The villain and the powerful official secretly read the diary and broke my plot every day

It is the fifth day of March. Today is the day when His Majesty will hold a banquet in the Imperial City.

The Qionglin Banquet is a literary feast that countless students dream of.

The banquet was held in the Qionglin Garden in the imperial city. Early this morning, the eunuchs and maids in the palace were already busy.

In the imperial city, in the imperial study.

In front of Emperor Jianping was a list of the ninety candidates who had passed the spring examination. There were many booklets piled up next to the desk, which recorded some simple personal information of these candidates.

"Among the ninety new scholars this time, more than sixty are from prominent families, and they all have high rankings."

Flipping through the list on the desk, Emperor Jianping spoke again, his tone tinged with disdain: "Some of those disciples from aristocratic families are indeed well-educated, but some... are just ignorant and unlearned dandies. With their level of skills, they can actually make the list. Do these people really think I'm blind?"

"Your Majesty is naturally very discerning."

Gu Yanqing, who had been sitting quietly sipping tea, also put down his teacup and said calmly, "But the imperial examinations were already like this during the reign of the previous emperor. This year is the first spring examination since Your Majesty ascended the throne. Those noble families are being so blatant, and they are actually waiting for your reaction, Your Majesty."

Imperial power and aristocratic families can sometimes be one and the same, but sometimes they are in opposition.

The late emperor was able to ascend the throne thanks to the support of these aristocratic families. Therefore, during the late emperor's reign, the power of these aristocratic families was extremely large, and their influence in the court was also enormous.

And now...

The power and status of these noble families were too great, and had begun to threaten the royal family...

"Ah."

After hearing Gu Yanqing's words, Emperor Jianping on the high throne sneered and said, "Those old fellows have repeatedly tested my bottom line. So what if they have gained so many rankings by cheating? This time, I will set the questions for the palace examination myself. I will expose those who are just filling in the numbers!"

"It seems that Your Majesty has already thought of the topics for this palace examination?" Gu Yanqing raised his eyes to look at Emperor Jianping and asked seemingly unintentionally.

"Of course, I've been thinking about it for several days." Speaking of this, Emperor Jianping couldn't help but feel a little proud. Then, he waved his hand and asked the eunuchs around him to leave. Only he and Gu Yanqing were left in the entire imperial study.

"Gu Xiang, come here!"

Emperor Jianping smiled and waved at Gu Yanqing.

Gu Yanqing slowly stood up and walked to the desk.

Emperor Jianping leaned forward, halfway across the desk, and whispered in Gu Yanqing's ear, "This time... let's test them on how to implement the new policy nationwide. What do you think?"

Gu Yanqing's expression remained unchanged, and he lowered his eyes slightly——

The implementation of the new policy has reached a critical moment, and how to promote it nationwide is indeed a big problem.

If someone could really answer the question well, he would definitely catch the eye of Emperor Jianping, and even Gu Yanqing would look at that person differently.

In an instant, Gu Yanqing thought of the examination paper.

Gu Yanqing carefully examined the papers of the ninety tribute students who made the list! The history and poetry questions in this imperial examination were not difficult, and were also the easiest areas for cheating.

In comparison, the questions on the interpretation of classics and policy essays are more difficult, and the answers on those papers are also mixed.

Some simply gave random, irrelevant answers, while others blindly flattered the court and His Majesty, endlessly praising them with sycophancy. Of course, there were also some truly insightful individuals. During this examination, one individual, with his sharp writing and immense talent, stood out.

And...that person seems to have a lot of ideas about the New Deal.

Gu Yanqing remembered it very clearly. It was a student named Shen Guiyuan.

"Recently, Your Majesty and I have been actively promoting new policies. I believe that all students in the world are aware of this."

Gu Yanqing slowly raised his eyes, restraining the emotions in his eyes, and spoke calmly, "What if someone deliberately supports the new policy in front of Your Majesty, but actually has ulterior motives?"

"what?"

Hearing Gu Yanqing's words, Emperor Jianping was stunned for a moment - could there really be such a bold scholar? Daring to lie to the emperor in person?

but……

What if it was someone specially arranged by those big families?

Emperor Jianping frowned tightly, then quickly relaxed.

"So, I can't go a single day without you in my sight!"

Emperor Jianping raised his big hand and wanted to pat Gu Yanqing's shoulder, but unfortunately, Gu Yanqing dodged it lightly.

Humph, you little brat, you're getting proud.

"I know you're smart. Did you figure out something from the imperial examination?"

Emperor Jianping looked at Gu Yanqing expectantly.

Gu Yanqing did not keep the person in suspense and directly picked out a few lists from those lists and placed them in front of Emperor Jianping.

"According to my secret investigation, these people are all secretly trained by major families. Of course, now they appear to be just ordinary students."

"These old foxes! They actually played dirty tricks on me!" Emperor Jianping was angry.

"Of course, this is just what I've found so far. There are still some that I haven't found... I don't know how many there are."

Speaking of this, Gu Yanqing's eyes dimmed for a moment——

There are only ninety students on the list, more than sixty of them come from famous families, and among the remaining twenty or so students from poor families, there are countless hidden agents of the aristocratic families.

This is really ridiculous and sad.

"Bastard!"

The Jianping Emperor on the side was already furious. In a fit of rage, he pushed all the rosters to the ground, and all the rosters were scattered all over the floor. Countless names fell into his eyes -

Originally, the Spring Examination was supposed to be a grand event to select talented people for him, the emperor, and the entire Qingyun Kingdom.

And now...

But it became a feast for those noble families to place their own people there.

"This is the first spring examination since I ascended the throne! Well, those old guys are really good!" Emperor Jianping gritted his teeth.

Gu Yanqing on the side seemed much calmer.

He lowered his eyes to look at the pamphlets scattered on the ground, his gaze lingering on a certain name.

Jiang Chaosheng.

perhaps.

They are not without people available.

"Your Majesty, why should you be angry? Perhaps this is not a bad thing for us."

Gu Yanqing spoke, a charming smile curling the corners of his lips. "Those old foxes must have already guessed what questions Your Majesty would ask, and they might even make various arrangements accordingly. So... why don't we take advantage of their tricks?"

Will it count?

Emperor Jianping, who was just secretly thinking about what topic to change, was slightly stunned when he heard Gu Yanqing's words, and then he understood -

Those old guys think they can predict my moves.

In fact, I had predicted their predictions long ago, and even pretended to be fooled to lure them into the trap!

This wave...

I'm on the fifth floor!

"Prime Minister Gu, do you have any new conspiracy? Come, tell me about it." Emperor Jianping looked at Gu Yanqing with a smile on his face, his eyes full of expectation.

What is conspiracy...

Gu Yanqing glanced at Emperor Jianping and slowly told him his plan. He did have some small opinions about this palace examination.

Originally, after reading the papers of those scholars, Gu Yanqing already had a comprehensive plan in his mind.

And this morning... he read Jiang Jiang's diary.

The plan in my heart...has changed a little bit.