Episode 18 recap: Fan Xian sought the help of Emperor Qing to act as a shield for the spring civil service examination.
Since Fan Xian took charge of the spring civil service examination, he has received small notes every day from civil and military officials, recommending their own students to be selected for the imperial examinations. Fan Xian sought help from Chen Ping Ping, wanting to cause some trouble without Chen Ping Ping having to clean up the aftermath, and then went to seek a fair resolution from Emperor Qing.
Lin Ruo Fu handed Fan Xian a carefully selected list of candidates, asking him to pull some strings for them. Fan Xian was very resistant to this, as he wanted to give all the hundreds of thousands of examination candidates a fair chance to compete and succeed based on their own merits. Lin Ruo Fu advised him not to be the "first bird to stand out", or else he would become the target of criticism from all sides. If Fan Xian just followed the established conventions of the spring examinations and let the recommended candidates from the court officials all pass, his career prospects would be limitless.
Lin Ruo Fu knew that Fan Xian did not think highly of Guo Zheng, so he urged Fan Xian to learn from Guo Zheng, who deeply understood the ways of officialdom. After the former Minister of Rites Guo Youzhi was arrested, Guo Zheng had risen above many other imperial envoys to become the acting Minister of Rites. Lin Ruo Fu advised Fan Xian to be pragmatic and also gave him a lengthy lecture on the unspoken rules and social etiquette of the officialdom, though Fan Xian found this set of rules very distasteful.
Li Cheng Ze also had a few candidates who were his loyal followers, and he was not willing to hand them over to Fan Xian for the time being. Li Cheng Ze was using the spring examinations to set a trap for Fan Xian - if Fan Xian engaged in the usual nepotism and corruption, Li Cheng Ze would submit a memorial to impeach Fan Xian and completely destroy him.
Fan Xian found himself in a dilemma. He did not want to accept the lists from Li Cheng Qian and Lin Ruo Fu, but he had to, because if he wanted to defeat Li Cheng Ze, he needed the strong backing of Li Cheng Qian and Lin Ruo Fu. Moreover, after the spring examinations, he was going to marry Lin Wan Er, and Lin Ruo Fu would be his father-in-law, so he could not refuse to help his own family.
Fan Xian poured out his bitterness to Wang Qi Nian, who also did not know how to advise him. Fan Xian did not want to be complicit in corruption, but he could not rebuff Lin Ruo Fu and Li Cheng Qian either. That night, he went to the inn to find Shi Chan Li and others, and saw Yang Wan Li sitting by the restaurant door, intently studying by the lamp light while eating a cold steamed bun. Touched, Fan Xian ordered him some meat and vegetables.
Yang Wan Li had not had a full meal in a long time, let alone eating meat. After satisfying his hunger, he opened up and talked enthusiastically about his grand ambitions. Deeply moved, Fan Xian hurried to the Examination Bureau, wanting to reflect again on the stele inscription left behind by his mother Ye Qingmei. Shi Chan Li's money had all been spent, and he could only rely on washing dishes at the restaurant to make a living.
With a lantern, Fan Xian re-read the stele inscription outside the Examination Bureau, thinking of the candidates full of ambition who came to take the spring examinations. He wanted to realize his mother's lifelong wish to change the world, but knew that he alone could never accomplish that. Chen Ping Ping heard the news and hurried over, encouraging Fan Xian to act according to his own wishes. Feeling emboldened, Fan Xian decided to go to the imperial palace at night to seek the support of Emperor Qing.
However, as an outside official, Fan Xian was not allowed to enter the palace at night. Chen Ping Ping knew Fan Xian was up to mischief, but still resolutely supported him, even if Fan Xian committed an irreparable mistake.
Emperor Qing agreed to grant an audience to Fan Xian. The imperial eunuch Hou received Fan Xian at the palace, but was stopped by the Vice Commander of the Palace Guard, who carefully questioned him. Only after learning that this was approved by Emperor Qing did the Vice Commander allow them to proceed.
Fan Xian heard that Emperor Qing had failed in the research of gunpowder and was injured, so he specially brought some burn ointment and also prepared some medicine to calm the nerves and replenish qi.
Emperor Qing knew that Fan Xian would not come to visit him at night just because of the illness, so Fan Xian gave him a list of the high-ranking officials in the court, wanting him to reveal everything about the plan to cheat in the upcoming imperial examination. He wanted to fight for fairness in this examination, but as a minor figure, he was worried about the consequences and could only seek help from Emperor Qing.
Emperor Qing promised to provide cover for Fan Xian and even let him help apply the ointment. The palace supervisor immediately reported Fan Xian's late-night visit to Emperor Qing to Li Cheng Ze, because their conversation was private and Li Cheng Ze could not guess what they had discussed. Li Cheng Ze instructed Xie Bi'an to tell the palace supervisor not to inquire further about this matter, to avoid exposing their identities.
Emperor Qing's support gave Fan Xian the confidence to return the list to Li Cheng Qian and refuse to help his students get special treatment. Li Cheng Qian had no choice but to tear up the list in front of Fan Xian. Qin Heng also approached Fan Xian and presented a list of exam candidates, asking him to help them succeed, but Fan Xian firmly refused.
Fan Xian returned the list intact to Lin Ruo Fu, who warned him not to take it too seriously, lest he incur the wrath of the officials, as Emperor Qing would not protect him. But Fan Xian only wanted this imperial examination to be fair and just, without considering the consequences.
Angered, Lin Ruo Fu angrily scolded Fan Xian and decided not to marry off Lin Wan'er to him. Fan Xian quickly apologized, explaining that he only wanted to give all the exam candidates a fair chance to change their destinies. Touched by his sincerity, Lin Ruo Fu agreed to help him, telling him to consult Guo Zheng about the rules and taboos of the imperial examination.
Fan Xian went to Guo Zheng, who compiled the examination details into a booklet and gave him detailed instructions. Fan Xian was grateful. Xie Bi'an, on Li Cheng Ze's orders, secretly listened to their conversation. After Fan Xian left, Xie Bi'an revealed himself. Li Cheng Ze had evidence of Guo Zheng's past corruption in the examinations, and promised to destroy it if Guo Zheng could ensure that Fan Xian would make an unforgivable mistake in the upcoming examination.
Fan Si Zhe and Guo Baokun hurriedly returned from the Northern Qi, with Fan Si Zhe excitedly recounting their experiences of evading the Northern Qi spies on the way. Wang Qinian took Fan Si Zhe aside.
Guo Baokun gave Fan Xian the diary of his undercover work in the Northern Qi. Concerned that Guo Zheng's examination rules booklet might be inaccurate, Fan Xian wanted to consult the former Minister of Rites, Guo Youzhi, who was imprisoned, and brought Guo Baokun with him.
Guo Baokun begged Fan Xian to quickly rescue his father Guo Youzhi, but Fan Xian explained that Guo Youzhi had committed the serious crime of forming cliques and engaging in private activities, so he could not simply release him. Instead, Fan Xian planned to first transfer Guo Youzhi to the Judicial Review Bureau's prison, then find a way to set him free.
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