After we were seated, the food began to be served. Compared with the delicacies served at the family banquet of Chengguo Gongfu, this Xuezheng Yamen's celebration banquet was obviously much simpler.

But it can be regarded as having fish and meat. For many scholars from poor backgrounds, having meat to eat is considered good.

When attending banquets in the past, Shen Yichen usually looked like a starving ghost reincarnated. This time, as the protagonist of the case, he naturally had to restrain himself. He basically didn't use his chopsticks and frequently exchanged drinks with the three examiners at the table.

But while drinking, Shen Yichen noticed that Li Min didn't seem to be in high spirits, which was in stark contrast to Sun Tixue, who was about to get drunk.

You don't need to ask Shen Yichen to roughly guess the reason. I'm afraid Li Min was still implicated in the imperial examination fraud case of Chengguo Gongfu. How the test questions leaked this unresolved case has always been a knife hanging over the head of Yin Tianfu. .

After three rounds of drinking, the new scholars who had been a little nervous and restrained gradually relaxed. Many people even got up and came to the main table to toast the three examiners.

For these scholars who were toasting, Sun Tixue basically accepted all who came, and even took a sip to express his gratitude if he couldn't drink. After all, on such a festive day, you either toast or don't drink. Once you have made a start, you will refuse anyone. Not very good.

Just when Shen Yichen thought that the celebration banquet would go by with such a feast, he saw Luo Zheng, who was ranked third in the court test, stood up, raised his glass to himself and said: "I would like to offer a glass to Shen Anshou, and I hope you can give me some thin noodles." .”

Although there was little communication between Luo Zheng and Shen Yichen, they knew each other somewhat after passing the exams. They knew that the other party was an honors student at Jiangning County School, and had always been among the top three, never falling behind.

"Brother Luo, you're welcome, please."

Shen Yichen didn't refuse, raised his glass and drank it in one gulp.

Luo Zheng watched Shen Yichen finish it, and drank it all in one gulp, and then continued: "In the first three exams between me and Shen, I was inferior every time."

"The poems written by Shen Anshou are all excellent works, and I really admire them. I have nothing to say about them. But this time the academic examination is more important, and I am also curious about what kind of good writing Lin Zhuangyuanlang has taught me."

As soon as Luo Zheng said this, the eyes of the new scholars who were drinking happily were all attracted.

To be honest, in this college examination, there was an inexplicable situation where four books, five classics, five and five were unexamined, which puzzled many people.

Although there is no precedent for emphasizing questions from the Five Classics in the imperial examinations, since Neo-Confucianism was established in the Song Dynasty, the Four Books have occupied an absolutely dominant position, and the Five Classics are completely unable to compete with them.

So why did the Grand Master come up with such a unique idea?

"I remembered that Lin Zhuangyuanlang is a master of Jingyi. His interpretation of "Shangshu" is unparalleled in the world."

"That's right, Lin Zhuangyuanlang became a scholar at the age of ten. At that time, he relied on his classics and principles to defeat all the heroes."

"What Luo Zheng means is that the emphasis on the meaning of scriptures in the academy examination is related to Shen Yichen?"

When someone said this, everyone who was discussing in a low voice instantly became quiet.

Previously, many people's dissatisfaction with Shen Yichen, the leader of the case, only rested on the fact that Sun Tixue might have a preference.

Because Shen Yichen worshiped the number one scholar Lin Zhen as his disciple, everyone in Yingtian Mansion knew about it, and Sun Tixue was a good friend of Lin Zhen, so it was only natural for him to treat his disciples preferentially.

Even if others felt it was unfair, it would not cause any controversy in public opinion. It was a normal thing in the Ming Dynasty.

But preferential treatment does not mean opening a back door. It is like opening a back door in the examination of later generations. There is a student with a specialty in history. The examiner raised the score of this subject from the original full score of 100 to the same 150 as the language and mathematics. It is not equivalent to extra points. Fifty points?

Moreover, increasing the proportion of the Five Classics points is even more outrageous than raising the minor subject points alone in later generations. After all, literati at the scholar level generally cannot do the Five Classics, which is equivalent to giving Shen Yichen a special move.

Therefore, Luo Zheng's words made many people confused. It turned out that the reason why the four books and five classics were given equal importance in the college examination was Shen Yichen!

When Sun Tixue and other officials at the main table heard Luo Zheng's words, the smiles on their faces gradually faded, but no one reprimanded or stopped them.

The reason is that what Luo Zheng said was very smart. The person he asked the question was not Sun Tixue, but Shen Yichen. And on the surface, he did not question the emphasis on both scripture and meaning in the college examination. On the contrary, he literally praised Lin Zhen's teaching level.

If the examiners stopped him at this time, wouldn't it mean that there was no three hundred taels of silver here, and it would be assumed that Sun Tixue was opening the back door for Shen Yichen?

In particular, Li Fuyin and Zhou Zhixian knew the real reason in their hearts. As long as everyone understood the unspoken rules of the imperial examination, it would be difficult to get off the stage if they were spoken out.

When Shen Yichen heard what Luo Zheng said, his first reaction was to be stunned, because he didn't know why the Five Classics questions were given equal emphasis from beginning to end.

Even when sitting for the exam, Shen Yichen felt a headache and thought Sun Tixue had a problem.

So he instinctively glanced at Sun Tixue, only to find that the other party looked confused, as if things were not that simple.

The moment she saw Sun Ding's expression, Shen Yichen immediately understood. It turned out that the four books and five classics in the college examination were equally important, and it really had something to do with him!

At the same time, Shen Yichen felt extremely fucked up at the moment. What the hell was going on, and he was shot even while lying down.

It's okay if you take the blame for the benefits, but you don't get any benefits from the Classical Questions in the Question Institute, so there's no need to go through this whole thing at all.

However, the matter has come to this point. Regardless of whether Shen Yichen has participated in it or not, he must accept Sun Tixue's love. At the same time, he must take this opportunity to shut up everyone, otherwise there will be another fraud in the Chengguo Government. rumors!

"Brother Luo, what you want to say is that I got extra points by relying on scripture questions, right?"

There was no hiding, no escaping or becoming angry. Shen Yichen very calmly exposed the words behind his back to everyone.

Because at this time, the more you cover up, even if you rely on the power of Sun Tixue and other officials to silence Luo Zheng. Can you guarantee that the other more than a hundred new talents present will not gossip behind their backs?

The mouth of the people is better than the river. If Shen Yichen doesn't understand such a simple truth, he is not worthy of being the head of this case.

"I don't dare."

Of course, Luo Zheng did not dare to admit that he had alluded to Sun Tixue, who had the status of a master. Moreover, Shen Yichen did not cheat directly. Using the rules to win the case was unfair at best, and it was far from the point of overturning the table. .

"Luo Zheng, I'm afraid you've drunk too much. Why don't you go back and rest first."

Li Min said lightly at this time, since this kind of thing cannot be said openly, then just don't say it and go back to wash up and sleep.

"I sincerely follow the instructions of Lord Fu Yin and take my leave."

Luo Zheng also replied sternly, stood up with his head held high, and prepared to leave.

He was different from Xu Donghai who liked to stir up trouble before. He was not jealous, envious and hated Shen Yichen, but rather resisted the unfairness of the imperial examination.

It can be said that from the beginning to the end, when he decided to tell this matter at the celebration banquet, he was already prepared for retaliation, and his whole person seemed upright and upright.

To be honest, when Shen Yichen looked at Luo Zheng's righteousness, he was really dumb and couldn't express his sufferings. He never expected that he would also become a villain inexplicably.

"Wait a minute!"

Shen Yichen also stood up at this time and looked at Luo Zheng expressionlessly.

He didn't have much anger or resentment towards Luo Zheng's behavior. On the contrary, Shen Yichen admired his courage to stand up to others despite being afraid of power.

But just because I felt it was unfair, I chose to question it publicly at the celebration banquet without undergoing any investigation or evidence collection.

Is it not to satisfy one's inner sense of justice and to bully wantonly from the moral high ground?

"Senior Chief Shen, do you have any other advice?"

This time Luo Zheng's tone was full of contempt, and Shen Yichen's behavior seemed to him like he was angry due to embarrassment.

"Then I will give you some good advice."

Shen Yichen said it was not you, but added the word "men". At the same time, when he said this, he glanced at everyone in the courtyard.

"I believe that many of you must have the same idea as Luo Zheng. I relied on extra points on classic questions to become the leader of the college examination, right?"

When asked, no one answered, but the answer was obvious.

"The anthology of Yingtianfu's new subjects should have been released this year, right?"

The so-called contemporary anthology means that booksellers will bind and publish the articles of the new imperial examination candidates and Jinshi scholars in a unified way for the reference of subsequent scholars.

However, many times, excellent boy examination essays will also be bound into volumes. For example, for Xiao Sanyuan case leaders like Shen Yichen, the imperial examination essays will almost 100% be published.

Sure enough, when Shen Yichen asked this question, many people nodded subconsciously. Almost everyone present had read this year's collection of Yingtianfu's new subjects. In particular, Shen Yichen's article has become a reference for many people.

"Since all of you have read it, I would like to ask, even if you put aside the question of the meaning of the scriptures, does anyone dare to claim that the four books written by me are superior to mine?"

Having said this, Shen Yichen looked around, an inexplicable aura spurted out, and no one dared to look at him!

Seeing no one answered, Shen Yichen looked at Luo Zheng and asked him again: "Is there any?"

A simple two-word question, but there is a sense of courage behind it, without any guilt at all.

I have never participated in any favoritism, so how can I talk about having a guilty conscience?

The case is won based on strength. Even if you put aside the Five Classics questions, I will compete with you on the four book questions alone. Who dares to say that you can write better than me!

Luo Zheng met Shen Yichen's gaze. He was extremely determined in his heart and believed that he was doing something righteous.

As a result, when faced with this question, Luo Zheng suddenly realized that if there was no such thing as equal emphasis on the Four Books and Five Classics in the college examination, and the Four Books were given equal emphasis as is the tradition, Shen Yichen's advantage would seem to be even greater!

Because Shen Yichen's four-letter and eight-legged essays in this year's anthology are unparalleled and can easily overwhelm everyone.

After thinking about this, Luo Zheng suddenly didn't dare to look into Shen Yichen's eyes, and even felt a little ridiculous.

It turned out that what he believed to be an unfair imperial examination and Sun Tixue's favoritism did not change any results. Even if the Five Classics questions were not taken, the case would still fall on Shen Yichen.

This is absolute strength, and the case is well deserved!
Chapter completed!