Astonishing the Associate Examiners, New and Old Parties Exchange Positions

"The Sage Paper can guide the thoughts of others and connect them with the Human Path Order, making it extremely precious. However, the paper in my hand only caused a momentary lapse of consciousness, and the feeling was not the same as it was back then."

When Zheng Quan was studying, he also came into contact with the Sage Paper. Although he never wrote anything on it, he experienced the pure thoughts within it up close. However, it was a long time ago and his memory is vague. He only vaguely noticed that it was somewhat different from the one in his hand.

"The person who wrote this on this paper, perhaps they wanted to attract attention and win a prize? But switching the paper is tantamount to cheating. No one would fail to think of such a simple truth."

The more Zheng Quan recalled, the more confused he became.

"However, regardless of whether this is Sage Paper or not, the person who can produce such paper is no ordinary person..."

As he pondered this, he flipped through the exam paper and glanced at his name and place of origin.

"Qiu Yan from Jiannan Circuit?"

The name didn't seem unfamiliar to him at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he immediately recalled the rumors about Qiu Yan.

"Could it be the rumored closed-door disciple of Ma Xiang? Good heavens, a disciple of the Prime Minister! No wonder he can produce such extraordinary paper. However, isn't this a bit too blatant? Doesn't he know that the examiner is Prime Minister Ma Xiang's political enemy?"

Despite having made a guess, Zheng Quan knew the gravity of the situation; even if Qiu Yan were to be convicted of cheating, it couldn't be up to him to make the decision.

In officialdom, one can avoid currying favor with those in power. Zheng Quan, as an official appointed by the court, had no need to deliberately befriend Qiu Yan since he could contact Ma Yang. However, dismissing Qiu Yan would be an offense, a completely different matter.

"Offending people is a decision that cannot be made lightly. Even if Ma Xiang doesn't say anything, some people will still try to curry favor with their superiors by suppressing him, which is tantamount to digging their own grave. We must not do that."

Thinking of this, Zheng Quan shook his head, dismissed the two guards, turned around and first annotated the exam papers with the names on them, then had the clerk copy them, and then reviewed them. After finding no omissions, he took the original exam papers and walked towards the side room.

Inside the side room, the examiners were still drinking tea and chatting. They were having a good time. These examiners were actually not very old, and many of them were Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from the previous two examinations.

Knock knock!

The knocking came suddenly, pausing the conversation inside.

"Who goes there?" asked the older official. It was clear that he held some authority among the crowd.

"Reporting to Lord Hu, this is Zheng Quan. I have something to say. I have an examination paper with a problem, and I would like to take it in so that you can all review it and decide how to handle it." Zheng Quan's voice came from outside the door.

"Zheng Quan? Exam papers? Someone handed in their paper so early?" The official surnamed Hu frowned, shook his head, and said, "Even if the person who handed in their paper early has a problem, they shouldn't have let us see it beforehand. You can make up your own decision."

The examiners were to assist each other in grading the papers. It was not allowed to look at the papers directly before they were annotated and copied. Of course, this rule was not always strictly followed. In the Provincial Examination, there were even cases where examiners would directly observe the candidates' answers in the examination room. However, since the metropolitan Metropolitan Examination was held in the capital, some standards had to be set.

Zheng Quan understood this principle, but the current situation was not something he could decide alone, so he did not back down and said frankly, "This exam paper involves a lot of issues, and the circumstances are quite special. However, the names have already been anonymized. Actually, what I hope is that you gentlemen can invite Prime Minister Wang over to take a look at this exam paper together before making a decision."

"Is that so? We need to invite the chief examiner over?" The official surnamed Hu sensed something unusual. "In that case, bring it here."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Quan was outside the door, breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the door open to enter the room.

Inside the room, the examiners sat upright in their seats, each maintaining their dignity. However, a hint of curiosity could be seen on their faces, as they were somewhat concerned about the exam paper in Zheng Quan's hand.

"What exactly happened? Tell me," the official surnamed Hu asked, glancing at him indifferently.

Zheng Quan didn't say much, but turned the exam paper over and flipped it to the section on policy essays.

Once the exam paper is flipped over, the side filled with writing is no longer visible; only the blank back of the paper is visible. This is a preventative measure to avoid giving anyone grounds for criticism.

However, Qiu Yan's calligraphy is so powerful that it penetrates the paper. Even when turned over, you can still see a lot of ink marks and feel a trace of Qi and Blood, though it is no longer as rich as before.

"Hmm?" Luo Zhongjie, who was closest to Zheng Quan, was the first to look over. He was instantly dazed, feeling as if a scene was rising on that face, with city streets and alleys, merchants and peddlers.

But the next moment, he regained his composure and shook his head violently, as if trying to shake the illusory images in his mind out of his head. After doing this, Luo Zhongjie finally calmed down. But when he looked around, he noticed that the expressions of the other people were somewhat dazed, and their eyes revealed a sense of confusion.

"What's going on? Could it be..." Surprised, Luo Zhongjie looked at the exam paper again. Because he was on guard, he wasn't distracted again, but he noticed the color of the paper and couldn't help but reach out and rub it. Then his expression changed drastically, revealing a look of horror.

"Sage Paper? Who's the madman who used Sage Paper to answer questions!" Shocked, he roared in a low voice. The sound startled the many examiners around him. Then, they realized the meaning of his words, their expressions changed, and one by one they got up and came over to check the paper. Their expressions were all different.

Among this group, some had come into contact with the Sage Paper before, while others had only heard of it. Those who had come into contact with the Sage Paper were all shocked when they touched the exam paper, but some of them looked puzzled, as if there was something they hadn't figured out.

Those who had never come into contact with the Sage Paper felt a chill run down their spines upon seeing the reactions of others, realizing that things were not so simple.

"This is not the Sage Paper!"

After a few moments, the official surnamed Hu suddenly spoke decisively, "Moreover, regardless of the origin of this piece of paper, it shows that this candidate smuggled in a fake document, attempting to use this dubious paper to gain a higher ranking. Unfortunately, he has miscalculated!"

The official surnamed Hu seemed to have a powerful background. Although he was initially misled, he regained his composure and quickly determined the nature of the matter before issuing a decision on how to handle it.

Zheng Quan frowned slightly upon seeing this, but he wanted to offer a reminder. He knew that this official surnamed Hu was a member of the Old Party, and if Qiu Yan were dismissed, he would likely be accused of sowing discord. However, he couldn't reveal Qiu Yan's name.

"Things have come to this point. If Qiu Yan is dismissed, it has nothing to do with me anymore. After all, I have done my best."

Just as Zheng Quan was struggling with his decision, Luo Zhongjie unexpectedly spoke up, "Things are probably not that simple. I know Lord Hu's idea. If someone enters the Examination Hall with the Sage Paper,' the clay sculpture will react when worshipping Supreme Sage. However, we just experienced the characteristics of this paper firsthand, and we cannot ignore them. If we wrongly accuse a candidate or miss a talented one, we will inevitably be recorded in history and become a laughing stock for future generations."

He calmed down a bit, and some memories surfaced in his mind.

"You..." Upon hearing this, the official surnamed Hu's face darkened. He hadn't expected Luo Zhongjie to reveal the secret so easily.

Luo Zhongjie narrowed his eyes. "There must be something hidden behind this exam paper. Although it is different from the Sage Paper, it may not have been smuggled in by someone. Lord Hu, don't forget that the Sage Paper was not a natural achievement, but was made Postnatal Realm. Legend has it that the original method was discovered by the Great Sage by accident."

"Do you really think this candidate can stain paper with his words?" Upon hearing this, sweat beaded on the forehead of the official surnamed Hu, as if he had thought of something unbelievable.

Luo Zhongjie smiled slightly, "It seems you understand the reason. Don't become a laughing stock in history by suppressing dissent. Truly talented people can still write books and leave a lasting legacy even if they don't pass Imperial Examinations imperial examinations. It's fine for you to make the decision alone, but don't implicate all your colleagues in this room! Putting everything else aside, since the exam papers have been delivered and we've discovered something unusual about the paper, we know it's no small matter. We should inform Prime Minister Wang and let him make the decision!"

After he finished speaking, the others sensed something amiss. They recalled some cautionary tales from history books, which recorded many similar cases of people failing to recognize great men and becoming the laughingstock of others later on.

With this in mind, both the Old Party and New Party tacitly approved of Luo Zhongjie's proposal.

"We should be more cautious about this."

This made Zheng Quan mutter to himself. He knew that the person who wrote the exam paper was a potential member of the Old Party, but now, it was the Old Party official surnamed Hu who wanted to suppress him, while Luo Zhongjie of the New Party was supporting him. This was extremely strange.

However, Zheng Quan hadn't considered that the reason these two behaved this way was because they had seen a sentence in the ink on the back of the exam paper—

Managing finances for the world!

They only saw a portion of the exam papers, but they could still discern the candidates' inclinations from the words.

The two had seen similar words when Wang Fu used them in response to a letter of remonstrance. This letter was not circulated among the common people, yet this candidate used them in his answer. The meaning behind this was self-evident.

The official surnamed Hu originally intended to suppress and dismiss the matter, but Luo Zhongjie used the example of someone who was blind to the importance of others to stir up their thoughts, making it difficult for him to go against the will of the people.

"This candidate clearly favors the New Law, and is very likely Wen Zhizhen. If we're talking about Literary Imprinting papers in this exam hall, he's probably the most likely candidate," Luo Zhongjie sneered, confident in his assessment.

However, one wonders what Luo Zhongjie will think when he learns the candidate's identity.

However, they didn't have time to delve into the details right now; instead, they needed to skip the formalities and deliver the exam paper to Wang Fu.

When the exam papers were placed on the table, the dark-faced prime minister was still puzzled, but when he touched the paper, he was shocked and moved!

"Who did this? How could they have imbued an ordinary exam paper with Human Path sentiments?"

"This paper, was it really contaminated by Human Thoughts before it spoiled?" Upon hearing this, both Luo Zhongjie, who had come to deliver the scroll, and the official surnamed Hu gasped in shock! (To be continued...)

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