Yu Shu and Feng Zhaomiao stayed at the Dao-Bearing Tower for the entire morning before leaving at noon. As they were about to reach the main entrance of the library, Yu Shu said to Feng Zhaomiao, "Young Master Feng, are you free later? Let's go to the teahouse, I have something to ask you."
"Sure." Feng Zhaomiao readily agreed.
On the second floor of the teahouse, Yu Shu chose a quiet table and sat down with Feng Zhaomiao. She ordered a pot of Biluochun and three kinds of fruits before sending the waiter away. She asked Feng Zhaomiao, "I'm curious, who sets the questions for the Dayan Examination every year?"
"I know." Feng Zhaomiao said, "Only the Master of Da Yi is qualified to participate in the Dayan Examination. Before the examination, the Celestial Commissioner and the Junior Supervisor will personally select about twenty of them. They may be from the capital or outside the capital, but they will all be brought to An Ling before the tenth month. They are forbidden to leave or visit, and there will be people patrolling until the end of the six subjects."
Yu Shu asked again, "If that's the case, won't the families of the Master of Da Yi who sets the questions benefit from this?"
Feng Zhaomiao shook his head, "The families of the Master of Da Yi who sets the questions are strictly forbidden from having their families take the examination. Once they are found out, it is the same as cheating."
Yu Shu's eyes flashed. This meant that Ji Xingxuan would be participating in this year's Dayan. The Ji family's Old Master Ji, who held an important position in the Celestial Commissioner, was definitely not one of the test setters.
This was interesting. She thought that Ji Liangxuan's sneaky search for the Baotai year's examination paper was most likely because the Dayan Examination's questions were leaked. Even if Ji Huaishan was not the test setter, he must have had some connection with it.
This three-star question had reappeared in the Dayan Examination paper after more than twenty years.
Ji Xingxuan knew the question and came to look for the previous year's examination paper. In her opinion, this was superfluous. There were two possibilities. First, to prevent others from learning about this question and looking for it in the Dao-Bearing Tower, she wanted to find it and take it away.
Secondly, perhaps the Ji family knew the question but did not know how to solve it, so they came to look for the test paper from that year.
Regardless of which possibility it was, Yu Shu was sure that the paper written by Senior Yun Mufeng in her hands was indeed the correct answer to the question from that year.
Between the two possibilities, she was more inclined to the latter. If Yun Mufeng was the Yun Hua Yi Zi from twenty years ago, she made a bold guess. At that time, there was only one question in the Astrology course, and it was only Yun Mufeng who was able to solve it. Moreover, the answer to the question about the omen of the three stars was not made public. Therefore, even if one knew the year and subject of the question, without knowing the answer, one would not be able to answer it.
The only thing that did not make sense was that since Ji Xingxuan knew that Yun Mufeng's answer paper was hidden in the Feng Shun period's file, she must know the person who collected the paper. That person must have seen the answers on the paper. If she wanted the correct answer, wouldn't it be faster to ask that person directly?
Thinking about it this way, she felt that the first possibility was more likely — Ji Xingxuan already knew the correct answer and deliberately came to the Dao-Bearing Tower to destroy the paper.
This time, Yu Shu was worried. If Ji Xingxuan did not know the correct answer, the paper in her hands would be of great use. If Ji Xingxuan knew the correct answer, then the paper in her hands was equivalent to waste paper. It was not enough to use it to report the Ji family for cheating, nor was it enough to expose any inside story.
Just as Yu Shu was wavering in confusion, Feng Zhaomiao added, "However, in order to avoid cheating, sometimes the Great Teacher will personally participate in setting the question."
Yu Shu asked suspiciously, "Does the Great Teacher also need to be grounded?"
Feng Zhaomiao smiled, "Of course not. What kind of status does the Great Teacher have? Why would he need to be grounded? As long as the question is set by the Great Teacher, only he knows the correct answer. The marking of the paper will be done by the Great Teacher himself, no one else."
"What about the marked papers? Will they be shown to others?" Yu Shu blurted out.
"The papers that passed the exam are collected by the examiners. Those that did not pass the exam are burned as waste paper. Who do they show it to?" Feng Zhaomiao paused and suddenly remembered something. She mysteriously said to Yu Shu, "But there is a special case."
Yu Shu hurriedly asked, "What kind of case?"
"That year, Yi Zi was born. Once Yi Zi's paper is chosen, it will not be leaked. The Great Teacher will send someone to be in charge of collecting it. It is not in the library, nor is it in the books. If you want to see Yi Zi Zi's paper with your own eyes, you can only rely on your luck."
Yu Shu's mind raced, and she casually said, "I didn't know that you know so much."
"Of course. Let me tell you a secret." Feng Zhaomiao lowered his voice and said quietly, "Twenty years ago, my grandfather was in charge of collecting the paper of Yi Zi of Yun Hua, who was famous in the capital.
Yu Shu was suddenly shocked. "Your grandfather?"
Feng Zhaomiao nodded, and then became dejected. "It's a pity that he passed away a few years ago. Otherwise, I could introduce him to you."
'Passed away a few years ago?!'
Yu Shu frowned. Her mind was in a mess. She could not help but think carefully. She seemed to have grasped something and thought of something. Her eyes brightened, and she suddenly saw the light.
The probability had exceeded the limit. She dared to bet that Yun Mufeng was Yi Zi of Yun Hua. That Three Stars Omen must be this year's Dayan exam question, and that Xingxuan must not know the correct answer to this question!
After bidding farewell to Feng Zhaomiao, Yu Shu could not help but cast a divination for herself on the way back. The smooth results of the divination gave her some confidence. When she returned home in the afternoon, the first thing she did was to drag Jing Chen into the house. Yu Xiaoxiu had not finished school yet, so she did not have to close the door to avoid eavesdropping.
"What happened?" Jing Chen saw that she was in a hurry and asked.
"I have a way to get the Adversity Blocking Stone back." Yu Shu said with slight excitement.
"Oh? Have you thought of a way? " Jing Chen was a little surprised. Yesterday, Yu Shu told him that she knew the whereabouts of the Adversity Blocking Stone. He frowned and did not know how to get it back. Who would have thought that she would have a way so quickly?
Yu Shu nodded and raised her eyebrows. "If we don't steal or rob, we can make her obediently return the thing."
Jing Chen saw that she was quite confident, so he asked, "Didn't you say yesterday that the other party might not be willing to return it?"
"It's different now. I also have something that that person wants very much." Yu Shu's lips curled up into a smirk.
Jing Chen, "What is it?"
"It's also a rare scallop." Yu Shu said it briefly. She did not tell Jing Chen in detail about how she found out about Yun Hua Yi Zi's examination paper. She did not know how to explain to him the dirty things that happened in the officialdom examination.
She did not have the fortune to enjoy the leaked questions on the old paper. Ji Xingxuan had a reputation in front of her. As a top student from the Imperial Historian's Library, even if she passed the examination, there would not be many gossips. However, she was a bachelor. She wanted to stand out, so she did not dare to take the risk and get herself into trouble. Now, the biggest use of that old paper for her was to exchange for the Yellowfrost Stone.
However, she was a little unhappy that Ji Xingxuan got it so easily.
Forget it. She would only be at ease if she returned the Yellowfrost Stone to Jing Chen as soon as possible.
Jing Chen understood and said, "You want to use something to exchange with him?"
"You can say that. But we will not exchange openly. We will do it secretly. This time, we will have to rely on you." Yu Shu pushed Jing Chen to sit at her table. She took out a clean piece of paper for him and went to the other side to grind the ink. She said, "Can't you write with your left hand?"
"Yes." The wound on Jing Chen's right hand had not healed yet. These days, he had been teaching Yu Shu how to write with his left hand. Just now, he realized that he could hold a brush with both hands.
"Then I will say and you write." Yu Shu dipped the brush in the ink and passed it to his left. She thought for a while and opened a book on divination on the table. She pointed at the words on it and said, "Can you imitate the words on this? Don't use your words. The more unrecognizable, the better.
Jing Chen looked at the words on the book and nodded.
"Cough, cough." Yu Shu cleared her throat and explained in a low voice. She saw that Jing Chen's brush was very familiar. There were only a few lines, but they were almost the same as the words on the book. She was surprised and couldn't help but have a flash of inspiration. She rubbed her chin and quickly came up with a bad idea.
Ji Xingxuan talked to Ji Huaishan that day. For two consecutive nights, she spent the night on the astrology platform. She tried to see through the mystery of the twenty years problem but to no avail.
At dusk, she left the library and went to the door to get on a sedan chair. Before she got on the sedan chair, someone ran over from the opposite side of the street and called out to her, "Are you Miss Ji?"
Ji Xingxuan turned her head to look at the person. "You are?"
"Oh, this lowly one is a waiter from the teahouse across the street. I have a letter here. A young master who was drinking tea upstairs asked me to give it to you."
As he said this, he handed over a wax envelope. Ji Xingxuan hesitantly took it. She used her fingernails to pry open the wax seal and took out a thin piece of paper. She shook it open and read the contents. Her fingers tightened and her expression suddenly changed. She hurriedly folded the letter twice and put it in her sleeve. She asked the waiter in a low voice, "Who sent you to deliver this letter? Take me to him!"
Seeing this, the waiter didn't dare to say anything. He lowered his head and led her back to the teahouse. However, he looked up and down the stairs but couldn't find the person who delivered the letter.
The waiter pointed to a seat on the second floor by the window. "He was here a moment ago. He was sitting there."
Ji Xingxuan strode forward. The tea and snacks on the table hadn't been cleaned yet. She reached out to touch the teapot, but it was already cold. She stood by the window and looked down. She could see the direction of the library's entrance. She knew that the other party had been waiting for her here for some time. Ji Xingxuan's heart sank. She gripped the window railing tightly.
"What did that person look like? What did he say to you? Tell me. The more detailed, the better." Ji Xingxuan turned around and took out her money pouch. She placed a piece of silver on the table.
The waiter looked at the silver and swallowed his saliva. He gestured with his hands and described, "That person was about this tall. He had a mustache above his lips. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked like he was in his early twenties. Oh, that's right. He had a big mole on one side of his face. It was the size of a soybean."
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