Bribing the County Magistrate (Seeking Collections, Seeking Follow-ups)

As Wei Tu had predicted.

Upon learning that he had borrowed a carriage from the Huang Family to return to the Li Residence, Li Yaozu's feelings subtly shifted.

His tone when speaking to Wei Tu also became more equal, rather than constantly calling Wei Tu "loyal and honest" or saying he was "dutiful" when working at the Li Residence before...

"The Huang Family?"

"If our Li Family hadn't bought him back then, would he even be alive now? What about his Second Aunt? Where was she then?"

In the study of the Li Residence, Li Xingye was talking with Li Yaozu, his words filled with dissatisfaction.

A household slave had sat at the same table as him during this period, and Li Yaozu and his wife had often lectured him, telling him to build a good relationship with Wei Tu, as it would be very useful in the future.

Although he listened to his parents and treated Wei Tu as an equal on the surface, being polite to him, he felt increasingly dissatisfied in his heart.

Clearly, the Li Family had given Wei Tu everything, yet Wei Tu still acted as an equal, which was far from "dutiful."

Furthermore, he was among the top ten in the County Examination, with a promising official career this year... Did he still need to consider the thoughts of a household slave before acting?

He could tolerate it a few days ago.

But today, Li Yaozu was noticeably even more "polite" to Wei Tu.

He was "bowing and scraping" to a former household slave.

This.

Li Xingye found it unbearable.

He believed Wei Tu was humiliating his parents.

"Oh, my ancestors. Keep your voice down, don't let the servants hear you." Li Yaozu was startled by Li Xingye's words. He quickly went to the door, looked around, saw no servants, and immediately closed the doors and windows tightly.

"What's there to that?"

Li Xingye was unconcerned and sat down on a straight-backed chair near the desk.

However, when he spoke, he still heeded Li Yaozu's words and lowered his voice.

"Just endure it for a few more days. Soon, Father will send him away," Li Yaozu placated Li Xingye.

"That works too."

Li Xingye raised an eyebrow and didn't argue further with Li Yaozu.

"Oh, right, Father, have a maidservant bring me some more pastries. I'm hungry."

At this moment, Li Xingye spoke again.

"Hungry?"

"Didn't you just have dinner?"

Hearing this, Li Yaozu secretly cursed Li Xingye as a spendthrift in his heart, his mind already calculating the cost.

Having an extra meal once a night, how much money would that cost?

"How can I touch the dishes he's touched again?" Li Xingye said disdainfully, holding a Confucian classics.

The next day.

On the square in front of the main hall of the City God Temple, the second round of the Martial Arts Examination began.

This time, the examination would cover horse archery, stationary archery, and sparring matches.

After these three events, the outdoor portion would conclude, leaving only the final stage of the Martial Arts Examination, the indoor Military Strategy.

"Grade A..."

"Grade B+..."

Soon, Wei Tu's scores for horse archery and stationary archery were announced.

Wei Tu achieved Grade A in both events, placing him among the top martial masters.

"He actually has a good horse for riding?"

Outside the arena, a group of gentry members expressed their surprise. They hadn't expected Wei Tu, who came from a humble background, to ride a Green Dappled Horse in the horse archery competition instead of the inferior horses provided by the county.

"What is Wei Tu's background? Was he deliberately hiding his abilities in the previous exams?"

Their expressions darkened slightly.

But they quickly dismissed the thought.

There was no real benefit to deliberately disguising one's humble background in the Martial Arts Examination. In fact, it might even lead the examiners to look down on him and give him a lower score.

"When the event dispersed the night before last, I saw Brother Huang and his concubine go to meet Wei Tu. Could it be that Wei Tu has a past connection with Brother Huang?"

A gentleman asked curiously.

The Huang Family was a prominent and wealthy family in Qingmu County, and their every move was noticed by their peers. Although no one saw the scene where Master Huang recognized Wei Tu the other day, some gentlemen did learn about Wei Tu visiting the Huang Family.

"Hmm..." Master Huang hesitated for a moment and said, "He is the nephew of my concubine, and thus also my nephew..."

"So, Wei Tu is from the Huang Family?" the gentleman beside him immediately pressed.

If Wei Tu were from the Huang family, then their guess about the first day's Skill and Courage test might have been wrong.

In this County Martial Examination, Wei Tu had a very high chance of becoming the County Top Scholar.

Even if he didn't become the County Top Scholar, with his performance in the external tests, ranking within the top few was more than enough.

At this moment, Wei Tu's three external examination scores were all Grade A, except for his Saber Dance, which was only B-plus, a slightly weaker result.

And this County Martial Examination only had the final "Sparring Match" and the internal examination – Military Strategy!

The "Sparring Match" was a martial contest between Martial Masters. Given the bravery Wei Tu had shown so far, it wouldn't be difficult for him to earn a Grade A.

That meant only the final Military Strategy would determine the ranking in the County Martial Examination.

However, in the Zheng State's Martial Examination, it was "martial skill first, then strategy."

In other words, the Military Strategy score had a very limited impact on a Martial Examination candidate's ranking.

As long as Wei Tu didn't write nonsense during the Military Strategy exam, his score would be enough to place him in the top five, top three, or even first place in this County Martial Examination.

And the Military Strategy exam...

Gentry and wealthy families like them could buy the questions from the County Magistrate.

If Wei Tu were from the Huang family...

Then Wei Tu would definitely pass the Military Strategy exam, with an eighty percent chance of taking the top spot.

Hearing the gentry's persistent questions, Master Huang shook his head.

He wished Wei Tu was part of the Huang family, but unfortunately, Wei Tu had found a good Master. The benefits he offered Wei Tu were, in Wei Tu's eyes, as light as a feather and not enough to sway him.

"That's good then." The gentry members sighed in relief.

Just like the County Top Scholar in the civil examination, the County Top Scholar of the Martial Examination could be directly recommended for the Dao Examination, which was above the Prefectural Examination.

Entering the Dao Examination greatly increased the chances of achieving an official career.

"Although Wei Tu is not from the Huang family, his background... he is a disciple of Dan Wu, the Martial Graduate from Sanyuan Township..."

At this point, Master Huang added this sentence.

Even if these gentry members hadn't asked, he would have announced Wei Tu's identity to everyone today.

He did this not to elevate his own status by using Wei Tu's position.

He was wary of Wei Tu's future.

Currently, a Martial Examination disciple wasn't enough to significantly influence him.

Master Huang worried that these gentry members, for the sake of their own rankings, would bribe the County Magistrate with money to cause Wei Tu's score in the County Martial Examination to "drop."

What should have been first place

could instead become second, third, or fourth.

All of this was possible.

As one of the gentry, Master Huang was all too familiar with the dirty dealings in the Martial Examination.

"What?"

"A disciple of a Martial Graduate?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the gentry members changed slightly, and they felt a surge of gratitude towards Master Huang for informing them in advance.

Generally, when evaluating candidates' scores, the County Magistrate would also consider their backgrounds when assigning rankings.

If they hadn't known about Wei Tu's connections, their attempts to bribe the County Magistrate and Chief Examiner might have been in vain, and they would have offended this dark horse of the Martial Examination.

"Since that's the case..."

"Wei Tu will likely take the County Top Scholar spot with over eighty percent certainty. There's no need for us to waste our money..."

The gentry members communicated this amongst themselves.

At the same time.

On the high platform.

Magistrate Chen, who had been dozing off, received a letter from a servant at home.

Magistrate Chen frowned slightly upon hearing it was from his wife and opened it.

The letter's content was simple: it mentioned that Master Huang had delivered a coral landscape to their home today, and Madam Huang had given her a gold-inlaid pearl hairpin.

At the end of the letter, Madam Chen mentioned that Wei Tu was Madam Huang's nephew and also a disciple of Dan Wu, the Martial Graduate from Sanyuan Township.