But it only lasted for a brief moment.
Wen Hemian turned his head and said sarcastically, "I'm not my parents' biological son, so how could I possibly be the Grand Secretary Ning?"
Even if Ning Hechu has extraordinary abilities, he can't exactly dig out her soul to take a look, can he?
“I didn’t mean that.” Anyone could tell that Wen Hemian was being sarcastic. The sudden demotion almost made Ning Hechu choke. He then smiled and said in a low voice, “I just wanted to remind Grand Tutor Wen that some secrets, if you’re going to keep them, you should keep them for life.”
Wen Hemian calmly replied, "Then there's no need for Chief Minister Ning to trouble himself."
Although Ning Hechu did accidentally reveal her biggest secret, she didn't believe he truly knew it.
Xie Lang found the little monk in advance, and might have spread some rumors to mislead Ning Hechu. As long as she doesn't feel guilty and remains unmoved, Ning Hechu won't be able to do anything to her.
Even if we take a step back and say that there are no reliable methods to verify bloodlines in this era, there are none.
The re-examination questions required extra work. Apart from Chief Examiner Xu and Wen Heming, all the examiners who set the questions were investigated privately. Fortunately, no one else was found to have acted out of favoritism.
After finishing everything and returning to the mansion, it was already 7 PM.
A hint of heartache appeared in Qingyun's eyes: "The situation in the capital has been turbulent lately. How can your health withstand such a busy schedule, young master?"
The premature birth of the princess has had some impact on the fetus. Although Wen Hemian looks healthy, she cannot overwork herself. Most of the illnesses she has had in recent years have been caused by overwork and worry.
However, Wen Hemian was used to getting sick in modern times, so she didn't think that a few minor illnesses were a big deal.
Qingyun's sudden mention of this matter made her reconsider her previously shelved ideas.
“Once I’m done with these busy days…” Wen Hemian said thoughtfully, a faint smile in his eyes, “I will resign from my position as Minister of Personnel to His Majesty, and then I’ll be free.”
Wen Hemian never intended to stay in this position for long. During her time in office, she had already been evaluating subordinates who could take over, and now she had a suitable candidate in mind.
He's just waiting for the right time to step down and hand over the reins to a more capable person.
Surely no one can resist a wonderful retirement life.
"That's great." Qingyun smiled. "The prince and princess have been talking about you every year. When you have some free time, you can take me to the border."
Qingyun was always by Wen Hemian's side, basically going wherever Wen Hemian went. She also wanted to see the magnificent scenery beyond the Great Wall, so she naturally looked forward to it.
I've been wanting to go out for a while now anyway.
Wen Hemian agreed without much pressure: "Okay, I'll take you everywhere I go."
Qingyun's smile deepened.
-
Cheating in the imperial examinations was a serious matter.
Huo Ping acted swiftly, quickly taking control of all those with connections. As for the examinees, they only knew that some people around them had been arrested, but no one dared to inquire about the specific reasons.
In this situation, there's no need to worry about anyone defying the rules. The third exam proceeded smoothly and quickly, and all that's left is to wait for the papers to be graded and the results to be released.
However, before grading, a special person must anonymize the exam papers, allowing for a brief respite.
Wen Hemian no longer needed to hide at home to avoid suspicion. After finishing her official duties, she went to the Dali Temple to inquire about the case.
After the Mingzhou case, Chen Yi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, had been completely categorized as a royalist and could no longer remain uninvolved.
There was no need to hide anything from Wen Heming.
The sequence of events is clear, and the investigation is not difficult.
Interestingly, this incident really had nothing to do with Ning Hechu.
The root of the problem was that the examiner surnamed Fei's wife was seriously ill, and his salary was not enough to cover the exorbitant medical expenses, which led him to the idea of selling exam questions.
He originally only intended to sell the questions to Xun Si to help him out of his predicament, but he didn't expect that the father and son would have evil intentions and secretly sell the questions to more people, which led to the situation becoming more uncontrollable.
How should I put it? Hateful and pitiful.
After speaking, Chen Yi remained silent for a long time: "Fei Yuan came to the capital from Zhangzhou, a thousand miles away. He is a diligent and honest man, and he and his wife were young lovers. But he is deeply in love with his wife. Has he ever considered what will happen to those candidates whose futures have been affected?"
He has his unspeakable difficulties, but what about those test takers? Don't they also have their own hardships?
"He deserved it."
Wen Heming sighed, his feelings complicated.
"His intentions were good, but he did the wrong thing, and he has to bear the consequences himself."
When it comes to matters of the heart, they are always the most complicated, and no one can definitively say who is right and who is wrong.
However, through Chen Yi's words, Wen Hemian still glimpsed some shortcomings in the treatment of officials in Da Zhao.
While relatively high salaries can reduce official corruption to some extent, this only provides protection for the official himself. If a family member falls seriously ill, especially for officials with weak connections, they may still go bankrupt and eventually have to turn to the wrong path.
Chen Yi sighed, "That's all we can do."
After learning about the situation, Wen Hemian decided to go to the palace.
Previously, one had to symbolically pull out a waist token, but now one can simply scan their face. When the imperial guards at the palace gate saw her coming, they made way from a distance and let her in directly.
Wen Heming remained silent.
No wonder some censors always disliked her. They were used to it and didn't notice, but now they suddenly realized that they had indeed been a bit too high-profile in some ways.
But so what if she's high-profile? Ning Hechu is even more high-profile than her.
Wen Hemian comforted herself, borrowed a horse from a palace guard, and rode to the Imperial Study.
That's so far, it would take forever to get there.
In the whole world, besides Xie Lang, only she dared to ride a horse in the palace. No one stopped her, and she arrived at the Imperial Study without any problems.
Having probably heard the commotion beforehand, Wen Hemian came downstairs and found Xie Lang already waiting for her at the door.
The young man, dressed in casual clothes, stood there. He was tall and slender, with a noble and imposing presence. He was handsome and dashing. When he suddenly saw her, his eyes lit up, wagging like a puppy's tail.
"Grand Tutor!"
Since she had intentionally distanced herself from him, Wen Hemian had rarely taken the initiative to enter the palace. Xie Lang had been holding back for a long time, and when she took the initiative again, his joy was overflowing.
Wen Hemian was slightly lost in thought for a moment.
She dismounted and said, "I have something to say to His Majesty."
Xie Lang subconsciously raised his hand to touch her, but Wen Hemian subtly avoided it. His smile froze slightly: "Let's go inside and talk."
Wen Hemian nodded and followed him into the Imperial Study.
The people outside immediately closed the door, as if afraid she would run away.
Wen Hemian: "..."
She touched her nose, told Fei Yuan about his situation, and then shared some of her own thoughts.
"...I would like to ask, within our capabilities, could the Great Zhao also establish a system to protect officials?"
Many of the words Wen Hemian used were unfamiliar, but Xie Lang, having spent so much time with her, could guess their meaning by combining the context.
He looked away: "Grand Tutor..."
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