"The Duke of Lanting is too despicable!"
Such arguments were occasionally heard in the teahouses and taverns, but the crowd did not argue with them. They thought it was a few hotheads who wanted to use such methods to become officials.
It was not like there was no such example in the past. In ancient times, a scholar criticized a certain monarch in the market. The monarch did not kill the scholar for the sake of his reputation. Instead, he tied the scholar up and sent him to the monarch. The monarch asked the scholar why he criticized him.
The scholar spoke with fervor and assurance. Every incident touched the monarch's heart and pointed out the hidden dangers that the monarch was most worried about.
With a series of actions that were as fierce as a tiger, the scholar caught the monarch's attention. From then on, he stepped on the clouds and was promoted all the way.
The monarch earned the reputation of being a kind and generous Bo Le. The scholar also earned the reputation of being an intelligent and resourceful horse. The story of the monarch and the minister was passed down as a legend by the later generations. With the example of their predecessors, many latecomers wanted to imitate them. However, they did not imitate them and instead became sensationalists. Moreover, there were many ways to become officials now. The scholars from poor families did not need to use such a suicidal method to gain fame.
The imperial examinations were around the corner. Those who wanted to use such a method to gain fame were either stupid or stupid.
Talented people were not afraid of the imperial examinations. Those who should be on the list would still be on the list. Without talent, even if they gained fame, they would only be a joke to others.
"How is the Duke of Lanting hateful?" His friend tugged at the scholar's sleeve and corrected him, "Everyone knows that she has changed her name and cut all ties with the Liu family. Now, she is using the 'Jiang' surname bestowed upon her by the heavens. You should respectfully call her 'Lady Jiang'."
If he used the old title once or twice, it could be said that he was not used to it. However, if he still used it after the correction, it would mean that he was dissatisfied with Jiang Pengji.
"How precious are books?"
That scholar was indignant and had a pained look on his face.
His friend was puzzled and echoed, "They are indeed precious."
The scholar continued, "Such precious books are naturally only suitable for scholars to possess. Those peasants from all walks of life should not covet them. The Duke of Lanting does not know this. Instead, he made so many books in the Jinling Pavilion public. All kinds of filthy and smelly things can come and dirty the scent of ink for no reason. "
His family had quite a collection of books. Although he didn't think that his collection could compare to a noble family like the Feng family, it was more than enough to beat up a poor family.
In his hometown, there were many scholars from poor families who flattered him in a roundabout way. They did not even hesitate to send their own sisters, sisters, and daughters to please him, just to borrow his family's books for a few days. He had been proud of this for many years and looked down on those who came from a poor family.
No foundation was no foundation. Where was the arrogance of a scholar's character in his bowing and scraping manner?
However, this sense of superiority was smashed to smithereens when he arrived in Wanzhou.
He had seen many scholars from humble backgrounds spend several years in the Golden Scale Pavilion, following the lectures of the great Confucian scholars nearby. Their knowledge and experience were more than three streets behind him. Yesterday at the assembly, he had been ridiculed by two disciples from a poor family for being a frog in a well, and they had called him a country bumpkin from the countryside. He had always been the one looking down at others from above. Since when did others have the right to mock and ridicule him? The disparity was too great. He was unable to accept it!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
After going around in circles, he felt that everything was Jiang Pengji's fault.
Books were owned by the aristocratic families. The poor could only bow and scrape to have the right to peep into the sea of knowledge. The commoners should be ignorant for life.
This kind of extreme thinking lingered in his mind like a messy cluster of thorns, growing and spreading in his heart.
Originally, he was confident that Toad Palace would win, but after coming to Wanzhou and seeing so many unscientific poor families, he suddenly felt a pain in the ass.
If the poor were like this, how could those aristocratic families who had a long foundation be?
The atmosphere of the imperial examinations was not proper. Asking him to take the exam with the poor was an insult to him. It was fine if he did not take the exam.
He was not the only one who held this kind of thinking.
"The temple is small, but the wind is strong. The pond is shallow, and there are many turtles."
Changsheng listened and frowned. Her eyes were filled with disdain for these people.
"He doesn't have much ability. He doesn't reflect on himself and instead picks on others. How can he be so arrogant?"
"Pfft — it's just a funny joke. Why does Changsheng care so much?"
In the private room, Wan Xiu 'er and Changsheng sat opposite each other. The room they were in was not far from the table outside, so they could hear it quite clearly.
Changsheng said, "I feel indignant for Brother Rong Li. He actually has to compete with such a despicable person."
Wan Xiu 'er laughed. "They speak so bluntly. They may not be qualified to participate in the imperial examinations."
"If this kind of person is allowed to climb up, the commoners will suffer."
Little did they know that the two of them were not the only ones who heard this. Jiang Pengji, who was in the private room next door, also heard this.
She came out purely to relax. She wanted to see the commoners' lives, but she didn't expect to hear such harsh words.
"It's better to eliminate this kind of idiot from the beginning. Letting him enter the written exam is a waste of my paper and ink."
Most of Jiang Pengji's subordinates were poor, but there were also many aristocratic families. The two groups got along quite well, and there were no sharp conflicts for the time being.
Who knew what kind of chemical reaction would happen if such an idiot was allowed to enter?
She walked back and asked Wei Ci to send people to investigate. She found that there were many idiots like this.
"I thought this kind of idiot was one of a kind. I didn't expect them to be assembly line products made from a mold." Jiang Pengji yawned and said sleepily, "Eliminate them by manipulating in the dark. If their character and morals are not good, they can't be used no matter how talented they are."
Feng Zhen and the others agreed on the surface, but they were secretly pleased.
It was fine if they didn't use their brains, but they actually fell into Jiang Pengji's hands. They really didn't know how to spell the word "death".
After all, this kind of idiot was in the minority. The first imperial examinations were held as scheduled. In order to uphold the principle of fairness and to promote the imperial examinations at the same time, other than the written exam, all the other events were open to the public. Of course, not everyone could come and watch this open event.
"I heard that Lord Jiang once attended the graduation assessment of the Golden Scale Academy's students. Why is there no sign of him in the imperial examinations?"
Could it be that they looked down on the scholars?
Someone else said, "Wasn't Lord Jiang assassinated that time? There are many scholars in the imperial examinations. There are crooks mixed in with the honest folks. They have to consider Lord Jiang's safety. "
With this explanation, many people felt much more at ease.
Someone else said, "I heard that there will be a big change in the next imperial examinations …"
"We haven't even finished this year's examinations and you're already thinking about the next one?"
"Of course I'm thinking about it. If there's no next imperial examinations, how can we scholars from humble backgrounds become officials and serve the emperor?"
All kinds of rumors spread among the scholars. Time passed day by day.
After three rounds of screening, only 50 people entered the court examinations. The rankings of the other scholars were out.
Among the 50 people in the court examinations, more than 70% of them were scholars from the Golden Scale Academy. The students with the worst results were within the top 500.
When the statistics were out, many people who were pessimistic were slapped hard in the face until their faces were swollen.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
