Xiao Jing led people inside, but in order not to disturb the normal work of the inner curtain examiner, before entering the last door that separated the inner curtain and the outer curtain, he arranged his followers at the door. He only took one person in charge
The young eunuch in the study room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies who delivered the news went in.
After Li Dongyang learned about it, he came out to greet him personally without bringing anyone else with him.
The two of them first arrived at Sixianyuan, which is next door to the marking room.
"Eunuch Xiao, all the notes and other things were handed in earlier. The grading of the Zhu Juan has ended. It has not been opened yet, and it has not been verified who has been successful or not. Bachelor Cheng of Hanlin has not participated in the grading, and there is no such thing as in the memorial.
As mentioned before, there is the intersection of the inner and outer curtains outside the case..."
What Li Dongyang said is tantamount to reporting his work.
He thought Xiao Jing was just here to ask about the situation and would go back to report to the emperor later.
After listening to Li Dongyang's summary of the grading affairs in the past few days, Xiao Jing said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Li Ge. Today, our family is not here to supervise the opening of the seal. There are still areas worthy of discussion in the reexamination of the red scroll."
"
Li Dongyang roughly understood as soon as he heard that Xiao Jing was investigating the case in the name of Dongchang, instead of serving as a messenger after the inner examiner completed the matter.
They say they are here to supervise, but in fact they are here to investigate cases.
Otherwise, what are we discussing? Who should we discuss with?
Xiao Jing took out something from his arms, which was a memorial from Zhu Pi after being requested by the Ministry of Rites.
"This is?" Li Dongyang was puzzled.
Xiao Jing said sternly: "The Ministry of Rites has requested that the examiner behind the curtain should review the review and proofreading again. Let's convey the message... You don't have to get up. This is not an order, it is just the transfer of an official letter. What are you unclear about?
, just look at this thing, His Majesty has ordered that the release of the list be delayed for five days, to the second day of March."
"Um."
Li Dongyang looked somewhat regretful.
Since it takes five days to review, it means that this matter has received the attention of the emperor and the court, and it is not easy to minimize the big issue.
Xiao Jing said: "I wonder if I can meet the examiners in the inner curtain?"
Li Dongyang wanted to say that I would just send a message to them myself and let us review it ourselves, but knowing that Xiao Jing was the emperor's special envoy, it was obvious that Xiao Jing was responsible for presiding over the review himself.
As the examiner, Li Dongyang could only help Xiao Jing.
Li Dongyang, who understood the rules, did not emphasize any more and immediately summoned the examiners to meet in the south room of Gongyuan.
…
…
As for the examiners of the general examination, there were more than fifty fellow examiners who were involved in internal affairs, and they all gathered together at one time.
Most of them still don't know what happened outside the Gongyuan. In recent days, they have been grading, commenting, and reporting the best. They finally completed the marking of the Zhujuan. The only thing left is to compare it with the Mojuan, and then compare the results.
After summarizing, fill in the list and release it.
They all felt that the most difficult task was completed, and the tribute would be delivered to the court in two or three days. Who knew that what they were waiting for at this time was not the news of leaving the inner curtain on time, but the news of the Dongchang factory official.
The room was not very big, and more than fifty fellow examiners could not all sit down, so in the end they just stood together.
Only one chair was prepared for the scene, and only Xiao Jing sat down. Even Li Dongyang stood to reflect the progress and retreat of the examiners behind the scenes.
Li Dongyang first summarized and conveyed the message.
"... There was a minister who served Zhonghua Chang. He told the story based on the rumors. It was mentioned that Cheng Minzheng, the chief examiner, and Jiangnan scholars Tang Yin, Zhang Zhou, Xu Jing and others were involved in the topic, and the scholars were very controversial. The imperial order
The review process was carried out again inside the curtain, and Zhu Juanfan passed through Cheng Minzheng to read it again...the release of the results was postponed to the second day of March..."
"ah?!"
The fellow examiners present couldn't help but talk about it.
We are doing a good job here, but now we have a problem?
A fellow examiner standing in the front row asked: "It doesn't make sense. Bachelor Cheng was ill early in the morning and did not participate in the marking. Why do you want to say that he will read the red papers he selected?"
"yes."
Many people present responded.
Li Dongyang introduced Xiao Jing: "This is Hu Kezuo, Hu Yi."
"I've met Eunuch Xiao." Hu Yi, as a member of the household department, is considered a colleague with Hua Chang. He does not represent the Sixth Section Examiner, but the examiner who has worked hard for more than half a month.
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "The insiders know about this matter, but the people in Gongyuan don't know about it. That's why there is such suspicion. I wonder where Bachelor Cheng is now?"
Li Dongyang raised his hand, meaning to invite Cheng Minzheng out.
Someone immediately went to deliver the message, and after waiting for a long time, Cheng Minzheng took steady steps and reappeared in front of people many days later.
All the examiners were still puzzled. Seeing Cheng Minzheng like this, he didn't even look sick at all. Is this a recovery? Or is there something hidden?
"Eunuch Xiao."
When Cheng Minzheng saw Xiao Jing, he handed him over, but he looked back at so many people present. His mood was also very complicated. He felt like he was entering a tribute court and felt like he was in another world.
He was also thinking in his mind, why did I come here and put in all the effort to suffer this? Wouldn’t it be over if I couldn’t come to the main examination due to illness?
Xiao Jing stood up and said to Cheng Minzheng: "Scholar Cheng, here is a decree given to you by His Majesty. Please go to the curtain door on your own after receiving the decree. Someone will accompany you back to the mansion to recuperate."
It means that your inner errand, Cheng Minzheng, is over and you can go home and wait for news.
Hu Yi asked again: "What is this?"
Someone next to him immediately tugged on Hu Yi's clothes, probably meaning that he didn't understand this? Cheng Minzheng was involved in the issue, and the emperor asked him to go home and wait. What's so difficult to understand? He still had to let the admiral
Xiao Jing from Dongchang can give you a reasonable explanation?
Cheng Minzheng had already learned the whole story from Li Dongyang earlier, but he had no choice but to roll his sleeves and go to the direction of the curtain door under the guidance of the young eunuch in the study room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
It is better to say that he is going home to live idle, than he is being resigned from his post and under house arrest.
…
…
Cheng Minzheng was invited out of the inner curtain. No matter how stupid the examiners present were, they could see that the imperial court's examination of the inner curtain was serious.
Another examiner came out and asked: "Now that the review of the Zhu Juan has just been completed, should we unseal it and find out the examination papers of Zhang Zhou, Tang Yin, and Xu Jing for comparison?"
This time, without Li Dongyang's introduction, Xiao Jing knew that this was Lin Tingyu, who was studying engineering. After all, he could often see him in the court.
"Lin, please don't be in a hurry to open the seal first. You need to check the red scroll first to see if there are any questionable papers." Xiao Jing said.
Lin Tingyu said: "Scholar Cheng has not participated in reviewing the test papers, has not selected the best candidates, and has not connected the internal and external curtains. What is the meaning of such a re-examination?"
"Okay, stop talking!" Seeing that these examiners were trying to argue with each other in court, Li Dongyang hurriedly stopped.
You guys are really terrifyingly stubborn.
Xiao Jing does things according to orders, so what's the point of questioning his behavior? Do you think it's unreasonable and if you tell him, he can stop doing it against the emperor's wishes?
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "Lin is here to help. It is necessary to verify the ink scrolls with real names, but it is still early, so there is no need to be too impatient. As for what you said about picking out the three people's papers, let's put it this way, Tang Yinhe
Xu Jing's can be reviewed with emphasis, but as for Zhang Zhou's... he can dispel his suspicions and there is no need to involve him."
Li Dongyang didn't understand this time. He looked at Xiao Jing and frowned: "Why is this?"
"Mr. Li Ge, we forgot to tell you earlier that at the beginning, your majesty had asked Zhang Zhou to go to Fengtian Palace to confront Hua Chang in front of the ministers of civil and military affairs. He also made it clear that Zhang Zhou's involvement in the scandal would be investigated.
There is no evidence to prove this, so His Majesty has made it clear that if there is no actual evidence, this matter cannot be mentioned again."
"Which thing?" Li Dongyang asked with a frown.
They were all candidates who were involved in the scandal. The emperor was now conducting a rigorous investigation behind the scenes, but Zhang Zhou was chosen first? What kind of logic is this?
Xiao Jing said: "Of course it's Zhang Zhou's involvement in the issue. You don't have to be surprised. Zhang Zhou has done a lot for the court before and has made outstanding achievements. The news of the northwest victory has been sent. The Tatar Fire Sieve Division was defeated at Piantou Pass and returned.
Wang Weining has received the decree to be promoted to Marquis of Weining..."
"ah?"
The people present all entered the inner curtain around the eighth day of February and knew nothing about what was going on outside. Only now, twenty days later, did they know that something big had happened in the northwest.
Li Dongyang was also shocked and said: "Marquis Weining? Is it..."
He was embarrassed to say how much credit Wang Weining had achieved that would allow him to jump directly to the promotion?
"In detail, please complete the errands at hand. When you go out, you will naturally know that Zhang Zhou's contribution in this battle is not small. In addition to what he has done before, His Majesty specially ordered him to go to Hua Chang and Ting Ji.
, and make it clear in person, there will be nothing surprising. Please sort out the priorities."
What Xiao Jing means is that I'm here to convey the mission to you. It's easy for you to ask questions. Am I going to tell you everything that happened outside in the past few days?
Lin Tingyu asked: "Since Zhang Zhou was cleared of the suspicion of vendetta during the court meeting, what about Hua Wenguang?"
"He has been sent to the Xiabei Town Fusi! Together with Tang Yin and Xu Jing."
The group of examiners present couldn't help it. The difference in emotional treatment was so huge.
Cheng Minzheng and Zhang Zhou who were reported were fine, but the whistleblower Hua Chang was jailed?
Xiao Jing said: "Mr. Li Ge, why not start the review earlier, find out all the red scrolls, and check to see if there is anything worthy of doubt or discussion?"
Li Dongyang nodded and said: "Yes!"
…
…
The inner curtain is busy again.
This is equivalent to saying that the same exam paper needs to be marked twice.
It’s not that troublesome the second time. You don’t need to add comments, etc. You just need to check whether these papers may involve the possibility of cheating questions.
The examiners have been re-divided into areas and areas of responsibility. Those who were previously responsible for the four essays may now need to consult the five scriptures and policy questions. In short, the previous main grading items will be exchanged to ensure fairness.
After all, it is impossible for Xiao Jing to stay in the inner curtain forever, he will leave before nightfall.
Li Dongyang and Xiao Jing met alone in Sixian Courtyard again.
Xiao Jing asked: "The grading of Zhu Juan has ended. The rankings and the selection of tributes have been decided, right?"
"Yes." Li Dongyang nodded.
Although the results of the three examinations are separate, we still don’t know which ink scrolls these ink scrolls correspond to, and we don’t know who the candidates are behind them.
However, the examination papers of the candidates are all numbered, which means that the examination papers corresponding to the three examinations of a candidate can be bound together without comparing them with the ink examination papers, and the rankings can be determined.
After opening the seal, just compare it and know who this person is.
It would be unfair to open the ink scroll and seal it, then aggregate a person's three examination papers and then determine the score.
Xiao Jing asked: "Then does Mr. Li Ge have any plan to depose him even if he is selected after discovering a questionable paper?"
"Um?"
Li Dongyang frowned, "Eunuch Xiao, what do you mean?"
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "No, no, we are just curious and asked casually. Mr. Li Ge must have not read the memorial from the Ministry of Etiquette in detail, right? There is an article in Zhu's batch of regulations, saying that you are not allowed to discard the examination papers at will, even if
If there are any doubts, they need to be recorded and reviewed later, especially after the seal is opened."
Li Dongyang was greatly shocked.
If not for anything else, when he learned that someone was participating in the impeachment of Cheng Minzheng and the candidates were involved in the vend question, he thought that if after opening the seal, it was found that the person being impeached was really successful, he would also impeach the person.
Brush it down.
In his view, the so-called fairness in the examination room is far less important than calming the scholars' discussions.
Only when the scholars no longer doubt the fairness of the examination is the greatest fairness.
Under this premise, for the overall situation, the interests of one or two candidates appear to be insignificant.
But now, the emperor can warn him in advance not to do this, just like a roundworm in Li Dongyang's stomach. How can this make him not surprised?
"How could your Majesty do this?" Of course Li Dongyang wanted to deny it. After all, it didn't happen, so he didn't have to admit it. "What did your Majesty know from other sources?"
Xiao Jing smiled and shook his head, meaning there are some things I can't explain to you.
Li Dongyang suddenly felt that he had no secrets in front of Xiao Jing, and his manner of speaking became much more humble and respectful: "Eunuch Xiao, I might as well make it clear that I have discussed the question setting for the general examination with Cheng Keqin alone from the beginning.
Others, he was not biased when setting the questions. Many questions were also considered among several questions, and the topic selection was mostly completed by himself. "
"I know." Xiao Jing smiled.
You, Li Dongyang, and Cheng Minzheng are the examiners together. It seems that they have the same authority, but who doesn't know that you, Li Dongyang, have more power? Who gave you the authority?
It’s just that no one dares to attack you and accuse you of making excuses.
Li Dongyang said again: "Then what if there is no evidence in the end?"
Xiao Jing said: "Just fill in the results and release them as usual."
"Then..." Li Dongyang wanted to say, if that's the case, why bother now?
I have told you that Cheng Minzheng did not write the question alone, and he did not participate in the marking. Can this question reveal evidence of a ghost? Others don’t know. I, Li Dongyang, wrote the question together with him, and I know the reasons behind it best.
Xiao Jing sighed: "Things are like this. If you need to investigate, you can investigate. Isn't it good if there is no evidence? What we are talking about now is that Cheng Minzheng may have discussed the possible questions with the visiting scholars before the exam, or he may have
Just among the questions he suggested you should ask, this is also a fault that he does not avoid suspicion."
"oh."
Li Dongyang seemed to understand instantly.
Whether or not there is evidence is not important, what is important is to silence the scholars who are talking nonsense outside.
Xiao Jing continued: "After the results are released, everything will be finalized. Mr. Li Ge, you have completed the review and reexamination of the inner curtain. The rest... you don't need to bother, just follow your orders. If anything happens, the court will discuss it again.
