Chapter 100 Applause
When Xiao Hanlin pulled out the paper that he still remembered clearly, he was devastated. It was his fault that he couldn't remember anyone except Su Fengzhang at this time. He had dug a hole for himself for no reason.
Seeing that he was dilly-dallying, Master Wang became impatient and reached out to take the paper. He smiled when he saw it.
It's easy to guess what kind of person Wang Xueshi is by looking at his demeanor. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became. He nodded in praise, saying, "This paper is excellent. It's quite insightful. It has the energy of a young man, yet it's composed. That's quite rare."
"Hey, these notes look familiar." Wang Xueshi thought for a moment and remembered, "Isn't this the first-place winner from the first round? I remember his handwriting; it's very pleasing to the eye."
After praising the calligraphy, Wang Xueshi looked at Xiao Hanlin with a hint of hesitation: "Such a good paper, why would Lord Xiao put it among the final papers? Isn't that too much to ask?"
At that moment, Xiao Hanlin felt his scalp tingle, and he quickly explained, "Your Excellency, when I was reading this paper just now, I also smelled a foul odor, and I was confused and dropped the paper."
Wang Xueshi didn't know if he believed what he said. He just gave Xiao Hanlin a deep look and said calmly, "Is that so? I just said that the stinky scroll should be swept away early to avoid affecting others."
As to whether the smell of a test paper would permeate the entire room or even contaminate other test papers, no one has delved into it.
"You can also take a look at this paper and comment on it." Master Wang said with a smile.
Several examiners came forward one after another. Xiao Hanlin felt cold sweat on his back, wondering if what Master Wang said was directed at him. He could only pretend nothing had happened.
The examiners all nodded in praise and said, "It is indeed a good essay."
Scholar Wang laughed and said, "You've all been studying papers every day these past few days, so it's inevitable that you'll feel dizzy sometimes. Now it's the third round, it would be a pity if you missed a good paper."
"How about this, everyone turn out the lost scrolls, and have each person take a turn reading them. I'll also personally review them. We absolutely cannot let any talented person go unnoticed."
Since Master Wang said so, no examiner dared to refute him even though the time was almost up.
Xiao Hanlin didn't dare to say a word, because he knew that this matter was definitely caused by him. Master Wang must have become suspicious, otherwise he would not have made such a request.
Xiao Hanlin did not think there was anything wrong with getting rid of a scholar in order to repay a favor. At most, he just felt a little sorry in his heart.
But now because of this incident, Scholar Wang, who had a good reputation in the court, had a grudge against him. Scholar Wang was a noble man in the court and had considerable weight. Only then did Xiao Hanlin truly regret it.
But it was too late to regret. He couldn't just throw it out to Master Wang. That would be courting death.
He scanned all the failed papers without even touching the ground, but this time he didn't find any wrong candidates. The level of the examiners was sufficient for commenting on the provincial examination.
Scholar Wang's expression remained unchanged. He nodded and said, "That's good. You have all worked hard. After the provincial examination is over, I will reward you so that I won't let you down for your hard work."
The other examiners subconsciously glanced at Xiao Hanlin, and seeing him sweating profusely, they muttered in their hearts, but expressed their gratitude one after another.
Wang Xueshi reviewed the accepted papers again and said, "I think this person has something to say and his writing is excellent. He is worthy of being the top scorer in the provincial examination. What do you think, gentlemen?"
Since the chief examiner had said so, the other examiners had no reason to object. They kept saying, "Master Wang, what you said makes sense."
"I am also optimistic about this person. Apart from anything else, this good handwriting is rare."
"The writing is also good. Although not brilliant and ornate, it is able to quote from classics, and its arguments are reasonable, well-founded, and concise."
Lord Wang nodded in satisfaction and looked at Xiao Hanlin: "Does Lord Xiao have any objections?"
Xiao Hanlin's smile froze at this point, and he quickly said, "I also think this scroll is excellent. No one can surpass it this year."
Scholar Wang laughed heartily and said, "I am relieved to hear that Lord Xiao has said so. Although I am the chief examiner, I cannot ignore your opinions. Now that everyone agrees, this candidate truly deserves the title of Jieyuan."
Master Wang made the final decision. When Xiao Hanlin was finally able to come out from behind the inner curtain, he felt his legs go weak and wished he had never received the business card from Qian Tongzhi.
Xiao Hanlin's face was pale, and he looked even more miserable than those scholars who had just finished the provincial examination. His attendants hurried over to support him: "Sir, are you okay? Do you want to see a doctor?"
Xiao Hanlin waved his hand. It wasn't until he returned home that he grabbed his attendant and asked, "Before I went to the tribute court, I asked you to investigate someone. Do you have any concrete information now?"
The attendant quickly said, "Sir, I have already found out."
"This Su Fengzhang is a famous person in Qingzhou Prefecture. I went out and asked and found him."
"Your Excellency, do you remember the 'Song of the Yearly Flowers' that became famous in the capital years ago? It's said that this 'Song of the Yearly Flowers' was written by Su Fengzhang and is based on a true story that happened in Hushan County. Your Majesty even sent people here to repair the tomb of the tragically deceased scholar."
After hearing this, Xiao Hanlin finally understood why it sounded familiar. This "Sui Hua Yin" was a piece of music that His Majesty the Emperor had praised. He had also heard it before, but at that time he did not pay attention to the story behind this piece of music.
"However, Su Fengzhang himself is quite reserved. He has not been in Qingzhou Prefecture for long and does not have any close friends."
"I finally found a scholar named Lu Mingchuan after much detours. He said he and Su Fengzhang had participated in the Qingzhou River management project years ago. However, he was only a scholar and had also taken the provincial examination, so he didn't want to bother with me. Finally, I had to think of a way."
Xiao Hanlin's expression changed, and he asked, "Have you revealed my name?"
The attendant quickly shook his head: "No, how dare I do that."
"I only revealed a few of Lord Fang's intentions, and the scholar spoke out everything he knew."
Xiao Hanlin was impatient with him taking credit for himself and shouted, "Hurry up and tell me, don't beat around the bush."
The attendant touched his nose and continued, "Su Fengzhang has a good reputation. People say he behaves like a gentleman. He is usually gentle and doesn't usually get into conflicts with others."
"If there are no conflicts normally, then when will they occur?" Xiao Hanlin grasped the key point.
The attendant leaned over and said, "Lu Mingchuan once said that if anyone offends Su Fengzhang because of his good temper, they should be prepared to be scolded. After the college entrance examination, at Lord Fang's banquet, someone provoked Su Fengzhang. I thought that this scholar would just swallow his anger, but who knew..."
Xiao Hanlin finally understood what was meant. Su Fengzhang seemed to be a mild-tempered person who treated others very gently, but if someone stepped on his face, he would not be the kind of person who would not tolerate any temper.
The more this happened, the more anxious Xiao Hanlin became. But his attendant added, "When the first two exams were over, I took a peek from afar. This Scholar Su is outstanding in appearance, elegant and graceful. He is exactly the type of scholar Your Majesty likes."
Xiao Hanlin felt a headache. He pinched the area between his eyebrows and asked again, "What kind of look does His Majesty like?"
Everyone can see what kind of literati the current emperor likes. The most obvious thing is that everyone who has a say in the court nowadays is very good-looking!
Because of His Majesty's preference, it is not uncommon for men in the harem, not to mention the beauties, to wear makeup as well.
When Xiao Hanlin thought of this, he couldn't help feeling jealous. Wasn't it because he wasn't good-looking that he ranked low in the imperial examination?
Over the years, he thought he had worked diligently in the Hanlin Academy, but he could only watch the embroidered pillows climb up while he had been standing still for many years. He had no share of good things, but had a lot of bad things happen to him.
Thinking of this, Xiao Hanlin felt even more hostile towards Su Fengzhang, whom he had never met before, but he soon took a deep breath. As a Hanlin, there was no need for him to stoop so low as to compete with a scholar.
Even though he comforted himself in this way, Xiao Hanlin couldn't help but have the thought that it would be great if Su Fengzhang could be eliminated from the very first game.
"Forget it." Xiao Hanlin said this, found a pen and paper, quickly wrote a letter, and sent his entourage out.
The attendant walked out quickly, found Qian Tongzhi's house quickly, handed the letter to the doorman and went back.
What he didn't know was that the letter was snatched away as soon as it entered the door and never fell into Qian Tongzhi's hands.
However, the Qian family's inner house was in chaos, and Mrs. Qian was unable to subdue the group of evil spirits, which gave Chen Pingting the opportunity to take action.
When she just sent out the business card, Chen Pingting was still a little worried. One of the examiners of this provincial examination was Xiao Hanlin, and Xiao Hanlin had some connection with Qian Tongzhi in the past. She heard about this in bed, and Qian Tongzhi was quite complacent at that time.
Chen Pingting was also bold. She knew that Qian Tongzhi would definitely not want to waste this connection, but she still did it secretly.
After sending the business card, Chen Pingting even sent people to guard the door, for fear that Xiao Hanlin would send a letter and expose the truth in front of Qian Tongzhi.
Her arrangement was indeed useful. As soon as Xiao Hanlin's letter entered the door, it fell into her hands.
After sending the servant away, Chen Pingting opened the letter and read it herself. She had to thank Mr. Chen for his foresight to let his children learn to read and write. Although Chen Pingting was not a talented woman, she did not need help from others to read the letter.
Before she finished reading the letter, Chen Pingting's face turned gloomy and she tightly gripped the letter in her hand.
"How useless! A Hanlin can't even deal with a poor scholar." Chen Pingting cursed, feeling very angry. She took the risk to steal the name card, but she didn't expect that Xiao Hanlin was so incompetent, which only wasted her efforts.
Carefully destroying the letter, Chen Pingting's expression shifted under the firelight. "We have to think of another way. Mother is right. We can't let him go any further."
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The author has something to say: Keep your word, starting from the early morning today
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