Chapter 51

Li Chengqian put the list down and asked calmly, "Where did you go after your shift today?"

Lin Nanjie originally thought that Li Chengqian's question was strange. It was unusual for an emperor who was so busy with state affairs to care about the activities of a young eunuch after he got off duty.

However, he suddenly thought of taking this opportunity to bring up the imperial examination, so he said, "Your Majesty, after I got off duty, I went to Xianke Tower with two friends I knew. The two people are also known to Your Majesty. One is Si Nanhao from the Beizhen Fusi, and the other is Lu Chengzhou, the son of Lord Lu."

"While eating, I also met a group of people who were taking part in this year's spring exam."

Li Chengqian: "Oh? Did anything happen?"

Lin Nanjie smiled and said, "Nothing happened. I just saw these talented people and felt that it was not easy for them to study hard for ten years. If they could pass the imperial examination, it would bring honor to the family."

The crackling of the lights made the warm room even quieter. Li Chengqian said nonchalantly, "That's right. Scholars spend their entire lives trying to win this imperial examination."

Lin Nanjie cut off the wick of the lamp and said casually, "I have no chance to participate in the imperial examination. I just think that since it concerns the fate of so many children, the imperial examination should be the fairest."

Li Chengqian nodded: "You are right."

Lin Nanjie glanced at Li Chengqian secretly, and felt that his eyes were also vaguely on him, muttering in his heart:

[Is my hint obvious enough? ]

Li Chengqian remained silent.

Is this obvious?

You tell me who was involved in the fraud!

After the end of the hour of Hai, Lin Nanjie finished serving Li Chenghuan and went back to lie down on the couch in the outer room, still thinking about the Spring Examination.

[I remember that the chief examiner for this spring exam was Feng Ge Lao. This should be his last time in office. I didn't expect that he would still be implicated.]

[The other examiner was a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, also a highly respected senior.]

Li Chenghuan tossed and turned on the large and soft dragon bed, listening to Lin Nanjie's heartbeat. Unfortunately, after talking for a long time, he still didn't mention who the instigator was.

Especially since there are random words interspersed from time to time.

For example, the previous sentence is still talking about the examiner, but the next sentence becomes [Ah, the braised fish I had at Xiankelou today was really good, but the pork elbow in soy sauce was not so good. It was not cooked for a long time and was not soft enough. ]

For example, she was just talking about Xiankelou, but the next sentence brought up [In fact, the princess likes Lu Chengzhou very much, but Lu Chengzhou is the son of Minister Lu, and the princess doesn't want to offend the Minister. ]

Li Chengqian couldn't help but yawn, and he gradually felt sleepy amidst Lin Nanqi's chattering.

[Speaking of imperial examinations, the most interesting thing is the methods of cheating in imperial examinations. There are so many of them! It is impossible to guard against them!]

The sudden excitement of the ending tone instantly pulled Li Chenghuan back from his sleepiness. He woke up with a gloomy face, but had to listen carefully, for fear of missing out on useful information.

[Taking cheat sheets is the lowest level, there are also silver salt development, asking someone to take the exam for you, and even worse, using connections and bribery to cheat. This time, the scientific examination...]

Li Chenghuan was listening attentively when suddenly there was no further talk, and then he could hear faint snoring.

Li Chengqian's face froze and he gritted his teeth.

What was that place before? How could I fall asleep so quickly and so soundly?

Lin Nanjie slept very soundly the whole night, and was completely unaware of Li Chengqian's tossing and turning all night. In the morning, when he opened his eyes drowsily, he saw a face with dark eyes.

"ah!!!"

Lin Nan screamed in shock and reflexively shrank back, curling up into a ball hugging the quilt, frightened out of his wits.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty!”

Li Chengqian pressed his temples and said in a hoarse voice, "What are you shouting for?"

It was still early in the morning, and he didn't know whether it was because he hadn't been summoned to the hall or for some other reason, but he and Li Chenghuan were the only ones here.

Lin Nanqi reacted and quickly threw back the quilt and knelt on the bed: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I did not mean to disturb you."

Li Chenghuan crossed his arms and asked, "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Lin Nanjie's expression instantly turned into horror.

【What happened last night? 】

[I did something I shouldn't have done... I can't climb onto the dragon bed anymore! ]

Li Chengqian's palms suddenly clenched.

You actually thought about climbing onto his dragon bed? You're so brave!

Lin Nanqi looked down at the couch beneath him.

[Impossible, the probability is too small. ]

Li Chengqian said expressionlessly, "You are snoring."

Lin Nanqi's face instantly turned red: "Damn you, I actually disturbed the emperor's sleep."

Lin Nanqi's pupils rolled around, and he came up with an idea. He pretended to be distressed: "Your Majesty, I have had this snoring problem for a long time. When I was in the outer room, I was often complained by my roommates. I have tried many methods, but it is really incurable."

"Your Majesty, how about..."

"Don't even think about it." Li Chengqian seemed to have anticipated what he was going to say and interrupted him lazily, "Since it is a disease, there is a way to cure it. I can let the people in the Imperial Hospital take turns to give you medicine."

Lin Nanqi's eyes widened, and he immediately changed his tone: "Actually, I don't have this problem every day. I will be fine soon!"

Li Chengqian uttered another lazily "hmm".

Then suddenly I felt something was wrong. He actually allowed Lin Nanjie to sleep?

Li Chengqian thought gloomily that his bottom line was getting lower and lower.

Li Chenghuan pinched his brows and prepared to go to court.

Lin Nanqi stood at his old position outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, feeling annoyed when he thought about what had just happened.

He had never slept so soundly even in the outer rooms, and he didn't know how he fell asleep so quickly in the Purple Palace. He touched his neck and felt that if he continued like this, he would be in danger.

In the court, Li Chenghuan was thinking about the imperial examination. Time was running out, and the ministers were discussing the matters of this spring examination.

Li Chengqian said, "I have read the memorial submitted by the Ministry of Rites. The examiners this time are Feng Ge Lao and Hanlin Academy Bachelor Yang Qi and Lu Weitong. Why don't you recommend yourself?"

Lu Wei said: "My son is also participating in this spring exam, so I need to avoid suspicion."

Li Chengqian recalled that Lu Weitong's son was Lin Nanjie's new friend Lu Chengzhou, who was also one of his eldest sister's male favorites.

According to regulations, Lu Weitong does need to avoid suspicion.

Feng Yuanxiu and Yang Qi were both people he trusted, so could the officials who participated in the cheating be among the examiners? Li Chengqian's eyes passed over the names one by one.

There were twelve examiners this year, and it was difficult for Li Chengqian to determine who it was. If he investigated openly, he was afraid of alerting the enemy and affecting the examination.

Li Chengzhen suddenly thought of something and said to Lu Wei: "For this imperial examination, please send someone to supervise it."

As soon as the words fell, the court was shaken.

Yu previously sent people to participate in the supervision. Are you going to send internal supervisors in?

Wang Zhongcheng was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I think this matter needs further consideration. After all, the eunuchs do not understand the imperial examinations. Your Majesty might as well send someone else to supervise it."

A few more people came out from the audience and seconded the proposal.

Lin Nan tilted his ears to listen to the noise, feeling a little surprised.

[The emperor himself had set an unwritten rule not to allow eunuchs to take part in the imperial examinations. Why was he breaking it this time? ]

[During the reign of the previous emperor, the Grand Eunuch seized power and manipulated government affairs, meddled in the imperial examinations, and accepted a lot of bribes, which made the upright ministers hate him. Now that the eunuchs are being arranged to enter the court, it is no wonder that these censors have such a strong reaction.]

[Maybe I’m afraid of repeating the same mistakes. ]

Li Chengxuan listened to Lin Nanjie's inner thoughts, curled his lips slightly, and looked at the civil and military officials below: "Don't worry, Wang Zhongcheng, I have my own arrangements for this matter."

Wang Zhongcheng wanted to make some further suggestions, but was held back by Bai Zhang beside him, and he gave up in anger.

After the court session, Wang Zhongcheng was unhappy and blamed Bai Zhang: "Why did you drag me here just now? Daqi has only been prosperous for a few years. Do you want to watch it repeat the same mistakes?"

Several ministers came over and asked, "That's right, what's going on?"

"Are we really going to repeat the same mistake?"

"When the eunuchs in power interfere in the imperial examinations, accepting bribes and committing fraud, how can the imperial examinations be fair?"

"I don't know which eunuch whispered this to me again."

"How about we submit a joint petition and give it a try? Maybe the emperor will change his mind?"

Wang Zhongcheng said solemnly: "Of course we have to write a petition. We can't just sit there and do nothing."

"Then I'll go back and get ready."

After they said goodbye, Wang Zhongcheng was still furious and walked very fast. Bai Zhang hurriedly followed him: "Sir Wang, calm down. I just think that the emperor's arrangement this time may have a deeper meaning."

Wang Zhongcheng slowed down his pace and looked directly at Bai Zhang: "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush."

Bai Zhang smiled and said, "I am just speculating. Your Majesty is definitely not someone who only listens to one side and uses one side. The imperial examination is not only related to the scholars of the world, but also to the people's livelihood. Perhaps Your Majesty just wants to add another line of defense."

Wang Zhongcheng looked solemn and said, "You can't just speculate on important matters like the imperial examination."

Bai Zhang smiled bitterly: "Your Excellency and I are both among the examiners of this year, how dare we make a joke about this matter."

Wang Zhongcheng's anger slowly subsided, and he said, "I don't know who the emperor is going to send. Wang Dehai? He's an old man, so he doesn't look like the right person."

He listed several names one after another and rejected them one by one.

Wang Wenhe felt a little depressed, yet strangely relieved.

The current emperor does not trust the eunuchs at all.

Suddenly, another person popped up in his mind, and he said in surprise: "It can't be that boy! It's impossible... He is too young."

He is also very popular, auspicious, and has calligraphy and painting skills. He doesn't look reliable. How could we send him?

Wang Wenhe rejected him immediately.

So when Wang Wenhe saw Lin Nanjie in the Ministry of Rites, his eyes almost popped out: "It's you! It's really you?!"

Candidates streamed into the Gongyuan, it was busy but orderly, and the order was strict.

Lin Nanqi had never seen such a scene before. He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably and said, "I have met Lord Wang. It happened suddenly. I was also arranged to come here suddenly. The emperor sent me to follow Lord Wang on a patrol."

Wang Wenhe suddenly felt the situation was difficult. He didn't like it, but he was a man in front of the emperor after all, and he represented the emperor's attitude.

He looked around and saw Bai Zhang supervising the candidates entering the examination room, so he said to Lin Nanjie, "You can help Master Bai to supervise the examination of the candidates first."

Lin Nanqi: "As you wish."

Lin Nanjie stood at the first checkpoint of the Gongyuan and conducted a body search.

The candidates in front of me lined up to enter. Each candidate had to be inspected from head to toe, and all clothes, shoes, packages, and even hairbands had to be checked one by one.

Lin Nanjie stood next to Bai Zhang, staring at the candidates in front of him with sharp eyes.

Outside the Gongyuan, in a teahouse across the street, a man slowly drank his tea with two piles of memorials placed in front of him.

The elderly servant beside him couldn't help but say, "My Lord, do you really want to review documents here for the next few days? I'm afraid this is not appropriate."

Li Chengqian raised his head and glanced at him: "The tea here is excellent, just right."

Wang Dehai was in tears. How could this inconspicuous little teahouse be compared with the palace?

Besides, even if I care about the scholars all over the world, what can I see and hear if I stay here?

I don't know what's happening with that kid Lin Nanjie in the tribute courtyard.