The sun gradually rose, dispelling the chill in the examination院 (courtyard), finally giving the nervous students a chance to warm themselves. They kept rubbing their hands to ensure that the strokes on the paper would not appear too stiff. Calligraphy was also one of the scoring criteria for the exam papers, so although the exam had been going on for a long time, most people were still drafting in their minds and not in a hurry to start writing. It seemed that most of the scholars in this examination院 were pitiful people who had experienced painful experiences.

Fan Xian walked around the examination hall with a smile on his face, taking care not to make a sound, so as not to disturb the students' thoughts. Strangely enough, when students were trying to break the questions, they were most afraid of the examiners passing by their side or scrutinizing their papers. However, when these students discovered that the person standing beside them and watching was actually the famous Little Fan (范) Master from the entrance of the examination院, they couldn't help but feel a little more confident.

Because Fan Xian didn't have the solemn expression of the two instructors and the invigilator, but rather wore a smile like the faint sunlight, so any student who dared to look up at Fan Xian's face would always feel that the smile on Little Fan Master's face was encouraging them.

After walking through every part of the examination院, Fan Xian returned to the side gate. Mu Tie had already brewed tea and was waiting for him. Seeing him sit down in the chair, he lowered his voice and said with a smile: "It's quite stuffy in here. It's most suitable for Master Fan to choose to rest here. The side gate is connected to the outside world, so it's not so uncomfortable."

Fan Xian smiled, thinking that if he really returned to the main hall and sat with Minister Guo, he was afraid that the other party would be unhappy, and he himself would be uncomfortable. While drinking tea, he remembered a very strange thing. The Crown Prince's list only had six people, but it didn't include He Zongwei's name. After he arrived in the capital, he knew that He Zongwei was a student of a grand academician and a hidden subordinate of the Eastern Palace. Logically speaking, he should be participating in the spring imperial examinations today.

He put this matter aside for the time being and cast his gaze through several layers of small doors to the innermost part of the examination院. He felt a bit absurd. He had only pretended to be Li Bai under the influence of alcohol and published a collection of poems, and he was actually able to sit here as an invigilator. This life was indeed a very unfair thing.

If those students who were still writing furiously knew that the results of the prestigious hội试 (metropolitan exam) had already been divided up like watermelon by the big shots in the court and the palace, what would they think?

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly. Fan Xian was almost falling asleep in the chair at the side gate when he realized that the sun had just moved to the center. Relevant yamen (government offices) had already sent lunch. Someone at the side gate naturally received it and carefully examined the food utensils. After finding that there was nothing unusual, they carried six food boxes to the central hall.

Fan Xian went to the central hall to have lunch with the several officials, while listening to them talk about the situation in the morning. In the southeast corner, the invigilator caught a student cheating. The invigilator shook his head and sighed: "I've seen cheating students, but I've never seen such a blatant cheater. He actually placed the entire book of answers under the desk and copied it, thinking that no one would notice because of the screens around him. Little did he know that the eyes of the officials patrolling everywhere are sharp."

Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites who was the chief examiner of this spring imperial examinations, suddenly frowned and said: "How did this book get in?"

Fan Xian knew that this was his mistake, and responded with a smile: "The inspection was a bit slow earlier. The officials from the Overwatch Council urged me a bit, so I was a little anxious, fearing that I would miss the time set by His Majesty, so there was a mistake. Please forgive me, sir." He apologized, but pushed half of the responsibility onto the Overwatch Council, which was quite slick.

Guo Youzhi glanced at him, hummed, and didn't make things difficult for him. After all, such small things could not be completely prevented in the imperial examinations of previous dynasties. He couldn't use this to attack Fan Xian, so he said in a gentle voice: "Little Master Fan is experiencing this for the first time and lacks experience. You several masters should help him more."

Fan Xian smiled and cupped his hands to the surrounding officials, especially to his direct superior, the Taixue Zheng (official of the Imperial Academy), saying: "Master Taixue Zheng, I am shallow in talent and learning, please take good care of me."

The Taixue Zheng was the Scholar Shu who was pointed at by the Emperor that day in the hall. He was originally a student of Zhuang Mohan, but after all, he was deeply proud of being a citizen of Qing, so he didn't resent Fan Xian for provoking Zhuang Mohan to vomit blood in front of the hall. Instead, he smiled and pointed at Fan Xian, saying: "Master Fengzheng, if you are shallow in talent and learning, who in the Qing Kingdom would dare to call himself talented?"

Another instructor and the invigilator also smiled and echoed, teasing Fan Xian: "The number one talent in the Qing Kingdom, if he weren't amazingly knowledgeable, Little Master Fan would be writing furiously in the examination hall at this time, gnawing on two dry buns when he's hungry. How could he be sitting here eating?"

Hearing this, even Guo Youzhi couldn't help but laugh. Fan Xian himself had no confidence in his own talent, but it seemed that whether in the officialdom of Kyoto or in the Qing Kingdom, everyone's confidence in Fan Xian was much stronger than his own.

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The students in the examination院 were still nervously and fearfully doing their exam papers. The sky was also gradually darkening. Fan Xian walked around the hall a few times and looked at the exam papers of the crowd. He really found a few people with real talent and practical knowledge, and couldn't help but stop and take a closer look. Although he had also read the scriptures of this world thoroughly when he was in Danzhou, he had never thought of entering the officialdom through the imperial examination, so if he really had to write such articles, he was afraid that he was not as good as most people. But after all, he had lived two lives and could be said to have read widely, so he still had some discernment.

He secretly wrote down the names of those few people, then walked to the side gate, and pretended to yawn. When he turned his head, he found that Mu Tie was already half-lying on the chair and almost asleep. He couldn't help but smile, thinking that this Mu Tie was also a wonderful person. He naturally had the ability to do things, otherwise Chen Pingping wouldn't have let him take charge of some of the power of one division, but his ability to deal with people was a bit lacking. Perhaps he was just beginning to learn to flatter, and he was extremely respectful every time he saw Fan Xian, which inexplicably made Fan Xian feel a little uncomfortable.

"Sir, the side gate cannot be opened." Seeing Ju Zhonglang (Fan Xian) walk to a secluded place next to the side gate, an official from the Overwatch Council looked embarrassed and stepped forward to stop him, saying: "Except for sending food and water, the side gate must always be closed."

"This official knows the rules." Fan Xian smiled and said: "I just want to take a walk and see if there's anything fun."

These words seemed a bit inexplicable and inappropriate. In such a grand national ceremony, the glorious spring imperial examinations, Fan Xian, as an examiner, wanted to find something fun in the examination院. But strangely enough, after hearing these words, the official from the Overwatch Council smiled slightly and replied: "There are many fun things in the courtyard. Sir, please come often in the future."

Fan Xian calmed down, looked at the official's ordinary face, and suddenly said: "The one I'm looking for is you?"

"That's right, Director Fan." The official lowered his head and said.

Fan Xian looked into his eyes, knowing that this official from the Overwatch Council didn't hold a high position, but he must be a confidant that Chen Pingping had placed in the first division. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Did Director Chen say a specific time?"

"After the spring imperial examinations, within three days." The official replied softly.

"Good, I have another thing I need your help with. I need to investigate the backgrounds of a few people." Fan Xian told the official the names he had written down earlier and said quietly: "Don't investigate their family background, just investigate their character."

"Yes." The official said softly: "Please show me your token, Director Fan."

Fan Xian took out the Overwatch Council Director's token from his waist, which had helped him countless times, and shook it in front of the official's eyes, then asked gently: "Do you remember clearly?"

The official replied softly: "I remember clearly, but I will report this matter to the director."

"Understood." Fan Xian smiled gently: "Before the papers are sealed, I want your report."

"Yes."

"Do I need to know your name?"

"No need." The official said softly: "I am just a low-level official in the division, and I dare not trouble you, sir, to bother remembering my name."

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The Crown Prince wants to arrange his people in the court for more than a decade from now, and the First Prince is probably doing the same. As for my father-in-law and the Privy Council, they are typical treacherous officials. Thinking of this, Fan Xian couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking that his old father-in-law really wouldn't save him any trouble.

But he also understood that this was the norm in the officialdom, and what he was about to do was a bit perverted.

Fan Xian sighed a little, thinking that after a few more years, when he was older, should he also arrange some of his own people to enter this officialdom that was like a game field? But at the moment, he couldn't do these things. The first thing was to cooperate well with the Overwatch Council and handle the spring imperial examinations perfectly, so as not to leave too many troubles for himself.

After successfully forcing the Princess of the Li Dynasty out of the palace with the words on paper, he had been handling everything very smoothly. If the Eastern Palace's methods of pulling him in hadn't been too overbearing this time, perhaps he would have continued to endure it. Moreover, he felt that his plan was not very risky. Not to mention the strength on the surface, there was a grandmaster standing in the darkness behind him, and a terrifying division was standing there. These were forces that many people didn't know about. He believed that as long as he didn't touch the most fundamental interests of the Qing Kingdom's royal family, he would have a lot of room to maneuver in this seemingly powerful but actually mutually restrained officialdom.

Since he was reborn to live life to the fullest, he couldn't be too yielding, otherwise wouldn't he be wasting the fragrant helpers left by his mother? What the princes and high officials can do, why can't he do? Not only will he do it, but he will also do it beautifully.

"Deep down, I'm really a very bastard person." Fan Xian looked at the hardworking students in the examination hall, smiled, and thought: "If the monks can touch it, why can't I? Not only will I touch it, but I won't let the monks touch it."