In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 649 Writing Diligently

"It's wonderful that Lord Li is the chief examiner!"

"With Lord Li here, we are sure to pass the imperial examination!"

"Lord Li is an honest and upright official, and he would never favor those sons of powerful families!"

"..."

In stark contrast to the scions of aristocratic families, the students from impoverished backgrounds in the examination hall were all excited. Many of them, like Zheng Qing, had experienced unfair treatment, so when they saw that the chief examiner was Li Mingyuan, they seemed to see hope!

They believed that Li Mingyuan would uphold justice and ensure they received fair treatment.

As Li Mingyuan walked forward, he observed the candidates' reactions out of the corner of his eye. Just as he had expected, his appearance excited the students from poor families in the examination hall, while the scions of aristocratic families, who made up the largest number of candidates, looked as if they had lost their parents. The contrast between the two groups was stark.

"Humph!"

Upon noticing this, Li Mingyuan snorted inwardly. After taking office as the prefect, he began to examine the examination papers from previous years, and the results were truly shocking.

Over the past decade, more than 99% of the scholars who passed the imperial examinations came from prominent families in Qingzhou, meaning that students from poor families had only a 1% chance of passing.

That wasn't the most terrifying part. The most terrifying part was that, by reviewing the articles written by people who had passed the imperial examinations in previous years, Li Mingyuan discovered that some articles were clearly nonsensical, yet their authors had still managed to pass the exams...

Some articles are clearly very well written, yet their authors fail to make the list...

This is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Li Mingyuan would certainly not turn a blind eye to this situation. He punished the Qingzhou education commissioner for cheating and then personally served as the chief examiner for this provincial examination, intending to give all candidates a fair chance to compete.

Seemingly noticing Zheng Qing's gaze, Li Mingyuan winked at Zheng Qing, then turned to all the examinees and said, "Let's begin."

The provincial examination officially began, and the candidates immediately started writing furiously.

Li Mingyuan paced around the examination room, constantly looking down at the contents of the candidates' papers, sometimes nodding, sometimes frowning.

If you observe carefully, you will find that when Li Mingyuan nods, he is often looking at the papers of candidates from poor families, while when he frowns, he is looking at the papers of candidates from wealthy families.

Those from humble backgrounds who make it to the provincial examinations are undoubtedly talented and learned, while the sons of noble families... are ignorant and empty-headed, but this does not prevent them from passing the examinations to become scholars or provincial graduates. This is the current state of the imperial examinations in the Xia Kingdom, and it is also the situation that Li Mingyuan is determined to change.

…………

…………

This provincial examination lasted for nine days.

Nine days later, Zheng Qing walked out of the examination hall and looked at the clear blue sky outside, feeling quite pleased.

He performed consistently well in this provincial examination, and he believed that as long as the examiners did not show favoritism, he would definitely be among the successful candidates!

"Brother Zheng, how did you perform this time?"

A familiar student from a poor family asked Zheng Qing a question.

Because of their similar backgrounds and relatively small numbers, most of the students from impoverished families in this provincial examination knew each other.

"It's Brother Liu!"

Zheng Qing turned and glanced at the student who had spoken, saying, "Well done! And you, Brother Liu?"

"I'm alright too!"

Liu Yun, addressed as Brother Liu, responded with a smile, "I performed even better than three years ago, but..."

Liu Yun frowned and said worriedly, "It will probably not be easy for us poor scholars with no power or influence to pass the imperial examination."

The fact that Liu Yun was able to appear in this provincial examination shows that he also failed the provincial examination three years ago. The reason for his failure was similar to that of Zheng Qing. Therefore, even though he performed very well, he still had doubts about whether he could pass the examination.

"Don't worry, Brother Liu."

Zheng Qing, who was also worried, tried to reassure Liu Yun by saying, "Lord Li is different from the other examiners. I believe that Lord Li will definitely conduct the examination impartially."

"I hope so!"

Liu Yun sighed. He had also heard of Li Mingyuan's reputation for integrity and honesty, and he had a good impression of Li Mingyuan, the prefect who cared about the people.

But Liu Yun wasn't sure if Li Mingyuan would definitely stand on the side of students from poor families like them.

In reality, students from impoverished backgrounds like Liu Yun don't expect Li Mingyuan to favor them at all. They would be content as long as Li Mingyuan grades their papers fairly and impartially.

"There's no point in thinking so much."

Zheng Qing shook his head and said, "Brother Liu, let's go back to the restaurant to rest and wait for the results to be released!"

As Zheng Qing was about to pull Liu Yun outside, a somewhat familiar figure appeared in front of him. It was none other than Li Qiao, whom Zheng Qing had met once before.

"Brother Li?"

Zheng Qing stopped when he saw Li Qiao standing in front of him, and asked in confusion, "Do you need something from me?"

Li Qiao nodded and said, "Uncle Li wants to see you."

Lord Li wants to see me?

Zheng Qing was taken aback, and quickly said, "Please lead the way, Brother Li."

"Ok!"

Soon after, Zheng Qing and Li Qiao arrived at a mansion. Under Li Qiao's guidance, they entered the mansion's living room and took their seats.

"sit down!"

After serving Zheng Qing tea, Li Qiao sat down opposite him and said, "Uncle Li has not returned yet, please wait a moment, Brother Zheng!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing showed no dissatisfaction, but instead calmly surveyed the living room environment.

Having lived for twenty-six years, this was the first time Zheng Qing had entered a house that could be called a "mansion". As soon as he entered, Zheng Qing was amazed by the vastness of the mansion's space.

Putting everything else aside, just look at the living room where this incident took place; its area alone is equivalent to the size of Zheng Qing's house.

However... unlike Zheng Qing's imagination, the decoration in this living room did not appear luxurious. Whether it was the furniture on the floor or the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, they were all ordinary objects. If one only looked at the decoration and not the space, it would be hard to believe that this was the residence of a prefect.

"Brother Zheng, you may not know this, but this mansion does not actually belong to Uncle Li."

Seemingly noticing Zheng Qing's gaze, Li Qiao explained, "This is a residence left behind by the former prefect. Because it was built with public funds, it belongs to the government. Therefore, Uncle Li can live here after taking office."

"I see."

Zheng Qing suddenly realized, then asked with some doubt, "It seems there's no one else in the manor besides Brother Li?"

What Zheng Qing really wanted to ask was why there were no servants in the mansion. Even the mansions of landlords would have maids and servants, but Li Mingyuan, a prefect who was a high-ranking official, lived in such a large mansion, yet there were no servants in it. This was obviously illogical.