The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Side 23-25

Because Xu Qing originated from a low-income family, if the Emperor named him the finest scholar in the Final Imperial Examination, he would be able to rely solely on the Emperor in the future.

After hearing what Prime Minister Shen had to say, the Emperor couldn't help but sigh at how similar Prime Minister Shen and Shen Qingling's perspectives were. What father and son! 

After asking Prime Minister Shen for his view, the Emperor asked a few other ministers for theirs. Some of them advised Xu Qing, while others, predictably, advocated others. 

At the same time, they slammed Xu Qing, claiming that he had broken the rules of his paper and that his response was irrelevant.

Shen Qingfei, who had been acting stupid, consented. "Lord Wang, I don't think what you said is right. I don't remember one has to follow the rules in his paper. I wonder when the Great Xia has such a rule?" If Lord Wang, you really can't find any fault in Xu Qing's paper, you might as well stay silent. Besides, the reason you gave to disparage Xu Qing's paper is irrational. You are embarrassing yourself by doing this, and you were saying that in front of those ten students. Save yourself some pride, Lord Wang."

Shen Qingfei's remark made Lord Wang's face livid and pale at the same time. He also found it hard to retort upon Shen Qingfei, and finally, he could only sat down with rage.

Now that Shen Qingfei had stood up, the Emperor had to ask, "Aiqing, what about you? Since you don't agree with Lord Wang, what do you think of the other nine papers?"

Shen Qingfei appeared to have gotten himself into another pickle. Every time Shen Qingfei mentioned something, the Emperor would find a flaw in it and then ask him to explain it.

Shen Qingling would have assumed the Emperor was interested in his brother if it hadn't been for the fact that the Emperor was already married. However, he afterwards realized that the Emperor's motivation for doing so was entirely to make fun of Shen Qingfei. When Shen Qingfei was embarrassed while racking his wits for an answer, the Emperor relished it.

Shen Qingling could only light a candle in his imagination to pay his respects to his brother. He could light more candles for him this time. 

After all, Shen Qingfei was now defending his future spouse. Of course, whether Xu Qing was a wife or a husband, this was a serious situation. For the time being, Shen Qingling could only envision it. Shen Qingfei's face changed color as expected when he heard the Emperor's words. 

He was now melancholy. He wasn't a talkative person to begin with, but whenever the Emperor requested him to say something, he had to utter so much that his lips dried up. This was not a pleasant sensation for Shen Qingfei.

Shen Qingfei blamed himself for his own stupidity and then followed the Emperor's order obediently, finding fault with the other papers.

Many papers, in Shen Qingfei's opinion, were full of foolishness, particularly those produced by the first and second in the Spring Imperial Examination. Shen Qingfei almost said "good for nothing," and those two students blanched. 

Of course, there were some standouts. On the contrary, the papers prepared by students who did poorly in the Spring Imperial Examination were far superior. 

Shen Qingfei not only pointed out the flaws, but he also highlighted certain positive aspects, which immediately made others who were not in the spotlight beam with joy.

Shen Qingfei had no other skills, but he had read a lot of books. People found it difficult to disagree with him since he was articulate and his beliefs were well-founded. As a result, when