Fan Sizhe came to see his mother Liu Ruyu. Liu Ruyu was praying in front of Fan Sizhe's spiritual tablet. She thought she was daydreaming. Fan Sizhe repeatedly stated that he was really back. Liu Ruyu still couldn't believe it and slapped Fan Sizhe hard. If Fan Sizhe felt pain, It was true. Fan Sizhe kept moaning in pain. Liu Ruyu was sure that she was not dreaming, so she cried with joy and pulled Fan Sizhe to greet him.
Fan Xian brought Guo Baokun to the Prison Department Prison. Guo Youzhi thought he was going to be beheaded. He was dumbfounded when he saw Guo Baokun, thinking that Guo Baokun was also taken to the prison. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian was not here to send him away, and Guo Baokun was now working under Fan Xian. , Guo Youzhi was so excited that he burst into tears and thanked Fan Xian profusely. Guo Baokun boasted in front of Guo Youzhi about his intelligence gathering in Northern Qi. Guo Youzhi still did not believe that Guo Baokun had such ability and thought that Northern Qi was going to perish. Guo Baokun was so angry that he couldn't laugh or cry.
Fan Xian asked Guo Youzhi for advice on spring palace taboos and rules. Guo Youzhi read the detailed rules written by Guo Zheng from beginning to end. Guo Zheng only wrote down the taboos within the spring palace rules and did not mention any other rules. Fan Xian was slightly careless. You will fall into a situation of no return. Guo Youzhi reminded Fan Xian not to approach any candidates. Fan Xian went to see Yang Wanli, Shi Chanli, Cheng Jialin and Hou Jichang without revealing their identities, but in the eyes of others, these four people were already Fan Xian's disciples. Their names on the gold list confirmed Fan Xian's accusation of corruption for personal gain. Fan Xian couldn't help but take a breath. Only then did he realize the seriousness of the problem.
Liu Ruyu waited until very late before Fan Xian returned home. She begged Fan Xian to let Fan Sizhe stay in Kyoto. Fan Sizhe didn't want to stay with his parents and wait to die. He wanted to make a difference with his own ability, so he volunteered to go to Beiqi again. After Fan Xian takes over the inner treasury, he will definitely do business with Northern Qi. Fan Sizhe will be the person in charge of the trade between Nanqing and Northern Qi. Fan Xian asked Fan Sizhe to wait until the Spring Festival is over to attend his and Lin Waner's wedding before going to Northern Qi. Fan Sizhe fully agreed. .
The Spring Science Examination lasts for three days, and candidates must prepare enough food. Today is the first day of spring. Candidates carrying large and small bags are rushing across the Longmen Bridge to seek good luck for their names on the gold list. Fan Xian arrived at the Examination Institute early, and Guo Zheng came later. He posed various inspirational poses in a serious manner and asked the painter to draw them as a souvenir.
The candidates came to the examination hall. Fan Xian had been waiting for a long time. He cheered the candidates and wished them good luck. Fan Xian reminded the candidates to put all the books, cheat sheets and other items that they should not bring outside the door. Once they are investigated, they will be dealt with. Cancellation of exam qualifications. Fan Xian was sitting in the examination hall. Chunwei staff checked the candidates' identities one by one and searched them. Guo Zheng stood aside to supervise. One candidate who brought cheat sheets was kicked out of the examination room on the spot. The candidates were too frightened to come out.
Shi Chanli and Yang Wanli lined up to enter the examination hall, and immediately recognized Fan Xian sitting on the high platform as the person chatting with them. Shi Chanli and Yang Wanli waved to Fan Xian. Li Chengze learned that Fan Xian had gone to meet four people and determined that they were Fan Xian's disciples. He asked Guo Zheng to do something on one of them.
Chunwei staff checked the identities of Yang Wanli and Shi Chanli, then searched them and found a note between the two vegetable cakes prepared by Yang Wanli. Guo Zheng insisted that Yang Wanli had cheated and wanted to expel him from the examination room. Yang Wanli shouted loudly Claiming injustice, Shi Chanli stood up to testify for Yang Wanli. Guo Zheng didn't believe it at all and forced Fan Xian to make a verdict against his protégé Yang Wanli.
One of the guards stood up and admitted his mistake. He had not been to school since he was a child. He was jealous that the candidates could participate in the Spring Festival, so he secretly put a note in Yang Wanli's vegetable cake. Guo Zheng refused to give up and insisted on disqualifying Yang Wanli from taking the exam. , Fan Xian asked him to open the note in front of everyone and read the words on it. It was just a pie price list. Guo Zheng was stunned. He hurriedly helped Yang Wanli up and let Yang Wanli go in to take the exam. The guard volunteered to accept the punishment. Guo Zheng's elaborate plan to frame Fan Xian's disciple failed, and he had to leave in anger.
Lin Ruofu guessed that Li Chengze would frame Fan Xian about the Spring Science Examination, and specially arranged for the guards to stand up and rescue Fan Xian at any time. Wang Qinian asked Deng Ziyue to lead people to secretly escort Yang Wanli and the four of them to the examination institute, and saw Xie Bian sneaking on Longmen Bridge. They stuffed notes into Yang Wanli's vegetable cakes. Thanks to them finding out and wrapping the notes in time with the price of the cakes, Yang Wanli was spared. Fan Xian knew that Li Chengze would not give up and Guo Zheng would definitely have other tricks in the next three days. Fan Xian secretly vowed to compete with Guo Zheng.
Fan Xian rode a horse and patrolled the examination hall. When he saw all the candidates in their seats, he loudly announced that the examination had officially begun. The huge examination hall was silent, and the sounds of candidates studying ink and writing could be clearly heard. Fan Xian dismounted and inspected each room. He saw Hou Jichang, Yang Wanli and Shi Chanli one after another. However, Shi Chanli was not seen during the siege. Wang Qinian quietly told him that Shi Chanli was in another examination room.
The staff came to deliver candles to the candidates. Fan Xian remembered that Guo Youzhi reminded him that fire prevention was the top priority in Chunwei. Once someone tampered with the candles, it would cause a fire in the room. Fan Xian would not be able to escape the blame. He carefully inspected the candles. , and found that there was a smell of kerosene on them. He and Wang Qinian checked the remaining candles one by one and found that the candles all had the smell of kerosene. Thanks to Fan Xian, he asked the inspection institute to prepare a batch of candles in advance and replaced all the candles with kerosene. Fan Xian asked Guo Zheng to reimburse the bill for the candles and deliberately increased the price. Guo Zheng knew that he was being charged. It's a trap, so I can only bite the bullet and do it.
Fan Xian followed Guo Youzhi's reminder to check the second most important water in Chunwei. Several large tanks of water were placed in the examination hall for the candidates to drink. Fan Xian took a sip and found that the water had become stale after being left for too long. He was worried that the candidates would get sick after drinking it, so he asked the Examination Institute to prepare clean water. Fan Xian carefully laid out the dangers caused by water and fire, leaving only La and Sa. The latrine is a place that candidates cannot avoid. Fan Xian was worried that someone was up to something there, so he asked Wang Qinian to investigate carefully.