Dream of the Red Chamber: Madam, please have some self-respect!

The second hall of the Shuntian County Government Office was brightly lit with candles at this time.

Magistrate Xu slammed an anonymous letter onto the hardwood table with a loud "bang," his face turning ashen and his beard trembling. "Absurd! Utterly absurd!"

Upon seeing this, Master Shen, who was copying documents nearby, quickly put down his pen and stepped forward to ask, "Sir, please calm down. What has caused your anger?"

"See for yourself!" Magistrate Zhou frowned and hurriedly pushed the letter over.

"Some petty person has actually accused Jia Yun, who was selected from the inner circle in this county examination, of cheating! They claim that his views in his essays secretly align with those of Fang, the editor who is assisting in grading the papers, and they also claim that Fang's mentor, Lord Li Shouzhong, once boasted that he wanted to take Jia Yun as his apprentice... They conclude that it was collusion between insiders and outsiders, leaking the questions and committing cheating! This is truly outrageous!"

Master Shen quickly skimmed through the letter, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

After groaning for a moment, the tall, thin clerk said, "Sir, although the writing is crude, the matter it alludes to... doesn't seem to be entirely unfounded. Jia Yun's policy essays are indeed different from those of ordinary scholars, and they occasionally resonate with the discussions Fang, the editor, usually has. Moreover, Fang, the editor, is indeed mentored by Lord Lin..."

"Similar? That's absurd!" Magistrate Zhou abruptly interrupted his clerk before he could finish, his voice rising sharply. "The teachings of the sages are written in black and white; those who have studied will have their own judgment. Does having similar views automatically constitute cheating? Jia Yun's examination paper, from the introduction to the conclusion, every part is meticulously prepared and rigorous. Could such genuine talent be cultivated by receiving advance notice of the questions?"

"Copying and anonymizing are ironclad rules of the imperial court. Even I, before the results were announced, had no idea which paper corresponded to which person! Could the name Jia Yun have been magically engraved in front of Editor Fang out of thin air?!"

Magistrate Zhou stood up and paced rapidly in the hall. He suddenly turned around and stared at his clerk, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "The distribution of the examination papers was determined by the clerk drawing lots in public, with absolutely no discernible pattern! In that case, does that compiler Fang possess the ability to foresee the future, or did I—personally—select Jia Yun's paper and present it to him?!"

The more he talked, the more chilled he felt.

This frame-up, though seemingly clumsy, is in fact malicious.

It doesn't need rigorous logic; all it takes is to spill this filth of "cheating" onto Zhou Chengyan and Editor Fang, and their reputations and futures will be tarnished! At that time, public opinion will be overwhelming, and who will bother to investigate the loopholes?

He became more and more anxious as he spoke, his boots clattering on the blue bricks.

But who is pulling the strings behind the scenes? Is it a colleague with whom you have a long-standing feud, or...?

Finally, Magistrate Zhou slammed his fist on the table, making the teacups clang: "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly immediately! Who is this insidious scoundrel stirring up trouble behind the scenes—how can such a despicable person tarnish the reputation of the imperial examinations! Once they are found, they will not be tolerated!"

The next day at noon, Master Shen hurriedly arrived at the back office with a message.

Magistrate Zhou had just finished lunch and was rinsing his mouth with a teacup when he looked up and asked, "Any results?"

"Yes, sir," Master Shen replied, his hands hanging down.

Magistrate Zhou was somewhat surprised: "So fast?"

"It was someone from the business who came forward to ask," Master Shen replied, leaving the question unresolved.

Magistrate Zhou asked no further questions.

Master Shen stepped forward and replied in a low voice, "Sir, the person who spread the rumors and delivered the anonymous card has been identified. It is a student from the Jia family's clan school named Jia Rui."

"Jia Rui?" Magistrate Zhou was taken aback, and then a very complicated expression flashed across his face.

His expression was a mixture of surprise and realization, before finally turning to anger: "Are they from the Jia family again? They're turning on each other like family?"

In that instant, Magistrate Zhou had already figured out seven or eight parts of the inside story.

All this talk about upholding the fairness of the imperial examinations is just a facade!

This is clearly an internal power struggle within the clan. Someone couldn't tolerate Jia Yun standing out, so they didn't hesitate to use his reputation in the imperial examinations as a weapon to attack him, dragging the trouble to his courtroom!

Magistrate Zhou remained silent for a moment, then the coldness in his eyes finally turned into a sneer: "Well done, Jia Rui! You've really played your cards right, using me as a pawn to eliminate your rivals?"

He felt a surge of anger mixed with a lingering fear.

If this matter is not handled properly, it will confirm the suspicion of "unfairness in the examination system," and his newly appointed official position may soon be in jeopardy!

This Jia Rui is truly despicable!

Magistrate Zhou suddenly turned to Clerk Shen: "Prepare paper and ink!"

Master Shen dared not delay and quickly spread out the writing implements on the desk.

After a moment's thought, Magistrate Zhou put pen to paper.

"I will personally write a letter and send it directly to Lord Jia Zheng of the Rongguo Mansion! I will write down the whole story, especially how Jia Rui framed the examiners, disrupted the examination, and committed heinous acts, leaving not a single word out!"

"I want to see how Jia Cunzhou will deal with this 'good scion' of his clan after reading this letter!"

Inside Mengpo Studio, Jia Zheng received a personal letter from Magistrate Zhou. Upon opening it, he felt a rush of blood to his head and his vision blurred.

He valued family reputation and official standing above all else in his life, yet now a scandal has occurred in which a member of his clan openly falsely accused an examination examiner, almost dragging the entire Jia family down with him!

This Jia Rui, who has never made much progress in the clan school, has now committed such lawless and stupid acts as a pig!

"You wicked child! You damned wicked child!" Jia Zheng slammed the letter to the ground, trembling with rage. "Guards! Bring me my visiting card and tie up that scoundrel Jia Rui! Today I will beat this disgrace to the family to death and cleanse the household!"

Seeing their master's fury, none of the servants dared to be negligent. Several strong servants immediately obeyed the order to arrest the man.

"Master!" Madam Wang rushed forward, her voice trembling, "Absolutely not!"

Jia Zheng was naturally furious: "What's the point of keeping such a menace around!"

Madam Wang forced herself to remain calm, but her face had already lost all color.

How could she not panic?

That day, she summoned Jia Dairu and his grandson. Although she did not say it explicitly, her implication that "the questions should be of varying difficulty" clearly indicated that she wanted to use them to trip up Jia Yun.

If Jia Rui were beaten to death right now, it's hard to guarantee that he wouldn't shout something like "It was the second wife who made me do it" before he died.

How will she cope then?

For a moment, she even began to complain about the old lady's arrival, but she didn't realize she was making a mistake.

These thoughts raced through Madam Wang's mind, and she could only manage to say, "He is, after all, Master Dairu's only son. If he were really killed, what would happen to the old master..."

"I don't care about any of that!" Jia Zheng shoved her aside and roared towards the door, "Hurry up and go!"

Seeing that she couldn't stop it, Madam Wang quickly gave Caiyun a wink and mouthed the words.

Caiyun understood and quietly withdrew.

A moment later, Wang Xifeng rushed in, saying repeatedly, "Master, please calm your fury!"

Jia Zheng was already furious, and when he saw Feng Jie arrive, he angrily said, "You've come at the perfect time! Look at the kind of scoundrels that have come out of the clan you're in charge of! Don't you dare interfere in this matter!"

Wang Xifeng, on the contrary, smiled and said to Jia Zheng, "Master, how could your niece-in-law not know your anger? This Master Rui really deserves to die. But please think about it, since Magistrate Zhou delivered the letter directly to you instead of reporting it to his superiors or starting an investigation, it means he wanted to save face for our family."

If the master were to beat the man to death in a grand manner now, the commotion would only confirm the rumors. In my foolish opinion, it would be better to quietly detain the man first, interrogate him thoroughly, and then punish him severely.

Whether we beat him or chase him away, it's ultimately a private matter within our household. If word gets out, it will only be said that he behaved improperly, which is a hundred times better than getting involved in cheating in the imperial examinations and causing a city-wide uproar!

After hearing these words, Jia Zheng's anger subsided slightly, and upon reflection, he realized that what Feng Jie said made sense.

He glanced at Madam Wang, whose face was deathly pale, and slumped back into his chair with a sigh: "Fine, I'll do as you say. Go and do it, but... that beast must not be let off lightly!"

Wang Xifeng felt relieved, but still replied respectfully, "Yes, Master, rest assured, your niece-in-law will handle this 'properly' and will not allow the reputation of the household to be damaged in the slightest."

She lowered her eyes to hide the cold glint in them.

Wang Xifeng's pace slowed down only after she left Mengpo Studio and passed through the covered walkway in the backyard.

The composure and calmness she had displayed in front of Jia Zheng faded slightly, replaced by a hint of annoyance and disdain.

The reason she came here was because of Lady Wang's request—Lady Wang thought Jia Rui had handled the matter foolishly and that if it escalated, it would damage Bao Yu's and the family's reputation. She asked her to come and appease the master's anger and suppress the matter.

But on a deeper level, Sister Feng herself didn't want to come, and she even felt extremely disgusted with Jia Rui.

Such a scoundrel should be killed; there's no need for such roundabout methods.

Sister Feng couldn't help but recall that afternoon, which was also in such a secluded garden.

While she was enjoying herself alone, she unexpectedly bumped into Jia Rui, who was wearing a half-new, half-old robe and looked timid and hesitant.

Once he saw her, his eyes seemed glued to him, and he uttered some incoherent words: "I was just about to go to my sister-in-law's house to pay my respects, but I was afraid that she was too young to see people easily."

Sister Feng felt as if she had swallowed a fly, a wave of disgust washing over her, but she still had to force a smile and say, "We're all family, why are you talking about being young or not!"

The words were nothing out of the ordinary, but the light in Jia Rui's eyes was truly nauseating, making the hairs on her body stand on end.

Is this guy some kind of toad trying to eat swan meat?

Sister Feng spat inwardly, "This scoundrel doesn't even know his own worth! I'm a married woman, how dare you even think of marrying Second Mistress Lian? What a despicable thing!"

When she thought of the word "longing," for some reason, another figure flashed through her mind—Jia Yun, who lived in the west corridor.

That day... it was an accident that he saw something he shouldn't have seen... Although he was still young, Wang Xifeng felt her cheeks suddenly flush, and a feeling that was hard to describe as either anger or shame welled up inside her.

Bah! At such a young age, he's already a troublemaker!

She cursed Jia Yun in her heart, but then she realized that no man was any good.