Chapter 524 - 197: Coming to Blows
Chapter 524: Chapter 197: Coming to Blows
Gong Yuanxiu’s eyes were glued to the constables as they unsealed the exam papers, eagerly waiting for them to find two specific scripts: number 379 from the South Hall’s Earth section, and number 18 from the West Hall’s Profound section.
But this year, there were at least eighteen hundred candidates, if not a full two thousand, taking the Provincial Examination in Heyuan Province.
Mountains of exam papers were stacked inside the room. Finding two specific scripts among them was easier said than done.
The search went on and on. The other officials remained seated, and regardless of what they were truly feeling, their faces showed nothing but dignified composure, as steady as mountains.
Gong Yuanxiu, in contrast, grew more and more anxious as time dragged on.
He was so restless he couldn’t sit still, as if his chair were full of nails.
Sweat streamed down his face like rain.
Everyone in the room watched him coldly, but no one said a word. They simply stared at Gong Yuanxiu with undisguised scorn, as if he were a clown.
It was no wonder the officials showed the chief examiner such disrespect. His questionable maneuvers were too numerous, and his desire to help a candidate cheat was all too obvious.
Had he served as chief examiner even once or twice before, his methods might not have been so clumsy.
And yet, he seemed to think he was a genius and that everyone else in the room was a fool. Ever since the examination began, he had been constantly up to something, from demanding a candidate’s seat number to personally patrolling the examination hall to publicly reprimand Tao Yanxun.
It was a "reprimand" in name only. Anyone with experience understood that his words contained a secret signal.
There was a historical precedent for this: a chief examiner, while patrolling the examination hall, had once said a specific three-character phrase, "pī xiū zāi," to the son of a friend from his hometown. The candidate then deliberately wrote those same three characters on his paper and, as a result, passed the examination.
The officials present were all too familiar with this sort of trickery.
They had all become officials by passing the imperial examinations themselves.
And since becoming local officials, they had proctored their fair share of examinations. They couldn’t be bothered with such a crude attempt at collusion and cheating; it was beneath their notice.
What was infuriating was how this Gong Yuanxiu strutted about with his nose in the air, treating them all like idiots. It was no surprise, then, that they refused to show him the respect due a chief examiner.
An undercurrent of tension filled the room. For a time, none of the officials spoke, and the only sounds were the RUSTLE and SHUFFLE of the constables continuously unsealing the exam papers.
After a long while, a voice finally broke the silence.
"We’ve got it!" an excited constable exclaimed. "West Hall, Profound Section, number eighteen! We’ve found the paper!"
This was the paper of a Jingkui.
By convention, there were three Jingkui, who would rank third, fourth, and fifth. The other two spots had already been decided, but Gong Yuanxiu had hesitated for a long time over this last one.
But this third person was skilled enough to compete on the same level as the top scorer and the runner-up, a clear testament to their ability. Therefore, this candidate was a lock for third place.
Gong Yuanxiu shot to his feet, darting to the front. "Quick, let me see! Which great talent is this?"
He uncovered the paper. Written on it were four words: "Qu Moshu, Liangchun Prefecture."
Seeing this, Gong Yuanxiu’s heart leaped with joy.
’It’s in the bag now.’
’Tao Yanxun is guaranteed to be the top scorer in the provincial examination. No doubt about it.’
’In all of Heyuan Province, no one can surpass his scholarship.’
Gong Yuanxiu’s delight was written all over his face, as if he himself had won the title of top scorer. He held up the exam paper and turned toward Mr. Xu.
This Mr. Xu was none other than Xu Yanhe’s uncle.
He served as the Magistrate of Liangchun Prefecture and had originally planned to return to the Capital City to visit his family before the new year. However, he was struck by a sudden, serious illness. To keep his parents from worrying, he sent a letter to the capital, claiming that something had come up and he would not be returning. But somehow, his parents heard that he was gravely ill. Overcome with worry, they immediately dispatched a nephew to check on him.
Coincidentally, one of the deputy examiners for this very examination was that nephew.
It wasn’t Xu Yanhe, though. Xu Yanhe had also participated in this year’s special examination. He had been studying at the Imperial College but had stayed in Liangchun Prefecture with his uncle after the new year. Mr. Xu had wanted his nephew to stay a while longer, but then came the unexpected news of the special examination, so Yanhe rushed back to the Capital City.
Yanhe had returned, but now Yanlin had arrived. Mr. Xu didn’t even have to think about it; he knew what had happened. ’Yanhe must have told the family elders what he saw and heard in Xinghuai Prefecture, and they sent Yanlin to find her.’
’Putting aside whether Yanhe was just seeing things, trying to find one person in all of Xinghuai Prefecture... how is that any different from finding a needle in a haystack?’
’Even if such a person truly exists, she’s a living, moving person. You don’t know her name and are just blindly asking around. How could you ever hope to find her?’
’Besides, he’s here under the pretext of being an examiner. His time is limited. How much of that can he actually spend searching?’