Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 24 Inside Story
Yanfu.

"Father, is it really necessary to go this far?"

Yan Shifan had never suffered such humiliation in his life, having to write articles for a lowly bastard who dared to disregard the Yan family.

You have to write carefully and attentively, and if it doesn't meet your father's expectations, you have to rewrite it!

Because the deadline for accepting articles for the selection was approaching, and Yan Song was getting on in years, it would be difficult for him to write fifteen articles by himself. So, Yan Shifan was also brought in, and the two professional agents worked together to examine the candidates for the position of probationary official in Yan Maoqing's place.

Despite never having participated in the imperial examinations, Yan Shifan's literary talent was in no way lacking.

According to historical records, Yan Song's reputation as the "Prime Minister of Qingci" in his later years was basically carried by Yan Shifan.

Even Xu Jie, who later gained favor and entered the cabinet through "qingci" (a type of official document), was always overshadowed by Yan Shifan in this respect.

"Time is of the essence, stop talking nonsense!"

Yan Song paused slightly, glancing sideways at Yan Shifan.
"The Emperor's decree cannot be disobeyed, and this method was proposed by you. Now, for some reason, Minister Yan Mao has not submitted his selected articles. Can this matter be left unresolved?"

"Who would have thought that this bastard would be so inhuman, not even participating in the selection process? Who knows what he's thinking?"

Yan Shifan gritted his teeth and cursed, a hint of anger surging from his one eye. He felt a sense of frustration, as if he had shot himself in the foot.

"The wording here is inappropriate!"

As they spoke, Yan Song had already poked the paper in front of Yan Shifan with his pen, casually drawing a large X over one of the columns.
"Among the Hanlin Academy scholars reviewing this article is a Reader-in-Waiting named Chen Yingda. He only regards the imperial examination as the way to select talents and firmly opposes using all three paths. You must avoid this issue in your article, otherwise you may not get a good review. Rewrite it!"

“Father, Chen Yingda opposes using all three paths, which is tantamount to opposing my entry into the court as an official. He is just a Reader-in-Waiting. Why should we compromise and pander to him?”

Yan Shifan felt heartbroken about the near-complete project he had been working on, and at the same time voiced his dissatisfaction.

He did not enter officialdom through the imperial examination, but rather through his father's patronage and recommendation.

"Snapped!"

Yan Song slapped Yan Shifan on the back of the head.
"Wake up! You're not writing a memorial to attack and refute someone; you're writing an essay for the Imperial Academy in your capacity as Yan Maoqing!"

"As long as I can get good reviews, I don't care about his stance or political views. Even if I teach you to write a scathing critique of me right now, you can just pretend I don't exist as your father and write it for me!"

……

Five days later.

As soon as the Ministry of Rites posted the list of selected probationary scholars outside the gate, a group of newly appointed scholars swarmed to it like flies.

next moment.

"There's something fishy going on! How could Yan Maoqing be ranked first?!"

Someone in the crowd, caught off guard, couldn't help but let out a shout, instantly causing ripples to spread among the newly appointed scholars who were rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

"That's right, there's definitely something going on inside!"

"Yan Maoqing was ranked last in the third class in the palace examination, so how come he became first in the selection of scholars?"

"Yan Maoqing must have bribed the examiner; did he not even bother to pretend?"

"We strongly demand that the selected articles submitted by Yan Maoqing be made public; otherwise, we cannot be convinced and can only beg Your Majesty to make the decision for us!"

"If the imperial examination system is ruined, the nation's fortunes will be difficult to prosper!"

"Yan Maoqing's selected articles must be made public..."

"..."

Gao Gong was naturally among the crowd.

He was indeed selected as a junior compiler, and ranked third on the list, as if the number "three" was destined for him.

Therefore, whether Yan Maoqing ranked first or not had no impact on him. In any case, once he entered the Hanlin Academy, everyone would be a probationary scholar, with no distinction of rank or status.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Gao Gong clenched his fists and turned to walk away quickly.
"That damned rumor-monger! I even considered him a confidant, and not a single word of truth came out of his mouth!"

"I will definitely get those two punches back today!"

Inside the Ministry of Rites.

"Minister, those scholars outside are making a ruckus!"

Several officials rushed into the main hall, panting as they reported to Yan Song.

"I heard that. Send someone out to tell them that the rankings for the selection were determined after repeated confirmation by Grand Secretary Xia, Grand Secretary Zhai, and the scholars of the Hanlin Academy. Let them make a fuss."

The noise from outside had already reached them, but Yan Song continued to peruse official documents, speaking slowly and deliberately.

As he spoke, Yan Song's lips curled up slightly.

He remembered something interesting and couldn't help himself.

It wasn't just these newly appointed scholars who felt there was something fishy going on; Grand Secretary Xia Yan and Cabinet Minister Zhai Luan also felt the same way.

When this list was first finalized.

Xia Yan had already led Zhai Luan to storm the Ministry of Rites once, and even said aggressively that he would submit a memorial to expose the Ministry of Rites for cheating in the selection of candidates, and also impeach him, the Minister of Rites, for failing to supervise effectively.

The results of it?
The selection process was jointly organized by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, and the Hanlin Academy.

However, the review was not handled by the Ministry of Rites, but only by cabinet ministers and a few Hanlin Academy scholars appointed by the emperor.

So Yan Song ordered someone to bring out the newly unsealed selection of articles from the academy, and selected the article submitted by "Yan Maoqing" for Xia Yan and Zhai Luan, who had also participated in the review, to see on the spot.

Then, Xia Yan and Zhai Luan immediately fell silent.

Because the articles submitted by "Yan Maoqing" not only had circles drawn by scholars of the Hanlin Academy, but also circles drawn by Xia Yan and Zhai Luan themselves, and even more circles in some chapters than those drawn by scholars of the Hanlin Academy.

After such statistics, Yan Maoqing not only ranked first in the number of marks, but also far surpassed the second place.

This is an absolute crushing victory; the museum's first-place ranking is well-deserved!
This brings to mind the scene from that time.

Especially when Yan Song recalled the awkward, shocked, and even somewhat embarrassed expressions on Xia Yan and Zhai Luan's faces, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Besides wanting to laugh, Yan Song also felt an indescribable sense of smugness.

What is strength?

This is called strength!
This time, besides having his son take the exam for Yan Maoqing, he also wanted to test his and his son's abilities during the selection process. He didn't use any other underhanded methods at all.

In other words, the heavens were jealous of his talent; his son, Yan Shifan, was unable to participate in the imperial examinations due to a physical defect.

Otherwise, if he were to pass the imperial examination with top honors, wouldn't he be able to easily defeat his opponent? How could a tiger father have a dog son?!
……

"Yan Maoqing! Yan Maoqing! You rumor-monger, come out here!"

Hearing Gao Gong's loud, aggressive voice.

Yan Maoqing had no choice but to temporarily stop his lucrative Chinese-to-Chinese translation work and go outside to open the courtyard gate for Gao Gong:

"Brother Gao, what's wrong now?"

Without saying a word, Gao Gong raised his hand and punched Yan Maoqing hard twice on the shoulder:

"You are noble!"

"You are amazing!"

"The list of candidates for the Shujishi degree is out, and you're at the very top. Is this what you mean by not accepting freebies?!"

Yan Maoqing stumbled and fell to the ground after being hit, but he didn't care about the pain in his shoulder at all.

His mouth gaped open, his eyes bulged out as if he'd seen a ghost, and the look of disbelief on his face was even more exaggerated than that of the newly appointed scholars at the Ministry of Rites' gate.
"What did you say???!!!"

There's something inside!
There's definitely something fishy going on!!!
(End of this chapter)