No scholars would notice Yang Wanli's manic behavior; even the citizens of Kyoto passing by on the other side of the river didn't cast curious glances. In Kyoto, such scenes were too common, especially during the release of the spring imperial examinations. Near the red walls of the examination institute, there would always be a few madmen appearing out of nowhere.

At this moment, the scholars looking at the list on the other side of the bridge had different expressions. Some were excited, some dejected. Those who passed shouted to the heavens, while those who failed banged their heads on the ground. Each had a comical and laughable appearance. Even more miserable ones wailed incessantly, hugging the pagoda tree next to the red wall and rubbing their faces against it, refusing to let go no matter how their companions pulled them, until they rubbed the skin off their cheeks, looking incredibly miserable.

The Qing Yu Nian Empire selected officials through the imperial examination system. Those who were not from noble families were not allowed to take the grace examinations. Therefore, for ordinary commoner students, the release of the spring examination results was the only way for them to change their lives. This pressure and motivation were enough to turn gentle and refined scholars into crazed madmen. Compared to those scholars who muttered to themselves on the riverbank, kowtowing and praying to the heavens, thanking them for allowing them to pass, Yang Wanli's two shouts seemed rather mild.

Of course, this further highlighted the composure of Hou Jichang and his two companions.

When Yang Wanli regained his composure and happily walked back under the red wall, his three friends had already carefully read the entire imperial list. Unexpectedly, Shi Chanli did not make the list. What made everyone happy amidst their disappointment was that Cheng Jialin's name was prominently displayed at the very end.

Cheng Jialin's face was filled with barely concealed excitement, but seeing the slightly disappointed look on Shi Chanli's face beside him, he didn't want to overdo it, and comforted him, "If you don't pass this time, you can come again next year."

This was a very clichéd comforting remark, but in this situation, it seemed that only such clichés would do. Shi Chanli gave a bitter smile, looked at the dejected failed candidates around him, and forced himself to cheer up, laughing, "This time, three out of the four of us passed, which is already a great joy. Compared to the spring examinations in previous years, this year's list is much fairer. As for me, it's good to consider it again."

Hou Jichang nodded on the side, gently patted Shi Chanli's shoulder, knowing that although he was the most carefree of the four, he was still greatly affected by today's blow. He changed the subject and said with a smile, "I wonder how Lord Fan did it, that he was able to protect so many people. I see that the list is very different from previous years. The names of those with real talent and learning have increased, while those who are dull and incompetent and rely solely on their family background have decreased a lot."

"It should be due to the Overwatch Council's investigation into the examination fraud this time." The few of them had already walked to a quiet place on the riverbank and sat down, still keeping their voices very low, fearing that they would cause trouble for their mentor, Fan Xian.

Hou Jichang shook his head and said, "Although many officials were arrested this time, apart from those few Jiangnan scholars, no other scholars were exposed. From this, it can be seen that Lord Fan Xian had already made arrangements before the Overwatch Council took action." He shook his head and sighed with a bitter smile, thinking that the young Lord Fan was indeed from a powerful background, that he could use such means in a national ceremony. However, it seemed that he had not misjudged Fan Xian, and this time the list seemed much fairer.

The group chatted for a few more sentences about the situation in Kyoto. Many officials had fallen from grace in the past two days, and everyone in the officialdom was in danger. On the other hand, Fan Xian looked confident. At this time, Shi Chanli, who had been silent for a while, suddenly opened his mouth and said softly, "I think that the exposure of this fraud is probably also inseparable from Lord Fan."

The other three were shocked and muttered, "If that's really the case, Lord Fan... is even more amazing than we thought."

—————————————————————

Of course, the examination fraud was inextricably linked to Fan Xian, but the Overwatch Council acted with great discretion. Although Minister of Rites Guo Youzhi had fallen, the Eastern Palace had not suffered too much damage. Therefore, for a time, the Crown Prince was only suspicious of Fan Xian. Moreover, among the list this time, the Eastern Palace still had three of the people they needed, which was a much better result compared to the First Prince and the Privy Council.

Fan Xian sat in his study, looking at the imperial list copied by Wang Qinian, and frowned slightly. Kyoto had been too uneasy these past two days. The chief examiner, Guo Youzhi, one of the mentors, and one of the coordinators had all been invited by the Overwatch Council to drink tea, but he, as the middle-ranking official of the spring examination, in charge of the crucial step of name concealment, was completely fine, which would inevitably lead those with ulterior motives to speculate.

However, he was also somewhat pleased that most of the students he favored, except for Shi Chanli, whose personality he liked the most, had smoothly entered the list. As for the results after the palace examination, it was entirely up to individual luck, and he really couldn't help too much.

Leaving the study, he saw a green figure walking towards him. Fan Xian cried out in dismay and prepared to retreat back into the room, feeling bitter in his heart. Who would have thought that his father would actually come to his courtyard today.

Count Sinan, Fan Jian, was now the rightful Minister of Revenue, but there was no major change to his stern face. He coldly pushed open the door that his son had not had time to close, stepped in, and shouted sternly, "You went out again yesterday?"

Fan Xian gave a wry smile and bowed, replying, "Father, it rained in Kyoto last night, so I wanted to go out for a stroll."

"Do you think you can hide from anyone that you went to Tongfu Inn!"

Fan Jian sat down. Lin Wan'er, who was in the side room, heard the voice and hurried over, quickly telling the maid to bring tea to the master. Fan Jian looked at his daughter-in-law with a gentle smile, waved her back to her room to rest, and turned his face as cold as ice, saying, "The matter of the imperial examination is so complicated, it's fine that you rashly did that thing. I told you to stay in the manor to avoid this storm, but you went to Tongfu Inn to see those students again yesterday. Now that the imperial list is out, everyone can see clearly that those students are on the list. How will the world see you?"

Fan Xian replied with a smile, "Although I am young, I am also a mentor. It is normal to go and see the candidates. As for this list... everyone knows what's going on, why bother."

"But recently, the Overwatch Council is investigating the fraud case, and the origin of this matter is the note you passed." Fan Jian said coldly, "Anzhi, if you are truly planning for the country, then you should not have placed your own people in the top three. If you just want to use the spring examination to cultivate your own power, then you should not have turned against Guo Youzhi and brought him down."

Count Sinan looked at his young son in front of him, and sighed after a long time, "Everywhere has its own set of rules. The officialdom of Kyoto is even more so. There are honest officials and corrupt officials, loyal ministers and sycophants. These are two distinct paths. If you want to be a loyal minister, don't take the path of a sycophant."

Hearing his father call him by his courtesy name, Fan Xian knew that the old man was indeed a little angry, and replied gently, "I don't want to be a loyal minister, nor do I want to be a sycophant, I want to be... a power minister."

As soon as these words came out, the air in the study seemed to freeze. After a long time, Fan Jian said softly and faintly, "A power minister? What kind of minister can be called a power minister?" He shook his head, a strange smile appearing on his face, "The prime minister has power, your father has power, Chen Pingping has power, but do you think that being such a minister can be called a power minister?"

Fan Xian replied calmly, "No, because the power is in His Majesty's hands."

"Then what kind of power minister do you want to be?"

"To have power in hand, without worries about anything." Fan Xian replied sincerely, "I want to be a power minister that even the Emperor's family cannot decide my life and death, because I have the ability to protect myself, but I don't have the ability to protect others, so I need power."

Fan Jian looked at his son, a trace of worry in his eyes. Fan Xian smiled helplessly. The reason why he chose this extremely difficult and uninteresting path was naturally because of the extremely strong darkness in the depths of his heart.

……

……

After a long time, a cold light flashed in Fan Jian's eyes, "Don't mess around like this in the future. Chen Pingping can protect you for a while, but he can't protect you for a lifetime, so I warn you, don't get too close to the Overwatch Council."

Fan Xian lowered his head to accept the lesson, "I know, so I need my father to remind me from time to time." He knew that his father had always been very wary of him taking over the Overwatch Council, but Fan Xian himself was unwilling to give up.

Fan Jian slowly closed his eyes and said, "You handled this matter very poorly. Even if Guo Baokun spoke up in court, allowing you to guess that the Guo family was actually the Grand Princess's people, you should not have taken action yourself. If you had told me in advance, with my power and the prime minister's, we could have seamlessly used the imperial examination fraud to get rid of him, instead of falling into the current dilemma."

Fan Xian knew that what his father said was right. He risked working with the Overwatch Council to deal with Minister Guo, which would only create an open-ended ending. No one knew what would happen next, and the initiative was in the hands of the Council. He thought for a while and said, "Actually, this time, I just wanted to do some things I wanted to do."

This may just be a cheap sense of justice that many people disdain, but Fan Xian still retained a little bit. He was currently only worried about how Chen Pingping's follow-up moves would be arranged.

Seeming to guess what his son was thinking, Fan Jian opened his eyes, a trace of comfort and a trace of worry in his eyes, "You can give up the illusion. Chen Pingping will definitely let everyone know that this exposure of the fraud case was a good deed done by the Fan family's eldest son."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly, knowing that his father was right. Chen Pingping was not afraid of the Crown Prince at all. As long as he could establish his reputation and get himself closer to taking control of the Overwatch Council, he would dare to do anything.

Before leaving his son's study, Count Sinan Fan Jian said lightly, "Be more mature in the future. Keep childish declarations like power minister to yourself when you're bored, there's no need to tell me."