The guarding examiner was already watching from his position, and the officer in charge of the inspection was also ready.

"Isn't there an empty seat in the middle?" If there's an empty seat, it means there are still examiners who haven't arrived yet.

"Is that the examiner's seat?" someone asked, but no one answered because the examiner written on the notice was Minister Lu, but Minister Lu was already sitting there.

It was drizzling that day, and there was snow in the rain, it was very cold.

As soon as Ji Yingying left the house, she couldn't help but want to curse. It looked like it was going to snow, but they were still taking exams while traveling. Aren't they afraid that the students will freeze to death?

The Emperor and his entourage are afraid of the cold, which is why they plan to move the date forward a little; there might be snow in November.

It will be even colder then!

They were invited to board the carriage and quickly arrived at the examination hall. When the carriage arrived, all the students were quite surprised.

This examiner is so... disrespectful to the chief examiner, arriving so late.

An old woman emerged from the carriage, leaving the students puzzled once again.

Ji Yingying came down only after the nanny came down and opened the umbrella.

When the students saw that it was a woman, they did not take it seriously. However, when they saw the clothes she was wearing, they were dumbfounded. Who was this Lord Xiao Ji, the Princess Protector of the Nation, who was an official as a woman?

Is she also one of the examiners?

[Oh wow~ There are even two or three girls here, not bad!] Ji Yingying noticed the students queuing up.

The three women stood aside and did not follow the group of men. If they knew that they were also candidates, their looks... would probably be very strange.

Minister Lu came to greet him personally: "Master Ji, thank you for your help." He smiled, which made Ji Yingying feel very uncomfortable.

[Since you knew you were troubling me, why did you still ask me to come?]

Minister Lu was confused. Why did he say that when he knew she would get angry?

As she passed by, many officials greeted her.

[They're using people from the Ministry of Justice, huh?] Ji Yingying knew one or two officials, thanks to Mu Kaiji.

After she sat down, she began to check and prepare to enter the examination room.

Ji Yingying just sat there watching, as did everyone else, and they were getting bored.

Ji Yingying suddenly spoke up: "Wait, he'll take you to the back to check, and strip you naked to see."

The officer immediately obeyed and took the man away.

"Young Master Ji, was there anything wrong with that person just now?"

"Ah... I don't know. I just saw that he wasn't looking good, so I asked someone to check it out?"

We can't exactly say he carried cheat sheets on his person, can we?

Suddenly, everyone's faces turned bad. There were actually people who dared to cheat. This was simply... courting death!

Not long after, the man was pushed out and expelled, and even his academic achievement was cancelled.

The man kept crying and begging for mercy, but no one paid him any attention.

[Sigh, what a lazy person. Why can't he just study properly? Why does he have to resort to these underhanded tactics? Xiangxiang, check if he actually got those grades himself.]

No, he stole the title of Tong Sheng from a fellow student, causing the student's family to be ruined. He cheated to become a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar), and someone else helped him pass the Juren (a higher-level scholar) exam; he paid for it.

He's just a piece of trash who spends his days in brothels and abusing women!

[Oh…] The next second, Ji Yingying said to Lu Shangshu: "Check him, there is definitely something wrong with him."

"Very well, very well." Minister Lu immediately made the arrangements.

He thought that was the end of it, but just as he made the arrangement, Ji Yingying caught another one.

"You ripped his cape off."

The man tried to stop him, saying that his family was poor and he only had this one cloak, what would he do if he lost it?

They just won't let me pull it.

The officers ignored his pleas and tore it up, leaving a large amount of paper scattered all over the ground.

"Ah... another one got caught." Ji Yingying sighed, and the people behind her became even more cautious.

They are not stupid and they can see that Her Royal Highness the Princess is a powerful person.

She can figure out any little trick.

[Fragrant, exploding melon...]

He was just an ignorant and incompetent good-for-nothing who wanted to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). His rise from a junior scholar to a provincial graduate was nothing more than a matter of buying his way in.

When the topic of buying and selling official titles came up, Ji Yingying asked again: "How many official positions in our Tianyou Dynasty are bought and sold?"

There are quite a few. Do you want some gossip? If so, I'll give you a list.

Are there any serious cases?

No, they all bought their way into minor official positions, like your father's low-ranking official. As for higher-ranking officials, they'd be beheaded anyway.

"That's alright. Besides, my dad wasn't bought; he's a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)—he got his position through the exams."

I know your older brother is taking the exam today too. Why don't you go and take it later? I've heard that in ancient times, becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination was a very important achievement, and very few people could achieve it.

Can you, a modern person, do this?

"No way, you want me to take an exam? Are you crazy?" Ji Yingying was too lazy to pay attention to him. As soon as Ji Jiaming came in, she immediately waved her hand.

Ji Jiaming also waved.

"Is that your eldest brother?"

"Yeah, to be honest, I don't even know how well he's learned. If he passes, he passes; if he doesn't, he doesn't pass."

Minister Lu: ...You have a big heart!

"Search this person too!" As soon as Ji Yingying's voice came out, the man immediately knelt down, shouting, "I don't dare anymore, I don't dare anymore, I was wrong..."

"I wouldn't dare, but I think you'd be very bold..."

The students behind were even more nervous, fearing that they would be caught.

This year, you don't need to bring food to the exam; it will all be provided by the examiners.

This year, TOEFL received its first batch of corn, as well as down jackets and other clothes that can make money.

The national treasury was much richer, and the emperor generously granted a favor to those poor scholars, allowing them to enter without bringing food.

At the appointed time, the officials will distribute a corn bun and a bowl of porridge. If you want to eat vegetables or something else, you can buy it with money.

The students behind were all very cautious and would secretly breathe a sigh of relief after passing the test successfully.

Upon entering the examination room, each person was given a piece of clothing, and it was even a down jacket. Ji Yingying had arranged for it, saying, "Wear something warm so you can write better."

The beds they rested on were heated beds. In short, this year's examination hall made all the students kneel down towards the palace.

"What are you doing?" Ji Yingying also came in. She was also one of the examiners. She was responsible for security, and the other things had little to do with her.

After confirming that she was a security guard, Ji Yingying complained to Xiangxiang: "If I went back to the modern world, I could definitely retire early and become a security guard."

"We are thanking the Emperor for allowing them to live so well. In previous years, the exams were also held when the weather was cold, but at that time, there was no accommodation or food provided, let alone clothing."

[Thank that old man Deng? You should thank me instead; I'm the one who fought for it.]

The students who were nearby couldn't help but be shocked when they heard this, but they didn't show it. Instead, they sat down and waited for the test questions.

Ji Yingying found a place to sit down, took out her beloved little warm quilt and put it on to prepare for sleep.

As early as when she came out, Nanny Xia had prepared everything for her.