The next morning, Xu Yan and Chen Maoli went to the government office to pay a visit to Magistrate Ma.

According to the old custom, the top ten students in the provincial examination were required to go to the government office to express their gratitude. But for some reason, Zhang Yinian did not show up.

It is said that he was so angry that he fell ill. There is also a saying that Master Zhang was very dissatisfied with the ranking set by the prefect and chose to protest in a silent way.

No matter what, Zhang Yinian's actions violated taboos in the officialdom.

However, Ma Shanyuan was in high spirits because of the good news and didn't care much about it.

He first praised the nine people in the hall, and then warned them to guard against arrogance and impatience, and strive to achieve fame and honor as soon as possible.

Afterwards, all the students thanked the emperor and left, but Xu Yan was left alone.

After everyone had left, Ma Shanyuan said leisurely, "I've been so busy with the handover with County Magistrate Zhao recently that I almost forgot to tell you something important. Fortunately, you came to thank me today and reminded me."

Xu Yan quickly bowed and said, "Please enlighten me, old man."

"I've read the latest issue of the official bulletin. Besides the changes in appointments for Governor Zhu, myself, and County Magistrate Zhao, there are also other appointments and dismissals. Among them is the selection of the Zhejiang Provincial Education Commissioner."

Ma Shanyuan's words were so revealing that they scared Xu Yan.

"Old sir, has the Supervisor of Education been selected?"

Ma Shanyuan nodded and said, "The new Zhejiang Provincial Education Commissioner is Lord Lei Lilei."

This candidate was within Xu Yan's expectations.

However, according to his memory, Lei Li should have taken office in the 27th year of Jiajing.

How come it’s now several months earlier?

Ma Shanyuan seemed to see Xu Yan's confusion. He stroked his short beard and lowered his voice, saying, "It is said that this matter was decided by Your Majesty alone. It happened shortly after the auspicious sign was presented."

After hearing this, Xu Yan felt mixed emotions.

Could it be that his act of offering auspicious signs made Emperor Jiajing believe that Zhejiang was a land of outstanding people and talented people, and that he should send educational officials to select talents for the Ming Dynasty earlier?

On closer inspection, this made sense. Yan Song and Xia Yan, both members of the cabinet, were from Jiangxi Province, and there was even a saying that half of the civil and military officials in the court were from Jiangxi. The Jiajing Emperor, a master of political manipulation, naturally disliked this situation.

The core of imperial rule is checks and balances, and no single party must be allowed to dominate.

The excessive number of officials from Jiangxi must have alerted Emperor Jiajing, which is why he turned his attention to Zhejiang.

It has to be said that Emperor Jiajing had a very sharp vision.

Looking at the history of the Ming Dynasty, the only province that could compete with Jiangxi was Zhejiang.

Ji'an Prefecture in Jiangxi and Shaoxing Prefecture in Zhejiang can definitely be regarded as the top academic prefectures, and countless Jinshi scholars have come out of these two prefectures.

It's only slightly ironic that the new Zhejiang Education Commissioner selected by Emperor Jiajing, Lei Li, is also from Jiangxi...

Seeing Xu Yan's disappointment, Ma Shanyuan said a little embarrassedly, "Teacher Lei will be coming to Zhejiang to take up his post soon, so the academy examination cannot be held during this period. When Teacher Lei arrives in Zhejiang, he will personally go to each prefecture and county to preside over it."

This was a huge blow to Xu Yan. He was familiar with Magistrate Ma and Magistrate Zhao, and even though Magistrate Ma was promoted, Magistrate Zhao filled the vacancy he left behind.

As long as the court does not appoint an education commissioner in a short period of time, the power to preside over the academy examination will definitely fall on the prefect. In that case, there is no doubt that Xu Yan will pass the academy examination smoothly and obtain the title of scholar.

But now Lei Tixue is about to take office, and no one dares to break the taboo at this critical juncture and rush to hold the college entrance examination.

Isn’t that Da Leitixue’s face?

The educational inspector was a fourth-rank official, on the same level as the prefect.

By then, we will see each other everywhere. How can we get along with each other?

Magistrate Ma wouldn’t do it, and neither would County Magistrate Zhao.

Alas, man proposes, God disposes.

But now that things have come to this, being depressed will not solve the problem.

The matter of the college entrance examination can only be considered in the long run.

"Thank you for the advice, old man."

No matter what, it's always good to get first-hand information from Ma Shanyuan.

In Xu Yan's impression, although Lei Tixue was from Jiangxi, he had no friendship with the two cabinet ministers Yan Song and Xia Yan.

In this way, he doesn't have to worry about being labeled as Yan Song or Xia Yan if he has a good relationship with Lei Tixuechu.

After all, both of them ended up in a miserable state. When the tree falls, the monkeys will scatter, and their followers will not have a good time either.

As for Lei Li himself, he didn't have any black spots. He presided over the revision of many works and eventually became the Minister of Works. He died in the ninth year of Wanli, at the age of seventy-six.

Xu Yan would definitely not be at a loss by having such a great master as his master.

The only problem is how to get in touch with this grandmaster.

Xu Yan's mind was constantly pondering various possibilities, but he heard Ma Shanyuan say leisurely, "There is one more thing I want to remind you of. I heard that you and Zhang Yinian from Yin County had a feud, and Zhang Yinian was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted. It's okay for young people to be competitive, but the Zhang family of Chahu is the head of the four prestigious families in Yin County, after all, and his uncle is the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. I can't say much about other matters, so you should be careful."

Xu Yan thought to himself that Magistrate Ma was always so cautious when speaking, leaving you to guess halfway through.

Never mind, just be more careful.

"Remember the old master's teachings."

"Well, I am also a little tired, you can leave."

Ma Shanyuan waved his hand, and Xu Yan bowed and took his leave.

......

......

This time, the government office did obtain some useful information. After returning to Tailai Inn, Xu Yan told Chen Maoli the news that the education official was about to take office and the academy examination would be suspended.

Chen Maoli felt sad that he was about to say goodbye to Xu Yan and was very reluctant to leave.

"Since the college entrance examination will not be held in the near future, I will return to Cixi. My dear brother, please take good care of yourself!"

After a short pause, Chen Maoli chanted:

"I was about to tell you when I would return,

She tried to speak but her face turned pale before she could choke up.

Life is full of love and passion,

This hatred has nothing to do with the wind and the moon.

Don't write a new farewell song.

One song can make your heart ache.

I must see all the flowers in Luocheng.

It is easy to say goodbye to the spring breeze."

To be honest, after spending so many days with Chen Maoli, we have become real friends.

In other words, this is Xu Yan's first friend of the same age in Daming.

Of course he cherishes this friendship, and he feels mixed emotions as he is about to say goodbye.

Chen Maoli's poetry recitation was so emotional that Xu Yan felt overwhelmed and couldn't help but recite:

A night of rain in Ningbo has added a touch of autumnal color. Yet, the air is so bleak that I hear the bagpipes of Siming again. The city walls are so close, but I can’t hold them back. We’ve long forgotten each other, yet here I still remember each other. The white dew on the red maples lingers, and we drift further and further away, to the ends of the earth.

Desolate and lonely. How could the famous scholars of Qianlou spend their days? Only a black hat and a lame donkey, the setting sun in the west wind, and the traces of a weary wanderer. Twenty years in Jiangnan, still destitute, sighing that it is so hard to find a true friend. You must love wine and poetry, and Jianhu Lake is safe, with a straw raincoat and a hat.

Chen Maoli was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

It took him a long time to finally wake up from his dream. He excitedly held Xu Yan's hands and said, "Don't worry, my dear brother Yishi, our friendship will never change. Because we have no grudges, it will never change!"

Xu Yan nodded: "Because I don't complain, I won't change."

......

......