The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 93

It turns out that Ping Lin has a close relationship with Jin Xiang, the family member of Bai Jin, the examiner of this exam. Jin Xiang followed Bai Quan into the examination room and interceded for Ping Lin in private. Jin Xiang asked Bai Chen to take out one of the papers in the exam and replace it with Ping Lin. Ping Lin's family was very poor, and Jin Xiang didn't charge him any money. This was probably because they were both sons of idlers, so they had a close friendship. It is said that Editor Miao, Pinglin's Fangshi (in the imperial examination, the marking teacher is called Fangshi, and the chief examiner and deputy examiner are called sitting masters) also didn't know about it. The apprenticeship gift that Ping Lin gave to Editor Miao was only ten strings of money.

There was a Cantonese named Luo Hongyi, who was still young. After being contacted by Zhang Jing and Li Heling of the Military Aircraft Department, he sent a note to the examiner Pu'an for recommendation, and he was also selected. Luo Hongyi gave Pu'an five hundred taels of silver and also gave Li Heling a lot. After Luo Hongyi arrived at the case, he confessed, and Li Heling and Pu'an were not allowed to deny it.

The case was interrogated in the Admiral's Mansion. The criminal law was severe and Pu'an could not be punished. The examiner Cheng Tinggui was brought out and burned the note at the scene, petitioning him to be brought to justice and dismissed. He also brought out Cheng Bingcai, Cheng Tinggui's son, who was showing off outside and having an affair, and investigated them all. Cheng Bingcai wanted to involve others, so he confessed that Chen Jingzhan, the son of Chen Fuen, one of the presiding officials, had sent a note. Chen Fuen filed a petition, admitting that the note sent by his son was true, handed it over for trial, and requested punishment.

When Cheng Bingcai was severely interrogated, he said that he had burned Chen Jingzhan's note outside the examination room and had not sent it into the examination room. He also revealed that Pan Zutong, the son of the minister Pan Xingzhai, had sent the note to his fellow villager Xie Senqi. Xie Senqi was a wealthy family in Suzhou and had donated his official position in Beijing. In order to gain connections, he asked Pan Zutong to send him to various places and wanted to be his disciple. Pan Zutong's candidates and Jinshi were awarded by the emperor, not by examination, and he didn't have much talent in his chest. When he met a fool like Xie Senqi, he was willing to accept him, but they were both arrested. Pan Xingzhai followed Chen Fuen's example and formally requested punishment.

Cheng Tinggui's in-law was Pan Duo's son Pan Dunyan. Cheng Bingcai did not confess that he had sent the note. When Pan Duo heard about the situation, he was frightened and took his son Pan Dunyan to the admiral's Yamen to surrender and admit that he had sent the note. Cheng Bingcai couldn't hide it for him anymore.