The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

When Lin Qiao said the word "re-examination" and listed several conditions one by one, the officials present suddenly felt that the curtain that had been covering their eyes was finally completely lifted.

No matter whether it is the people who are causing the rebellion in today's farce or Lin Qiao who is at the center of the vortex, they have all become pawns in the hands of a certain couple, whose fundamental purpose is to reform the imperial examination system.

Imperial examination.

It should have been the best way for the lower-class talents of this dynasty to rise. However, although the saying goes that the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts, in fact, the cost of supporting a scholar is definitely not something that those truly poor families can afford.

What's more...the children of the powerful are born with one more shortcut besides money than those from poor families, and that is connections.

The connections brought by their parents and grandparents have brought unimaginable help to the imperial examination career of the children of the powerful and wealthy, which is unimaginable for the children of poor families. When the two are in the same examination room, it is very likely that the examiner sitting in the hall is a direct relative of the children of the powerful and wealthy. Even if the policy essay of the child of the poor family is better than that of the children of the powerful and wealthy, but, under the premise that only one of the two can be chosen, the one who will be admitted will definitely be the child of the powerful and wealthy, not the powerless poor child.

Even if the examiner has no connection with the son of a powerful family, most examiners are willing to treat him with leniency due to the influence of his ancestors and family power.

Such imperial examinations have always considered more than just the candidate's own level of knowledge.

But if the imperial examination process is allowed to continue in this way, instead of making appropriate changes that are more beneficial to students from poor families, the channels for advancement will eventually be controlled by powerful officials. In that case, how would it be different from the aristocratic families who firmly controlled all resources and power a hundred years ago?

The emperors of all dynasties in the Great Sheng Dynasty were the ones who were most unwilling to see such a situation happen, and Xie Yuzhen saw this clearly, so she boldly inserted the private goods of "Lin Qiao" and "female official" into the reform of the imperial examination system when the emperor wanted to do so. She alone could not shake the officials and dignitaries who benefited from the old imperial examination system, but as long as she could unite the emperor, there would be great hope for this matter.

At the same time, officials from the lower classes who were happy with the reform of the imperial examination system were also allies that Xie Yuzhen could seek.

This time, the scholar who infiltrated the plan of Yao San, Huang Ming and others, gave up his personal future, and controlled and guided the direction of events was assisted by the clean officials.

With the support of the emperor, Xie Yuzhen's various arrangements, the intervention and assistance of upright officials, and the female officials finally fighting a war to win the opportunity to stand in the court...all these things, with the coordination and mutual assistance of many parties, finally gave Lin Qiao, who had restored her identity as a woman, such a special opportunity to retake the exam.

Of course, Lin Qiao’s own determination and courage are also indispensable.

As the center of this chaos, if she had the slightest intention of retreating, the entire chessboard would be overturned and all her efforts would be wasted.

And when Lin Qiao stood so calmly and composedly under the scrutiny and hateful gazes of the crowd, Xie Yuzhen knew that he already had a 60% chance of winning this battle.

Next.

The emperor agreed and the spring examination was restarted.

Several candidates who had gathered to cause trouble were temporarily detained in the prison of Jingzhao Prefecture and placed under the guard of a special person. During the process of the Imperial Examination Hall re-preparing for the spring examination, the houses on the two streets near the Imperial Examination Hall were cleared out to accommodate the candidates taking the examination.

In order to avoid suspicion, Empress Xie took the initiative to go to the Cining Palace to serve Empress Dowager Hu, and no longer interfered in the political affairs of the previous dynasty until the results of the spring examination came out. Similarly, the relationship between the candidates' fathers and grandfathers was strictly investigated, and they were temporarily suspended from their posts and sent home, and officials with simple and clean networks of relationships were re-selected as examiners.

As for those minor officials who were chosen to copy under false names, the emperor had prepared a list long ago, and now he just picked them out one by one. Although their official positions might be lower, they were all people the emperor considered trustworthy.

After a noisy chaos, the capital of Dasheng welcomed an unusual and very peaceful few days. While everyone involved was waiting with bated breath, Yao San, who had finally regained his breath in the clinic, finally recovered from the pain of losing his family. He also noticed the unusual atmosphere in the capital, and asked someone about it, only to find out that such a big thing had happened when he was unaware of the situation.

Although he was not a capable person, Yao San's alarm bells still rang instinctively, especially when he found that he could no longer contact his accomplices. He immediately decided to change his clothes and flee from the capital.

Perhaps because he was too nervous, Yao San did not realize that his escape from the capital was too smooth. He first took valuables and gold and silver from his private residence, then bought a few sets of coarse cloth clothes that he would never wear before, hastily painted his face black, and then mixed in behind a caravan and successfully led his way out of the city gate using a fake road.

However, just when Yao San followed the caravan for three or five miles and was about to quietly leave the caravan and go into the mountains, the caravan suddenly stopped.

A horse came around and blocked Yao San's way. A strong middle-aged man jumped off and bowed to Yao San, "Where do you want to go, sir?"

Yao San suddenly opened his eyes wide, looked up and saw that he was surrounded by people. And the person standing quietly behind the tall man was his father-in-law.

"Old General..." Yao San gritted his teeth and tried to persuade the other party, "You must know better than me what happened in Beijing recently. I can't escape the blame, but don't forget that you also intervened. Instead of tracking down a small character like me, you might as well go home and prepare for how to deal with the counterattack of the Xie Party!"

General He looked listless, with his eyelids half drooping. "Don't worry about that. I have already retired. The affairs of the previous dynasty... have nothing to do with me. The one standing here now is just a father who lost his most beloved daughter and wants to fulfill her last wish."

"Ah..." It would have been fine if He Sangrou wasn't mentioned. Once he was mentioned, Yao San was like a toad that was stepped on. He jumped up and down angrily, "Old General, we should be reasonable. He is so cruel and crazy that she committed an unforgivable crime. You..."

Before he could finish his words, he was kicked to the ground by someone.

General He said slowly, "My daughter does have a bad temper, but no matter how bad she is, she would never dare to kill anyone... Who forced her to do that? Who tortured her into a mad woman with blood on her hands? It was you, my good son-in-law. She was trying to stop you, the unfilial and unrighteous thief who was trying to instigate the candidates to attack the court. In desperation, she became insane and did something irreparable!"

"She's just a silly girl spoiled by her elders."

"She likes you so much. As her spoiled father, I must get you as far away as possible, lest... you lead her astray again!"

After a scream, the caravan swept away all the traces of wheels and horseshoe prints, like messengers from the underworld, leaving no trace.