Madam, protect me!

Qingfeng Academy.

A carriage slowly stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.

Li Nuo opened the curtain and jumped out of the carriage.

After showing his ID card, Li Nuo entered the academy smoothly.

The academy did not allow idlers to enter. Butler Wu originally wanted to come in with him, but was blocked. Li Nuo asked him to wait on the carriage.

There is unlikely to be any danger within the academy.

Even if there is, he can handle it himself under extreme circumstances.

He came to take the imperial examination.

I'm embarrassed to ask Dean Tang to make another trip for such a trivial matter.

A moment later, in a small building somewhere in the academy, Tang Xian said with a smile: "Why are Mr. Li here in person? I have been busy these past two days. I also said that I would send it to you if I had time tomorrow..."

Li Nuo took the test and said with a smile: "I happened to be passing by the academy, so there is no need to trouble Dean Tang."

Tang Xian said: "This is Mr. Li's first time coming to the academy. Do you want me to accompany you around the academy?"

Li Nuo shook his head and said: "Dean Tang is busy with his affairs. You are busy with your own affairs. I can just walk around by myself..."

Tang Xian did not insist when he heard this. Firstly, he was really busy with important things. Secondly, with his status, when walking in the academy with Mr. Li, he would inevitably encounter many students saluting, which would disturb them. His interest.

Li Nuo walked out of the small building and walked in the academy with a different feeling.

There is no hustle and bustle outside here, and there is a peaceful and peaceful scene everywhere.

On the grass by the lake, some students were endorsing loudly.

In the small pavilion in the forest, some people were painting and some were playing the piano.

From various classrooms, the impassioned teaching voices of the academy teachers came...

…

Inside and outside the academy, there are two completely different worlds.

Li Nuo had not experienced this kind of atmosphere for a long time. Walking alone in the academy, he felt like he was dreaming back to his college days.

Qingfeng Academy covers a very large area. I heard that it was a royal garden before and was later given to Qingfeng Academy as the new site. There are mountains and rivers in the courtyard. In addition to the strong academic atmosphere, the scenery is also very good.

Some students passed by Li Nuo.

"Brother Huang, aren't you going to take the imperial examination this year?"

"It's nothing to take part in. If I take the imperial examination this year, isn't it just a stepping stone for others? I'll take the exam again next time."

"Then you have to wait another four years?"

"I've been waiting for more than ten years. If I wait for another four years, it won't be much. If I get one, it will be a waste of opportunity and money."

"But I heard that there are some reforms in the calligraphy subject of this imperial examination, which will be beneficial to candidates like you who are good at calligraphy. But that may not be the case in the next one..."

"What reform, why haven't I heard of it?"

"Mr. Wei said it. He is the question maker and examiner of this year's calligraphy paper. I heard from him that there are some changes in this year's calligraphy paper. Candidates can write three different characters, and the best one will be counted in the score. You Aren't you proficient in regular script, running script and cursive script? This imperial examination will be very beneficial to you..."

Li Nuo's steps paused slightly.

The questions in the imperial examination are not exactly the same in every exam.

Among them, calligraphy is composed of four subjects, and the test questions are flexible to a certain extent. Taking painting as an example, sometimes ink painting is tested, sometimes color painting is tested, and sometimes both are tested with slightly lower difficulty.

But calligraphy rarely changes.

He felt something was wrong.

Li Nuo looked at the student and asked, "Brother, can you be more detailed about the changes in calligraphy volumes you mentioned?"

The student saw the Qingfeng Academy uniform that Li Nuo was wearing and said with a smile: "Actually, we all take one as the final grade. It's not much different from before. It's just that when the calligraphy grades are the same, the other two The better the handwriting is, the higher the ranking will be..."

It sounds like nothing has changed on this one.

But Li Nuo was greatly weakened.

So far, he only knows how to write small regular script.

He can do the hairpin small regular script extremely well, but the other two styles of writing are not even close to B.

Masters of calligraphy are even rarer than masters of painting. Butler Wu has not given him any results yet.

Li Nuo even wondered if this was deliberately targeting him.

After leaving Qingfeng Academy and returning to Song Mansion, Li Nuo said to Butler Wu: "Help me check something..."

Butler Wu acted quickly and gave Li Nuo a reply an hour later.

This change in the calligraphy paper was promoted by the question maker and examiner of the calligraphy paper of this imperial examination.

This person's name is Wei Xun, a famous calligrapher in the Xia Dynasty. He has no official position. He teaches calligraphy at Qingfeng Academy. He has been full of talents all over the world. He is also a good man and has no handle, so this time the Mirror Division can't do anything to him.

This allowed Li Nuo to temporarily give up his suspicion. Could it be that this adjustment of the calligraphy volume was not aimed at him?

Butler Wu asked: "Master, why are you asking about this person?"

Li Nuo said: "It's okay, just ask."

Butler Wu said casually: "Wei Xun's reputation is quite good, but his son is not a good person. As an official of the imperial court, he knew the law and broke the law. He did many outrageous things, and finally his head was chopped off by the master... …”

"..."

Li Nuo is now sure.

If this calligraphy adjustment was not aimed at him, he would have written the character "Li" upside down.

Calligraphy is different from arithmetic. In arithmetic, if you are right, you are right, and if you are wrong, you are wrong. If you are all right, you are excellent. If you are wrong, you will be top of the class. The examiner has no room for manipulation.

But calligraphy is different. Calligraphy relies heavily on the subjective evaluation of the examiner. For the same calligraphy work, different examiners' evaluations differ by two levels, both of which are within the normal range.

His father's enemy was his imperial examination examiner, which was not a good thing.

Although the imperial examination is anonymous.

But his hairpin is unique and can be easily recognized by others.

Li Nuo thought for a while and said to Butler Wu: "You can ask someone to check again..."

When Butler Wu came back again, he said unexpectedly: "Master, your guess is indeed correct. Not long ago, Wei Xun had contact with people from Fengyang Houfu, but no evidence was found that he had accepted bribes..."

He looked at Li Nuo with a somewhat emotional expression.

The young master and the old master really look more and more alike.

Back then, the master also suddenly became enlightened in a short period of time and was completely transformed, as if he was a different person.

Now, the young master is like this too...

Is this the special bloodline of the Li family?

Li Nuo didn't know what Butler Wu was thinking. The hairpins in small regular script were too conspicuous and they must no longer be used. The imperial examination was less than ten days away, so he had to solve these problems as soon as possible.

He looked at Butler Wu and asked, "How are the calligraphy masters doing with their checks?"

Butler Wu said: "Still checking, it may take some time."

Li Nuo had no extra time. He stood up slowly and said, "Go to Dali Temple..."

…

Qingfeng Academy.

"Hello, Mr. Wei."

"I've met Mr. Wei."

"Mr. Wei, walk slowly."

An old man with a pale face slowly walked out of Qingfeng Academy. Both the students he met and the staff on duty at the door greeted him respectfully.

Mr. Wei is not only a gentleman from Qingfeng Academy, but also the number one calligrapher in Daxia. He is proficient in many styles of calligraphy. Even his students have a pivotal position in the calligraphy world.

In this imperial examination, Mr. Wei was the chief examiner in the calligraphy section. After the joint efforts of him and several calligraphy examiners, the court finally passed the adjustment to the calligraphy volume.

Although in general, there is no change from before, but with the same calligraphy scores, candidates who are better at calligraphy will have an advantage in rankings.

Don't underestimate this little advantage. The imperial examination candidates are different from the spring examination candidates. There is not much difference between them. A slight advantage may be the difference between those at the top and those at the bottom.

After leaving the academy, Wei Xun took out a jade tobacco pouch from his waist, filled it with shredded tobacco, and took a deep puff.

It didn't matter if he ranked first in the spring exam. As long as he was an examiner, the traitor's son could never hope to get an excellent degree in calligraphy.

Hairpin Hua Xiaokai is just a daughter's family calligraphy. It is difficult to be considered elegant. Even if he couldn't ban it, he wouldn't give it an overly high evaluation.

"Heh... Bah!"

After smoking the dry cigarette for a long time, his throat felt uncomfortable, so he spit out a mouthful of phlegm.

Pedestrians passing by saw this and avoided it in disgust.

Wei Xun was about to leave when he was suddenly blocked by someone.

The other party was wearing a police officer's uniform. If he were an ordinary person, he would probably feel frightened if he was stopped by a police officer.

But Wei Xun just glanced at them lightly and asked, "Why did you stop me?"

A police officer pointed to a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground and said, "According to the Chang'an Health Management Regulations, anyone who spits on the street will be whipped five times, detained for one day, and taken away."

Wei Xun's old face showed a look of astonishment and asked: "I have been in Chang'an for decades, how come I have never heard of such a rule?"

The policeman said with a straight face, "I'm sorry, this is a new rule just set by Dali Temple, and it will come into effect from today."

Wei Xun's expression changed and he said, "I am a gentleman from Qingfeng Academy. I don't know about this new rule. Can you two show your respect?"

Mr. Academy has a transcendent status. Even the government must pay three points of respect. This is the first reason why he is not afraid of these two people.

The detective shook his head and said: "Even if you are a gentleman from the academy, you must abide by the laws of Daxia. Old gentleman, you are a person of status, and you must set an example, so you should come with us honestly... "