Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 147 The Forgotten Test Paper
Zhou Zhen is a skinny old man, about fifty years old, with sallow skin and unremarkable appearance. He looks like an old farmer, but he is a well-known Confucian in Qizhou.

This time, he was transferred to Pingjiang Mansion by the court's Ministry of Rites to serve as the chief examiner of the examination, and he was under a lot of pressure. After all, Pingjiang Mansion has a large number of talents, so he was afraid that he would be ridiculed if he judged poorly.

So he has two principles in reviewing the papers this time.

The first is the principle of being as cautious as possible. Be cautious, cautious, and cautious again, and you must never misjudge a candidate.

The second is the principle of trusting colleagues, try to respect the scoring and judgment of the examiner and the deputy chief examiner, discuss with everyone if there is anything, and abandon the personal arbitrary style.

It is his two principles that have won everyone's respect for him.

At this time, Zhou Zhen was paying full attention to reviewing the test papers. Each test paper had a score, including two examiners and two assistant examiners.

At this stage of marking papers, the chief examiner is really in a dilemma. Almost every one of the remaining [-] test papers can pass the solution test, but the chief examiner has to eliminate half of them. It seems cruel, but there is nothing to do. places.

At this time, someone knocked on the door, Zhou Zhen put down his pen and said, "Come in!"

The door opened, Zhang Ruoying and Yue Qing walked into the room, Zhou Zhen chuckled and said, "Is there something wrong with the two teachers?"

"Just now I heard from Yang Jiaoyu that he counted the boy's test papers, and it seems that the number is wrong. We want to count again."

Zhou Zhen was a little surprised, but he still nodded in agreement. He knew very well that the boy test involved the vital interests of the counties and the achievements of the officials. It was extraordinary, and he understood the feelings of the two of them.

On Zhou Zhen's desk, in addition to the test papers for hundreds of ordinary adults, there is also a stack of test papers for boys.

Zhou Zhen pointed to the boy's test paper and said, "It's all here, I haven't touched it yet, you two feel free to count it!"

Zhang Ruoying was not polite, and gave half of the paper to Yue Qing. The two counted it twice, Zhang Ruoying said: "I have 26 copies here, what about yours?"

"I have 23 here!"

The faces of the two of them changed, and they really lost a share.

Zhou Zhen also saw a clue. It seems that one of the test papers is missing. What's going on?

Zhang Ruoying flipped through it again, and the two exchanged glances, and it turned out that the paper was gone.

Zhang Ruoying was very annoyed. After all, he was also the teacher of the government school, and the majestic deputy examiner did such a despicable little trick. Is it interesting?

Yue Qing knew Zhang Ruoying very well. He has a big temper, a straightforward personality, and speaks mercilessly. Afraid that Zhang Ruoying would say something unpleasant, Yue Qing said to Zhou Zhen first: "There was a boy's test paper before, and the deputy chief examiner Zhang said to take it and read it carefully." Look, I guess he forgot, it should still be with him."

"is it?"

Zhou Zhen actually heard some rumors that the deputy chief examiner Zhang did not have a good reputation. Many people said that he lacked a teacher's morality, and that he was missing a paper for the boy's test. It seems that this matter is not as simple as forgetting. What grievances are hidden.

Zhou Zhen walked to the door and said loudly, "Deputy Chief Zhang, please come over for the exam."

Not long after, Zhang Xian walked over with a smile. He glanced at Zhang Ruoying and Yue Qing, and pretended to be surprised: "Why are the two professors here?"

Zhang Ruoying kept a gloomy face and said nothing, Yue Qing said with a smile: "We wanted to take another look at the previous paper, but found it wasn't here, last time it was borrowed by Zhang Jiaoyu..."

Zhang Xian slapped his forehead, "Oh! It's in my drawer. I actually forgot it. Seeing my memory, I almost broke something. I'll get it right away."

Zhang Xian left in a hurry, Zhou Zhen was also a man of sophistication, how could he not see Zhang Xian's exaggerated expression.

Zhang Xian withheld the paper secretly, obviously not wanting this candidate to stand out.

At this moment, Zhou Zhen was a little interested in this candidate, and he actually made the dignified deputy chief examiner do such a dirty thing.

Not long after, Zhang Xian took the examination paper and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry to be mixed with a bunch of failed papers!"

Zhang Ruoying didn't bother to pay attention to him, turned around and left, Yue Qing smiled, "Then don't disturb Chief Examiner Zhou, let's leave first!"

He also followed out. Zhou Zhen took the paper, looked at the scores on it, and said with a smile: "Both examiners gave top grades, and the chief examiner Zhang gave top grades. It seems that there are still not enough grades for the chief examiner. I Take a look first, I will send it to the chief examiner Qi later, and there will be nothing else, please make a trip to the chief examiner Zhang."

Zhang Xian couldn't hide the embarrassment on his face. He didn't know that this paper was Fan Ning's examination paper, but he could see that this examination paper was answered by the county magistrate of Wu County.

Although he is a teacher of the prefectural school, he is partial to Changzhou County. Besides, his brother's reputation in Wuxian County has been discredited, and he is unwilling to let this Wu County magistrate be qualified as a tribute.

It's a pity that he is not the main examiner. If he is the main examiner, he will definitely be the first to clear this paper.

"Where! Where! The examiner is busy first, so I'm going back."

He exited the room and thought for a moment. This matter had to be told to several reviewers in Changzhou County. When Wen County Magistrate asked about it, he could have an explanation.

He also turned and walked away quickly.

． ． ． ． ． ． ． ．
It was the last day of examination papers, and the restaurants in Changzhou were bustling again. Many scholars who returned home after the examination returned to Changzhou County on this day.

The discussion questions and countermeasure questions explained this time are all relatively easy to play, which makes the candidates generally feel good.

Every candidate is waiting in Changzhou County with hope, waiting for the moment when the rankings will be released tomorrow.

Fan Ning no longer lives in Qiuye Temple, but lives in Dong Kun's home.

Dong Kun's uncle is Dong Qian, the magistrate of Pingjiang. His father was an editor of the History Museum in the imperial court. He belonged to the Qingshui official and had no real power.

Dong Kun's father gave birth to two Jinshi, which made Mrs. Dong honorable for more than ten years in the second half of his life.

But it also brings tremendous pressure to the juniors.

"My uncle and my father are both Jinshi. If you say that I can't pass the exam, what do my family think of me?"

Dong Kun was really restless these two days. At first he thought he did well in the exam, but yesterday he suddenly found out that he had made a low-level mistake in the question of the silent scriptures. He missed a few words and gave him a heavy blow. It frustrates him.

Dong Kun knew in his heart that the competition for this solution test was fierce, and he was likely to miss out on Juren.

Fan Ning understood his annoyance, and comforted him with a smile: "You are only 15 years old, and your father was admitted to Jinshi at the age of 30. Do you want to surpass your father at the age of 15?"

"I don't want to surpass my father, but at least I can pass the test!"

"Since you don't want to surpass your father, then what's the point of you passing the test, why don't you fail in the capital next year?

I think it’s not a bad thing if you don’t pass the solution test this time. I’ll give you three years to consolidate your foundation. Like Lin Hong, your foundation is relatively weak. The basics are ignored. "

"Well said!" came a compliment from behind.

Fan Ning turned around, and saw a 45-year-old middle man walking behind him. He was tall and fair-skinned. His eyebrows and eyes were vaguely similar to Dong Kun's. He also had a square face, but his eyes were sharper.

He was wearing a half-worn white gown with a leather belt around his waist and a gauze cap on his head. He moved his hands and feet with a calm and gentle look.

Dong Kun got up quickly and whispered, "Uncle!"

It turned out that this middle-aged man was Dong Qian, the prefect of Pingjiang, and it was the first time Fan Ning had seen him.

He hastily bowed and saluted, "Junior Fan Ning sees Uncle Dong!"

Dong Qian nodded and smiled gently: "You are Fan Ning, I have heard your name for a long time!"

Before Fan Ning could speak modestly, he waved his hand, "Sit down!"

Fanning sat down.

Dong Kun didn't dare to sit down, and stood aside with his hands down.

Dong Qian smiled and said: "I have a good relationship with Ouyang Xiu. He wrote to me two years ago, asking me to take care of you. I have been paying attention to you. In fact, you don't need my care. You have performed very well yourself."

Fan Ning was stunned. It turned out that the prefect Dong also knew about his stay in the capital. He quickly glanced at Dong Kun and saw that his expression was calm and he was not surprised by his uncle's words.

Fan Ning couldn't help but secretly sighed in his heart, these officials and eunuchs were all very honest, and they clearly knew their own details, but they never mentioned it.

Dong Qian saw the emotions in Fan Ning's heart, and he smiled slightly: "Don't blame Junior Brother Dong, I forbid him to talk nonsense, and there is a marriage between the Dong family and the Zhu family, I think you don't know."

Fan Ning knew about this, and Zhu Pei told him that judging from this marriage, Zhu Pei became Dong Qian's elder.

Fan Ning smiled, "Everyone has their own secrets, I won't blame Junior Brother Dong."

"Fan Ning, you are very angry, even wiser and calmer than an adult, and you have a perception that is different from ordinary people, am I right!"

Fan Ning's heart was pounding suddenly. What did Zhifu Dong mean by this? Did he know that he could predict the future?

"I don't understand what Dong Zhifu is referring to?"

"I'm talking about betting!"

Dong Qian smiled slightly, "You not only won the county test questions, but also the countermeasure questions for this test, which is amazing!"

Fan Ning felt relieved. It turned out that he was referring to betting questions. He smiled and shook his head, "The county test questions are not actually betting. He has a good relationship with me and gave me a hint of the Dragon Boat Festival."

"What about solving the test questions? How do you explain it?" Dong Qian still asked with a smile.

"Nowadays, the emperor is very concerned about the people's livelihood. Under the influence of the emperor, the government's examinations in various places will also be biased towards the people's livelihood. I found that the Pingjiang government's examinations have not been tested to persuade farmers for ten years, so I boldly speculate that this year's countermeasures will involve agriculture. It can be said that I guessed it by luck.”

Dong Qian laughed loudly, "How can there be so many lucky things in the world, how about you get lucky and guess the solution to the test questions three years later?"

Before Fan Ning could answer, he waved his hands and said with a smile: "Just kidding, the list will be released tomorrow. I have a hunch that you will definitely be on the list tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)