Although she thought it was impossible, seeing Tong Su's spirited appearance stirred up waves in Xu Yincheng's calm heart.
He used to be too low-key and calm. Even though he was young, he hadn't felt that vigorous and unrestrained spirit for many years.
"You want to be a good official who does practical things for the people, and I want to enter the imperial court and ascend to the throne of power. Our goal is the same: to serve the people. We have different paths but the same destination. So let's each strive in our own direction."
Xu Yincheng stared at her intently, and finally smiled.
"Alright, let's each strive in our own direction. I'll take the provincial examination first this year. If you pass the county-level examination next year, we should take the provincial and metropolitan examinations together—I won't let you win the top spot."
"Of course you don't need to give way!"
"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Let's see how things are between us in ten years!"
After seeing Xu Yincheng off, Tongsu turned to return to the county school, but she stopped abruptly after taking only a few steps.
The corners of her lips curved up uncontrollably.
In the distance, a handsome and proud black wolf had arrived at some point and was standing at a distance, waiting for her with gentle eyes.
.
In the provincial examination of the sixteenth year of the Xinglong reign, Xu Yincheng, a student from Yunyang County, won the title of Jieyuan (top scholar) in Yunzhou Prefecture.
The Yunzhou Prefectural School valued his talent and admitted him to the school to prepare for the provincial examination two years later.
However, a huge joke occurred during this exam, and it spread throughout the country—
Someone cheated.
The person who cheated was named Yao Jinrong.
The provincial examination consists of two parts: the first part consists of two essays and one poem, and the second part consists of one essay and one poem. The topics are set directly by the Hanlin Academy in the capital. This time, the topic for the essay in the first part of the provincial examination is "Not Following the Rules".
Many students discussed the exam afterward, saying that the questions were exactly the same as those in the joint exam organized by Yunyang County two years ago.
The questions for the imperial examinations had to be original quotes from the Four Books and Five Classics. However, there was only so much in the Four Books and Five Classics. When private schools and academies were in contact with each other, they would inevitably run into questions that were on the exams. This was something everyone knew.
But this year, the chief examiner in charge of the provincial examination seemed afraid that someone would try to frame him for something wrong with the exam. After reporting to the court, he actually published all the essays of the successful candidates.
However, this announcement sparked a discussion throughout the state capital!
One of the essays, which ranked second-class scholars, was directly accused of plagiarism.
“‘If one does not follow the rules, one will only rely on one’s own wisdom and skill. The rules and regulations are indispensable. If one does not follow them, one will surely rely heavily on one’s own wisdom and skill…’ Yao Jinrong, do you have any shame?! This is an essay written by Xia Qingzhai in the joint entrance examination back then, and you actually copied it verbatim!”
"The preliminary exam consisted of two essays and one poem, while the final exam also included one essay and one poem. Yao Jinrong only wrote this one essay, 'Not Following the Rules,' which was good; the others were too poor, so he only got a second-class grade. However, his essay 'Not Following the Rules' was plagiarized!"
"His academic title has been revoked! He shall never again be allowed to take the exam! He is unworthy to be a scholar!"
"Remove their official titles! Remove them from the list!"
The crowd was in an uproar, and the chief examiner was greatly alarmed. He immediately sent the news to the capital. The capital sent people to investigate and quickly confirmed that what the students said was true. Without saying a word, Yao Jinrong's academic qualifications were revoked, and he was sentenced to be displayed in shackles for three months, flogged one hundred times, and sent to the frontier to serve in the army.
It is said that when Yao Jinrong was arrested and paraded through the city gate in shackles, he was already insane with remorse. His body went limp and he could not stand up straight. He was suspended by ropes, and he kept crying out.
This world isn't over yet! The rest of the story is in the epilogue!!
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