Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 141 Zhou Ping's Poem
Qinghe County, county government office.

Hundreds of scholars pushed down the yamen runners and rushed into the county government office.

The scholars' fighting power is not strong, and the yamen runners can stop them.

Especially Captain Leng and Wang Cheng, both of them are qualified warriors, and it is no problem for them to defeat a hundred people alone.

However, the Wei Dynasty had clear regulations that officials should not be punished and scholars should not be subject to military force.

You can’t hit a scholar!
Beating a scholar is a crime, especially one who has achieved academic success.

Most of these scholars have no official titles, only a few have official titles.

So the yamen runners didn't dare to beat anyone.

What's more, Captain Leng had never been on good terms with Zhou Ping. He knew that this matter involved Zhou Ping, so he was secretly fanning the flames.

Wang Cheng wanted to suppress these scholars, but he didn't dare to act rashly.

After a while, the scholars rushed into the county government office and surrounded County Magistrate Lu.

County Magistrate Lu was panicked. He looked towards Meng Jiusheng, but there was no trace of Meng Jiusheng anywhere.

"Damn it." County Magistrate Lu couldn't help but swear. He knew Meng Jiusheng had hidden himself, so Meng Jiusheng threw the problem to County Magistrate Lu.

County Magistrate Lu had a miserable look on his face. He wanted to run away but he couldn't. Fortunately, Wang Cheng was very loyal and stood in front of him.

Meng Jiusheng hid himself, and Fan Shiyi was unwilling to help County Magistrate Lu. County Magistrate Lu was panicked and didn't know what to do about the matter.

"County Magistrate Lu, you have to give us an explanation."

"Yes, Magistrate Lu, the imperial examination is the national policy of the Wei Dynasty. How can you use the qualification of a student to trade?"

"Yes, this is really hurtful to all the scholars in the world."

The scholars are talking to each other.

"Everyone, County Magistrate Lu will definitely give you an explanation." Chen Chao persuaded from the side, his eyes swept over Fan Shiyi, "County Magistrate Lu will definitely not let Zhou Ping, an unlearned escort, be a student!"

Magistrate Lu also nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely give everyone an explanation and will not let Zhou Ping be a student!"

County Magistrate Lu could not care about the agreement with Zhou Ping at this time. Violating an agreement would only offend Zhou Ping, which was much better than arousing public anger.

Fan Shiyi frowned slightly. She didn't care whether Zhou Ping could get the status of a student, but Chen Chao's comment that Zhou Ping was "unlearned and unskilled" made Fan Shiyi a little unhappy.

Not to mention Quiet Night Thoughts, even "Empty Mountain After the Rain" and "The Rich Houses Are Full of Wine and Meat", these two poems are not something that ordinary people can write.

Moreover, the scholars who were causing trouble had no idea who got in through the back door. They only knew it was a bodyguard, but Chen Chao mentioned Zhou Ping's name.

As a result, Zhou Ping would probably have difficulty making progress in the Confucian circle of Qinghe County.

The scholars became much quieter when they saw that Magistrate Lu had made a promise to them. Their only wish was to prevent Zhou Ping from becoming a student.

"Okay, okay, I've already promised, everyone can go home now." County Magistrate Lu said with a sad face. The public outrage had already happened, and even if it was calmed down, it would affect County Magistrate Lu's career.

The scholars looked at each other. Their demands had been met and there was really no reason to continue making trouble.

Chen Chao coughed dryly and continued, “Lord Lu, we have already ranked the top ten, so why not just announce the results and put everyone at ease.”

County Magistrate Lu was at a loss. He thought Chen Chao's proposal was a good one. Although the Tongsheng Examination had aroused public indignation, if he handled it properly, it might have less impact on his career.

Immediately afterwards, County Magistrate Lu took out the poems of ten people and read them out one by one.

These ten people are exactly the first twenty people selected from the Jiaofangsi just now.

As the poems and names of the ten people were revealed, the scholars' expressions became much better. This result was acceptable to them.

"Everyone, you see, there is no problem in choosing these ten people," said County Magistrate Lu.

The scholars thought there was nothing wrong with these ten people.

"Sir, sir, Zhou Ping's test paper was left in the examination room, and we have retrieved it." A yamen runner came back holding a test paper.

In the Tongsheng examination, many people gave up the test after seeing the questions.

Zhou Ping was the first to hand in his paper.

After Zhou Ping handed in his paper, it was collected by the yamen runners.

It was just that the bailiff was a little careless and the paper fell to the ground without him noticing.

So neither Meng Jiusheng nor County Magistrate Lu saw Zhou Ping's paper.

It was not until Meng Jiusheng remembered Zhou Ping that he asked someone to look for Zhou Ping's paper. The yamen runners could not find Zhou Ping's paper among all the papers, so they returned to the examination hall.

The bailiff found the test paper under the table in the examination hall.

After the bailiff found the paper, he quickly sent it to the county government office, but he didn't know what happened there.

"Hey, is this Zhou Ping's paper?"

"Zhou Ping is the escort who cheated."

"A bodyguard dares to take the exam and cheat."

The scholars' emotions were ignited again.

Magistrate Lu secretly cursed the yamen runner for having no good eyesight and why he brought Zhou Ping's paper at this time.

"County Magistrate Lu, we want to see Zhou Ping's paper!"

"Yes, we want to see Zhou Ping's paper."

The scholars started to get excited again. They wanted to see Zhou Ping's paper and prove that he cheated. They wanted to make sure that Zhou Ping would not be able to mix in the Confucian circle in the future.

"Everyone, it doesn't matter whether you read Zhou Ping's paper or not, because Zhou Ping didn't cheat on purpose. It was Meng Ru and County Magistrate Lu who proposed the deal in order to save people." Fan Shiyi said with a dark face. She knew that these scholars wanted to ruin Zhou Ping's reputation.

At this time, in another room of the county government, Meng Jiusheng was sensing everything that was happening in the county government. He was hiding in the next room.

After hearing what Fan Shiyi said, Meng Jiusheng was furious and said, "You bastard are harming me! You bastard are harming me!"

Meng Jiusheng didn't expect that Fan Shiyi would actually speak for Zhou Ping.

If Zhou Ping took the initiative to propose the transaction and actively used his qualifications to enter the secret realm and trade with the Tongsheng, then this is cheating. The main responsibility for cheating lies with Zhou Ping.

But if Zhou Ping had not initiated the deal, then he would not be the main person responsible.

These are two different results.

If Zhou Ping cheated actively, he would most likely go to jail, but if Zhou Ping cheated passively, the punishment would be much lighter.

"What does Fan Shiyi have to do with Zhou Ping's fall? This kid Fan Shiyi actually disregarded my face for him." Meng Jiusheng was a little confused. He didn't expect that Fan Shiyi would actually betray him for Zhou Ping.

In the county government office, the scholars were very angry. They wanted to see Zhou Ping's paper and see how bad his poetry was.

A few scholars were quick-eyed and quick-handed and had already snatched the papers from the yamen runners.

Several people opened the papers and started reading.

The moment they saw the test paper, they were stunned at first, then stood there in a daze.

"What's wrong with you guys? You're reading."

"That's right, that's right. Read out this lousy poem and embarrass that Zhou Ping."

"Anyone dares to take the Tongsheng exam, even a bodyguard dares to take the Tongsheng exam."

The scholars couldn't wait to see how bad the poems of the "people with connections" were.

The three scholars who had grabbed the papers in advance came to their senses. They looked at each other as if they had seen a ghost.

County Magistrate Lu hurriedly called out to Wang Cheng to take the paper back, but Wang Cheng was surrounded by scholars and could not even get to the front of the paper.

Fan Shiyi looked at the performance of the scholars and frowned slightly, feeling incredible. Could it be that Zhou Ping had written another good poem?
At first, Fan Shiyi also thought that Zhou Ping was not well educated.

Zhou Ping usually behaves like a rough man, with little culture. But such an uneducated person can write about the empty mountains after the rain and the frozen dead on the road.

Fan Shiyi sometimes felt that Zhou Ping was a talented contestant and did not need to learn poetry because he was born to write poetry.

Such people have existed in history.

But Fan Shiyi quickly dismissed his idea. If Zhou Ping really wrote a good poem, why did he make a deal with Meng Jiusheng?
"Brother Chen, Brother Li, Brother Zhang, what are you three standing there for? Hurry up and recite the poems." Chen Chao knew these three scholars, and they had a good relationship with him.

The three of them studied under Chen Chao, who was considered half their teacher.

The three of them will also be among the top ten in this exam.

Chen Chao glanced at Fan Shiyi. He knew that Fan Shiyi had offended Meng Jiusheng and Lu County Magistrate for Zhou Ping.

Chen Chao and Meng Jiusheng had the same doubts. What was the relationship between the two of them? Fan Shiyi could actually offend a Confucian third-rank official for Zhou Ping.

"Zhou Ping, I will bring disgrace upon you." Chen Chao hoped that the three scholars would recite Zhou Ping's poem quickly.

Once Zhou Ping's poems are bad, his reputation will be ruined!
"A moonlit night on the spring river." a scholar recited.

All the troublemakers quieted down. They wanted to hear how bad the poem by the "relative" was, otherwise their trouble would be unjustified.

"This topic is quite appropriate."

"Ouch, who hit me?"

There was a scholar who thought that Zhou Ping's question matched the test paper very well, but someone punched him in the dark.

Fan Shiyi gently waved her paper fan, and the feeling in her heart became stronger and stronger. Could it really be a good poem?
In the inner room of the county government office, Meng Jiusheng was still pacing back and forth, sighing non-stop.

"My reputation has been ruined in an instant." Meng Jiusheng kept regretting. In order to help the county magistrate's son, he wanted to earn a living from the county magistrate.

I didn't expect that my reputation would be at stake.

This matter has become a big deal and Meng Jiusheng's reputation is gone.

Although the Wei Dynasty would not do anything to a third-rank official, he himself was too embarrassed to stay in the Confucian circle.

"Forget it, I will go to Kyoto Academy to resign after tonight." Meng Jiusheng has already made up his mind, he will take the initiative to resign. Taking the initiative to resign is much better than being driven away by others.

Meng Jiusheng is preparing to resign from his position as president of Qianzhou Academy.

"Oh, I should never have been so greedy and taken advantage of the county governor." Meng Jiu was extremely regretful. In addition to regret, he also hated Fan Shiyi a little. "Fan Shiyi, this brat, actually pushed me into the fire pit for Zhou Ping!"

Meng Jiusheng didn't hate Zhou Ping because Zhou Ping was a nobody. He hated Fan Shiyi because Fan Shiyi put him in an awkward position.

"The spring river tide reaches the sea level, and the bright moon on the sea rises with the tide." A scholar recited the first line of the poem again.

None of the scholars who were making trouble spoke. Many of them had the same thought in their minds: This poem seems pretty good.

Although some people have this idea, no one speaks it out because once they speak it out, it means that they have no reason to cause trouble.

Fan Shiyi listened to these two lines of poetry, put away the paper fan in his hand, and asked hurriedly: "What else?"

The thought in Fan Shiyi's mind became stronger and stronger. Could it really be a good poem?

With Zhou Ping's stable personality, he is the type who starts low and ends high.

Just from the first two lines, Fan Shiyi knew that this poem was well written. If the whole poem was at the level of these two lines, then the level of the whole poem must be high.

"The moon is shining on the river for thousands of miles; there is no moonless spring river!" the scholar continued.

At this moment, the scholars who were making trouble looked at each other, and they had a common idea in their minds: this poem seemed good, and it would not be a big deal even if it was in the top ten.

Not only the scholars thought so, but Fan Shiyi also thought so. These four poems were not much worse than the top ten in this exam.

"Zhou Ping only wrote one poem, he didn't write the second question." Chen Chao said coldly: "Although these poems are good, Zhou Ping still missed a question."

"Yes, yes, yes. Although this poem is good, it doesn't include the second question."

"Yes, although there were people who were deified for one poem in the imperial examination of the Wei Dynasty, they were all extremely well-written poems."

"Yes, these two lines of poetry are not yet excellent."

The scholars whispered to each other. They were all scholars, so they still had some moral integrity. They admitted that Zhou Ping's four lines of poetry were well written, but they were not enough to make up for his shortcomings.

After all, Zhou Ping didn’t write the second question.

"I should have taught him classical Chinese earlier." Fan Shiyi felt a little regretful. Why didn't she teach Zhou Ping classical Chinese?

With this poem plus the second question, I should be able to barely enter the Tongsheng level.

"The river flows windingly around the fragrant meadows, and the moonlight shining on the flower forest looks like snow." The three scholars holding the papers did not stop, because the poem has more than just four sections.

The three scholars read one sentence at a time.

"The frost in the sky flies without being noticed, and the white sand on the beach cannot be seen."

"The river and the sky are one color without a speck of dust, and the bright moon is alone in the sky."

The more they read, the more excited they became. Although they were only in their teens, they had read a lot of books.

Although they could not write poems that would be remembered forever, they had the ability to judge the quality of poems.

Zhou Ping's poem made the three of them unable to help but praise it and made them excited.

Because the poem is so well written!
In the eyes of the three, Zhou Ping's poem is not much different from the famous poems in history.

"I don't know how many people return with the moon, the falling moon shakes the emotions filled with the trees on the river." The three of them recited the last line of the poem at the same time.

As the poem was finished, the scholars who had been making trouble stopped talking, Chen Chao stopped talking, and Fan Shiyi also stopped talking.

The scholars who were causing trouble knew they were in the wrong!
They made trouble because they thought Zhou Ping's paper was too bad, but he was still admitted as a student.

However, as Zhou Ping's poems came out, the scholars realized they were wrong.

Although Zhou Ping did not write the second question, this poem alone was enough to make him a successful candidate.

"Although this poem is good, it doesn't include the second question."

"Who hit me, who hit me?"

A scholar finished speaking, but was punched several times by someone unknown.

Chen Chao's eyes were filled with jealousy. How is it possible? ! How is it possible! ? A low-ranking escort actually wrote such a good poem!

Chen Chao was jealous of Zhou Ping. He was jealous that Zhou Ping was just a bodyguard, but was valued so much by Fan Shiyi.

Chen Chao was jealous of Zhou Ping. He was jealous that Zhou Ping could write such a great poem!

Chen Chao knew that this poem would surely go down in history, and Zhou Ping would also be able to leave a mark in history with this poem.

This poem is much better than Quiet Night Thoughts!
"What are you doing?" Meng Jiusheng appeared with his hands behind his back, a righteous look on his face.

"Do you think Zhou Ping is my relationship?"

"Do you think that I, a third-rank official, would destroy the fairness of the imperial examination for the sake of the county governor?"

"Who do you think I am, Meng Ru?"

"I have read your poems a long time ago. I already know your level. I already know that Zhou Ping's poem will win first place among the Tongsheng."

Meng Jiusheng tilted his head to look at the sky, leaving his side profile to the group of scholars: "My name is Meng Jiusheng, I am a Confucian scholar, the president of Qianzhou Academy, you actually think I would use the back door for one person!?"

"Qinghe County, I am extremely disappointed with you scholars!"

"Qinghe County, you guys are not good at studying, but you are good at causing trouble."

"As the president of Qianzhou Academy, I will not admit any students from Qinghe County for the next ten years!"

(End of this chapter)