None of the scholars noticed Yang Wanli's deranged actions. Even the citizens of the capital who were passing by on the other side of the river did not look over curiously. Because in the capital, this kind of scene was all too common, especially when the results of the Spring Examinations were released. Near the vermilion wall of the examination hall, there would always be many madmen appearing out of nowhere.
At this moment, the scholars on the other side of the bridge all had strange expressions on their faces. Some were excited, some were dejected. Those who had made it looked up to the sky and cried out, while those who had not made it hit the ground with their heads. There were all kinds of expressions, and it was indescribably comical. There were even more miserable scholars who wailed incessantly, hugging the large locust tree next to the vermilion wall and rubbing their faces against it. No matter how hard their companions pulled, they would not let go, until their cheeks were bleeding. They looked incomparably wretched.
The Kingdom of Qing used the imperial examinations to select scholars, and those who were not from high clans could not be granted any imperial examinations. So for ordinary commoner scholars, the release of the results of the Spring Examinations was the only way they could change their lives. This kind of pressure and motivation was enough to turn a gentle and refined scholar into a deranged madman. Compared to those scholars who were kneeling on the riverbank and praying to the heavens, thanking the heavens for allowing them to make it. Yang Wanli had only shouted twice, and it was indeed rather dull.
Of course, this highlighted the steadiness of Hou Jichang and the other two.
By the time Yang Wanli had regained his composure and was happily walking back to the vermilion wall, his three friends had already carefully examined the entire imperial proclamation. Unexpectedly, Shi Chanli had not made it onto the list. What made everyone disappointed and somewhat happy was that Cheng Jialin's name had shockingly appeared in the last row.
Cheng Jialin's face was full of uncontrollable excitement, but seeing Shi Chanli's slightly disappointed expression, he could not show it too much. He comforted him, "If you don't make it this time, come back next year."
This was a very old-fashioned comforting phrase, but under these circumstances, it seemed to be the only old-fashioned thing to say. Shi Chanli laughed bitterly. Looking at the despondent examinees around him who had failed, he forced himself to raise his spirits and smiled. "This time, three out of the four of us have made it, which is already a great thing. Compared to the previous year's Spring Examinations, this year's list is much fairer. As for me, I'll have to reconsider. "
Hou Jichang nodded and gently patted Shi Chanli on the shoulder. He knew that although Shi Chanli was the most carefree of the four, the blow he had taken today was not small. He changed the subject and smiled. "I don't know how Sir Fan junior did it to protect so many people. I see that the rankings are different from previous years. There are more names with real talent, and there are fewer stupid and incompetent people who rely solely on their family background."
"It must have something to do with the Overwatch Council's investigation of the exam hall fraud." At this moment, the few of them had already walked to a quiet place by the riverbank and sat down. Their voices were still very soft, afraid that they would cause trouble for their fellow disciple, Master Xian.
Hou Jichang shook his head. "Although many officials were arrested this time, other than a few Jiangnan scholars, no other scholars were exposed. From this, it can be seen that before the Overwatch Council acted, Sir Fan Xian had already made arrangements." He shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed. He thought that young Sir Fan really did have a strong background, to be able to do something like this during the national ceremony. But it seemed that he had not misjudged Fan Xian. This year's list was much fairer.
The four of them chatted about the situation in the capital. Over the past two days, there had been many officials who had fallen from grace. Everyone in the officialdom was in danger, but Fan Xian looked very confident. At this moment, Shi Chanli, who had been silent all this time, suddenly opened his mouth. "I think that Sir Fan has something to do with the scandal being exposed."
The other three were shocked. "If that is true, then Sir Fan... is even more amazing than we thought."
— — —
Of course, Fan Xian had something to do with the scandal at the exam hall, but the Overwatch Council had acted appropriately. Although Guo You, the Director of the Board of Rites, had fallen, the Eastern Palace had not suffered too much damage. So for the time being, the Crown Prince was only suspicious of Fan Xian. And in this list, the Eastern Palace still had three people they needed. Compared to the Great Prince and the Bureau of Military Affairs, this was a very good result.
Fan Xian sat in his study, looking at the list that Wang Qinian had copied out. He frowned slightly. The capital had not been peaceful for the past two days. The chief official Guo You, a teacher, and a supervisor had all been invited to tea by the Overwatch Council. As for Fan Xian, as the examiner of the spring examination, he had been in charge of the crucial step of sealing the names, yet nothing had happened. It was inevitable that some people would begin to speculate.
But he was also somewhat happy. Of the students he favored, aside from Shi Chanli, who had a personality that he liked the most, most had successfully entered the list. As for the results of the court examinations, that would depend on their luck. There was really nothing he could do to help.
As he left the study, he saw a green silhouette walking toward him. Fan Xian let out a cry and prepared to hide in his room. He cried bitterly in his heart. Who would have thought that his father would come to his courtyard today?
Count Sinan, Fan Jian, was now the official Minister of Revenue, but his stern face had not changed much. He coldly pushed open the door to his son's room, which had not been closed in time. He stepped in and sternly shouted, "You went out again yesterday?"
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and bowed. "Father, it was raining in the capital last night, so I wanted to go for a walk."
"How many people did you think you could hide your visit to Tongfu Tavern?"
Fan Jian sat down. Lin Wan'er, who was in a side room, heard the noise and rushed over. She hurriedly called for a maid to bring her master tea. Fan Jian looked at his daughter-in-law warmly and smiled. He waved his hand, indicating that she should go back to her room to rest. His expression was as cold as ice. "The matters of the exam hall are complicated. You rashly did that, so be it. I asked you to stay in the mansion to avoid this storm. Yesterday, you went to the Tongfu Tavern to see those students. Today, when the Imperial Proclamation comes out, everyone can see clearly that those students are on the proclamation. How will the world see you? "
Fan Xian smiled. "Although I am young, I am still a teacher. It is normal for me to go and see the examinees. As for the list... everyone knows what is going on. Why should I care?"
"But recently, the Overwatch Council has been investigating a case of cheating, and the cause of this matter is the slip of paper you passed to them." Fan Jian coldly said, "An Zhi, if you are truly working for the country, then you should not have placed your own people in the top three. If you only wanted to use the spring examinations to cultivate your own power, then you should not have turned against Guo You and pulled him down."
Count Sinan looked at his young son in front of him. After a long while, he sighed. "No matter where you are, you have your own set of rules. The officialdom of the capital is even more so. Among officials, there are honest officials and corrupt officials. Among officials, there are slanderous officials and honest officials. These are two distinct paths. If you want to be an honest official, then do not walk the path of slanderous officials. "
Hearing his father call him by his courtesy name, Fan Xian knew that the old man was indeed angry. He gently replied, "I do not want to be an honest official, nor do I want to be a slanderous official. I want to be... a powerful official."
As soon as he said this, the air in the study suddenly became so cold that it seemed to freeze. After a long while, Fan Jian softly said, "A powerful official? What kind of official can be called a powerful official? " He shook his head, and a strange smile appeared on his face. "The Prime Minister has power, I have power, and Chen Pingping has power. But do you think that just because you're a subject, you can be called a powerful subject?"
Fan Xian calmly replied, "I cannot, because the power lies in the hands of His Majesty."
"Then what kind of powerful official do you want to be?"
"With power in my hands, there is nothing to worry about," Fan Xian replied sincerely. "I want to be a powerful official that even the Emperor's family cannot decide whether I live or die. Because I have the power to protect myself, but not others. So I need power."
Fan Jian looked at his son, and there was a trace of worry in his eyes. Fan Xian smiled helplessly. The reason he had chosen this unusually dangerous and boring path was naturally because of the thick darkness in the depths of his heart.
...
...
After a long while, a cold light shone in Fan Jian's eyes. "In the future, do not make trouble like this. Chen Pingping can protect you for a while, but he cannot protect you forever. So I warn you, do not get too close to the Overwatch Council."
Fan Xian lowered his head. "I know, so I need you to remind me from time to time." He knew that his father had always been afraid of him taking over the Overwatch Council, but Fan Xian refused to give up.
Fan Jian slowly closed his eyes. "This time, you handled the matter very poorly. Even if Guo Baokun spoke up in the palace and let you guess that the Guo family was actually working for the Eldest Princess, you shouldn't have done it yourself. If you had told me beforehand, with the power of the Prime Minister and I, we could have used the exam hall's fraud case to get rid of him, and we wouldn't be in this predicament. "
Fan Xian knew that what his father said was right. If he had taken the risk and joined forces with the Overwatch Council to deal with Minister Guo, it would only have led to an open ending. No one knew what would happen next, and the Council would have the initiative. He thought for a moment. "Actually, this time, I just wanted to do something that I wanted to do."
Perhaps this was just a cheap sense of justice that many people disdained, but Fan Xian still retained a little of it. At present, he was only worried about what Chen Pingping had planned.
As if he had guessed what his son was thinking, Fan Jian opened his eyes. There was a trace of comfort and worry in his gaze. "You can give up on your fantasies. Chen Pingping will certainly let everyone know that this scandal was single-handedly brought to light by the son of the Fan family."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. He knew that his father was right. Chen Pingping was not afraid of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. As long as he could establish his reputation, as long as he could get closer to controlling the Overwatch Council, he would do anything.
Before leaving his son's study, Count Sinan said lightly, "In the future, you need to be more mature. You can keep the childish declarations of powerful officials to yourself. There's no need to tell me."
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.
