Chapter 97: Head of Case 2/2

Li Qingzhi was undoubtedly the top scorer, and as for the others, he ranked them according to their actual abilities.

He was determined to be a good official and naturally didn’t want his reputation to be damaged by a county exam.

After finishing this task, Magistrate Gou felt relaxed and said to his attendants, “Li Qingzhi is truly outstanding. In the provincial exam next month, the top scorer will definitely come from our Chongcheng County. And in the subsequent imperial exam, he should also be able to take the top spot… Perhaps our county will produce a small three-time winner!”

This would be a significant achievement!

The Magistrate Gou became happier the more he thought about it, wishing he could immediately find Li Qingzhi and have a chat with him.

But he had to avoid suspicion… Magistrate Gou sighed and instructed his attendants to arrange a banquet.

After the county exam, it was customary for the county magistrate to host a banquet for those who passed.

Early the next morning, the officials from the county yamen posted the list of those who passed the county exam.

When the officials were posting the list, there were already countless people waiting. Upon seeing the list, some were happy, while others were disappointed.

Yao Zhenfu squeezed to the front, and, upon seeing that his name was not on the list, his face immediately turned ugly.

If it were just his name missing, it would be one thing, but Li Qingzhi was the top scorer, and Zhu Xunmiao, Xu Qifei, and Fang Zijian had all passed the county exam too!

He had been saying that Li Qingzhi wouldn’t make it, but as it turned out, Li Qingzhi was the top scorer!

The more Yao Zhenfu thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Just then, someone suddenly spoke up, “This Li Qingzhi is without any reputation or talent. Why should he get the top score?”

“I know this person. He has only studied under Li Xiucai for a few months. How did he get the top score?”

“Who is this person?”

…

There were over two hundred people participating in the county exam, plus their relatives. At this moment, the area where the list was posted was crowded with people.

These people asked loudly, and many heard them.

It was at this moment that someone else loudly replied, “The stories about Magistrate Gou that have been widely circulated recently were written by Li Qingzhi. Don’t you know?”

“Li Qingzhi has written many stories. He is very knowledgeable!”

“Li Qingzhi is so knowledgeable; it’s only natural that he got the top score!”

…

Both the questioners and the responders were actually arranged by Hong Hui.

His arrangements didn’t stop there. Before this, he had already spread rumors about Li Qingzhi’s lack of knowledge.

Therefore, upon hearing such conversations, some of those who didn’t pass the county exam immediately became angry, “What’s so knowledgeable about writing stories?”

“I’ve read those stories, and I didn’t see any indication of how knowledgeable the writer is!”

“Besides those few stories, I’ve never heard of any other works by him. How did he get the top score?”

…

Li Qingzhi had been quite active these past few months, but this was still ancient times without a network. Many of the people who took the county exam didn’t know him at all and were unaware that he was the author of those stories.

At this moment, someone mentioned that these people knew about this matter.

They were puzzled, and someone else spoke up, “The stories written by Li Qingzhi are very good! What’s the problem with him getting the top score?”

“He wrote stories that Magistrate Gou particularly liked. Of course, the top score should go to him!”

“I heard that he often goes to the county government, and Magistrate Gou personally guides him in his studies…”

…

These people’s words were full of implications. At this moment, someone else jumped out and said, “I heard that Li Qingzhi hasn’t read any books, and his handwriting is extremely ugly. How could he still get the top score? Is there no one else in our Chongcheng County?”

“So, because he can write stories to please Magistrate Gou, Magistrate Gou lets him get the top score?”

“This is outrageous!”

“I refuse to accept Li Qingzhi getting the top score!”

…

In a nearby restaurant, Honghui was hosting several scholars who had come from the prefectural capital.

He wanted to make the situation bigger. It couldn’t be limited to just Chongcheng County; people outside Chongcheng County had to know about it too!

After considering it, Hong Hui invited some friends from the prefectural capital to come to Chongcheng County to appreciate the flowers—there were large fields of rapeseed flowers and a peach forest outside the county, with beautiful scenery.

Previously, Sun Juren had tried to invite Magistrate Zhang, but ended up with bad luck himself… Hong Hui learned from that experience and didn’t say a single bad thing about Li Qingzhi before inviting people over. He didn’t even show up when questioning Li Qingzhi. In any case, this matter couldn’t be traced back to him!

These scholars from the prefectural capital had arrived in Chongcheng County a few days ago.

Hong Hui took them to admire the flowers outside the city, recited poetry with them, and even invited them to watch the most popular new play in Chongcheng County recently—”Magistrate Gou Punishes Zhang Chuqian”.

Today was the day the results of the county exam were announced, so he treated them to a meal at a restaurant near the county government.

Thus, many of the scholars who participated in the county exam’s questioning of Li Qingzhi’s situation were observed by these scholars.

“Who is Li Qingzhi?” these people asked Hong Hui.

Hong Hui replied, “He is a student of Li Xiucai. The play we watched was based on stories written by him.”

“This person is really neglecting his studies. He’s about to take the imperial examination, yet he still writes scripts?” The youngest of the scholars Hong Hui invited said.

This person was a well-known genius from Hexing Prefecture. He became a scholar at the age of fifteen!

Now he was only eighteen years old, still with a hint of youthfulness on his face.

“I’m not sure about that,” Hong Hui said.

At this moment, another scholar from Chongcheng County beside Hong Hui began to explain Li Qingzhi’s situation.

Li Qingzhi was already twenty-four years old this year. He hadn’t studied much before, and only became a scholar under someone last year. This year was his first time participating in the county exam…

And then he got the top score?

This was the county exam! Those who were capable generally passed the county exam when they were in their teens!

He was already twenty-four, participating in the county exam for the first time, and then he got the top score… Something didn’t seem right about that.

At this point, the questioning from the scholars outside became louder and more numerous.

Only a few people from Li Xiucai’s school who had interacted with Li Qingzhi spoke up for him, but those around them didn’t believe them at all!

“This Li Qingzhi is already twenty-four and yet unknown. Suddenly getting the top score must have some hidden agenda!”

“The morals of the world are declining. Just by writing a few stories praising the county magistrate, he can get the top score!”

…

“There’s definitely something wrong here!”

“Could Li Qingzhi have passed the exam because Magistrate Gou informed him of the questions in advance?”

“Why bother with that! Magistrate Gou is the one who marks the papers. If he wants someone to be the top scorer, it’s just a matter of his word, isn’t it?”

…

The people of Chongcheng County were very grateful to Magistrate Gou, but the scholars had less of an emotional connection.

Initially, it was mainly the common people who suffered under Zhang Yunquan’s oppression.

Now, these people were loudly questioning and even accusing Magistrate Gou of seeking fame and fortune and perverting the law.

After announcing the county exam results yesterday, Magistrate Gou felt that the list he had compiled was fair and just—he even included students of Sun Juren among those who passed!

Those scholars would surely think highly of his generosity.

Magistrate Gou had come nearby today because he had heard so much praise from others over the past few months and wanted to hear more. However, the reality was… everyone was questioning him!

Hearing one skeptical comment after another from outside, Magistrate Gou felt like he had been doused with a bucket of cold water from head to toe.

Zhu Qian, who was following beside Magistrate Gou, also looked a bit worried when he saw the situation. “Sir, what should we do now?”

Magistrate Gou said, “I’ll have someone post the exam papers.” Although his heart was cold, this matter still needed to be resolved, and resolved quickly.

Magistrate Gou believed that once these people saw the exam papers, they wouldn’t think he was showing favoritism!

However, before he could instruct someone to post the papers, someone outside suddenly said, “I saw Li Qingzhi! Li Qingzhi is over there!”

“I want to see what abilities he has to be the top scorer!”

“Let’s go over!”

…

The excited scholars headed in the direction where Li Qingzhi was.