Chapter 211: Hidden Secrets in Calligraphy

West of the Love Shenjing, Xin Chun Street, Xiuniang Incense Shop.

"Lady Feng, I have been here several times. I have a sincere intention to join your shop for distribution. This is a mutually beneficial matter. You refuse people thousands of miles away like this, which seems not good."

The speaker was a man of about thirty, thin and tall, wearing a brocade robe with round flower patterns. At this time, his eyes were a bit gloomy, and his expression seemed a bit angry.

Seeing that Lady Feng was a woman, he lost his scruples in his words and already had some threats.

A young servant in the shop had anger on his face. If it weren't for fear of causing trouble for the proprietor and the young master, he would have gone up to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.

Lady Feng's face changed when she heard this, and she was a little scared in her heart. She gathered her courage and said, "Our proprietor has explained that the incense shop is exclusively operated and will not be shared with others for distribution. Please go back, sir."

After the man left angrily, the servant asked, "Sister Feng, this person doesn't look like a good person. Sister Xiu has gone to Jin Ling. Should we tell Young Master Cong so that we can have an idea?"

Lady Feng thought for a while and said, "Young Master Cong has been in the provincial examination these days. Don't disturb him. The proprietor will return to the Love Shenjing in a few days. If that person gives up, the matter will pass."

Such a person serving as the chief examiner for the Yongzhou provincial examination is not only well-deserved but also more than enough.

Each student participates in three tests, and each test has more than one question. The total number of test papers is several times two thousand.

With such a huge number of test papers, Zheng Yan, as the chief examiner, naturally cannot check them one by one. Only the test papers rated as elegant and concise by the first-floor grading officials will be sent to him for review.

Twenty years ago, when the Retired Emperor was in power, Zheng Yan had passed the second list of the Jinshi examination.

But because his study of the Dao was not yet complete, he thought it was not enough, so he resigned and returned to his hometown to study.

This is a scholar who does not study for the sake of being an official. The official position is like taking things out of a bag for him, and the endless study of the Dao is what he truly yearns for.

At this moment, Zheng Yan is sitting in the official office on the second floor of the Donghua Building. In the first few days of grading, this chief examiner is a bit idle.

And the papers that can be sent to him must be the best of the best. As for whether the grading officials below will cheat or submit papers to make up the number, this is also completely impossible.

All students' three-session test papers are rated in five grades during the initial review stage: elegant, concise, clear, appropriate, and disqualified.

Being rated as disqualified in the initial review is naturally a failure, and the other grades are then cross-reviewed, triple-reviewed, and finally evaluated to obtain the ranking of the provincial examination.

The chief examiner for this Yongzhou Grace Examination is Zheng Yan, the Junior Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Although his official position is not as high as Guo Youchang, the Minister of Rites, his reputation in the scholar forest is very loud.

Because in the first two days, the initial review by the first-floor grading officials had just begun, the base number of grading was limited, and the definition of the five grades could not be accurately defined.

By the third day of grading, nearly half of the test papers had undergone initial review, and the definition of grading had also been clarified.

Thirteen years ago, he had the ambition to lead the world and went to the capital to take the exam again, actually winning the top spot in the first year of Emperor Jia Zhao.

His knowledge is superb, his academic achievements are successful, and he is respected by the scholar forest. His two-time Jinshi success has become a story of scholars.

Ministry of Rites South Courtyard, Donghua Building, taking the meaning of singing names in Donghua, is the place for grading the metropolitan and provincial examinations in Yongzhou.

The grading of this Yongzhou Grace Examination has been going on for three days. There are twenty grading officials on the first floor of the Donghua Building, who are grading and screening more than two thousand provincial examination papers one by one.

The main reason is that he has passed the Jinshi examination twice, which is unique among scholars in the entire Great Zhou.

From noon, one after another, the first and second-grade test papers rated as elegant and concise were sent to Zheng Yan's official office on the second floor for review.

One is that after entering the provincial examination, all test papers are re-copied and pasted before grading. They can only be identified by serial numbers, and they don't know the names of the test paper owners at all. Even if they want to cheat, they have no way to start.

And the papers rated as elegant and concise are also impossible to make up the number.

Zheng Yan is a top scholar who passed the Jinshi examination twice and is a famous Confucian scholar in the world. His eyes are like torches. Who dares to play tricks in front of him? Isn't that showing off in front of an expert?

It was just that Zheng Yan read dozens of papers in one breath, and couldn't help but frown. Except for a few that could be seen, most of them were far from the elegant and concise flow in his heart.

In fact, it is not surprising that such a situation occurs. The normal provincial examination should wait until the eighth month of next year.

And this Grace Examination was held in the fifth month. The court only issued an edict two months in advance. Most students had insufficient preparation, mostly using the Grace Examination as a warm-up for the regular examination.

So the level shown is naturally discounted. After all, few people can study and ponder so fully in the past six months like Jia Cong, because his teacher Liu Jing'an anticipated the opportunity.

Especially the third test, which came up with that tricky and sharp policy paper question, hitting the soft underbelly of many candidates.

For this policy paper, some people were empty and broad, some were empty in words, and a few who wrote steadily were without any new ideas, which made Zheng Yan shake his head.

Just as Zheng Yan put down a test paper in his hand with disappointment, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

It seemed that there were many people running, like being swept by a storm, the movement was getting bigger and bigger, and he also heard excited chanting.

Zheng Yan felt strange in his heart, so he walked out of the official office on the second floor and went downstairs to see what was going on.

Just after walking down the stairs, he saw that the grading hall on the first floor was a bit chaotic, and many people were gathered around a grading table on the left side of the hall.

One of the grading officials was chanting:

"Speaking without substance, using without method;"

"Sinking into the theory of decay and corruption, and talking about it with relish; abandoning the method of investigating things and clarifying truth, but not realizing it."

"Studying classics until old age, viewing the suffering of the people as fire on the other side; empty talk and empty assignments, abandoning the ancient sages' ambition to help the world like grass and shoes..."

Zheng Yan heard these few sentences, and his eyes couldn't help but brighten, and he secretly called out well in his heart.

The words were sharp, the spirit was high, and the elegant and concise papers he read upstairs were not as smooth as this!

A grading official from the Imperial Academy saw Zheng Yan coming downstairs and hurriedly stepped forward to explain:

"Zheng Shaoqing, at the Ding No. 5 grading table, we graded a policy paper macro-article, which is truly extraordinary, so everyone is a little... out of control."

Zheng Yan was also a person immersed in literary affairs, and naturally understood the feeling of excitement and surprise that a rare good article gave people.

He laughed with great interest: "I heard a few sentences just now, it's not bad, but I haven't seen the whole picture. Is it really such a macro-article that makes you all so broad-minded?"

At this time, Zheng Yan heard the grading official continue to read:

"Therefore, observe the law of heaven and earth, examine the source of all things, and investigate the subtlety of the scholar's ambition to rectify it."

"When the ambition is raised, establish the heart for heaven and earth, establish life for the people, inherit the unique learning for the past sages, and open peace for all generations!"

When Zheng Yan finished listening to the last two sentences, the whole person was stunned, as if hearing a Hong bell and a big drum, as if hearing the wonderful sound of heaven.

He himself was a person who studied to the extreme, taking it as his duty to investigate the way of heaven and man and exhaust the ultimate truth.

Otherwise, twenty years ago, he would not have given up his official position, retreated to the upper forest, closed his doors to study, spent nearly ten years of work, gained something in his heart, and then returned to the scholar forest.

"Establish the heart for heaven and earth, establish life for the people, inherit the unique learning for the past sages, and open peace for all generations!"

These four words of questioning the heart, because of his personal experience, gave him a shock and enlightenment that was more profound and difficult to express than others.

He sighed with excitement: "Such a vast and macro-article, it is a true method for scholars."

"Which candidate wrote this article!"

"Reporting to Shaoqing, it was written by the candidate No. 215 of the Bing character."

"Find all the test papers of this person's three sessions and send them to my official office immediately."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 212 =====