Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 743: The Imperial Examination Questions Have Not Been Revised
In Hanyuan Hall,

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Shen Zhongxin, dressed in an official robe and a headband, lifted his sleeves, reached out to take the imperial edict from Lord Chu Nian's hand, and examined it carefully.

The exterior was not damaged, but the problem was at the gap. The sealant only sealed the middle section, leaving the two ends unsealed.

"Someone, come and light the oil lamp."

Shen Zhongxin was afraid that he couldn't see clearly, so he asked the examiner beside him to light an oil lamp.
"Yes, Lord Shen."

The person who agreed was none other than the censor Cao Guangzheng. He lit an oil lamp, then walked over with it and shone it close to the imperial edict. With this light, a tiny scratch on the seal could be clearly seen. It seemed that everyone around saw it.
"There are scratches indeed,"

"Yes, the seal is applied all at once, so how could there be any scratches?"

"Is there something wrong?"

The discussion started again, and some bold people even said that the imperial edict had been tampered with.

Shen Zhongxin had a clear idea in his mind. It was no longer important what the imperial edict looked like.

"Lord Chu, Lord Feng, Lord Meng, I'm sure you've all seen it. The Marquis is right. The seal is not completely sealed and has scratches. As for why, I don't know, but I do know that the envelopes of confidential letters are sealed tightly, leaving no room for movement. You can tell at a glance whether it has been moved or not. Therefore, I think there is something fishy about this imperial edict and it must not be used."

After saying this, he walked to the altar, put the imperial edict back on the altar, and then said;
"My Lords, the Imperial Examination is a rare opportunity. Students have waited for several years for this opportunity. It is never too careful for such a big event. Since Marquis Luo Yun, as the chief examiner, has doubts, and we cannot guarantee that there are no doubts after checking, we cannot guarantee that the test questions are safe. Therefore, they should be discarded."

These words were well-reasoned and made Zhang Jinyu look at him with new eyes. It seemed that Lord Shen understood what I meant. However, Lord Chu Nian was sweating profusely and looked a little surprised. He could only smile bitterly.
"What Lord Shen said is true, but this year's exam questions involve tens of millions of students. If they are changed at will, what should the Imperial Examination Hall do?"

"Master Chu, if you want to change it, then you should change everything. Can it be that only Hanyuan Palace can change it for fun? What's the reason?"

Zhang Jinyu saw that things were almost done and it was almost dawn, so he couldn't wait any longer. For this matter, he called everyone to get up early in advance. After all, he had to create a time difference with the Imperial Examination Hall. He thought that the "eunuch" got the news and went back to report. He looked behind the three princes, but the eunuch was nowhere to be seen.
"I have decided to discard the questions for this imperial examination and adopt new questions. Your Highness, Prince Jin, please send me a secret memorial."

"Uh, yes, sir."

As soon as King Zhou Ding of Jin came to his senses, he hurriedly took out the secret letter of examination questions and handed it over.

Zhang Jinyu respectfully took the envelope and checked it. Sure enough, it was completely sealed. He then handed the envelope to the adults in front of him.

"Everyone, check carefully. The seal is completely sealed. Nothing is missing."

Shen Zhongxin, Chu Nian and others checked and nodded.

"Your Majesty is right. It is completely sealed. There is no mistake."

"Yeah, it's different from that one."

Seeing that many officials agreed, Zhang Jinyu asked again;
"Now that you have read it, does anyone have any questions? If not, I will start the topic now."

While speaking, he deliberately glanced at the censor Cao Guangzheng. This man was very courageous and had a strong desire for fame and fortune. He could be used to his advantage, so he deliberately said;

"Master Cao, what do you think?"

"Well, my Lord, I think it's feasible. Since the questions in the imperial edict are questionable, they can't be used. It's only right to use other questions. But, how come these questions are in your possession?"

Cao Guangzheng thought about it and felt that there were many strange things about this matter. The imperial edict could not be used, but how come the envelopes of these test questions were with His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin? Shouldn't he report them back to His Majesty and have new questions set?

"Haha, Lord Cao asked a good question. I remember that there were some things in the imperial examination last year that I had doubts about, so Your Majesty made preparations early to prevent them from happening. Thanks to the emperor's majesty, I didn't expect that it would really be used. However, it was a serious matter and no one was qualified to take it, so His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin had to carry it secretly. I only found out about it this morning. Alas."

A sigh, not knowing whether it was a sigh or a lament, left Cao Guangzheng speechless for a moment. When it comes to people from the royal family, one must not say too much.

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. In this case, I have no doubts."

"Okay, since Lord Cao has no questions, then Lord Cao will do this for me and read out the test questions."

I don’t know if Zhang Jinyu had thought of this beforehand, but after she finished speaking, she stuffed the envelope into Cao Guangzheng’s hand and asked him to open it and read it.

The officials around were all puzzled, it was against the rules, but no one dared to complain. Only Shen Zhongxin looked at Luo Yunhou suspiciously, his abnormal behavior must have a foreshadowing.

"Well, since the Marquis has ordered me to do so, I dare not disobey."

Cao Guangzheng hesitated for only a moment before he reached out to take the envelope. His face straightened, and he tore open the envelope with his hands and took out the bright yellow memorial inside. He opened it and was quite surprised to see these. He then turned around and shouted to the students in the hall;
"This year, the examination questions are: first, poems and songs are all acceptable, with the capital as the theme; second, our Great Wu court established the world with military force, but now the evil cults are rampant in the south of the capital, and the lives of the people are in danger. In the north, the Donghu people are eyeing the border covetously and have been blocking the gate for years. In the land outside the border, the Jurchens are still thieves. In the northwest, the Xianbei people are sitting on the Western Regions and spying on the interior. Luo Yunhou once said, 'Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the country.' With this as the topic, the essay on the answer to the question is divided into two articles, the internal and external ones."

After Cao Guangzheng finished reading it, he read it again, and after reading it three times, he took back the memorial in his hand and handed it back.

"My Lord, I have finished reading."

"Well, Lord Cao read it clearly, worthy of being the runner-up in the Tianbao era. Someone, take good care of the imperial edict and this memorial, and send them back to His Majesty after the imperial examination is over."

"Yes. Lord Marquis."

Ning Bian behind him responded, took the secret letter of examination questions, and returned it to the altar together with the imperial edict. However, this proposition made everyone silent. Wasn't the question just solved the same as what Luo Yunhou had said before?
And Your Majesty, you actually openly told about the rebellion of those evil people in the Taiping Sect. What's going on?

But the test has already been started, and it is useless to talk about it.
"There is another rule. If you want to leave this place, you need to hand in your papers before you can leave to rest. In the hall and the back hall, no one is allowed to speak. There are two essays, so divide your time accordingly."

Zhang Jinyu established the rules and ignored everyone. After all, the "big show" was over. He waved his hand and left with the soldiers.

"Everyone, now that the rules and test questions have been issued, everyone should do their job and keep an eye on it."

Lord Chu Nian also knew that it was useless to think of anything else now, he could only keep going and keep an eye on it. As for the Imperial Examination Hall, well.

"Drive, drive!"

"Go, everyone, please get out of the way."

A team of imperial cavalrymen galloped out of the palace and headed towards the Imperial Examination Hall in the south of the city.

"call"

When they arrived at the Southern City Imperial Examination Hall, several imperial guards dismounted and immediately ran up to the steps of the Imperial Examination Hall, knocking frantically on the dragon gate.
"Quick, open the gate, there is an urgent order from the palace, hurry."

The guards inside looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to think, and the squad leader asked;
"Who is knocking on the dragon gate outside? Don't you know that once the dragon gate falls, it can never be opened again?"

"What nonsense! There is a secret memorial from the palace that must be delivered to Lord Nan. Find a way to deliver it to him."

Several imperial guards, especially the leading captain, shouted harshly.

When the squad leader heard that it was a secret report from the palace, he was shocked. Something had happened. He had been a mechanic for his whole life, so how could he not know about the slightest disturbance? Although he had no official rank, he had eaten more salt than those little brats over the past few decades. He explained;

"Go find the nearest examiner, and then find a hanging basket and rope, and bring a ladder."

"It's the squad leader."

After seeing everyone leave, the squad leader shouted outside;
"Sir, wait a moment. I will go find the examiner and a ladder and rope. I will climb the wall and get the folding paper. The gate has fallen, but it cannot be opened. The rules cannot be broken."

"I know, hurry up."

Several guards outside the gate frowned and agreed, and then came to the wall next to the courtyard. Sure enough, there was movement above. The squad leader put the ladder in place and waited for his men. He just called Master Pei Shaoqing.

"What's going on, squad leader? The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods has already begun. Why did you call me here?" "Sir Pei, there are imperial guards outside, delivering a secret letter. Please accept the order for Sir Nan. Don't delay."

The squad leader did not explain and just held the ladder for Master Pei to climb up.

Pei Shaoqing was confused at this time. What secret memorial from the palace did he need to collect? In a hurry, he was helped up by several yamen runners. He climbed up the ladder and climbed to the top of the wall. He saw several imperial guards below and asked;
"My dear officers, what is this secret letter?"

The captain at the foot of the wall heard someone asking him questions, and when he looked up, he saw an official standing on the wall. Without saying anything, he clasped his fists and said;
"May I ask your name, sir, and what is your official position?"

The captain of the imperial guards at the foot of the wall heard someone talking and asked.

"I am Pei Shaoqing, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Academy, and the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Examinations."

When they heard that it was Master Pei, the Junior Minister of the Ministry of Rites, the attitudes of the soldiers immediately improved. The captain even clasped his fists and said,

"It's Lord Pei. Lord, this is a serious matter and I dare not neglect it. There is an imperial decree from the palace. Because Marquis Luo Yun of Hanyuan Palace said that there was something wrong with the seal of the imperial edict, the original test questions are invalid and the backup test questions should be used. This is a secret letter from His Majesty. Please accept it and pass it on to Lord Nan."

After saying that, he put the sealed envelope in the bamboo basket hanging from the wall. The class leader threw the bamboo basket over from under the wall inside, and then slowly pulled the rope, and the bamboo basket rose up. Pei Shaoqing was shocked. Before he could figure out what was going on, the bamboo basket was in front of him. It was indeed a sealed envelope, which must contain new test questions. He shook his hand and quickly took it out of the bamboo basket.

"My dear officers, I will go right away. May I ask, have the examination questions in Hanyuan Palace been changed?"

"My Lord, it has been changed."

"Got it. I'll go right away."

Pei Shaoqing asked this just to confirm it. He hurriedly came down from the ladder, but his foot slipped and he fell to the ground.
"My lord, my lord, are you okay?"

Seeing this, the squad leader who had just put away the bamboo basket hurriedly asked someone to help Master Pei up and asked with concern. Master Pei waved his hand and ignored the dirt on his body.
"It's okay, help me up, it's important, I still need to see Lord Nan."

After saying this, he stood up and ran towards the yard.

The guards were left staring at each other in dismay. The guard leader turned around and yelled at them.
"What the hell are you all standing there for? Collect all the things and put them back where they were in the concierge's room. Don't move them. If any of the adults find out, you'll be in big trouble."

"Yes, squad leader, I'll go right away."

Several officers responded quickly, carrying ladders, ropes and bamboo baskets, and ran back to the gatehouse. Only one person beside him asked;
"Team leader, do you think someone might have cheated like last year?"

"You want to die? Don't say anything. Luo Yunhou's knife is very sharp."

The squad leader's face changed drastically. Last year's incident caused a lot of uproar, but unfortunately someone concealed it and it was left unresolved. But this year, it was different. Too much talk leads to mistakes. He glared at the yamen runner behind him, scaring him so much that his face turned pale.

"Team leader, I know I was wrong."

"If you want to live, shut up."

"Yes"

In the Gongyuan,
At this time, Lord Nan had already led many officials and stood in the middle of the courtyard. Using the large cauldron in the center of the courtyard, they burned incense and offered sacrifices to pray for heaven's blessing. After reading the sacrificial text in public, they threw it into the cauldron and burned it.

"bye!"

Then, all the officials knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.
"Get up! The auspicious time has arrived, let's start the imperial examination!"

Then there was a "yes", indicating that the imperial edict had been obtained and the examination questions had begun. Lord Nan stood up, straightened his robe, bowed again towards the large cauldron on the altar, then stepped forward, walked to the high platform, and lit some incense.

Looking at the imperial edict in front of him, Lord Nan did not hesitate. He took it in his hand and checked it. The seal was intact. Looking carefully, he found that only the middle section was sealed, not the whole thing. He saw that it had not been touched.
Lord Nan turned around and walked to the altar. Just as he was about to read the edict, he saw Pei Shaoqing running towards him in a panic from the alley at the southeast end of the compound. His official robe was dirty and looked like he had rolled on the ground. Before he could open the imperial edict,
A loud shout made Nan Zixian's hands tremble and he stopped.

"Master Nan, please wait and read it out. You must not remove the imperial edict. Something has happened in Hanyuan Palace. Your Majesty has sent a secret report!"

A hasty shout,
All the officials in the courtyard were shocked. They turned around and stared at Pei Shaoqing who was running towards them, thinking deeply. Even Nan Zixian, who was standing on the high platform of the altar, felt a sudden shock in his heart. He had a bad premonition. Could it be that something had happened to Marquis Luo Yun? The test questions had been changed? In this case, the test questions on the imperial list had been leaked.

When the man came close, he asked;

"Master Pei, why are you so anxious? Do you know that the auspicious time has arrived and I am about to open the imperial edict and read out the exam questions? Can you afford to delay something important?"

Pei Shaoqing almost couldn't catch his breath after hearing this harsh rebuke. He explained;
"Nan, Lord Nan, I know, but Lord Nan, the imperial guards in the palace sent me an urgent secret report, which clearly stated that the test questions must be changed. That's why I hurried here and I dare not neglect it."

After saying this, he handed over the secret envelope in his hand with grievance. The bright yellow secret envelope was indeed from the palace.

Nan Zixian saw it and her face darkened. She was afraid that the worst plan had come true. If the test questions were to be changed, something must have gone wrong.

"Do you know what happened in Hanyuan Palace?"

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Guards said that Marquis Luo Yun suspected that the seal of the imperial edict had been tampered with. Many officials were suspicious, so they re-used the test questions. That's why the Imperial Guards escorted us at full speed. Fortunately, we made it in time."

Pei Shaoqing swallowed his saliva and stared at the imperial edict in Lord Nan's hand. He couldn't tell where it had been tampered with.

Nan Zixian murmured,
"The imperial edict was tampered with. Was it moved before or after?"

He carefully examined the imperial edict in his hand and found it intact, with no signs of being tampered with.

"I don't know about this."

Pei Shaoqing curled his lips. How could he, a Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, know about such things?

At this time, seeing the strangeness on the altar, Ji Mingping from Wuying Hall and Wang Yishu, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, came over. Ji Mingping asked in confusion;
"Master Nan, why don't you read out the test questions? It's almost time."

"Yes, Master Nan, many examiners are still waiting to repeat the reading."

Wang Yishu from the Hanlin Academy was the chief examiner of this special examination and was responsible for reading out the examination questions. He had just noticed that there was no movement, so he came over to inquire.

Nan Zixian looked solemn, but she did not hide anything.

"It's not that we won't read it out. It's that something went wrong in Hanyuan Hall. Marquis Luo Yun discovered that there was something wrong with the seal of the imperial examination paper, so he used new examination papers, which caused a delay for a while."

"What? No way. The seal was tampered with. Was it done before or after?"

The two men's faces changed drastically, especially Ji Mingping, who immediately thought of the crux of the problem and asked.

"That is unknown. Since there are doubts about the imperial examination questions, they cannot be used anymore. Lord Wang, you open them and send someone to read them out. Open them here."

It was only at this moment that Nan Zixian felt something strange in his heart. He was afraid that someone might have tampered with the system just like last year. How audacious!

"This, I obey your order."

This was his responsibility, so how could he refuse? He had to take the secret letter and examine it in public, tear open the seal, and then open the secret letter to check the test questions. Surprisingly, there were only poems and policy essays.

"Master Nan, please take a look. There are only two questions: poetry and policy essay. The policy essay is divided into two parts. It is not difficult."

"Haha, Lord Wang, please send the examiner to read it out. It's not difficult, but the difficulty lies in the fact that it's not difficult."

Nan Zixian glanced at it as if he was asking a riddle. He knew it was the words of Luo Yunhou after seeing the title. Although the title was clear at a glance, the difficulty lay in the fact that the inside and the outside were inseparable and related to each other. It was a matter of balance. He shook his head and stopped asking about it. He put the memorial and the imperial edict back on the altar. After the imperial examination, he didn't know what was waiting for him.
I just don't know how many of the examiners in the courtyard are involved.
(End of this chapter)