That night, Fan Xian returned to his courtyard. He talked with Wan 'er about his meeting with the second prince during the day, and then, as he had expected, another guest arrived. It was Xin Qiwu, who was close to the crown prince's palace.
He sat down and drank tea. Looking at the names on the slip of paper in his hand, Fan Xian smiled. He knew what the Crown Prince wanted, but he didn't know why he had come to him.
"Why are you showing me this?" Fan Xian held the slip of paper in his hand and shook his head with a wry smile. "Sir, I can't interfere with the imperial examinations."
A few months ago, during the negotiations with Northern Qi, these two had been the head envoy and the deputy envoy. They worked very well together, and there was not much conflict in their personalities. Plus, the two of them had gotten drunk together a few days ago, so they were naturally more familiar with each other now. Xin Qiwu picked up his teacup and took a sip. "You should know what these names are."
Of course, Fan Xian knew. The day after tomorrow was the day of the imperial examinations. At this critical juncture, all the manors were secretly communicating with each other like wives and grooms. The back door sills were almost broken from the trampling. It was said that even the head of the Board of Rites, Guo You, was annoyed. He didn't want to offend too many nobles, so he asked for an imperial edict and hid in the palace. The other four examiners and supervisors had already treated the Imperial College as their own manors, and didn't dare return to their manors.
But with the power of the Eastern Palace, if the Crown Prince wanted to promote some of his own young talents in the imperial examinations, he should have a way. Everyone knew that Guo You was a staunch supporter of the Eastern Palace. If he just sent a word, there shouldn't be any problems. Why did he come looking for Fan Xian?
As if sensing his confusion, Xin Qiwu smiled and shook his head. "Sir Fan, you are talented, and everyone admires you. But it seems that you don't understand many of the rules in the capital. The imperial examination rules of this dynasty are all based on the previous dynasty's rules, and there aren't many changes. In order to prevent cheating, the examinees' papers have to be copied again to prevent their handwriting from being recognized. The most important step, however, is the step of covering their names. "
Xin Qiwu continued, "The six names on the paper are all people I've met personally." He smiled. "They are all talented people."
...
...
Fan Xian had always thought of himself as a very calm person. But after Xin Qiwu left, he sat quietly in the study and looked at the note in his hand. He was still somewhat angry. The day after tomorrow was the day of the General Examinations, and it was only today that he found out that, in addition to being the CEO, the teacher, and the supervisor, he also played a very troublesome and important role among the examiners.
In their previous conversation, Xin Qiwu had told him that the court had already issued an edict ordering Fan Xian, a fifth-level official of the Imperial College, to be the Clerk of the Examination. The Clerk of the Examination was a rather strange position, but it was actually an official who was fully responsible for the order of the examination. He held considerable power in his hands. More importantly, after the examination papers were sealed, and before the officials of the Board of Rites and the Imperial College began to copy the papers again, the Clerk of the Examination was in charge of the sealing of the names.
Anyone who wanted to play tricks in this examination would first have to deal with the blanking of their names. Even if the students behind them had bribed the officials of the Board of Rites, or even the examiners, if they did not tamper with the blanking of the names, the examiners would not be able to do anything.
After so many years of the examination, the officials of the Kingdom of Qing had long become proficient in these fraudulent transactions. The distribution of power among the various factions had also become somewhat predictable. But because it was the famous Fan Xian who had inexplicably taken the position of Clerk of the Examination, the various factions in the court could not help but feel uncertain. No one knew what this young Immortal Fan of Poetry would do.
That was why the Crown Prince had unhesitatingly asked Xin Qiwu to come to Fan Manor first. He believed that Fan Xian would not go against his wishes. And these days, the Crown Prince believed that the Eastern Palace had given Fan Xian enough rewards. It was time for Fan Xian to show his attitude.
Fan Xian looked at the six names on the paper again and smiled. He crushed the paper into powder and slowly walked back to his bedroom. He felt a sense of gratitude towards the second prince. If the second prince had done the same thing, he would have been caught in the middle. It would have been very difficult to deal with.
But he had still somewhat underestimated the complexity of the matter.
Lin Wan'er sat at the table and smiled at him. She then gently knocked on the table. The white paper next to her finger looked chillingly clean. Fan Xian sighed and slapped his forehead. "Don't tell me it's a person's name written on it."
Lin Wan'er giggled and stood up from the stool. She walked to his side and held his arm. "You are indeed a smart man, my husband."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. "I had thought that before going to Northern Qi, we could rest and recuperate in the capital. Who knew..." He finally couldn't help but curse in a low voice. "Who made me a mediator?"
"My father, your father." Lin Wan'er looked at him bitterly. "Although this position is not as important as a promotion, it is a very important position. According to the tradition of previous years, after the examination, the students will enter the court as officials. In the future, when they see you, they will have to call you teacher. It is a very important position. "
Fan Xian said unhappily, "Aren't our two not-so-close fathers a bit too enthusiastic? I'm only seventeen. In the future, when I go to court, will I have a group of pedantic middle-aged Hanlin scholars bow to me? "
Lin Wan'er's worry was swept away. She laughed. "Right now, your reputation in the capital is too great. This time, someone even recommended you to be a teacher. If it weren't for the fact that you were rejected by the palace because you were too young, you could have been the youngest examiner in hundreds of years."
Fan Xian said, "It's not a good thing. Now I regret that drunken fit in the palace." But there was no medicine for regret in this world. He carefully looked at the paper his wife handed him and found that some of the names on it were familiar. They were all famous scholars in the capital. Some of them he had interacted with before, and they were indeed talented. Seeing this, Fan Xian felt a bit more at ease.
"Since I am the Clerk of the Examination, why did they come to the manor so brazenly?" Fan Xian sighed and said, "This slip of paper is the evidence of their fraud. To send it to my hands, they are a bit too daring."
"It's the old rules." Lin Wan'er had lived in the palace for a long time, so she naturally knew these things. She explained, "In the past, although the Clerk of the Examination was important, the position was too low, so no one paid much attention to it. In any case, if someone in the palace wanted to cultivate a few trusted aides, the Clerk could only pretend he didn't see it. But this year, it is my husband's turn to take this position. Those people are afraid of your methods and background, but they don't understand your temperament. That's why they came to greet you in advance as a sign of politeness and respect. Of course, those officials who think they can't curry favor with you will follow the old rules and go to the examiner's door. They won't dare to harass you. "
"If that's the case, then all I have to do is follow the old rules." Fan Xian frowned slightly. He really hadn't thought that the Qing Kingdom's bureaucracy had fallen to such an extent. When he thought of the students who toiled away their days in foreign institutions, he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Do what you want." Lin Wan'er was no ordinary person. She said quietly, "Even if you don't give face to any of these people, who would dare to do anything to you?"
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. She was a princess, so of course she wasn't afraid of anyone. Although he had a powerful background, her brother, the Crown Prince, wanted to see how he would react. He turned to ask, "Who sent these names?" There were only three pieces of paper, not as many as he thought.
Lin Wan'er smiled shyly. "Actually, it's all because of me."
Fan Xian was surprised. "What do you mean?"
Lin Wan'er replied, "I went to the palace today and sat in Lady Ning's palace. You know that when I was a child, I always played by her side. This is one of them. " She continued to frown. "As for the other two pieces of paper, one was sent by Mister Yuan by my father, and the other was sent by Sir Qin of the Bureau of Military Affairs."
Fan Xian shook his head. Lady Ning represented the Great Prince, who was still far away in the west. Since the Prime Minister had sent him to the position of Vice-Minister, there was no reason for him not to make use of his son-in-law. But as for Sir Qin of the Bureau of Military Affairs, although Fan Xian had never met him, he knew that he was a veteran of three dynasties, and a powerful figure in the military. Why would he meddle in the civil examinations instead of training a few generals?
"Forget it. It's a small matter. Since the whole country is full of crows, I won't pretend to be a red-crowned crane," Fan Xian said lightly. He destroyed all of the notes. Gently holding his wife's shoulders, they walked toward the front of the manor.
— — —
On the ninth day of the second month, the day of the examination, the scholars of the Kingdom of Qing would sell everything they had learned in the past ten years to the Emperor's family. Whether the Emperor would buy it or not depended on these examinations. The scholars in long gowns were like swimming fish, fearfully or excitedly heading towards the examination venue: the examination hall of the second branch of the Ministry of Rites. It looked as if they were desperately trying to squeeze into a narrow fish basket.
Fan Xian had already met with Minister Guo, the two teachers, and the two supervisors the night before. The officials nervously arranged all the necessary procedures, and the next day they went about their duties.
An armchair was placed next to the main door, and beside it were yamen runners and officials from the Overwatch Council. Fan Xian sat calmly in the armchair in the middle of the crowd, coldly watching the students walk past him.
Students walked in front of him. No matter young or old, they all bowed respectfully. Those who knew Fan Xian respected his reputation. Those who didn't know Fan Xian respected his position. At the door, Fan Xian's ruthless officials had already pulled back the cloth curtains and begun to search the students one by one, strictly preventing them from bringing in prohibited items.
Fan Xian took a sip of tea and looked at these students carrying bedding and toilet bowls to eat. They looked like poor village workers, and he couldn't help but shake his head. Suddenly, he saw a student preparing to enter the courtyard after being searched. He rolled his eyes and shouted, "Wait!"
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