Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 269: Catch the ducks and put them on the shelves

In Gushan Villa, Yang Yuan looked at Zhao Qu helplessly. Zhao Qu was wearing a Taoist robe, sitting there lazily and yawning.

"Your Majesty, what's the point of me taking the imperial examination? Fan Jiang is an imperial examination candidate and is currently working for me.

Even if I somehow pass the exam, I will only be at the same level as him. How will it help my career? If I fail, I will be even more embarrassed. "

Zhao Yu said lazily: "It is of course useless for you to take the Juren exam, but if you want to take the Jinshi exam, you have to take the Juren exam first."

Yang Yuan's voice suddenly rose: "Examination for the imperial examination? Me?"

"Yeah, why are you shouting so late at night? If you want to advance in your career, you must have some achievements.

Otherwise, do you still want to lead troops to fight? Have you ever led troops? Who would dare to let you lead troops? "

Yang Yuan said: "But what can I use to take the exam? Even if I am very talented and start studying hard now, I still need the time, right?"

Zhao Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Can a living person be suffocated to death by urine? There must be a way."

Yang Yuan said, "What can we do? You said you could get the questions for the 'Fajie Test', but the 'Ministry of Rites Test' is so strict and has so many rules. Your Majesty, can you get the test questions?"

Zhao Yu stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "I haven't thought about this yet, and I don't know if it will work.

But I have inquired about it, and there are cheaters in every subject. Since there are cheaters caught in every subject, there must be some who succeeded in cheating."

Although the imperial examinations had strict discipline, cheating was rampant for the sake of one's future.

Some officials have summarized eleven common cheating methods: using false household names, accommodating the military service system, adding or subtracting age, using false names, carrying documents with them, calculating the questions, making a lot of noise in the examination room, slandering the examiner, replacing family names, changing the test paper, and finding someone to write for you.

Among them, finding someone to write for you is the easiest way to pass the exam.

After all, there were no photos on the admission tickets of this era, and it was actually very easy to find someone to impersonate based on the simple description of physical features on the "floating ticket".

Therefore, once cheating is discovered, the candidate will be banned from taking exams forever and exiled 500 miles away.

However, for those who know they cannot pass the exam on their own, countless people still dare to take the risk of cheating.

However, cheating that requires cooperation from others, such as bribing an official or finding someone to write for you, will be punished if it is discovered. The official will be dismissed from office and become a commoner. The person who writes for him must have passed the exam and obtained a degree, so that person will also have his degree revoked and be exiled 500 miles away. Therefore, the cost of cheating is very high.

With Yang Yuan's foundation, there is almost no other way except to "ghostwrite".

Zhao Qu was obviously planning this.

It's just that he is the type who thinks things through at will, and he won't bother thinking about how to do it right now.

Yang Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "I'm living a good life now, why should I take that kind of risk?"

Zhao Yu's expression straightened up and he said, "But if you don't take the exam, your career prospects will end here!"

"I don't care."

“I care!”

Zhao Qu said: "I am very optimistic about you, and I hope you will have a great future. I also believe that with your talent, you deserve a great future. But now you are stuck on this piece of fame, so what do you say we should do?"

Yang Yuan said: "What can I do? Just leave it alone. I am not as skilled as others. What else can I do?"

Zhao Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at Yang Yuan, and suddenly asked, "Are you investigating the case of Ban Musi, who is being held by Guoxin?"

"Yes, why did the king suddenly bring up this matter?"

"Since someone was able to kill Mu Si and silence her in the presence of Prince Pu'an, it shows how cruel he is. If you really find out something, there is no guarantee that they won't attack you. Do you... still want to investigate?"

"check!"

"Aren't you afraid of being killed?"

Yang Yuan said: "If I am afraid of danger, I will just stay at home and do nothing."

Zhao Yu asked: "You are now in charge of the Chanzifang. If the court sends you to sneak into the Kingdom of Jin to carry out a secret mission, but this trip is a life-threatening one, will you go?"

Yang Yuan became impatient and said, "Just tell me what you want to say, Your Majesty."

Zhao Yu said: "Since you are not afraid of death, then, if I ask you to take the imperial examination, even though it is dangerous, why can't you find a way to complete it, instead of just avoiding it?"

Yang Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "My Lord, your perverse logic is really... This is not the same thing at all, right?"

Zhao Qu said proudly: "It's a twisted logic, but it's still a logic. Just tell me if it makes sense."

"I don't think..."

"If you don't pass the exam and come back with a good reputation, your life will be over, do you understand?"

Zhao Yu also became impatient, rolled his eyes and said, "It's rare for me to like someone. Do you want the world to think that I have a bad eye?"

"Your Majesty, I..."

“The ‘Fajie Test’ is easy to take and the test questions are not difficult to obtain.

I will be able to get the test questions in three days. You can find a reliable person to help you finish the article first.

It's OK as long as you memorize it word for word. Um..., do you have a reliable person who can write for you?"

"My king, I haven't agreed yet, I..."

"Well, you know clearly what you did before, do you think that your blood revenge is in accordance with the rules?
If it is not legal, what rules can it follow? But you think what you are doing is right, so don’t you do it anyway?”

Zhao Yu walked up to Yang Yuan angrily, pointed at his chest and said, "Now I'm asking you to take the imperial examination, not to be a husband of a rabbit. Why are you being so coy?"

"Your Majesty, I think..."

"I don't care what you think, I care what I think. If I think you should be a higher official, then go ahead and do it.

You are now an official in the Privy Council, but it is all because of my help. Now I ask you to do me a favor, but you refuse to do it. Do you still have a conscience?"

Yang Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "How did this become your business, my king? Didn't you say that you would no longer care about my affairs after sending me to the Privy Council?" "Haha, I am the most trustworthy person when it comes to breaking my promises, what can you do about it?"

Yang Yuan was both angry and amused: "My King, you..."

"How about this, when I get the test questions, I'll ask the palace chief historian to help you write one?"

"Don't do that!" Yang Yuan hurriedly stopped him: "I don't trust you, my king. You are too unreliable."

"Okay, it's just a test to become a juren, it doesn't require any profound knowledge.

Besides, you are taking part in the 'lock-in exam', which only admits one out of every four people, so you can find someone yourself."

"Ah? I haven't..."

"see a visitor out!"

……

Yang Yuan was driven out of his villa in Gushan without knowing why.

This Prince Enping is really...

All the rules, regulations and court laws seemed to be a game in his eyes, and there was no taboo that he dared not touch.

But why did you drag me into the fun? If you get exposed, the worst that can happen is you lose the chance to be appointed as the crown prince... and it seems like you're more than happy about it.

but I……

Sitting at the bow of the boat, sailing on the West Lake, Yang Yuan had to start thinking about a very realistic question: Who should I ask to ghostwrite?
Fan Jiang, there is no doubt that this is the only candidate he can find now.

Fan Jiang was able to pass the exam in a place with such a low admission rate. With the essay he wrote on behalf of others, it should be easy for him to get the status of a juren in a place with a high admission rate of one in four.

But..., after all, they had only known each other for a short time, and Yang Yuan felt uneasy about handing such a big handle to Fan Jiang.

As they were about to enter the inner river beside Qingbo Gate and pass Renmeifang, Yang Yuan suddenly thought of Li Shishi.

Just having a good-looking face won't make you the top boss in Tokyo's upper court.

Shishi is a talented woman with profound knowledge and is praised by many veteran celebrities.

I just don't know if what she has learned is only poetry and songs, and how much of it can be used in the imperial examinations...

After changing his mind, Yang Yuan felt relieved. Anyway, I didn't expect to really pass the imperial examination, so I just went to find Shishi.

It would be great if she could pass the exam, but if she can’t... Anyway, I have tried my best, and it will save Prince Enping from making trouble again!
……

"You said you want to take the imperial examination? You want me to write for you?" Li Shishi stared at Yang Yuan with wide eyes, a look of disbelief on her face.

Yang Yuan is very shy. No man is willing to expose his incompetence in front of his woman. This kind of thing is really embarrassing to talk about.

Yang Yuan said ashamedly: "I was also forced into a corner by the nonsense of Prince Enping, and I was afraid that I would not even be able to pass the examination. In the future, in front of my subordinates..."

"Hahaha, great!"

Li Shishi was as excited as a young girl: "When I was young, every time the results of the major examinations were announced, the successful candidates would come to me with a smug look on their faces, showing off and being proud, which was really ridiculous.

If I were not a girl, I would have passed the imperial examination and come back to show off in front of me, humph!"

Li Shishi held Yang Yuan's hand and shook it happily: "Erlang, I will help you. I want to take the exam and become the top scholar. Hehe! When I get you the top scholar, I will show my ability!"

Mistake! Yang Yuan suddenly thought that Shishi and Enping County Prince Zhao Yu were actually the same kind of people at heart. They both liked to break the rules and pursue possible excitement in the impossible.

Shishi liked to take the exam "on his behalf" and repeatedly told him to take it seriously and try his best to cheat.

Yang Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was still a little dazed when he left Renmeifang and returned to "Song Family Flavor House".

Just as I arrived at the door lintel of "Song Family Flavor Restaurant", a person suddenly jumped out from the shadows on the side of the door.

Yang Yuan was startled for a moment, and his body quickly dodged, with the sword at his waist unsheathed.

"Erlang, it's me!" The man screamed in fear and stood still.

The sword in Yang Yuan's hand was against the man's chest, just an inch away from piercing his heart.

Yang Yuan took a closer look and said unhappily, "Uncle Xue, you were so reckless that you didn't even say hello first. I almost stabbed a transparent hole in you with my sword."

Xue Liang smiled bitterly and said, "I am just happy to see you back."

Yang Yuan was afraid that people on the street would watch, so he quickly sheathed his sword, pulled him aside, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Xue Liang sighed and said, "I didn't want to do that either. It was Magistrate Xu who came to me and told me to find you. If I couldn't find you, I should wait where you would go until I found you."

Yang Yuan frowned and said, "Why did Magistrate Xu come to see me again? Come on, I'll go with you."

Xue Liang said, "No, no, no, we are not going to the county government office. Magistrate Xu said that if he sees you, you must go to the house of the 'cat seeker' immediately."

Looking for cat...

Yang Yuan suddenly realized, "I see. You go back. I'll go right away."

Yang Yuan didn't go in either. He turned around and left the Qingshi Lane again.

When Yang Yuan arrived at Cao Yong's residence, it was almost three o'clock in the morning. The alley was deserted and no one was seen.

Yang Yuan grabbed the door knocker and just knocked it, the door creaked open a crack, a head popped out and asked anxiously, "Is it Mr. Yang?"

"Exactly."

"Sir, come with me."

The doorman let Yang Yuan in, then immediately bolted the door and walked away.

(End of this chapter)