The person who spoke out to reprimand the two fellow examiners was none other than Wang Wenqing, the minister of Dali Temple who was in charge of the promotion position.
Seeing Wang Wenqing's solemn expression angrily scolding him, Zhang Maoxiu, the director of the Ministry of Works, couldn't help but feel frightened and turned his face away with a guilty conscience.
Qiu Zhongyi, a member of the household department, just laughed and said calmly: "Why do you need to be angry, Mr. Wang? We are just doing justice."
Wang Wenqing snorted coldly and wanted to say something, but he heard the examiner Xu Mu say in a deep voice: "Sir Wang, you are the outer curtain officer. It is best not to interfere in the marking of papers. If you and Zhang Qiu have anything to do with each other,
If you have any personal grudges, you can settle them on your own after the results are released."
Wang Wenqing turned to look at Xu Mu and said with a cold face: "May I ask the CEO, this Xu Lin's surname is Xu, but is he from the Xu clan in Qingjiang County, Linjiang Prefecture?"
Wang Wenqing's question was quite presumptuous, but Xu Mu was not angry at all and explained patiently: "I know what Mr. Wang is worried about, but Mr. Wang can rest assured. Although my branch is from the Xu family in Qingjiang, it has moved out of Qingjiang.
It has been over a hundred years and this matter has been known to both the government and the public."
Zhang Maoxiu said: "Everyone in the world knows that Mr. President comes from the Xu family in Tonglu. Although he and the Xu family in Qingjiang come from the same origin, they have lost contact with each other long ago. Does Mr. Wang not know?"
Qiu Zhongyi also echoed: "If it is according to Lord Wang's wishes, then wouldn't the president be unable to select scholars named Xu in Jinke? Is this what Lord Wang said about selecting scholars impartially?"
Wang Wenqing's eyes stayed on Xu Mu's face for a long time, and finally he lowered his head and bowed apologetically: "This is a low-ranking official who was reckless."
"It doesn't matter, Mr. Wang is also dedicated to serving the public good, and I am an official." Xu Mu waved his hand, and he was very generous and did not care about Wang Wenqing's previous rude behavior.
Wang Wenqing sat back in his seat, and the fellow examiners continued to discuss the ranking of the Five Classics Leaders, and everything was back on track.
But this little episode just now cast a layer of gloom in everyone's hearts, and the flickering candlelight shone on everyone's face, with uncertain brightness and darkness.
The chief examiner Xu Mu seemed to have stopped talking to avoid suspicion, while the deputy examiner Liu Tingxi simply closed his eyes and meditated, not knowing what he was thinking.
In the huge court hall, one could only hear the voices of everyone discussing the rankings with the examiners.
Zhang Maoxiu and Qiu Zhongyi still strongly recommend Xu Lin's article, and two fellow examiners with a background in science also hold the same opinion.
As for most of the other examiners, they remained silent. Including Xue Yungong, who was supposed to speak up for Wei Chen the most, he also fell silent.
The call for Xu Lin to become the founder of Jinke seems to have completely gained the upper hand.
When Wang Wenqing, who was sitting below, saw this situation, he couldn't help but feel anxious secretly, and was about to speak again to argue for Wei Chen.
At this moment, a fellow examiner with a Hanlin background stood up and spoke before him: "My lords, I recommend Youyang Weichen to be the first member of the Jinke Huiyuan!"
This young-looking Hanlin stepped forward, picked up Wei Chen's paper, faced everyone, and said loudly: "The articles in this volume are profound in theory and interesting, with a grand style, true pharaoh's words, elegant demeanor, and rhythmic rhythm.
What a magnificent piece of writing that will last forever! If this person is not a Huiyuan official, I would like to resign from the Hanlin Academy!"
Scanned by the clear and clear eyes of this young Hanlin, several fellow examiners who had not spoken before lowered their heads in shame.
The atmosphere in the venue suddenly changed subtly.
Zhang Maoxiu and Qiu Zhongyi, who were aware of this, glanced at Xu Mu in the hall subconsciously, but saw Xu Mu's face was as dark as water and his eyes were slightly narrowed. They were shocked and quickly withdrew their gaze.
Qiu Zhongyi looked at the young Hanlin and refuted: "Everyone is attracted to his own eyes. Maybe Brother Luo loves Wei Chen's articles more, but in my opinion, his articles are still inferior to Xu Lin.
You can’t be this Hui Yuan.”
Zhang Maoxiu and others quickly followed, waving the flag and shouting to Qiu Zhongyi: "We think what Mr. Qiu said is reasonable."
Hanlin, surnamed Luo, sneered when he heard this: "I think it's not that everyone is in his own way, but that some people are blind! Put the articles of Wei Chen and Xu Lin together and make a judgment!"
Zhang Maoxiu and Qiu Zhongyi were filled with anger at this short-sighted sentence, and the two officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology who had always supported them also looked very ugly.
At this time, an old Hanlin with gray hair stood up tremblingly and said: "I also like Youyang Weichen. If this person is not Huiyuan, he will be a scholar without bones and his literary skills will not be outstanding!"
Zhang Maoxiu turned around and recognized that the man who spoke was a highly respected old man from the Hanlin Academy. He was immediately startled and had a bad premonition in his heart.
Sure enough, after this old Hanlin, another Hanlin in his thirties stood up: "I think Wei Chen is better based purely on articles!"
This Hanlin emphasized the words "purely based on articles" very seriously. When he spoke, he stared directly at Zhang Maoxiu with undisguised ridicule and disdain in his eyes.
Zhang Maoxiu's face was red, both angry and ashamed.
With the three Hanlin who came forward in front, more fellow examiners stood up and spoke up for Wei Chen.
"The lower officials also thought that the position of Hui Yuan belongs to none other than Wei Chen!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
In the blink of an eye, a large number of people stood up in the court hall, all of them fellow examiners with Hanlin background.
As mentioned before, among the seventeen fellow examiners, there are fully eleven Hanlin officials, and the rest are officials from the Sixth Ministry and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Now all the eleven Hanlin officials have clearly stood on Wei Chen's side. Zhang Maoxiu and others who originally had the advantage suddenly became a lonely party.
The situation on the court suddenly changed, leaving all the reviewers, supervisors, and promotion officers present dumbfounded.
The most excited person was Wang Wenqing. If it weren’t for the important place where examination papers were reviewed, like Zhi Gong Tang, Wang Wenqing would have been so excited that he would have laughed heartily.
This is the character of Hanlin officials!
All the officials in the dynasty have become mute, but there are still Kedao Yanguan who can be promoted. So what if due to some kind of pressure, even Kedao Yanguan also becomes mute?
Then only the Hanlin Academy is left!
Looking at the three generations of old, middle-aged and young people, the eleven Hanlins standing neatly, Wang Wenqing suddenly felt a surge of passion and pride in his heart: I was also a graduate of the Hanlin Academy back then!
However, when Wang Wenqing is happy, some people will naturally be unhappy.
The eleven Hanlin officers suddenly attacked. This was a situation that Zhang Maoxiu and Qiu Zhongyi did not expect. They were dumbfounded on the spot.
Seeing that the situation was over, Zhang Maoxiu lowered his head dejectedly, but Qiu Zhongyi kept using the corner of his eye to peek at Xu Mu who was sitting at the top.
However, to Qiu Zhongyi's disappointment, Xu Mu did not give him any response and remained seated in the hall without saying a word.
At this time, deputy examiner Liu Tingxi spoke.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
Hearing Liu Tingxi speak, the eleven Hanlin officials who were still glaring at Zhang Maoxiu, Qiu Zhongyi and others all saluted Liu Tingxi with sincere respect.
Not only because Liu Tingxi is the deputy examiner of this examination, but also because he is a Hanlin bachelor in charge of Hanlin Academy affairs.
Liu Tingxi smiled and said: "As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. It is normal for everyone to have their own opinions when weighing the length of an article.
We are all selecting talents for the country, so why bother to engage in a dispute of will? If we are always labeled as seeking personal gains and bending the law, who will dare to be a fellow examiner in the future?"
Hearing Liu Tingxi's words, everyone here was thoughtful. This means that no matter what the result is, there will be no investigation.
Zhang Maoxiu and others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the wrinkles on the face of examiner Xu Mu, who was sitting high in the hall, seemed to have relaxed a little.
"But..." Liu Tingxi changed the subject and said, "I also think that Wei Chen's article is indeed an outstanding masterpiece. It seems unreasonable not to take it as a Huiyuan."
Having said this, Liu Tingxi turned to look at Xu Mu with a questioning look on his face: "What does the president think?"
Xu Mu raised his head and met Liu Tingxi's gaze. Liu Tingxi had a smile on his face, but did not dodge. The two looked at each other like this, and time seemed to freeze for a moment.