The imperial examination is over and the marking work is in full swing. The results will be announced in a few days. Time is running out and all the examiners are working day and night to mark the papers.
"Lock the room to prevent missing questions, search to prevent cheating; invigilate to prevent peeking, cover the name of the transcriber to prevent collusion; separate the inner and outer curtains to prevent collusion, and the examiner recuses to prevent favoritism."
Under the chairmanship of Xu Jie, this examination strictly adhered to the above examination rules and also took other measures to prevent cheating, which were so strict that almost all means were exhausted.
However, even the most sophisticated firewalls have loopholes.
On the first day of the joint examination, our deputy chief examiner Comrade Yan Maoqing, during his routine inspection, finally saw the discerning young comrade who was introduced by Comrade Yan Shifan to Lord Yan's home last time. This young man was not an ordinary person either. His father, Ouyang Bijin, was Lord Yan's brother-in-law and served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, which were very wealthy. It was said that Lord Yan intended to marry his second daughter to this young comrade Ouyang.
After Comrade Yan Shifan introduced him, he pointed at Comrade Ouyang and asked Yan Maoqing casually: Do you have the bearing of a top scholar
Our comrade Yan Maoqing naturally understood what he meant. If we want Comrade Ouyang to be the top scorer, he must pass the imperial examination, and winning the top scorer is also a must.
In addition, the reason why our deputy examiner Comrade Yan Maoqing was so impressed by Comrade Ouyang was that Comrade Ouyang was very perceptive. At the banquet, he casually said that the urinal at home was inconvenient to use. As a result, a set of pure gold urinals was delivered to his house in the evening. This set of urinals included seven or eight gold and platinum urinals.
Deputy chief examiner Comrade Yan Maoqing noticed Comrade Ouyang, and Comrade Ouyang naturally also noticed Comrade Yan Maoqing, after all, he had been staring at him.
"You, the examinee, are not answering the questions carefully. What are you looking at?" The clerk who was accompanying Comrade Yan Maoqing on the examination saw that Comrade Ouyang was staring at the examiner and could not help but stop him in a low voice.
Our comrade Yan Maoqing slightly raised his hand to stop the accompanying clerk, waved his hand nonchalantly, and said lightly, "It's time to rest, it's time to rest..." He said it several times in a row, and then led the inspectors to continue walking forward.
Yu Xiu Zai. It means forget it. Comrade Yan Maoqing said Yu Xiu Zai, which means to tell the casual official not to care about it. In the eyes of the people accompanying him, our Comrade Yan Maoqing is very generous. The candidates just look at it, and he doesn't embarrass the candidates at all. Big things can be made small, small things can be made nothing, don't care about it anymore.
Rest, rest...
After the inspectors left, our young comrade Ouyang was overjoyed. He had just seen the implicit gesture of Comrade Yan Maoqing when he waved his hand. Yu Xuzai, Yu Xuzai, Yan Maoqing said the difficult-to-pronounce Yu Xuzai several times in a row, and the meaning could not be more obvious.
Therefore, when answering the questions, Comrade Ouyang used the three words "于休哉" as modal particles many times.
From this moment on, a loophole appeared from within the sophisticated firewall set up by Xu Jie for the imperial examination.
The examination papers were being graded at full speed, and the examiners who were in charge of recommending the papers were working day and night to review the red papers. The black grids and red writing on the papers were already dazzling, and the time was tight, the papers were numerous, and the chief examiner Xu Jie's supervision was strict, which made the examiners' hard work even more difficult.
A fellow examiner who had suffered from the torture of marking papers suddenly had his eyes light up when marking the papers. It was not because the paper was so wonderful, but because there were several exclamations of "Yu Xiu Zai" on this paper.
The examiner was secretly delighted but kept his face calm. He selected the candidates and recommended them to the two chief examiners.
When Yan Maoqing saw the test paper with several "Yu Xiu Zai", his tense heart finally relaxed. He could finally give an explanation to Lord Yan.
"Haha, Lord Xu. You have been marking papers for several days, why not take a break for a while." Yan Maoqing smiled and greeted Xu Jie who was sitting opposite him.
"Okay."
Hearing this, Xu Jie put down the test paper in his hand and stretched his body slightly. After all, he was almost fifty years old and could not refuse to admit his age. After marking the papers for these few days, his back and waist ached and he felt uncomfortable all over.
"I wonder if Lord Xu has discovered the first prize in the competition?" Yan Maoqing rubbed his arm and asked Xu Jie as if he was chatting.
"There are a few who write well, but I have never met anyone who can win the first prize. How about it, Lord Yan, have you ever met a work that can win the first prize?" Xu Jie asked Yan Maoqing with a smile on his face, like a good old man.
Yan Maoqing was waiting for Xu Jie to say this.
"Lord Xu, you really praised me for what I said. I just read a test paper and it really opened my eyes. I haven't seen such a beautiful article in several years." After hearing Xu Jie's question, Yan Maoqing stood up with a smile and handed the test paper with several names of Yu Xiuzai to Xu Jie with both hands.
"Sir Xu, please look." Yan Maoqing handed the test paper to Xu Jie with both hands.
Xu Jie took the test paper and sat on the chair, quietly flipping through it. The writing was okay and the article had some depth. As he read it, Xu Jie discovered the mystery in this test paper: Yu Xiuzai, Yu Xiuzai... ... There was no need to use the word "Xiuzai", but this test paper actually used several "Yu Xiuzai" in prominent positions.
"This is the first time I've seen such a good article in all these years." When Xu Jie was flipping through the test papers, Yan Maoqing was very fond of this article.
Xu Jie didn't say anything. He patiently read the test paper, counted the number of Yu Xiuzai's answers, and then turned his gaze to Yan Maoqing and looked at him for a long time.
"Master Xu, how do you think this test paper is?" Yan Maoqing understood the meaning of Xu Jie's eyes, but he smiled and asked, "Before entering the Imperial Examination Hall, Master Yan also told me to be impartial and to assist Master Xu in presiding over this joint examination. Master Xu is the master in everything."
Yan Maoqing believed that Xu Jie was a smart man and would definitely understand what he meant.
If it was before, Xu Jie would definitely dismiss this test paper without hesitation, and perhaps even uncover a case of cheating in the imperial examination. However, after the Xiyuan incident a few days ago, Xu Jie realized that although he was a minister, his thigh was still not as strong as Yan Song's little finger. What if I let you be arrogant for the time being? What happened to King Fuchai of Wu
“This volume is very good.”
After thinking for a moment, Xu Jie's voice came faintly.
After saying this, Xu Jie put the test paper on the table with a calm expression, took out a pen, and wrote a big "Zhong" on it.
"Then can it be selected as Cao Yuan?" Yan Maoqing asked again.
"No hurry, it's still early, and most of the test papers have not been reviewed yet, so there's no need to rush." Xu Jie replied indifferently. (To be continued.)