Chapter 374: Judging

The two-day provincial examination passed by in a tense atmosphere.

Fengjing City did not relax because of this, but instead fell into another more anxious wait.

As per convention, the results will be announced after ten days.

The chief examiner of this Zhongchendao County Examination was Li Jingyao, the president of the Hanlin Academy.

The examiners were isolated in the "Hengjian Hall" specially designated next to the Imperial Examination Hall.

This place has long been guarded by layers of imperial guards, isolating the inside and the outside.

Before the final rankings are announced, all examiners are not allowed to step out of this place, let alone return home, to prevent cheating.

Li Jingyao has long been accustomed to such rules.

At this moment, he seemed calm and composed, with a sense of detachment.

As the chief examiner, he does not need to mark every test paper personally, he only needs to take a general look at the overall situation.

The time when he really needs to be busy is when he is responsible for the final stage after all the test papers have been screened and evaluated.

Discuss with the deputy examiner and others to finalize the crucial final ranking.

This provincial examination was so special that it included almost all the famous talented women in Zhongchen Road.

The attention is unprecedented, and the water behind it is unfathomable.

Li Jingyao originally thought that His Majesty would give some secret instructions, but until now, everything has remained calm.

However, after serving as an official for decades, Li Jingyao has long been well versed in guessing the intentions of his superiors.

He slowly walked around the huge examination area.

But dozens of examiners were seen burying their heads in a pile of test papers, each with a solemn expression.

The rustling sound of brushes scratching across paper, the occasional rustling of files being flipped through, and the very low sounds of discussion echoed in the hall.

The air seemed to become thick because of this concentration, filled with the fragrance of ink and an invisible pressure.

The candlelight was bright, illuminating faces that were some young and some old, but equally serious.

After the inspection, he found the deputy chief examiner, Lord Sun, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Ceremonies.

"Master Sun, this provincial examination is of great significance, and you and I have a heavy responsibility.

In my opinion, we need to be extremely cautious."

Li Jingyao stroked his beard, his tone calm but with unquestionable weight.

"Since we have some free time now, why not bring over those papers that are on the verge of being accepted or rejected?"

Let's examine it together to avoid missing out on any gems, and to give an explanation to His Majesty and all the students in the world."

They are all old foxes who have been in the officialdom for many years. Upon hearing this, Sun Shaojian immediately bowed and responded:

"Lord Li is thoughtful and accurate!

It's always better to be cautious. I'll do it right away."

He thought to himself that Lord Li must have received instructions from the palace that were not convenient to be stated openly. What was he trying to filter out from this?

But he never expected that Li Jingyao's move was not based on the emperor's will.

Soon, a batch of more than ten papers were delivered to the main examination room.

Li Jingyao and Sun Shaojian sat at two large desks on the left and right, respectively, and were not in a hurry. They read through the books slowly and leisurely.

Li Jingyao's attention was almost entirely focused on the policy essay part, which was also the part with the heaviest score.

But what he cares about is not whether the article has lofty ideas, whether the arguments are rigorous, or whether the writing is brilliant.

His eyes were like a comb, carefully filtering out the beginnings, developments, transitions, endings and... rhymes of those paragraphs.

He's looking for a special, secretly marked paper!

Before the provincial examination, he received an anonymous message and a note that appeared out of nowhere on his desk in his study.

His superiors had made it clear that he was to make a small adjustment in this provincial examination.

Among all the papers judged as ambiguous, if the paragraph structure and rhyme arrangement conform to a certain specific pattern, they will be judged as passed without having to pursue a high ranking.

This matter concerns his only son who is an official far away in another place!

Back then, Li Jingyao was also full of vigor and ambition when he first entered the Hanlin Academy.

He thought that he would be able to achieve great things in the position of "Prime Minister", but in the end, he could not shake the huge mountain of Pei Xuanyun.

He worked hard for many years, but all he did was to provide talents for Fenggetai.

Then he became discouraged and lost the will to discipline his son.

Later, after his son barely passed the provincial examination, he made no further progress and had no choice but to be selected as an official and sent to another place.

In order to be transferred back to the capital, he made some mistakes in his haste and was caught by others.

He thought his career was ruined, but someone secretly suppressed the matter.

Li Jingyao could guess who was behind this. It was none other than those powerful and influential families with complicated connections, using it as a bargaining chip to threaten him.

But what is strange is that after this incident, the other party remained silent for many years until the eve of this provincial examination when he contacted him for the first time.

The other party's request... Li Jingyao thought about it over and over again.

If the only thing is to pass a paper that is already ambiguous and there is no tampering of the rankings, the risk is extremely small.

Even if someone questions him in the future, he can use high-sounding excuses such as "cherishing talent" and "novel ideas" to get away with it, and no one can really catch him.

And this is not surprising, as examiners usually have their own preferences.

For the sake of my son's future and safety, this risk is worth taking.

So, this scene happened where he and Sun Shaojian were reviewing the files together.

There were sixteen papers in total. Although he seemed to be appreciating the articles, his mind was actually focused on identifying the agreed rhyme codes.

However, after carefully checking all of them, nothing was found that met the requirements.

Maybe the grading process is only half done and that special paper has not appeared yet?

Li Jingyao thought to himself but showed no emotion on his face.

The young supervisor Sun on the opposite side looked up and asked, "Master Li, have you found any lost pearls?"

Li Jingyao put down the papers in his hand and quickly took out one and handed it over:

"This article has a rather novel approach. Sir Sun, please take a look."

Sun Shaojian took it and read it carefully for a moment, then commented:

“The introduction is indeed interesting, but the arguments are a bit loose and weak, with insufficient support. The writing style is still coherent.

It really is... it's optional."

"Put it on hold for now and make your decision after comparing it with other papers."

"yes……"

Sun Shaojian was a little suspicious, wondering whether the old man had received any orders.

Maybe he was overthinking it, and it was really just a pastime?

In Fengjing City, everyone is eagerly awaiting the results of the provincial examination.

The examiners were locked up in the Hengjian Hall, and some of them were like being trapped in invisible shackles.

In the palace, the three older ones are busy with their work, and the three younger ones also have homework to do.

Only the sixth one in the middle lived a carefree life.

I sleep until I wake up naturally every day, think about eating when I wake up, and play when I’m full, and the cycle repeats itself.

That afternoon, the autumn sun was warm and bright but not scorching.

Qin Zhaoyue ordered the palace servants to move a chaise longue covered with soft satin to the corridor, and leaned against it comfortably.

On the left, Tao Yao holds a fan with a butterfly-shaped handle, gently fanning it for her.

On the right, Yingnuo was peeling crystal clear purple grapes and feeding them to her mouth one by one.

She leaned her body and half-closed her eyes, listening to the sweet-voiced little palace maid read the latest storybook to her.

However, the maids serving around and the little palace maid studying all had faces that looked suspiciously red, as if they had been stained with rouge...