Examination Beauty Contest

Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and stopped responding.

Let him say whatever he wants. I absolutely won't grade papers, worst case I'll find an excuse to slip away.

If I don't work, they can't force me like making an ox drink water by pushing its head down!

Seeing Fang Zheng's shameless attitude, Zhang Dongxiang was speechless and said no more.

After waiting for who knows how long, all candidates had entered.

By now the sky was bright, the inner curtain officials sealed the doors, and inside and outside no longer communicated. If anything needed discussion, it could only happen at the inner curtain door.

After another period of time, the examination officially began.

The monitoring officials began patrolling the rows of cells.

Besides helping candidates with special circumstances, officials were generally only responsible for monitoring. As long as candidates didn't do anything inappropriate in their cells, officials didn't interfere. So before the grading procedure, officials' work was boring but relatively relaxed.

Fang Zheng also paced between rows of cells, constantly observing each candidate and their papers.

He wasn't interested in what the candidates were writing. He was looking for names.

The examination papers had requirements, naturally including name and hometown.

When he saw a candidate he liked, he would first remember the name, then record it with paper and brush when reaching a place with no people.

He didn't record names in front of candidates to avoid affecting their mindset.

Helping the Six Ministries select reporters couldn't be done carelessly. Fang Zheng had his own set of standards.

Good looks!

That's right, good looks were Fang Zheng's only criterion for selecting reporters.

In his previous life, he had never been a reporter or run a newspaper.

Although he had personally established the Banshan Newspaper Office and publication was going smoothly, he had encountered quite a few problems.

He usually acted as a hands-off boss, leaving everything for his subordinates to solve.

He was only responsible for providing money!

Of course, as long as silver was in place, no work seemed difficult, so things progressed quite well below him.

However, he hadn't expected Emperor Jing to mistakenly think he had extensive experience and assign him to select reporters.

So he could only work backward from his limited life experience.

The existing reporters at the newspaper had also learned step by step, and couldn't be said to have much experience either.

Scholars who had reached the provincial examination and entered the compound were naturally culturally accomplished, without any fools or idiots among them.

Their intelligence was absolutely well above passing grade, and they would likely have no problems learning ordinary reporting work.

Even if some arrogant scholars were selected, he wasn't worried. Usually after two years of social reality checks, they would learn to be proper humans.

The only issue was potential difficulties when collecting news outside.

When conversing with all kinds of people, language communication ability was most important, but he had no way to test this. With everyone taking an exam, he couldn't just go up and chat with them, so he could only judge by appearance!

In his previous life before self-media became popular, he had never seen an ugly reporter on TV, so this was Fang Zheng's only criterion for selection.

Attractive people faced less resistance in interpersonal communication and might even be regarded more highly.

When he was begging in Hengjiang Prefecture, he received more money than others! Even though other beggars were clearly more pitiful!

Humans are fundamentally emotional creatures, with logic and rationality occupying too small a proportion.

Not just for selecting reporters, even in government official selection, the influence of appearance couldn't be ignored!

There were many handsome men in court, and many old ministers would look like immortals if they put on Taoist robes.

Zhong Kui was denied the top scholar position by Emperor Dezong because of his ugliness, causing him to commit suicide in anger, a classic example of appearance preferences causing death.

The principle was simple, and reality was cruel.

For others, this was an examination, but for Fang Zheng, it was a beauty contest!

If Emperor Jing knew how he was selecting people, he'd probably have him beaten to death...

Selecting by looks alone was naturally quick. In no time, Fang Zheng had walked through six rows of cells.

He had recorded more than ten names on paper, all good-looking scholars from poor families.

Although everyone wore simple clothing, Fang only picked those with patches.

Wealthy families could afford to support their sons, and they might not want to work for the Six Ministries as reporters. They could just try again in three years!

It was normal to keep taking exams until fifty or sixty years old. If they passed, they would bring fortune to their descendants!

Poor families were different. The family lost a laborer, and brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and books were all expensive, squeezing a family dry over six years.

If this continued, they could only return home to become second-rate teachers or make a living writing for others.

Becoming a reporter was undoubtedly an excellent option. Though not on the official path, it was the closest position to power!

They would have opportunities to meet countless officials and nobles, building connections that ordinary officials couldn't match. It was a kind of success, and with luck, they might even enter officialdom through special provisions!

Though they were strangers, Fang Zheng planned to help as many as he could, since it was easy enough to do.

As he continued patrolling, many scholars felt uneasy under his gaze.

They felt this official was unusual! He bent down to look at people! That smile was exactly like an old customer at a brothel.

But the examination was important, so they could only keep their heads down and work, not daring to waste time thinking too much.

When Fang Zheng wandered to the Hong character cell, he finally saw a familiar face, Shen Yi.

Shen Yi was currently working hard, looking very serious. Fang Zheng couldn't help going closer to look.

The scratch paper was covered with densely packed small characters, neat and beautiful. Fang Zheng couldn't help nodding.

Good handwriting! But not as large as mine, still needs practice!

Shen Yi was busy when he suddenly felt the sunlight blocked. He quickly looked up, saw it was Fang Zheng, and immediately relaxed, smiling.

Fang Zheng smiled slightly and said softly, "Do well, don't be nervous." Then he continued walking.

Hearing him speak, Shen Yi suddenly felt more at ease. He took a deep breath and went back to writing.

Just as he reached Shen Yi's neighboring cell, Fang Zheng suddenly stopped and looked over with a smile!

The paper clearly showed the name Zhang Chang, along with three generations of ancestors and birthplace.

This was the son of Minister of Revenue Zhang Shi!

At the poetry debate on the pleasure boat, this boy had repeatedly tried to find fault with him!

His father wasn't easy to deal with either, probably frequently reporting him to His Majesty, though the reports were all shelved.

Today I've finally caught you! Hehe!

Zhang Chang was writing furiously, excited inside!

This exam question wasn't difficult for him, even seeming simple. He had memorized everything thoroughly!

His father had confined him for nearly a year, isolating him from the outside world while he studied diligently! Even if he performed slightly poorly, his father said he could pull some strings... with this, passing the provincial examination was practically guaranteed!

After passing, he could take the metropolitan examination in half a year... as long as he could rank in the top three tiers, even just as a regular jinshi, with his father's influence and connections to the Hanlin Academy, he would likely be selected as a Hanlin Bachelor!

Then he would be a close aide to His Majesty...

A shameless villain like Fang Zheng could trick His Majesty into giving him a third-rank official position with just a glib tongue.

When this young master rises, I'll make Fang Zheng pay blood for blood!

As he wrote, Zhang Chang's expression gradually became ferocious, and he unconsciously made growling sounds, sounding extremely creepy.

Suddenly feeling the light dim, Zhang Chang looked up, and his eyes bulged in shock! As if struck by lightning!

He saw Fang Zheng with his back to the sun, facing him with a smile, looking all warm and friendly.

Demon! It's that demon! Fuck! Why is Fang Zheng the examination official, why!!!

Zhang Chang's entire body's hair stood on end, and goosebumps began appearing on his arms.

Looking at Fang Zheng, he squeezed out a smile uglier than crying, and stammered:

"Mi... Mi... Minister Fang..."