My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 294 - 172: Justice Will Prevail!

The chief examiner personally set the tone, and the other examiners naturally had nothing to say.

They had felt that these three exam papers deserved the highest distinction.

Moreover, the handwriting styles of these three candidates clearly came from the lineage of Master Wei, and as examiners, favoring their own students was normal.

Moreover, this would not count as favoritism.

The calligraphy of these three candidates had already attained a high level of mastery, and even in the Calligraphy World, it was considered quite good. It wouldn't just pass muster in court, but even if the King of Heaven came down, it would still be rated as highest distinction.

At this point, the scoring for the Calligraphy Department had come to an end.

In the same Examination Hall, the scoring for the other three departments was also drawing to a close.

This Imperial Examination included only one comprehensive question in the painting department, and although the process was a bit cumbersome, it was faster than calligraphy.

All the exam papers had been reviewed already.

Only one painting remained under examination by the five examiners, who had been reviewing it all morning.

They were not struggling over what grade to assign to this painting, as they unanimously agreed that this exam paper deserved the highest grade of "excellent."

As early as during the cross-grading phase, all five examiners had assigned it the highest distinction.

Even removing the highest and the lowest ratings, it still had three top distinctions.

They were merely studying.

Tang Shi's flowers, Fei Li's birds, Zhao Yuan's meticulous style, Liu Qian's use of ink, Shen Nian's freehand, Sun Run's structure and layout...

This small exam sheet, from any angle, had reached a master's standard and was a culmination of flower and bird painting. They even felt a bit inadequate in grading this masterpiece.

What were they to judge such mastery?

Imperial Examination candidates could not be over forty years old. Even if this person was exactly forty, the extent to which he had mastered painting was truly astonishing.

Even if he did not succeed in the Imperial Examinations, he could easily become a painting teacher at the Four Great Academy.

No, any of the examiners here, who were painting teachers at an academy, were qualified to be his students.

So, even though international examination ratings of "excellent" could be cumbersome, no one disagreed.

In another spacious hall, the papers for the Law department had also been reviewed and arranged.

Compared to calligraphy and painting, the law papers had no points of contention.

All the questions had standard answers, and as long as the candidates had memorized the Law well, the scores wouldn't be too low. Historically, this department had not shown much difference.

Only in the First Examination Hall, there were more than ten people whose answers in the Law department were impeccable.

A+ and A were countless.

However, doing well in Law was useless unless Calligraphy, Painting, and Composition were also good. The overall scores in the Book Department were what allowed candidates to rank higher.

Calligraphy, Painting, and Law scores had been tallied, only the final scores for Compositions remained.

In the Composition department, there were no fixed answers, and the differences between examiners could be significant, which was why results were always released last.

Around a dozen examiners were discussing a few exam papers tentatively marked as A+.

These papers were well written, showing deep familiarity with the classics and had no significant flaws.

But hearing that both the Calligraphy and Painting departments had unusually assigned highest distinctions, these few papers could be rated as A+ and even justified as excellent.

Deep down, assigning an excellent paper could be troublesome.

But since the Calligraphy and Painting examiners were not afraid of trouble, it would seem irresponsible if they refused to assign an excellent rating just out of fear of the hassle.

This time, the Chief Judge for the Composition department in the First Examination Hall was an official from the Secretariat.

After much contemplation, he said, "Gentlemen, which of these papers do you think could be rated as excellent?"

Without any discussion, more than ten examiners simultaneously pointed to one of them.

In literature, there is no first, and in martial arts, no second.

In terms of composition, there was no way to rank these papers.

But this candidate's opening poem was excellently written.

"Former days of mediocrity are not worth boasting, today's boundless thoughts stretch on forever."

"A swift horse in the spring breeze, seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a day."

In just four lines, he beautifully captured the emotional changes before and after the Imperial Examination, even reminding them of their own pasts.

As the examination involved strategies of governing the nation, the examiners for the Composition department in the First Examination Hall were officials temporarily transferred from the court.

The confusion and anxiety before the Imperial Examinations and the pride and jubilation after being listed on the Golden Placard—these four lines of poetry were a true reflection of most Advanced Scholars' inner worlds, even resonating deeply with the examiners themselves.

Moreover, this candidate's paper wasn't just good in its opening poem.

His handwriting also stood out among many exam sheets.

The calligraphy of Imperial Examination candidates was typically quite good, but this person's writing was particularly remarkable. He did not choose the most conventional Regular Script but rather mixed styles, making it more visually appealing.

Looking at the writing on this paper alone was pleasant.

If an excellent grade was to be assigned, it had undeniably to be this paper.

The Scheeren of the Secretariat was also particularly fond of this paper and nodded, saying, "This official had the same thought…"

…

According to the process of the Imperial Examination, once the Book Department concluded and the paper reviews were completed, it should have been possible to announce the list of students participating in the next subject.

But except for Law, if in Calligraphy, Painting, or Composition, any exam paper was rated as excellent, there was an additional step required.

It's rare for these three subjects to achieve an excellent grade, necessitating a report from the Examination Hall. The Ministry of Rites and Ministry of Personnel, responsible for the Imperial Examination affairs, would additionally dispatch special personnel to review and evaluate the excellent exam papers to prevent the examiners from showing favoritism or engaging in fraud.

In auditing a few excellent papers from the First Examination Hall, two in Composition and Painting were approved by the auditing examiners and smoothly finalized as excellent.

However, some issues were encountered with the three calligraphy exam papers.

The Chief Judge in charge of the audit believed that those three excellent papers should be adjusted to A+.

And Master Wei, acting as the Chief Judge, stubbornly insisted that these three exam papers were indeed excellent.

Neither backed down, and so they remained deadlocked.

In a certain hall of the First Examination Hall, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Wei Xun's face turned livid as he pointed at an elderly man in green robes, unable to contain his fury, "How well these three pieces of calligraphy are written! If these are not considered excellent, then what is? Tell me, what would it take to be excellent?"

The elderly man in green casually glanced at him and replied, "Why must we choose several papers to be excellent? I admit these three pieces are well-written, but they do not reach the 'excellence' I have in mind. Could it be because they are Master Wei's students that you deliberately rate them as excellent?"

Wei Xun furiously retorted, "Nonsense!"

The elderly man in green smirked coldly, "Master Wei, do not think everyone else is blind. Regular Script, Running Script, Cursive Script—each piece has the distinct flavor of your style. Can you deny they're not your students?"

Faced with such blatant slander, Wei Xun's eyes reddened and his body trembled with rage.

Master Huang was not here for a fair judgment; he was targeting him personally.

It didn't matter to him whether these three pieces were written by his students or not; if they were, it was purely their own skill!

There was no foul play in these exam results!

Wasn't it just because during this Imperial Examination, the court chose him, and not Master Huang? Just because in the art of calligraphy, he had been superior to him for decades...

He had always despised Master Huang.

And now, even more so.

Bringing personal grievances into the Imperial Examination, letting personal emotions harm innocent students' futures.

The beast!

Wei Xun could no longer restrain his anger and spat a thick glob of phlegm on the face of the elderly man in green, kicking him fiercely. Caught off guard, the man was knocked to the ground. Wei Xun lunged at him, cursing and striking repeatedly.

"What kind of scum are you, daring to slander me!"

"Did the court appoint you as Chief Judge just so you could abuse your power?"

"You can't even produce such writing yourself, bullying the younger generation!"

"You despicable beast, I'll beat you to death!"

...

The scene unfolded too quickly; everyone was too stunned to intervene.

By the time they reacted, two people immediately pulled the enraged Wei Xun away, while the elderly man in green, either from anger or the beating, had fainted.

No one had expected such an incident in such a solemn setting as the Imperial Examination.

Master Wei was immediately detained; Master Huang was rushed to the Imperial Hospital. Upon hearing the news, an Assistant Minister from the Secretariat was furious. He temporarily summoned several examiners from other halls, ordering the Imperial Censorate to oversee a re-evaluation of the three papers from the First Examination Hall.

These examiners had no close relations or interactions with Master Wei and Master Huang on usual days.

Among them was an Imperial Censor gifted with Vast Righteous Qi, capable of absolute fairness and justice.

Inside the Examination Hall.

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The three exam papers lay on the table.

Five calligraphy examiners, including one Imperial Censor, gathered around the table, while officials from the Ministry of Supervision and the Imperial Censorate waited on the side.

A middle-aged man examined the three papers meticulously, sighed softly, and shook his head.

An official from the Ministry of Supervision asked, "How come? Are these papers not worthy of being excellent?"

Anger flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes as he responded, "Such calligraphy appearing in the Imperial Examination is unexpected. Master Huang went too far—such a person acting as Chief Judge is an insult to the examination!"

The others slowly began to speak.

"These three papers should all be considered excellent."

"More than excellent, the calligraphy of this person surpasses his mentor's—perhaps even surpassing Master Wei."

"Master Huang has an ulterior motive; Master Wei is truly genuine. If these papers were graded A+, those with A+ grades might not even qualify for Class A…"

The attending officials finally looked towards the Imperial Censor, who shifted his gaze from the papers and declared, "These three pieces are undeniably excellent."

Obviously, the standards for examination candidates cannot be compared to those of grandmasters of calligraphy.

Papers deemed excellent in an Imperial Examination might mean nothing in the Calligraphy World.

Yet, these pieces would be considered absolute masterpieces even in the Calligraphy World.

If the examination were out of a hundred, ninety would be an A+, and one hundred would be excellent.

The caliber of these three pieces was comparable to several "excellent" grades.

If judged solely on their calligraphy, these might not be ranked as excellent or even an A+ or A, but by the same standards, other candidates would hardly pass.

Shortly thereafter, the crowd exited the grand hall.

It was initially thought Master Wei was guilty of corruption.

Unexpectedly, it was Master Huang who was settling personal scores under the disguise of duty, both being grandmasters yet with such contrasting breadth of character—one, as high as the heavens, the other low as the earth.

Master Huang likely did not anticipate that Master Wei would act so vehemently for justice.

His role as the Chief Judge was revoked, and once the matter spread, his reputation in the scholarly community would likely be destroyed.

Master Wei's innocence was proven, and when he was released, he stood tall and proud.

Evil would never triumph over justice; he knew the court would ultimately vindicate him.

The officials and examiners present, whether from the Examination Hall or the court, all looked at him with admiration.

"Master Wei is truly genuine!"

"We hold the utmost admiration…"

"With Master Wei here, what a blessing for the Imperial Examination and the candidates."

...

Facing everyone's praises, Wei Xun chuckled and bowed his hands, "As it should be, the court entrusted me with the role of Chief Examiner, which is a sign of their trust in me. Even if it costs me my old bones, I must not betray the court's trust, nor let these degenerates ruin the hard work of the candidates who've studied for years…"