Chapter 33: Top Scorer of the County Examination (Please favorite and follow)

Hearing this.

Wei Tu felt a sense of helplessness.

When others bribe, and you do not, a drop in your ranking on the list is inevitable.

In short.

Such is the state of the world.

"However, next time you make such a decision, I hope you will inform your nephew, otherwise..." Wei Tu said in a low voice.

He did not believe that Master Huang helped him this time solely for his sake.

By using imperial examination fraud to make him the Martial Champion of this year's County Exam, Master Huang gained two advantages for the Huang family.

First, it made him owe a favor.

Second, once he became the Martial Champion of the County Exam, this act of fraud would naturally become a stain on his record—a piece of leverage.

"That is only natural," Master Huang replied with a tight heart and a forced smile.

At this moment.

He realized that he had seemingly underestimated Wei Tu. Instead of being joyful upon learning that the Martial Champion had been decided, Wei Tu was warning him.

—From beginning to end, Wei Tu's expression had remained calm, without a trace of anger on his face.

As his voice fell.

They arrived at the entrance of the Li residence.

Wei Tu lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down from the box. He took the reins of the cyan horse handed to him by a Huang family servant, then walked toward the side gate of the Li residence and knocked a few times.

"Let's go, back to the house..."

Inside the carriage, Master Huang stared at Wei Tu's back for a moment before lowering the curtain and speaking to the driver.

However, after the carriage had sped along for a short while, Master Huang began to sneeze repeatedly. Mistaking it for the heavy night chill, he spread a soft blanket over his legs to ward off the cold.

...

The next day.

The Martial Military Strategy Examination.

The location for this exam was not the plaza of the City God Temple, but had been moved to the examination stalls used for the Civil Examination.

The questions were simple.

Three recitation questions regarding the *Manual of Effective Methods*.

And one essay question regarding the "Battle of Yanran" between the State of Zheng and the State of Jing a hundred years ago.

Thanks to Master Huang's bribery, Wei Tu had obtained the questions before entering the examination hall; thus, he completed the three recitation questions very smoothly.

For the final essay question, Wei Tu organized his thoughts and answered point by point, following the strategies taught by Martial Instructor Shan.

Soon.

He finished his paper.

However, when it came time to submit, Wei Tu lingered until the end, being the fourth to last to turn in his exam.

...

Two days later.

The results of the County Martial Exam were posted.

"Brother Wei, you are the Martial Champion of the County Exam..."

In front of the county magistrate's office, the crowds surged. Xinghua, who had taken a leave of absence, had dragged Wei Tu to a prime spot by the office early in the morning to snatch a view of the list.

Therefore, as soon as she saw the clerk posting the results, she immediately spotted Wei Tu's rank.

It was indeed first in the martial exam—the Martial Champion!

"Once the Dao Exam is over, and I have earned my title and official position and have money... I will return to the Li residence to redeem you..."

After Xinghua's initial burst of joy, Wei Tu led her away from the magistrate's office. On the way back to the Li residence, he made this promise to her.

Although he had secured the top rank in this martial exam, he was not happy in his heart; he was far from the ecstatic joy shown by Xinghua.

After all... his title as Martial Champion had been secured by the Huang family through dishonorable means.

"The Prefecture Exam..."

"The Dao Exam..."

"The Huang family will have no room to interfere then. The achievements I attain then will be honorable and upright..."

Wei Tu clenched his fists.

"Mhm." Xinghua's cheeks flushed slightly. She nodded with her head lowered, giving a soft "mhm," not noticing Wei Tu's unusual state.

...

After the results were posted, Wei Tu did not linger in Qingshan County for long. After thanking the Li residence for allowing him to stay, he mounted the cyan horse and hurried toward the prefectural capital of Qingfeng Prefecture.

To await the Prefecture Exam in April.

"Brother Yengong."

Upon arriving at the prefectural capital, Wei Tu went straight to Shan Yengong's residence according to the address provided.

"Brother Wei, it has been a long time," Shan Yengong said with a look of profound emotion.

Two months ago, when he left Sanyuan Village, Wei Tu was merely a disciple of his father, his reputation not yet established.

But two months later, Wei Tu was already the Martial Champion of Qingshan County.

Given the strength he had displayed, securing the title of Martial Scholar in the Dao Exam was now a certainty.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shan Yengong led Wei Tu into the inner quarters to pay respects to Lady Shan Min and introduced his wife to Wei Tu.

"My wife is of frail constitution and has a long-standing grievance with my younger sister. To avoid causing friction, she sent word to Father during the New Year to stay home and manage the internal affairs..."

Shan Yengong explained.

Hearing this.

Wei Tu nodded. Shan Fang's personality was indeed unlikable. Having taken a son-in-law who married into the family, she had gained the power to compete with Shan Yengong for the family estate; over time, it was natural that the relationship between the sisters-in-law would not be harmonious.

After introducing his family, Shan Yengong led Wei Tu to the family's detached courtyard and assigned a maid and a servant to look after Wei Tu's daily needs during his stay.

That evening.

Shan Yengong hosted a banquet.

To welcome Wei Tu.

After several rounds of wine and several courses of food, Shan Yengong asked curiously, "I was wondering... Brother Wei, after you became the Martial Champion of Qingshan County, why... why did you seem somewhat unhappy?"

He looked surprised.

When he said Wei Tu seemed "somewhat unhappy," he didn't mean Wei Tu was "unhappy," but rather that Wei Tu failed to show the joy and pride one would expect from becoming a Martial Champion.

Shan Yengong thought to himself that even if Wei Tu was exceptionally mature for his age, he shouldn't be quite this way.

Hearing this.

Wei Tu thought for a moment before explaining the methods used by the Huang residence to Shan Yengong.

Martial Instructor Shan was his master, and Shan Yengong was the instructor's biological son; his honor and disgrace were almost inextricably linked to Shan Yengong's.

To put it bluntly.

If the Zheng Dynasty court investigated this imperial examination fraud case, Martial Instructor Shan and Shan Yengong would inevitably be implicated. At best, their titles would be stripped; at worst, they would face imprisonment, and their entire clan would be reduced to government slaves.

Therefore.

Wei Tu was not at all worried that Shan Yengong would leak this information.

"Master Huang is truly a man born of commerce; he is far too cunning," Shan Yengong said with a sigh after listening.

It is easy to dodge a spear, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow.

Wei Tu had acknowledged a kinship with Master Huang; the actions of that kin would naturally implicate Wei Tu personally, not to mention that the method Master Huang used was to cheat on Wei Tu's behalf.

"However, Brother Wei, you needn't worry too much. As long as you excel in the martial combat during the Dao Exam, even with this fraud, others will only view it as mere hearsay..."

Shan Yengong comforted him.

The "Combat Test" of the Dao Exam was more than ten times more brutal than the County Exam. At that stage, rankings could only be determined by one's own martial strength.

"I understand," Wei Tu nodded heavily.

He also wanted to wash away this shame through the combat of the Dao Exam.

...

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye.

It was June, the month the Dao Exam was to begin.

During these four months, leveraging his status as the Martial Champion, Wei Tu easily passed the Prefecture Exam, achieving a strong sixth-place result.

"It's a pity that the Health Cultivation Technique has yet to reach perfection and enter the Qi-Sensing Realm."

"Otherwise, in the Prefecture Exam competition, I could have at least taken the top spot."

In the Shan residence of the prefectural capital, after practicing the Health Cultivation Technique over a dozen times, Wei Tu wiped his sweat and immersed his consciousness into his mind to glance at his [Late Bloomer] destiny.

[Turtle Breath Qi-Nurturing Technique (91/100): Nine practices a day, mastery in five years.]

[Tiger and Crane Double Form Fist (33/100): Seven practices a day, mastery in three years.]

"Fortunately, the Tiger and Crane Double Form Fist has broken through to the Minor Accomplishment stage, and my saber techniques have also improved, filling my final shortcoming," Wei Tu mused.

The County Exam was in February, and the Prefecture Exam was in April.

During this interval, he had two months to refine his saber techniques.

Thus, through his unremitting efforts before the start of the Prefecture Exam, the [Tiger and Crane Double Form Fist] finally broke through to the Minor Accomplishment stage.

As his stance work broke through.

His saber techniques broke through accordingly.

Benefiting from this, he achieved Grade A results in both the "Saber Dance" and "Combat" sections of the Prefecture Exam.