noffsinger Chapter 1169 He Deserved His Punishment
Chapter 1169 He Deserved His Punishment
"Heavens! Earth! Ancestors! Open your eyes and look at me!"
When the news reached the county school, Fang Ziyan went mad and began to kneel on the ground and kowtow frantically.
Pei Zhaoqi was still thinking about the question setter and the examiner, and the more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He got up and walked out of the house.
Fang Ziyan jumped up: "Zhaoqi, where are you going!"
Pei Zhaoqi stopped and waited for him. "Let's go find our master. He should know more."
"Yes, yes, find a master!" Fang Ziyan suddenly found his anchor and even started to fantasize: "Maybe Sister Shen will ask a master to grade the papers, if that happens..."
As he thought about it, he knelt on the ground again and wailed, "Heavens! If that's the case, my master will see my terrible answer sheet, and I'll have an even greater chance of failing the exam!"
Pei Zhaoqi pulled him up. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Fang Ziyan stopped crying: "Zhaoqi, what do you mean...?"
Should we ask Sister Shen for help, or ask his master for help, or help him find a loophole in the re-examination?
"I'll tutor you." Pei Zhaoqi said righteously, "There are still several days until the re-examination, which is enough for you. But right now, we need to ask our mentor to see if the examiners for this re-examination have been announced. Only then can our mentor and I help you."
After all that talk, I still have to take the second-round interview.
With the future already set, Fang Ziyan stopped struggling. Like a delicate flower struck by lightning, she dejectedly followed Pei Zhaoqi to find Li Hongmao.
The headmaster's office was brightly lit.
Pei Zhaoqi and Fang Ziyan were not the first to arrive. Li Hongmao had already sent someone to call the other students who had passed the prefectural examination. In no time, the small headmaster's room was filled with students of all ages, a total of eight people.
"You all probably already know, right? The lord is going to hold the second round of examinations in the prefectural city," Li Hongmao asked them.
Except for Fang Ziyan, the others were full of fighting spirit: "Headmaster, we will definitely achieve a higher ranking in this re-examination, to bring glory to you, to the county school, and to you!"
Li Hongmao looked at the light in their eyes and laughed: "I thought you would be nervous."
nervous?
The students exchanged glances, their fighting spirit growing even stronger.
There was absolutely no tension involved.
They are new examinees this year, and the knowledge in their minds is still fresh. Besides, they enjoy resources in Tongan County School that even the prefectural school doesn't have, and they have already left their peers far behind. I really don't know what they have to be nervous about.
The atmosphere instantly became very harmonious, until a heavy sigh was heard.
"Gentlemen, you're all talking big... could you please not drag me into this?" Fang Ziyan said dejectedly. "I'm so nervous, and with what you just said, if I fail the re-examination, I'll not only lose face for my teacher, but also for the county school and for the adults."
Simply put, it's incredibly embarrassing.
The harmonious atmosphere was instantly shattered, and everyone realized that Fang Ziyan's presence... did indeed seem to be a variable.
Fan Chiqing leaned closer to Fang Ziyan first: "Brother Ziyan, how about I come to your place for the next few evenings and tutor you?"
He was several years older than Fang Ziyan, but he called him "Big Brother" without any affectation.
Fang Ziyan remained dejected: "Thank you, Brother Chi Qing, but I already have Zhao Qi."
Fan Chiqing choked.
Why is he so eager to compete with Pei Zhaoqi for something?
After thinking for a long time, Fan Chiqing finally managed to say, "Brother Ziyan, Zhaoqi will definitely succeed."
Haha.
Fang Ziyan cried when she heard this.
Zhao Qi can definitely do it, but he might not!
Looking at this student who both pleased and troubled him, Li Hongmao sighed softly, "Ziyan, don't sleep in these next few days. Be alert. Your success in the last prefectural exam was not due to luck, but to your genuine talent. If you put in a little more effort this time, you will definitely pass."
Fang Ziyan especially hated himself when he was in the capital.
At that time, Zhaoqi studied and attended classes every day, and he would go to the crispy chicken shop owner to brag every day.
They truly deserved it.
Looking into Li Hongmao's encouraging and trusting eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say anything discouraging.
He raised his hand and patted his cheeks, making the two lumps of flesh on his cheeks tremble. "Master, don't worry... even if I don't care about myself, I can't let you and Sister Shen down."
He thought that even for the sake of his master, the county school, and Sister Shen's reputation, he had to pass the re-examination.
Although he may be slow-witted, it doesn't mean he doesn't understand certain principles.
For example, if he fails the re-examination this time, then Sister Shen may be accused of "favoritism in the prefectural examination" and may even be caught out by those bad officials.
He allowed himself not to be a scholar and could accept his mediocrity, but he would never allow himself to harm Sister Shen.
Fueled by his newly ignited fighting spirit, Fang Ziyan began to listen to the rewards for this second round of testing.
These rewards, though unrelated to him, were related to his best friend.
When everyone heard that "the first place in the retest will be awarded fifty taels of silver," all eyes turned to Pei Zhaoqi.
Pei Zhaoqi's gaze also fell on himself. Although there were still candidates from the previous two years participating in this re-examination, he still had a chance to become the top candidate.
Even Li Hong said, "Zhaoqi, although the competition is fierce this time, I believe you can do it."
Pei Zhaoqi nodded, then asked his concern, "Master, has the person who will set the questions for the re-examination been decided?"
In fact, the examiners for the imperial examinations could not be announced before the exams. However, since the county and prefectural examinations were not very large, the examiners were usually county or prefectural officials.
Li Hongmao understood Pei Zhaoqi's concerns and said in a low voice, "According to people in the prefecture, they have seen officials from surrounding prefectures in recent days, so many people are guessing that... Lord Shen and the Earl will avoid suspicion, and this time the re-examination will probably be set by officials from other prefectures."
Fang Ziyan was the first to be surprised: "Sister Shen is really amazing. She said she would invite them over to set questions, and they actually came!"
Pei Zhaoqi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
However, this increases the uncertainty of the re-examination, since each official has a different academic style and the focus of the questions is also very different.
To put it nicely, the re-examination paper is all-encompassing; to put it bluntly, it's like a pancake spread out round and spinning, and which bite you get depends on luck.
After the students left, Li Hongmao called over several teachers to plan the teaching schedule for the next few days.
......
The sun rises in the east, and the morning sun shines brightly on the earth.
The day after the notice for the second round of interviews was posted, Shen Zheng met with all the examiners.
To avoid clashing with the autumn harvest, the examiners didn't have much time. So, after exchanging pleasantries for the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, Shen Zheng personally led several examiners away from the government office and headed towards the prefectural academy's administrative office.
To prevent the exam questions from being leaked, all the officials who set the questions were not allowed to step out of the "exam room" after arriving at the prefectural school administration office before the start of the re-examination.