The next morning, after Bai Qingyan finished practicing with her red-tasseled silver spear in Qinghui Courtyard, Nanny Tong, who had been handling affairs for Bai Qingyan, returned with two lists.

“This first list contains the names of talented candidates who stayed at various inns and failed the examination… and harbor resentment, as the young lady instructed me to investigate. Those circled have already left the capital, while those not circled are remaining in the capital, probably wanting to wait and see when the golden list is posted to find out exactly who passed.”

Nanny Tong unfolded the other list: “This list shows the purchasing activities of various households that Lu Ping personally investigated…”

Bai Qingyan took the towel Chun Tao handed her, wiped the sweat from her face and neck, and instructed Chun Tao to prepare water.

Chun Tao handed Bai Qingyan the warmed tea, then turned to instruct the kitchen to prepare water.

“Speaking of coincidence, early this morning, Lu Ping went to the capital’s largest rice shop. Before he could even open his mouth to inquire, the shop assistant recognized Lu Ping. Thinking Lu Ping was sent by Second Madam to purchase for Second Young Master, the assistant smiled and said that our mansion’s Second Miss was being overly cautious. The households of Chancellor Lu, Grand Tutor Chen, Vice Minister of Works Wu, and General Zhang had all sent people to buy large quantities of red paper, firecrackers, and stockpile rice immediately after the metropolitan examination ended, preparing to distribute porridge after the palace examination results were announced!”

“But our Second Miss had remained quiet this whole time. She finally sent someone to deliver rice for porridge distribution to the mansion, but it wasn’t even half the amount of Chancellor Lu’s and Grand Tutor Chen’s households! The assistant even laughingly asked Lu Ping whether Second Madam, being an elder, had found out… and specifically sent Lu Ping to buy more.”

All those involved… were important court officials.

General Zhang’s household had also made advance purchases?

Bai Qingyan handed her teacup to Nanny Tong and took the list to look at it. Zhang Duanrui’s eldest son was only eleven years old – was he also taking the palace examination? She hadn’t heard Zhang Duanrui mention it…

Seeing Bai Qingyan’s gaze fall on the General’s mansion, Nanny Tong quickly said: “The General’s elder brother died early. His widowed sister-in-law brought her eldest son to the capital for the examination this time and is staying in the General’s mansion. The General’s nephew is also among those taking the palace examination. The rest on the list are all official and noble family sons who came from various places and either bought residences in the capital or are staying with uncles, aunts, or maternal grandfathers.”

Calculating the time, the chief examiner had not yet begun discussing rankings with the Emperor.

Bai Qingyan handed the list of households that had made advance purchases for celebrations and porridge distribution to Nanny Tong: “Have someone quietly spread this list around, saying these official and noble households have all bribed the chief examiner, so they can guarantee… these people will all be in the top ten!”

“Also send people disguised as merchants or scholars… to spread this news throughout the capital!” She pointed at the first list, “Make sure it reaches the ears of these failed candidates. It must be fast! Have Uncle Ping arrange for people to incite these candidates… to beat the petition drum before the golden list is posted, asking the Emperor to uphold justice!”

Bai Qingyan continued while thinking: “Once the petition drum sounds, the Emperor will certainly investigate examination fraud. But if these people’s names truly appear in the top ten before the golden list is released, then the Emperor will take it even more seriously and investigate more thoroughly! It depends on whether these scholars dare to risk their lives to seek justice for their decades of hard study, or whether they’ll kneel before power and authority.”

“Yes!” Nanny Tong responded and hurriedly turned to find Lu Ping to handle the matter.

Whatever the First Miss wanted to do, Nanny Tong never asked.

Although previously Nanny Tong had always wanted to advise Bai Qingyan to properly be a young lady, now that the Bai family had suffered great changes, Nanny Tong knew the Bai family depended on the First Miss to hold things together. Because the First Miss was the eldest daughter… the legitimate eldest daughter, only she could bear this burden.

After the Emperor’s birthday banquet, what currently drew attention in the capital was whether, after this palace examination, the top scholar would fall to Grand Tutor Chen’s household, Chancellor Lu’s household, or which humble family son might claim it.

Gambling houses had even opened betting pools.

Someone had leaked a list of seven predetermined top ten candidates, claiming that Lu Yuanqing, Lu Yuanbao, Chen Zhaolu, Wu Anbang, Zhang Ruohuai, Lin Chaodong, and Wang Chengyu were all sons of noble and official families, and that each of their households had already approached and given gifts to chief examiner Hanlin Scholar Wen Zhenkang.

People also mentioned that Zhang Ruohuai, a provincial graduate, had failed the examination several times – how had he suddenly become a metropolitan graduate eligible for the palace examination this time?

There were also fellow townsmen of Wang Chengyu who said this son of Yingzhou’s prefect Wang Chengyu was foul-mouthed and completely without literary talent. During his time in Yingzhou… whenever there were poetry gatherings of literary talents, he would always make a fool of himself. If such a person ranked in the top ten of the palace examination, it would truly be a huge joke.

Except for Chancellor Lu’s two grandsons and Grand Tutor Chen’s grandson in the capital, who faced no criticism, the backgrounds of the other four had been thoroughly exposed.

In the Kuishou Inn, Xue Renyi, who had great fame among the scholars but was extremely dissatisfied about failing the examination, kept drinking, insisting on waiting here for the golden list to be posted.

He thought that even if he couldn’t get first place in the metropolitan examination, he would be in the top ten and could never have failed! Having heard about the top ten list, he was angrily denouncing the fraud in this imperial examination: “What kind of person is Wang Chengyu… he’s just a good-for-nothing! I, Xue Renyi, failed while he passed… who would believe that?!”

Xue Renyi’s classmates were all comforting him.

A man sitting nearby in the inn took a sip of wine and said, “What’s the use of just complaining here? If you have the ability, learn from County Princess Zhenguo and beat the petition drum to seek justice for yourself! When County Princess Zhenguo beat the petition drum back then, His Majesty even demoted Prince Xin, his legitimate son, to commoner status and exiled him to Yongzhou!”

A scholar who was comforting his classmate turned around, somewhat annoyed by the man’s inflammatory words: “County Princess Zhenguo had bamboo slips recording military campaigns as evidence back then. We don’t have any evidence…”

“How can you say there’s no evidence? This list is evidence… If you dare risk your lives to seek justice for yourselves, then beat the petition drum! If someone risks their life to beat the petition drum, His Majesty will consider investigating! If these seven people are in the top ten before the golden list is even posted, wouldn’t His Majesty panic upon hearing this?” The man picked up some food with his chopsticks and stuffed it in his mouth. “Even I, a rough man, can understand this logic – can’t you learned people figure it out?”

The man smiled as he raised his wine cup, already appearing quite drunk: “Only before the golden list is posted, even before those chief and deputy examiners leave the palace, if you beat the petition drum and meet the Emperor, can this prematurely leaked list have maximum effect!”

Several failed scholars looked at each other, actually finding this drunk man’s words reasonable.

“I think… you’re afraid of offending the powerful, so you don’t dare!” The man put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with his hand. “I’m also from a poor family background – I can’t stand seeing those official families bullying people with their power!”