As expected, as Xian Ruxing imagined, the students initially complained about the investigation of fake journalism. However, when the list of everything was finally announced and they found that they were all children of officials, they immediately became accused of the enemy. In addition, Xian Ruxing's "water army" mixed in to guide public opinion, soon the examiner Zhang Cong was portrayed as a great man who dismissed evil and promoted justice.

This will also benefit what they have to do in the future, at least there will be much less resistance.

Yes, in addition to dealing with fakes, the three also implemented other policies. The first thing was to make adjustments to the changes in writing style and strange style at this time. I once said before that because the imperial examination has been developing for many years, there are too many people who are good at eight-legged essays. In order to attract attention, many people who want to take shortcuts often choose to win unexpectedly, or use some absurd remarks to attract attention, or deliberately write some extremely rare words. In short, it can be summarized as four words - not speaking human words.

Zhang Cong, who had always been concerned about etiquette and law, hated him deeply. After discussing with the other two, he immediately reported to the emperor and requested an imperial edict to inform the candidates that the articles should be based on central and elegant style. No flamboyance or bad literary style are allowed, otherwise the papers will be awarded with low scores.

Perhaps thinking about the "Madam Jun's Yang Goods" I heard in the inn at that time, Jiajing frowned and approved it very happily.

Many students were wailing about this. You should know that for this imperial examination, many of them had already recited many examples, including strange people. Fortunately, they at least notified them before the exam. Although time was tight, there was still a chance to prepare again.

In addition, Zhang Cong even inspected the public opinion in the capital and advocated that the country attach importance to martial arts, because he found that every spring exam, many martial arts in the capital were quite depressed. It was supposed to be a stimulus. The martial arts examination is an indispensable and important part of the imperial examination system, so he cannot be left alone.

Xian Ruxing also agreed with this. She went to the palace to discuss with Jiajing for a long time and finally formulated a plan.

As for Shang Linfeng, he was completely irritated. At first, he was worried all day long that he would offend people with these two people. After a long time, he simply gave up. Now he is more active than Zhang Cong Xian Ruxing.

In the midst of busyness, it was finally time for the exam.

...

The Ming Dynasty imperial examinations are usually scheduled for February 9, 12 and 15, with a total of three games, each for three days, which means that candidates must stay in the examination room for a full nine days.

Xu Jie got up before dawn, washed his face, packed his things, and then looked at the door of his friend next door: "Brother Zhen? Are you awake? It's almost time."

"Ah, okay, I, I'll come out now." A panicked male voice came from inside. After a while, a short and fat figure pushed open the door and walked out.

This person's name is Zhen Ge, from Datong, Shanxi. He is from a military family. He is in his early thirties this year. His family is not very wealthy. He has had two exams and is exhausted. Fortunately, he met Xu Jie. The two shared a small courtyard and got along well.

Seeing that he was a little absent-minded, Xu Jie knew that he hadn't had a good sleep for several days in a row and his nerves were extremely tense, so he deliberately changed the topic and said, "Brother Zhen, I tried the glass lamp and insulation furnace you made for me yesterday. The effect was very good. Now I don't have to worry about eating cold food in the exam room. Thank you very much."

"It's fine," Zhen Ge smiled reluctantly after hearing this. He had always loved craftsmen's work. If it weren't for the special situation at home, he would have chosen an official to study handicrafts.

The two of them had a simple meal, then hired a car and took them to the tribute court.

I thought they were both here early enough, but when I arrived, I found that there had been a long queue outside.

The Ming Dynasty Gongyuan was a holy place in the hearts of scholars all over the world. It not only occupied a large area, but also had strict controls. You can see two huge archways erected from afar. To the east is "Ming Jing to obtain scholars" and to the west is "Seeking talents for the country".

Xu Jie was in a state of great excitement and said to Zhen Ge beside him with great enthusiasm: "After ten years of hard work, it's finally time to show his skills! Brother Zhen, let's work hard this time and strive for high school!"

Zhen Ge's face was pale and his body was shaking like a sieve. It took him a long time to nod his head.

Xu Jie was a little surprised when he saw this and hurriedly helped him to help him. Logically speaking, he had already participated in the two exams and shouldn't be so nervous...

He was about to ask questions when the inspector arrived, so he quickly turned around.

In order to prevent candidates from cheating, the search before the imperial examination is very strict at this time. Not only do people have to be almost stripped naked, but the dry food and candles brought with them must be broken to prevent cheats from being included.

"What is this?" It was Zhen Ge's turn, and the soldier took out something strangely shaped from his lunch box.

Zhen Ge swallowed and stammered: "Yes, it's thousand-year-old ice. My eyes are not very good. I asked the craftsman to do it. I asked it before and I can bring it to the examination room."

Thousand-year-old ice is an ancient glass. Because there are not many ancient glass products, glasses are usually made of pure crystal. Compared with glass lenses, crystal glasses are much thicker. However, because of the good material, it will feel cool when worn and can refresh the mind, so it is called Thousand-year-old ice.

The soldier studied for a while, then consulted the examiner again, and only allowed him to leave after confirming that it was correct.

Zhen Ge breathed a sigh of relief and greeted Xu Jie, and both sides were divided into different areas.

There are particularly many participants in the exam this year, because it is the first session since the current emperor ascended the throne. Many people want to try their luck. There are 7,000 or 8,000 participants, which is enough to fill the venue. There are so many people, even if they are put in modern times, it is very difficult to organize and manage. Fortunately, Xian Ruxing negotiated with the Ministry of Personnel in advance and transferred an extra team of people to barely maintain order.

After entering the examination room one by one, some old students who had been here immediately discovered the difference.

The conditions of the tribute court were very difficult at this time. Everyone only had a few square meters of room, and not only had a table, but also a series of things such as manure buckets and food boxes. Without a bed, the candidates could only lie on the table for nine days. Often, the elderly can't stand being carried out in the end. However, this time it seems different from the past. The shed made of wooden boards was changed into a brick house. Not only that, the bare chairs were also covered with soft cushions. Not only that, each position was equipped with a pillow, which looked much more comfortable.

News came out a month before the start of the exam, saying that Zhenren Xian, who was in charge of the invigilator, did not participate in the question setting, and only protected the logistics of the candidates. At that time, some people were dismissive and believed that being responsible for the logistics was just an excuse for his incompetence. His Majesty asked the female Taoist priest to come over this time just to get intimidated, but when he saw this scene, he was silent.

Not to mention anything else, the environment in the Ming Dynasty Gongyuan is not a day or two. So many officials who came out of here did not think about improving the environment for the candidates in the future. But a monk thought that based on this alone, the candidates must bear the affection.

With the brick house, the tribute court finally no longer leaks air everywhere, and the cushions and blankets are also very warm. Although the space is still cramped, it is finally more comfortable.

Zhen Ge curled up in the exam, looking at the test papers that had just been distributed by the invigilator, his eyes unconsciously swing to both sides. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he secretly reached into the food box...

Let’s not talk about the candidates for now, the invigilator is quite comfortable.

Zhang Cong leaned on the bench with steaming milk tea, feeling as if he was trapped in the clouds, and he squinted his eyes unconsciously, "Master Xian, your chair is so comfortable. Fortunately, you are with you, otherwise we will suffer a lot."

"Yes, and your milk tea, I think it's better than the herbal teas sold in teahouses. The little girl must love to drink it!"

Xian Ruxing smiled and said, "That's great. Looking back, I'll send a few sets to you. If you meet someone else, you will help me promote it, just treat it as an advertisement."

The invigilators felt a little embarrassed, but after refusing, they still couldn't accept it.

At first, everyone complained about Xian Ruxing, a female Taoist priest, but the other party was very good at being a good person, and even a lot of power was not contaminated. In this way, no one could say anything, and everyone got along more and more harmoniously.

Now the exam has only started for less than a quarter of an hour, and everyone can take a break for a while. After waiting, everyone has to patrol back and forth. Thinking of this, they can't help but complain.

"Fortunately, there is plenty of sunshine today. I heard from my previous colleagues that when they were invigilating the provincial examination, it started to rain heavily on the first day. Not only did they pour it all over. One of them fell down on the mud and knocked off his front teeth. This class of candidates really enjoyed it."

"Yes, there was a young man who took thousand-year-old ice in the morning. In the past two years, there were many merchants in the capital. We have seen this thing before. My eyes are not good. You haven't seen it. The middle of the thousand-year-old ice is so thick that it looks thin on both sides, and it's fine-"

Xian Ruxing didn't say anything, just sucking milk tea silently. When he heard this, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Something seemed to flash in his mind. He wanted to investigate it carefully. Then he heard Zhang Cong next to him say to himself: "Zheng Xian, I heard that the equipment in the tribute court is provided by you. We are doing business for the public, but you pay for it out of your own pocket. Looking back, I will ask Your Majesty to report and the court will make it up for you."

"No, I'm going to sell these cushions and pillows when the exam is over, and I'll still make some money by making it." Xian Ruxing shook his head.

Zhang Cong was stunned, "This is all second-hand, can it be sold?"

"Why can't it be? These are all used by juren. Is it possible that anyone is affected by the literary spirit of the top scholar Tanhualang? Do you think scholars are willing to buy it?" Xian Ruxing answered with confidence.

After hearing this, Zhang Cong gave a thumbs up in admiration and expressed his admiration for the other party's ability to hold money.

Everyone was talking and laughing. Just as they were about to set out for the exam, they heard someone screaming in front of them, "It's time to leave-----"

In an instant, everyone was stunned.

If someone asks what the invigilator is most afraid of during the middle of the exam, it is not the candidate cheating, nor the environment is bad, but the fire.

In the imperial examination, when the candidates entered the examination room, in order to prevent fraud, the court stipulated that the door should be locked with an iron lock, so the imperial examination was also called the "Locking Court Tribute Examination". In this way, although the discipline in the examination room was guaranteed, it would be difficult to escape if it caught fire. There were many large tanks of water in the examination room to prepare for firefighting, but these were just droppings of water, which was useless. From Hongwu to the present, there have been fire incidents in the imperial examination room during the reign of emperors in history, and the most serious of them was the period of Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. A fire broke out on the first night of the imperial examination, burning more than 90 candidates in a row, which was horrifying. Zhu Qizhen prepared a coffin for each person and buried it in the open space outside Chaoyang Gate. Now the "tomb of the world's talents" is still there.

But even so, no one in the court wanted to repair the tribute court, and just held accountable and supervise the examination. So if an official really encountered a waterfall, he would only blame himself for his unlucky luck. At the least, he would be fined the salary and at the worst, he would be lost.

When he came to his senses, the people present suddenly panicked. Shang Linfeng said in vain: "Where? Where did you get out of the water? Hurry up, find someone to check it out! This is not the time to light a candle! Those in broad daylight can catch fire!!"

There are nearly 10,000 people in the tribute courtyard, and it takes at least two hours to inspect it alone. It is very difficult to determine where the fire is first, which is also the main reason why it is difficult to rescue after a fire.

As the deputy examiner, Shang Linfeng is like this, not to mention the rest of the people. The key is not only them, but even the candidates are restless.

Just then, suddenly.

A loud "bang" sound interrupted the restlessness around him.

Xian Ruxing put down the gong hammer in his hand and whispered loudly: "Everything is quiet, why are you panic? What should you ask the students to do if you are examiners!"

Then she looked at the person who was just talking and asked, "What you said just now, where is the candidate with the thousand-year-old ice sitting? Do you still remember?"

The official thought for a moment, "It seems to be the Western Wuli."

Xian Ruxing didn't say anything, and immediately asked the soldiers to take the water to Xiwu. At the same time, all the invigilators now go to appease the candidates separately, and then stabilize everyone first.

Everyone is a court official and is not young anymore. Although they are panicked when encountering problems, some people have a backbone after commanding and respond.

As for Xian Ruxing herself, she found a place where no one was, flashed into the space, and even though she picked up the fire extinguisher at home. Because her modern house was on the high-rise building, she bought a lot of fire extinguishing equipment because she was worried that the fire would not run away.

Sure enough, when we arrived at Xiwuli, the fire burned very quickly and could not be eliminated with manpower alone. The screams of candidates were everywhere. Fortunately, because the wooden shed was replaced with a cement room before, the fire was still concentrated in a single room and it did not spread.

Xian Ruxing frowned and pulled out the safety ring on the fire extinguisher. After a while, everyone saw a burst of white smoke coming out. Soon, the fire in the single room gradually became smaller. Finally, with everyone's concerted efforts, a disaster was finally calmed down.

After the incident was over, everyone around looked at Xian Ruxing in shock. They were all watching it just now. The huge fire was destroyed by the female Taoist priest's every move. Even a person like Zhang Cong who did not believe in ghosts and gods could not help but wonder in his heart. He took two steps forward and said to Xian Ruxing: "Real person, you are..."

Xian Ruxing waved his hand and signaled him to say that he would squat down and pick from the test room that had just caught fire. Finally, he found the "thousand-year ice" that had been burned and deformed. Then he turned around and asked the owner of the test room, "Your name is... Zhen Ge, right? What is this?"

Zhen Ge's face was smoked black, but fortunately he was rescued in time and was not injured. However, he was obviously scared. After hearing Xian Ruxing's question, he stammered: "Yes, it's glasses, I, I can't see things clearly."

Xian Ruxing sneered, spread her hands, and there were a few grains of rice on it.

Zhen Ge suddenly collapsed and his luck disappeared, tears were about to burst out, and he kept begging for mercy, "I, I was obsessed with it for a while! Please forgive me! Please spare me!"

"Take it away and lock it up." Xian Ruxing shook his head and said to the soldiers behind him.

After everything was done, the invigilators who were still a little confused finally had the opportunity to ask questions. Shang Linfeng spoke first: "Zhengren Xian, what's going on?"

Xian Ruxing wiped his glasses, then handed them over, signaling them to see.

Shang Linfeng took it suspiciously and pointed it at the rice in his palm. After a glance, he couldn't help but scream. He saw that the rice was densely engraved with small words, which was difficult for people to see clearly with their naked eyes, but after the amplification of the thousand-year-old ice, it could barely be recognized.

As early as when she heard that the glasses were thick and thin on both sides, Xian Ruxing felt something was wrong. In theory, myopia glasses were all concave lenses, so it was not necessary, not to mention that most young people don’t use presbyopia. When the fire broke out, she instantly realized that she had accidentally ignited the exam room while using a magnifying glass.

In fact, Mid Diao itself was a cheating method invented by the Qing Dynasty. As for why it has emerged now, it was all because Xian Ruxing allowed glass products to enter the homes of ordinary people, which triggered a chain reaction.

"This is too hard! Isn't it good to have this motivation to write twice more?" Zhang Cong, an old scholar who has been studying and curing for his whole life, was shocked.

Xian Ruxing also lamented this kind of cheating method of "local steelmaking". After looking at the simple magnifying glass in his hand, many thoughts flashed through his mind.

Although the Zhen Ge incident was thrilling, fortunately, no casualties were caused. After the storm passed, everyone continued to invigilate the exam. The nine days ended. When the students walked out of the examination room with difficulty. Not only the students, but also Xian Ruxing felt a sense of ease as if they were a different life.

After stretching, her task actually ended here. After all, she had agreed before that Xian Ruxing would not participate in the question marking and was only responsible for logistics work. Finally, she gave a few words and turned back to the palace.

However, after only one day of rest, someone outside said that Xu Jie was looking for him.

Xian Ruxing raised his eyebrows. Although he was not a serious invigilator, the two shouldn't have had too much contact in order to avoid suspicion. Although Xu Jie was young, he also had a delicate heart. He even wrote less letters to Xian Ruxing some time ago, so there must be something important today.

It just so happened that Xian Ruxing had promised him to visit the leopard room with him, so he took the person in openly.

On the other hand, Zhu Houcong regretted the two days after he asked the female Taoist priest to be responsible for the imperial examination. It was nothing more. The main reason was that Xian Ruxing often devoted himself to every thing he did, and the imperial examination could not end in one or two days, so so far, he had not spoken well with the other party for two months.
To be continued...