Meng Qiaofang sat in the main seat, looking at Xiong Wenju, Sun Chengzong and others, and felt very happy.

Although he has no place in the imperial examination next year, he is quite prominent as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who is about to take office. It is still OK to say a few harmless words. In particular, after these scholars passed the first place, how to skip the candidates and become officials directly, or wherever they go, where they are good or bad, his Minister of Revenue seems to be a heavy voice.

At least, he has the right to directly select people from these people and bring them into the Ministry of Revenue.

Xiong Wenju and Sun Chengzong were both talented people. Next year, the fourth year of Chongzhen, they would definitely be famous among the top three!

Meng Qiaofang himself needs these people to surrender. He is less than forty, and some have a bright future!

He had a dignified face. Although he had been in the army for many years, his every move was still elegant. With a smile, he seemed very polite and polite.

Xiong Wenju was impulsive and anxious when encountering problems. Seeing that Meng Qiaofang was easy to talk, he said straight to the point: "Mr. Meng, I heard that the imperial examination questions in the year were different from those in the past. I wonder if you have heard of them?"

For those who are suspected of revealing the test questions in the imperial examination, if they were found to have been found out in the past, they would either be killed by a stick or be cut in half, and the consequences would be extremely serious.

Looking back, during the Hongzhi period, Tang Bohu and others were directly banned from the imperial examinations for life and their career was cut off. Cheng Minzheng, one of the chief examiners, was directly imprisoned and tortured. Even if the case was overturned later, he died within a few days.

Cheng Minzheng was the right minister of the Ministry of Rites at that time, in charge of the compilation of the "Da Ming Hui Dian" and was responsible for the imperial edicts of the cabinet. In the eyes of such a person, it would not take long for him to join the cabinet and participate in politics, and his future was bright. In addition, the person who presided over the presidency with him was the famous minister of Hongzhi and Li Dongyang!

It can be seen that Cheng Minzheng's status was extraordinary at that time, but when he was suspected of leaking the problem, he was immediately imprisoned, and eventually ended up ruining his reputation and losing his last days!

This also shows that the Ming Dynasty's attention to the imperial examination, its deep hatred of the fraud of the imperial examination, and its strict handling.

However, the current situation is different from the past. The fierce party struggles that have lasted for a hundred years directly lead to the corruption of the court's rules and regulations, and the formation of party groups and private forces has become a trend. Now such almost-stuffed topics can be made public, and others do not think that there is anything.

As soon as Xiong Wenju finished speaking, Sun Chengze and others looked at Meng Qiaofang with hope.

Meng Qiaofang naturally didn't know the test questions, but when she looked at Xiong Wenju and others, her expression was slightly dark.

He already knew that the imperial court had been in a strong reform intention in recent years, including in the imperial examination. The position of the Royal Court was becoming increasingly important. He included the powers of the Imperial College, the Gongyuan, and even some of the Taichang Temple, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites.

Next year's imperial examination will also be led by the Royal Court, with the imperial teacher Bi Ziyan as the chief examiner. The test questions have not yet been released, but it can be seen from the news revealed by the Royal Court that in the past, the investigation of things, politics, economics, policy questions, etc. have been mostly compressed, and a large number of "physics" and "mathematics" test questions have been added.

For scholars who are devoted to studying hard, how can they know how these strange tricks, instinctive disgusts can be written out, and how can they be seen by examiners?

Looking at the eager eyes of the crowd, Meng Qiaofang could not refuse and pondered: "I am not sure, but I have a lot of friendship with Mr. Qian of the Ministry of Rites, so I can walk around for you."

Xiong Wenju, Sun Chengze and others were all overjoyed and stood up and said, "Thank you, Lord Meng, the students will definitely not forget the help you have today."

The so-called "affiliation of assistance" means that Meng Qiaofang must help them get the test questions.

Meng Qiaofang didn't think it was offensive. He hadn't done anything in Liaodong. He was already thinking about what gift to Qian Qianyi and how much money it was appropriate to give.

At this moment, Qian Qianyi was also in the study, pulling his hair and frowning at a thick "sample".

According to the requirements of the palace, the officials of the six ministries also had to go to the Royal Court to attend classes regularly. The courses included government affairs, anti-corruption, supervision and other aspects. After each class, they must have experience and record them for the assessment of the Ministry of Personnel.

This kind of thing is completely new. Even the literary master, Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, still eats a hedgehog and has no way to start.

He had no choice but to help others, and there was nothing else to do except scratching his head and recalling what the professors in class said.

"Father, father, father..."

Suddenly, an urgent knock on the door of the study room sounded.

Qian Qianyi frowned, put down his pen, and said calmly and majesticly: "Come in."

A young man in his 20s came in. He pushed the door and walked in quickly, holding two pieces of paper in his hand, and said anxiously: "Father, the exam questions have been leaked. Now it is spread all over the streets, and it is transmitted from the Ministry of Rites."

Qian Qianyi looked unmoved and scolded coldly: "This test question is from the Royal Court. Lord Bi has not returned to Beijing yet, so where can I get it? Don't follow the crowd and let them pass on it. Can you still be able to predict it before you know it!"

This is Qian Dezheng, the son of Qian Qianyi. He listened to Qian Qianyi's words and said more anxiously: "Father, take a look first. This doesn't seem fake."

Qian Qianyi frowned and glanced at Qian Dezheng. He knew it was fake, but he took it and took it.

He was shocked when he saw this. Under each piece of paper, there was the word "exclusive for exam questions". This was specially used for the Royal Court to set questions and he was not allowed to use them.

Qian Qianyi's face darkened and did not look at the test questions. He said in a stern manner: "You said it was all over the streets just now? Do you know where it came from?"

Qian Dezheng said: "Yes, all the scholars are spreading, almost everyone has one, but I don't know where they came from. This is the original one I bought from a foreigner at a high price."

Qian Qianyi sat there, his round and fat face had no expression, but his eyes flashed quickly.

There are only two places that can leak the test questions, one is the Royal Court and the other is the Ministry of Rites. However, he has not seen the test questions yet, so the only ones that can leak the test questions are the Royal Court.

But he immediately frowned again. The Royal Court has always been strict. Such major issues related to the world must be very cautious and will not easily leak news. But now there is a special paper for the Royal Court exam questions flowing out.

"Either there is an internal thief in the Royal Court, or someone wants to use it to make some work..."

Qian Qianyi narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself.

Qian Dezheng looked anxious and said, "Father, will this incident affect you?"

Qian Qianyi turned his head and glanced at him and said lightly: "No, let's continue the message. From now on, I will leave the guests behind closed doors. No matter who it is, I will never see you."

Qian Dezheng was stunned and said, "Father, why is this?"

Qian Qianyi stood up, walked to the door, looked at the cloudless sky from afar, and said with a sneer: "Some people want to use this imperial examination to achieve some ulterior motives. For their father, they don't want to be involved, so they can only hide first."

Qian Dezheng's expression changed slightly and said, "Father, the imperial examination...who dares to intervene? Could it be that he will die?"

Qian Qianyi showed a sarcastic look on his face and said, "This imperial examination is the first time that the imperial examination has been reformed by the imperial examination. Anyone knows that the imperial examination will attach great importance to it, but the more dangerous the more the benefits, the greater the benefits. There are always people who want to take risks."

Qian Dezheng also participated in the imperial examination this year. Listening to Qian Qianyi's words, he felt frightened and his face moved, saying, "Father, do you know who he is? Will it affect this imperial examination..."

Qian Qianyi looked at the sky with a restless expression and said, "I don't know if I am a father, but it's all those people after all."

Qian Dezheng didn't say anything when he heard this, and this involved a taboo in the Qian family.

When the court cleaned up the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi was also on the list, but he had a precedent for "returning to King Hui" to check, so he was spared. However, Qian Qianyi was born in Jiangnan and was once the Donglin Wenkui, and had a close relationship with the Donglin Party.

Now this "Donglin leader" is no longer a glory, but a thorn in Qian Qianyi's heart, which makes him feel extremely uncomfortable at all times.

It’s like there is a rumor that the Minister of Rites Zhang Woxu is going to be transferred to Wen Zhao Pavilion. Those who succeeded to the position of Shangshu should choose between him and Wen Tiren. But someone wrote a letter to accuse him of being an "old man from Donglin". Qian Qianyi was so scared that he quickly wrote a letter to apologize and did not dare to be promoted to the Minister of Rites.

Even so, there were still a group of people who impeached him once if they had something to do. They always couldn't live without the four words "Old Man of Donglin", which made him frightened and extremely unhappy.

The "that group of people" in Qian Qianyi's words naturally refer to the Jiangnan official group. They gave birth to the Chu Party, the Zhejiang Party, the Kun Party, the Donglin Party, etc. There were no one in the court, so it was expected to find another way.

However, no one expected that they would start with the imperial examination and would have such a low-key method of releasing their questions.

If Qian Qianyi receives the news, everyone else can do it. Former President of the Royal Court, Fu Changzong, Minister of Rites Zhang Woxu, Minister of Justice Ni Wenhuan, and even the Dongchang were involved and started to investigate immediately.

But the Royal Court did not have the emperor's will, and no one dared to act lightly, let alone the imperial examination questions. So after stabilizing the situation, they all entered the palace and asked Zhu Xu to make an idea.

Outside the imperial study room, Cao Huachun looked at the people in front of him, held the whisk in his hands, and looked at Fu Changzong with a slightly condensed expression and said, "Sir Fu, sir, the emperor's illness has not been cured yet. He has just fallen asleep for less than half an hour. If it is not necessary, please do not disturb him."

Fu Changzong frowned when he heard this. He knew that Zhu Xu was sick, but this matter was not allowed to make decisions without authorization. Looking at Cao Huachun, hesitated and said, "Eunuch Cao, can you give me some advice on this matter?"

Cao Huachun looked at Fu Changzong and smiled and said, "I believe that Wang will return to Beijing tomorrow. Lord Fu may as well wait."

Fu Changzong seemed to have understood something from Cao Huachun's smile. He looked at Zhang Woxu and others again, and thought for a while and said, "Okay."

Since Fu Changzong no longer stood out, Zhang Woxu and others did not insist and turned around and left the palace.

Just as Fu Changzong and others turned around and left, Empress Dowager Zhang personally led Wang Yuyang to walk towards Jingyang Palace.
Chapter completed!