Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 55: Another Test (I was a bit busy, so I posted it late. This chapter is 3000 words. I will update another chapter before midnight.)
Shu Wu narrated the whole process in great detail, and the so-called revelation was nothing more than the mutual admiration between the two talented men.

The ministers listened and surprisingly unanimously agreed. When Shu Wu was young, he traveled back and forth to Northern Qi for nearly ten years to study under Zhuang Mohan. Perhaps it was because of this perseverance that he was able to become a highly respected scholar in the literary world of Qing.

If his words are not trustworthy, who else can be trusted in Qing State?

Even the censors of the Censorate, who were always good at impeachment, had full faith in the character of Shu Daxueshi.

The court officials had their own thoughts in their minds, but no one stepped forward to support the emperor, nor did they deliberately frame or attack him. The study room at the center of power in the Qing Kingdom fell into a long period of silence.

This matter can be big or small, it all depends on your majesty's opinion. Once your majesty opens his mouth, whether innocent or convicted, there will be no objection in the whole hall.

Because of the imperial examination cheating case, the biggest blame has been put on a group of officials headed by the Minister of Rites Wei An.

Everything that should happen and everything that should be achieved has been accomplished.

His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be much more relaxed, and snorted, "It's all just a coincidence, and coincidence is not an appropriate explanation."

"Before teaching in the academy, I had never met that student." Shu Wu said with lowered eyebrows.

His Majesty the Emperor sneered, not very satisfied with the answer.

Chen Pingping also shook his head and smiled, and said at this time: "Your Majesty, the truth or falsehood of what Shu Daxueshi said is not the biggest crux of this case."

The ministers were confused for a moment.

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand, and with a look of seeing through everything, he said, "Speak."

Chen Pingping nodded and said, "The biggest problem with this case is that the student knew the content of the exam questions before taking the exam."

Accidental or not, the facts are there.

His Majesty the Emperor took one look and said sternly, "Shu Wu, do you understand? I want to give an explanation to the people of the world, and this explanation cannot be explained by an accident."

Accidents cannot stop people from talking. His Majesty the Emperor wants a more reasonable explanation, one that people all over the world would consider reasonable.

"Your Majesty, you can let the student prove his innocence." Lin Ruofu's voice rang out in the room. All the ministers looked over and saw him bowing lower and lower. "You don't need to ask about his academic level. Just present the examination papers on classics and poetry, and we'll know."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled but said nothing.

Lin Ruofu's expression did not change, and he thought that he had not guessed wrongly what His Majesty meant, because even though they were separated by a distance, he could still see the calmness in His Majesty's eyes, which was the confidence that belonged to an emperor.

His Majesty the Emperor deliberately ignored him and looked away: "Shu Wu, you said before that you gave that student a lot of advice. I really want to see whether your advice was cited in this exam question."

"If there is, it is considered cheating."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ruofu's heart sank suddenly.

The ministers were also very puzzled. Could it be that His Majesty did not want to save face for Academician Shu?

After hearing what just happened, everyone would have thought that as long as the student adopted the advice of Mr. Shu and embellished it, the policy paper he wrote would definitely be the best article in the third examination of this spring.

No one would throw away such a great opportunity, unless the student was so arrogant that even the great scholars in the literary world of Qing Kingdom could look down on him.

Whether it was cheating or not, the points of evidence became more obvious, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became very depressing.

Shu Wu exhaled and said, "Your Majesty, he will not accept my advice."

"Even if he knows the test questions, he will still write what he should write, without any other ideas mixed in."

"Are you so sure?" The Emperor showed a puzzled look for the first time in a long time and asked, "Could it be that the student is really an arrogant person?"

"He has his own ideas, that's all." Under the cold gaze, Shu Wu still spoke calmly and frankly.

The courage revealed by him made it hard for the ministers to believe that even Chen Pingping, the most trusted person under the imperial power, would not dare to refute His Majesty in this way.

The Emperor's expression changed again and again, but he still took in the words "scholar" and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'd like to see what you think."

The examination papers had already been copied and sent to the palace, and all three examination papers were presented as soon as the question was asked.

His Majesty the Emperor did not skip the first two and only look at the third questionnaire. Instead, he carefully reviewed each one from beginning to end.

After reading the first paper, he handed it to the other party with a calm expression. The eunuch serving beside him understood what he meant and handed it to Chen Pingping, the president of the Supervisory Council, who was standing at the front row.

Chen Pingping looked at it for a while, without any response, and passed it back. The paper was passed around among the court officials.

The ministers had been observing His Majesty's expression, and seeing how terribly indifferent he was, they couldn't help but look down on the quality of the test papers.

The Minister of Personnel took it in his hand, lowered his head to look at it for a few times, frowned slightly, and his expression suddenly became somewhat struggling.

He glanced at the emperor sitting in the main seat, forced himself to regain his normal expression, and hurriedly continued to pass the ball back.

The court officials behind him all did the same, they glanced at it hastily and passed it back as if it were a hot potato.

I don't know where it was handed to, but suddenly a court official lost his balance and stumbled out, holding the paper and exclaimed: "Well written."

After he finished speaking, the courtier realized that something was wrong and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am guilty."

The Emperor on the chair had finished reading the second volume. He handed it over and reprimanded, "Read what you need to read, and grade what you need to grade. If you cannot give a logical answer after reading, I will punish you." The expressions of the court officials changed drastically, realizing that they had misunderstood His Majesty's meaning, and they all turned their eyes to the volume impatiently.

"I didn't see it clearly just now. Let me take another look."

"The test paper is in my hand, don't grab it."

The expressionless emperor ignored the ridiculous behavior of his ministers and focused his eyes on the test papers. He only glanced at the first two test papers, but the third test paper was the one that really caught his attention.

He looked at it for a long time, just like he would hold an ancient book that he couldn't put down, reading it in great detail, unable to take his eyes off it.

At this time, all the ministers had finished reading the first two papers. All eyes in the room looked up, swallowed, and watched His Majesty's every move.

Another half moment passed, and His Majesty the Emperor finally closed the paper, and then closed his tired eyes, but still no subtle emotional changes could be seen.

The third paper was not handed down, and no one knew whether it contained any suggestions from Shu Daxueshi.

But at this moment, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly waved his sleeves and said coldly: "Shu Wu, do you admit your guilt?"

The ministers felt a tightness in their hearts, and they all realized at the same time that it seemed that suggestions were mixed into this paper. Thinking of the solemn promise made by Grand Secretary Shu just now, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Please punish me, Your Majesty." Shu Wu fell to the ground, extremely humble.

His Majesty the Emperor stood up suddenly, looked over, and accused him in an extremely excited tone, "Almost, almost, you ruined a perfect strategy."

Shu Wu was about to confess his guilt, but was stunned for a moment, and looked up in confusion, wondering what "almost" meant.

"If this paper really contains suggestions, then I will punish you." His Majesty the Emperor said with a glare, and the emotions revealed in his expression were very strange.

Chen Pingping, who was the first to react, laughed and said, "Mr. Shu's talent and learning are not as good as that of a student who has not yet entered the officialdom."

All the ministers then realized that the volume did not contain any suggestions from Academician Shu, and that it was very much to the Majesty's liking.

Shu Wu took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, this case..."

His Majesty the Emperor sneered and stood with his hands behind his back: "I reluctantly believed it, but if the world has not seen it and the world does not believe it, then it is not innocent."

……

On February 16th, the sky was just getting light.

One night passed, and there were still crowds of students gathering outside the Ministry of Rites. Everyone agreed that the case was not over.

The yamen runners cleared a large area outside the Imperial Examination Hall, built a high platform, and stationed soldiers on both sides to separate the common people.

"What are you doing repairing the table?"

"Is there some important person? Is His Majesty coming in person?"

"What are you thinking about? Your Majesty hasn't left the palace for many years."

Inside the Ministry of Rites Imperial College, several officials from the Supervisory Council walked into the examination room and headed towards the end. The clerks and buglers were terrified.

In one night, nearly half of the officials in the Imperial Examination Hall were thrown into the prison of the Supervisory Council, causing everyone to feel insecure and the government and the public to be shaken. This was no longer a simple matter of leaking the test questions before the exam or a student cheating.

"Sir, do you have any instructions?" The clerk from the Ministry of Rites asked in a trembling voice in front of the room door.

Wang Qinian looked at the ignorant official in front of him with disdain, and frowned: "What are you standing there for? Why don't you open the door?"

The clerk was frightened, respectfully agreed, and hurriedly opened the room.

Wang Qinian coughed and smiled as he looked inside: "Sir, you must have suffered."

"Lord Wang." Lin Ruo was a little surprised and asked, "But has the case been solved?"

"The case has been solved. Half of the officials of the Ministry of Rites have reported to our Supervisory Office." Wang Qinian smiled, "But your case has not been solved yet."

Taking Lin Ruo out of the examination area and heading to the main hall of the Imperial Academy, Wang Qinian relayed the dean's words: "The court requires you to prove your innocence and redo the questionnaire."

Lin Ruo didn't show much surprise, but asked calmly: "When does it start?"

"My lord, you need to take a rest." Wang Qinian said with concern.

"I rested well last night and slept pretty well." Lin Ruo replied.

"Huh?" Wang Qinian was obviously stunned for a moment, then laughed dryly: "Your Excellency is really conceited. Cheating is a serious crime, and you can still sleep like this."

"Big heart?"

"Your Excellency has a broad mind." Wang Qinian said in a deep voice, and chuckled, "Unlike me, who was so worried about you last night that I couldn't sleep all day and night. That was so miserable. Without you, how can I..."

Lin Ruo nodded: "And then."

Wang Qinian didn't say anything else. This sentence left him silent.

(End of this chapter)