A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination

Chapter 51: Threaten

Dong Peng came back from outside the house drunk, he never thought that he would fall into the ground, and he had no choice but to drink wine to drown his sorrows.

He pushed open the door, just took two steps, and suddenly felt wrong.

His back stiffened and he raised his head slowly.

The candle in the room was lit suddenly, and a figure was facing him, nodding and smiling at him.

“Brother Dong, long time no see.”

Dong Peng’s face was completely stiff, he snorted coldly, and said in a bad tone: “It turned out to be Brother Xiao, now that you have achieved your wish, what are you doing here with us?”

In the past few days, the candidates from other places have stayed in Chang’an to wait for the announcement. The inn has no vacant rooms, so Dong Peng can only continue to live in the room where he is going to take the test. After Xiao Jingduo moved out, Dong Peng thought about it and wanted to live in Xiao Jingduo’s original house, but the rent offered by the owner discouraged Dong Peng. In the end, he could only aggrieved himself and continued to share a room with Wu Tai. Although Dong Peng was embarrassed, he immediately comforted himself, it was okay, anyway, he will soon be in high school, and when he becomes a jinshi, he will be able to buy a big mansion with three entrances immediately.

But the reality hit Dong Peng hard in the face, he didn’t use high school, and even almost got the stigma of fraud. And the initiator of all this, yet dared to show off in front of him.

Dong Peng thought so, his face was cold enough to scrape the ice, he said coldly: “Even if you are a jinshi now, there is no reason to break into a private house. Say it, you What are you going to do here?”

Xiao Jingduo smiled and said, “Wait, Brother Wu will be back soon. Some things can be explained once, it is best not to say them a second time.”

“How do you know that Wu Tai is coming back?” Dong Peng was a little confused now, but after thinking about Xiao Jingduo’s words carefully, he felt speechless fear.

Xiao Jingduo did not answer Dong Peng’s question. He seemed to hear something, and his eyes turned to the door. Sure enough, Wu Tai’s voice came from the yard.

Wu Taifu stood on the door and patted the door drunkenly: “Dong Peng, why did you close the door? Open the door, open it!”

Lang Jun.

Wu Tai shook his head and looked again, only to wake up: “Are you… Xiao Jingduo?”

Xiao Jingduo stood aside and smiled softly: “Thank you Brother Wu for still remembering me.”

Xiao Jingduo meant to ridicule, but from Wu Tai’s point of view, these words were indescribable ridicule, and even Xiao Jingduo’s smile was condescending. Wu Tai’s face was cold, he straightened up with effort, and got up from the ground: “Oh, you are a new scholar, the fourth-ranked young genius, how dare I forget you? Not only do I remember you, I also remember you. What you did in the past!”

Xiao Jingduo knew that the two of them would not let it go easily. People’s hearts are the most fickle. If the three of them are in the middle at the same time, or if they fall at the same time, Wu Tai and Dong Peng will not be lonely, but it happens that Xiao Jingduo is in high school, and Dong Peng and Wu Tai are beaten back to their original shape.

In jealousy, what they will do is unpredictable.

Xiao Jingduo did not speak, just when Dong Peng and Wu Tai thought that Xiao Jingduo was guilty, his voice suddenly sounded: “Do you know why the essays and strategy theory have to be re-examined?”

When I mentioned this, Dong Peng was angry: “Isn’t it because of the fraud, I don’t know who is doing more…” Dong Peng suddenly realized something and smiled maliciously, “Oh, you I came here today to find out who the person who reported the report was? Let me tell you, if you die, even if I know it, I won’t tell you!”

It’s so stupid, I still can’t figure it out. Xiao Jingduo said: “Since this is the case, then I might as well say it directly. It is me who reported the fraud.”

“What?” Dong Peng and Wu Tai were shocked, “Are you crazy! What are you doing to destroy your future? It also affects both of us.”

“I am saving you, otherwise I will really destroy my future.” Xiao Jingduo said, “That note is my family’s own opinion, I have never seen it, but I did not expect it to be The two of you searched. Since I know about this, I can’t let it go wrong, so after the exam, I reported a note to the Minister of Rites.”

Dong Peng just woke up like a dream, and wanted to find the note, Xiao Jingduo interrupted them coldly: “No need to look for it, the paper is now in the examiner’s hands .”

Dong Peng didn’t know when Xiao Jingduo took things from their room, but now is not the time to investigate this, Dong Peng angrily asked: “It’s you, you told the waiter about us The bad words of the two made me and Wu Tai fall off the list?”

Dong Peng and Wu Tai never expected the truth of the matter to be this way. Destroying someone’s future is like killing one’s parents. Wu Tai was provoked and immediately sneered and said, “Do you think you killed the two of us? If you push it out, you will be able to get out of the way? Impossible! I will go out and publicize that the fourth in the new division is actually a fraudster who takes the test. I will see how you will end up even if your father is in charge!”

Wu Tai turned his head and was about to go out. As soon as he opened the door, a sharp long knife was in front of him.

“Why don’t you go? You can say it as much as you can, I’m not unmanned, as long as I hear the slightest bit of wind, I will let all the servants of the Hou residence go out and promote it for you, you are cheating The person who stole someone else’s article and didn’t say it, still took it as his own, and moved it to his own test paper. You also said that I am the direct son of the Houfu. Even if rumors against me broke out, I still have the whole family. Plan for me, but what about you? If you lose your reputation, what will you do next?”

Wu Tai paused, and Dong Peng blushed with anger: “Xiao Jingduo, you are so despicable!”

Xiao Jingduo just smiled at this, despicable? More decisively, he didn’t say it.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t do this kind of stupid thing to destroy my future. I’m a high school jinshi now, maybe I can become a court official soon, but you are just two helpless The unreliable ordinary students, against me, what can I get? And the official document of the Ministry of Rites said that those who cheated last time will not be held accountable, but if they cheat again, they will be disqualified from the examination and will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination for life. Think about it carefully, as long as you don’t talk about it, the matter of cheating will pass like this, and you can take the exam again next year without damaging your reputation or cutting off your future.”

Xiao Jingduo’s words were quite deceiving. Although Dong Peng was moved, he was still vigilant and refused to trust Xiao Jingduo: “How do I know, you are telling the truth? There is a file there, what should I do if Wu Tai and I can’t pass the exam in this life?”

You can rest assured about this.”

Wu Tai suddenly laughed coldly and sneered: “What did you say for a long time, just because we were afraid that we would involve you in the fraud case and affect your official career. But I and I You are not relatives, so why should I help you?”

“Help me?” Xiao Jingduo also smiled, “Why do you think you can threaten me? You might as well think about why the Ministry of Rites issued this strange official document, and why did it say that the person who cheated last time? Don’t pursue it anymore.”

But I have to say that under Xiao Jingduo’s deliberate guidance, Dong Peng and Wu Tai’s faces really turned white little by little.

Xiao Jingduo nodded mysteriously: “I won’t go into details, I just hope you two will cherish the hard-won opportunities. Reviled, but the two of you were lucky to escape. I hope you will stop thinking about it, take your exams in an upright manner, and be innocent.”

After saying this, Xiao Jingduo went out. When he reached the door, Dong Peng’s voice caught up from behind: “Sure enough, people can’t be seen on the outside. I never thought that such a handsome young man could be such a person inside.”

“Dong Peng, I hope you remember one thing.” Xiao Jingduo didn’t look back, even his voice was extremely calm, “The note is my family’s own opinion, and it has nothing to do with me. , I have never opened it before, otherwise I would not have gotten it. In the second re-examination, the essay questions are equivalent to the official missed questions. If you write poorly, you will not be able to blame others. , The ranking is all based on your own ability. I just want to tell you all this, I have a clear conscience in this high school. Since the Ministry of Rites is willing to let you go, I hope you can cherish it and stop thinking about whether you should or not. And that The note has already been involved, and I finally advise you, if you still want to participate in the imperial examinations safely, then don’t mention the note again.”

Xiao Jingduo left without looking back. The evening wind blew into the house, shaking the fire core in the candlestick.

After a long silence, Dong Peng asked Wu Tai: “You said, do we really let this go?”

“Otherwise?” Wu Tai asked rhetorically, “He is only seventeen and already has such a ruthless mind, even if we burst out, I’m afraid it won’t hurt him, but will be completely vengeful. In this case, Then we will sell him a favor, which is a good thing for us anyway.”

After listening to Wu Tai’s words, Dong Peng also completely rested his mind, and made up his mind to completely rot the note. Dong Peng was already full of depression because of his failure. After seeing Xiao Jingduo, his mood became even lower.

A seventeen-year-old boy? Not to mention when Dong Peng was seventeen, even now, I am afraid that he is far behind the other party’s scheming and courage.

The more Dong Peng thought about it, the more grieved he became, so he simply poured a sip of wine into his stomach and stopped thinking about the existence of Xiao Jingduo.

Xiao Lin stood guard outside the door for Xiao Jingduo, doing something to scare people by the way. Seeing Xiao Jingduo come out quickly, Xiao Lin silently followed. After walking for a while, he asked in a low voice, “Lang Jun, there is a curfew, where are we going now?”

“Mr. Dalang? Why did you come back? The old lady has been waiting for a long time.”

“Well.” Xiao Jingduo said vaguely, “I went out with the same year, and I forgot the time. My grandmother is in Gaoshoutang now?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Jingduo threw the reins to the servants and walked quickly towards the Gao Shou Tang.

But as soon as he turned around, he stayed outside until now.

It is really disrespectful to let the elders wait for a long time, but when Xiao Jingduo faced the old lady, he said almost without blinking: “Back to grandmother, I was invited to go out with me in the same year today, grandson is not easy to shirk. , This has been delayed until now, and I ask my grandmother to punish.”

“Did you go out with other jinshi?” The old lady heard Xiao Jingduo say this, how could she blame him, “It’s a good thing to have more gatherings in the same year. It’s more important. Anyway, the family banquet is full of family members, so it’s not a big deal to wait a little longer. All right, let’s spread the word, Duo’er is back, let Jun Ru have the banquet.”

Xiao Jingduo walked out with the old lady. As soon as she walked in, the maids ran out and saluted the old lady diligently: “You can come, the ladies have been waiting for a long time.”

Then, these shrewd maids greeted Xiao Jingduo with a smile: “Hello, Dalangjun, congratulations, Dalangjun!”

There were many people waiting in the room, and when they heard the voice outside the door, the people in the room got up one after another: “Grandma, big brother!”

The old lady took the seat with the support of Xue Lan, Xiao Jingduo wanted to sit down as before, but she was stopped by the old lady just as she moved: “Duoer, you are the protagonist of today, you Just sit next to me.”

Xiao Jingduo looked up at the old lady and replied calmly, “Okay.”

The life in the back house is far richer than imagined. Many seemingly ordinary things are covered with many things, such as the seating order, such as the attitude of the old lady.

Only the most favored person can sit next to the old lady. Usually this seat is reserved for Xiao Jinghu. Later, when Cheng Huizhen came, she became the second celebrity next to the old lady. .

Now that Xiao Jingduo is left here, Cheng Huizhen and others naturally have to move back. At this time, the adults have not come, and there are only juniors in the room. Cheng Huizhen sat beside Xiao Jingduo because of her young age. , Zhuang Ruo naively said coquettishly: “Cousin, why are you coming back now? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

Although Xiao Jingduo and Cheng Hui are really cousins, but whose sister would talk to her brother like this, let alone Xiao Jingduo is seventeen. He swept the corner of his eyes to the side, and found that the old lady was talking to Xue Lan, pretending to be invisible, and Xiao Su’s maid also lowered her head, looking ignorant, and he didn’t understand anything.

It seems that the old lady and his aunt want to revive the old things.

It’s too late.

Xiao Jingduo looked indifferent and did not care about the other people in the room at all, and said to Cheng Huizhen in a very unfamiliar tone: “I met in the same year, what are you asking about?”

Cheng Huizhen was blocked and speechless, Xiao Yumang burst out laughing when she heard this.

“Eldest brother!” Xiao Yumang called out affectionately, “I heard that one of the 100 jinshi is chosen, and you were awarded the jinshi in only seventeen, which is really amazing! If only I were half as smart as the eldest brother, This way, my mother won’t always think I’m stupid.”

Xiao Yumang and Xiao Yuli immediately started a war of words. The two of you said each other, on the surface, they were all good words, but in fact they were tearing down each other’s old bottom. Xiao Jingduo sat in the center and listened for a while, and felt more and more that women really shouldn’t be underestimated.

The level of his two cousins’ secret talk is no less than the intrigue in the court, leaving them in the back house is really inferior.

Seeing Xiao Jingduo just listening, Xiao Yumang was also a little anxious. Xiao Jingduo and Erfang didn’t deal with it. She thought that Xiao Jingduo would unconditionally favor her, but why didn’t the eldest brother say anything after so long?

“Brother, you see Erniang is always bullying me, you have to decide for me!” Xiao Yumang said.

Xiao Yuli secretly scolded the wicked and complained first, and said not to be outdone: “You can’t tell the difference between black and white when you are the eldest brother? It is up to the eldest brother to decide. See how authentic Sanniang does this.”

Xiao Jingduo did not want to get involved in the disputes between the cousins, and was even said to be used by them as a raft. Maybe some brothers don’t care about their sister’s careful thoughts and small calculations, but unfortunately, Xiao Jingduo is both vengeful and stingy, he cares.

So Xiao Jingduo said very casually: “I can’t say more about the inner house. Since you want to seek justice, then go to your grandmother.”

The long-experienced Cheng Huizhen smiled secretly, and then came out to round up the scene.

Although Xiao Jingduo said that he would not interfere with the affairs of the inner house, it did not mean that he did not understand the circles of the inner house. Xiao Yuli and Xiao Yumang said so much just now, just thinking Get close to him, and let him take them to the banquet of the same year. Xiao Jingduo vaguely heard that Xiao Yufang and Xiao Yuli seemed to be discussing a kiss, and the object was a grandchild of the Duke of Qi. Xiao Jingduo and Qi Guogong’s grandson attended classes together in Guozijian, and heard about Qi Guogong’s mansion. In fact, the marriage between Xiao Yuli and Xiao Yumang was not very good. Descendants, but that was just a grandson of the concubine, and he was not given much attention on weekdays, and it was incomparable with his classmate, the eldest grandson of Qi Guo’s justice.

However, since the second and third aunts of Xiao didn’t mind the matchmaker’s words, his cousin, who was in the next room and who was not close, was too lazy to care.

Not long after, a crisp announcement sounded from outside the house.

“Master Hou and Madam Hou are here.”

Xiao Jingduo raised her head in response, and happened to see Xiao Ying and Wu Junru lift the curtain and come in. Xiao Ying’s eyes swept away, and it happened to meet Xiao Jingduo’s eyes.

Xiao Ying’s lips curved slightly, it seems that his son, relying on his own admission to the jinshi, has dared to challenge his father?

Sure enough, he was too tolerant of his eldest son.

The author has something to say:

Entering the final stage of the imperial examination fraud case, the imperial examination period is coming to an end, Xiao Jingduo will soon become an official!

**********************

Thanks!