The premonition from the last Prefecture Examination also involved a fatal case, but at that ti, Hao Yun committed suicide because he feared failing a retake.
But this ti, he was assassinated because he blocked Prefect Chen’s prospects.
It’s the sa person and another murder case, yet this ti it’s more troubleso than the last.
Because the murder case began when Hao Yun borrowed from Song Wei’s wisdom, making his essay remarkable, and leaving the chief examiner unsure of who to select as the top candidate.
Wen Wan knew her husband’s abilities well; since there was already competition for the top position in the premonition, it indicated that her husband was almost certain to secure the top spot in this examination, but things went wrong because Hao Yun was involved.
Surely, she couldn’t let her husband deliberately fail just to give way to Hao Yun and prevent a tragedy?
And it was even more impossible for Hao Yun to give way to her husband.
The imperial examination is a major event that determines a candidate’s fate; any slight mistake could easily lead to missing the list.
Whether they could succeed in future attempts is not sothing anyone can decide.
No matter who it is, no one, no matter how generous, would yield in the examination hall.
The more Wen Wan thought about it, the more helpless she felt.
If she had known this would happen, she should have warned her husband not to teach Hao Yun so much experience back then.
Now it’s turned out like this, the student is using the master’s achievents to compete against the master.
Why does it feel like teaching an ingrate?
Song Wei’s gaze fell on Wen Wan’s slender fingers gripping the brush and asked, "Are the styles of both essays quite similar?"
Wen Wan nodded.
It was precisely because of the striking similarity and the equal excellence that made it difficult for the examiners.
Song Wei understood, "Then it seems it was written using my usual style."
Wen Wan sensed sothing was off, set aside the brush, and gently tugged on Song Wei’s sleeve.
She didn’t want her husband to give way to Hao Yun.
Thinking it over, perhaps there might be another way to avoid this conflict.
Song Wei shook his head, "With my current status, I can’t confront the Prefect directly, and even more so can’t persuade him to not act against Hao Yun before anything happens. As for Hao Yun, you saw in the last Prefecture Examination, he has a strong sense of pride and ambition, otherwise, he wouldn’t imitate my style to write the essay for this examination. He aims to surprise everyone and achieve a resounding victory in this examination."
Wen Wan gritted her teeth at what she heard; what imitation? That’s plagiarism!
The top scorer of the examination would be reported by the local officials for a recomndation to study at the Imperial College.
The Capital City Imperial College is the highest academy nationwide that all scholars dream of entering.
For soone like Song Wei, who already topped both the County and Prefecture Examinations, securing the top position again in the Academy Examination would almost guarantee a smooth recomndation without much review.
The achievent of topping all three examinations, known as the "Three Small Books," hasn’t been seen in decades in any province, and its fa is unmatched by soone like Hao Yun who relies on plagiarizing others’ hard work to rise to power.
Weighing the options, Prefect Chen, unless he’s lost his senses, would choose to support Song Wei.
Wen Wan felt unwilling to accept this.
Why should her husband be the one to give way when it was clearly Hao Yun who stepped on his efforts to rise?
Song Wei reassured her, "After arriving at the Prefecture, we should have two or three days before the examination; I’ll try to change my style and hope it’s in ti."
Wen Wan bit her lip, clenching her small fists tightly.
No wonder the old saying goes, "A true villain is easily avoided, but a hypocrite is hard to guard against."
This big setback has deeply made Wen Wan realize it.
The feeling of knowing the other party’s intentions are not right, yet being unable to do anything about it, is worse than swallowing a fly.
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