Chapter 31: Bribing the County Magistrate (Please add to favorites and follow for updates)

Just as Wei Tu had expected.

Upon learning that he had borrowed a carriage from the Huang family when returning to the Li residence, a subtle change occurred in Li Yaozu's heart.

His manner of speaking to Wei Tu tended toward equality, rather than constantly calling Wei Tu "sincere" or remarking on how he acted "dutifully" back at the Li residence...

"The Huang family?"

"If our Li family hadn't bought him back then, how would he even be alive today? And what about that second aunt of his? Where was she at that time?"

Inside the Li residence's study, Li Xingye and Li Yaozu were conversing, filled with much dissatisfaction.

A mere house slave had been sitting at the same table as him for a period of time, and Li Yaozu and his wife had even frequently lectured him, telling him to build a good relationship with Wei Tu because he would surely be of great use in the future.

Though he followed his parents' lead by treating Wei Tu as an equal in public and acting with politeness, his inner resentment grew.

It was clearly the Li family that had bestowed everything upon Wei Tu, yet Wei Tu still maintained the posture of an equal; it was simply too "undutiful."

Furthermore, he was a top ten candidate in the county examinations and had prospects for official honors in this session... was he supposed to worry about the feelings of a house slave before conducting his affairs?

He could tolerate it a few days ago.

But today, Li Yaozu was visibly even more "polite" toward Wei Tu.

He was being "subservient" to a former house slave.

This point...

Li Xingye found it unbearable.

He believed this was Wei Tu insulting his parents.

"Good heavens, ancestor! Keep your voice down, don't let the servants hear you." Hearing Li Xingye's words, Li Yaozu was startled. He hurried to the door, scanned the surroundings, and seeing no servants, immediately shut the doors and windows tight.

"What of it?"

Li Xingye dismissed it, sitting down in a straight-backed chair near the desk.

However, when he spoke, he did follow Li Yaozu's advice and lowered his voice slightly.

"Endure for a few more days. Soon, Father will send him away," Li Yaozu coaxed Li Xingye.

"That works."

Li Xingye raised an eyebrow, choosing not to argue further with Li Yaozu.

"By the way, Father, tell the maid to bring me some more pastries. I'm hungry."

At this moment, Li Xingye spoke again.

"Hungry?"

"Didn't you just eat dinner?"

Hearing this, Li Yaozu cursed Li Xingye as a spendthrift in his heart, feeling the sting of the expense.

An extra snack every single night—how much money would that waste?

"How can I touch food that he has already touched?" Li Xingye said contemptuously, clutching a Confucian classic.

...

The next day.

In the plaza before the main temple of the City God, the second round of the martial arts examination began.

This time, the subjects were mounted archery, foot archery, and combat testing.

Once these three subjects were completed, it meant the outdoor portion was over, leaving only the final stage of the martial examination: the indoor military strategy.

"First Class, Superior..."

"First Class, Middle..."

Soon, the results for Wei Tu's mounted and foot archery were released.

In both exams, Wei Tu achieved First Class, placing him at the forefront of the group of martial practitioners.

"He actually has a well-trained horse?"

Outside the field, a group of gentry were astonished. They had not expected that Wei Tu, coming from a humble background, would ride a Qingcong horse in the mounted archery exam instead of the inferior horses provided by the county.

"What exactly is this Wei Tu's background? Was he intentionally disguising himself in the previous exams?"

The faces of the crowd darkened slightly.

But they quickly dismissed the thought.

There was little use in intentionally disguising one's humble origins in a martial examination; on the contrary, it might cause the examiners to look down on him and deduct points.

"When the crowd dispersed the night before last, I saw Brother Huang and his concubine going to see this Wei Tu. Could it be that Wei Tu has an old connection with Brother Huang?"

A gentleman asked curiously.

The Huang family was immensely wealthy in Qingmu County, and their every move was watched by their peers. Although no one had witnessed the scene where Master Huang recognized Wei Tu as kin the day before, the fact that Wei Tu had gone to the Huang residence had become known to some of the gentry.

"Hmm..." Master Huang hesitated for a moment before saying, "He is the nephew of my concubine, and thus also my nephew..."

"So, Wei Tu comes from the Huang family?" the gentleman beside him immediately pressed.

If Wei Tu was from the Huang family, then their guesses during the first round of skill and bravery testing the day before might have been wrong.

In this county martial examination, it was highly likely that Wei Tu would become the county champion.

Even if he failed to become the champion, his scores from the outdoor portion were more than enough to place him among the top few on the list.

At this moment, in his three outdoor exams, except for a slightly lower "Second Class, Superior" in the "Blade Dancing" skill category, all his other results were First Class.

And for this county martial examination, only the final combat testing and the indoor military strategy exam remained!

"Combat testing" involved duels between martial practitioners. Given the prowess Wei Tu had displayed, earning a First Class would not be difficult.

That left only the final military strategy exam to determine the rankings of the county martial examination.

However, in the martial examinations of the State of Zheng, the principle was "martial arts first, strategy second."

In other words, the military strategy score did not have a massive impact on the ranking of the candidates; its influence was limited.

As long as Wei Tu did not write complete nonsense during the military strategy exam, his score would be sufficient to place him in the top five, top three, or even the champion position of this county examination.

As for the military strategy exam...

These gentry and wealthy families could purchase the questions from the County Magistrate.

If Wei Tu was from the Huang family...

Then he would certainly pass the military strategy exam, with an eighty percent chance of securing the championship.

Hearing the gentleman's questioning, Master Huang shook his head.

He would have liked Wei Tu to be a member of the Huang family, but unfortunately, Wei Tu had found a good master. The promises of profit offered by him were, in Wei Tu's eyes, as light as a feather and insufficient to move him.

"That is good, then." Hearing this, the group of gentry felt a sense of relief.

Just like the top scholar of the civil examinations, the county champion of the martial examinations could be directly recommended to the provincial examinations.

Once in the provincial examinations, the chances of obtaining official honors increased significantly.

"Although Wei Tu is not a member of the Huang family, his identity is... a disciple of the single martial candidate of Sanyuan Township..."

At this time, Master Huang added this sentence.

Even if these gentry had not asked, he intended to make Wei Tu's identity known to the public today.

He did not do this to raise his own status by borrowing Wei Tu's prestige.

What he feared was Wei Tu's future.

Currently, a single martial disciple was not enough to affect him greatly.

What Master Huang worried about was that these gentry, in pursuit of high rankings, might bribe the county officials to cause Wei Tu's scores in the county martial examination to "drop."

He could have been the champion,

Only to end up second, third, or fourth because of it.

All of this was possible.

As a member of this gentry class, Master Huang was all too aware of the corruption within these martial examinations.

"What?"

"A disciple of a martial candidate?"

The expressions of the gentry changed upon hearing this, and they felt a sense of gratitude toward Master Huang for the advance warning.

Generally speaking, when determining candidate scores, the County Magistrate would also adjust rankings based on the candidates' backgrounds.

If they had not known about Wei Tu's connection and had gone to bribe the Magistrate or the chief examiner, they would likely have ended up with nothing, while also offending this dark horse of the martial examination.

"In that case..."

"The county champion position is more than eighty percent likely to belong to Wei Tu. There is no need for us to waste our silver..."

The gentry exchanged words privately.

...

Meanwhile.

On the high platform.

The drowsy Magistrate Chen received a letter delivered by a servant from his home.

Hearing it was a letter from his wife, Magistrate Chen frowned slightly and opened it.

The content of the letter was very simple, merely stating that Master Huang had brought a coral landscape piece to their home today, and Lady Huang Wei had sent her a gold-inlaid pearl hairpin.

At the end of the letter, Madam Chen made a brief mention that Wei Tu was the nephew of Lady Huang Wei, and a disciple of the single martial candidate of Sanyuan Township.

(End of Chapter)