As soon as Xiang Nan stopped watching, the intensity of the officers and soldiers' inspections suddenly became much lighter.
When it was Du Xiaoyue's turn, she quickly thrust a piece of silver into the hands of the inspecting officers and soldiers while no one was paying attention.
The officers and soldiers were stunned for a moment, glanced at each other, and then winked, "Hurry up and get in."
Du Xiaoyue then walked into the examination room triumphantly.
After Du Xiaoyue successfully passed the customs, Xiang Nan returned to Gaotai.
The soldiers' inspections became strict again.
In a moment, more than ten candidates were identified and tied together in shackles in front of the gate of Gongyuan, howling in public.
Their shrill screams could be heard clearly even in the Gongyuan, which was frightening and chilling.
…
After the inspection is completed, the exam officially begins.
Xiang Nan led local officials to inspect room after room to see if there were any cheating candidates.
I saw that the candidates were all in various shapes, some were writing furiously, some were dumbfounded, some were crying, some were scratching their heads and ears...
At this moment, a candidate suddenly stood up with a loud smile and said, "I am the number one scholar, I am the number one scholar, I am the number one scholar, I have passed the exam~" His words were nonsense and he looked like he was crazy.
The officers and soldiers immediately stepped forward and pulled him out.
"Well, Mr. Wu Jingzi wrote an article in "The Scholars", in which there was a story about Fan Jin who went crazy after winning the imperial examination." Xiang Nan sighed, "This is good, he has already gone crazy before he won the exam."
Wu Zui nodded in agreement.
Xiang Nan smiled and continued walking forward, and saw Du Xiaoyue sitting in the room, looking around at a loss.
Du Xiaoyue wanted to take advantage of the imperial examination to complain to the superiors and redress her grievances. She knew that this year was the Queen Mother's birthday, so she specially invited Enke to take the post. The imperial court also attached great importance to it and sent important ministers to inspect it.
The one who came to Yunzhou Mansion was Ji Xiaolan, an upright official with a reputation for being clean and honest.
Therefore, she took part in the imperial examination under a false name, hoping to attract Ji Xiaolan's attention and help them redress their grievances.
But she didn't know a word of Chinese characters, and she didn't know how to write a petition, so she was like an ant on a hot pot, panicking.
…
"Haha, this candidate is so nervous that he doesn't even know how to hold the pen?" Xiang Nan smiled and stepped forward, "Come on, come on, come on, calm down, don't rush, take your time!"
As he spoke, he corrected the way Du Xiaoyue held the pen.
"Who are you?" Du Xiaoyue was upset and said angrily because she thought he was nosy.
"Don't be presumptuous. This is Lord Ji Yunji who came to the capital to study politics." Seeing her disrespect, Wu Zui immediately stepped forward and scolded her.
"Are you Ji Xiaolan, known as Ji Da Yandian?" Du Xiaoyue's eyes lit up when she heard this.
"Oh, you know me?" Xiang Nan smiled.
"Of course. Ji Xiaolan has a big gong tied to her feet, and it will ring wherever she goes~" Du Xiaoyue nodded.
"Ha, it's nice to flatter you, but it's useless. I will still judge the papers impartially and will not engage in malpractice for personal gain." Xiang Nan said with a smile.
"Mr. Ji, are you smart?" Du Xiaoyue suddenly asked.
"You asked me if I was smart, haha~" Xiang Nan laughed.
"You really don't know how high the sky is. Master Ji is the most talented person in the world~" Wu Zui stepped forward and flattered him.
"I Mochou wrote the paper, I'm afraid you can't understand it." Du Xiaoyue said coldly.
"Can't you understand?! Is there any article in the world that I, Ji Xiaolan, can't understand? Let me tell you, as long as the paper is written with this ink, I can understand it." Xiang Nan laughed.
"Written in blood, do you understand?" Du Xiaoyue said coldly, with sharp eyes, implying murderous intent.
Xiang Nan smiled and said, "I, Ji Xiaolan, have a public heart and seek talents for the country. I can understand any paper."
Du Xiaoyue's eyes lit up when she heard this.
…
After Xiang Nan left with Wu Zui and others, Du Xiaoyue took out a dagger from her waist, cut her middle finger and wrote several words of injustice on the paper.
Xiang Nan originally wanted to come back to Du Xiaoyue and have contact with her. However, he was an imperial envoy with a high position and Wu Zui and other local officials were eager to fawn over him and served him attentively. People followed him wherever he went, so Xiang Nan had no choice but to give up.
After the provincial examination, he began to mark the papers with the examiners.
With Ji Xiaolan's knowledge, it is naturally easy to tell whether a candidate's article is well written or not.
Therefore, Xiang Nan's grading is also very fair and neat.
"Bullshit article, it doesn't hit the mark!", "This article is pretty good, but it's a pity that this one bad word doesn't hit the mark!"
During the comment room, an official suddenly walked in and said, "Master Ji, Prefect Wu invites you to a banquet."
"Going to the banquet?!" Xiang Nan was stunned, knowing that Wu Zui was flattering him again, and he would meet Du Xiaoyue again at this banquet.
However, Qianlong and He Shen would also appear at the banquet. Seeing that he and Du Xiaoyue were having fun together, they would be furious and dismiss them from their posts.
Therefore, this banquet is the Hongmen Banquet. But if he didn't go, he wouldn't be able to get to know Du Xiaoyue. Moreover, Qianlong removed him from his position to facilitate his thorough investigation into the case of local officials secretly dividing food for disaster relief.
Therefore, even if he did not fool around with Du Xiaoyue, Qianlong would use other excuses to remove him from his position. So after thinking about it, Xiang Nan decided to go to the banquet.
But on the surface, he still had to evade, "I won't go. I'm still busy reviewing papers. There may be pillars of the country here, how can I leave without permission."
"Master Ji, in order to entertain you, Magistrate Wu invited the best actors in Yunzhou to sing in the hall." The official persuaded with a smile.
"The best actor? What's his name?" Xiang Nan asked.
"Du Xiaoyue! Her singing of "The Legend of White Snake" is the best in Yunzhou City." The official explained with a smile.
"Du Xiaoyue?! I haven't heard of it. Go back to Magistrate Wu for me." Xiang Nan waved his hand again.
When the officials saw this, they had no choice but to give up.
…
As soon as the official left, an invigilator hurriedly walked in and said, "Sir, a strange paper has been published. Please come and take a look."
Xiang Nan immediately followed him to the transcription room, and the transcription officer handed an examination paper to him.
Xiang Nan unfolded it and saw seven or eight large and small words of injustice written in blood on the scroll. Shocking and chilling!
"Whose paper is this?" he asked knowingly.
"There is no name on the paper." All the examiners shook their heads.
"Oh, I remembered, this person's name is Mochou." Xiang Nan asked and answered, "Come on, search the whole city immediately, and we must bring Mochou to justice."
"Sir Ji, a few days ago, the prefect arrested an important criminal, named Mochou." An official frowned, "But she is in prison now and cannot come to take the exam."
"It seems that someone is pretending to be someone else." Another official frowned, "It will be difficult to find the real culprit."
"Master Ji, it is treacherous for Enke to present such a paper. Not only the candidates will be beheaded, but we officials will also be seated." The invigilator frowned.
"I know this." Xiang Nan nodded, "What else do you have to say?"
"Burn this paper, and we will replace it with other articles. As long as he is not allowed to win, and the situation is calm, it will be over." The copyist suggested.
Everyone nodded.
If Enke takes up an official position and commits such a treasonous act, he will be beheaded. They, the examiners, will also be implicated, and even demotion and dismissal are minor. Even beheading, confiscating the army, and confiscating homes are quite possible, so minimizing major issues and minimizing them is the best way.
"Everyone, have you ever thought about it, this person would rather risk beheading to write this article. If he didn't have a huge injustice, how could he take such a risk." Xiang Nan sighed and said, "Okay, everyone, Ji Xiaolan is responsible for this matter. Come and prepare the sedan, I'm going to the government office to watch a play! Hey, I didn't expect that I can't escape the right and wrong after leaving the capital!"
