"Aunt Yang, I am powerless when it comes to finding a wife..."

Shen Yichen reluctantly replied, Aunt Yang really thinks too highly of herself.

"Then why don't you let A Niu follow you? You can also see the world."

There was no hope of finding a wife, but Aunt Yang believed that Shen Yichen had great potential in the future, so she simply asked her son to follow him. Even if he was an errand boy, it would be better than farming in the future.

"Yes, Yichen, I am very strong!"

Zeng Aniu also echoed innocently and showed off his strong muscles.

To be honest, Zeng Aniu can be regarded as Shen Yichen's big brother in childhood. When he first moved into this small courtyard, some children bullied his orphaned and widowed mother. It was Zeng Aniu who stepped forward and beat those children away.

Shen Yichen is also very clear about Zeng Aniu's character. He is honest, honest and not petty, and he is as strong as Li Da. He is more than enough to be a follower.

But the problem is, I don’t need it!

"Aunt Yang, I'm still a child at the moment, and I haven't even passed the exam to become a scholar. If I pass the exam to be a scholar or something, it won't be too late to ask A Niu to follow me."

Shen Yichen had no choice but to politely refuse. As a child, he didn't even have a single name for his fame. How could he have the financial foundation to support followers and the like?

At the very least, you have to wait until you are admitted to the Juren Examination, and others will address you as "Master", before you have this qualification.

Hearing Shen Yichen's rejections one after another, Aunt Yang's face looked a little disappointed. She thought that after Shen Yichen won, he would be like those officials and would need a large number of followers to serve him.

Now it seems that it is not much different from before.

However, Aunt Yang is not a person who follows the trend. At most, she has some market mentality. When Shen Yichen is prosperous, she can take some advantage. If there is no change, she will not look down on him.

So he quickly recovered and said: "It seems that Auntie has made a mistake. Yichen, just study hard and don't forget Auntie in the future."

"No."

"Yichen, call me if you need anything."

Zeng Aniu also patted his chest, not caring at all that Shen Yichen didn't help.

"good."

After bidding farewell to his neighbors, Shen Yichen smiled and shook his head, then closed the door to the courtyard.

In the past, I didn’t have much understanding of the concept that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Now look at the group of “blood relatives” in Chengguo Duke’s Mansion, they may really not have as much affection as their neighbors.

The hustle and bustle ended and everything returned to calm. Shen Yichen returned to his room and carefully read "Shang Shu Zhengyi".

As he passed the government examination on the spot, no matter what his final ranking was, he had already obtained the ticket to participate in the college examination.

According to the usual practice, the college examination usually starts in mid-May. The specific date will be slightly adjusted according to the annual planning.

However, no matter how it is changed, it will definitely be held within May, which means that Shen Yichen only has one month at most to prepare before he will face a greater challenge.

Because compared to the false reputation of scholars like Tong Sheng, scholars have the real reputation of imperial examination, which allows the candidates to cross the social class and officially enter the ranks of scholar-bureaucrats.

Candlelight flickered, accompanied by the chirping of insects and frogs outside the window. In the government office on the other side of Nanjing City, Governor Li Min was reviewing the examination papers for the government examination with two fellow examiners.

Compared with the thousands of test papers in the previous county examination, the number of government examinations has been reduced to about one-fifth, but this does not mean that the number of papers marked has been reduced.

After all, the government examination has gone through a round of screening, and there will not be the kind of candidates who mess up the questions and write randomly. Therefore, you must at least take a serious look at every test paper to avoid the occurrence of a hidden gem.

However, the screening round also brings convenience, that is, the examiner has a good idea of ​​the top cases and outstanding candidates in each county, and he only needs to focus on the test papers of these people.

"Lord Fu Yin, among these ten examination papers, four are written by the chiefs of each county, and the remaining six are selected high-quality articles from which the chiefs of the prefecture can choose."

Sima Yun, a professor of Fu Xue, selected ten test papers and put them on the table. In theory, the first person in the Fu Xue test would be selected from these ten people.

"Professor Sima, do you still need to choose?"

Li Min looked at his two co-examiners with a half-smile but not a smile. The capital of the government was already ready to be announced. What else should be done.

Sure enough, after hearing these words, Sima Yun, who has always been more serious, also showed a "you understand" look on his face.

But at this time, Fu Cheng Du Shi stood up and said with a solemn expression on his face: "Master Fu Yin, I also appreciate Shen Yichen's knowledge and articles very much, and I have no objection to being chosen as the head of the case."

"But during the marking process, I found that the test papers of several students from Chengguo Gongfu's private school were very similar. However, there were no problems with the writing. In principle, they could meet the winning standards."

"If all are treated equally, then it is unusual that four students, including Shen Yichen, will be admitted to the private school of Chengguo Gongfu. If the case is revealed like this, I am afraid it will arouse criticism."

Du Shi's words also made the smile on Li Min's face fade. There were precedents for large private schools or academies and four-person mansions to be selected at the same time.

However, the test papers are very similar, and there are many opinions in them, so they must be carefully reviewed.

"Du Fu Cheng, please show me the test papers of these people."

Without Li Min's greeting, Du Shi had already put the test papers of Zhu Qingyu and others aside, waiting for the examiner to judge.

Li Min opened the test paper and glanced at it, and found that the similarity between the answers to the questions in the articles was indeed very high. To use a later Internet buzzword to describe it, it cannot be said to be completely consistent, it can only be said to be exactly the same.

In fact, objectively speaking, similar situations have occurred in the imperial examinations over the years. After all, the notes on the four books and the imperial examination essays and other contents that candidates refer to are very different every year.

If the examiner's question is successful, then there will be many similar articles in this year's test paper. Therefore, just because the answers are similar does not mean that the candidate has plagiarized or cheated. It can only be said that the suspicion is high.

"It's normal for the first four-book question to be similar, but for the second cross-section question, there has never been a similar article. How could they be so close?"

Prefect Li Min was puzzled. It was impossible for anyone to bet on a test question that was so unpopular as to be called the underworld question.

If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Except for Shen Yichen, there must be something wrong with the remaining three students.

"Have the patrol soldiers reported anything unusual about these people?"

"Sir, no."

Du Shi shook his head. During the entire examination, no one noticed anything unusual about these people.

Hearing this answer, Li Min vaguely speculated that the test questions might have been leaked. However, this matter was too important, and it also involved the Duke of Chengguo. There was no complete evidence, and it was proven that several people had cheated on the spot. If he told it, he would be in trouble. .

Local-level examinations such as county examinations and government examinations have always been the hardest hit areas for imperial examination fraud in the Ming Dynasty. It was relatively better during the Zhengtong Dynasty, but it was basically obvious by the Chenghua period.

During the Jiajing and Wanli years, corruption extended to the provincial and municipal examinations, and even cabinet ministers at the level began to intervene.

It can only be said that the imperial examination gave the people at the bottom a relatively fair way to compete, but it is difficult to have absolute fairness in the world.

"Lord Fu Yin, the four people who have been admitted to Cheng Guogong's private school are already very eye-catching. If Shen Yichen is ranked first, apart from attracting criticism, I am afraid that he himself will also become the target of public criticism."

Judging from the essays in the test paper, Shen Yichen must have no problem and his literary talent is outstanding. But under the background of the case, there will be a scene where the beauty in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

Scholars from the outside world spread rumors and criticized Shen Yichen, who would not exclude Shen Yichen from attending the private school in Chengguo Gongfu. On the contrary, he would become the primary target of attack because he was at the top of the case.

In order to reduce the negative impact, it is best not to list Shen Yichen at the top of the list, so that everyone is good to you and me.

Li Min was a little moved when he heard this suggestion. Eliminating several of Cheng Guogong's clan members without evidence would definitely offend Zhu Yong, who is now in the ascendant.

On the contrary, take a step back and take Shen Yichen off the top position and give it to the top few. In this way, the admission of four children from the Chengguo public school will not be so eye-catching. Shen Yichen himself will not lose much, and he will also avoid the possibility of being attacked.

Shen Yichen didn't know about these nonsense. If he knew, he would probably even want to kill Zhu Qingyu and others.

These people have nothing to do with me. Even the private school is divided into inner and outer courtyards, and my classmates are not included!

When something good happens, don't you think that you are also the son of Cheng Guo Gong Zhu Yong, and when something bad happens, you need someone to share the firepower, and you become a clan member of Cheng Guo Gong's family, and you are the one who takes the blame?

"Master Fu Yin, I disagree with Master Fu Cheng's opinion. Shen Yichen is talented and the quality of his articles is unique. He deserves the title of head of the case!"

"There are also rumors that his maid gave birth to a son. I believe all of you have heard of it. Duke Cheng Guo did not let him enter the genealogy at all. Naturally, he has nothing to do with these Zhu family members."

"There are two archways in Jiangnan Gongyuan. On them are written the Ming Sutra to recruit scholars and seek talents for the country. As an academic official, you must not dare to forget it. Please think twice, Lord Fu Yin!"

Sima Yun, a professor of government studies, saw the wavering of Li Min, the governor. He was not an administrator. As an academic official, he should hold himself to the standards of a scholar-official.

How can we just sit idly by and ignore such injustice?

Sima Yun's words gave Li Min a great impact.

Yes, Shen Yichen is not suspected of cheating. He has great literary talent and unique solutions to problems. He should be the well-deserved top case in this government examination.

Why should a young talent be implicated because of other people's affairs?

Even if there are criticisms and rumors in the future, those who achieve great things should have the awareness that their actions are higher than others and others will reject them. This is also a stage that life must go through.

"Professor Sima's warning is like a revelation. It's because I am so narrow-minded."

"Since we should select scholars according to the scriptures and seek talents for the country, then Shen Yichen deserves to be the head of the case. Do you have any objections?"

"The official has no objection."

The governor's talk with the professor of government studies had already reached this point. Du Shi originally believed that Shen Yichen was the leader of the case, so naturally he had nothing to say.

"No objection."

Sima Yun also said yes.

Just like the county examination, Prefect Li Min also wrote Shen Yichen's name on the red case when the results were released.
Chapter completed!