Qi Lianli smiled and said, "You may not know this, but once a student is caught cheating, they will no longer be disqualified from the exam and banned from taking the imperial examination for three years, as they did a decade ago. Now, they will not only be disqualified but also stripped of their existing academic achievements. They will also be paraded through the streets in shackles and banned from taking the imperial examinations for life!"
This is only a punishment for students.
"Master Qi, for children from poor families who want to change their fate and cross social classes, the imperial examination is their only way out. Being caught cheating will result in a lifetime ban from taking the exam, which is a severe punishment for them. However, some students may still be tempted to take chances."
"Madam Su, they dare not take any chances. The provincial examination is heavily guarded and strictly monitored from the moment the students enter the examination hall until the end. We are fully aware of any small moves made by the students. The students dare not lose the big picture for the sake of small things. Now, over the past ten years, there have been very few cases of cheating in the imperial examination."
Xiao Lingyu nodded: "Master Qi is right. The students dare not take chances. There might even be some brave enough students who would bribe the examiners."
Xiao Lingyu needed to say this to shock him. It was hard to say whether he had been bribed by the Cui family.
Those who can reach the position of county magistrate are all old foxes.
I've seen everything!
Qi Lianli's eyebrows trembled slightly, "That's deceiving the emperor! The lightest punishment is exile of the whole family, the worst is beheading, unless he doesn't want his head anymore!"
Qi Lianli was very nervous. There were many aristocratic families serving as officials in the court in Huayang County. Although he was the county magistrate here, his subordinate officials included people from the two major families, the Cui family and the Meng family.
What if they come to bribe him?!
Xiao Lingyu pursed his lips and said, "Master Qi, the laws of Beiyi are all written down. I don't think any official would be stupid enough to do such a stupid thing that could cost them their lives!"
"Of course!"
He wouldn't do that anyway!
Qi Lianli now understood that the scholar Wu mentioned by the children had failed the imperial examination many times. The princess probably thought that there was something fishy about the provincial examination and asked him to pay attention to this provincial examination.
"Madam Su, I will be the chief examiner for the provincial examination this time. There will absolutely be no cases of students cheating or bribing the examiners!"
Xiao Lingyu smiled and stood up. "I believe that with Master Qi here, we will definitely see talented students on the list this time. It's getting late, and I still need to take the children boating on the lake. I won't delay you from returning to the yamen to handle official business. And remember to take the tranquilizing medicine!"
"Okay, I will take the medicine on time."
Qi Lianli spoke a few more words to the children, then took Lin Yu out of the teahouse.
Yan Wei knocked on the door in the dark and entered the private room.
"Xingyi, take the children and go down first."
Su Xingyi nodded: "Let's go, kids, let's go down and wait."
The children knew that their mother had something to ask Yan Wei to do, so they followed Su Xingyi downstairs very obediently.
"Are Lu Yuan and Si Chuyu's people secretly spying on the iron mine?"
Yan Wei said, "Yes, the Si family sent the Si family's secret guards to investigate with Wei Xiao, but they haven't found me yet. Do I want to join them in the investigation?"
"Not yet. Have you discovered that Lu Zeyi has secretly transferred the iron ore?"
"Not yet. Lu Zeyi only goes to the mine for two hours every morning. The iron ore mined by the workers is transported to the government warehouse, guarded by government officials. It is transported to the capital every twenty-one days. The day Cui Zheli left Huayang County happened to be the day the county government transported the iron ore to the capital."
Xiao Lingyu narrowed his eyes. "We'll find out in the next few days. Be careful and don't let anyone get involved. Don't go to the mine today. Qi Lianli just left. Go and see who else he's meeting with today. I need to confirm whether he's involved in the Cui family's cheating in the imperial examination this time."
"yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Wei disappeared from the room in an instant, stirring up a gust of wind.
Qi Lianli always felt like he had forgotten something while sitting in the carriage.
“Bang!”
Not long after, Qi Lianli slapped his forehead.
He came today under the pretext of seeing a doctor to check on the Su family's situation. The most important thing was to see if the princess and Su Xingyi had made a fait accompli!
Just now he was only looking at Su Xingyi's face and didn't notice the eye contact between the two.
Do the couple have feelings for each other?
Qi Lianli thought about it carefully, and it seemed that Xiao Lingyu did not show any signs of pregnancy!
Qi Lianli smiled helplessly. How could they be happy with each other in this unequal marriage?
Why!
Just wait, maybe you will fall in love and have a baby.
Passing by the pharmacy, Lin Yu picked up three courses of medicinal materials for Qi Lianli according to the prescription and rushed to the tribute hall.
Qi Lianli entered the Imperial Court and headed straight for the rows of rooms.
At this time, Zhang Sheng, Du Huaian, the prefectural magistrate, and seven or eight other officials of varying ranks, along with yamen runners, as well as hundreds of officers and soldiers sent by Qi Lianli, were carefully inspecting every cell.
"The rooms with leaking partitions must be repaired as soon as possible to ensure that no unintentional accidents occur during the provincial examinations!"
"Master Zhang, Master Du."
Zhang Sheng smiled and said, "Master Qi, the dormitories in Huayang County are in good condition. Of the two thousand dormitories, only twenty have leaking partitions. They will be repaired by tomorrow and will be open to welcome the hopeful students in six days."
Qi Lianli said, "More than a decade ago, I was one of the many students, taking the exam with great hope and anxiety. I never expected that more than a decade later, I would be the chief examiner. I'm a little nervous."
Zhang Sheng smiled and patted Qi Lianli on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. Just get used to it. You're still young, and you'll be able to serve as an examiner many more times in the future, selecting even more outstanding talents for the court!"
Qi Lianli thought of Xiao Lingyu's words and said with a smile, "Then I will definitely assign more personnel to strictly monitor and eliminate all cheating. This provincial examination must be judged fairly and impartially, and I will do my utmost to select talents for the court."
Zhang Sheng smiled inwardly. Every examiner who served as an examiner for the first time had the same mentality. After serving as an examiner a few more times, he would not be so extreme.
"Okay, this official, Lord Du, and Lord Qi will work together to select talents for the court. We must be fair and just."
Qi Lianli's face showed concern. "My Lords, this is my first time as Chief Examiner, and I might judge the papers based on my own subjective opinions. For the sake of fairness, I have decided to inform all students before the exam. After the list is released, those who think they are knowledgeable and unwilling to fail can take their papers back with them. If they think our review is unfair, they can come to us and we will convince them!"
Zhang Sheng's expression changed slightly when he heard this. "Master Qi, this is absolutely unacceptable! Although the Emperor has issued this decree, if someone takes the test paper back with them, more candidates will think we are grading unfairly. It may even lead to all failed candidates taking it back and coming to block us to demand an explanation. Imagine a scene of thousands of people blocking the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall."
Qi Lianli thought about the scene. Although it was scary, it was nothing to be afraid of!
Seeing that he had understood, Zhang Sheng continued, "We can certainly convince them, but we don't have time to argue with them. We have to return to the capital to report, and your office has so many cases to deal with. Do you think we can handle it?"
Qi Lianli nodded: "I'm really too busy!"
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