Chapter 65 Finally gained some weight
All officials in Jiangnan, from top to bottom, were secretly arrested and sent to the capital.
Such a major event was known to all the well-informed high-ranking officials in the court.
Grand Tutor Wang was one of them.
The Left Chancellor and he had close ties, and many things were done in collusion between the two.
Although Grand Tutor Wang was not involved in the treason case, the two men were too implicated. If the Left Chancellor kept pressing him, it would be difficult for him to clear himself of all charges.
Having just lost a beloved daughter, and now about to lose the Left Chancellor as an ally, Grand Tutor Wang was heartbroken.
But at the crucial moment, he had to make a decision.
On one hand, he ordered his men to kill the witnesses on the way, and on the other hand, he went to the palace to discuss countermeasures with the Empress.
He had always known that Zhou Chuanxing was too murderous, but he never expected that he would wipe out more than 500 officials in Jiangnan in one fell swoop.
Even those honest officials who were not involved were detained and taken to the capital.
He really has ruthless methods.
Grand Tutor Wang wished he could tear Zhou Chuanxing apart, but he had no military power and was powerless to do anything about him.
Passing by Caiyue Tower, I heard that Hanxi had launched a challenge.
These days, he's heard quite a bit about Zhou Chuanxing keeping a male lover.
They doted on each other to the extreme, sharing meals and sleeping in the same bed.
That's Hanxi.
Even Prince Rui was fooled by him, and was swindled out of 500,000 taels of silver.
Grand Tutor Wang summoned his steward and said, "Go and find out why Han Xi initiated the challenge."
The steward had already found out and was about to report back to the Grand Tutor when he said, "According to the information I've received, it should be for selecting talents for the Regent. Yesterday, I personally went to Caiyue Tower and found that many students who were going to take the provincial examination had signed up to participate. Your Highness, should I sabotage the competition?"
Grand Tutor Wang had other plans, so he said, "No need for now."
With the provincial examination approaching, Zhou Chuanxing had no one he could rely on, so he was definitely eyeing this examination.
With such a huge mess in Jiangnan, I don't believe Zhou Chuanxing can conjure up someone to plug it.
He lost this matter concerning the Left Chancellor.
But in this imperial examination, it's still uncertain who will win and who will lose.
...
On the day the challenge began, Tang Xinuan arrived at Caiyue Tower right on time.
He was still dressed in men's clothing, wearing a soft hat and holding a folding fan. He wore a light blue round-necked robe with a gold-trimmed embroidered pattern on the chest and gold cloud and scroll patterns on the cuffs.
He is truly a noble and refined gentleman, unparalleled in the world.
A neat box of gold nuggets was placed in the center of the main hall of Caiyue Tower, guarded by four Caiyue Tower guards.
The large, gleaming gold bars, weighing sixty or seventy pounds, shone brightly in the sunlight, so dazzling that it was hard to open one's eyes.
The rules of the competition are simple: Hanxi will launch the competition at Caiyue Tower for three consecutive days.
Anyone can sign up to participate.
The challenger and Hanxi exchanged challenges.
One point is awarded for stumping the opponent, and one point is awarded for solving the opponent's question.
The player with the highest score wins.
Whoever defeats Han Xi will not only receive a thousand taels of gold, but also a chance to be recommended to the Regent.
Not to mention how tempting a thousand taels of gold would be, it's something many people dream of.
There was also the opportunity to recommend him to the regent.
Sun Qingzhao was recommended by someone and rose from a beggar to a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel.
Many people study diligently for ten years, and to pass the imperial examination is considered extremely lucky.
To reach the rank of a fourth-grade vice minister, one's ancestral graves must have been emitting smoke since ancient times.
Meeting the regent was the first step towards promotion and wealth.
On the day the challenge began, Caiyuelou was already packed with people.
The competition questions are limited to mathematics.
The first person to go on stage was not a student who had participated in the provincial examination.
Instead, he was a rough-looking man who was over nine feet tall.
He was able to be the first to step onto the stage, entirely thanks to his strong physique.
He was tall and strong, with immense strength.
With a swift motion of his hands, he swept everything within a two-step radius away.
He stepped onto the stage, making the wooden planks creak and sway under his feet.
Tang Xinuan stood in the middle of the stage, feeling as if the earth was shaking. She suspected that this person was not there to challenge her in mathematics, but to have a martial arts contest.
Tang Xinuan was worried that the other party might not know their own strength, so she subconsciously raised her fan to stop them.
"Brother, you know the rules of the competition, right?"
The rough-looking man wiped his mouth and replied in a gruff voice, "I know, I'll ask you questions and you answer them, whoever answers the most questions wins."
Simple and clear, Tang Xinu gave him a thumbs up, "Big brother is so smart, now give me a question."
A rough, unrefined man like him wouldn't know how to set questions.
Staring at the four guards protecting the gold, he racked his brains and actually came up with an idea: "Last month, I took two catties of pork to Lan Hua's house to propose marriage. Lan Hua's father disagreed and took the pork away from me. I took it back and had the butcher weigh it again. There was only half a catty left. Now I ask you, how much pork did Lan Hua's father cheat me out of?"
This question was quite useful, and it made everyone in the audience laugh.
"Liu Dazhuang, did Lan Hua's father compensate you with pork in the end?"
"Did the orchid marry you?"
"You think you can get married with just two pounds of pork? Dream on!"
The atmosphere at the scene was surprisingly harmonious.
Tang Xinuan answered a basic arithmetic question without hesitation.
Instead of giving the rough man a prepared question, she added an additional condition to his question.
Then the problem was passed on to the rough-looking man.
The rough-looking man, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared at the gleaming gold bar, licked his lips, and said with extreme reluctance, "I don't understand your intricacies. I'm leaving."
He came quickly and left quickly, leaping off the stage with a loud bang.
A layer of dust was kicked up from the street.
The crowd burst into laughter again.
The next participants were not students; some were after the gold bars, while others were just there for the fun of it.
Tang Xinuan went from being excited at the beginning to gradually losing patience.
Without students, how could she create momentum, establish an academy, and get students to willingly enter her academy?
Xiaoqian felt sorry for her master and whispered, "Young master, how about we add some conditions and limit it to candidates who will take the imperial examination this autumn?"
Tang Xinuan nodded, "Let Li Pixiu handle it, starting this afternoon with the added conditions."
Actually, it's not that no students came to participate in the competition.
Those who lack real talent and rely on connections to secure a recommendation spot are worried about revealing their true abilities when they go on stage.
Those with talent and learning don't know the source of Hanxi's confidence.
Firstly, I was cautious and planned to observe the situation further.
Furthermore, with such gleaming gold on display, if people suspect it's for gold or silver, it could damage one's reputation and be detrimental to the imperial examinations.
However, their observation ended when Tang Xinuan was about to lose patience.
With so much gold, who wouldn't want it?
There's nothing shameful about earning money through your own abilities; a gentleman loves money, but he earns it in a proper way.
At this moment, the students standing below the stage began to humbly greet each other, ready to go on stage at any moment.
Some people even prepared the questions in advance.
We must make things difficult for this hot-blooded young master on the stage.
"Is anyone else going up on stage? If not, I'm going to rest," Tang Xinuan said, preparing to leave.
Just then, a young man dressed in a blue robe climbed onto the stage.
"I am Yang Zhi, a student from Shanxi, and I humbly request your guidance, Young Master Han."
He handed the three questions he had prepared in advance to Tang Xinuan, saying, "Please answer them, Young Master Han."
Tang Xinuan also gave three questions to the students from Shanxi.
"Please answer this question, student."
When mathematics was reinstated as a subject in the imperial examinations, Yang Zhi had to cram at the last minute, which naturally led to many problems.
I really had no idea how to handle this provincial examination.
The Great Zhou Dynasty had not held the imperial examinations for more than ten years. When they were reopened, only one examination hall was set up in the capital.
Students from all over the country who want to participate have only one way to get a place: by getting a recommendation from a local official.
Yang Zhi's family was a prominent local family, and they were related to the county magistrate.
However, the county magistrate did not intend to give him a spot. A single recommendation spot had been sold for five thousand taels of silver, which his family could not afford. His mother had given half of their fertile land to the county magistrate in order to secure this spot.
Therefore, he must pass this provincial examination.
If you fail the exam, the livelihood of your whole family will be in jeopardy.
The three questions given to Hanxi were all difficult problems that he had been struggling to solve recently.
If Hanxi can't answer, he can get a thousand taels of gold.
If you can answer the question, it will be a great help to him.
No matter how you calculate it, you're not losing out.
Tang Xinuan was a prodigy, and she was personally taught by a great Confucian scholar when she was young. She knew the answers to the three questions Yang Zhi gave her at a glance.
The teacher who taught Tang Xinuan back then was a close friend of Tang Xinuan's grandfather.
After the entire Tang family was executed, this close friend found Tang Xinuan, the only survivor, and tried to sneak into the Marquis's mansion to personally educate her.
In other words, the "liar" that Chu Yannuo looked down on and tried to get rid of several times.
Of course, apart from that close friend, no one else knew about this, including Tang Xinuan.
Of the three questions Tang Xinuan posed, Yang Zhi only answered the simplest one correctly.
Tang Xinuan wielded her brush and quickly wrote down the answers to the three questions posed by Yang Zhi.
"Yang Xuezi, do you think the answer is correct?"
Yang Zhi read ten lines at a glance, skimming from beginning to end, and almost burst into tears of joy.
"All correct, all correct," Yang Zhi said repeatedly, now truly admiring him. "Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Han. I have another request: if I encounter any problems in the future, may I consult Young Master Han at any time?"
Even before the news of opening the academy was announced, people were already proactively seeking her advice.
Tang Xinuan was happy, but she still refused, as Sun Qingzhao had instructed.
"Han has been busy with competitions lately, so I'm afraid he won't have much time."
Yang Zhi was unwilling, but he couldn't say too much on stage.
He jumped off the stage and found Li Pixiu, intending to ask him to help him make connections so that he could have another chance to consult with Hanxi.
Li Pixiu was unaware of Han Xi's specific plans.
It's difficult to answer right now.
"Well... considering that you're going to take the provincial examination, I'll do my best."
After Yang Zhi stepped down, Lin Yue, a student from Shandong, took the stage.
He bought his nomination for five thousand taels of silver.
After her father passed away, the family relied entirely on her mother weaving cloth for others to make a living.
He couldn't possibly come up with five thousand taels of silver.
But the imperial court has gone to great lengths to hold the imperial examinations to select talents. If he misses this opportunity, and the next examination is ten years away, how can he wait that long?
Lin's mother felt sorry for her son and secretly borrowed five thousand taels of silver from a local wealthy man.
If he doesn't pay back within the specified time, his younger sister will be used to settle the debt.
Lin Yue bears the weight of his family's rise and fall, and is also bound to his younger sister's lifelong happiness; how could he not give it his all?
But he, a student from an ordinary family, only paid attention to the subjects that were offered in the previous examination.
The math subject that was added on the spot was his weak point.
Fortunately, he is smart, so it wasn't too difficult for him to start learning again. It's just that he didn't have enough time to apply what he learned to other situations and to fully understand the material.
Today, when I went on stage, my thoughts were similar to Yang Zhi's; all the questions I asked were difficult problems I had encountered recently.
If he could get 10,000 taels of gold, it would solve his immediate problem.
If he can't get it, having someone help him solve the problem is a good option.
Just like when facing Yang Zhi, Tang Xinuan saw the answer at a glance.
This time, she not only patiently wrote out the answers, but also helped Lin Yue with the explanations.
Lin Yue suddenly understood.
He immediately expressed his gratitude.
Following Lin Yue was Lu Yuan, a student from the North.
He also came with three questions.
After observing for a whole morning, Tang Xinuan finally found a suitable talent.
Although all the questions were ones she knew how to answer, the difficulty level was noticeably higher than the previous two.
Tang Xinuan signaled to Xiaoqian to keep an eye on this person.
Lu Yuan, who looked to be in his early twenties, was wearing a cloak that covered half of his face in such hot weather.
The sun was shining brightly; half of his face was in the sunlight, while the other half was hidden behind his cloak.
His eyes were particularly deep.
Tang Xinuan was positioned directly to his right front, and what she could see was indescribable.
Lu Yuan answered two of the three questions posed by Tang Xinuan.
This is the only talented person we've seen all morning.
But at least we gained something.
After the morning competition ended, Tang Xinuan finally had some time to rest. She went to the backstage of Caiyue Tower and slumped in a chair, not wanting to move at all.
"If I had known the competition would be this tiring, I would have only booked one day."
Xiaoqian asked her with a smile, "Then you're not going to help Erlang choose talent?"
“Choose one,” Tang Xinuan said, her spirits lifted at the thought of giving Erlang a rest, as if she had been injected with adrenaline and was full of energy again. “Let’s eat, and continue this afternoon.”
Zhou Chuanxing had just come out of the palace and rushed to Caiyue Tower.
He went to visit the Emperor early in the morning, but was then summoned by the Empress to be reprimanded.
He then dealt with state affairs.
Even this was squeezed out while taking advantage of convenience.
Noticing that the little girl was exhausted and no longer had the spirit she had when they parted that morning, I felt a pang of guilt.
He finally gained some weight, and if he loses it all back, it's like cutting flesh off his body. "Let's skip this afternoon. Holding the challenge only in the morning will achieve the desired effect."
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