Chapter 063: First Place in the Provincial Examination
"Aunt Yang, I am also powerless when it comes to finding a wife..."
Shen Yichen replied helplessly, Aunt Yang really overestimated him.
"Why don't you let Ah Niu follow you, so you can see the world."
Although there was no hope of finding a wife, Aunt Yang believed that Shen Yichen had a great future, so she simply let her son follow him. Even if he was just a runner, it would be better than farming in the future.
"Yes, Yichen, I'm very strong!"
Zeng Aniu also echoed in a naive manner and showed off his strong muscles.
To be honest, Zeng Aniu could be considered as Shen Yichen's elder brother in childhood. When he first moved into this courtyard, some children bullied him and his widowed mother, and it was Zeng Aniu who stood up and chased those children away.
Shen Yichen was also very clear about Zeng Aniu's character. He was loyal and honest without any petty minds. Moreover, he was as strong as Li Da, so he was more than qualified to be a follower.
But the problem is, I don’t need it!
"Aunt Yang, I am still a student, and I haven't even passed the examination for the title of scholar. If I pass the examination for the title of juren in the future, it won't be too late to let Aniu follow me."
Shen Yichen had no choice but to decline politely. As a student with no chance of achieving academic success, how could he have the financial resources to support followers and followers?
At the very least, you have to wait until you pass the imperial examination and be respectfully addressed as "Master" by others before you have this qualification.
Hearing Shen Yichen's repeated refusals, Aunt Yang's face showed some disappointment. She thought that after Shen Yichen passed the exam, he would be like those officials and masters, and would need a large group of followers to serve him.
Now it seems that there is not much difference from before.
However, Aunt Yang is not a person who curry favor with the powerful. At most, she has some worldly thinking. If Shen Yichen becomes successful, she can take some benefit from it, but if there is no change, she will not make fun of him or look down on him.
So she quickly recovered and said, "It seems that Auntie was wrong. Yichen, just study hard and don't forget Auntie in the future."
"Will not."
"Yi Chen, call me if you need anything."
Zeng Aniu also patted his chest, not caring at all that Shen Yichen was unable to help.
"good."
After seeing off his neighbors, Shen Yichen smiled, shook his head, and then closed the gate of the courtyard.
In the past, I didn't have much understanding of the saying that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Now, it seems that the group of "blood relatives" in the Chengguo Mansion may not be as emotional as the neighbors.
The noise ended and everything returned to calm. Shen Yichen returned to his room and carefully read "Shangshu Zhengyi".
Since he had passed the provincial examination, no matter what his final ranking was, he had already obtained a ticket to take part in the college examination.
According to convention, the college entrance examination usually starts in mid-May, and the specific date may be slightly adjusted depending on the annual planning.
However, no matter how it is changed, it will definitely be held in May, which means that Shen Yichen will only have a maximum of one month to prepare and will face a greater challenge.
Because compared to the empty title of a scholar like Tongsheng, Xiucai is the real imperial examination title, which allows the candidates to cross the social class and officially enter the ranks of literati.
The candlelight flickered, accompanied by the chirping of insects and frogs outside the window. In the government office at the other end of Nanjing City, Prefect Li Min was reviewing the examination papers of the prefectural examination with two fellow examiners.
Compared with the thousands of test papers in the previous county examinations, the number of test papers in the provincial examinations was reduced to about one-fifth, but this does not mean that the amount of marking was reduced.
After all, had gone through a round of screening, so there wouldn't be candidates who just wrote randomly and haphazardly. So every test paper had to be carefully read twice to avoid missing out on the best candidates.
However, one round of screening also brings convenience, that is, the examiner already knows the top scorers and outstanding candidates in each county, so he only needs to focus on the test papers of these people.
"Sir, of the ten examination papers, four were written by the top candidates of each county, and the remaining six are selected excellent essays, from which the top candidate of the prefecture can be selected."
Sima Yun, a professor at the provincial school, selected ten test papers and placed them on the desk. In theory, the first place in the provincial examination would be selected from these ten people.
"Professor Sima, do we still need to choose?"
Li Min looked at his two fellow examiners with a half-smile. The final result of the case was about to come out, so why go through the process?
Sure enough, after hearing this, Sima Yun, who was always serious, also showed a look of "you know" on his face.
However, at this time, the prefectural chancellor Du Shi stood up and said with a solemn expression on his face: "Your Excellency, I also admire Shen Yichen's knowledge and writing very much, and I have no objection to selecting him as the first in the case."
"But during the examination, I found that the examination papers of several students from the private school of Duke Cheng's residence were very similar. However, they all looked fine and in principle could meet the standard for being accepted."
"If we treat everyone equally, then it is unusual that four students from the Chengguo Mansion private school, including Shen Yichen, have been admitted. If we make this case public, it will probably cause controversy."
Du Shi's words also made the smile on Li Min's face fade away. It was not without precedent that four people were admitted to the imperial examination of a large private school or academy at the same time.
But the test papers are very similar, which may lead to many explanations, and we must examine them carefully.
"Minister Du, please show me the test papers of these people."
Without Li Min's request, Du Shi had already put the test papers of Zhu Qingyu and others aside, waiting for the examiner to judge.
Li Min opened the test paper and took a quick look. She found that the similarity between the answers in the articles was indeed very high. To use a popular Internet phrase from later generations, it cannot be said to be completely consistent, but only to be exactly the same.
In fact, objectively speaking, similar situations have occurred in the imperial examinations over the years. After all, the contents of the annotations of the Four Books and imperial examination model essays that candidates refer to are almost the same every year.
If the examiner's questions are correct, then there will be many similar essays in this year's exam. So the similarity of answers alone does not mean that the candidates have plagiarized or cheated, but only that there is a strong suspicion.
"It's normal for the first question to be similar to the Four Books, but there has never been a similar article in the second question. How could they be so close?"
Prefect Li Min felt puzzled. It was impossible for anyone to guess correctly a question like the one about cutting and connecting, which was so unpopular that it could be said to be the height of hell.
There must be something wrong when something is abnormal. Apart from Shen Yichen, there must be something wrong with the remaining three students.
"Did the patrol soldiers report any abnormal behavior of these people?"
"No, sir."
Du Shi shook his head. During the entire provincial examination, no one noticed anything unusual about these people.
Hearing this answer, Li Min vaguely guessed that the test questions might have been leaked. But this matter was too serious, and it also involved the Chengguo Mansion. Without solid evidence and proof that several people cheated, telling others would only bring trouble to himself.
Local-level examinations such as county examinations and prefectural examinations have always been the hardest hit areas for cheating in the imperial examinations during the Ming Dynasty. It was relatively better during the Zhengtong period, but by the Chenghua period it had basically become openly rampant.
During the Jiajing and Wanli periods, corruption extended to the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and even cabinet ministers began to get involved.
It can only be said that the imperial examination system provided the lower-class people with a relatively fair way to compete, but absolute fairness is hard to come by in the world.
"Sir, the fact that four people were selected from the private school of Duke Cheng's Mansion is already very impressive. If Shen Yichen is selected as the top student, besides attracting criticism, he himself will probably become the target of public criticism."
Judging from the essay on the test paper, Shen Yichen is definitely flawless, with brilliant writing skills. However, compared with the first place in the case, it will appear that the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.
Rumors and criticisms from outside scholars will not exclude Shen Yichen from the private school of Duke Chengguo's Mansion. Instead, he will become the primary target of attack because he ranks first.
In order to reduce the negative impact, it is best not to list Shen Yichen at the top of the list. This way, it will be good for you, me and everyone.
Li Min was somewhat tempted by this suggestion. If he eliminated several relatives of Duke Chengguo without any evidence, he would definitely offend Zhu Yong, who was currently at the peak of his power.
On the contrary, he took a step back and took Shen Yichen off the top spot and gave him a place in the top few. In this way, the admission of four Chengguogong private school students would not be so conspicuous, and Shen Yichen himself would not suffer much loss, and he also avoided the possibility of being attacked.
Shen Yichen didn't know about this shit. If he knew, he would probably even want to kill Zhu Qingyu and others.
These people have nothing to do with me. Even the private school is divided into inner and outer courtyards. They are not even classmates!
So when good things happen, he doesn't think that he is also the son of Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong, and when bad things happen and someone is needed to share the blame, he becomes a relative of the Duke Chengguo's Mansion, and he is the scapegoat?
"Your Excellency, I do not agree with your Excellency, the Prime Minister's opinion. Shen Yichen is extremely talented and his essay is of a unique quality. He deserves the title of first place!"
"There are also rumors that his maid gave birth to a child. I believe you have all heard about it. Duke Chengguo never included him in the family tree, so naturally he has nothing to do with these Zhu clan members."
"There are two memorial archways in the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall, with the inscriptions 'Selecting Scholars through the Classics and Seeking Talents for the Country'. As a scholar, I dare not forget this. Please think twice, Lord Prefect!"
Sima Yun, a professor at the prefectural school, noticed that the prefectural governor Li Min was wavering. He was not an administrative officer , and as a school official he should hold himself to the standards of scholar-officials.
How can we sit idly by and watch such an unfair thing?
Sima Yun's words gave Li Min a great shock.
Yes, there was no suspicion of cheating on Shen Yichen's part. He had brilliant writing skills and his solutions were original and creative. He deserved to be the first in this provincial examination.
Why should a young talent be implicated because of someone else's affairs?
Even if there are criticisms and rumors in the future, those who achieve great things should be aware that their actions are superior to others and that people will criticize them. This is also a stage that everyone must go through in life.
"Professor Sima's warning is like a revelation. This government is narrow-minded."
"Since the country is seeking talents through the Mingjing exam, then Shen Yichen deserves the title of first place. Do you have any objections?"
"I have no objection."
The prefect and the professor of the prefectural school had come to this point. Du Shi had already decided that Shen Yichen was the first in the case, so naturally there was nothing more to say.
"No objection."
Sima Yun also nodded in agreement.
Just like in the county examination, the prefect Li Min also wrote Shen Yichen's name at the first place on the red case for announcing the results.
But this time, his writing was firm, without any hesitation at all!
