After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 78 Shen Zhiyi: My surname is Chen, and my given name is Boyan. (Chen Yuanwailang: ???)

"What you can bet on, we can bet on too."

Shen Zhiyi didn't expect to actually make any money, because she wouldn't earn much from a single copper coin.

She looked at the little old man in front of her with curiosity and smiled, "Grandpa, you seem to be a test taker too?"

"Yes."

"It's not easy, she's so old and still taking the exam."

The old man said unhappily, "As the saying goes, one is never too old to learn, and one is never too old to take exams. Young man, why are you being ageist?"

Shen Zhiyi smiled.

Ignoring the old man, I found an empty table and started waiting for the Eight Treasure Duck.

"Gentlemen, may I share a table with you?"

Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, nodded and said, "Please do as you please."

"Thank you."

After the man sat down, he started asking all sorts of questions, as if he couldn't stop talking.

"Are you two also here to take the imperial examination?"

Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, shook his head.

Shen Zhiyi rolled her eyes and nodded under the shocked gaze of Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites.

"This young master is quite handsome; he is sure to pass the imperial examination this time."

The other person paused, their eyes flashing with an unknown light. They closed the fan they used to show off with their right hand and nodded at Shen Zhiyi.

"May I ask your honorable name, brother? You have a good eye. My surname is Su, my courtesy name is Ziruo, and I am from Huangzhou, Huainan Circuit."

"Oh, my surname is Chen, my given name is Boyan, and I live in Dajing."

Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Zhiyi.

No, your name sounds so familiar, isn't that his name?

"And what about this one?" Su Ziruo looked at Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites.

"Oh, my surname is Shen, my given name is Zhi, also known as Zhiyan, and I also live in Dajing."

"Pfft, cough cough cough."

Shen Zhiyi choked on a mouthful of water and coughed incessantly.

"You two have such good names, you're sure to pass the exam this time. Alas, to be honest, I've already taken the exam twice and failed both times."

Su Ziruo turned slightly to the side and lowered her voice, saying, "Since I feel a connection with you two, I'll secretly tell you that the chief examiner this year has a rather strange background. Usually, none of us know the identity of the chief examiner, and there are many different opinions. But this year, the chief examiner's identity is not to be hidden at all. It seems to be some kind of court attendant? Isn't that ridiculous? A court attendant? Coming to be the chief examiner for the imperial examination? Hahahaha, it's hilarious."

"In previous years, the chief examiner of this imperial examination had to be a high-ranking official of the rank of Vice Minister of Rites. But now this Vice Minister of Rites has become the vice president. Tsk tsk tsk, that's really strange. Could it be that the chief examiner is the old emperor's illegitimate son?"

"puff!"

Shen Zhiyi sprayed a mouthful of tea onto Su Ziruo's face.

Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, quickly took a sip of tea to calm his nerves and did not respond.

I also find it quite funny; isn't the old emperor just making a fool of himself?!

[But saying I'm the old emperor's illegitimate son is going too far!]

Su Ziruo wiped the water off her face in a flustered manner, looking puzzled and aggrieved. "What? Don't you guys find it strange?"

"Strange, strange."

"Aren't you curious about the details of that court attendant?"

After saying that, Su Ziruo took out a small booklet: "Ta-da! Small business, just one or two taels of silver to bring home all the information about this examiner."

"To avoid you thinking I'm lying to you, I'll give you some free information: the Imperial Diarist's name is Shen Zhiyi, and he seems to be quite favored by the Emperor."

"Oh, it's quite similar to Brother Zhiyan's name."

[Slander! This is slander! I am deeply favored by God, how could I, the person directly involved, not know this!]

Moreover, my feeble news was actually worth only one tael of silver?

"As long as this news is out there, there's no need to worry about not finding Shen Zhiyi."

"What are you looking for her for?"

“Hey, look at us, we’re like brothers.” Su Ziruo winked at Shen Zhiyi: “We know each other perfectly well. What else can we do by looking for the chief examiner? These days, which official doesn’t have a little bit of… well, you know.”

Shen Zhiyi turned to look at Chen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, and then to look at Su Ziruo.

"You mean the previous examiners all accepted bribes?"

Su Ziru waved her hands repeatedly: "I didn't say anything."

【cut. 】

Shen Zhiyi took some time to browse through the surveillance system.

Let me see who has taken bribes. Starting with, let's begin with Chen, the wealthy landowner.

"puff."

Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, sprayed a mouthful of tea directly onto Su Ziruo's face.

Su Ziruo wiped the water off her face again without any expression, and said with a forced smile, "You two are really in sync."

[I never would have guessed that Chen Yuanwailang could resist temptation when he was a vice minister.]

However, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites couldn't resist. But this time, he managed to hold back. Tsk tsk tsk, that's a full five hundred taels of gold! Aren't you tempted?

At this time, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was still reminiscing about the large amount of bribes he had lost.

That's a full five hundred taels of gold!

He didn't even dare to look at the duck he had already got his hands on.

Are you sure you don't want to take it? You have twenty sons to marry off, there are plenty of places to spend money.

The corner of Chen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, twitched violently. His political enemy was really good at producing offspring.

"Hey kid, how much is this booklet worth?"

An old voice interrupted Shen Zhiyi's attention.

She shifted her gaze from the surveillance camera to what was in front of her—it was the old man who had come to Su Ziruo to buy, uh, her information.

One tael of silver is enough.

The old man was generous with his money, and Su Ziruo was happy to sell, and that's how their pleasant transaction came about.

Shen Zhiyi, as the protagonist, feels very strange.

After the old man left, Su Ziruo pointed at his retreating figure and whispered, "That old man is quite famous."

"What's your name?"

“Cui Yuanzhe.” Su Ziruo tapped the table with her index finger: “This man actually passed the imperial examination in the previous dynasty. He was full of vigor and was only twenty-five years old at the time. But now he is over seventy years old and still hasn’t passed the imperial examination. He takes the exam every year and fails every year. However, the spirit of perseverance that old man has is worth learning from.”

Shen Zhiyi seemed to be deep in thought. How could someone who passed the provincial examination at the age of twenty-five not be able to pass the imperial examination for so many years?

She opened the surveillance system and immediately focused on Cui Yuanzhe. She was amazed by what she saw.

"Waiter, please pack up my Eight Treasure Duck."

"Okay, sir."

After receiving the Eight Treasure Duck, Shen Zhiyi immediately pulled Chen Run, the Assistant Minister of Rites, aside.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to say to Su Ziruo, "We are destined to meet. I advise you to bring more spices when you go to the examination hall tomorrow."

"Let's go, goodbye."

Ministry of Rites.

"Minister, Minister, do you know Cui Yuanzhe?"

"Cui Yuanzhe?" The Minister of Rites racked his brains but couldn't come up with an answer.

Instead, he joked, "Why doesn't Shen Lang call you 'Minister' anymore? That's what you used to call him the most."

Shen Zhiyi: ...

【Pah!】

The Minister of Rites remained silent, lost in thought.

"Does anyone else know Choi Won-cheol?"

In the end, it was a physician from the Ministry of Rites who remembered this person.

"Cui Yuanzhe, I remember him. He was so old that he was still taking exams. I don't know how many times he took them, but he just couldn't pass."