Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 56: The County Magistrate Who Ruined His Family, and Who Wiped Out His Entire Family

(A new month begins, and I'm begging for a guaranteed ticket to perk me up in the middle of the night!)

The county-level examinations and annual examinations were equivalent to unit tests or mock exams. Only those who passed the examinations could qualify for the higher-level provincial examinations.

Generally speaking, even if students don't achieve an "excellent" score in these two tests, passing is usually not a problem.

This involves a lot of complex issues.

Whether they are instructors or teachers, they will not deliberately ruin the students' future.

As the saying goes, "Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents."
In comparison, ruining someone's future is even worse; if it escalates to that point, it's truly a fight to the death, a fight to the bitter end.

Therefore, when Wang Fu and Chen Jin proposed to participate in the provincial examination, Instructor Zhang readily agreed.

Although I'm not optimistic, what if it turns out?
Whoever passes the exam will do Zhang Jiaoyu a favor, so why not?
A scientific expedition was quickly arranged, and the two of them were invited to take it.

After the exam, Instructor Zhang graded the papers on the spot.

Wang Fu's article was conventional, a bit old-fashioned, but overall there were no problems; but looking at Chen Jin's, one couldn't help but show surprise:
"Chen Jin, your writing skills have improved tremendously. Did you study at some academy?"

Chen Jin replied, "No. The only thing to do is to read more and write more."

Instructor Zhang stroked his beard and said approvingly, "What a fine saying, 'Read more and write more.' It seems easy, but how many people can truly do it? Chen Jin, you are very good. You have come to your senses in time. At thirty, you are in your prime and have a bright future ahead of you."

"Thank you for your instruction, Your Excellency."

"Alright, you can go back and wait for our notification. There shouldn't be any major problems."

The next step involves going through procedures, approvals, and so on.

On the way back, Wang Fu excitedly asked, "Brother Chen, when are we setting off for the prefectural city? I heard the sooner the better."

What he said makes sense.

In ancient times, traveling, especially long journeys, was fraught with unexpected dangers and perils. Rain, snow, disease, bandits, and even evil spirits...

There are so many unsafe factors that no one can guarantee they won't encounter them.

Therefore, when traveling long distances, people often went in groups. Those from wealthy families had strong servants and bodyguards, or they would directly hire escort agencies to protect them.

During the Daqian Dynasty, there were relevant policies to protect students and scholars traveling to take the imperial examinations, and they were allowed to stay at post stations along the way.

However, for the main issues of travel safety, you have to rely on yourself.

At most, if something goes wrong, the government will investigate quickly, but by then, what's the point?
The journey from Maoxian to Gaozhou Prefecture normally takes about half a month, which can be described as a long and arduous one.

Therefore, the best solution is to depart about a month in advance.

In this way, after arriving in the city, there will still be time to rest, scout out the location, and review lessons.

Chen Jin also agreed to the plan.

After making their agreement, the two went their separate ways.

For the next few days, the sword shop showed no signs of reopening, and the streets became much more deserted.

Everyone is waiting for a result, waiting for an acceptable set of rules.

That afternoon, Shi Qifeng strode into the back courtyard, looking somewhat anxious: "Sir, something has happened to the Wang family."

Chen Jin put down his pen and asked, "What happened?"

"Just yesterday, Wang Yuanshan had a conflict with Magistrate Zhao in the yamen and was detained. When the news reached the Wang family, Wang Fu was worried about his father's safety and actually broke into the yamen and attacked him."

"Hmm?" Chen Jin frowned, immediately sensing a "conspiracy": "Wang Yuanshan is a smooth and shrewd person, how could he possibly fall out with Magistrate Zhao?"

Shi Qifeng shrugged: "Who knows what happened? My guess is that he was set up. If a dignified seventh-rank county magistrate were to set up a trap to harm a wealthy merchant, even if Wang Yuanshan is very capable, he wouldn't be able to escape it."

Chen Jin remained silent for a moment, then asked, "What about Wang Fu?"

Shi Qifeng said with a wry smile, "That brat Wang Fu barged into the yamen. In the ensuing conflict, he snatched the clerk's knife and injured several yamen runners. He's completely out of his mind."

Chen Jin said in a deep voice, "Absolutely impossible! Although he is chivalrous and impulsive, and not very composed, he would never rashly do such a thing."

Shi Qifeng sighed: "That's how the notice from the yamen was written. The crime was like a hat, directly slapped on his head. It said that Wang Fu had committed a crime and injured someone, and that the injured person was a government official. Magistrate Zhao was furious and directly stripped him of his scholar's degree."

The magistrate of a county holds immense power. If a student in the county commits a heinous crime, the magistrate can strip the student of their academic title and then arrest and imprison them.

Chen Jin suddenly stood up: "The Wang family father and son are both in prison?"

Shi Qifeng nodded slightly: "They were arrested yesterday, but they were all released today."

Chen Jin's eyes flashed: "Buy your life with money?"

"Yes, it is said that Wang Yuanshan gave up all his wealth and possessions in order to get Magistrate Zhao to agree to release him and his son. Overnight, the Wang family was ruined. I think that Magistrate Zhao had been eyeing the Wang family for a long time, but Wang Yuanshan was unaware of it and thought there was room for negotiation, which resulted in such a disaster."

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. You just said that there is no solution to this situation. Even if Wang Yuanshan doesn't come forward to talk, he can't escape it."

Shi Qifeng nodded and said, "That's right. Magistrate Zhao wanted to establish his authority and make an example of someone, so he chose the Wang family early on. This way, he could establish his authority and confiscate a large sum of money at the same time, killing two birds with one stone. Ah, this is what a corrupt magistrate is like! He's truly powerful, able to turn the world upside down with a flick of his wrist."

Chen Jin asked, "Where are Wang Fu and the others now?"

Shi Qifeng replied, "The Wang family mansion has been seized, their wealth has been scattered, and they have all fallen like monkeys. They are left with no one to rely on and have been driven out of the city by the yamen runners. They can only go to other places to rely on relatives or go to the countryside to hide and make a living."

Chen Jin then asked, "When did they leave the city? And which city gate did they use?"

Shi Qifeng thought for a moment: "We haven't been out of the city for long. As for which city gate, the one closest to the Wang family mansion is the West Gate. We should leave from there."

Chen Jin said urgently, "It can't be 'should,' we need the exact location."

Shi Qifeng asked, "Sir, are you going to see Wang Fu off? Well, after all, we've known each other for a while. He's actually a decent person, just a bit naive. But he's suffered a great misfortune, and I'm afraid he'll be too ashamed to face anyone... No, that's not right!"

At this point, the seasoned veteran suddenly realized: "Sir, are you worried that Magistrate Zhao is ruthless and will go so far as to exterminate everyone?"

Chen Jin's expression was stern: "Exactly. It's not easy to make a move in the city, but once we get outside the city and night falls, we have no more scruples."

"Okay, I'll go prepare the horses right away."

Without further ado, Shi Qifeng strode out.

Chen Jin reached out and grabbed the sword box, calling out, "Xiao Ci."

"Xiao Ci is here."

The red-eyed crow came running at the sound of the call; its wounds had almost healed.

Chen Jin waved his hand: "You know what to do, go."

"clear."

Little Ci flapped its wings and flew out, soaring into the sky.

The sky was ablaze with crimson clouds as the sun set and night approached.

(End of this chapter)