Chapter 337: Chapter 135: Getting Noticed
The Shopkeeper, who was in the middle of his accounts, was left dumbstruck by this statement.
His dim old eyes lifted to look from Zhao Jing to Chen Wanqing, his mind struggling to process for a moment.
It was unclear if, in that moment, he was pondering whether "Older Sister" and "Younger Brother" counted as incest, or if he was muttering to himself about how such a refined-looking young man could speak such shockingly bold words.
The Shopkeeper shook his head, his expression becoming imperturbable once more. He lowered his head and resumed flicking the beads of his abacus.
Chen Wanqing, however, was truly mortified.
She stomped hard on Zhao Jing’s foot. "Jing, if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll... I’ll..."
"What will you do, Older Sister?"
"Father should be preparing to head back, so I’ll just return to Qingshui County with him."
Zhao Jing was truly alarmed. Under the cover of his sleeve, he secretly reached down and clasped her slender fingers.
"I was only joking. Don’t be angry with me, Older Sister. Besides, the results will be posted tomorrow. Could you really bear not to celebrate with me?"
"You say that like you’ve already taken first place. What if you don’t, or what if you fail completely?"
Zhao Jing’s face fell into a dejected look. "Then I’ll need Older Sister’s comfort even more..."
Chen Wanqing was so worn down by his teasing that she had no fight left in her. She could only shoot Zhao Jing another fierce glare before going upstairs with him.
"I wonder where Father is now, and if he’s had lunch yet."
"I’m more curious about why the Lord Prefect was looking for Father. Could it be that Mr. Cheng put in a good word for him, and that’s why the Lord Prefect specifically wanted to meet him?"
As it turned out, Zhao Jing’s guess was spot on.
Mr. Cheng had spoken well of Chen Song before Mr. Sheng, even mentioning that Chen Song was the first to discover and gather evidence of Cui Wei and his son manipulating the examinations. This was why Mr. Sheng had specifically wanted to meet Chen Song.
Chen Song was now officially on Mr. Sheng’s radar.
It all started when he discovered a treasure box on Xiaoao Mountain in Qingshui County’s Zhao Village. The contents of the box were exceptionally valuable, so to reward him, Mr. Sheng had approved Mr. Cheng’s petition and promoted Chen Song to County Assistant of the eighth pin.
He never expected this Chen Song to be so capable. After achieving such great merit, he had gone and achieved another.
If Chen Song hadn’t discovered this first, he would have been the one implicated when the scandal in Guyuan County finally broke.
At that point, he would have been unable to escape blame for lax oversight.
But now, thanks to Mr. Cheng’s timely "tip-off," he held the initiative and could strike first.
Thus, he transformed from Mr. Sheng, the tragically deceived official with poor oversight, into Mr. Sheng, the perceptive, strategic, and decisive leader.
Mr. Sheng was very pleased with Mr. Cheng’s astuteness and delighted to have such a capable subordinate in Chen Song.
Especially since Chen Song had an impressive presence and looked sharp and competent, Mr. Sheng was thrilled by the find and considered transferring him to the Prefecture.
However, Mr. Cheng had just pledged his loyalty, and snatching his right-hand man immediately after would be poor form.
Luckily, the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office had many capable men, so Mr. Sheng resisted the urge to say anything.
Mr. Sheng then asked, as if just making small talk, how Chen Song had discovered the treasure box in the first place.
On this topic, Chen Song had plenty to say.
"I wasn’t the one who found the treasure box. My son, daughter, and son-in-law found it while they were on the mountain digging for huangqi."
Mr. Sheng knew a little about this matter, but he wasn’t clear on the specifics.
Seizing the opportunity, Mr. Cheng chimed in, "Mr. Chen’s son and son-in-law are indeed fine, promising young men. In fact, my lord, you may be seeing them in two days’ time."
Mr. Sheng, reading between the lines, was momentarily stunned, then delighted. "Those two brilliant boys... are they among the candidates this time?"
"Precisely."
Mr. Sheng recalled the list of candidates from Qingshui County who had passed to become Scholars.
The papers for this county examination were already graded. The next two days were for review and ranking.
The selection of Scholars from Qingshui County had already been finalized before he held court earlier.
The fact that Mr. Cheng dared to say Mr. Sheng would see the two of them in two days meant they had certainly passed the county examination.
Mr. Sheng did, in fact, know of a young man with the surname Chen who had passed this time: Chen De’an, the one with whom he had once shared tea.
After that tea meeting, Mr. Sheng had returned to his government office and ordered a thorough background check on every one of those young men.
Among them, the ones who had left the deepest impression on him were Chen De’an and Zhao Jing, and the two were said to be brothers-in-law.
Thinking of this, a look of genuine delight filled Mr. Sheng’s eyes. "Don’t tell me... Zhao Jing and Chen De’an are Mr. Chen’s son-in-law and son?"
Neither Mr. Cheng nor Chen Song had ever expected those two boys to have already made an impression on the Lord Prefect.
