuan to pay homage to the souls of those who died in the Gongyuan in order to pray for the examination. can proceed smoothly.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Yan Shifan immediately nodded and ordered the subordinates beside him, slowly.
"Well, we can start!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of gongs and drums, and the Gongyuan seemed quite lively, just listening to the leader singing.
"Homage to the saints, blessings are yet to come, Mount Tai is green, tall and long, Master's style, the mountains are high and the rivers are long..."
After the memorial ceremony was finished, yellow paper money was scattered everywhere in the Gongyuan to commemorate the innocent souls who died in the Gongyuan and let them spare the candidates who were about to take the exam.
After completing the above steps, it was Yan Shifan's turn as the examiner of the imperial examination.
I saw him taking three sticks of incense with curling green smoke from the hands of his subordinates, and then stepped up the steps step by step to a long table covered with red cloth. On the long table were placed three animals for sacrifice to God. Six livestock, and an incense burner.
Behind him were many officials responsible for the imperial examination.
"bye!"
As a loud voice sounded, everyone present knelt on the ground respectfully, lowered their heads, and recited the sacrificial inscriptions.
"rise!"
Following the previous sound, Yan Shifan stood up from the ground first, and after he stood up, the remaining officials also stood up one after another.
Then, Yan Shifan inserted the three incense sticks in his hand into the incense burner, took a step back, and looked solemn.
A moment later, a burst of piercing firecrackers sounded throughout the tribute courtyard, signaling the end of the sacrifice.
The sacrifice was successfully concluded, and the hearts of many officials present finally fell to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, under the guidance of their subordinates, many officials present came to the banquet that had been prepared, and had a great time. Some people told interesting stories they had encountered while invigilating exams in previous years, which made everyone laugh.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became warmer. Then, an official raised his glass and suggested this.
"I suggest that we all toast to Mr. Xiao Ge, how about that?"
Soon, the official's words were unanimously recognized by everyone. All the officials present stood up from their seats and toasted to Yan Shifan who was sitting at the top.
Yan Shifan also stood up and responded, and for a while, the atmosphere of the entire banquet was pushed to its climax.
…
At dawn, Yan Shifan was woken up by his subordinates while he was sleeping.
"Mr. Xiaoge, the candidates taking this exam are already waiting outside the Gongyuan!"
"Well, I know it. Let's officially start the search."
Yan Shifan nodded, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and gave the order.
"Yes, Mr. Xiaoge!"
After receiving Yan Shifan's instructions, the visitor immediately left the room.
At this moment, countless candidates who came to take this examination have gathered at the gate of Gongyuan.
The previous subordinate said in a deep voice immediately after receiving instructions from Yan Shifan, the chief examiner of the imperial examination.
"Get in line, the search will officially begin now!"
After hearing this, the candidates who gathered outside the Gongyuan quickly formed several long queues and began to be inspected by the officers and soldiers on site.
Yan Shifan didn't know when he came to the scene to check the situation, and saw him with his hands behind his back, looking quite leisurely.
"Well, this is no problem, pass!"
An officer and soldier said this to the official responsible for recording on the side after checking a candidate.
I saw a hint of imperceptible joy flashing in the eyes of the examinee. Just as he was getting dressed, picking up his luggage, and preparing to enter the examination room, Yan Shifan on the side suddenly called out to him.
"etc!"
Everyone at the scene was attracted by the sound, and even the officers and soldiers who were searching stopped what they were doing.
The candidate followed the call and when he saw the official uniform Yan Shifan was wearing, he was immediately frightened and froze in place, not daring to make any move.
The officer and soldier who had been responsible for searching the candidate earlier were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they quickly stepped forward and asked.
"Sir, what's the matter?"
"Unpack his luggage!"
Yan Shifan just glanced at the officers and soldiers and gave the order.
"Yes, sir!"
Facing Yan Shifan's order, the officer and soldier did not dare to show any hesitation. He snatched the luggage from the candidate's hands and rummaged through everything inside.
Then, Yan Shifan stepped forward, picked up the candle originally used for lighting, and threw it to the ground.
Soon, a note emerged from the candle that was broken into pieces.
Yan Shifan leaned down, picked up the note, and after reading the content on it, he gave instructions casually.
"Remember his name and place of origin, and he will not be allowed to take the imperial examination within five years!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, several officers and soldiers came forward, and after registering the candidate's name and place of origin, they drove him out of the Gongyuan.
With this lesson in mind, the subsequent inspections were made several times more stringent, and soon, several more candidates were discovered carrying notes!
"Old Master Xiaoge is really sharp-eyed!"
At this moment, an official who had witnessed the entire incident came forward and complimented him like this.
"Actually, it's nothing. The cheating methods of these candidates don't know how to change it a little. They just try it over and over again. It's easy to find out!"
Soon, all the candidates entered the Gongyuan after the inspection.
Immediately, a special official came forward to answer the roll call. After receiving the signature and admission ticket, you can prepare for the exam with peace of mind.
Seeing that it was almost time, Yan Shifan immediately ordered.
"Lock the courtyard!"
"Yes, Mr. Xiaoge!"
After the subordinates on the side responded, they quickly conveyed Yan Shifan's order. The gate of the Gongyuan was slowly closed. These candidates had to stay in the Gongyuan for two days and two nights before they could leave.
Soon, the test papers were handed out one after another. When the candidates saw the test questions, they all fell into deep thought. Some even broke down emotionally and began to cry uncontrollably.
I saw the question on the examination paper: "Dangdang, the people are incompetent, Weiwei, they have success, Huanhu, they have articles..."
Yan Shifan was more worried about the children's examination than the current examination. To be precise, he was more worried about Zhu Shunxian, a member of the clan who was participating in the children's examination.
Although Yan Shifan had been fully prepared before this, at this moment, he still felt a little uneasy and said silently to himself.
"You have to take the exam well. If you don't ask for anything else, you just need to write your name on the exam paper!"
…
Perhaps sensing Yan Shifan's prayer, at this moment, Zhu Shunxian, who was writing furiously in the examination room, suddenly stopped answering. This scene frightened the official in charge of the invigilation, and he quickly stepped forward to ask about his situation.
Zhu Shun shook his head first and then spoke.
"It doesn't matter, I just want to hand in the paper in advance!"
After hearing this, the official in charge of the exam was relieved. After carefully collecting the answer sheet that Zhu Shunxian handed in, he took him to the designated room to rest according to the established procedure.
The next step is a series of processes. After the test papers are copied and copied, they are then handed over to officials for review.
However, after the official responsible for the anonymous copying saw the three characters Zhu Shunxian written on the examination paper, he drew an inconspicuous circle on the copied examination paper.
Immediately, the copied test papers were sent to the official responsible for reviewing the test papers for review.
The officials responsible for reviewing the examination papers immediately began to spare no effort to search for the marked examination paper after receiving it.
"I found it!"
An excited voice was heard, and upon seeing this, the other officials responsible for reviewing the examination papers gathered around him.
The examination paper in the hands of this official was the one that had been marked. At the same time, this was also Zhu Shunxian's examination paper.
(End of chapter)
