Pang Cifu recounted all the ominous signs that occurred in the examination hall, turning them into auspicious omens.

The trusted aide didn’t expect this turn of events and hesitantly asked, “The collapsed watchtower is understandable, but what about the toilet explosion…”

Pang Cifu, no longer worried about facing repercussions later, relaxed visibly.

He rolled up his sleeves and confidently stated, “The toilet, a filthy and gloomy place, couldn’t withstand the noble aura of these extraordinary talents… Do you have any more questions?”

The aide dared not ask further questions.

Pang Cifu then motioned for him to come closer and whispered something in his ear.

After a brief exchange, the aide nodded, indicating his understanding.

Although the results had not been announced yet, theoretically, the officials inside the Imperial Examination Hall were not allowed to leave.

However, they needed provisions for their daily meals, so there were always people delivering food from outside, including those connected to Pang Cifu, making it easy to convey messages.

As discussions continued among the common people, the events at the examination hall remained a popular topic.

On this day, however, a peculiar sight caught their attention outside the examination hall—an eccentric wandering Taoist monk causing a commotion at the main gate.

Despite the officials being busy with the exam evaluations, the guards attempted to drive the monk away.

However, he insisted on entering for a specific reason.

In the imperial capital, where even the lives of commoners were highly valued, officials dared not resort to violence against a person.

Despite their attempts to remove him, the monk remained steadfast, attracting a crowd of curious onlookers.

Some sympathized with him, considering him insane and pitiable, while others, annoyed by the disruption, urged the guards to remove him swiftly.

Five guards were dispatched to apprehend the monk, but to their surprise, he effortlessly knocked them all down with a single leap.

“Wow, this crazy Taoist really has some skills!”

Originally, everyone just came to watch the excitement, but now they were afraid that he would use his skills to commit violence, so they started discussing and backing away.

The crazy Taoist immediately said, “Don’t be afraid, I only came to subdue demons and eliminate evil spirits, absolutely will not harm anyone!”

Seeing that he spoke in an organized manner, some of the bolder people in the crowd stopped backing away and asked him, “Subdue demons and eliminate evil spirits? Are there demons and evil spirits in this examination hall?”

This statement was like dropping a drop of water into a hot oil pan, and the crowd immediately boiled over.

“It was said that there were strong winds and heavy rain, collapses, and explosions earlier…”

“Daoist, please tell us, what kind of demons and monsters are causing trouble here?”

The crazy Taoist spoke confidently, “The troublemaker here is a toilet demon! You should all know that demons are born by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, or the filth. In the capital, where there is a real dragon, there is dragon’s energy. The most frequent visitors to this examination hall are naturally the best scholars in the world. The dragon’s energy, the scholars’ essence, plus the filth from the toilet, gave birth to such a demon! I calculated months ago that there would be a toilet demon born here, and I rushed here day and night from another place, just to subdue this toilet demon. I hope the military men will be lenient and let me in!”

His words were convincing, and the soldiers dared not act rashly, saying they would report to the officer in charge.

And unknowingly, more people had gathered to watch, and the discussions grew louder.

“No wonder my master came back from the exam and fell seriously ill. He has always been healthy. Could it be that the toilet demon drained his essence?”

“I’ve only read records from the Song Dynasty about hat demons causing trouble in the capital. I never thought that in our lifetime, we would witness this ‘toilet demon’!”

“No wonder the toilet exploded! This disgusting demon has made my family smell it for days…”

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist’s face changed.

He solemnly said, “If the toilet demon dwells in the toilet, how could it destroy its own dwelling? Wouldn’t that mean it has no place to survive?”

Saying this, he calculated in front of everyone, reciting the well-known formula of divination.

After a while, the crazy Taoist suddenly burst into laughter and then said loudly, “So that’s it, so that’s it! Heaven blesses us. Several distinguished people who came out of the same prefecture in this year’s provincial examination were too much for the toilet demon to bear, so it’s already been eliminated! I’ll take my leave now!”

With that, the crazy Taoist suddenly soared into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

---

After the list of successful candidates was posted but before it was officially announced, Pang Cifu had to have the list copied onto a scroll and presented to the emperor for approval.

When he went over, Emperor Xihe was reviewing memorials.

Seeing Pang Cifu, Emperor Xihe, who had just turned twenty, put down his brush and said with concern, “Pang Gong, why have you lost so much weight? Is it because managing the provincial examination is too hard?”

Pang Cifu hurriedly said, bowing his head, “It is my duty to worry for Your Majesty and serve the court. How could I dare to say it’s hard?”

The two of them exchanged a few polite words.

Emperor Xihe then asked, “Recently, I heard a strange story, saying that there is actually a toilet demon in our capital’s provincial examination hall. Have you heard about this, Pang Gong?”

Pang Cifu replied as he handed the scroll to the emperor’s personal eunuch for presentation, “I was in the provincial examination hall at the time, but unfortunately, the exams had not yet been graded, and according to regulations, I could not leave. I could only send the examination hall’s soldiers. By the time I heard their report, the crazy Taoist who had been boasting in front of everyone was already gone.”

Emperor Xihe chuckled and asked the eunuch to open the scroll for him to review.

Upon looking at the list, he naturally saw that the top few scholars were all from the same place.

Seeing that he had noticed, Pang Cifu said, “I am ashamed. Although I don’t believe the words of that crazy Taoist, the top scholars in this provincial examination did indeed come from the same prefecture. By posting this list, we have undoubtedly fulfilled the prophecy of that crazy Taoist. However, these scholars are truly outstanding. We shouldn’t disrupt their rankings and bury their talents just because of some rumors. I dare not make decisions on my own, so I have asked the official in charge of copying to delay a bit. What do you think?”

As he spoke, Pang Cifu took out another scroll from his sleeve and had it presented by the eunuch.

Naturally, this scroll contained the examination papers of these few people.

This provincial examination was the second one presided over by Emperor Xihe after he ascended the throne.

The previous one was held in the year he ascended the throne, and it selected talents like Mu Yunchuan.

Therefore, he had some insight into this matter.

After a glance, Emperor Xihe smiled in satisfaction and said, “Pang Gong is right. These people are indeed eloquent and knowledgeable, especially the leader among them. His talent for managing the world is no less than that of Mu Yunchuan from the previous examination.”

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Xihe said, “In that case, announce the results according to Pang Gong’s original ranking.”

Pang Cifu bowed and agreed, then took his leave to attend to the distribution of the results.

Thus, only Emperor Xihe and the personal eunuch remained in the hall.

This eunuch had grown up with Emperor Xihe since childhood.

Although not very smart, he was extremely loyal.

He suggested, “Why not send the secret guards to ‘invite’ that Taoist into the palace? He was able to predict more than a month ago that there was a demon in the provincial examination hall, and he also predicted that there would be distinguished people from the same prefecture among the scholars this year. It shows that he really has some skills. I know Your Majesty doesn’t believe in these things, but such a strange person might still be useful to have around.”

Emperor Xihe smiled but did not respond, continuing to review the memorials without stopping.

Where in the world could there be such a strange person? It was just that Pang Cifu was afraid of being held responsible and happened to discover a few talents during the examination, so he took advantage of the situation to create a mystique.

However, those few people did indeed have the talent for managing the world, and Emperor Xihe did not want any rumors of ‘unlucky omens in the Imperial examination’ to arise shortly before his succession.

It was as if heaven did not want him to have talented assistants.

He just went along with the flow.

A small game between the emperor and his officials doesn’t need to be elaborated.

Seeing that the emperor didn’t speak, the eunuch immediately stopped talking and retreated to the side.

---

As for Cui Wei and the others, after the provincial examination, there was still the palace examination.

Although they didn’t know their rankings yet, besides Cui Fei, almost everyone else was likely to advance to the final round.

So the young men, like before, stayed secluded in the academy, studying diligently.

As for the rumors of the crazy Taoist and the toilet demon that were widely spread among the people in the capital, they had also heard about them.

However, they had not gone to watch on the day of the incident, only hearing about it through hearsay.

Therefore, the rumors were not entirely accurate.

For example, the phrase “distinguished people from the same prefecture” had now become “a group of distinguished people were born.”

However, most people didn’t believe in ghosts and gods, at most believing in feng shui.

So they just treated it as a lively story and didn’t pay much attention to it, continuing with their own busy lives.

After Shen Cui learned about it, she returned to her room, closed the door, and burst into tears of laughter.

[The Ruler of this plane went to great lengths to pave the way for her beloved son, even using the despicable trick of exploding the toilet. As a result, in the mouths of the common people, the majestic principle became a ‘toilet demon’! Hahaha…]

[System also laughed along, Using despicable tricks, causing trouble for our cultivated targets twice in a row, this ‘toilet demon’ title is well-deserved!]

In late February, the results of the provincial examination were announced.

Because there was still the final round of the palace examination to come, the people of Cui Wei had to keep a low profile.

So this time, they didn’t personally go to see the results.

They only sent reliable servants to check.

Wei Shu’s servant was the most clever among them, so he was put in charge.

They set off before dawn.

Before lunchtime, the servant came back panting with sweat, saying, “We’ve hit the jackpot! Master Mei won the first place, Master Shen the second, Master Mu the third, Second Young Master the fourth, and Eldest Young Master the thirty-second… Master Cui came in two hundred and fifty-second!”