The Palace of Peach and Plum

"Are you addicted to questioning?" Li Li looked at the five test papers marked "one, two, three, four, five", very speechless.

"Isn't the minister let your majesty decide." Ling Wei was really addicted to the question. After the exam questions are set, there are other things to follow, and it doesn't take much trouble.

Ling Wei was very boring, thinking that the question was like playing a game, and it was fun—well, it was fun to cheat people, just like playing a word game. So he issued four sets of test papers for everyone to observe.

The other examiners already knew that Ling Wei had memorized several books, so he was numb to the four sets of test papers he had issued, and only asked him to make a decision with your majesty.

So he asked his Majesty to make a decision.

Of course, Ling Wei still finds some excuses: "In China, every time a big exam is taken, several sets of test papers will be prepared for replacement, and the final decision will be drawn to show fairness."

Li Li raised his head and looked at Ling Wei seriously: "Do you know what?"

Ling Wei was puzzled: "What?"

"Forget it." Li Li sighed. I guess I knew something, but in order not to make him sad, I deliberately didn't say it.

This kid is always so considerate.

"I remember that for the first set of test papers, you gave the reference book list to many people?" Li Li asked.

"It's not a lot of people, it's just colleagues." Ling Wei replied.

Li Li asked again: "Have you read the remaining test papers in detail?"

"Only the teacher has carefully read the remaining four sets of test papers, and only a few deputy chief examiners have circulated them. After a cursory glance, they didn't read them." Ling Wei's doubts deepened. His Majesty asked why this?

"The scope of the remaining four sets of test questions is the same as the first set?"

"The books are almost the same, but the annotated versions used are different, and the contents are also different."

"The first set is discarded. When the exam is approaching, I will personally select one of the remaining four sets for the exam." Li Li said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Ling Wei was confused, he did not ask.

Anyway, the emperor always has his reason, right?

However, after returning home, he still told Li Ying about today's incident.

Li Yin has a sharper political sense than Ling Wei. He thought for a while and said: "Han Wang guesses there is another move?"

"Han Wang?" Ling Wei froze. "What can he do? What is he going to do...Could it be...Is it an imperial examination?"

"Imperial examination fraud." Li Yin said every word.

Ling Wei was awakened a little, and his back was almost soaked in cold sweat.

This ancient imperial examination examiner is the easiest position to gain reputation, and it is also a very dangerous position.

Once a case of imperial examination favoritism is committed, it is almost a tragedy that will never be hired.

There are even ransacking homes and exiles. If they are serious, they are angry with the public, and they can't even behead their heads.

In every dynasty and every generation, when it comes to fighting for the throne, there will always be imperial examination favoritism, and a large number of people will fall.

Only the person involved knows how much of this is due to death by oneself, and how much is being framed.

There was no incident of imperial examination favoritism in the Da Yan Dynasty, and Li Li also strictly grasped power. Ling Wei had never thought that imperial examination favoritism would be leaked.

After all, under a monarch who has a strong jurisdiction over the court, ordinary people would still not do this kind of head-cutting. Besides, those examiners were appointed by His Majesty the Emperor himself, and the chief examiner was still his teacher.

But what if?

Even His Majesty considered this. Maybe Han Wang really did something?

Ling Wei almost couldn't sleep in shock.

"What's the worry?" Li Yin said relievedly, "what can escape the eyes of the emperor?"

Ling Wei smiled bitterly: "I can't escape. I'm afraid that I am afraid that Hanwangshe will be cut off. Sacrifice the chess pieces and have to pour sewage on me. As long as the imperial examination fraud is confirmed, even if it is not my problem in the end, all examiners will be jointly and severally liable. , It’s impossible to get promoted in a short time. If it’s leaked

For the questions I asked, even if it was not me who leaked out the questions, I would have to throw away the official hat. "

Throwing off the official hat is second, the key is that this reputation is not good. Scholars value fame, and fame is also important for officials. People with great reputations, as long as the emperor is still sober, at most relegation, can not do too much, after all, they have to take into account their own reputation.

Ling Wei has worked so hard to gain a reputation because he knows how important this thing is.

As soon as he presided over the imperial examination, the imperial examination was cheated, and it was the question he had leaked. Even if it was found that it had nothing to do with him, the joint responsibility would not escape, and angry scholars would not necessarily believe that he had done nothing wrong.

At that time, the image he had worked so hard to lay down in the literati circle collapsed.

Look at the examiners who cheated on the imperial examinations in the history books. Even if it wasn't their fault, they were miserably punished one by one.

In order to calm the anger and to stabilize the society, these people must be victims.

"But you have prepared five sets of test questions, and there are four sets that no one else has read." Li Ying said, "Even if he wants to do something, he can't do it."

Ling Wei thought for a while, too. If there is only one set of questions, and he doesn't care about it, maybe he will be caught. But now he panicked and came up with four sets of alternatives. His Majesty the Emperor rejected the first set, and when the exam started, the remaining four sets were drawn. Then Hanwang can't do what he wants.

Ling Wei felt that the examiners were still reliable—it would be profitable to follow the arrangements of the King of Han. Everyone is a family member, and once this fraud case comes out, everyone has to finish playing, and it is completely impossible to pick themselves out.

Since the King of Han wanted to spill his sewage, he should not only allow fraud to occur, but also expose the fraud. For other examiners, this is certainly not profitable, and no one will do stupid things.

If someone is stigmatizing it, it must be someone who can pick themselves out, or if they haven't, it won't affect the family.

Then those small officials who assisted are most likely. After all, examiners also want other people to help.

When Ling Wei took the first set of test papers and slapped her face, it was quite annoying and it took a long time to add tea and water several times, and the scene was chaotic. The list of test questions, no one could have been stolen.

Although the possibility is very small, maybe Han Wang is brain-dead?

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After understanding that even if Han Wang made a loss, he would be safe and sound, Ling Wei calmed down.

Eating, drinking, or laziness, being chased by his teacher Zhao Zhao with a book, became a fun thing for the examiners after their work.

Among these examiners, there was one who invigilated Ling Wei that year.

Ling Wei calmly improved the food for himself in the examination room. As a result, the things that made all the examiners coveted were turned up and said, Ling Wei proudly took out the food cooked by his own chef to show off.

Although Ling Wei's craftsmanship is still good, he has a specialization in the art industry. After learning Ling Wei's dishes, the cook has made even better dishes.

Seeing Ling Wei proudly showing off, Zhao Zhao was the first to fight back. He took away the only braised chicken leg in Ling Wei's lunch box.

"Teacher..." Ling Wei's facial expression instantly stiffened. Teacher, your fairy tale bone!

"This is honoring the teacher." Zhao Zhaoxian walked away in a straightforward manner.

"Master Zhao... really informal." The others swallowed silently. The relationship between the two is really good, although it is a bit unruly, but the master and apprentice are happy, they have nothing to say.

Even if you want to say something, that is, Master Ling, can't you take the initiative to share it?

Ling Wei said that he was stingy and didn't want to share at all.

So every time he eats, Ling Wei can get a bunch of envy, jealousy and hatred, and then he is robbed by his teacher.

It wasn't until later that the colleague said that he wanted his cook to communicate with the cook in Ling Wei's house, and Ling Wei agreed. The colleagues said that they got the new method, and they asked for friendly exchanges together.

Big families all have their own "secret recipes", such as recipes for cooking, health-preserving recipes, and flavoring recipes. These are generally not spread.

However, friendly exchanges of ordinary skills are possible between relatives and friends.

Ling Wei is also generous and organized a training class, and colleagues are welcome to send the chefs from the mansion for training and learning. Through friendly exchanges between cooks, the friendly relationship with colleagues has been further enhanced, and the ultimate goal of uniting colleagues has been achieved.

In addition, the people in his house were brought out by Li Ying. Compared with the cooks in other houses who don't care about everything except oil and salt, they are much more minded.

After going back and forth, he also unknowingly mixed up a lot of words, which surprised Ling Wei.

Could it be that the bunch of people in your kitchen were doing something to spy on the enemy?

The uncle kitchen smiled and said nothing.

Through the great support of the kitchen uncles and aunts, Ling Wei knew that these people came to Ling Mansion, at least for no other purpose. The host's instructions are also in place, and they will never let them run around and talk - although they are still being tricked.

As for other things in the house, they only knew about some trivial things in the backyard, which were of little use to Ling Wei.

Ling Wei felt more settled.

The colleagues sent the cooks for training, obviously not really greedy, but through this incident to build relationships.

When he took this matter, he agreed to build a relationship with everyone.

Because of the initial incident, he and his colleagues were still slightly embarrassed.

Everyone is not stupid to be able to mix up to this point, and of course they will think about how to improve.

He was worried that some of them were in the same line as the eldest prince, so he would come to his house to spy on this matter.

It turned out that he thought too much.

Then at least none of these people worked for the eldest prince, otherwise they would never give up such a good opportunity.

You know that his family is like an iron bucket. Apart from the few old people who he had assigned from the princess mansion, the servants were all the people who had retreated from the soldiers he had brought. The eldest prince had a very difficult time inserting eyeliner.

Since there is no eldest prince among his colleagues, does that mean it's okay for the time being?

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It turns out that Ling Wei thinks too much.

No, maybe it should be, he was right about his worries before, and now he thinks that he is okay for the time being.

Ever since Li Ying talked about fraud, Ling Wei has kept an eye on it.

Before the scientific examination, similar to the modern college entrance examination, there will always be some reference book mock questions on the market.

The bookstores and bookstores in the streets and alleys are full of sales. Some candidates from other places, or candidates from the pros who have not followed a famous teacher in the capital, have saved up money and bought them at home in piles.

In fact, they also know that the so-called mock questions are all summed up by the merchants themselves based on the previous year's examination questions, but it is good to practice their hands, maybe they just ran into the original question.

Because of the fear that the test questions will be leaked, the person who presides over the test squats year after year to spot check the "reference questions" and "mock questions" in the book books of various bookstores.

Even if the test questions are not leaked, maybe their brainwaves overlap with some people who gave the mock questions? In particular, if you accidentally overlap the propositions of articles such as examination policy theory, the problem will be big. If there is an overlap, the question will definitely be changed on the spot.

Not only Ling Wei, other examiners will also pay attention to mock questions.

Good luck this year, there is no one they have drafted in the simulation questions. Ling Wei looked at Jingyi's mock questions, and the degree of overlap with his questions was not high.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Ling Wei also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that when King Han hadn't made a big move, several book lists caught his attention.

The person he sent to pretend to take an exam was caught in an alley one day and recommended the "best reference book list."

The "best reference book list" is a list of imperial examination reference books sold in several stores. It seems that they have no connection with each other. There were also small vendors who sold these fake news to others, and Ling Wei's servant didn't care.

However, he made a mistake that day, thinking that he would have to buy a few book lists and go back to Ling Wei for spot checks, and according to the hawker's intention, he bought the book lists in those stores.

Ling Wei's memory is so good. After scanning the list of books, he felt familiar.

If it's just a list of books, there is actually nothing worth noting.

Although the reference books overlapped with his questions, the four books and the five classics were originally so many. Although the annotations are varied, according to the preferences of the examiners in previous years, one can still guess the version that may be tested. If there is only one book list, although there are guesses, it does not matter if the number is too small.

But when these book lists were put together, Ling Wei found that in the first set of questions he published, all the reference books were not mentioned above, and even the key sentences of the recommended key paragraphs were all included.

He couldn't help thinking about it.

He sent someone to specifically inquire about this matter, and found that although "recommended book lists" are common, they are mostly gimmicks made by the merchants themselves. The recommended book lists like this are distributed to several stores, and there is no one among them. Relationships are relatively rare.

Ling Wei also found out that those shops really didn't have much to do with each other, and it was absolutely impossible to say that they were united.

This incident is quite normal on the surface, and the methods are very secretive. However, it is this "secret" that is the most abnormal.

How can a store that has no connection and no possibility of cooperating launch a common "book list"? How did the vendors learn about this list of recommended books?

Ling Weishun touched the vines and learned from a hawker that they were indeed entrusted to sell this "recommended book list". The man also claimed to be the servant of a famous scholar, and the book lists belonged to him. Recommended to his students.

According to that person's description, it is impossible to know who the "student" is. But once the rhetoric of several hawker gangs was integrated, Ling Wei did not expect to lie down.

The young champion, who studied under a famous sect, was trusted by the emperor and prince, and was still supporting a position in the scientific examination. Who else but him?

This made a big turn, and the result was to pour sewage on him.

Ling Wei laughed angrily.

If I hadn't been prepared this time, I had a hunch that I would lie down, and I checked it more carefully. And God was also on his side, letting his servant "get a brainstorm", otherwise he would really not be able to find it.

Look, how clever the "self" in their words is, they are so concealed even for selfishness, and they have specially found several book lists from bookstores that have nothing to do with "self", and outline the key points, so as to confuse people. It's really "myself".

Ling Wei turned his head and shared the matter with His Majesty the Emperor.

His Majesty the emperor said unpredictably that I already knew that the brat would just work with peace of mind.

Ling Wei put the matter aside and went back to work happily.

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As Chunwei is approaching, students from all over the country have successively entered Beijing to rush for the exam, and the city has become more and more lively.

As the chief examiner, Ling Wei also had many students who handed in posts to ask for guidance.

Of course, Ling Wei, like all examiners, thanked the guests behind closed doors.

In order to avoid suspicion, they did not even see their own students, let alone the people next to them. Ling Wei was not restricted from seeing students, because his students were all princes and princesses in the palace.

But one day, the second prince Zhao Wang Lihu brought a young boy to visit.

Although Ling Wei was close to the princes, they were all young princes, who were already grown-ups. The eldest prince looked down on him and didn't play with him, and he wouldn't play with the prince after he was worthy of him. The other princes were very clever. When they met Ling Wei in the palace, they were very close. They also gave generous gifts on New Year's Day, but they didn't communicate too much in private.

This is the first time that an adult prince like Li Hu has come to the door like this.

Li Hu came here secretly in disguise, and since he is here, it is impossible for Ling Wei to keep people out.

"Let him come in." Li Yin asked the man in the palace to close the small door that connects the two houses, and then sat in a chair while sipping tea while waiting for Li Hu to come.

Li Hu was picked up by Ling Wei personally at the gate. He was talking and laughing. When he saw Li Ying's expressionless face, his smile froze.

"Uncle Wang is here too." Although he knew that Li Yin and Ling Wei were neighbors and had a good relationship, he was obviously not prepared to see the black-faced emperor in Ling Wei's home.

It seems that Li Li used his younger brother to scare the children, but it was not the prince and Jinque who scared them. All the princes suffered from it when they were young.

"Yeah." Li Yin nodded slightly, and said straightforwardly, "If you have anything to say to Jintang, you can just ignore me."

"Uncle Wang laughed..." Li Hu, who dares to ignore you!

"Wang Ye came to Pengshe, what's the matter?" Ling Wei smiled.

"Everything does not go to the Three Treasure Hall, I really want Yu Jintang." The prince did not claim to be lonely in front of Ling Wei. His Majesty said to all of their sons that this is your cousin, so Li Hu would naturally not confront him. Ling Wei claims to be the king.

"The prince is joking, please tell me what you can tell me, how can I ask for the word? It's really a shame to get off the official." Ling Wei smiled like a spring breeze, looking aside.

Most of Bian Xiaojuan's heart became nervous.

As expected, Master Ling was a very kind and nice person, as the grandfather and father said.

"Then I'm not welcome, so I'll just say it straight." Li Hu was not hypocritical. "This is my cousin Xie Hua's boss Xie Ming, who is dedicated to learning, but he has no choice but to be stupid and can't learn well. I know Jintang. I am very good at teaching children, and I dare not ask Jintang to accept him as a disciple. I just hope I can take time to teach."

"Ling Master, please guide." The young boy Xie Ming warned Ling Wei.

Xie's eldest grandson? Ask me for advice?

Ling Wei instantly understood Li Hu's meaning. Xie Shangshu was forced to find a way out.

"Jintang doesn't have to be embarrassed. I know that Jintang still has to go to the palace to teach his younger brothers and sisters, so I only need Jintang to take a day to give guidance when he rests for a month." Li Hu continued, "I have asked my father for advice. The father said that I should ask Jintang if I can spare any energy. I brought the child here. Well, but I will bring it here, so I must come in person for advice."

Your Majesty also knows? Still agree? Ling Wei looked at Li Yin, and Li Yin nodded silently, unaware of his prior knowledge or not.

"Since Prince Zhao and Master Xie can afford to be an official, they can still be taken out one day in a month." After Ling Wei said, he tested Xie Ming in front of Li Hu. I found that Xie Ming's foundation is fairly solid, just a little more whimsical.

This must not be liked by the Master, right? The master said that he is supposed to be mildly dull. It is estimated that ordinary people's children will be reprimanded for nonsense and stubbornness, right?

But Ling Wei thinks this kid is quite interesting.

"The son of Xie is very smart, and Prince Zhao said he was dull, he was really overly modest." Ling Wei thought the child was quite good, although the first time I met, it was more in line with his eyes. Although no disciples are accepted, it is okay to give monthly guidance.

"Jintang is too polite." Li Hu still knows this nephew well. The husband who taught him said that although the child studied hard, he always misinterpreted the meaning of a saint and was unbearable to teach him. He was also worried about whether the child would offend Jintang.

But then I thought about it again. Bringing the child to Qiu Jintang for guidance is meant to show weakness and show closeness. It doesn't matter what the child has learned. Besides, Xie Ming is well-mannered and well-behaved, as long as he tells him not to talk about his crazy things.

Will offend Jintang.

After all, the eldest grandson of the Xie family came to Ling Wei for advice to show the sincerity of the Xie family, in other words, the sincerity of Xie Rong.

Xie Rong didn't know how to hear about his identity, and it seemed that he finally planned to separate his family from the entire Xie family. As for Li Hu's initiative, seeing it seemed to be a sign that he was about to part ways with the King of Han.

But everyone didn't know the meaning behind the scenes. Li Hu just brought his nephew to the back door in a very simple way, letting Ling Wei teach knowledge.

Ling Wei enthusiastically stayed with Li Hu and Xie Ming for dinner. After Li Hu agreed, he found that his uncle Wang was also very naturally sitting at the table waiting for dinner. Being educated by the black face emperor can not be wasted, and finally fled with Xie Ming.

"He seems to be very afraid of you." Ling Wei rinsed his mouth with tea, "Yingfei, what do you mean by Master Xie?"

"It's too worried," Li Yin replied, "Maybe...not too much."