All four felt that the Fourth Prince's method was a bit too extreme, but they had no better suggestions, so they remained silent for a while. At this moment, a palace maid brought tea from outside the door, stopping only at the door. The palace maid inside stepped forward to take it, carefully checked it, and then brought it to the table.
The Thirteenth Prince, quick-witted, exclaimed with delight, "Brother, I have a plan..."
Fourth Master asked, "Oh...Does Thirteenth Master have a better idea?"
Thirteen picked up a piece of paper from Fourth Master's desk and said with a smile, "Let's take turns reviewing them!"
Tian Wenjing asked, puzzled: "Taking turns to review them? How will that be implemented?"
The Thirteenth Prince drew a line on the paper and handed it to Tian Wenjing, saying, "This is an exam paper. I will grade the first question first, then you, sir, will grade the second question, and the rest will be graded by the next official. In this way, each exam paper will be graded by a different person. Wouldn't that avoid the bribery problem that my brother was worried about before..."
Li Wei suddenly realized and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I understand. Prince Yi's intention is that each examiner will only grade one question. In this way, each exam paper will have to go through at least three examiners before it is finished. Therefore, if any candidate wants to bribe someone, they would have to find all the examiners to succeed, but this is not easy. This will effectively prevent high-scoring exam papers from appearing."
Fourth Master nodded, pleased, and said, "That's good, that's an excellent idea..."
Tian Wenjing frowned, realizing something, and said, "If the examiners discover a pattern during their breaks, they can still reveal it to the candidates. If a candidate has the ability to find the examiners who graded their papers, they will inevitably still cheat..."
Thirteenth Master picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, shook his head and smiled, "This problem is easy to solve. Just have the examiners live in the Imperial Academy just like the candidates when they are grading the papers. Keep it a secret before grading, and don't even reveal who the examiners are. Once they are confirmed, the examiners must immediately stop all contact with the outside world, live and eat at the Imperial Academy, and not come out until the grading is over."
Fourth Master pondered for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "Yes... Thirteen's idea is good. What do you all think?" After saying that, Fourth Master turned to the other three. Apart from Hongshi, Tian Wenjing and Li Wei both nodded in agreement.
Hongshi pondered for a moment, then, reminded by the Fourth Prince, he realized what was happening and stammered with a smile, "Thirteenth Uncle's method is indeed good. I was just reflecting on why I couldn't think of such a method..."
Fourth Master smiled and comforted Hongshi: "You should learn more from your Thirteenth Uncle; he has a lot of ideas..."
Hongshi smiled awkwardly and nodded, "Father is right, I will definitely learn from my thirteenth uncle..."
Fourth Master then instructed: "Arrange the marking process according to Thirteen's method. You must all cooperate fully... No one is allowed to leak any information before the marking begins. Even the examiners must be thoroughly investigated. If any examiner's relatives are taking the exam, they are not allowed to participate in the marking. Anyone found to be contacting the outside world privately during the marking period will be dealt with according to the law..."
Li Wei said, "Your Majesty is indeed very thoughtful. Your humble servant will immediately investigate the information of all the examiners and verify their identities..."
Tian Wenjing clasped his hands in acceptance of the imperial decree: "Your humble servant will also arrange the venue and procedures for the Imperial Academy examiners to grade the papers. Ensure that no one disturbs or assists them during the grading process..."
The Thirteenth Prince patted Hongshi on the shoulder and laughed, "I'll take my nephew to arrange the details of the examination... Your Majesty, please put down your burdens, I will definitely teach Hongshi well..."
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