Episode 19 recap: Fan Xian consulted Guo YouZhi about the taboos of the Spring Examinations.
Today was the day of the Spring Examinations. The examinees crossed the Dragon Gate Bridge to the examination hall. Fan Xian cheered them on and wished them success in getting on the imperial honor list. Fan Sizhе came to see his mother Liu Ruyu, who was praying in front of Fan Sizhе's memorial tablet. She thought she was dreaming, but Fan Sizhе kept insisting that he had really returned. Liu Ruyu still could not believe it and slapped Fan Sizhе hard. When Fan Sizhе cried out in pain, Liu Ruyu confirmed that he was real, and overjoyed, she embraced him warmly.
Fan Xian brought Guo Baokun to the Ministry of Justice prison, where Guo Youzi thought he would be beheaded. Seeing Guo Baokun, Guo Youzi was dumbfounded, thinking he had also been imprisoned. But Fan Xian had not come to send Guo Youzi away, and Guo Baokun now worked for Fan Xian. Guo Youzi was deeply moved and thanked Fan Xian profusely.
Guo Baokun boasted in front of Guo Youzi about his intelligence-gathering in Northern Qi, but Guo Youzi still did not believe in Guo Baokun's abilities, thinking Northern Qi was doomed. This left Guo Baokun speechless with frustration.
Fan Xian asked Guo Youzi about the taboos and rules of the Spring Examinations. Guo Youzi thoroughly reviewed the detailed rules written by Guo Zheng, which only covered the taboos within the examination rules, without mentioning the rules outside of it. Fan Xian had to be extremely careful or he would face dire consequences.
Guo Youzi warned Fan Xian not to approach any of the examinees. When Fan Xian met Yang Wanli, Shi Chanli, Cheng Jialin and Hou Jizhang, he did not reveal his identity, but these four were already seen as Fan Xian's disciples. If they passed the exam, it would confirm Fan Xian's crimes of favoritism and cheating. Fan Xian was deeply alarmed, realizing the severity of the situation.
Liu Ruyu waited late into the night for Fan Xian to return home, begging him to let Fan Sizhе stay in the capital, but Fan Sizhе did not want to just wait around and wanted to go back to Northern Qi to make his own mark.
After taking over the Imperial Storehouses, Fan Xian would certainly do business with Northern Qi, so he let Fan Sizhе be the main agent for the trade between Southern Qi and Northern Qi, asking him to participate in the wedding with Lin Waner first before going to Northern Qi.
The Spring Examinations lasted three days, and the examinees had to prepare sufficient food. On the first day, the examinees hurried across the Dragon Gate Bridge, hoping to get good luck for passing the exam. Fan Xian arrived early at the examination hall, and Guo Zheng came later, striking various inspiring poses to be painted as a memento.
The examinees arrived, and Fan Xian had been waiting for them. He cheered them on and wished them success. Fan Xian reminded them to leave behind any forbidden books or notes, or they would be disqualified. Fan Xian oversaw the examinations, as the staff verified the examinees' identities and searched them, with Guo Zheng supervising.
An examinee caught with hidden notes was immediately expelled, shocking all the other examinees. Shi Chanli and Yang Wanli recognized Fan Xian, the person they had chatted with, sitting high on the platform, and waved to him.
Li Cheng Ze learned that Fan Xian had met with four people, whom he believed to be Fan Xian's disciples, and he instructed Guo Zheng to do something to one of them. The staff at the imperial examination venue verified the identities of Yang Wan Li and Shi Chan Li, and then conducted a search on them. A note was found hidden between the two pastries prepared by Yang Wan Li. Guo Zheng firmly accused Yang Wan Li of cheating and wanted to expel him from the examination hall, but Yang Wan Li loudly protested his innocence, and Shi Chan Li stepped forward to testify on his behalf.
Guo Zheng did not believe it and forced Fan Xian to make a judgment on his disciple Yang Wan Li. A guard stepped forward and admitted that he had secretly placed the note in Yang Wan Li's pastries, as he was jealous that the students could participate in the imperial examination, despite never having attended school himself. Guo Zheng stubbornly insisted on cancelling Yang Wan Li's examination eligibility, but Fan Xian asked him to publicly open the note, which turned out to be only a price list for the pastries.
Guo Zheng was left dumbfounded, and he quickly helped Yang Wan Li back up, allowing him to return to the examination. The guard voluntarily accepted punishment, and Guo Zheng's carefully planned scheme to frame Fan Xian's disciple had failed, so he had to leave in frustration.
Lin Ruo Fu had guessed that Li Cheng Ze would try to sabotage Fan Xian during the imperial examination, so he had specially arranged for guards to stand up and defend Fan Xian if needed. Wang Qi Nian had Deng Zi Yue secretly escort Yang Wan Li and the other three to the examination hall, and they witnessed Xie Bi An secretly placing a note in Yang Wan Li's pastry on the Dragon Gate Bridge. Fortunately, they were able to quickly switch the note with a price list, saving Yang Wan Li.
Fan Xian knew that Li Cheng Ze would not give up easily, and that Guo Zheng would likely have other tricks up his sleeve over the next three days of the examination. Fan Xian was determined to have it out with Guo Zheng. He rode around the examination hall and announced the formal start of the exam, as the candidates sat in silence, the only sound being the scratching of their writing brushes.
Fan Xian went to each examination room, seeing Hou Ji Chang, Yang Wan Li and Shi Chan Li, but not finding Shi Chan Li, who Wang Qi Nian quietly told him was in another examination venue. The staff came to bring the candidates candles, and Fan Xian, remembering Guo You Zhi's warning about the importance of fire safety during the imperial exam, carefully inspected the candles and found that they all had the odor of lamp oil. Fortunately, Fan Xian had instructed the appraisal department to prepare a batch of clean candles, which were used to replace the tampered ones. He even deliberately inflated the receipts for the candle purchases and had Guo Zheng reimburse them.
Fan Xian also checked the water supply in the examination hall, as per Guo You Zhi's advice, and found that the water had been left standing for too long and had gone bad. He had the appraisal department provide fresh, clean water for the candidates. Having eliminated the dangers of fire and contaminated water, Fan Xian was now focused on preventing any other tricks, such as sabotage in the restrooms, and had Wang Qi Nian thoroughly investigate that area.
Comments(Episode 19)