Chapter 87 Three Years Later and Another Three Years Later

In the study room next door, not only the people mentioned by Zhang Shuier, but Lu Jinchuan and Song Junyan had already brought all the chief examiners and related officials of that year to Zhang Yongping's study room.

Make sure that whenever Lu Xinran needs it, he can sort out the cause and effect smoothly.

Lu Xinran picked up the tea bowl, lowered his head and took a sip, then widened his eyes in slight surprise.

“This tea is delicious.”

"Right, let me tell you, my brother is a man who knows how to enjoy life. Everything he eats and uses is of the finest quality. I'll steal his tea and you can take it back with you when you leave."

Zhang Xinji, who was right next door and could hear the conversation clearly, said: "..."

She is really his good sister!

Lu Xinran pretended to be polite, but when he saw that the two of them were talking about topics that he didn't care about, he lowered his head and flipped through the booklet.

[Tao had been thinking about how to cultivate Zhao Kaiyan since he was born. She found a real Taoist priest to tell Zhao Kaiyan's fortune and predict his future. However, the Taoist priest just pinched his fingers, shook his head and left.]

[She invited several Taoist priests, but no one was willing to say a word.]

[She had no choice but to let go of this thought and had people read the Four Books and Five Classics beside him since he was young, trying to give him a head start.]

【Zhao Kaiyan did not disappoint her. He started learning at the age of four and could recite poems at the age of six. He was praised by his teacher for his intelligence.】

[Tao and Zhao Jingtian were both extremely happy about this, especially Tao. A lie becomes true after being told a thousand times. She also began to believe in her heart that her son was the god of literature incarnate.]

[Zhao Kaiyan took the examination for the title of scholar at the age of twelve, but failed three times in a row, which was hard for both Tao and Zhao Jingtian to accept.]

[Tao heard that if one entered the Imperial College, one could bypass the scholar class and directly take part in the provincial examination. She put a lot of thought into it and specially trained a girl and sent her to Zhao Jingtian's room. This is how he found a way to send Zhao Kaiyan to the Imperial College.]

[After entering the Imperial College, Zhao Kaiyan felt as if his Ren and Du meridians were opened. In the second year, he took the provincial examination and was admitted with a ninth-place score.]

【Zhao Jingtian’s previous doubts were dispelled because of this, and he began to dream of being promoted from the Rongen Earl’s Mansion to the Marquis’ Mansion and then the Duke’s Mansion. However, Zhao Kaiyan failed the exam the second year, just three places short of passing.】

[In the next subject, I was four places behind. In the subject after that, I was five places behind. Three years later, I was three more places behind.]

[This is another three failures. He is already 30 years old.]

[He was anxious, and Mrs. Tao was even more anxious than him. Zhao Jingtian had doubts in his heart, but Mrs. Tao had been married to him for more than 20 years, and their children were married and had their own children. How could he divorce her now because of the lie she told him?]

[Even if he guessed that Tao was setting him up to marry him, he could only grit his teeth and accept it, and he couldn't ignore his son's future. ]

When Lu Xinran saw this, he couldn't help but spit again.

She now really hates this family.

In the next yard, Zhao Jingtian's face was as pale as paper, with beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down his forehead.

When Zhao Kaiyan heard her talk about her own experiences, how he had failed the county examination for the title of scholar three times in a row, and how he had failed the examination for the title of Jinshi three times in a row, he felt a little resentful when he thought of all the misfortunes he had experienced in his youth.

There is no first in literature, and no second in martial arts.

It's obvious that the examiner is blind. His essays have been praised by His Majesty, so why does he fail every time?

While he was feeling resentful, Lu Xinran had already sorted out the follow-up.

[Wow, the examiner for that subject turned out to be the Minister of Rites Du Liang! ]

[At that time, he was still the Minister of Rites. The emperor wanted to promote him, so he appointed him as the chief examiner of that subject.]

[Zhao Kaiyan failed to pass the exam three times. He was afraid that he would fail the fourth time. Before the exam, he knelt in front of Zhao Jingtian and begged him to help him.]

[Zhao Jingtian had high hopes for his son, so how could he bear to let him waste time again and again? In order to help him, he had to find a way to bribe the examiner.]

[Since he was already trying to bribe the examiner, why didn't he make a bigger move? ]

[He first went to Du Liang several times, promised him many benefits, and repeatedly promised to help him get the position of Minister of Rites. Then he asked him to find a way to find out the test questions and implicitly "sell" the test questions to a few families who were in their favor.]

[The emperor originally wanted to promote Du Liang, so he set the exam questions for that subject in advance during his deliberate test.]

[Du Liang and Zhao Jingtian were also very smart. They knew that the exam questions could not be sold but only given as favors, so they asked people to find out which families' children would be eliminated that year, and they could recruit those people.]

【Zhao Jingtian was quite smart. He knew that Zhao Kaiyan’s academic performance was not very good since he had failed the exams several times. So he asked someone to revise the essays he had written, just to ensure that he would pass the exams but not be outstanding.】

[In the end, just as he had imagined, Zhao Kaiyan ranked 38th in the second class of that subject. There were a total of 92 people who passed the exam, and his ranking was at the bottom of the second class, a ranking that would not attract attention.]

[Among the students who got the exam papers from them, only one student failed to copy the exam papers because his cheat sheet was found when he entered the exam hall. The others all passed the exam.]

[It's just a pity for those students who were pushed aside by them. They studied hard for many years, but in the end they failed because of the blatant cheating by others who had power and influence. ]

Zhang Shui'er was already familiar with her routine. As long as she started sighing, it meant she needed to take a break during the half.

Seeing her sigh, he pretended not to hear her and poured her another bowl of tea.

"We just mentioned that a new bookstore has opened in the city. The owner is from the south. There are many travel notes and story books that are popular there but not seen in the capital. Should we go and take a look one day?"

"OK!"

Lu Xinran's attention was instantly drawn to the three words "storybook". Life would be so boring without melons to eat, so she would definitely buy a few more books.

In the study room next door, a group of people were still waiting for her to talk about which families got the test questions from Zhao Jingtian and Du Liang, but their minds suddenly changed to Huantuo's notebook.

Everyone knew that this incident should come to an end for the time being.

Du Liang also had cold sweat on his forehead, but he thought he was careful and did not leave any handle.

When he first met Zhao Jingtian, it was in a secluded courtyard. A carriage drove directly into the courtyard from behind, and no one knew who was in the carriage.

Zhao Jingtian promised him benefits, but he only took real money. He had already deliberately spent the money over the years. Even if Zhao Jingtian turned around, there was no evidence to prove that he leaked the test questions.

Thinking of this, his heart settled down. Facing the gazes from Zhang Yongping and the others, he just looked back calmly and innocently.

Zhao Jingtian wanted to say something else, but the topic next to him suddenly turned to the murder on horseback.

He hadn't even wiped the sweat off his head when he heard the voice that frightened him so much again.

【Let me see what evil things Zhao Kaile has done. 】

[People with no bottom line will also be bad people. Zhao Kaile is more vicious than Zhao Jingtian and Tao Shi. Such people do not deserve to live in this world. ]

The scientific examination cheating case turned into a murder case. Song Junyan and Tang Quyan looked at each other and sat up straight.