"This Chen Qing is truly laughable!"
In Spirit Deer County, Gu Beiquan deliberately took advantage of a banquet to entertain many officials, and publicly read out Chen Qing's letter, leading the mockery. Upon hearing this, everyone, who were in high spirits, joined the county magistrate in laughing heartily, using all sorts of sarcastic language.
"This Lord Chen is quite creative. Living corpses are floating in from the sea, eating people, and drifting down the river to the surrounding counties. Tsk tsk," Liu Yiqi, sitting next to Gu Beiquan, shook his head with a smile. "With such talent, why bother with scientific research? If he were to write novels, they would definitely be bestsellers."
This remark immediately caused everyone at the table to burst into laughter again!
Since a group of people took over Spirit Deer County, there has been no shortage of infighting, but unexpectedly, they are incredibly united in mocking and targeting Chen Qing.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. A country bumpkin who was at the bottom of the second tier of the imperial examinations had already stepped on their heads when he took office. When he was in Liuzhou, he even gave them official positions as if it were a charity. Just thinking about how they had disregarded their image and fought for the positions in front of that country bumpkin, the humiliation in their hearts could not be erased!
Not to mention the various underhanded tactics this prefect used at the beginning of his term to try and steal their political achievements.
First, they offered direct tax exemption, attracting a large number of cargo ships. Then, they shamelessly hired some people to spread the absurd rumor that dockworkers could earn one or two taels of silver a day. This caused many young men to abandon spring plowing and run to Liuzhou City to work as laborers. That wasn't a big deal; they didn't care much about a few peasants leaving. The real problem was their hype about door gods protecting the city, which was designed to attract renowned scholars to Liuzhou. That was truly despicable!
Especially a dozen days ago, most of the teachers who originally came from Liuzhou in their county were tricked into returning to Liuzhou. Even some local teachers went to take a look out of curiosity, and then moved their entire families back home, which almost drove them crazy!
Spirit Deer County already attracted some wealthy but undesirable individuals to live there thanks to its decent education and culture. If the teachers are swindled away, who would want to live in Spirit Deer County in the future? Isn't White Water next door better? Whether it's doing business or buying land, the conditions there are much better than in Spirit Deer County.
Fortunately, they patiently persuaded each family, explaining the situation with reason and emotion, which barely managed to stabilize the situation.
"I said it back then," Liu Yiqi said, his face flushed and slightly tipsy, raising his voice with the help of the alcohol, "That door god theory is just a crooked and heretical tale made up by that guy surnamed Chen. If such a thing existed in this world, the imperial court would have organized everyone to worship it long ago. Why would he need to spread it?"
"Now they're using zombies as an excuse to scare us? Doesn't he have door gods protecting him? How could a dignified deity let those evil spirits go?"
"Instructor Liu is right!" A group of officials and some wealthy men who were there to support him raised their glasses, their faces flushed, echoing Liu Yiqi's contempt for the prefect.
Liu Yiqi immediately revealed a smug look and continued, "I'm not afraid of offending anyone. I'll say it today: that Chen Qing is a treacherous official who uses flattery and sycophancy to attract the current princess with his male beauty. He became a prefect through his relationship with a woman, and now he's flaunting his underhanded methods. It's truly laughable!"
"Instructor Liu's words are quite insightful!" Gu Beiquan laughed heartily and raised his glass in agreement.
"That's great!" The officials in the restaurant seemed to have found an outlet for their emotions, raising their glasses in high spirits. The wealthy merchants and gentry who were there to support them echoed their sentiments. However, the schoolteacher who couldn't refuse the banquet and had come along could only manage a wry smile.
Although they had only known Instructor Liu for a short time, the elderly teachers had seen through countless people and had already thoroughly understood his ambitious and arrogant nature. As for the other officials, to be honest, they didn't think much of them either, as their overall quality was far inferior to that of their predecessors.
While the previous officials weren't exactly capable, they at least had the bearing of officials. What kind of rabble are these people in front of me?
As for Chen Qing, whom they all vehemently criticized, he wasn't considered so despicable by many of the scholars. At least, many of them admired his approach of tax exemption in Liuzhou to attract investment back to the region. Although it was a bit too audacious, it was still far superior to these guys who did nothing but work all day.
As for the rumors about the living corpse
Although he also found it absurd, he didn't completely dismiss it like these people. He still harbored some suspicions, after all, he was a scholar and knew a little about demons and ghosts.
Remembering what the letter said—that the living dead are active at night—the group of scholars looked at the sky and unconsciously frowned.
"Gentlemen," a white-bearded scholar rose, holding a wine cup, and said with a smile, "There is a small exam at the academy tomorrow, so we shouldn't overindulge in wine. We must go back and prepare. Please forgive us for any disappointment!"
With someone taking the lead, the teachers at that table also stood up. The other teachers from non-official schools saw this and wanted to learn as well, but they lacked the confidence and hesitated.
The officials, who were laughing and joking, were taken aback when they saw this, and Gu Beiquan, who was in the lead, immediately looked quite displeased.
However, this old scholar who stepped forward had a very high reputation in Spirit Deer County, and his reasons were perfectly legitimate, leaving Gu Beiquan with a feeling of suffocation, unable to vent his anger.
"The teachers must have misremembered," Liu Yiqi said with a smile. "I remember the academy's preliminary exam is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"
These words immediately created an awkward atmosphere, and the faces of the teachers turned grim. Was this man surnamed Liu deliberately trying to create a stalemate?
Now that things have come to this, wouldn't it be better to just let things slide and move on? Why do you have to be so blunt? We're determined to leave; are you going to hold a knife to our throats and force us to drink with you?
What a complete idiot!
Seeing that they had been exposed, the teachers became angry. The first teacher to speak coldly bowed and said, "Instructor Liu certainly has a good memory. In that case, please don't be drunk during the small examination the day after tomorrow, as that would be unbecoming!"
Without waiting for a reply, he put down his wine glass, not even bothering to drink the wine that had just been filled, and stormed off!
The other teachers from the official schools also gave cold smiles, bowed, and took their leave, leaving Gu Beiquan and the others with livid faces.
Liu Yiqi stood there awkwardly, his face alternating between pale and flushed.
"These pedantic old fogies, what are they putting on airs for?" Liu Yiqi slammed his fist on the table in anger after a long pause. "Even the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review treats me with utmost respect. Do these country bumpkins really think they're someone important?"
Upon hearing this, no one in the hall responded. Those who knew Liu Yiqi Liu Yiqi, though also angry with the old scholars, couldn't help but roll their eyes. This guy had only taken the exam in the same year as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the latter had given him a slight courtesy by calling him "Brother Qi" when they met by chance; he actually took it all seriously!
So, it seems he treated you to a drink after he became an official?
Moreover, regarding the relationship between Chen Qing and Wang Ye, many people can see that when Chen Qing left the capital, Wang Ye went out of the city to see him off.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming awkward, a sudden gust of cold wind swept in, and everyone who had been drinking and feeling warm couldn't help but shiver and look outside in confusion.
Before we knew it, it had already gotten dark.
Seeing that no one responded to his words, Liu Yiqi was feeling embarrassed. Now, noticing everyone looking outside, he laughed and said, "That Chen Qing said in his letter that those so-called living corpses would go down the river. It's nighttime now, and our restaurant happens to be right by the river. I'd like to see for myself what those living corpses that Chen Qing is talking about actually look like."
But strangely, no one replied to him this time either.
Liu Yiqi immediately became angry. "What? Those old geezers didn't give you face, and now you're blaming me?"
" Liu Yiqi!" Gu Beiquan, standing by the window, was deathly pale. He lowered his voice and hissed, "Don't speak!"
"Huh?" Liu Yiqi was taken aback, and his anger flared up instantly. He was about to unleash a torrent of curses, fueled by alcohol, when he suddenly saw everyone covering their mouths and waving at him.
This strange situation immediately made him feel something was wrong. He cautiously moved closer and looked out the window. He was instantly terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He sobered up considerably in an instant!
Below the window, by the riverbank, a large group of people with rotten flesh crawled out, their movements grotesque and bizarre, their eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the restaurant that stood by the river!