Master From the King's Fort Chapter 4

"Nothing to say?"

Wang Bing and others were full of pride and smugness. One candidate even said loudly: "How can a person who ranked last in the provincial examination be among the top 100 in the spring examination? There must be a reason for this!"

This statement is too far-reaching, and has gone beyond the scope of "definition". It is completely different from what Wang Bing said. The latter only targeted Logan Yang, but this person almost caught all the scholars in the imperial examination.

Not only were Logan Yang and the other three gritting their teeth, but the candidate who led the rebellion was also frowning.

Reason? What reason?

If you pass the autumn examination, you can also fail the spring examination. The provincial examination is coming, so who says you can't make a splash in the metropolitan examination?

If we look into it carefully, most of the current scholars are "suspected" and may be involved.

If the matter gets out of hand, it may be another "fraud case"!

Every time there is an imperial examination, cheating is a sharp sword hanging over the necks of examiners and students. Especially in the spring examination, if one is not careful, rumors will spread everywhere, and the situation will be irreversible.

There is already a precedent in this dynasty.

In the 12th year of Hongzhi's reign, in the Jiwei Imperial Examination fraud case, not only Tang Yin fell, but also Cheng Keqin, who had lectured in the Eastern Palace and was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites at the time.

The man only wanted to trample Logan Yang to death, but he did not think that acting without thinking and making trouble out of nothing would bring disaster upon himself.

This place is not Bao'an Prefecture, nor is it Zhuolu County!

The important places in the capital, the Ministry of Justice, Shuntian Prefecture, the Imperial Guards, and the East Factory, all of them were keeping an eye on these candidates who were taking the imperial examinations. If they were watched by the first two, they could still protest. If they met the Imperial Guards and the East Factory, they would be skinned alive!

It was involved in cheating in the imperial examinations, which was deeply hated by the emperor. If officials were sent to investigate, they would be contaminated even if they didn't eat the fish.

Ethan Cheng was the most stubborn. He slammed the table and pointed at the candidate who had spoken out, shouting, "Do you have any real evidence to support your evil words? If not, you are malicious and slandering a fellow candidate. You are extremely vicious! Even if I have to fight for my fame, I will go to the Imperial College with you, tell you right from wrong, beat the drum together, and fight for everything!"

Li Chun and Mason Wang both had resolute looks on their faces. They stood tall and glared at Wang Bing and the others, as if they would make a big deal out of it if the other party did not give a satisfactory answer.

Logan Yang was good friends with the three of them and they were on the same list.

If there was something fishy about Logan Yang's results, how could these three people remain unscathed?

Once the news got out, there would be no shortage of people who would make groundless accusations. Even if one was innocent, after becoming an official in the court, he would often be disliked by his superiors and would have difficulty in getting promoted.

Three years later, it was the spring examination again. There were both advanced scorers and latecomers. How could I ever stand out?

Logan Yang wanted to speak, but was stopped by three people behind him, with a protective attitude.

The bookboy Riley Yang took the opportunity to come over and whispered, "Silang, I don't know the person who spoke first, but I know the person next to him."

"you know?"

"It's the Yan family."

Yan family?

Logan Yang paused and asked, "Are you sure?"

"It can't be wrong." The book boy said, "Before going to Beijing, my parents told me to make a special note of it. That's the eldest son of the Yan family, and he is also a candidate for this year's exam."

Logan Yang said nothing, glanced at the eldest son of the Yan family who was half hidden behind Wang Bing, and frowned slightly.

Speaking of the Yan family and the Yang family, it is a typical example of a marriage that failed but ended up becoming enemies.

During the Chenghua period, the Yang family and the Yan family became friends. After they became rich, according to the agreement of their ancestors, the head of the Yang family married her daughter into the Yan family. According to seniority, she was exactly Logan Yang's great-aunt.

The marriage between the big families in Zhuolu County was a beautiful story. The county official came in person to congratulate them, and the two families held a three-day banquet together, which was very joyful.

Who would have thought that on the day of returning to her parents' home, Yang's daughter went home crying, begging not to go back to the Yan family and would rather go up the mountain to become a nun.

The head of the Yang family was furious, and when he saw that his son-in-law did not come with him, he became even more furious. He interrogated the servants who came with him and found out that on the wedding day, Yan's son was drunk and left the bride alone. This was still possible, but there was a pregnant woman in the back house! He entered the house the day after the wedding and ridiculed the bride in front of her!

How could a daughter raised in wealth endure such humiliation!

Yang went to Yan and demanded an explanation.

The head of the Yan family was shocked at first, but after checking and finding out the truth, he immediately apologized and ordered the Yan family son to kneel in the ancestral hall, wanting to take the Yang family daughter back. Unexpectedly, the woman who had an affair with the Yan family son rushed in and hit her head against the doorpost, nearly killing both of them.

Yang refused to give up. Yan's marriage fraud was unreasonable in the first place, so he had no choice but to agree to let his wife go.

The matter should have ended there, but who would have thought that half a month after divorcing his wife, the woman he had an affair with died in childbirth. Yan's son got drunk at night, fell into the water, caught a cold, and died, and the family line was cut off.

The daughter of the Yang family married in another county. Although her husband was over thirty years old and had been a widower for several years, she was considerate and lived a happy life.

Because of the "marriage fraud" incident, the Yan family's reputation fell sharply, and families who wanted to marry into the Yan family had to think twice. Even if the betrothal gifts were generous and the dowry was not cheap, it was difficult for the children of the family to find a good marriage.

One person has implicated the entire family. We cannot get angry at the dead, so we can only direct our anger at the Yang family.

Since then, the hatred between the two tribes has deepened.

In spring and summer, they fight for water; in autumn and winter, they fight for land. In the early years of the Hongzhi reign, when the imperial court assigned labor service, the Yan family took the opportunity to severely pit the Yang family, which deepened the hatred between the two families.

Even though the Yang family had suffered many grievances, they were unable to appeal.

Firstly, the matter was done carefully, and there was no evidence to prove it. Secondly, a son of the Yan branch won the second place, was appreciated by the master, and became the father-in-law and son-in-law. The Yan clan had someone to rely on, and things were different now.

The servants of the Yan family dared to point at the Yang family and spit, saying proudly: "Go ahead and sue if you have the guts! If a commoner sues an official, he will first be beaten with a board and then exiled a thousand miles away. Let's see how many men in your Yang family will go to the border to fight against the swords of the Tartars!"

Such vicious words pierced the Yang family's hearts word by word.

The Yang family was not ambitious. The whole family supported them, but they could not raise a "scholar". Not to mention the Jinshi or Juren, they didn't even have a Xiucai!

It was not until Logan Yang was born in the Yang family that he passed the imperial examination when he was less than ten years old. He took the academy examination, the county examination, the provincial examination, and the metropolitan examination, bringing great expectations to the whole family.

This spring, the Yan family in Zhuolu also had children taking the exam, but all of them failed without exception. Only the Yan family in the capital had a child who passed the exam and ranked in the top ten, with a strong chance of winning the first place.

As much as Yang hoped that Logan Yang would pass the imperial examination, Yan wanted to trample him under her feet.

In just two breaths, Logan Yang had already comprehended the key points.

When there are interests involved, people will not hesitate to think the worst. Yang Xiaojuren died of drunkenness, and it is hard to say that there was no handiwork of the Yan family.

When the Imperial Examination results were announced, "Logan Yang" was on the list. Yan wanted to suppress him, so she had to act before the palace examination. Either her reputation would be ruined, or... he would not be able to take part in the palace examination.

It wasn't difficult, just a few beatings and kicks would be enough to keep him bedridden for months. Even more vicious, they could do it to the extreme, cripple his right hand, ruin his appearance, and make it impossible for him to advance.

Thinking of this, Logan Yang glanced at Wang Bing and others again.

These failed candidates were full of resentment and were easily provoked. The person who planned this was very careful. However, he did not expect that there was another nickname in the world, called "pig teammate".

The clever Yan Jia Tristan Yan is one of the best among them.

There is no need for others to point it out. As long as Wang Bing and others are not extremely stupid, they should know that something is wrong.

Tristan Yan's bad words offended not only Logan Yang and the other three, but also all the candidates in this year's exam. If the two examiners heard about it, they would not let them off easily.

During the Hongzhi period, the East Depot had no power, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was run by an honest person, but the Imperial Prison still existed, and if you stayed there for a few days, even if you were not physically injured, you would be mentally devastated.

Wang Bing and others finally realized that something was wrong. The smell of alcohol faded and their faces began to turn pale.

Tristan Yan wanted to say more, but he was so overwhelmed by the momentum of Ethan Cheng and the other two that he dared not move. He shivered twice and sweat began to form on his forehead.

The innkeeper knew something was wrong, so he held his grandson tightly and whispered, "Behave yourself now. If you don't behave yourself, your father will beat you up!"

There was complete silence both upstairs and downstairs; you could hear a pin drop, which was in stark contrast to the bustle and noise that had taken place earlier.

Suddenly, there was a sound of voices outside the door, and several scholars in blue shirts came in. The leader looked around and asked curiously: "What's going on?"

After understanding the whole story, he immediately frowned and looked at Wang Bing and others with a very unfriendly look. Just as he was about to speak, he heard someone around him say: "These guys must be drunk, their words are rude, and they can't be taken seriously."

The scholar who was speaking was wearing a jade-colored scholar's robe and a brocade belt around his waist, and he had an extraordinary temperament. Looking at his appearance, his temples were as straight as a knife and his face was as white as powder. Although his eyes were peach-colored, he had a pair of thick eyebrows, which reduced his appearance of being frivolous and weak, and added a bit of heroic spirit.

When this person appeared, Tristan Yan's eyes lit up immediately, which made Logan Yang's heart skip a beat.

The man ignored Tristan Yan, but smiled and bowed to Logan Yang, saying: "In ancient times, Gan Luo was a prime minister at the age of twelve, and there were countless heroes in the Tang and Song dynasties who became famous at a young age. In this dynasty, there are also virtuous people who passed the imperial examinations at a young age and were listed on the gold list. If there are such talents on the same list, we should share the glory with them."

The voice is friendly and the tone is gentle.

Before he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the inn had changed.

Ethan Cheng, Mason Wang and others lost some of their anger and exchanged their hometowns and names with the visitor. When they learned that his father was Yan Huan, the Left Assistant Censor of the Censorate, they looked a little stiff and their attitude did not become warm, but rather a little distant.

Yan Huan and Yang Tinghe were at odds, and they had impeached each other several times, and it seemed that they were incompatible. Yang Daxueshi was the current examiner. Apart from the officials and students who had already taken sides, he would be crazy to be friends with Blake Yan.

Blake Yan didn't take it seriously and continued to chat and laugh as usual.

"Brother Yang is a young and talented man, I admire him very much. In the whole court, only the Grand Secretary Yang can be mentioned with him. However, poetry is not a trivial art. Li Gong in the court has praised it a lot, saying 'prose must be from the Qin and Han dynasties, and poetry must be from the Tang dynasty.' What do you think, brother?"

Logan Yang frowned even more tightly.

He felt something was wrong from the beginning. This person seemed to be speaking for him, but in fact he was setting a trap for him to fall into. He dug a row of traps, each one deeper than the last.

Let's not talk about who Li Gong is. Just comparing him with Yang Tinghe is to make him die without a burial place?

A mere tribute scholar, who does not take the civil and military officials in the court seriously, compares himself to Yang the Great Scholar. How frivolous and unnecessary!

If you don't refute, you will just be able to maintain this reputation. If you open your mouth to refute, you will be unable to distinguish right from wrong and treat the person who speaks out to help you badly.

It is really impossible to advance or retreat.

Blake Yan smiled at Logan Yang, his eyes shining with infinite brilliance.

He didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the Yan family in Zhuolu, but Tristan Yan was so stupid and self-righteous that he almost offended all the candidates on the list.

Tang Shang had already been at odds with Yang Daxueshi, and when this news got out, it would be exaggerated and brought to the court. By then, even if Tang Shang had not instructed, Yan would be implicated just because of his surname "Yan".

Hearing that Tristan Yan failed the exam, his father still felt regretful and sighed in the study. Blake Yan was relieved. If such a person entered the officialdom, he would not only fail to be a help, but would be a hindrance. It would be better for him to leave the examination room and be a rich man.

Only Logan Yang seemed dull and didn't talk much, but his eyes were clear and his temperament was somewhat unpredictable.

Blake Yan looked at Logan Yang, waiting to see how he would respond.

Logan Yang suddenly smiled bitterly, put on an embarrassed look, and said: "I dare to make Brother Yan laugh. I am not talented and well-educated, and I am not good at poetry, so I dare not make any comments."

"My dear brother, you are too modest."

"I am not being too modest." Logan Yang straightened his face and put on a scholarly spirit, saying, "I am not a smart person. I only got what my teacher said, 'Clumsiness makes me better'. I kept in mind the words of the sage, made up for my clumsiness with diligence, and never forgot to encourage myself. That is why I am where I am today."

While speaking, Logan Yang bowed and saluted, showing a humble gesture that made him appear more sincere.

"Among the people present at the same time, who is not talented, well-read, and well-educated? In the future, they will be in the court, and they will surely spread their wings like a roc, soaring thousands of miles. I am just a firefly, how dare I compete with the stars. I dare not make progress with Brother Yan, so how dare I compare with the officials in the court."

These words not only corrected himself, but also flattered the candidates present. Regardless of whether they passed or not, they were all tickled and felt a little proud. By the way, they also dug a trap for Blake Yan.

Want to trick him?

Can.

If he couldn't avoid it, he would pull the person who dug the pit down and climb up by stepping on the other person's shoulders.

Blake Yan's smile faded slightly, and he finally looked serious.