Jiannan Circuit, Qiu Yan

"Gentlemen, there's no need to continue arguing. This exam paper..."

Wang Fu's gaze shifted and landed on the exam paper. He knew the contents of the exam paper very well. He had browsed it many times in recent days, and each time he had a new feeling. The feeling of kinship in his heart grew stronger.

The candidates' abilities varied greatly in this imperial Metropolitan Examination. Many candidates had only a superficial understanding of the New Law, and their writings were completely contrary to it. This made Wang Fu feel that he had a long way to go. Some candidates were even cynical and had no understanding of the New Law. Knowing that they had no hope of Imperial Examinations, they angrily cursed and belittled the New Law as worthless.

If these people had truly pointed out the flaws in the New Law, that would have been fine. But many of them didn't even understand the content of the New Law; they simply judged and criticized it based on their own preconceived notions of New Law. Looking at these exam papers, Wang Fu was furious. Every time he saw one, he would look at Qiu Yan's exam paper afterward to calm his anger.

In terms of understanding the New Law and considering the abuses of the people of Great Rui, Qiu Yan's exam paper was unparalleled in this Metropolitan Examination!

This is the kind of exam paper Wang Fu truly wanted. It not only criticized the current problems but also reflected the candidate's own thoughts and attempted to propose solutions. In addition, the sections on classical and Buddhist interpretations were neat and clear, demonstrating the candidate's solid foundation.

But now, Wang Fu's most desired exam paper is facing the situation of being suppressed by others, and he has to consider the balance between the two parties, and make both advances and retreats. Now is not the time to tear off the mask.

However, suppressing such an article would inevitably displease him, and besides, the policy essays in this volume were so elaborate that Literary Imprinting the paper; such a person, if he appeared in ancient times, would immediately attract attention.

This is also why the Old Party examiners dared not go too far. Even if they suppressed it, they still gave it second place. Otherwise, according to their thinking, such a profound understanding of the New Law should have been suppressed to the point of being forgotten, or even dismissed.

Ultimately, however, it was because Literary Staining of Examination Papers showed no unusual phenomena. Otherwise, with such phenomena as backing him up, the whole city would know, and even if they had a lot of guts, they wouldn't dare to hide it from the public.

Upon hearing Wang Fu's words, the examiners who were arguing stopped talking and focused their attention on him. Ultimately, the final decision rested with Wang Fu.

However, both the New Party and Old Party were now convinced that they had the overall situation under control. The Old Party felt that Wang Fu would make some concessions, otherwise he would have gone too far.

The New Party was initially uncomfortable knowing that there would be a compromise on the rankings, but then a Literary Staining of Examination Papers and whose content favored the New Party. This gave them confidence and made them feel that they could overcome the obstacles!

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Wang Fu took a deep breath. He could speak eloquently in the imperial court and before the emperor, let alone in front of a group of examiners.

"The original purpose of the Imperial Examinations was to select talented individuals for the country. As long as capable people were chosen, that was enough. As for their ranking, that was secondary..."

Upon hearing this, the Old Party examiner felt relieved and smiled, while the New Party examiner looked solemn and his expression changed slightly.

On the other side, Wang Fu continued, "However, we examiners must act in a way that is worthy of the nation and the people, and also in accordance with our conscience. The people we select are not only the talents of this one examination, but also affect the future administration of the court. To put it another way, they are also a matter of how future generations will judge us. We are here by imperial decree, and we must remember to be impartial and not let personal feelings interfere with public duty!"

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the exam paper.

His words and actions reversed the atmosphere in the room. How could the people present not realize that these words were just the prelude!

In fact, when the papers were first graded, the examiners saw the exam paper due to the rules, but not many people saw its contents. However, it could not be kept secret for more than 20 days.

Therefore, although the examiners did not know who wrote the exam paper, they were at least aware that it had caused a stir—when grading the papers, the examiners did not use the original paper, but rather a transcribed version.

Sure enough, Wang Fu continued, "This exam paper deserves to be ranked first!"

Hu Yong and Luo Zhongjie couldn't help but change color, and Zheng Quan, who knew the inside story, was even more astonished.

Many of the Old Party examiners stared wide-eyed. They couldn't believe that Wang Fu was unaware of the consequences of his actions. In one Imperial Examinations, all the benefits were taken by one side, and the New and Old Parties were likely to break off relations. At that time, even if the emperor wanted to balance the factions and deal with the conflicting opinions, he would be in the wrong!

Immediately afterward, someone slammed their hand on the table and stood up. It was a former examiner from the Old Party: "Prime Minister Wang, don't push your luck!" His words were disrespectful, but Wang Fu did not pursue the matter and simply waved his hand dismissively.

Wang Fu knew that once he made this decision, he had to be mentally prepared for possible retaliation, but in order to show that he valued the candidate, he decided to stick to his mind.

If everything is compromised, then there's no need to change the law. He had this idea long ago, and now it's just a matter of time. The New Party is gradually gaining a foothold, and it's time to test the other side's bottom line.

Therefore, disregarding the heavy pressure, Wang Fu resolutely declared, "Go and retrieve the original scroll, open it, and fill in the names!"

"This..." The examiners looked at each other in bewilderment, while the official in charge of sealing the list turned and left. Now that the rankings had been determined, they needed to prepare the list so that it could be sent to the Ministry of Rites and announced to the world.

However, many of the Old Party examiners were unwilling to admit defeat. They first looked at Hu Yong and found that the latter had no intention of stepping forward. Finally, some of them couldn't help but criticize Wang Fu: "Prime Minister Wang asked us to uphold justice, but he himself was driven by selfishness and made this choice!"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that!" Wang Fu narrowed his eyes, and an invisible pressure emanated from him. This was not Divine Ability, but rather an aura formed through Qi Nurturing Cultivating Prestige and composure.

The examiner who spoke was not old, appearing to be only in his twenties. However, to become an examiner, one must at least be a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and most of them would be scholars. This man was a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, named "Zou Kang".

Faced with Wang Fu's questioning, Zou Kang showed no sign of backing down. He straightened his neck and said firmly, "This exam paper, though written with great skill, is far too biased. Our Great Rui been established for nearly a hundred years, and successive emperors have worked diligently to govern. Yet, in this examinee's words, the world is full of loopholes, and the country seems on the verge of collapse! What does this mean? Does it mean that the more rulers and ministers govern, the more chaotic the world becomes?"

He looked directly into Wang Fu's eyes and said coldly, "In ancient times, the people were simple and honest, and the Order of the world was more easily revealed. Therefore, the words of the sages were closer to the essence, and this is a principle that applies to all places! When the Great Rui was established, the world was newly settled and everything was waiting to be rebuilt. Yet, it was still able to eliminate the complexities and see the essence. The rules and regulations it established outlined the world's structure. After several generations of rulers governed and developed the country, Human Path could only get better and better. But according to this candidate, it is not like that at all!"

Every word was spoken with resounding force!

Wang Fu shook his head and said, "In the beginning, the predecessors laid out the framework. As long as the successors improve it, it is bound to be a development. But how can you know what the True Intention of what the predecessors said really is?"

Seeing that Zou Kang was about to speak again, he waved his hand and said, "Don't argue. I'll just ask you, have you truly understood what the ancients said? Have you really comprehended it? Or rather, have you really read it? If you haven't understood it, haven't comprehended it, or haven't even read it at all, to say that we have reached the pinnacle of Human Path today is rather arbitrary."

The various schools of thought in Great Rui, based on the words of their predecessors, each offered their own interpretations, and then collected information about the present situation to improve Human Path, which led to much debate.

Zou Kang's face turned cold. "Is Prime Minister Wang acting like he's relying on his age? Is he taking advantage of my lack of education?"

Wang Fu frowned. "If you're going to make accusations, at least you should have something to say, instead of just relying on your feelings! If someone from Yan-Zhao went to Southern Ridges to serve as an official, and the customs were so different, would you criticize and punish them? Instead of trying to understand and guide them, you only believe that your own thoughts are right, and that anything different from your understanding is wrong, a black-and-white view. How can you govern a region like that?"

There was already a hint of anger in his words. Wang Fu had been troubled by the exam papers these past few days, so he didn't hold back at all.

Zou Kang was from Yan-Zhao. After passing the imperial examination, he lived in the Imperial City. Recently, there were rumors that he was going to be transferred to Southern Ridges. Whether it was true or not, Wang Fu's words were obviously a warning, pouring cold water on the other eager people and making them realize that Wang Fu was not easy to bully.

Some might say that the Black-faced Chancellor was upright and forgiving, but those who reached that position had all fought their way through countless battles; they were certainly not easy to rise to power.

In his anger, Zou Kang, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, felt a chill run down his spine after hearing these words and finally calmed down.

Just then, Zheng Quan, Li Kuo, and other officials who were in charge of sealing the examination papers returned, interrupting the awkward silence in the room.

These exam papers were selected from thousands of papers, categorized according to their respective prefectures and counties, and required a large number of people to draw them out according to their rankings in order to organize them in a short period of time.

Next comes opening the package and filling in the names according to their ranking.

A special official was in charge of reading out the names. Wang Fu didn't waste any time. As soon as the exam papers arrived, he urged everyone to start working. He was also eager to know who had written the exam papers.

The process of reading out names is short, but it is captivating because some candidates have intricate connections with the examiners present. As each name is read out, it stirs the emotions of many.

Arranged sequentially from back to front.

"Third place, Jiangnan Circuit, Wen Zhizhen!"

After the name was read out, everyone's expressions changed slightly. Some of them knew Wen Zhizhen's reputation, and a few knew that Wen Zhizhen was good at understanding people's hearts and suspected that the policy essay was written by him. But they did not expect to hear his name now!

"Second place, Southern Ridges Circuit, Ye Yun!"

Upon hearing this name, most people looked surprised, and many looked bewildered, clearly having never heard of it before.

However, they quickly regained their composure, because the main event was about to begin.

We'll soon find out who wrote that exam paper!

Standing to the side, Li Kuo, who was reading the names of famous people, was suspicious, because the name he had been paying attention to did not seem to appear.

"Could I have misheard? If Qiu Yan isn't on the list, what about Lord Tian's plan...?"

Just as he was pondering, the last name was finally called out.

"First place, Jiannan Circuit, Qiu Yan!" (To be continued...)

P. S.: Thank you to "Moon Forest o_o Awakening from Dream" and "Wan Xia Xia La" for the donations!