Chapter 114: Provincial Examination 1/2

After visiting Magistrate Zhang, Li Qingzhi returned to Zhu Qian’s residence to study.

In the days that followed, he visited Peng Jingliang and other people with Zhu Xunmiao and others, and he also attended gatherings of scholars in the city.

The clerks in the county yamen knew his situation, and almost all the scholars in Hexing Mansion knew about him.

The person who presided over the provincial examination would often be one of the presiders of the county examination that year. Therefore, the presiders of the counties in Hexing Mansion received much attention.

And Li Qingzhi, undoubtedly, was the most prominent among the presiders of those counties.

He hadn’t even passed the scholar exam yet, but he had already received recognition from some scholars, including Peng Jingliang.

When he followed Magistrate Gou to Linhu County, Li Qingzhi wrote some articles under Magistrate Gou’s guidance. Now he spread these articles around, attracting praise from countless people.

He writes decently, and his calligraphy is even more superior, towering over other young scholars.

Li Qingzhi’s articles circulated in the prefectural city, and the number of people who knew him and recognized his talent kept increasing. Eventually, most people believed he would be the top scorer in the provincial examination.

Many even thought he could achieve a “small triple crown,” meaning he would rank first in the county, provincial, and imperial examinations.

A year ago, Li Qingzhi, who was unknown, became widely acknowledged as one of the outstanding young scholars in Hexing Prefecture in a very short time.

Of course, not everyone liked Li Qingzhi, as literati often hold disdain for one another, but Li Qingzhi didn’t care. He didn’t have money that could make everyone like him. Some even disliked the money itself.

While Li Qingzhi was busy preparing for the provincial examination, Magistrate Zhang was also busy with it. Having experienced exile and demotion, he had learned to remain calm. He didn’t want the ambitions of these young scholars who hoped to change their lives through the imperial examination to be affected by the King of Jin or the Lou Family.

Magistrate Zhang diligently prepared for the provincial examination and even arranged for the renovation of the examination hall, focusing solely on these tasks. Moreover, after receiving the investigation results from Magistrate Guo, he had already submitted a request to waive the tea tax for Linhu County… Both Magistrate Guo and the Lou family were relieved.

In the capital.

The court had received Magistrate Zhang’s petition to waive the tea tax.

The current emperor had been poisoned in his early years and was in poor health. He wished to govern diligently, but his health didn’t allow it. After attending morning court, he often felt exhausted and needed to rest. After waking up from a nap, handling some memorials, and having lunch, he would need to sleep again…

What’s more, in the past two years, his eyesight has deteriorated, making it difficult for him to handle state affairs. If he had a son, he would have long handed over political affairs to the Crown Prince, but he had no son!

In recent years, he has increasingly relied on Eunuch Lu Qingxi, who has grown up with him and experienced many storms with him. Many state affairs were even handled by Lu Qingxi.

In the face of the growing power of King Jin, Lu Qingxi was also striving to suppress it.

Today, while Lu Qingxi was handling state affairs, he saw the petition submitted by Magistrate Zhang to reduce taxes in Linhu County.

Upon seeing the petition, Lu Qingxi was displeased and almost threw away his pen, but in the end, he decided to take the petition to the emperor for a decision.

“Zhang Zhiru is compassionate towards the people. It seems those tea farmers are truly struggling. Let it be approved,” the emperor said.

Magistrate Zhang’s real name was Zhang Zhiru.

The emperor still trusted this person very much, but there was always closeness and distance between people. Zhang Zhiru had previously been incessantly critical of Eunuch Lu Qingxi, feeling that an eunuch like him shouldn’t handle state affairs… He was dissatisfied, so on Lu Qingxi’s suggestion, Zhang Zhiru was sent to Jiangnan.

“The Emperor does appreciate Mr. Zhang.” Lu Qingxi, being an eunuch, naturally had a different tone of voice from ordinary people. At this moment, his words carried an even more peculiar tone.

The Emperor smiled and said, “Qingxi, I know he has offended you, but he’s just a hothead. Don’t bother with him.”

“Your Majesty, how can you call Mr. Zhang a hothead? He’s several years older than you!” Lu Qingxi retorted.

“Though he’s older than me, his spirit is vigorous, like that of a young man. I heard he went in disguise for a private visit and almost got beaten up,” the Emperor asked.

Magistrate Zhang went to Chongcheng County to investigate, and the unexpected incident that occurred was something the Emperor wouldn’t have known about. But hadn’t this already turned into a play? Naturally, someone wrote it into a memorial and presented it to the court, accusing Magistrate Zhang of “buying the people’s hearts.”

However, the Emperor, who had always been of good temper, didn’t take it into account.

“He just loves to stir up trouble,” Lu Qingxi said.

Due to the Emperor’s failing health, Lu Qingxi didn’t dwell too much on the matters regarding Magistrate Zhang, instead presenting other memorials for his decision.

After dealing with those important memorials, Lu Qingxi brought in a trusted imperial physician to diagnose and treat the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, there’s no problem. Just rest well as usual.” The physician’s diagnosis was no different from before.

Lu Qingxi wasn’t surprised by this result.

Since the Emperor drank that poisoned cup from Concubine Xian, he had been unwell, feeling uncomfortable all day long.

There were still no offspring born in his harem.

Given the Emperor’s current state of health, if one had to point out a major illness, there really wasn’t one. However, he had frequent minor ailments, and it was destined that he wouldn’t live long. The imperial physician had long mentioned to Lu Qingxi that the Emperor would probably live for another five or six years at most.

Regarding this matter, Lu Qingxi was even more anxious than the Emperor.

Over the years, he had offended many people, and if the Emperor were to pass away, he would have a bleak future.

The Emperor had mentioned arranging a future for him… but leaving everything behind and living in obscurity was not the life he wanted.

After the Emperor went to rest, Lu Qingxi returned to his residence with a gloomy face.

He used to live in the palace, but in recent years, he had too many matters to handle, so he moved out of the palace.

Upon returning home, Lu Qingxi immediately summoned his confidants, informing them of everything that happened in court today and asking for their analysis.

During the discussion, Zhang Zhiru naturally came up.

“I know King of Jin has been up to a lot in Jiangnan, which is why I specifically sent Zhang Zhiru there. But he’s done nothing at all!” Lu Qingxi was very angry.

Jiangnan was quite far away after all, and he didn’t know exactly what King Jin’s people were doing in Jiangnan.

But he was sure of one thing—they hadn’t hesitated to plunder gold, silver, jewels, and antique artifacts, and even sent Yangzhou’s finest horses to the capital.

Zhang Zhiru had indeed offended him, and he truly didn’t like Zhang Zhiru, who was almost pointing fingers and cursing at him, but he actually had high hopes for Zhang Zhiru.

He believed that Zhang Zhiru could help him deal with Prince Jin.

He had specifically sent Zhang Zhiru to Jiangnan, hoping day and night that Zhang Zhiru would confront King Jin’s people.

However, it had been two years, and Zhang Zhiru hadn’t accomplished anything!

Lu Qingxi came from a poor background. He was sold by his family at the age of eight, and after wandering around for a while, he ended up entering the palace. After entering the palace, he suffered bullying for several years. Even though he was later arranged to serve the current emperor, he didn’t initially have a good life.

At that time, the late emperor favored the imperial concubine, and her eldest son hadn’t died… The current emperor was just an ignored little prince!

Lu Qingxi was adept at fighting and cursing. At this moment, he couldn’t help but curse at Zhang Zhiru in his hometown dialect.

“Your Highness, don’t be angry. It’s not worth getting upset and ruining your health,” a soft voice spoke up.

If Wu Baichuan were here, he would recognize that the person talking to Lu Qingxi was the female shopkeeper who had advised him to get more goods from Jin Xiaoye.

Lu Qingxi was an eunuch, so naturally, his confidants weren’t well-known scholars. Sitting here were eunuchs like Lu Qingxi, physically disabled scholars, and this female shopkeeper.

When Lu Qingxi heard the words of the female shopkeeper, he finally stopped cursing and smiled, asking her a few questions. Learning that the female shopkeeper had earned a lot of money for him and seeing her joyful expression, he was pleased.

This female shopkeeper’s surname was Mu, and she was Lu Qingxi’s fellow villager. Five years ago, she had been introduced by someone and had joined Lu Qingxi.

Shopkeeper Mu was good at business and had made a lot of money for Lu Qingxi. Moreover, with her extremely beautiful appearance and skill in coaxing people, she was different in Lu Qingxi’s eyes.