Just as Wei Tu had expected.
After learning that he had borrowed the Huang Family's carriage when he returned to the Li Residence, Li Yaozu's feelings underwent a subtle change.
The way he spoke to Wei Tu also became more equal, instead of constantly praising Wei Tu for being "loyal and honest" or saying that he had been "well-behaved" while serving at the Li Residence...
"The Huang Family?"
"If our Li Family hadn't bought him back then, would he even be alive now? And where was his Second Aunt at the time?"
Inside the Li Residence study, Li Xingye and Li Yaozu spoke with considerable displeasure in their voices.
A household slave had spent this time sitting at the same table as him. Li Yaozu and his wife even often lectured him, telling him to build a good relationship with Wei Tu, saying that Wei Tu would surely be of great use in the future and so on.
Though he obeyed his parents and treated Wei Tu as an equal on the surface, showing him courtesy, the dissatisfaction in his heart only grew deeper.
Clearly, everything Wei Tu had was bestowed by the Li Family, yet Wei Tu still put on the airs of an equal. He was simply too lacking in "proper conduct."
Besides, he was one of the top ten in the County Examination and had hopes of earning scholarly honors this year... Did he really have to consider a household slave's opinions before doing anything?
A few days ago, he could still endure it.
But today, Li Yaozu had clearly become even more "courteous" toward Wei Tu.
He was bowing and scraping before a former household slave.
This—
Li Xingye found it unbearable.
He felt that Wei Tu was humiliating his parents.
"My dear ancestor, keep your voice down. Don't let the servants hear you." Hearing Li Xingye's words, Li Yaozu jumped in fright. He hurried to the doorway and looked around. Seeing no servants nearby, he immediately shut the doors and windows tight.
"What's the big deal?"
Li Xingye did not care, sitting down in a straight-backed chair beside the desk.
Still, as he spoke, he followed Li Yaozu's instruction and lowered his voice somewhat.
"Bear with it for a few more days. Before long, your father will send him away," Li Yaozu coaxed Li Xingye.
"Fine."
Li Xingye raised his brows and did not argue further with Li Yaozu.
"Oh, right, Father. Have a maid bring me some more pastries. I'm hungry."
Li Xingye spoke again.
"Hungry?"
"Didn't you just eat dinner?"
Hearing this, Li Yaozu immediately cursed Li Xingye as a spendthrift in his heart, his heart aching over the money.
One extra meal every night—how much money would that cost?
"How can I touch those dishes a second time after he has touched them?" Li Xingye held a Confucian classic in his hands and spoke disdainfully.
The next day.
The second round of the Martial Examination began in the square before the main hall of the City God Temple.
This time, the tests were mounted archery, foot archery, and sparring matches.
Once those three tests were finished, the outer field would be over, leaving only the final Martial Examination test: the inner field's military strategy.
"A-plus..."
"Grade B+..."
Before long, Wei Tu's scores in mounted archery and foot archery were announced.
In both tests, Wei Tu received A grades, placing him among the foremost of the martial instructors.
"He actually has a fine horse he is accustomed to riding?"
Outside the grounds, the gentry were astonished. They had never expected Wei Tu, who came from a poor household, to ride into the mounted archery test on a Green Dappled Horse rather than one of the county's inferior horses.
"Just who is this Wei Tu? Was he deliberately disguising himself in the earlier tests?"
The crowd's expressions darkened slightly.
But they soon dismissed the thought.
There was no benefit in deliberately disguising oneself as being from a poor household during the Martial Examination. On the contrary, it might make the examiners look down on one and deduct points.
"When the gathering dispersed the night before last, I saw Brother Huang and his concubine go meet this Wei Tu. Could it be that Wei Tu has some old connection with Brother Huang?"
A gentry member asked curiously.
The Huang Family was among the wealthiest in Qingmu County, and their every move drew the attention of others in the same circle. Though no one had seen Master Huang acknowledge kinship with Wei Tu the day before yesterday, some of the gentry knew that Wei Tu had gone to the Huang Family.
"Mm..." Master Huang hesitated for a moment before saying, "He is my concubine's nephew, and also my nephew..."
"So Wei Tu came from the Huang Family?" the gentry member beside him immediately pressed.
If Wei Tu came from the Huang Family, then their speculation during the first skill and courage test the day before yesterday might have been wrong.
In this County Martial Examination, Wei Tu was extremely likely to become the County Top Scholar.
Even if he failed to become the County Top Scholar, his outer-field scores were more than enough to place him among the top few.
At this moment, out of Wei Tu's three outer-field tests, only his skill and courage saber dance score was slightly poorer, earning merely a B-plus grade. All his other scores were A grades.
And in this County Martial Examination, only the final sparring match and the inner-field military strategy test remained!
A "sparring match" was a contest between martial instructors. With the martial prowess Wei Tu had displayed so far, earning an A grade would not be difficult at all.
That meant only the final military strategy test remained to distinguish the County Martial Examination rankings.
However, the Zheng State's Martial Examination was "martial arts first, strategy second."
In other words, military strategy scores had little and very limited influence on a Martial Examination candidate's ranking.
As long as Wei Tu did not scribble nonsense during the military strategy test, his scores would be enough to place him in the top five, top three, or even first place in this County Examination's Martial Examination.
And the military strategy test...
Those gentry and wealthy households could buy the questions from the county magistrate.
If Wei Tu came from the Huang Family...
Then Wei Tu would certainly pass this military strategy test, with an eighty-percent chance of taking the County Top Scholar position.
Hearing the gentry's question, Master Huang shook his head.
He did want Wei Tu to become part of the Huang Family, but unfortunately, Wei Tu had found himself a good master. The benefits he offered Wei Tu were as light as a goose feather in Wei Tu's eyes, not enough to move him in the slightest.
"That's good." Hearing this, the gentry heaved a sigh of relief.
Like the County Top Scholar in the civil examinations, the County Top Scholar of the Martial Examination could be directly recommended to the prefectural examination's higher Dao Examination.
Once one entered the Dao Examination, the chance of earning honors increased considerably.
"Although Wei Tu is not from the Huang Family, his identity... is that of Martial Graduate Dan of Sanyuan Township's disciple..."
Master Huang added this sentence.
Even if these gentry had not asked, he would have made Wei Tu's identity widely known today and told them all.
He did not do this because he wanted to raise his own standing by borrowing Wei Tu's status.
What he feared was Wei Tu's future.
At present, a Martial Examination Disciple was not enough to have much influence on him.
Master Huang feared that these gentry, for the sake of their rankings, would bribe the County Official with money and cause Wei Tu's County Martial Examination results to "fall."
He should have been first,
Yet because of this, he might become second, third, or fourth.
All of that could happen.
As one of these gentry himself, Master Huang knew their filthy Martial Examination dealings better than anyone.
"What?"
"A Martial Graduate's disciple?"
The gentry's expressions shifted slightly upon hearing this, and gratitude welled up in their hearts toward Master Huang for informing them in advance.
Generally speaking, when judging candidates' scores, the county magistrate would also assign rankings according to their backgrounds as appropriate.
If they had not known about Wei Tu's connection and gone to bribe the county magistrate or the Chief Examiner, they would very likely have ended up drawing water with a bamboo basket, gaining nothing, while also offending this dark horse of the Martial Examination.
"Since that is the case..."
"Then this County Top Scholar position is more than eighty percent likely to belong to Wei Tu. There is no need for us to waste silver for nothing..."
The gentry discussed it in secret.
Meanwhile.
On the high platform.
County Magistrate Chen, who had been dozing off, received a letter delivered by a servant from his household.
Hearing that it was a letter from his wife, Magistrate Chen frowned slightly and opened it.
The letter's contents were simple. It merely said that Master Huang had delivered a coral display piece to their residence today, while 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 Martial Graduate Dan of Sanyuan Township's disciple.
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