Xu Zengshou, who had been staying at the restaurant, and Song Zhong were getting a little anxious at this point, as things weren't going smoothly.

Song Zhong turned around and said to one of the guards, "Go and remind those scholars that the people you've placed here need to do something."

The spies quickly walked down from the restaurant and gave a few instructions to a servant. The servant then squeezed into the crowd and whispered something to a scholar who looked like a wealthy young master; this was clearly also a spy from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At this point, Xu Zengshou also gave instructions to his subordinates. In fact, this task was temporary. Wang Chengen had sought his help, and Xu Miaoqing had instructed Xu Zengshou to share the emperor's burdens. He was now in charge of some people from the Eastern Depot.

"The imperial court has indeed selected 120 scholars! But why are there only 30 scholars from the north?!"

"The top ten in the imperial examination were all from the south, while only two of the top fifty were from the north!"

Suddenly, some voices emerged from the crowd, and everyone's focus began to shift. Some scholars also heard these discussions and increasingly felt that some things really were true.

Even before the imperial examination began, rumors circulated that the court would select 120 scholars, with 90 slots allocated to scholars from the south, while only 30 slots were for scholars from the north. Initially, many northern scholars were dissatisfied, questioning why southern scholars received so many more slots.

The scholars in the south were also indignant. If it were entirely based on merit, they felt that none of the thirty scholars from the north would be able to make the list.

At the time, these were just rumors, and although they seemed to be quite convincing, many people felt that it was best to just listen to them. If they actually caused trouble, their careers might be ruined.

Looking back now, we need to start considering many things, and perhaps there really is some injustice involved.

Ru Chang is the most respected scholar in the land, from Zaojiang, Hengshan, Huguang. This Minister of Personnel is from the South, so naturally he takes care of Southerners.

Although Mei Yin had served as the Shandong Provincial Education Commissioner and his ancestral home was in Guide Xiayi, he could barely be considered a northerner. However, he was a relative of the emperor, the nephew of Mei Sizu, the Marquis of Runan, and a son-in-law of the emperor.

Liu Zhi, also a son-in-law of the emperor, was the grandson of Liu Ji, the Earl of Chengyi. Liu Bowen, whom Zhu Yuanzhang called "my Zhang Liang," was one of the three great poets and writers of the early Ming Dynasty, along with Song Lian and Gao Qi. He was one of the leading figures among the literati of eastern Zhejiang.

This time, the imperial court is specifically targeting scholars from the north. Otherwise, why would there be two separate examination lists for the north and south, yet the candidates are combined into one? When the results were posted, the candidates from both the north and south were simply listed together on one list – this is a deliberate attempt to humiliate the northern scholars!

If Zhu Yunying knew, he would definitely spit in those people's faces. If it weren't for my intention to support them, there wouldn't be many northern scholars who would have passed the imperial examination. Although I have given them regional protection and some quotas, what I want are truly talented scholars, not people who can rise to the top solely by relying on regional protection policies.

Scholars from the north could be admitted, but they obviously wouldn't be given the same quotas as those from the south. Listing them together served two purposes: firstly, to warn northern scholars of the gap between them and those from the south; and secondly, to avoid the hassle of separate spring and summer imperial examinations.

It was simply a matter of taking the exam at the same time, relying on a single exam paper, and selecting candidates based on their place of origin and ranking—nothing more. The existence of separate lists for the North and South was real, but it was impossible for two top scholars to be selected in a single imperial examination.

Zhu Yunying was quite petty and stingy. To produce two top scholars, two second-place scholars, and two third-place scholars in a single imperial examination—my Ming Dynasty's Hanlin Academy doesn't need so many people. It's just a list of successful candidates; don't overthink it.

Chaos broke out in front of the examination hall. Some of the unsuccessful candidates were unwilling to accept defeat, feeling that the court had been biased and that this year's imperial examination was unfair. Besides feeling wronged, many also thought that if they made a scene, the court might try to appease them by re-examining the papers or holding another examination.

At that time, the opportunity might come, and you could achieve top honors in the exam!

Let them make a scene, keep making a scene! I'm worried these students haven't escalated the situation enough!