Chapter 98: Become Famous2/2

Jin Xiaoye was initially very angry, but upon hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, she calmed down. “Then you be careful.” With that, she entered the tavern and headed straight for the private room upstairs.

When Jin Xiaoye left, Li Qingzhi walked towards the crowd.

Many people around him were cursing and questioning him, but he actually felt quite good.

Firstly, he had real talent, and secondly… all these people were alive!

“Li Qingzhi?”

“Is that Li Qingzhi?”

“He is Li Qingzhi?”

Some people recognized Li Qingzhi, and for a moment, countless people looked over, with some even running towards Li Qingzhi.

The restaurant where Zhu Xunmiao had reserved a private room was where Hong Hui and his friends were watching the excitement from the second floor.

Among the scholars who came from the prefectural city, there was one who was only eighteen years old named Peng Jingliang. He pointed at Li Qingzhi and asked Honghui curiously, “Is that Li Qingzhi? Why doesn’t he seem flustered at all?”

“Yes, that’s Li Qingzhi,” Hong Hui replied, also somewhat puzzled. Why wasn’t Li Qingzhi panicking when so many people were questioning him?

Hong Hui had inquired about Li Qingzhi from many people, such as Yao Zhenfu, Li Qingzhi’s relative in Miaoqian Village, and the scholar who had discussed academic matters with Li Qingzhi five years ago.

According to the information he had gathered, Li Qingzhi’s knowledge was very poor.

It made sense. If Li Qingzhi had really been knowledgeable, how could he have followed Zhu Xunmiao? Moreover, it would have been impossible for him to write those stories praising Magistrate Gou.

By writing such stories, Li Qingzhi was clearly trying to please Magistrate Gou in order to achieve a good rank in the county exam.

However, Li Qingzhi’s audacity was beyond belief… Magistrate Gou had actually arranged for him to be the top scorer!

Even if one were to show favoritism, it wouldn’t be done like this. Had Magistrate Gou been blinded by all the flattery he received, losing his judgment?

As Hong Hui pondered this, he saw Li Qingzhi look up at him.

Their eyes met, and Li Qingzhi even smiled at him.

Hong Hui was stunned. There was no hint of panic on Li Qingzhi’s face. He seemed to be in a good mood!

What on earth was going on?

Once again, Hong Hui felt like things were slipping out of his control.

As for Li Qingzhi… he was feeling pretty good at the moment.

A large crowd of people is running towards him? So what? These people weren’t zombies!

They wouldn’t come to bite him!

“Li Qingzhi, how did you become the top scorer?”

“Li Qingzhi, what makes you deserve the top spot?”

“Li Qingzhi…”

A large group of people surrounded Li Qingzhi, angrily questioning him.

Li Qingzhi replied, “I obtained the top spot because of my outstanding knowledge, far surpassing yours.”

These people who came to question Li Qingzhi were already very angry, and hearing Li Qingzhi’s words only made them angrier.

“If you have such good knowledge, why have I never heard of you before?”

“If your knowledge is really good, why did you only participate in the county exam in your twenties?”

“You only know how to write flattering works to please others… is that what you call good knowledge?”

At this moment, someone squeezed to the front, holding a stack of manuscripts and asking Li Qingzhi, “Li Qingzhi, are these your manuscripts?”

Li Qingzhi glanced at them and immediately recognized that it was his manuscript that Li Xiucai had accidentally lost, which was quite thick.

Li Qingzhi replied, “Yes, these are indeed my manuscripts.”

As soon as Li Qingzhi finished speaking, the person threw the papers into the crowd and exclaimed, “Take a look, these are Li Qingzhi’s manuscripts! Look at how his writing looks like, yet he still got the top spot!”

The manuscripts were scattered around, and many people reached out and grabbed one.

After reading them, they became even angrier!

Li Qingzhi’s handwriting wasn’t particularly ugly; in fact, it looked quite powerful and forceful.

But compared to theirs, whose handwriting wasn’t better than Li Qingzhi’s?

Moreover, the imperial examinations required neat handwriting, and Li Qingzhi’s handwriting simply didn’t meet the requirements.

“Magistrate Gou is really going too far! How could he let you become the top scorer?”

“The county exam is unfair!”

“Someone like you, who only knows how to flatter others, why do you deserve the top spot?”

Fortunately, these were all scholars. Otherwise, they would definitely rush up and beat Li Qingzhi!

At this moment, Yao Zhenfu was also pushed to the front. “Li Qingzhi, you’re completely incompetent. Yet, you managed to get the top spot just because you know Magistrate Gou. I refuse to accept it!”

Yao Zhenfu was already full of complaints, and now he was also influenced by the emotions of the people around him, so he began to accuse Li Qingzhi, “Your knowledge was never good before, and you didn’t touch a book for five whole years. Yet, you managed to get the top spot. Why didn’t I even pass the county exam?”

Li Qingzhi knew that Hong Hui wanted to deal with him, but he didn’t expect Yao Zhenfu to come out.

“Brother Yao, you better keep quiet,” Li Qingzhi said.

“I won’t keep quiet. I want to expose your true face,” Yao Zhenfu said.

Li Qingzhi looked up at the crowd and saw Mr. Yao not far away.

Meeting his gaze, Mr. Yao turned his head slightly.

Li Qingzhi sighed inwardly.

Mr. Yao didn’t stop Yao Zhenfu, allowing him to come forward and talk nonsense in front of him. It should be because he believed Yao Zhenfu’s words and felt that Li Qingzhi shouldn’t have obtained the top spot.

Li Qingzhi had a good impression of Mr. Yao, but he wouldn’t give up his plan because of this.

With a compassionate look at Yao Zhenfu, Li Qingzhi raised his voice and said, “Everyone, those are indeed my manuscripts, but they were all written with my left hand.”

The angry scholars were all stunned.

Li Qingzhi continued, “Last Mid-Autumn Festival, my arm was broken, and I couldn’t write with my right hand, so I had to use my left hand to write.”

Everyone was stunned by his words, but Li Qingzhi took out a stack of papers from his pocket at this moment. “These are my manuscripts, and these in front of you… these are the ones I wrote with my right hand.”

Each county exam essay was only a few hundred words long, and he could write one in half an hour… To practice, Li Qingzhi had written dozens of them before the county exam.

When he left home, Li Qingzhi brought all the manuscripts with him. He distributed his own manuscripts and even gave one to Yao Zhenfu.

Those who had previously angrily questioned Li Qingzhi were dumbfounded when they saw the writings.

They didn’t have time to read the articles in detail, but just by looking at the handwriting… they were completely inferior.

“How could this be your handwriting! You’re lying!” Yao Zhenfu roared.

Ignoring him, Li Qingzhi continued, “Everyone, I have been diligently studying, and I have already memorized the Four Books and Five Classics. If any of you doubt my knowledge, feel free to test me!”

Most of the scholars who had previously been angry were now perplexed.

However, most of them didn’t believe Li Qingzhi’s words. “This is just your word against ours!”

“You can test me,” Li Qingzhi said calmly.

The person who brought the manuscript written by Li Qingzhi’s left hand was a student of Sun Juren.

When the list was posted by the county government, he was on the list, but he was not satisfied with his ranking.

He thought Li Qingzhi couldn’t possibly be the top scorer, as his knowledge was better than Li Qingzhi’s!

When he heard Li Qingzhi’s words, he immediately spoke up, “Recite the Spring and Autumn Annals!”

“The Fourth Volume of the Spring and Autumn Annals is about Duke Min,” all the scholars present had read it, but not necessarily memorized it.

Without much ado, Li Qingzhi started reciting, “In the first year of his reign, in spring, in the first month, the king of Zhou launched a campaign against Xing…”

He recited the entire passage word for word.

The surrounding people gradually quieted down, and someone else suggested that Li Qingzhi recite other books.

No matter what they said, Li Qingzhi could recite it just by opening his mouth. He then said, “Apart from the Four Books and Five Classics, I have also read and memorized other books.”

After saying this, Li Qingzhi listed a long string of book titles, many of which were commentaries or works by great scholars.

Some people still didn’t believe it and asked Li Qingzhi to recite those books.

Li Qingzhi remained calm and recited them all.