Not long after, a waiter brought a glass of wine. Shen Du drank the wine in one gulp and waved to Master Tang beside him with a smile.
"You have also been awarded the title of Scholar, so you are proficient in writing. Please take a look at this article."
"Yes, Dong Weng."
Master Tang took the article from Shen Du and read it carefully. After reading it, he praised: "What a great article! It expresses one's feelings directly and has a rigorous rhythm. Reading it is like drinking sweet wine!"
Shen Du smiled and asked: "Then where do you think this article is?"
Master Tang looked hesitant: "I dare not say this."
Seeing that Master Tang didn't say anything, Shen Du didn't force it. He smiled and shook his head and said, "Since you dare not say anything, then go and ask Lu Jiaoyu to come over."
Soon, an old man in his fifties came over. This man was Lu Jiaoyu from Jiangning Prefecture. He was a Jinshi and read poetry and books.
When it comes to erudition, among all the officials in Jiangning Mansion, no one can surpass this old professor.
Shen Du picked out two articles from the papers on the case and showed them to Lu Jiaoyu, who compared them and read them carefully.
He pointed to the first article and said: "This article is strange and dangerous, and it is thrilling to read. It can be said to be a trick!"
Then he pointed to the second chapter and said: "This book is pure in theory, skillful in tone, and stable. It can be said to be the right way!"
After saying that, he looked at Shen Du and asked, "I think that these two candidates are both talented and knowledgeable enough to be the first in the case. However, they have their own strengths. It is difficult to tell Xuan Nephew apart. I still have to ask Mr. Futai to make a decision."
Shen Du smiled and said nothing, and took out another paper.
"Mr. Lu, please read this article again."
Lu Jiaoyu was a little confused, but he nodded and started reading again.
After a while, he raised his head, his eyes were bright, and he clapped his legs and exclaimed: "This article has strict rhythm and clear diction. Reading it is like reading Yu Xin's Lament for Jiangnan. It is such a good article that it is difficult not to take first place!"
Shen Du stood up and asked: "Mr. Lu, you are a famous scholar in this house. You have always read poetry and books, and your vision is far beyond ordinary people. If you look carefully, you may be able to tell which Cheng Wen this third article comes from." Suppression attack?"
Lu Jiaoyu said with a smile: "Lord Futai, you are overly worried. I have read tens of thousands of articles from this and previous dynasties, and there is absolutely no article like this among them."
After hearing these words, Shen Du's doubts disappeared.
Shen Du had actually been thinking about who to name as the culprit of the case, but he was cautious by nature, fearing that this article came from a raid, and if someone pointed it out when it was published in the title list, he would be laughed at by Shen Futai. The world is under heaven.
Therefore, he had to find the advice of the old scholar Lu who had been immersed in the scriptures for decades to close this last insurance.
Now with Lu Jiaoyu's guarantee, Shen Du was finally relieved.
After sending Lu Jiaoyu away, Shen Du sat back in front of the case again. He turned over the paper, looked at the word "Wei Chen" in the column of the candidate's name on the back, and said to himself: "If this kid is really talented, I will …”
At this point, Shen Du suddenly paused and laughed dumbly: "That's all, I am too impatient. Let's see how he writes the next few articles."
Wei Chen, who was in the audience, had no idea about this. He had already finished writing the second question. After drying the ink, he checked it carefully several times to make sure that the words and sentences were correct and the rhyme was smooth. Then he used it stroke by stroke. The pavilion style is transcribed on the paper.
After finishing this article, the remaining Five Classics questions and five-character and eight-rhyme poems were also completed in one go. At this time, most candidates were still immersed in doing the questions.
Without thinking, Wei Chen took the paper in his hand and went straight to the court.
The prefect Shen Du was sitting behind the case, and there were more than 20 officials and scribes standing on his left and right.
Several people in front of Wei Chen had already submitted their papers, and at this time, one of them was being interviewed by Shen Du.
This person is Zhou Yu, the leader of the case in Jiangpu County. He has always been a highly touted young hero in Jiangpu County. This time he is also extremely confident in the provincial examination. He feels that he will definitely win two yuan in a row and even win the championship of the province. Little three yuan.
Zhou Yu handed over the paper and smiled reservedly. Seeing that Master Futai's eyes stayed on his paper for a while longer, he felt so proud that the corner of his mouth reached his ears.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, his paper was knocked back.
The smile on Zhou Yu's face froze instantly. He opened his mouth wide and asked, "Master Futai, what does this mean?"
Shen Du didn't even raise his head and said calmly: "I won't take it."
"But I'm the chief prosecutor of the county trial!"
Mr. Zhou was shocked and angry: "According to the usual practice, the county exam chief must pass the government exam!"
Shen Du was unmoved and just said coldly: "Read the comments."
Zhou Yu looked down and saw a line of gorgeous writing on the paper: "Please come to Qin Xuanzheng, and I will admit them all."
Zhou Yu's face suddenly turned red.
It turned out that his first big topic was to suppress the Qin Xuan Zheng of Huiyuan in the reign of Zhiping from this dynasty!
This Zhou case leader was born with a good memory and had thousands of articles in his belly.
During the county examination, one of his articles was a result of the suppression, but neither the Jiangpu magistrate nor the academic officials noticed it, so no one has noticed it to this day.
That's why Zhou Yu repeated his old tricks and wanted to continue to use this opportunistic method to get through the government examination.
Unexpectedly, Shen Du saw through it at a glance.
Zhou Yu lowered his head, blushed and stuffed the test paper into his arms, saluted Mr. Futai, and then left in a hurry.
Seeing this scene, Wei Chen, who was queuing up behind, secretly rejoiced.
Fortunately, I didn't rely on my amazing memory to memorize the text blindly, otherwise I would probably end up with the same fate as the leader of this week's case.
When it was Wei Chen's turn, Wei Chen held the scroll in both hands and presented it to him. The clerk on the side took the scroll and spread it on Shen Du's case.
"Your neat and elegant style alone is enough to make you a scholar!"
Shen Du glanced at the paper and said with a smile: "I just want to ask you one question, why do you want to have a career?"
Wei Chen said loudly: "The reason why students seek help is to live up to the emperor and live up to what they have learned."
Hearing what Wei Chen said, all the officials in the hall showed looks of approval on their faces.
Nowadays, most students like to use Zhang Zihou's Four Sentences of Hengqu as their ambitions. It seems high-spirited and impassioned, but in fact it is arrogant and unreasonable.
"Establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living people, carry forward the unique teachings of the past saints, and create peace for all generations."
With such a great ambition, let alone ordinary students, how many of those heroes who can leave their names in history can achieve it?
Wei Chen's ambition does not sound as grand as Hengqu's four sentences, but it comes from the heart and is down-to-earth, which makes it easier for him to win the favor of all the officials present.
Those who excel in learning will lead to officialdom. The goal of scholars is to become an official. There is really nothing to hide.
Shen Du admired it from the bottom of his heart, but his face was calm. He picked up Wei Chen's paper and read it. He nodded happily after reading it, then picked up the ink pen and drew a few circles on several of Wei Chen's papers.
"Wei Chen, my office has already taken your article, and the ranking will be determined after the case is released."
Wei Chen raised his hands, bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Mr. Futai!"
Shen Du smiled and waved his hand: "Back off!"
Wei Chen took a few steps back facing Shen Du, then slowly turned around, held his head high, and strode away.
When he was about to go down the steps, Wei Chen looked down and saw hundreds of candidates bowing their heads at their desks, struggling to answer questions.
Wei Chen flicked his sleeves, feeling proud in his heart.
Compared with them, I am already a child!
In the courtroom, Shen Du looked at Wei Chen's retreating back, and suddenly sighed: "It's a pity that he is still young and his writing is still lacking. If one day, his writing style becomes great and unique, he will definitely become a literary sect. By then, I’m afraid scholars all over the world will rush to copy his articles!”
Everyone present was shocked when they heard Shen Du's words.
A generation of Wen Zong?
Mr. Futai’s evaluation is a bit too high!
