Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Bribing the County Magistrate
Just as Wei Tu expected, after learning that he had returned to the Li Mansion in a carriage borrowed from the Huang Family, Li Yaozu’s attitude underwent a subtle shift.
He began to speak to Wei Tu as more of an equal, no longer constantly calling him "loyal" or remarking on how "dutifully" he had worked at the Li Mansion in the past...
"The Huang Family?"
"If our Li Family hadn’t bought him back then, would he even be alive today? And that aunt of his? Where was she back then?"
Li Xingye and Li Yaozu were talking in the study of the Li Mansion, Li Xingye’s words dripping with resentment.
’A mere Household Slave has been sitting at the same table with me all this time. On top of that, my parents are constantly lecturing me, telling me to build a good relationship with Wei Tu, saying he’ll be of great use in the future and all that nonsense.’
Though he obeyed his parents, outwardly interacting with Wei Tu as an equal and treating him with courtesy, he grew increasingly resentful on the inside.
’The Li Family clearly gave him everything, yet Wei Tu still puts on this air of being an equal. It’s utterly ’undutiful’ of him.’
’Besides, I ranked in the top ten of the County Examination! I have a real chance of earning a title this year... Am I supposed to consider a Household Slave’s opinion before I do anything?’
He had managed to tolerate it for the past few days.
But today, Li Yaozu had been even more conspicuously "deferential" toward Wei Tu.
’Bowing and scraping before a former Household Slave.’
This was something Li Xingye could not tolerate.
He saw it as Wei Tu humiliating his parents.
"Good heavens, you’re going to be the death of me! Keep your voice down, don’t let the servants hear you." Startled by Li Xingye’s words, Li Yaozu hurried to the doorway. He glanced around, and seeing no servants nearby, immediately shut the door and windows tightly.
"What’s the big deal."
Li Xingye was unconcerned, seating himself in a straight-backed chair near the desk.
When he spoke again, however, he did heed Li Yaozu’s warning and lowered his voice slightly.
"Just tolerate it for a few more days. I’ll send him away soon," Li Yaozu coaxed.
"Fine."
Li Xingye raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue further with Li Yaozu.
"Oh, right. Father, have a maid bring me some more pastries. I’m hungry," Li Xingye then added.
"Hungry?"
"Didn’t we just have dinner?"
Hearing this, Li Yaozu inwardly cursed his son for a spendthrift, wincing at the thought of the expense.
’An extra meal every night... how much would that cost?’
"How could I possibly eat from dishes that he has touched?" Li Xingye said with a sneer, a Confucian classic resting in his hands.
...
「The next day.」
In the plaza before the main hall of the Chenghuang Temple, the second trial of the Military Examination began.
This time, the three events being tested were Horseback Shooting, Step Shooting, and the Competition.
The completion of these three events would mark the end of the outer field trials, leaving only the final test of the Military Examination: the Inner Field Military Strategy.
"A+..."
"Class A..."
Soon, Wei Tu’s scores for Horseback Shooting and Step Shooting were announced.
Wei Tu achieved Grade A in both events, placing him at the forefront of all the Martial Artists.
"He actually has his own well-trained horse?"
On the sidelines, the assembled gentry were astonished. They never expected that Wei Tu, a man from a humble background, would ride a Cyan Horse in the Horseback Shooting event instead of one of the inferior horses provided by the county.
"This Wei Tu... what’s his story? Was he deliberately faking his humble origins in the earlier tests?"
The expressions of the onlookers grew grim.
But they quickly dismissed this idea.
Deliberately faking a humble background during the Military Examination served no real purpose. On the contrary, it might cause the examiners to look down on a candidate and give them a lower score.
"The night before last, after the event ended, I saw Brother Huang and his concubine go to meet this Wei Tu. Could it be they have some past connection?"
A member of the gentry asked curiously.
The Huang Family was the wealthiest in Qingmu County, so their every move was watched by their peers. Although no one had witnessed the scene of Master Huang formally acknowledging his kinship with Wei Tu two days prior, some of the gentry were aware that Wei Tu had visited the Huang residence.
"Hmm..." Master Huang hesitated a moment, then said, "He is my concubine’s nephew, and therefore my nephew as well..."
"So, Wei Tu is from the Huang Family, then?" the gentryman beside him immediately pressed.
If Wei Tu was indeed from the Huang Family, then their speculations during the first martial skills trial two days ago might have been wrong.
In this County Military Examination, Wei Tu was now very likely to become the top scorer.
Even if he didn’t take the top spot, his performance in the outer field trials was more than enough to secure him a place among the top few candidates.
So far, in the three outer field trials, Wei Tu had achieved Grade A in everything except for a slightly weaker performance in the Sword Dance, for which he had only received a B+.
All that remained of the County Military Examination were the final Competition and the inner field test—Military Strategy!
The "Competition" was a martial contest between the Martial Artists. Given the prowess Wei Tu had displayed thus far, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to earn a Grade A.
That meant only the final Military Strategy portion would differentiate the rankings.
However, the Military Examinations in Zheng Country followed the principle of "martial skill first, strategy second."
In other words, the Military Strategy score had only a very limited impact on a candidate’s final ranking.
As long as Wei Tu didn’t just scribble nonsense during the Military Strategy test, his results would be enough to place him in the top five, the top three, or even take the top spot in the County Examination.
And the Military Strategy test...
These wealthy gentry families could buy the exam questions from the County Magistrate.
If Wei Tu was from the Huang Family...
Then Wei Tu was guaranteed to pass the Military Strategy exam, with an eighty percent chance of taking the top spot.
Hearing the gentryman’s pressing question, Master Huang shook his head.
He would have liked nothing more than for Wei Tu to become a member of the Huang Family, but unfortunately, Wei Tu already had a good master. The benefits Master Huang could offer were, in Wei Tu’s eyes, as light as a feather—not nearly enough to sway him.
"That’s good." Hearing this, the gentry breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Just like the top scholar in the Literary Examination, the top scorer in the Military Examination could be directly recommended for the Daoist Examination, which was a level above the Prefecture Examination.
Getting into the Daoist Examination greatly increased one’s chances of earning an official title.
"While Wei Tu may not be a member of the Huang Family, his identity... is that of a Disciple of Shan Wuju, the Martial Scholar from Sanyuan Town..."
Master Huang then added.
Even if the gentry hadn’t asked, he had planned to make Wei Tu’s identity known to everyone today.
His intention was not to use Wei Tu’s position to elevate his own status.
It wasn’t Wei Tu’s future potential that he feared; a mere Disciple of a Martial Scholar was not yet influential enough to concern him.
What Master Huang worried about was that these gentry, in the interest of their own candidates’ rankings, would bribe the County Magistrate to make Wei Tu’s scores in the County Military Examination "drop."
A candidate who should have been the top scorer...
...could end up second, third, or even fourth because of it.
All of this was possible.
As a member of the gentry himself, Master Huang was all too familiar with the dirty dealings that went on during the Military Examination.
"What?"
"A Martial Scholar’s Disciple?"
The gentry’s expressions flickered, and they felt a surge of gratitude for Master Huang’s warning.
Generally, when determining the final rankings, the County Magistrate would also take a candidate’s background into consideration.
If they had been unaware of Wei Tu’s connection and tried to bribe the County Magistrate or the Chief Examiner, their efforts would have been a complete waste of money. Worse, they would have offended the dark horse of this Military Examination.
"In that case..."
"There’s more than an eighty percent chance that Wei Tu will be the top scorer this time. We shouldn’t waste our silver coins..."
The gentry murmured amongst themselves.
...
「At the same time.」
「On the high platform.」
County Magistrate Chen, who had been dozing off, received a letter delivered by a servant from his household.
Hearing the letter was from his wife, Magistrate Chen frowned slightly as he opened it.
The letter’s contents were simple. It merely stated that Master Huang had delivered a decorative Coral Scene to their home that day, and that Mrs. Huang Wei had gifted her a Gold-Plated Pearl Hairpin.
At the end of the letter, Madam Chen added a note that Wei Tu was Mrs. Huang Wei’s nephew, and also a Disciple of Shan Wuju, the Martial Scholar from Sanyuan Town.
