They say the white bones are piled high, but they are just the soil beneath the feet of the wealthy.

  The examination venue was set up in a royal private school in Chang'an, where the examinees were fully focused on their test papers in front of them, with eyes flashing with deep longing for fame and fortune that could not be concealed.

  There were three examiners in total, with Wei Xuanzhen as the chief examiner and two deputy examiners.

  The deputy examiner is walking back and forth under the scorching sun, inspecting the examination room. The examinees are all tense and serious, not even daring to breathe heavily.

  Wei Xuanzhen sat in the backyard, leisurely watching the fish pond, with several young servants kneeling around him fanning him.

  An attendant humbly crawled forward: "Just now, the Minister of Rites sent someone to deliver a message, asking Your Excellency if there were any doubts about the candidate recommended by him, Liu Pinzhuo, since the examination will be closed in half a day?"

  Wei Xuanzhen smiled as he fed the fish: "This person is a collateral descendant of the Liu family, and since one of the Liu family's officials lost his position last year, they naturally want to use the imperial examination to fill this gap quickly."

  The staff's eyes flickered: "Actually, the other few adults also have their own candidates in mind."

  He handed over an envelope from his hand.

  Wei Xuanzhen cast a glance at him with some implication: "How much money did the Liu family give to Zong Chuke this time?"

  The Liu family is not stupid either. This time, they pushed out Liu Pinxiao, and it's definitely not just to make the cut-off list. They must be aiming for that first place in the imperial examination.

  The staff officer whispered a number.

  Wei Xuanzhen couldn't help but chuckle lightly and said after a long while: "This time, the Liu family is really willing to put in effort."

  Every three years, a big exam, the clan and family for the sake of inserting their own people into the imperial court as officials, all racked their brains. From the imperial examination to the palace examination, every link can be manipulated by human beings, so-called swapping test papers, asking someone to take the test on behalf of others, these are just small tricks.

  The cruelest thing is often when it comes to the imperial examination, because at this time, the emperor personally interviews the candidates. At this time, if you are discovered to be cheating, it is a crime of deceiving the emperor. Even so, it cannot stop these aristocratic families.

  Wei Xuanzhen said lazily at this time: "Let Zong Chuke handle it, he's the deputy chief examiner this time, no need to ask me about everything."

  The staff officer's eyes flashed with joy, and he bowed his head saying: "Yes."

  Zong Chuke walked up to a candidate and that candidate looked nervous and frightened, "Your Honor..."

  Zong Chuke stared at him for a long time, then reached out and took away the examinee's test paper that was already half-written, and coldly said: "Take him out."

  The candidate was completely unaware of what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into, his face shocked to the extreme: "Sir, sir spare my humble self..."

  Zong Chuke rolled up the test paper and put it into his sleeve, expressionless, and left the examination room.

  The other examinees were all sweating profusely, their heads hung low, and they didn't even dare to take a second glance at what was happening.

  In the examination room, the examiner is God, and whatever he asks you to do, you have to do it.

  The candidate was thrown out of the examination hall, and the scorching sun shone on his face, reflecting his despair and numbness.

  ——

  Pei Tan was sitting in the study, reading Fan Wenjun's article.

  Fan Wenjun would never have the opportunity to sit in the examination hall and display his talents again, and even in Chang'an City, no one would know that there was a talented candidate who had hoped to win the top prize in the imperial court.

  "Sir," the young girl raised her eyes, as clear as ink, "Wan'er also wants to take a look."

  Pei hesitated for a moment before handing over the article in his hand.

  Jing Wan'er unfolded it and took a look. She had practiced calligraphy, although she was just a beginner, but she could already recognize this style of cursive script, which was the result of ten years of hard work, like water dripping through stone.

  After appreciating the words, I went on to read the content. This article is written with great passion and momentum, it really makes one's blood boil.

  "Geniuses all have sharp edges." Jing Wanyu smiled slightly and looked up after finishing reading.

  "But," she said thoughtfully, "perhaps if this article were presented to the Emperor, it might actually please His Majesty."

  Such examples are not uncommon in the past, and the character of a sword walking on the edge has accidentally hit the fresh nine-five honor that is accustomed to hearing flattering words from officials, so it is heavily reused.

  Pei Tan gazed at Jing Wanyu, who was also born into a family of scholars. Jing Zhe's love for his daughter was evident in the way he nurtured her. She could easily understand Fan Wenjun's article, and her intelligence was secondary only to her perceptiveness.

  Jing Wantong and Pei Tan's eyes met for a long time, and the girl blinked.

  Pei Tan slowly said: "I plan to attend court tomorrow."

  The Chaotang has no regulations on whether the Dalishi Temple should have an early morning court every day, and Pei Tan has been to the early morning court a handful of times since taking office.

  Jing Wan'er was speechless.

  "That's an opportunity to meet Your Majesty," said Pei Tan.

  There is a reality that no matter how difficult it is to see Zhong Zong, he can definitely be seen at dawn.

  But in front of so many civil and military officials, Pei Tan couldn't say anything even if he had something to say.

  "What does milord plan to do after meeting with Your Majesty?" The young girl asked softly.

  Pei tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind wandering to who-knows-where. This time's Jing family escaped slave case and the ongoing imperial examination were absolutely connected. He just hadn't found that button yet, the indispensable link that would thoroughly tie the two things together.

  "The adults should first divert the eyes outside the temple." Jing Yuanyu said slowly.

  …

  The next morning, Jing Wanyu got on a horse-drawn carriage, which headed towards the Wangyue Tavern in Chang'an City. Due to the imperial examination, all the taverns in Chang'an were fully booked, and Zixian'er and her husband had no time to spare either.

  There was a horse-drawn carriage quietly following behind Jing Yuanner.

  Jing Wan'er had a faint smile at the corner of her mouth as she slowly lowered her head and smoothed out a strand of her hair in the carriage.

  In front of the horse carriage, there was a sign of the Imperial Temple. Ordinary people would usually dodge when they saw it. Suddenly, an out-of-control horse rushed forward from the front, regardless of anything and charged towards Rong Yu's carriage. The charioteer's face turned pale with panic, his hands and feet busy but unable to avoid in time!

  At this moment, a figure flew out of the carriage and drew a long sword, which cut through the air. Where the sword passed, the horse let out a mournful whinny, its front hooves already severed at the roots.

  The horses were covered in blood and knelt on the ground, letting out long whinnies.

  The young man in blue clothes sheathed his sword and gazed indifferently at the scene before him.

  This horse suddenly went mad, and even the owner of the horse was nowhere to be seen around, which can only mean that this is a deliberately arranged horse.

  Although Jing Wan'er had mentally prepared herself, when she truly saw the horse rushing towards her, her heart still skipped a beat. It wasn't until then that she was able to calmly say, "Thank you, Master Bi Luo."

  The man in blue was Bai's number one master, Bi Luo. He stared at the bloodstains on the ground, surrounded by screaming and fleeing civilians. Ordinary people couldn't understand how ruthless this man in blue was when he struck, so they could only try to stay as far away from him as possible.

  Soon, the Golden Armor Guards patrolling the city rushed over and shouted loudly: "What happened!?"

  The leader of the Golden Guard stared at Bì Luò, slowly exuding a murderous aura.

  A slave who was following the carriage came up and said, "This horse collided with the carriage of the Grand Master of the Imperial Court and was immediately killed by our guards."

  Jin Wuwei's eyes stared at the horse carriage, still disbelieving: "The Duke of Dalisi?"

  No matter who was inside, this carriage indeed had a plaque of Dali Temple.

  Don't say that a horse suddenly rushed out on the road, even if someone rushes over, if it threatens this horse-drawn carriage, there is also reason to be killed.

  Jin Wuwei's expression was slightly gloomy, and he stared at the carriage for a while before saying: "Recently, with the imperial examination approaching in Chang'an City, the city is quite unsettled. It would be better if Temple Master didn't go out too much."

  Bi Luo and Na Pu Cong did not respond, they wanted to leave the temple, why did he need Jin Wu Wei to intervene.

  Najin Wuwei let out a soft hum and turned around to order: "Drag away the horse's corpse."

  Several Golden Armor Guards stepped forward and blocked the road, while the charioteer, who was responsible for driving, only then heard Jing Yuanner's soft voice, "Continue walking."

  The carriage drove away in front of the Golden Guard, and from a window on the second floor by the road, a dead soldier stared at the ground, seeing the carriage drive away safely, couldn't help but reveal a hint of annoyance.

  Half an hour later, Pei Tan walked out of the main gate of Dali Temple and got into a gray soft sedan rented on the street at the entrance, and went to the palace.

  His injured arm had not yet healed and was hidden under the sleeve of his official robe, his face whiter than usual.

  This is roughly the temperament of Xiangmen Pei's family, nurtured and cultivated over time.

  Pei Tan was tall and slender, with slightly flat shoulders. The three-piece suit he wore made him look like a young nobleman with an air of elegance. No wonder that whenever Pei Tan stood in the grand hall, those officials couldn't help but steal glances at him.

  At Zhuque Gate, Pei Tan got off his sedan chair and met officials going to court one after another.

  Someone smiled and said, "Isn't this Lord Pei?"

  Only three or two people stopped in their tracks, laughing and bowing to Pei Tan.

  In the imperial court, no matter how high your official position or rank is, you must always see the background of one's birth. The sons and descendants of great families like Wei and Pei, even if they do not hold high positions, still receive three points of courtesy from their colleagues in the same hall.

  The main thing is that these several officials were all courtiers of the Wei family's faction.

  "It's said that Your Majesty and Lord Wei deliberated in the imperial study for three days before finalizing this year's exam questions." Those people finished their greetings and started chatting idly, with the topic still revolving around the imperial examination.

  "Before, we were all guessing, but unexpectedly it was Lord Wei Xiang who understood Sheng Xin's heart."

  Whenever it comes to predicting the imperial examination questions in advance, each official will show off their skills. In recent years, I often hear that a certain great talent has predicted the exam questions in advance and even won the emperor's grand reward.

  And each time the test questions are not untraceable, for example, major events that occurred in the country over the past three years, the test questions are often closely related to people's livelihoods, in order to demonstrate the emperor's benevolence and grandeur of worrying about the world.

  Those officials walked away with a shoulder shrug: "The embezzlement case in Bianzhou previously had enraged Your Majesty, and indeed this time's exam question is for these scholars to write an essay specifically on how to suppress and plunder the people by those cruel officials who take advantage of taxation."

  Pai Tan's footsteps suddenly stopped.