"Everyone has worked hard to teach me. Although I was late in the past two days, I finally finished evaluating the test papers. This time, there are still some very good scholars in Qinghe County. If they are well cultivated, they may not be unable to enter the Imperial College."
Although he had left the Imperial College, Shen Yuan still revolved around the topic of the Imperial College whenever he talked about it.
"I don't dare to praise you as an official. This matter is our own business. As long as we can select talents for the country, what's the harm in having to suffer a little more?" The ministers from several counties stood up and saluted Shen Yuan.
"Well, then... get ready to release the results!" Shen Yuan finalized the rankings and nodded, feeling that the Qinghe County test went smoothly.
So the county magistrates began to sort the list according to the order in which they were ranked. This time the list was not the final list. The list was also written with the seat number of the candidates. Only after the second and third re-examination , the candidates’ names will be written on the list when the results are finally released.
However, those whose seat numbers are not on the list for the first time are actually equivalent to being eliminated and are not eligible to participate in the second and third re-examinations.
Shen Yuan stretched out and prepared to go back to rest. He had woken up early and stayed late in the past two days. Although it was a bit hard, he finally finished all the candidates' papers as soon as possible and felt a lot more relaxed.
As he walked out of the door, Shen Yuan suddenly stopped because he had just passed the waste paper box at the door, which contained papers that were judged to be unqualified.
As the examiner, it stands to reason that you should randomly check the rejected papers to avoid any mistakes or omissions.
Of course, most of the time this won't happen. The papers are all cross-examined. After a certain group of papers is approved, the rejected papers will be handed over face down to another examiner for another review.
Therefore, there are not many cases of wrongful conviction. It can be said to be very rare.
But Shen Yuan suddenly felt that he should check these discarded papers, and he didn't have to read them all, he just needed to pick out a few randomly and look at them.
In today's terms, it is called going through the motions. There is no need to check all the random inspections. As long as Shen Yuan fulfills this procedure, then as the examiner, he has fulfilled his obligations.
So Shen Yuan came back again. When several teachers saw him coming back, they thought he had forgotten something and left it here. Unexpectedly, Shen Yuan stood next to the waste paper box at the door and started to look through it.
Upon seeing Shen Yuan's action, the expressions of two of the instructors became a little unnatural.
Shen Yuan casually flipped through a few papers. Most of them were dirty, either with ink dripping or outlining, so it was obvious that there was no need to read them. This kind of paper would be useless no matter how good the answers were. The papers were blurred, no matter what the content was. All deposed.
Shen Yuan actually just took a look around and went through this procedure. He felt relieved and could go back to sleep.
He raised his head and saw that several instructors had stopped what they were doing and looked at him. He laughed and said, "It's nothing. I just thought that I need to randomly check these deposed test papers. It's okay now. I really went back to sleep." .”
Several instructors laughed and said: "The examiner is really conscientious in everything and acts so rigorously. He should be a role model for our generation."
Shen Yuan smiled happily and was about to step out of the door when suddenly one of the papers he had turned over in the waste paper box was folded over, revealing a line of words that fell into his eyes.
"The tree's branches push the soul nine feet, and the flowers bloom across the house and make it drunk for three thousand people."
Huh?
Shen Yuan's heart moved. This was obviously an osmanthus poem, and judging from this sentence alone, it was considered a masterpiece.
I had already walked out of the door, but my mind was caught by this poem. I always wanted to see how the whole poem was written on this paper.
So he took two steps and turned back again, reached out and fished out the test paper from the waste paper box.
As soon as the paper was unfolded, the whole poem fell into his eyes:
"I resigned myself to Xi Que and went to Nanchuan, turning over the poems and ink chapters. The branches of the tree pushed the soul nine feet away, and the flowers bloomed across the country and drunk three thousand people."
"I have been a guest in the human world for a long time, and I forget to return to the Toad Palace to become the Moon Immortal. Occasionally, I see a painting with a wonderful pen, and the beauty is hidden in the water and sky."
The "Xi Que" in the first sentence refers to the origin of the osmanthus tree. The first part of the Nanshan Classic of Mountains and Seas is called Que Mountain, and the first part is called Swaggering Mountain. It is located on the West Sea and has many osmanthus trees...
It is said that since the sweet-scented osmanthus tree left Queshan, it has been spread in people's poetry and calligraphy.
Shen Yuan slapped his thigh hard and said: "What a poem!!"
Who could sit still when several teachers saw Shen Yuan coming back twice, taking out discarded test papers from the waste paper box, and praising his poems? So they gathered around.
Except for the two teachers who had evasive eyes, as soon as their eyes fell on the paper, they were immediately attracted by this osmanthus poem.
"The Jiezi pushed the soul nine feet away from the tree, which tells the story of Jiezi pushing the tree and burning himself to death." said an edict.
Jie Zitui followed Chong'er, Duke Wen of Jin, into exile for nineteen years. After finally supporting Chong'er to ascend the throne, he lived in seclusion in the mountains without receiving any rewards or salary. Duke Wen of Jin set fire to the mountain to force him out. Unexpectedly, Jie Zitu pushed and burned him to death by hugging a tree.
This poem obviously means that Jie Zitui's soul is placed on the osmanthus tree.
Another edict also said: "The flower blooms and the house is drunk with three thousand people. It is also used in the poem "Offering Money to Honor the Father" by Monk Guanxiu: the house is filled with flowers and three thousand people are drunk."
Everyone was more and more surprised as they read, what a poem! It’s really a good poem!
Compared with Wang Taihe's Osmanthus Poem that was proposed to be the first place, it is obvious that this "Osmanthus Poem" is the well-deserved first place in terms of conception and wording.
Shen Yuan glanced at the paper. It was clean and tidy, with not a single stain on it. He didn't know why this paper was rejected.
You must know that imperial examination candidates can ask for their own test papers after the results are released.
If there is no correct reason for dismissal and an examinee seizes this point to question him, it will undoubtedly be a big problem for the examiner. Once suspicion of cheating arises, he will definitely lose his job.
Not to mention, Zheng Yucheng, who resigned from Qinghe County and became an official, was suspected by the emperor because he was suspected of leaking questions to his disciples. Even though there was no evidence, he was still forced to become an official.
A layer of cold sweat broke out on Shen Yuan's back. He was secretly glad that he came back unexpectedly and saw this paper. Otherwise, once the results were released, the failed candidates would feel that there was something wrong with the paper. If they came to question them with the paper, how would they respond? ?
He had just been sent from the Imperial Academy's assistant teaching position to Yunzhou Confucian Studies, which was already a demotion. If he caused a big problem in the examination room just after he took office, it would be a mercy of the Holy Spirit not to put him in jail.
Of course, when Shen Yuan saw that there were no ink spots on the paper and that the "Osmanthus Poems" was a good one, he already guessed that there was something wrong behind the rejection of this paper, even before he read the scripture part.
But now is not the time to pursue the case, we have to read the entire paper before we talk.
