Chapter 85: Test
Cheating in the imperial examination is a common occurrence, but usually investigations into cheating in the imperial examination are carried out after the results are announced. How do they know about the leak of examination questions when the exam hasn’t even started yet?
It’s not enough for a cheater to hide it, so who would dare to be so open about it?
So many students came to Beijing to take the exam and were about to enter the examination hall. At this time, the test questions were leaked and the chief examiner and two deputy examiners were removed. In all likelihood, the spring exam would be postponed.
The exam might not start tomorrow, so the old lady didn’t say anything about Chen Tang going to see his two cousins off.
Chen Tang sat for another half a cup of tea and then returned to Qingyi Garden.
The news that the emperor had imprisoned the chief and deputy examiners spread throughout Kyoto, shocking all the civil and military officials in the court, not to mention the students. The chief examiner had been decided several months before the exam, and the students came to Beijing in advance and tried every means to become the chief and deputy examiners' disciples, and to figure out the chief examiner's writing preferences, which really put a lot of thought into it.
Now that the exam is approaching, the emperor has replaced the chief examiner. It is too late to inquire now.
However, the emperor only replaced the chief and deputy examiners and did not postpone the Spring Examination. Not every student who came to Beijing to take the exam was wealthy. Postponing the Spring Examination would increase the students' expenses. More importantly, once it was postponed, there would be a possibility of cheating again.
The emperor appointed a new chief examiner and summoned the chief examiner and scholars from the Hanlin Academy to the palace to discuss the test questions overnight. The emperor's personal guards also guarded the Hanlin Academy to ensure that there would be no possibility of leaks.
The students felt relieved knowing that the Spring Examination would not be postponed. As for the change of exam questions, it had no impact on the students who did not participate in the cheating. If the chief and deputy examiners had not been arrested and the court had not changed the exam questions quietly, they would not have known about it.
The original chief examiner for this spring examination was the Left Prime Minister. After the Emperor imprisoned the Left Prime Minister, he ordered the Right Prime Minister to be the new chief examiner.
The Left Prime Minister was the Second Prince's man, and the Right Prime Minister did not take sides. In his previous life, less than two months after the Second Prince ascended the throne, the Right Prime Minister resigned and returned home.
The emperor temporarily changed the test questions and let the right prime minister, who was not partisan, preside over the spring examination to ensure the fairness of the imperial examination to the greatest extent.
More importantly, a few months ago, the Second Prince and Concubine Ye took great pains to get the Left Prime Minister to be the chief examiner of this spring examination. Now all of that has gone to waste. The incident of the beating of the Prince of Changping has not yet passed, and the Left Prime Minister has gotten into trouble again. This will definitely make the Second Prince and Concubine Ye extremely worried.
The Spring Examination would not be postponed, so Chen Tang decided to send his two cousins to the examination room as planned.
The next day, the weather was fine.
After breakfast, Chen Tang took Ginkgo to Songhe Hall to pay their respects to the old lady.
Chen Tang wore a pink pomegranate dress today. She usually didn't wear makeup, but this was a rare occasion for her to dress up carefully. The old lady knew that she was going to send her two cousins from the Jiang family to take the exam.
There was no objection yesterday. Now that Chen Tang was ready to leave the house, the old lady did not want to spoil his fun. She only asked Chen Tang to bring a few more servants with him and did not say anything else.
Chen Luo really wanted to go to the Imperial Examination Hall with Shen Tang to watch the fun, but Chen Tang was going to see his cousin off, and Chen Tang's cousin was not her cousin, so they were not familiar with each other and it was not easy for her to join in the fun, so she had to give up.
It was almost time, so Chen Tang stood up and took his leave, leaving the house with Ginkgo. Instead of going to the Jiang family, he went directly to the Imperial Examination Hall.
The usually deserted Imperial Examination Hall was as crowded today as a Lantern Festival. Students waiting for physical examination to enter the examination room, relatives and friends sending them to the exam, and those who wanted to choose a son-in-law were all crowded outside the Hall, making it noisy and lively.
There were too many people, and no one knew where the Jiang family was. Shen Tang looked around, and Ginkgo said with sharp eyes, "Miss, the cousin and the others are over there..."
Chen Tang followed the direction pointed by Ginkgo, and the first person he saw was not his two cousins, nor the sisters Jiang Li and Jiang Ning, but... Chen Xian.
Almost the moment he saw Shen Xian, Shen Tang's eyes froze.
Why would Chen Xian come to send off the two cousins of the Jiang family to take the exam? The second wife has always disliked Chen Xian and the Jiang family getting close to each other. Did she get a taste of the sweetness from the gifts she received last time at the Jiang family? Or did she let Chen Xian go out of Jingci Temple to relax under the guise of sending off the cousins to take the exam?
If it were just these two possibilities, it would be fine. What Chen Tang feared most was that the Second House and Shen Xi were harboring evil intentions and plotting against Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan.
Chen Tang also didn't like Chen Xian getting close to the Jiang family. In her previous life, Chen Xian had never been to the Jiang family until she got married, and she never went there again later. That's why Chen Tang didn't tell the Jiang family about Chen Xian. But he didn't expect that Chen Xian would go to the Jiang family to plead for help in order to help the second wife.
It was unknown how long Shen Xian had been here. Shen Tang walked over and when he saw her, Jiang Ning waved repeatedly with a smile on her face.
Shen Xi looked a little unhappy. She had just seen her, but Jiang Ning didn't seem so happy.
When Chen Tang came over, Chen Xian said in a weird voice, "I thought you didn't dare to come and take your cousin's exam."
Chen Tang chuckled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, "What you said is strange, elder sister, and no one stopped me from going to the Jiang family, so why shouldn't I dare to come?"
Chen Xi was stumped by her light question, and everyone else looked at her.
Chen Tang knew that Chen Xian was referring to the fact that she was being targeted by the Marquis of Changping Mansion, but the Jiang family didn't know about this. Chen Xian said this obviously to make the Jiang family worry about her.
Chen Xian didn't know how to respond, and Chen Tang didn't give her a chance. He greeted his two cousins and wished them success in the imperial examination.
Jiang Mingxiu smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, cousin."
After chatting for a while, gongs and drums sounded and the students began to have their physical examinations and enter the tribute hall.
Jiang Mingyuan was very anxious, "Brother, let's go over there quickly."
Chen Tang looked towards the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall and caught a glimpse of Chen Xi's smiling face. He suddenly felt uneasy for no reason and stopped Jiang Mingyuan who was rushing over. "Cousins, please check the things you brought into the Imperial Examination Hall first. I heard that some people deliberately gave cheat sheets to their classmates. Once they are found out, they will be disqualified from the exam."
Chen Xi's eyes flickered and she said, "It's my cousin who's taking the exam. Do they still need your instructions?"
Jiang Mingyuan also said, "We came out of the mansion without saying hello to our classmates."
Jiang Mingxiu was a much more cautious person by nature. It would have been fine if Chen Tang hadn't said anything, but he became worried once she did. "I'd better listen to my cousin and check it out. It's better to be safe than sorry."
I didn't bring much into the examination room, just a quilt, pens, ink, and food for the next few days, so it was easy to check.
Chen Tang asked for a checkup to be at ease, but what he feared came true. There was nothing wrong with the pens, ink and food, but a cheat sheet with dense handwriting fell out from the bedding. When the brothers Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan saw the cheat sheet fall out, they were dumbfounded.
Jiang Mingxiu's face turned pale.
If this were to be discovered, not only would he be disqualified from taking the exam, but the Jiang family's reputation would also be tarnished.
The note fell from Jiang Mingxiu's bedding. Chen Tang said, "Check the second cousin's things carefully. Has the food been opened since he left the mansion?"
Since they have taken action, they will not only target Jiang Mingxiu and let Jiang Mingyuan go.
Jiang Ning said quickly, "When the boy carrying the food box got off the carriage, he was bumped by someone. I saw it."
Chen Tang said, "It's better to be safe than sorry. There's still time. Let's have someone prepare another one."
After listening to Chen Tang's instructions and finding the cheat sheet, Chen Tang asked them to prepare new food. Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan did not dare to disobey and quickly asked the servant to buy some.
By the time the servant brought the food, most of the students had already checked in and entered the examination room. Jiang Mingxiu and Jiang Mingyuan checked their things again, then went to line up. Seeing them enter the examination room smoothly, Chen Tang finally put his mind at ease.
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