Ye Daquan slammed his fist on the table and stood up:

"Pah! Li Zhiyuan passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of thirty-three, and he was last in all of them. How could he possibly pass the provincial-level imperial examination? And the top scholar? That's laughable! Hahaha!"

"Exactly!" The villagers booed.

Looking at the villagers' foolish expressions, Li Jiaojiao said slowly and deliberately:

“You all had the same attitude when my brother took the imperial examination, and now my brother is the top scorer!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Daquan's face fell.

Mrs. Du and Old Mrs. Ye were both somewhat depressed and angry.

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. Indeed, everyone used to think that Li Ziming, who couldn't even pass the preliminary examination, could never pass the county-level examination.

As it turned out, not only did he pass the exam, but he also ranked first!

Could Li Zhiyuan really pass the provincial examination with top honors?

"Hmph!" Li Jiaojiao, with her hands behind her back, enjoyed the sullen expressions of the Ye family and the surprised looks of the villagers before strolling away.

Jin Hua huffed and snorted, returning to her seat. The ten taels of silver in her hand no longer seemed so appealing.

The villagers were fine and continued to eat and drink to their hearts' content.

Ye Caiping's table, however, was somewhat depressed.

Shen Zhiyan narrowed his eyes and turned to Ye Caiping, whispering, "Is Li Ziming Li Zhiyuan's son?"

Ye Xuan stood between the two of them.

Ye Caiping could only bend down behind Ye Xuan and nod, "Mm."

"With his level of ability, there's no way he could pass the imperial examination."

How do you know his skill level?

"When I lectured at the county school last time, I made everyone write an essay and submit it. I've read Li Ziming's essay. It's illogical and incomprehensible. He wouldn't even pass the prefectural exam."

"Oh, you didn't even know he mentioned Li Zhiyuan's stepson earlier, how do you remember his article?"

Shen Zhiyan said, "I remember everything I've seen. I won't forget it for at least a few years."

Ye Caiping laughed: "You're so amazing!"

Shen Zhiyan smiled and said, "It's alright."

The two whispered to each other behind him. Ye Xuan's back was taut, and his hand holding the chopsticks was trembling. "Should I leave?"

"Xuan'er, don't worry. He's the top scorer, so what? Second place doesn't matter!" Old Madam Ye comforted him gently when she saw his hands trembling.

Old Man Ye nodded as well.

Ye Xuan: "..."

Grandma Ye then looked at Mr. and Mrs. Ye: "We don't care about others, we only care about ourselves. So what if Li Zhiyuan really gets the top score in the provincial examination? That's his ability! We'll just send him a gift then. What's the big deal?"

Ye Daquan was still annoyed. After thinking for a moment, he looked at Shen Zhiyan and asked, "Mr. Shen, do you think Li Zhiyuan can become the top scholar in the provincial examination?"

Shen Zhiyan: "It won't work."

Hearing this, the Ye family members finally felt better.

They might be hiding their true abilities, but they knew what Li Zhiyuan was really capable of.

Now even the great scholar Shen says he can't pass, so he definitely can't pass.

Mrs. Du smiled and nodded: "That's wonderful. Let's not talk about them anymore, let's have a drink!"

Although it was a bit of a downer, the Ye family members were still very happy and all stood up to raise their glasses together.

...

After the meal, Ye Caiping invited Shen Zhiyan to the outer hall.

Shen Zhiyan sat in the carved armchair, watching her furtively close the doors and windows while holding a blue-and-white porcelain teacup, and couldn't help but laugh.

Once the last window was closed, Ye Caiping sat down next to Shen Zhiyan across a coffee table.

Ye Caiping said, "Today we were talking about the scientific expedition. And what about Li Ziming..."

"Cheating."

Ye Caiping was slightly surprised: "You guessed it?"

Shen Zhiyan calmly put down his teacup: "If this level of ability can get the top score, then the students of Yue'an County are beyond saving. There's no other reason than leaked exam questions and cheating."

"I'm just curious, they have no power, no influence, and no money... Hmm, I heard they can earn a hundred taels a month now. But a hundred taels isn't enough to bribe the people inside to get the exam questions."

"How did they get the exam questions?"

Ye Caiping asked, "Can you interfere with the exam questions?"

"What's so difficult about that?"

Given his status and position, and most importantly, his status as a great Confucian scholar, he could change the exam questions with just a word.

"I can talk to Prefect Qin later and tell him about the leaked exam questions. I can then have him use the other two sets of backup exam questions."

Ye Caiping said anxiously, "Wait...don't change it yet! Change it the day before the exam!"

Shen Zhiyan narrowed his eyes slightly: "You want them to steal the questions first?"

It's so easy talking to smart people. Ye Caiping pursed her lips and smiled shyly at him.

Shen Zhiyan was in a good mood because of her gaze: "That's fine. Let's change it the day before the exam. If we want to catch him then, we can ask the people he consulted. We'll have evidence by then."

Ye Caiping breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you."

"It's nothing."

If possible, Ye Caiping really didn't want to change the questions, because if he used answers he consulted or bought from outside, he would be judged more severely.

The officials could tolerate the leak of questions in the prefectural examination, but the leak of questions in the provincial examination was a major incident.

Students must retake the exam. However, performance is crucial in exams, and retaking the exam can change the fate of many students.

That's why Ye Caiping wanted to change the exam questions right before the exam.

...

Because the provincial examination was of greater importance, the questions were released on August 20th.

Locked inside the government office in the prefectural city.

Li Jiaojiao was overjoyed! This meant four days! One day more than the imperial examination!

She and Li Ziming did the same thing as before: they copied down the questions and then sought advice and questions from their friends who were scholars or candidates for the imperial examinations.

For a single question, consult not just one person, but several, then compile the answers together and choose the best one.

After finishing the answer, Li Jiaojiao and her brother went into Li Zhiyuan's room.

Li Zhiyuan was reading aloud in his study, shaking his head as he read.

“Father.” Li Jiaojiao walked to his side.

"Oh, it's Jiaojiao." Li Zhiyuan immediately put down the book in his hand. "What's up?"

"Here." Li Jiaojiao placed a stack of papers in front of him.

Li Zhiyuan opened it and saw that it contained some policy questions, along with answers.

What is this?

Li Jiaojiao looked out the window and, seeing that Zhang Shuiniang and Granny Li were not there, whispered, "The provincial examination is in a few days, and these are... the exam questions!"

"What?" Li Zhiyuan was stunned, unable to react for a moment. "Who predicted these questions?"

"No...it's the exam questions! I got them! Dad, pick out a few of the best answers and memorize them. You'll definitely get the top score in the imperial examination!"

Li Zhiyuan then came to his senses and said in alarm, "Jiaojiao, this is no joke, what kind of test questions are these..."

“It’s true!” Li Ziming stepped forward and lowered his voice: “The reason I was able to pass the exam with top honors was because of the questions Jiaojiao gave me! Father, as long as you memorize them, you will be the top scholar!”

Li Zhiyuan, finding their words plausible, was so frightened that he quickly closed the window, stunned:

"You came out on top because...you got the exam questions?"

"Or what?"

Li Zhiyuan was shocked, as if struck by lightning. He had thought that Li Ziming's success was due to his own teachings, but he never expected that it was because he stole the questions and memorized the answers.

...

I've been discharged from the hospital, and updates will be more frequent from now on. Thank you for your concern, my darlings.