Striving in the Red Mansion.

Summary

On March 8th, the results of the imperial examination revealed that around 300 candidates were successful out of over 3,000. Following the announcement, many unsuccessful candidates lingered in Beijing, leading to rumors brewing among them. On March 16th, Jia Huan hosted a celebratory banquet at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion for successful candidates. The atmosphere was lively, but whispers of discontent from failed candidates began to surface, particularly targeting Jia Huan, who had ranked first. A fellow scholar warned him of rumors suggesting he had received leaked exam questions. Meanwhile, Wang Kuang, a visiting scholar, was approached by Zhao Xingchen, who offered him money to lead a group of failed candidates to demand an explanation from the Ministry of Rites regarding Jia Huan's success.

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