Chapter 59: Deliberately Going Easy (Please add to favorites and keep reading)

A poor man.

He was lucky enough to marry at all.

He had no right to be picky.

To him, a maidservant with delicate skin and a pretty face was far better than an average maiden.

Not to mention, Caixia had connections to the "Registrar Wei" before him. If he could latch onto Wei Tu, he would be willing even if Caixia were an ugly woman.

"Very well, I will ask the matchmaker to propose to your family on a chosen day. You should prepare yourself..."

"I can lend you some money to build your new house, which you can repay later..."

"Don't let this sister of mine suffer any grievances."

Wei Tu studied the expression on Yue Jing's face for a few moments. Seeing that his countenance remained normal, he nodded and began arranging the procedures for the wedding.

Two months later.

The ninth day of the eighth lunar month was an auspicious day for marriage.

Yue Jing and Caixia were married as they wished.

As the matchmakers who brought them together, Wei Tu and Xinghua attended the wedding together to offer their congratulations and gifts.

Due to Wei Tu's influence, many military officers from the Xiangjun Commandery also sent congratulatory gifts through messengers.

Although the gifts from the officers were not precious—mostly cheap trinkets—the mere prestige of the gesture left the Yue family in great shock.

The Yue family members no longer dared to look down on the bride, Caixia; their words and actions toward her were respectful.

However, Caixia did not become arrogant or haughty because of this. On the day after the wedding, she arrived early at the main hall to serve tea and pay respects to her parents-in-law, showing not a hint of conceit.

Upon hearing of these events, the soldiers of the Xiangjun Commandery spoke of Yue Jing with much envy in their private conversations.

Three months after their marriage.

Wei Tu found an excuse and, using his authority, promoted Yue Jing to the position of a Squad Leader in the Xiangjun Commandery, responsible for military provisions.

This position was a lucrative one.

The kickbacks collected every year could provide a significant income.

Having done this, besides encouraging Xinghua and Caixia to visit each other frequently, Wei Tu no longer paid attention to Yue Jing and Caixia.

He wasn't Caixia's father.

Having done this much was sufficient.

Furthermore, Yue Jing had too many schemes and liked to maneuver for advantage; he was not like "Quanshun," who was diligent and steady.

By helping Yue Jing too much within the commandery and causing his status to rise so drastically, it might not necessarily be a good thing for Caixia...

Even if one were to help, "time reveals a person's true character."

...

Time passed.

A year later, it was the twenty-seventh year of the Qing'an era.

Autumn, the eighth month.

This year marked the time for the Shannandao Provincial Martial Examination.

Nearly six hundred martial scholars from various prefectures and counties of Shannandao flooded into the prefectural city of Qingfeng to participate in this examination.

Like previous provincial examinations, these martial scholars ranged in age.

Young martial instructors between the ages of twenty and thirty accounted for about seventy percent of the candidates.

The remaining twenty-five percent were middle-aged instructors in their forties and fifties, while the final five percent were elderly instructors over fifty.

During the external trials, Wei Tu even saw an elderly martial instructor in his seventies participating.

Though the septuagenarian's steps were relatively vigorous, he was knocked down by several punches from a younger instructor on the stage after only a few exchanges due to slow reflexes.

Fortunately, the old man was not seriously injured; after leaving the stage, he was still quite lively.

In terms of martial attainment alone, Wei Tu did not believe this old scholar was much inferior to the younger instructors.

However, strength favors the young; as martial instructors age, their physical constitution declines sharply.

A few days later.

After the preliminary and semi-final rounds, only fifty martial instructors remained on the provincial examination stage to compete for rankings on the official list.

The other five hundred-plus instructors had been eliminated one by one in the previous rounds, failing to reach the finals.

Among these fifty, naturally included Wei Tu, who possessed the highest martial realm.

Next, after three consecutive days of combat, only ten men remained from the fifty on the stage to compete for the top ten spots in the provincial examination.

"The top scorer of the provincial examination can be commissioned as a seventh-rank military officer. Those in the top ten can be commissioned as eighth-rank officers, and the rest are all ninth-rank..."

Standing on the stage, Wei Tu silently thought about the rules for official appointments following the examination.

With his current martial strength, combined with the combat experience Fu Zhizhou had taught him, he was confident he could claim the top spot in this examination.

But—Wei Tu suddenly remembered the incident in Siyang Town when he was targeted by the giant with the iron hammer.

If he hadn't been wearing his fine armor and dodged in time, he would have been either injured or killed after that fight; the best outcome would have been living the rest of his life paralyzed.

At that time, he had secretly vowed never to stand out again and to act with extreme caution.

"Is a seventh-rank official truly a must? Fourth Brother said that even Governor Wang has to be polite, even somewhat respectful, when facing a Xiantian martial artist..."

"In thirty years, I can become a Xiantian martial artist. By then, my status... will naturally see a massive increase..."

"Being obsessed with the seventh-rank official position granted by the provincial examination seems unnecessary."

Wei Tu's thoughts turned over as he began to analyze his current and future situation.

A Governor was a true high-ranking official of the Zheng Dynasty, a grand official in purple robes with a rank among the second-grade officials.

Once he became a seventh-rank official, it was clear he would find it difficult to rise through the ranks to reach Governor Wang's level within thirty years.

Furthermore, he needed to cultivate martial arts techniques and the immortal cultivation method, the "Five Elements Spirit-Nurturing Body." He had neither the time nor the energy to worry about officialdom or waste time on such matters.

Once he became a Xiantian martial artist, his status would leap to the top, allowing him to stand on equal footing with Governor Wang; there was no need to struggle in the political arena.

"The top scorer of the provincial examination is too dazzling. In the entire Zheng Dynasty, across the two capitals and thirteen provinces, there are only fifteen top scorers every three years..."

"Once one becomes the top scorer, they will inevitably become famous nationwide, and troubles will follow one after another... whereas the benefits gained are clearly not worth it for me."

After considering it for a quarter of an hour, Wei Tu finally made up his mind to forgo the title of "Top Scorer" and aim only for the top ten.

An eighth-rank military officer was enough for him; it was sufficient to raise his status.

While a seventh-rank officer was better—one rank higher with limitless prospects in officialdom—the risks involved were truly too great, clearly exceeding the "gains" of a seventh-rank official.

With a goal in mind, Wei Tu fought noticeably more easily in the final matches, no longer needing to obsess over his opponents' sects, techniques, weapons, or martial arts.

Half a day later.

The dust settled.

Through his deliberate restraint, Wei Tu secured seventh place in this session's provincial martial examination.

This ranking was neither high nor low, ensuring he would not attract too much public attention.

"Third Brother thought wisely. It is indeed unnecessary to invite risk for the sake of a seventh-rank official position..."

After the competition, Fu Zhizhou drove the carriage to pick up Wei Tu from the gates of the Martial Merit Academy.

On the way, after learning of Wei Tu's ranking, Fu Zhizhou first showed surprise and confusion, but after hearing Wei Tu's explanation, he immediately felt a sense of admiration, believing Wei Tu possessed great strategic vision.

From Wei Tu's perspective, making such a reasonable choice seemed logical.

But who could truly ignore the fame and fortune brought by being the top scorer and a seventh-rank official?

Fu Zhizhou mused that if he were in Wei Tu's position, he likely could not have made such a decisive decision.