Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Despite having many objections to Fang Yanqing, that miser, Qin Ji still reluctantly appointed him as the top scholar.

Firstly, Fang Yanqing's article criticized current affairs, and many of his policy strategies hit Qin Ji's sore spots.

Secondly, Qin Ji had been in power for two years and needed to employ ambitious and daring young people. This article came at just the right time, and naming Fang Yanqing as the top scholar could also set a new trend.

Of course, once this direction is established, there will inevitably be those who talk big and try to attract attention, but the test will reveal whether they are true gold or mere rubble.

As for the future, when the world knows about his relationship with Jiang Jibai, will anyone criticize Fang Yanqing for relying on "student connections" as the top scholar?

so what?

He only uses people who are suitable for him. Why would he hesitate and avoid suspicion just because there is a fellow student involved?

If Fang Yanqing lives up to his expectations and achieves something, then those criticisms will ultimately be nothing more than the sour words of mediocre people.

If Fang Yanqing is a good-for-nothing, only good at writing but betraying Jiang Jibai's trust and tarnishing Jiang Jibai's reputation, then he deserves the criticism.

Additionally, regarding Pei Lian.

Qin Ji also wanted to suppress him.

Given Pei Lian's personality, having already smoothly progressed through the examinations, he's become arrogant and haughty. If he were to achieve the third-highest rank, he would likely become even more conceited and disdainful of others.

If it's just offending people, that's fine; at worst, he'll become the next Shen Jiangliu, making countless enemies.

I'm afraid he'll be arrogant and disdainful of everyone. If he's released, can we really expect him to handle matters like pacifying the people during disasters and dealing with local gentry and powerful figures?

But there are other ways to suppress him besides manipulating his ranking in the imperial examinations.

The cultivation of talent should not be based on undermining the fairness of the imperial examination system.

However, Qin Ji felt a little sorry for Fu Xingjian. If Fang Yanqing hadn't suddenly appeared and stimulated him, causing his inspiration to explode, it would be hard to say who would have won the prize.

With Fu Xingjian's character and talent, he would have been more than qualified to be the top scholar in previous imperial examinations.

After selecting the top three and finalizing the top ten, Qin Ji handed a piece of paper with about ten names on it to the two chief examiners and instructed them, "Remove these people from the list."

Shen Lun, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, and Cai Si, the Minister of Rites, exchanged a glance and asked in surprise, "Are we going to eliminate more than a dozen people from this year's palace examination?"

In the past, the palace examination almost never failed anyone; if one or two people were rejected, there were always special reasons.

Qin Ji gestured for Fu Lu to hand them a stack of testimonies, tapping the imperial desk lightly with his fingers, his expression unreadable.

The two examiners took the testimony, read it carefully, and both of them changed color. They looked at each other with suspicion and uncertainty, and then knelt down on the ground.

Shen Lun kowtowed and said resolutely, "Your Majesty is wise. From the setting of the examination questions to the sealing and transportation of the examination papers, every step was guarded by special personnel. The guards were in groups of three, supervising each other. If one person neglected his duty, all three would be punished. There were a total of eighteen examiners, from the chief examiner and deputy chief examiner to the co-examiners, who checked and balanced each other. From the moment the question setters entered the examination hall to begin setting the questions, the gates were sealed off and all communication was cut off until the results were announced. There was absolutely no possibility of leaking the questions."

Cai Si followed closely: "During this imperial examination, Minister Shen and I supervised the entire process without a single day of negligence. We would never allow such a breach of the fairness of the examination to occur. We implore Your Majesty to see the truth!"

"These testimonies are false; there's either some misunderstanding involved, or someone is deliberately framing us!"

Seeing the two high-ranking officials turn pale with fright, Qin Ji quickly stepped forward and personally helped them up, saying, "My two dear ministers have worked diligently to select talented individuals for the court; how could I not know?"

As soon as he reached out, Fu Lu immediately presented him with a sealed "exam question".

"This testimony may not be entirely untrue." Qin Ji handed over the test questions with a pleasant expression: "My two ministers have been startled. Why don't you take a look at these leaked 'test questions' first?"

Seeing that His Majesty did not seem to be about to punish them, and that there seemed to be a deeper meaning in his expression, Shen Lun and Cai Si felt a strange sensation.

Shen Lun opened the "test questions," and Cai Si hurriedly leaned over to take a look.

Upon seeing this, both of them breathed a sigh of relief—the test questions were fake.

After a moment of lingering fear, the two men rebounded from their lowest point and were filled with uncontrollable rage.

Cai Si angrily denounced: "This! This is simply an insult to scholarship. The imperial examination is such a major event for the court, yet someone is taking the opportunity to sell fake exam questions for profit. Such... such a heinous act must be severely punished by Your Majesty, and must not be let off lightly."

Shen Lun gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Cai is absolutely right. Forging exam questions, swindling and deceiving, and making huge profits are all violations of the law. If they are not severely punished, unscrupulous people will follow suit, and what will become of the court's prestige?"

Qin Ji touched his nose: "What do you two think of this test?"

Their rising anger suddenly hit a wall, leaving them somewhat stuck. But since His Majesty had asked, they had no choice but to quickly look at the fake test questions again.

Upon seeing this, the two were startled once again.

Even though they wanted to condemn the person who set the questions, the two couldn't bring themselves to say that the questions were poorly designed.

Not only is it not bad, but it can even be said to be of extremely high quality.

The three policy questions are closely related to practical matters, covering issues such as the rectification of officialdom, land taxation, and military affairs and border defense.

Every aspect is a sore point for the current imperial court.

Unless one possesses profound knowledge and a thorough understanding of the political situation and current events, it is impossible to create such exam questions that are no less impressive than the main questions of the imperial examination.

That is probably why so many people were fooled, and even more than ten of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations bought it.

His Majesty didn't say how to deal with it, but instead asked them how the "exam questions" were prepared. Could it be that he felt sorry for the person who set the questions?

Shen Lun carefully chose his words: "A person with virtue but no talent is a mediocre person, while a person with talent but no virtue is a sycophant. This person sells fake exam questions to make money, which shows that he is morally deficient. If he were to gain access to the inner circle, he would be more destructive than a mediocre person and cause endless harm."

Chase echoed, "Your Majesty, please reconsider."

Qin Ji remained expressionless: "I'm asking about the quality of this exam question; nothing else."

Shen Lun didn't want to praise him, so he could only manage two words: "Acceptable."

Chase: "Barely."

Qin Ji said with a dark face, "You two have already formed a prejudice based on preconceived notions. The evaluation needs to be re-evaluated."

Why does His Majesty attach so much importance to this fabricated question and repeatedly ask them to evaluate it?

Could it be...

The two men seemed to realize something and looked at His Majesty with surprise and uncertainty.

Qin Ji, without changing his expression, dusted off the test questions: "You guessed right, these test questions were prepared by me."

The two men broke apart, their voices trembling: "Why has Your Majesty come to this?"

Chase: "Is the imperial court so short of money?"

...

First update delivered~ Second update should be after 1 PM.

You can start reading after midnight tonight. I'm taking tomorrow off, but I'll still keep track of the number of times I've updated with love, aiming for a double update on Wednesday! *kiss*