Chapter 315: Imperial Examination Fraud
# 315. Imperial Examination Fraud
"Xu Cijiu can’t write poetry for shit. I could randomly scribble a few lines and put him to shame. If it hadn’t been for his cousin Xu Qi’an giving him a poem that day, that Ziyang Scholar’s jade pendant should have been mine."
Zhu Tuizhi muttered bitterly, recalling that day’s unpleasantness.
“Could it be examination fraud?” Liu Jue ventured cautiously.
“Nonsense!” The students from Cloud Deer Academy, outraged, glared at him.
*Examination fraud…* The term flashed in Zhu Tuizhi’s mind, as if suddenly connecting all his doubts, offering a reasonable explanation for why Xu Cijiu could write a masterpiece and claim the title of Huiyuan.
Zhu Tuizhi shook his head. “Impossible. Poetry isn’t like prose—you can’t prepare in advance just by knowing the topic. Brother Liu, if I asked you to compose a masterpiece with ‘Spring Scenery’ as the theme and gave you three days, could you do it?”
Liu Jue shook his head. “Honestly, even three years wouldn’t be enough.”
He took a sip of his wine, then smirked knowingly and lowered his voice. “But think about it, brother Zhu. What if the person who wrote it was Silver Gong Xu Qi’an?”