After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 695 Meeting with Prefect Xin

Before General Zhou returned to Chang'an, the results of the military examination were announced.

The result was as Haijiao expected. He was second, Zhou Yijun was at the top, and Tang Meng was third.

The military examination in Shaanxi was not as complicated as the civil examination, and there were no problems. All candidates who participated in the provincial examination, the government, the army, and the people all recognized the list. Those who intended to go to Beijing to participate in the joint examination immediately began to contact each other and prepare to go to Beijing together; and the new military candidates who had no intention of going to Beijing also began to use their personal connections to try to seek a good position in the local army.

Amidst all the noise, some people noticed that the rumor that the chief examiner of the provincial examination for liberal arts had temporarily dismissed a candidate he disliked after announcing the names and opening the envelopes had unknowingly spread in Chang'an City.

Most people don't know the name of the candidate who was originally on the list but was eliminated after the names were revealed. They only know that there was such an unlucky guy. As for the reason why the examiner eliminated him, most people who know the reason will only say that the candidate is still young and the examiner hopes that he can remain humble and studious, and not be proud and complacent because of his success at a young age and lose his ambition. However, in fact, few people believe this statement. Everyone thinks that this is just a high-sounding cliché from the examiner to fool people. In fact, he deliberately wants to eliminate this person.

All the young talents who had always been famous for their talents but failed in this provincial examination were suspected to be the unlucky one, and Jin Shan from the Jin family was the most popular one. Especially when an examiner revealed that the rejected candidate's surname was Jin, people became more and more convinced that Jin Shan was the unlucky one. Some people even suspected that the examiner might have deliberately kicked him out of the list because he hated the Jin family's tradition and disliked Jin Shan's romantic and talented style. No one suspected the emperor in the capital.

Jin Shan himself didn't say anything, but his family members didn't know what they were thinking. They probably thought that if Jin Shan failed the exam because the examiner deliberately made things difficult for him, it would sound better than if he failed the exam because of his lack of talent and knowledge. So they deliberately said some ambiguous words in front of others, making people sigh and regret for Jin Shan's failure. He was almost considered to have run out of talent and his reputation was not as good as before, but now he has become a hot topic in the city. People began to talk about his experiences in recent years and the incident with the Tang family more than four years ago. Fortunately, Tang Hui had followed her husband Tang Sujun to the border town, so she was spared from becoming the center of gossip again.

The Tang family cursed the Jin family privately, believing that the Jin family deliberately fanned the flames and had ulterior motives. They did want to persuade the examiners to clarify the truth. After all, according to the information they had inquired about, Jin Shan's score was far from passing the imperial examination, and he was not the only candidate with the surname Jin who failed. However, the main examiners of this provincial examination were willing to say nothing, and when asked by relatives and friends, they would only say "it was not me" but refused to explain the truth.

The real instigator, Prefect Xin, was even more silent and busy with official duties, as if he had never presided over the latest Shaanxi provincial examination. If someone mentioned the rumors in front of him, he would frown and change the subject, making people think that he was unhappy because the rumors questioned the fairness of the provincial examination and affected his reputation, and he dared not mention it again.

At this time, Jin Jiashu, the candidate who was unfairly eliminated, visited Governor Xin.

He came to thank Prefect Xin for ranking him first on the vice-list, and also wanted to ask Prefect Xin whether he should go to the prefectural school to study and further improve himself?
Jin Jiashu's attitude was humble enough, as if he didn't know that he was kicked out of the provincial examination list by Xin Zhifu. He looked at Xin Zhifu with respect and admiration, as if he was facing a respected teacher in the literary world. Xin Zhifu was a little wary at first, but as he talked with Jin Jiashu, he gradually relaxed, believing that Ma Shangyi, who had guessed the truth, might have kept it from Jin Jiashu for the sake of the child's character.

He began to like this young man, thinking that he was a humble and studious boy. Such a good boy should have passed the imperial examination, but was dismissed for no reason because of him. Prefect Xin felt very guilty. But he could only obey the emperor's order. This young man was good in every way, but he was unlucky that his aunt married into the palace as a concubine and was counted as a foreign relative by the emperor. Because the emperor was afraid that another Sun Ge Lao would gain power and control the government by relying on his foreign relative status, he had to be on guard against even the young man who had just passed the provincial examination. Prefect Xin secretly sighed that the emperor was too wary of foreign relatives, and at the same time felt sorry for Jin Jiashu. Jin Jiashu intended to continue his studies in the prefectural school and strive to get good grades in the next provincial examination. He naturally agreed, and took the initiative to introduce several scholars in the prefectural school, reminding Jin Jiashu to ask them for advice after entering the school.

Jin Jiashu had not had much contact with Xin Zhifu before, but this time he visited Xin Zhifu and successfully became a junior whom Xin Zhifu admired. He was not only invited to stay for lunch, but also chatted for a long time after dinner until sunset. When he left, he also took the collection of essays written by Xin Zhifu when he was young, and was allowed to borrow books from Xin's house at any time. Xin Zhifu only lamented that his son was not at home today, otherwise he would definitely let his son make friends with a smart and studious junior like Jin Jiashu.

No one knew what Jin Jiashu said to Prefect Xin during their casual chat. Two days later, after class, Wu Ke mentioned to his teacher Xie Wenzai that he might have to meet the daughter of the Xin family.

Wu Ke was originally dissatisfied with Prefect Xin for preventing him from entering the Imperial College, but now that he has the hope of entering the prefectural school and Prefect Xin is willing to marry his beloved daughter to him, he has put all these dissatisfactions behind him. He was still a little embarrassed in front of Xie Wenzai: "The Duke's wife said that Prefect Xin probably had this plan a long time ago, but he had to preside over the provincial examination, and I was a candidate in this provincial examination, so he was afraid of being suspected of being inappropriate, so he postponed it until the provincial examination was over. He canceled this year's deputy tribute, also because he was afraid of being gossiped about. However, Prefect Xin is a minister that the emperor needs to use, and he is in the emperor's heart. If I can marry his eldest daughter, there will be someone to speak well of our Wu family in front of the emperor in the future, and the emperor's previous misunderstandings about our Wu family will be cleared up soon."

After listening to this, Xie Wenzai frowned slightly and said calmly: "Since the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo thinks this marriage is suitable for you, then you should take a good look at it and don't let Lord Xin find fault with the Wu family's upbringing. But you don't have to be too humble. Duke Wu Wen'an was very famous during his lifetime and he is the father of Queen Wu. Even the emperor's important ministers have no capital to be arrogant in front of you. You just need to act according to the etiquette, but don't let people look down on the Wu family."

Wu Ke knew that the teacher was reminding him not to lose the reputation of the Wu family for the sake of this marriage, so he quickly agreed.

He didn't know that after he left, Xie Wenzai privately complained to his two good friends Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian: "What is Prefect Xin doing? I thought he was an upright and honest man who was loyal to the emperor. Why is he now considering a way out?"

Cao Gengyun said with a smile: "What's wrong with this? Old Xin is not stupid. He is blocking the way of the Wu family's descendants from entering the capital against the will of the emperor. He is bound to offend many people. Not only does the Zhou family think he is in the way, but the old students of the Wu family also suspect that he is colluding with the Sun family. Now they are just not bothering with him for the emperor's sake. But the emperor is seriously ill, and the throne may be taken by someone else at any time. If he doesn't leave a way out for himself quickly, does he think that he is satisfied with being the prefect of Chang'an and doesn't want to climb up anymore?"

(End of this chapter)