The next day, the students who made it to the second round of exams continued to the examination hall, while those who weren't on the list had to go home.
The preliminary examination selects 20% of the candidates to proceed to the second round, which is even more rigorous, selecting only the top 10% from the second round.
In other words, of the 20,000 people who participated in the provincial examination in Nanlin County, only 4,000 entered the second round of examinations, and of those, only 400 were able to stand out.
These 400 people will be ranked by the examiners based on their combined rankings from the formal examination.
Perhaps because she had successfully entered the re-examination, Yang was not as nervous as she had been a few days ago, while Lili felt somewhat uneasy.
As usual, the group escorted Shen Laosan to the examination hall. Just as Shen Laosan was about to line up for a body search, a man walked over with a smile.
Pan Wei greeted Shen Laosan warmly: "Brother Shen, congratulations on winning first place in the main examination."
Old Shen said politely, "You flatter me. Everyone here is an outstanding person."
Pan Wei sighed, seemingly admiring Shen Laosan greatly, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to him: "I can't compare to Brother Shen. Brother Shen is still a cut above me."
Old Shen felt that this person was talking strangely; in his daughter's words, it was... sarcastic?
Yeah, it does sound a bit sarcastic.
Just as Shen Laosan was about to make an excuse to leave, his clothes were tugged, and Lili poked her head out: "Daddy, don't worry, you will definitely finish your exam smoothly!"
Shen Laosan was taken aback, feeling that Lili seemed to be implying something.
Shen Laosan smiled and rubbed her head: "Father will. Lili, go find your mother."
Pan Wei squinted at Lili for a moment, then resumed his smiling expression: "This must be Brother Shen's daughter, right? She's so adorable!"
Lili showed her dimples and said, "Thank you, Uncle. You're a very handsome man too!"
Pan Wei: "?"
Pan Wei's smile froze. Seeing that Shen Laosan seemed not to have heard, he gritted his teeth and tried to smooth things over: "Oh hahaha, Lili is so cute!"
Lili ignored him: "Daddy, you should go inside now."
"good."
Lili watched Shen Laosan walk into the line before glancing at Pan Wei, who was standing slightly embarrassed beside her, and looked at him curiously.
He looks presentable, but his heart is as black as pitch.
Yes, that's true to oneself.
Lili grinned: "You really are a person who is true to your word!"
Pan Wei: "..."
As soon as Shen Laosan left, Pan Wei could no longer hide his annoyance with the child, and with a cold face, he also lifted his leg to leave.
Lili's voice came from behind: "Hey, everyone makes mistakes in life, it's okay, just be more careful in the next life!"
Pan Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, staring sharply at Li Li, but Li Li patted her bottom and left, leaving him with only a dashing back view.
Pan Wei's heart suddenly jolted.
An ominous premonition suddenly arose.
After a long pause, Pan Wei chuckled.
Damn it, he was just scared by a little kid's nonsense?
Oh.
Pan Wei thought back carefully. Last night, he invited a minor official who was grading papers to drink all night at a restaurant. The official said that although His Highness the Crown Prince was personally supervising the provincial examination, His Highness was still young and would not personally participate in grading the papers.
For example, His Highness the Crown Prince didn't even come to grade the exam papers the night before.
It makes sense, considering he's just a child, and as the crown prince, it's good enough that he's just going through the motions. Do you expect him to do everything himself?
However, this conveniently created a crisis for Pan.
He had already found a candidate, but that person's academic level was among the lowest of the four thousand people, and there was no way he could squeeze into the top four hundred.
The person knew their chances of passing the re-examination were slim, so upon hearing that there was a chance to succeed, they immediately agreed.
Pan Wei bribed the minor official, and then switched Shen Huaixu's and that man's papers...
Ah, Shen Huaixu is probably nowhere to be found.
Can't possibly get ahead of him?
If anyone's to blame, blame him for not telling the truth the other day.
I thought he was a learned man, but it turns out I was the one who got tricked.
After confirming several times that the plan was in order, Pan Wei entered the examination hall with a cold smile and a confident air.
Little did he know, Lili had seen his expression clearly.
Tsk, turns out he's an arrogant person.
Lili shook her head and obediently let Yang lead her away.
*
Inside the government office, there were two people, one kneeling and one standing, in the main hall.
Look closely, the one kneeling and trembling is none other than the servant who ran errands for Pan Wei yesterday, and the other one standing is none other than the minor official who was drinking with Pan Wei last night.
Gu Ziyi walked in from the side hall, and the clerk hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects: "This humble official greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The servant, realizing his actions had been exposed, crawled forward as soon as he saw Gu Ziyi, pleading, "Your Highness, Your Highness, spare my life! I was merely following orders; it has nothing to do with me!"
Gu Ziyi gave him a cold glance, and with a swift movement, he drew his sword. The silver light on the sword startled the servant so much that he fell to the ground and dared not utter a word.
Gu Ziyi walked up to the main hall and told the minor official to get up.
The clerk quickly produced a piece of paper: "Your Highness, this is everything that Pan Wei said to me last night. I have recorded it all in detail."
"Um."
Zhui Feng took the paper over, and Gu Ziyi glanced at it briefly before asking him, "Lord Liu, you weren't drunk last night, were you?"
The minor official surnamed Liu wiped the sweat from his brow, not daring to look directly at the person above him, and respectfully said with his head bowed, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am of average ability in other aspects, except that I have a good capacity for alcohol."
"Um."
Gu Ziyi answered softly, then asked, "What did Pan Wei promise you?"
The minor official dared not conceal the truth and answered truthfully: "He said that once he returns to the capital, he will ask his father, Minister Pan of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, to arrange for me to be transferred to the capital as a junior official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."
"Junior Supervisor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?" Gu Ziyi chuckled. "Not bad at all. Does Lord Liu regret missing out on such a promising future?"
Gu Ziyi looked up at the minor official, who immediately felt a chill run down his spine, and sweat poured down his forehead even more frequently.
Who said that His Highness the Crown Prince is young and weak and knows nothing?
He was constantly sweating profusely!
That's really strange. Where did an eight-year-old child get such a strong aura?
The clerk wiped the cloth with his sleeve again and again, muttering to himself.
He was willing to agree, but you already knew about their plan in advance and asked me to play along. How could I possibly refuse to cooperate with you?
If he dares not agree, so what if Pan Wei's father is the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Is he more powerful than His Highness the Crown Prince?
The minor official knelt down with a thud.
"It is my great honor to be able to assist His Highness the Crown Prince. Moreover, this provincial examination concerns the candidates, and what I have done is for the sake of these students. How could I possibly regret it!"
Gu Ziyi didn't speak, but looked at the servant standing to the side: "And you?"
The servant boy trembled, knowing he couldn't escape his fate, and volunteered, "This humble citizen is willing to testify against Pan Wei's actions!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com