Qing Yao

Chapter 88 Oh no, Teacher Zhao is getting anxious!
Scholars were students, and officials were teachers.

Where is there a seat for your students in front of the teacher?

Moreover, this teacher is not your junior high school teacher or high school teacher, but your esteemed principal.

The most important principal in Yangzhou.

Of course, the principal is only a part-time position; the formal position of a teacher is that of a professor in charge of education at the prefecture.

It has a penis!
You've offended a seventh-rank official of the imperial court and you still want to run away?
"."

Where did such a young professor come from?!
The three Qian brothers' minds went blank for a moment.

Old Qian's mind was buzzing. Ever since he gave up his studies for the imperial examinations, apart from participating in the triennial annual examinations to ensure that his rank as a government-subsidized student would not be downgraded, he had had little contact with the official schools. He knew who the county instructor was, but he really had no idea who the school officials in the prefecture were.

Seeing the county magistrate's silent demeanor, it was clear that the young man who had ordered his chair to be removed might actually be a professor at the prefectural school. For a moment, the magistrate was at a loss for what to do.

You should know that these students weren't afraid of the county magistrate, but they were afraid of the school officials.

The two people I fear most are the provincial education commissioner and the prefectural professor.

The two were the main persons in charge of the annual examination for students, the chief examiner of the Imperial Academy, and the deputy examiner of the professors.

The Qing dynasty followed the Ming system and classified students into six grades based on their annual examination results. Those who were proficient in both literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 1, those who were also proficient in both literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 2, those who were somewhat proficient in both literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 3, those who were flawed in their literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 4, those who were absurd in their literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 5, and those who were completely incomprehensible in literature and reasoning were classified as Grade 6.

The last two classes of the six classes would be punished by the Qingyi and Fashe groups.

The former prohibits scholars from wearing blue robes and instead wears green robes to avoid disgrace, while the latter demotes them from county schools to rural community schools.

If one ranks fifth or sixth in both of the annual examinations, one will not only be ridiculed but also stripped of one's academic title.

In theory, the provincial examinations were presided over by the provincial education commissioner, but with so many prefectures, states, and counties in a province, how could the provincial education commissioner have time to supervise the examinations everywhere?

Therefore, the actual person in charge of the annual examinations was the professor in the prefecture.

The selection of students from National Taiwan University is a random sampling process.

In this way, the students' future would be in the hands of the prefectural professor.

The county's instructors weren't afraid, because they had a teacher-student relationship and would see each other all the time, so there was no need to ruin someone's future.

Now that the prefectural school professor, who holds the key to the future of the scholar, has inexplicably appeared and ordered the removal of his privileged student seat, Qian Laoda, who is completely baffled, must be panicking.

Magistrate Zheng did not have any objection to Zhao An's order to remove the seat. Firstly, Professor Zhao had the authority to do so, and secondly, it was not a trial in the main courtroom, but at most a mediation in front of the court. If Professor Zhao could use his status as an academic official to pressure Xiuwen to withdraw the lawsuit, that would be the best outcome.

Principal Zhao felt that this matter was not as simple as withdrawing the charge. If the people from the Jiangdu County Criminal Division had persuaded Qian Laoda to withdraw the charge, he would not have wanted to cause any more trouble and would have just gotten his cousin out as soon as possible.

If you don't want Mr. Qian to be so stubborn as to file a lawsuit and pay compensation, then you have to talk to him about it.

He casually picked up the half-cold teacup and asked the old man, "What is your relationship with Wang Wanquan?"

"This"

Looking at the mature-looking young professor, Qian hesitated for a moment before truthfully replying, "Your Excellency, Wang Wanquan is my brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law?"

Magistrate Zheng was taken aback and looked at Qian Xiuwen in disbelief. "You mean Wang Wanquan's wife is your sister?"

"Yes."

Old Qian's voice wasn't as loud as before, partly because he was stunned by Zhao An, the professor of the prefectural school, and partly because his kinship with Wang Wanquan made him feel a little embarrassed.

If you're so embarrassed, why did you have to tell your brother-in-law?
It's because he's used to being arrogant and can't stand being taken advantage of, even if the other party is his own brother-in-law.

Before arriving at the yamen, the three brothers actually had some internal disputes.

The third brother, Qian Xiude, disagreed with his eldest brother suing his brother-in-law. The second brother, Qian Xiuwu, said that if Wang Wanquan wasn't taught a lesson, he would disregard the Qian family in the future, and his sister might also suffer from Wang Wanquan's temper.

After hearing what the second brother said, the already unreasonable eldest brother Qian also felt that he had made a huge fool of himself this time, and that outsiders would definitely laugh at him. So he gritted his teeth and came to file a complaint.

Forget everything else, let's vent our anger first.

The bottom line is that Wang Wanquan won't be in jail for too long, just a month or two, but the Wang family will have to pay him at least a hundred or two hundred taels of silver.

Otherwise, I really won't be able to get over this!

Regardless of whether Qian Laoda was embarrassed or not, Zhao An asked slowly and deliberately, "Since you and Wang Wanquan are related as uncle and aunt, why did you quarrel to the point of having to take the case to the authorities?"

"Sir, it was Wang Wanquan who started the fight with my brother. Look what he did to him!"

The one speaking was Qian Xiuwu, the second son of the Qian family. He was the one who hit his brother-in-law first, but it turned out that his brother-in-law hit his brother first.

A typical scoundrel, turning the tables on his victim.

Of course, it's also possible that someone was too drunk to remember what happened.

"Yes, it was Wang Wanquan who beat the students without showing any kinship. The students were so angry that they filed a lawsuit. We beg the magistrate to uphold justice for the students!"

Old Master Qian also insisted that his brother-in-law had started the fight. In order to make sure that the county magistrate would give him full authority, he even ripped off the gauze wrapped around his head, revealing a bloody wound.

The wound looked rather frightening. Magistrate Zheng glanced at it and then looked away, turning to Zhao An with an expression that seemed to say that Qian Xiuwen had been beaten quite badly and that it would be unreasonable not to give him some compensation.

Professor, how much compensation do you think is appropriate?
After a moment's thought, Zhao Anwei suggested, "Was it Wang Wanquan who unilaterally beat Qian Xiuwen, or were the Qian brothers who beat Wang Wanquan, or were they both fighting each other? Lord Zheng can't just believe one side of the story. Should we call Wang Wanquan over and ask him?"

"Alright."

Magistrate Zheng instructed Clerk Zhou to send someone to the prison to bring Wang Wanquan in.

The county jail was connected to the county government office, and soon the jailers brought Wang Wanquan over.

He looked much worse than Boss Qian. His forehead and cheeks were obviously swollen, and there were many bruises and black spots. And that was just on his face. There were probably more bruises on his body.

Because he was too honest and had no experience in prison, he was terrified by the other prisoners last night. When he saw the county magistrate sitting there in his official robes, Wang Wanquan completely broke down. His legs were trembling and his jaw was shaking violently. He didn't even respond when the yamen runners ordered him to kneel down until one of them came up and forcibly pushed him to the ground.

"Hey!"

Wang Wanquan may have injured his knee, which caused him to twitch his cheeks and look pained when he knelt down.

Zhao An was saddened by what he saw, but he couldn't very well show his cousin "preferential treatment," especially since his cousin didn't even recognize him.

Magistrate Zheng frowned upon seeing this, realizing that the matter was probably not as simple as the Qian brothers had described. If it came down to who was more seriously injured, it was clear that Wang Wanquan was more severely wounded. Qian Xiude, the third son of the Qian family, sighed inwardly upon seeing his brother-in-law beaten like this. He then noticed that his eldest and second sons were both glaring angrily at their brother-in-law, and though he wanted to say something, he couldn't find the words, so he simply remained silent.

"Wang Wanquan, a student named Qian Xiuwen has accused you of assaulting and injuring him. Do you have anything to say about this?"

The reason why Magistrate Zheng's tone was relatively calm was because of Zhao An standing beside him.

Wang Wanquan, still in a state of collapse, did not react. Seeing this, Master Zhou stepped forward, bent down and patted him on the back, and said softly, "The magistrate is asking you a question. You must answer truthfully and not hide anything or lie."

"Ah, ah?"

Having regained some composure, Wang Wanquan looked at Magistrate Zheng with a dazed expression: "What does Your Excellency want me to say?"

“Tell me why you argued with Qian Xiuwen and why you beat him.”

Upon hearing Magistrate Zheng's question, Zhao An quickly added, "Wang Wanquan, Magistrate Zheng means you should tell us what you mean. Qian Xiuwen accused you of assaulting and injuring him, so tell us how you assaulted him."
"You need not be nervous or afraid. Lord Zheng is a good official who stands up for the people. Just tell the truth. If you have been wronged in any way, Lord Zheng will stand up for you."

"Yes Yes."

Realizing what had happened, Wang Wanquan hurriedly cried out to Magistrate Zheng with a wronged expression, "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I'm innocent! I didn't beat them! It was those two brothers who pinned me to the ground and beat me half to death!"

"You bullshit!"

Before his brother-in-law could finish speaking, the second son of the Qian family rudely interrupted him, pointing his finger at his nose and cursing, "Wang Wanquan, when did we ever beat you up?! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll knock your teeth out!"

"This is a government office, not a place for you to make false accusations! If you dare to lie again, the magistrate will punish you!"

Mr. Qian was furious, but he dared not let his brother-in-law continue.

Originally, he only wanted to use his connections in the government office to intimidate the Wang family and get them to pay some money. He never expected that not only would the professor of the prefectural school get involved in the matter, but they would also confront each other in court.

It's quite troublesome, though.

However, after being frightened by the two brothers, the honest and law-abiding Wang Wanquan dared not speak again.

Zhao An didn't speak, but glanced at Magistrate Zheng. The latter immediately frowned and scolded, "Qian Xiuwen, Qian Xiuwu, I asked Wang Wanquan to speak, what are you two interrupting for! Do you not respect me?"

Upon hearing this, both Qian brothers froze, speechless.

Only then was Wang Wanquan able to recount the events of that time in their entirety.

What he said was completely different from the petition submitted by the Qian brothers.

Zhao An slowly stood up and walked to Wang Wanquan. He looked at his cousin with encouraging eyes and said in a deep voice, "So, according to this, the Qian brothers got into a drunken argument and conflict first, and you, as their brother-in-law, tried to mediate. As a result, the Qian brothers joined forces and beat you up. You were beaten so badly that you were powerless to fight back and thought you were going to be beaten to death, so you grabbed a brick and hit Qian Xiuwen with it?"

"Yes, yes, that's right."

Wang Wanquan nodded repeatedly, completely unaware that it was his own cousin from Xinghua who was speaking up for him.

"In this case,"

Zhao An turned to look at Magistrate Zheng, "Lord Zheng, Wang Wanquan's story is completely different from what the Qian brothers said. One of them must be lying."

"No, we didn't lie!"

Old Qian got anxious and shouted at the county magistrate, "Your Honor, it is Wang Wanquan who is talking nonsense and distorting the truth! My brother and I never beat him!"

Seeing his brother-in-law trying to renege on his promise, Wang Wanquan became anxious: "Sir, my wife witnessed what happened. If you don't believe me, you can have my wife testify for me!"

Upon hearing that his sister was to be called in as a witness, Old Master Qian panicked and blurted out, "Sir, my sister is married to him and will surely protect her husband. You can't trust what she says!"

"What, you don't even believe your own sister?! Or do you know the truth is different from what you're saying, and that's why you're afraid of your sister coming to confront you!"

Zhao An snorted angrily, flicked his sleeve, and walked over to Magistrate Zheng. He said in an uncompromising tone, "Magistrate Zheng, in my opinion, the Qian brothers are clearly lying. They won't tell the truth unless they are tortured."

"Torture?"

Both Qian Lao Da and Qian Lao Er were taken aback.

"this?"

Magistrate Zheng looked troubled. Now he knew perfectly well that the Qian brothers were in the wrong but were trying to shift the blame in the yamen. He, as the magistrate, could punish the second brother, but he did not have the authority to punish the eldest brother, a student.

If we were to forcibly torture Boss Qian, even if he was at fault first, it would cause a huge problem if he made a scene afterwards.

Knowing that he had the protection of the students and the magistrate dared not use torture, Boss Qian was not so flustered. He quickly thought of how to deal with the young professor who was biased towards his brother-in-law.

Unexpectedly, the young professor suddenly rolled up his sleeves and said in a loud voice, "If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault! If the teaching is not strict, it is the teacher's laziness! It is my fault, as the professor, that such a treacherous student has emerged in this prefecture. Since that is the case, then I shall uphold the integrity of the school system for the court and teach this treacherous student a lesson for the local area!"

As he spoke, he walked to the edge of the hall, picked up a disciplinary rod used by the yamen runners, and then shouted at his two attendants, "Go and take off that scoundrel Qian Xiuwen's pants. Today, I will personally flog him!"

"."

The officials of Jiangdu County, including Magistrate Zheng, were all shocked: What? The school officials were going to personally beat the students!

Unheard of! Unheard of at all!
Qian Xiuwen, the person involved, was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. Before he could react, he was restrained. When he saw that the young professor had really come with a disciplinary rod, he stubbornly shouted, "I am a student with government stipends. You can't hit me, you can't hit me!"

The term "linsheng" refers to students who perform well in the annual examinations. In addition to receiving government subsidies, they also have a great advantage: students who wish to take the exams for the qualifications of students in prefectures, counties, or cities must find a linsheng to act as their guarantor to ensure that the former has not committed any acts of impersonation, substitution, or concealment of death. This is commonly known as "linbao".

This privileged student could then extort bribes from the families of other students, earning dozens of taels of silver annually just for acting as a guarantor and guarantor for them.

It's a sure-fire way to make money.

"A student receiving government stipends?"

Zhao An slammed the end of his disciplinary rod against the floor tile with a loud thud. "Tomorrow I will petition the education department to strip you of your academic degree, you traitorous student!"

"You strip me of my official rank?!"

Old Qian was on the verge of collapse. Why was he being stripped of his official rank? His usual arrogance surged up, and he fearlessly retorted, "Then you can't beat me!"

Zhao An really can't beat him, because you haven't stripped him of his official title yet.

As long as the paperwork isn't finalized, you, as a professor, have to suppress your anger no matter how furious you are.

Ugh, this whole thing is a mess.
Magistrate Zheng noticed this and wanted to intervene, otherwise he couldn't hit Professor Zhao, which would inevitably put Professor Zhao in an awkward position.

To everyone's surprise, Professor Zhao threw the disciplinary stick on the ground and pointed at his attendant, Old He: "Go to the prefectural government office right now and invite Lord Lou from the provincial education commissioner's office. Today, the province and the prefecture have joined forces to strip this scoundrel of his academic degree. Let's see if we can beat him or not!"

(End of this chapter)