The next day, in the Southern Metropolitan Censorate.

As soon as Zhao Jin's sedan chair landed, he saw Censor Ma waiting for him there.

"There's no opera today." Zhao Jin made a half-seriously funny joke.

"Can you still sing every day? You have to do your work." Censor Ma smiled awkwardly, invited him into his duty room, then took out the impeachment letter and said, "I have read it."

"How is it?" Zhao Jin asked calmly, "Is there anything you want to correct?"

"There are a few places where the rumors are somewhat different from the truth, which is normal." Censor Ma said carefully, "I have attached a small note and put it inside. Please consider it again, senior."

"Okay, I'll think about it again." Zhao Jin put away the impeachment and stood up.

Censor Ma hurriedly bowed and saw him off.

After returning to the duty room, Zhao Jin did not even open the impeachment letter, but threw it directly into the small charcoal stove for making tea and burned it.

Just like this impeachment letter, it had never existed...

Then he closed the door of the duty room, got on the sedan chair, hurriedly entered the Taiping Gate, crossed the small parade ground, and came to Chengxian Street not far away.

When we arrived at Chengxian Street, the grand Imperial College was right in front of us.

~~

Today is the day for the Nanjing Imperial College entrance examination.

Originally, Zhao Shouzheng could have been recommended, but after studying hard for half a year and full of confidence, he insisted on taking the entrance examination on his own.

Zhao Hao was naturally very happy about this. Even if he failed the exam, he would have Zhou Jijiu to support him. He could just regard it as his father's pre-war training.

So, early that morning, the whole family sent Zhao Shouzheng to the Imperial College, and then sat in the teahouse opposite the archway, having morning tea while waiting for him to finish the exam.

Fan Datong was also in the teahouse, eating soup dumplings with gusto.

Zhao Hao looked at him speechlessly. This guy shouldn't be here. He should be in the Imperial College.

Three days in advance, Zhao Hao called Fan Datong and told him to take the exam. In order to prevent him from escaping, he repeatedly hinted and hinted, almost telling him directly that he would definitely pass.

But this fellow had promised well at that time, but today he came late until the Imperial College closed, then he slapped his head and said:

"Oh, I'm late."

Then he sat down leisurely and ate breakfast with Zhao Hao and others with great relish...

This hopeless feeling is so frustrating that it makes one's teeth itch!

Seeing Zhao Hao glaring at him, Fan Datong had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender and told the truth: "I know your good intentions, but I am in a bad mood. I can't calm down at all. I can't even sit still, let alone take the exam."

"Then you should cultivate your mind well." Wang Wuyang rolled his eyes at him.

"Yes, work harder and your mind will calm down. How about we practice together?" Hua Shuyang added hurriedly. He dreamed of someone who could liberate him.

"You two should talk less." Zhao Hao glared at them and said, "You forgot what I said?"

"Yes, Master." The two of them quickly shut up, looked at their noses and their hearts, and sat there silently cultivating their energy.

It's almost July, and there's only a month left before the Autumn Examination. However, Zhao Hao doesn't dare to teach his two disciples anything, because they are already qualified to pass the high school entrance examination. If he talks too much and adds unnecessary details, and they fail the exam or get a low ranking, wouldn't he be committing a serious sin as a teacher?

But he couldn't just ignore everything, so he asked them to practice the silent meditation, and not to speak more than five sentences a day. As the saying goes, speaking less means being prudent, and if you speak less, you will be more stable, and presumably your writing will also be more stable...

Because Zhao Hao knew that Wang Xilie, the chief examiner of this provincial examination, attached the most importance to the word "steady".

Looking at the comments on high-ranking candidates, almost all of them are described as "classic and elegant" and "majestic and ancient masterpieces", which gives you an idea of ​​what kind of essays will have the most advantages in this subject.

After teaching his disciple a lesson, Zhao Hao stopped talking. Everyone has their own choices and their own fate. Even if he wanted to help Fan Datong, it would be useless if he didn't get rid of his depressed mood.

At this point, Zhao Hao had to praise Zhao Shouzheng. His father also suffered a great disaster, but he did not sink into despair like Fan Datong. Instead, he studied hard and tried to correct his faults. Although he sometimes complained that Zhao Jin was too strict in his discipline, he never shirked the task of studying.

As the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves. Zhao Hao believed that even without his help, he would definitely be able to pass the imperial examination successfully.

Sure enough, not long after Zhao Jin arrived, Zhao Shouzheng came out mixed in with the students who had finished the exam.

"How is it?" Everyone rushed forward.

Zhao Shouzheng followed his son's example and held up two fingers.

"That's great!" Everyone in the Zhao family cheered, and they were as happy as if he had passed the imperial examination.

Zhao Shouzheng just smiled, and then said worriedly: "My classmates are talking about canceling the "皿" character. Even if I pass the entrance examination, I will have no chance of taking the provincial examination."

The students passing by also nodded, and this was obviously recognized by everyone.

Zhao Jin disagreed and said, "The court just abolished the privileges of the students who were admitted as supervisors and admitted all candidates equally. It did not discriminate against you."

After a pause, he said to Zhao Shouzheng in a deep voice: "I think your uncle's writing is very mature and his words are very skillful. There is nothing to be afraid of in a fair competition. Just compete with them!"

"Well, good!" Zhao Shouzheng was indeed easily encouraged. Seeing Zhao Jin, who was called his nephew but was actually his teacher, praising him so much, he suddenly felt his fighting spirit rekindled, and said with full strength, "It's my turn to win!"

"That's right, it's my brother's turn now."

Fan Datong praised him. Eryang also wanted to encourage his master, but he had limited time today, so he could only keep his words to himself.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they walked out of Chengxian Street. Zhao Hao stopped and pointed at the two carriages waiting at the street corner. He said to his two apprentices, "You should follow your uncle back and listen carefully to his teachings. As the saying goes, a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. In this last month, you must not waste time or slack off. You must work hard and write your essays every day."

"Yes, Master." Eryang bowed hurriedly to accept the instruction, but did not dare to say another word.

"My father and I are going somewhere and will be back before the autumn examination." Then Zhao Hao said again.

"Ah..." Everyone was shocked, but Zhao Shouzheng and Zhao Jin looked calm, and it was obvious that they had already communicated with each other.

Here, Zhao Hao’s words were final, so the rest of the people got in the car and headed north back to Caijia Lane.

He and Zhao Shouzheng got on Gao Wu's carriage and headed west.

~~

Zhao Hao was silent along the way.

He certainly knew that the cancellation of the Imperial College's preferential treatment would have a huge impact on this year's students. The number of students who passed the Nanjing Imperial College exam would drop sharply from 35 to only eight.

After the Autumn Examination, the students of the Imperial Academy rioted, causing many officials to lose their jobs. In order to calm the situation, the court had to announce that the next provincial examination would restore the "皿" system and give preferential treatment to the students admitted.

But the results that have been announced cannot be changed, so only eight students in this subject passed the imperial examination. This can be said to be the most unlucky class in the Ming Dynasty...

So even though Zhao Hao knew the test questions, he still didn't dare to be careless. If he wanted to ensure that Zhao Shouzheng could successfully break through the enemy's siege, he had to make persistent efforts and sharpen his skills before the battle!

Although he didn't say anything, Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but shiver, as if he had already felt the strong murderous aura from his son!

The carriage stopped, Zhao Hao jumped out, pointed to a farmyard halfway up the mountain and said, "We're here."

Zhao Shouzheng also got off the car and looked around, but he saw only barren mountains and wasteland all around him, with no end in sight. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "How could there be such a place in Nanjing?"

"This is the land that Mr. Qian compensated our Zhao family." Zhao Hao led his father to the small courtyard.

"No wonder, I thought he was so generous, but it turns out it's worthless." Zhao Shouzheng shook his head as he climbed the mountain and looked at the barren wasteland.

"Of course it's not possible to farm here, but it's a great Feng Shui location for doing other things." Zhao Hao smiled and said nothing more. The famous Suiyuan was built here.

As he spoke, he led Zhao Shouzheng to the front of the courtyard.

Outside the gate of the courtyard, there stood two sturdy men holding sticks. There were also a few sturdy men around the courtyard wall, holding sticky poles and catching cicadas chirping on the trees.

"Father will be in seclusion here for the next month."

ps. The second update is here, please vote for recommendation. Also, let's investigate the issue of update time after the release. There are three solutions now, under the premise of keeping the total update amount unchanged:

1. I release everything all at once in the morning and update it once every morning at 8 o'clock.

2. Update twice, once at 8 o'clock and once at 12 o'clock.

3. The update will be divided into three times: 8:00, 12:00 and 18:00 every day.

If you think 1, 2, or 3 is appropriate, please leave a message and I will see if everyone agrees.