Xiao Jing drank tea.
Mou Bin said: "It seems that Mr. Zhang was right. Mr. Li Ge did not raise any doubts due to the lack of words or unclear sentences. Instead, he chose papers with neat articles."
Xiao Jing curled his lips slightly and said: "Mr. Li Ge's direction is always right. If it is cheating in the examination, but even the basic articles are nonsense, then what is the point of cheating? Look at the four papers selected, three of them are The one who has been selected, or who Mr. Li Ge wants to catch among them!"
"As long as there is no Mr. Zhang," Mou Bin said intentionally or unintentionally.
Xiao Jing stopped drinking tea and looked sideways at Mou Bin.
Although the words are simple, they are the truth.
No matter who he involves, as long as Zhang Zhou is not involved and His Majesty can do the job, won't my mission be completed?
After a long time.
Liu Chun, the editor of Hanlin, came over and reported: "Eunuch Xiao, Commander Mou, the opening of the seal has been completed. Mr. Li Ge invites you to come over."
"Let's go!" Xiao Jing took Mou Bin to the marking room.
…
…
Marking room.
Li Dongyang only called a few of his fellow examiners to come, and they were all the kind who were relatively knowledgeable and generally didn't like to be the thorn in the side. It was equivalent to having the examiner present and speaking clearly in person, but someone couldn't always interrupt when he was speaking.
"Mr. Li Ge, what do you think? Do the four selected examination papers involve anyone suspected of being guilty by Hua Chang?" Xiao Jing asked with a smile.
He also emphasized that both Hua Chang participated and was "suspected of being guilty", which reminded Li Dongyang that Zhang Zhou had been excluded from the vend case by the emperor. If Zhang Zhou is really involved, you should consider the consequences of involving him. Consequences, don’t cause trouble for everyone.
Li Dongyang cupped his hands and said, "Not yet."
Xiao Jing smiled when he heard this.
Under the condition of anonymity, only four questionable papers were selected from four to five thousand examination papers. They were not familiar with the writing style of the three people and wanted to involve any one of Zhang Zhou, Tang Yin and Xu Jing. The probability of "winning" is too low.
Li Dongyang asked: "Now that the seal has been opened, should I fill in the list accordingly?"
"Wait a moment." Xiao Jing said, "Mr. Li Ge, there are still two days until the results are released. It won't be too late to fill in the results tomorrow. Our family would like to inform His Majesty first. Can you please write a letter in your name first?" Are you here to state this matter?"
Li Dongyang looked at the fellow examiners he had called over to observe, and suddenly felt that it was inappropriate to ask someone else to come.
It seems that many things are really suitable to discuss with Xiao Jing alone.
"The matter of filling in the questionnaire has been postponed until tomorrow. You all should go back and rest first. After filling in the questionnaire tomorrow, you can come out of the curtain."
When the inner curtain officer completes his task, he does not have to wait until the list is released. He only needs to fill in the list, hand it over to the Ministry of Rites, and make a report, and their work will be completed.
Many people originally thought that the grading that had been postponed for several days would finally be over, and they could leave today. Who knew that they would have to wait another day, which was actually just waiting for Xiao Jing to ask the emperor for instructions.
…
…
Back in private.
Li Dongyang did not shy away from asking Xiao Jing what he meant.
Xiao Jing said: "Mr. Li Ge, you are highly respected and are still the examiner of this examination. You and Bachelor Cheng are still presiding over this examination of the Ministry of Etiquette. There are some words for you to say, which are more appropriate than others."
Li Dongyang understood immediately that Xiao Jing's intention was for him to "intercede" with Cheng Minzheng as a cabinet minister.
Although he did not want to embarrass Cheng Minzheng, he did not say that he would stand up for Cheng Minzheng.
From his point of view, with the matter so heated, who knows whether Cheng Minzheng is really involved in the issue? Why should I speak for him?
"Mr. Li Ge, haven't we still found no evidence so far?" Xiao Jing said with a smile.
Li Dongyang nodded: "Then it's just that there is no evidence to prove it?"
"That's probably it." Xiao Jing thought to himself, it's rare for you, Li Bin, to be enlightened. Is it so difficult for you to write a memorial that "has no evidence"?
Li Dongyang said: "Then I will tell you the truth, but Eunuch Xiao, I still have a doubt, why don't you do a re-examination after opening the seal? Now, two of the three candidates involved have already passed the exam. Among them, I’m afraid it’s not easy to just put things to rest, isn’t it?”
Xiao Jing smiled and shook his head: "Your Majesty's instructions will be communicated to our family. The details will depend on His Majesty's instructions. Just complete your own work. Before filling in the results tomorrow, there may be a court meeting to discuss this matter. Why should you be anxious?"
Li Dongyang was quite stubborn at first, but when he thought that the emperor might go to the court to discuss the matter and let the ministers give their opinions before filling out the list and releasing it, he suddenly felt a little more balanced.
Then he followed Xiao Jing's "prompt" and wrote a report on the lack of evidence regarding the vend case.
…
…
Inside the palace.
Zhu Youtang summoned Zhang Zhou, nominally to talk about the examination questions, but after the meeting, Zhu Youtang seemed to have completely forgotten about this matter, and only discussed health preservation with Zhang Zhou.
He also asked Zhang Zhou about the way of heaven, heaven's secrets, heavenly aspects and other matters, and the three words were inseparable from "heaven". Probably what Zhu Youtang is most afraid of now is heaven, and he regards Zhang Zhou as half an envoy of heaven.
"The progress of the prince's studies has been slow recently, and he has no time to study. I have gone to supervise many times, but with little effect." Zhu Youtang said, "After the examination, you can go to the palace more often if you have time. I think Let you be his husband as soon as possible."
Zhu Youtang has high expectations for his son.
But Zhu Houzhao is obviously not a serious study material. It doesn't matter how fast Zhu Houzhao learns, he will always be different from the emperor's expectations. In addition, Zhu Houzhao's naughty nature will make his father feel that his son is incompetent.
Zhang Zhou was engaged in education in his previous life.
I also understand some paradoxes in family education. When a father always thinks that his son is on a "path of no return" because his son's work habits are different from his own, but when the son educates his grandson, the same situation will occur again. .
The father always lives in his own stubbornness, thinking that being like himself is the "right" thing, but those sons who are ineffective in the eyes of the father have supported the progress of the times and passed on the human race.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Xiao is back." A young eunuch came in to announce.
Only then did Zhu Youtang remember what he had asked Zhang Zhou to do today, and waved his hand: "Let him come in."
Then he saw Xiao Jing trotting all the way into the Qianqing Palace. When he first saw Zhu Youtang and Zhang Zhou sitting side by side, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Xiao Jing said happily: "Your Majesty, the inner curtain has been opened and the results are out. Mr. Zhang is among the winners."
"call……"
When Zhu Youtang heard this, he seemed to be completely relieved.
Finally, there is no need for Zhang Zhou to enter the court as a tribute, which means that Zhang Zhou is now considered a Jinshi.
"Bingkuan, congratulations." Zhu Youtang smiled and said congratulations.
Only Zhang Zhou didn't think things were that easy, but he also understood that no matter whether he won the Jinshi or not, he would easily fall into the whirlpool of public opinion. It was better to win than not.
Dai Yi asked: "What's the number?"
Xiao Jing smiled slightly. Dai Yi, Chen Kuan and others thought that the ranking was not good, but Xiao Jing said: "Nangong is number one."
"..." Dai Yi looked a little embarrassed and looked back at Zhu Youtang.
Zhu Youtang didn't think this was a bad thing at all. Instead, he got up and walked to Zhang Zhou and patted Zhang Zhou on the shoulder: "It's okay to be ranked first in Nangong. If you perform normally in the palace examination, you will be ranked first in the province." Let me plan it for you."
In fact, it is not a surprise that Jieyuan, who took the Jiangnan Provincial Examination, came first in the examination.
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, thank God and earth, thank God for allowing me to come to Ming Dynasty to experience the life of the ancients...
Zhang Zhou first made some speeches in his mind about becoming a Jinshi, and then asked: "What about Tang Yin and Xu Jing?"
Only then did Zhu Youtang realize that Zhang Zhouzhong's failure to win the imperial examination was not the main point. He should quickly calm down the public opinion about the examination questions. He also asked: "Will the two of them be selected?"
Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, Tang Yin is ranked thirteenth, and Xu Jing is not among the selected candidates."
"oh."
Zhu Youtang nodded.
He heard that Tang Yin also won the tribute award, and he looked a little hesitant. Obviously he didn't think it was a good thing that Tang Yin won the tribute award. Tang Yin was being regarded as the focus of public opinion outside. At this time, Tang Yin was selected. Doesn't it mean that there may be something between Tang Yin and Cheng Minzheng? Something fishy?
Zhang Zhou said: "Tang Yin's talent is pretty good, and he also had some time to calm down before the exam, so he could prepare for the exam with peace of mind."
Zhu Youtang nodded: "It's not unusual for Yayuan to be ranked 13th in the Jiangnan Provincial Examination. But in this case, it seems difficult to clear the suspicion."
Xiao Jing hurriedly presented Li Dongyang's memorial and said: "Your Majesty, this is the memorial written by Mr. Li Ge in the inner curtain about Cheng Minzheng. Please read it."
"bring here."
Zhu Youtang took the memorial directly and read it on the spot.
After reading it, he handed the memorial to Zhang Zhou and said, "Bingkuan, take a look at it too."
Zhang Zhou read the above content. Li Dongyang not only stated that there was no evidence for Cheng Minzheng's question, but also mentioned that Tang Yin was famous on the list, mostly because of his talent and learning. In the investigation of the Four Books and the Five Classics, there were no obvious omissions in talent and learning. or deviation…
The general meaning is that he did not answer the questions asked by Li Dongyang poorly, but he answered the questions asked by Cheng Minzheng exceptionally well.
The standards that Li Dongyang told Xiao Jing before were all deception. The most important thing is actually this one, but Li Dongyang cannot directly tell Xiao Jing which questions are from him and which questions are from Cheng Minzheng.
Xiao Jing said: "After the inner curtain is opened and sealed, filling in the list will be postponed in advance. After requesting His Majesty's order, the list can be filled in tomorrow, and the list can be published the next morning."
Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Zhou and said seriously: "Bingkuan, do you think Tang Yin should be deposed to quell the scholars' objections?"
Zhang Zhou put down the memorial and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the reason?"
"There is no need for a reason." Zhu Youtang said, "The imperial examination is based on articles, and the likes and dislikes of the examiners are often suspected of being unfair and biased. If Tang Yin is deposed alone, he can calm the opinions of the scholars and get what he wants. "
(End of chapter)
