Idle courtiers

Chapter 384 It's a Farce

On the second day, Zhou Nan entered the imperial city and attended the last class before the Shuntianfu Township Examination.

Zhou Nan didn't see Chen Ju among the students, so he must have lost his temper.

Zhou Nan couldn't help shaking his head: This popularity is really great.

There is nothing to say about this day's course, so I finished it according to the script.Because Zhou Nan had something on his mind, he didn't delay and returned to the Daolu Department.

Shi Wenjiang had finished his business and came back to wait in the office. When he saw Zhou Nan coming, he closed the door and handed three pieces of paper to Zhou Nan: "Si Zheng, it seems that this subordinate was really deceived."

Zhou Nan: "How to say?"

Shi Wenjiang looked depressed: "I have been busy all day today, and I bought three papers through other relationships, but the topics are different. I am also confused now, which one is true and which one is false. "

Zhou Nan unfolded it and saw that it was indeed so.He asked again, "Where did you get these three papers?"

Shi Wenjiang: "One is from the sect of the Ministry of Rites, one is from the Imperial Academy, and the third is from the Shuntian Prefecture's Xuezheng Yamen. It seems that they are all unreliable."

Zhou Nan put these three papers together with the copy of Shi Wenjiang's yesterday and the one bought by Wu Xinhua, and after looking at it for a while, he had an idea in his mind, and asked: "Wenjiang, what do you think? Which of these papers is the most reliable?"

Shi Wenjiang thought for a while, then said hesitantly: "If you want to talk about credibility, maybe the two cards of Shuntian Prefecture Xuezheng and Shuntian Prefecture Yamen are higher. After all, this is the Shuntian Prefecture's rural examination, and it is more convenient for them to explore the questions. According to my In the Imperial Examination System, the grand master came to the case, and the governor of the province where he was located had to come forward to greet him and arrange him properly. The grand master had to wear red hanging flowers on Ma Kua Street to show his solemnity. Although Shuntian Mansion is in the capital, the rules cannot be broken."

"Gu Yan, Gu Shangshi's house is only a few steps away from the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion, but when the case came, he was accompanied by the Yin of Shuntian Mansion for two days to meet the local gentry. During the period, both the gentry and the officials in the yamen visited him Tone, I want to find out the way the great master came up with the question."

"Grandmaster Gu has locked the tribute courtyard, and all the examiners can't come out until the day when the results are announced. However, these days, many candidates still contact the Shuntian government office and the Xuezheng office, asking for food and drink, and want to get a topic." Speaking of Here, Shi Wenjiang suddenly remembered something: "Today, when I went to invite an acquaintance from Shuntian Mansion to drink, I saw Li Gao."

"You saw Li Gao, what's going on?" Zhou Nan asked.

Shi Wenjiang: "What else can he do there? It's also to find out the questions of the township examination! Don't forget, Li Gao is from Tongzhou, and Li's surname is a common surname in Tongzhou. It is difficult to guarantee that no children of the clan will participate in this year's township examination. He is now It is the de facto patriarch of the Li family, and it is natural to support the clan members when they are developed."

"Oh, what happened next?"

Shi Wenjiang: "As for whether Li Gao bought the test questions, I dare not say whether the test questions are true or not. Now the examinees in the capital have a test question at hand, and I am also very confused." Speaking of this, he was troubled Hitting his forehead with his fist.

Zhou Nan laughed: "From my point of view, the exam questions of this subject have not been leaked, and everyone is guessing randomly."

"It's all fake, how is it possible?" Shi Wenjiang took a breath.

Zhou Nan pointed to the five papers on the case: "Wen Jiang, don't you find that these questions are all the same?"

Shi Wenjiang looked at it for a moment, then said in surprise: "It's all about the Analects of Confucius."

Zhou Nan smiled: "You just found out. Because of this, I am sure that these questions are all fake, and Gu Yan's exam questions have not been leaked."

Shi Wenjiang: "Since the titles are all fake, why do some people dare to sell the titles? Aren't they afraid that the buyer will not follow them afterwards?"

"So what if you don't comply? They only asked you to issue an IOU. If you don't win, the IOU will be invalidated naturally, and you have nothing to lose. Is it possible to turn him into the Yamen and cheat in the examination room? Of course, the seller will be punished by the national law." Punishment, as a buyer, you can't run away." Zhou Nan said slowly: "If you win, they may come to the door with a note to ask for money. Everyone in the world knows that Gu Yanhao's "The Analects of Confucius" should follow the example of Zhao Pu in the Song Dynasty. Half of the Analects ruled the world. After he became an official, every time he gave candidates a question, it was "The Analects". As long as someone who knows how to write questions, he will naturally know the number of his questions, and it is not difficult to guess."

Not to mention other people, even a talented person like Wang Shizhen and an examination machine think so.

"Ah!" Wanting to understand the reason behind this, Shi Wenjiang was dumbfounded: "It's that simple?"

Zhou Nan: "Yes, it's as simple as that. This is a scam from the beginning to the end, and it's a gamble for the buyer. The bet is one piece of paper on one's own irrelevant reputation. If you lose, you will be scolded." One meal. If you win the bet, it will be a profit of at least 100 taels, up to 1000 taels."

As he spoke, he began to analyze with Shi Wenjiang where the casino dealer's profits come from.

The casino dealer does not need to be proficient in his business to win money.

Take this year's Shuntianfu Township Examination as an example. There are a total of more than 2000 candidates. According to the admission rate, about [-] people can be selected, which means that one tenth of them can make it to the list.

Just imagine that if these dealers sell two hundred papers, one or twenty of them will win!That's tens of thousands of taels of profit, and it's all for nothing.

The dealer has sold so many questions, even if only one person is Chinese in the end, it can be regarded as a profit.

Speaking of this, Zhou Nan sighed: The people in the capital are amazing, they can even come up with this idea.Really broad thinking, a lot of fun. ,

It was a farce from the start, absurd and boring.

Shi Wenjiang has been busy for two days. He thought he could make a great contribution to Zhou Nan, but he didn't think it would be a waste of time.For money, some people don't even want their face.

Zhou Nan comforted him and said, "Wenjiang, forget it, anyway, you and I just issued a bunch of IOUs, and there is no loss."

"No, the problem is just the opposite. This matter is very serious. Those IOUs must be redeemed. My lord, please give me the money."

Zhou Nan: "And why?"

Shi Wenjiang grimaced: "These exam questions are all fake, and they are useless. But if you are really successful, my lord, wouldn't you be caught by others? In the future, even if decades pass, Si Zheng, your official If you live in the first rank, others can say that your fame is due to fraud in the examination hall. In the court, no one has an enemy. At that time, if others insist on this point and make trouble, how will adults deal with themselves at that time?"

Zhou Nan was dumbfounded: "As long as I win the co-authorship, the suspicion of fraud will not be washed away?"

Shi Wenjiang nodded: "Yes, Si Zheng think twice."

Shi Wenjiang bought a total of four papers, 100 taels each, which is [-].Wu Xinhua gave one thousand, but I have to pay one thousand and four if I didn’t do anything. What’s the reason?
Zhou Nan felt that his heart was bleeding: "Okay, Wen Jiang, you immediately follow me home to withdraw the money, and get this matter done as soon as possible. Don't make mistakes."

Seeing the white money taken out from home, our Master Zhou wanted to vomit blood.

Let's not talk about how this damned Shuntianfu Township Examination was so messed up.The problem is that everyone in the capital knows that Gu Yan will come up with questions from "The Analects of Confucius". I'm afraid that every sentence in this book will be memorized by the candidates as a model essay.Even if I have Wang Shizhen to answer the questions, if I actually pass the exam, I may not win.

No, I have to do something to pay back, otherwise this idea will not make sense.

Thinking of this, Zhou Nan's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Wen Jiang, do you know who that person met Li Gao yesterday?"

"know."

"Who?"

"Master Gu."

Zhou Nan: "Who is Shigu?"

Shi Wenjiang: "Don't you even know Shigu? The cousin of Duan Tixue's daughter-in-law in Shuntian Mansion is now serving as Duan Tixue's long-term follower in the Tixue yamen. I want to come to Duan Tixue to sniff out when he received Gu Yan. Typed the questions. The people around him want to sell the questions to get some pocket money."

Zhou Nan showed a smile on his face: "Where does Duan Ti learn?"

Shi Wenjiang: "He studied Taoism in Shuntian Mansion, so he was imprisoned in the Tribute Academy together with the great master. It is said that he became a supervisor." He was responsible for maintaining order in the examination room.

Zhou Nan laughed even more happily: This is really where we don't meet each other in life!Shi Gu is Shi Niangzi's cousin, if he guessed correctly, the mastermind behind selling the papers to Li Gao must be Shi Niangzi.This woman only has money in her eyes, and she is also very courageous, but she dares to do anything.

Shi Wenjiang looked puzzled: "Si Zheng asked why?"

Zhou Nan pretended to be nonchalant: "Just ask."

On the second day, Zhou Nan finally relinquished his errands and started a long vacation.At this time, there are still eight days left before the Shuntianfu Township Examination.

He wrapped the two palace flowers given by Princess Jiashan, hired a sedan chair and went straight to Duan Ti Academy, reported his name, and said that he was from the teacher's wife's hometown, and had some relatives, so please go in and report.

At this time, an old man with gray hair, wrinkled face, and shiny silk and satin came out of the porter's room, and shouted to Zhou Nan: "Where are the relatives from? I didn't know that there is a fellow like you in our teacher's family. Don't come here to fight the autumn wind!" Come on, get out!"

This man is old, angry, and looks like a snobby man, what a pity for his age.

Zhou Nan was furious: "Who are you?"

Today, Zhou Nan didn't wear official clothes, but was only dressed in common clothes, so that person felt contemptuous.He glanced at Zhou Nan contemptuously: "I am Young Madam's cousin Shigu."

Zhou Nan was taken aback when he heard the words, Mrs. Shi was pretty good-looking, with a fleshy one.I thought that since she was so young, her cousin should be in his prime, but he turned out to be such a bad old man.

Seeing Zhou Nan's strange expression, Shi Gu was originally a narrow-minded person, so he guessed that the visitor scolded himself in his stomach as "being old and not dying is a thief" and shouted: "Come here, beat me out of this poor man!"

The other concierge knew the goods, and he could see that Zhou Nan was wearing high-quality Songjiang cloth, so he hurriedly said: "This gentleman is really a relative of the young lady."

Shi Gu was even more impatient, and scolded: "I am from Shi's family, what kind of relatives and fellows do I have, don't I know better than you?"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Nan slapped him across the face.

(End of this chapter)