Finally, after three exams, Chen Ziyuan, who was only ten years old, had a little time to relax.
"Ziyuan!"
After shouting, Chen Ziyuan turned around and looked at his friend Lin Baiyang who hurried over.
Until he got closer, Lin Baiyang hurriedly walked to Chen Ziyuan's side and started talking while walking.
"Zi Yuan, do you think you can pass the exam this time?" Lin Baiyang glanced at Chen Ziyuan, who was a head shorter than himself.
Listening to the words of his friend Lin Baiyang, Ziyuan raised his head and looked up at the blue sky, and then said: "It should be possible."
Upon hearing this, Lin Baiyang's face was full of envy.
In Lin Baiyang's heart, after all, he could not compare to someone like Chen Ziyuan, who had no worries about food, clothing, and a good tutor. Gradually, Lin Baiyang seemed not to have much confidence in passing the provincial examination.
"Are you going back to your home in Xitong County later?" Lin Baiyang asked.
Zi Yuan shook his head: "I don't know, it should be so."
"Zi Yuan, don't leave for a while, wait for me to get off."
Without much thought, Ziyuan agreed: "Okay."
The two of them walked and arrived at the Xilai Inn.
This time, before he got closer, Zi Yuan saw Uncle Xu's shadow, but this time he did not stand on the door frame, but walked out and stood beside the door of Xilai Inn like a bodyguard. This time he still He was wearing a bamboo hat and a knife at his waist.
Seeing Uncle Xu standing beside Xilai Inn, Ziyuan did not run away as quickly as last time, but walked over with his friend Lin Baiyang.
"father."
As soon as Zi Yuan finished shouting, his friend Lin Baiyang said hello: "Hello, uncle."
He said hello, uncle, and it was obvious that he called Chunxu old. However, in order to hide his identity, Chunxu didn't say much. , just nodded with his hat on.
Knowing that Uncle Xu was still hiding his identity, Ziyuan said, "Dad, let's go eat something delicious first?" After saying this, Chunxu was pulled away before Chunxu could agree.
Seeing Zi Yuan walking further and further away, Lin Baiyang was a little worried, worried that Zi Yuan would not be able to fulfill his promise, so he shouted: "Zi Yuan, remember what I said!"
Ziyuan looked back and then walked a long way with Chunxu.
As I walked, I came to a place with few people.
"Dad, have you found any clues?" Ziyuan asked still concerned.
At Ziyuan's age, Chunxu was a little envious that his eyes could see things so accurately.
Seeing Zi Yuan's concerned look, Chun Xu first asked: "Zi Yuan, you said that if there is such a phenomenon of buying and selling exam questions, and you want to get rid of this phenomenon, you have to pay a big price, you Are you willing?"
After hearing the words, Ziyuan didn't think much and directly agreed: "Dad. Mr. once said that you can't always think about getting a good prescription before doing it. As long as the people can live a good life and the society is stable, no matter what others do, Look at it, as long as you do good things, nothing else matters.”
After listening to Zi Yuan's words, I have to say that there is nothing wrong with what he said.
"Okay, let's go to the government office."
"What are you doing at the government office?" As soon as he finished asking the question in his mind, before Chunxu could answer, Ziyuan began to guess: "Dad, did you find any clues?"
Chunxu nodded in response, then took out the test questions for the second exam and handed them to Ziyuan.
After taking it, Ziyuan began to read hard.
Originally, he wanted to buy the remaining two of the three exams together, but due to financial reasons, Chunxu could only afford one copy.
"Dad, where did you get it?" Ziyuan looked at Chunxu happily.
"This...it's a long story."
"Dad, are there any other two shows?" Zi Yuan asked.
If you have sufficient funds and decide to buy it, Chunxu shook his head, looked at Ziyuan's face, and asked curiously: "Are the test questions here the same as those you relied on in the second test?"
Ziyuan nodded: "Same."
"Okay, then let's go to the government office, but you should think carefully before going there. Once the evidence is conclusive, the provincial examination will be retaken; if there is insufficient evidence, your qualification for the provincial examination may be lost."
When Chunxu said this, Ziyuan nodded again: "Sir, he said that as long as a person spends his life learning and struggling, even if there is no honor, what he has learned is a matter of honor. I believe That’s what sir said.”
"good."
In response, Ziyuan followed Chunxu towards the local government office.
When he arrived at the government office, Chunxu held the test questions he had bought for several days tightly in his hands and walked to the government office.
"We need to report to the official." Chunxu said.
Upon hearing this, a yamen servant hurried inside to report.
Not long after waiting, the yamen servant hurriedly ran out, looked at Chunxu, and said: "Prefect Liu said that there are many official duties today, so you can come and report tomorrow."
Hearing such words, Chunxu couldn't accept it. Although he didn't know much, as a parent, how could he refuse to take the case because of his busy official duties.
In the Mo Dynasty, whenever local officials encountered people who wanted to report a crime, they had to take the case as soon as possible, and then wait for processing based on whether the case was urgent or not.
Seeing the appearance of the prefect here, Chunxu walked to the side of the yamen gate, walked towards the intact drum, took the stick in both hands, and started beating it.
The sound of the drum soon started, startling Magistrate Liu inside the government office, and attracted the people who heard the drums and loved watching the excitement to the front of the government office.
"Is this an injustice?"
"Designated yes."
"Just watch the excitement."
The people's comments kept ringing in front of the government office.
"Who is outside?" Magistrate Liu asked Master Li who was standing aside.
Magistrate Liu, whose surname is Liu and given name is Wu, is the magistrate of Nanning Prefecture. He has been in office for 42 years, and has been in office for thirteen years.
With a big beard and a slightly chubby figure, he looks like he is in his forties now. He is a good official in the eyes of the people, but not a good official in the eyes of businessmen.
Master Li on the side looks like he is not as fat as Magistrate Liu, but not as old as Magistrate Liu. He looks like a man in his thirties.
Master Li looked confused: "I don't know about this either. This is the first time I've seen such a person."
"In your opinion, should I accept this case or not?" Magistrate Liu asked the master.
In fact, you can make the decision yourself without asking him, but this must be because you are used to getting along with Master, so you always ask Master Li your thoughts every time.
"Take it. You have been an official in this mansion for thirteen years, and you are a good official in the hearts of the people. You cannot let the people lose their trust in you because of this."
"Okay, let's go to the hall."
With these words, Master Li walked to the middle of the Yamen and shouted: "Shengtang!"
After a shout of approval, Chunxu led Ziyuan into the yamen and knelt in the lobby.
In fact, with Chunxu's life experience, he didn't need to kneel. During the Hongdao period, Chunxu won the imperial examination for the first time, but he never passed the exam again. Therefore, Chunxu gave up school.
Chunxu could hide the business test questions from Ziyuan.
But thinking about the affairs of Sun Mansion, Ziyuan's parents, and several officials in Hongdao's last years, he had long been looking for an opportunity to take revenge.
Now Ziyuan is young and has little knowledge of the world. He also wants to use this time to show Ziyuan what this country is like and how to be an official.
Chunxu had already prepared for the worst when he came to this government office.
"Poof!"
After the sound of the hammering was heard, the prefect Liu Wu began to ask: "Who is kneeling under the stage?!"
"Back to the magistrate, Zhang Chunxu, a common man. The person beside him is Zhang Ziyuan, a child of the common man." Chunxu said.
Listening to Chunxu's introduction, Magistrate Liu seemed a little familiar with this name, but thinking that there were many people with the same name in the world, he didn't pay much attention to it.
"What grievance do you have?" Magistrate Liu asked.
"Back to the official, the common people recently found someone selling test questions in the city. Wanting to find out, they spent a lot of money to buy a copy of the test questions. They have been verified to be true and false. These are the test questions for the second test." With that, Chunxu will I took out the test questions.
Magistrate Liu Wu looked calm, looking at the people kneeling on the ground in front of him, and then at the people watching from the outside without saying a word.
Seeing that the prefect said nothing, Master Li walked down, took the test questions from Chunxu's hand, and handed them to the prefect Liu Wu.
However, after a brief look, he didn't see the surprised look on the prefect Liu Wu's face, but he looked calm.
The prefect Liu Wu looked at it again and again and said, "Let's take a look." It's not really a look. It should be a fake look to let him think about how to deal with this matter.
After a while, the prefect Liu Wu said: "This test question is fake."
This sentence made Sun Chunxu below and Chen Ziyuan beside him a little confused. The anxious Ziyuan said: "Impossible, this test question is obviously the same as the question in the second exam."
"Oh? Really?" Magistrate Liu said.
Chen Ziyuan nodded confidently.
"Then... how did you know that the questions in this test are the same as the questions in the second exam?" asked Magistrate Liu.
"I am an examinee. I took part in this provincial examination, so I naturally know." Zi Yuan said.
Looking at the chirping people outside, looking at the righteous looks of the two people in front of him, and seeing that it was still early, Magistrate Liu looked at Master Li aside: "I will invite some examiners for this provincial examination. "
Upon hearing what Magistrate Liu Wu said, Master Li felt that something was not appropriate and hesitated. After a moment, he whispered his thoughts in Magistrate Liu's ear: "Prefect, you are a local magistrate. Please...please Are they coming..."
"Why are you panicking? Just check whether this question is true or false. Besides, I am thinking about the people. Since it involves Qiu Wei, I naturally ask them for an explanation." Magistrate Liu said.
After Magistrate Liu's words, Master Li had no choice but to say no more and walked out of the government office.
Chunxu, who was kneeling on the ground, looked at Ziyuan who looked a little nervous. He smiled slightly and said with a fake smile: "Don't be afraid, Magistrate Liu said, make the decision for the people."
The conversation between Chunxu and Ziyuan was heard by Liu Wu, the prefect on the stage, but so what if he heard it.
From my own perspective, as long as the place I manage is not in chaos, I have a salary from the court, my head is saved, and I have enough food and clothing, what else do I care about.
