Free Web NovelChapter 342: Chapter 137: Book Collection Building
"Guyuan County didn’t produce a single Scholar this time."
On the way back, Chen Song shook his head and sighed. "Those candidates who passed the prefectural preliminary exam all ranked higher than Cui Junrong. Since he lost face, he decided to retaliate against them."
"The top-ranking scholar from the preliminary exam was forced by Cui Junrong to chug two whole jars of wine. He was still passed out on the day of the final exam and missed it completely."
"As for the others, some were struck with sudden stomach pain, while others were bitten by insects and broke out in boils. Some had their travel money stolen, and their clothes and shoes were so maliciously damaged they couldn’t even leave their rooms."
"Because of all these dirty tricks, only three to five candidates from Guyuan County even made it into the examination hall for the final."
It’s not clear if those three or five people were acting on Cui Junrong’s orders or if they were just afraid of his revenge after the exam, but either way, they intentionally threw their exams.
Their academic level wasn’t high to begin with, and on top of that, they deliberately answered poorly—they were probably thinking that since Guyuan County had a quota of four, with five of them competing, they had a four-in-five chance to pass. The title of Scholar was basically in the bag, so who cared about rank?
But who could have imagined that the day before the results were announced, such a scandal would break out? It dragged them down too, and the reputations of those who had accepted favors from the Cui family to just fill slots were utterly ruined.
Furthermore, their essays were so atrocious that the Lord Prefect, in a fit of rage, completely revoked Guyuan County’s quota for Scholars.
In other words, everyone from Guyuan County had made the trip for nothing. This time, Guyuan County ended up with zero Scholars.
Chen Song sighed and shook his head at the plight of the Guyuan County candidates, but then he recalled his own family’s good fortune and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Laughing one moment and sighing the next, his behavior left the others at a loss for words.
But they couldn’t be bothered to ask him about it. It was obvious he was gloating over the other county’s misfortune while celebrating his own good luck. They all knew what he was thinking, so why waste their breath asking?
On the way home, Chen Song generously decided to order a celebratory feast to reward the two new Scholars.
Unfortunately, he’d decided a bit too late. All the respectable restaurants were either completely full or swamped with take-out orders.
The earliest they could deliver an order would be after Noon.
So Chen Wanqing decided to buy groceries herself. She bought chicken, duck, and fish, and they were also very lucky to run into someone selling beef.
Apparently, it was from a cow that had fallen into a ditch a few days prior. It had broken its leg and couldn’t get up, so the owner had to reluctantly put it down. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Chen Wanqing bought a huge piece. She planned to use half to make a beef and potato stew for their meal, and braise the other half in the afternoon as a snack to go with their drinks.
Though their lunch was late, everyone was in high spirits because they had two reasons to celebrate. Even the wait didn’t feel dull.
After the meal, Chen Song got ready to leave. "The Lord County Magistrate has some time on his hands and is planning to go to the prison this afternoon to interrogate Wo Laicai. I’m going to tag along."
Before he left, he gave a special instruction to Zhao Jing and Chen De’an. "The Lord Prefect will host a banquet for all the new Scholars in the next day or two. The two of you need to be well-prepared."
De’an was quick to ask his father, "Prepare what?"
Chen Song shot his son a glare. "Prepare some pleasantries, and think about how you’re going to make a good impression on the Lord Prefect."
Chen Song snorted and recounted what happened when he met Mr. Sheng the day before. "I’m working my tail off to pave the way for you two rascals. If you don’t perform well, are you going to let all my efforts go to waste?"
De’an and Zhao Jing exchanged a look, then, as if on cue, they both turned to Chen Wanqing.
"Sister, you didn’t tell Father about that incident?"
"Sister, did you forget to tell him?"
Chen Wanqing hadn’t forgotten; she just hadn’t found the right opportunity.
Chen Song watched the three of them being cryptic, his eyes filled with suspicion. "What are the three of you hiding from me?"
De’an tried to laugh it off. "It’s not that big of a deal, really."
Chen Song looked at Zhao Jing. "Jing, you tell me."
"Never mind, I’ll tell him." De’an cut in, his face beaming as he recounted their encounter with Mr. Sheng at the teahouse.
After finishing his story, he shot his father a sideways glance and said with mock arrogance, "What do we need you to promote us to the Lord Prefect for? We’ve already established a connection with him, thank you very much! Jing and I even gave the Lord Prefect advice, helping him come up with a plan to protect his young son and secure his family’s assets. If the Lord Prefect is any kind of man who repays favors, he’s guaranteed to treat us with special regard."
Chen Song pointed at the two boys. "How could you keep something so important from me all this time?"
He continued to lecture them, "I swear, you two have gotten completely full of yourselves, utterly clueless about how the world works. The Lord Prefect has been an official for decades; he’s eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. Do you really think he wouldn’t have his own plans when it comes to his only heir? And you two still..."
