Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

In the blink of an eye, the month-long deadline was approaching, and the most important part of the reform, the preliminary imperial examination, was held as scheduled in Bianjing City.

Although the land tax reform failed, causing Zhao Huan and Ye Fan to lose face in the court and among the people.

However, they remained confident in the future of the reform. They believed that as long as the imperial examination proceeded smoothly, the reform could continue in a short time.

On the day of the imperial examination, scholars from all over the country gathered outside the palace in Bianjing to wait.

Lai Ba, the Minister of Rites, bowed to Zhao Huan and said, "Your Majesty, there are a total of 1,722 scholars participating in this imperial examination. I have already followed the instructions of Censor Ye."

They were placed in temporary examination rooms, and now they were just waiting for the auspicious time to distribute the exam papers and begin the exam.

Zhao Huan and Ye Fan exchanged a glance, both seeing a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes.

"Let all candidates enter the examination hall. This time, the chief examiner will be Imperial Censor Ye."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan immediately stepped forward: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will certainly live up to your expectations."

"Ok!"

Zhao Huan nodded vigorously, full of confidence in Ye Fan.

Soon, the scientific expedition officially began.

This exam mainly focused on policy essays and lasted for two days.

Ye Fan took this scientific expedition very seriously, believing it to be an essential battle for his future success. Therefore, he devoted himself to it wholeheartedly and dared not be careless in the slightest.

While the students were writing furiously, he said to the deputy examiner, Lai Ba, "Minister Lai, I hope everyone can focus on the well-being of the Song Dynasty."

Don't let differing political views ruin this reform; it won't benefit anyone.

Lai Ba laughed and said, "What are you saying, Imperial Censor Ye? As an official of the Song Dynasty, I naturally give my full support to the reforms of the Song Dynasty."

See? We did exactly what you said. How can there be any talk of differing political views?

Ye Fan sneered inwardly, but his face remained calm: "Very well. I hope Minister Lai will keep his word and not create any more embarrassing situations."

Lai Ba frowned: "Imperial Censor Ye, what exactly do you mean by this? Are you still blaming us for the land tax equitable distribution?"

You must not forget that when the people stormed the capital, it was I who did my utmost to persuade them to leave, thus lifting the siege and preventing a potential civil uprising.

Besides, we're in the palace now. Who would dare cause trouble under the Emperor's watchful eye? Censor Ye is underestimating us!

Ye Fan was furious. How could there be such a shameless person?

They were the ones who sabotaged the reform, yet they made themselves bear all the blame.

But it doesn't matter. Once the imperial examination system is established as a national policy, I will surely gain strong support from both the court and the public.

Once you gain fame, none of you who once humiliated me will have an easy time.

"Then I'll have to trouble Minister Lai with everything."

He was too lazy to argue with Lai Ba any longer, so he gave him a few perfunctory words and went to inspect the examination room.

"Humph."

Lai Ba stared at Ye Fan's retreating figure, a mocking, sly smile creeping across his face...

Two days passed in a flash. Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the imperial examination, which relieved Ye Fan.

But as he was grading the exam papers, he suddenly became so angry that he trembled with fear.

"Is it not pleasant to learn and practice what you have learned? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not understand him?"

"The way to govern a country lies in the ruler, who values ​​the state and the nation, and each generation progresses in an orderly and gradual manner. The shape and size of the land are bestowed by Heaven, which is the way to achieve great harmony."

There's nothing wrong with what's written, but...

Hundreds of exam papers in a row had identical answers, except for the names.

This is clearly cheating!

Upon realizing this, Ye Fan immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "This is outrageous! The Emperor himself is in the capital, yet he still dares to engage in such favoritism and corruption. He has no regard for the law!"

Upon hearing this, Lai Ba looked shocked: "Imperial Censor Ye, what's going on now?"

"See for yourselves."

Ye Fan didn't bother with any more words and simply tossed the exam papers into the hands of Lai Ba and the other examiners.

"The answers submitted to the exam are almost word for word. Isn't this cheating? Bring these candidates here immediately and subject them to severe punishment. Someone must be behind this!"

As a result, Lai Ba and the other examiners, after reading the exam papers, exchanged knowing smiles.

Then Lai Ba smiled and said to Ye Fan, "Imperial Censor Ye, you've gone too far. The whole accusation of a mastermind cheating is completely baseless in my opinion."

"What did you say?"

Ye Fan's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe that even a three-year-old could see the problem, so why could Lai Ba say something so outrageous?

Lai Ba held up an exam paper, pointed to its contents, and said to Ye Fan, "Censor Ye, look, these hundreds of exam papers contain exactly the same content."

Doesn't this demonstrate that these students share a unified view on the current political situation? Shouldn't such talent be given important responsibilities, which would truly be of use to the nation?

"hehe."

Ye Fan was so angry that he couldn't speak at all.

He had seen shameless people before, but he had never seen anyone as shameless as Lai Ba.

Even when the facts are right in front of him, he can still twist the truth and turn black into white.

The key point is that the other examiners collectively agreed with Lai Ba's point of view and expressed their own opinions.

"We never knew that the talented people of our Great Song Dynasty shared such similar governing views. If it weren't for this imperial examination, we would still be completely unaware."

"Yes, it's really unexpected that the son of Minister Qin, who was born out of wedlock, would have such literary talent. I thought he was just a spoiled brat when I first met him, but it turns out he's a man of great talent."

"That's right, and there's also Magistrate Wang's nephew, who actually wrote such a treatise on governing the country. It seems he's put in a lot of effort in his spare time."

"In that case, our Great Song Dynasty is truly blessed by Imperial Censor Ye; otherwise, we would never have realized that our Great Song Dynasty is so full of talented people!"

"Come, let us thank Imperial Censor Ye together."

Hearing the gossip around him, Ye Fan almost gritted his teeth to pieces.

He put away the exam papers, suppressing his surging emotions, and said to everyone, word by word, "This matter..."

I must inform Your Majesty that favoritism and corruption violate the original intent of the imperial examination system, and this unhealthy trend must not be allowed to undermine the reform agenda!

After saying that, he turned and left the examination hall.

"Hahaha……"

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he heard unrestrained laughter behind him.

"Reform the imperial examination system? Who does he think he is?"

"A legitimate son who was expelled from his family, unable to make a living in the State of Chu, thought he could rule the State of Song with absolute power. He really thought he was someone important."

"Our Great Song Dynasty has its own national conditions, how can Ye Fan arbitrarily criticize and reform? Let's see how he tries to reform!"

Ye Fan's face immediately turned bright red.

He admitted that he was too naive and did not have a proper understanding of the treacherous nature of officialdom.

But now, he has come to understand.

"I will not lose, I absolutely will not lose! The imperial examination system must be established as a national policy of the Song Dynasty! This concerns my future, Ye Fan!"

With this unwavering determination, he resolutely headed towards the imperial study where Zhao Huan was...

Upon learning of this, Zhao Huan immediately summoned the examiners to the Imperial Study for a talk.

"My esteemed ministers, you are all pillars of the Song Dynasty. Now that hundreds of identical policy essays have appeared, shouldn't we provide a reasonable explanation?"

He was furious; this was the first time he had lost his temper since ascending the throne, and his tone was full of reproach.