Chapter 81 [V] Victory is assured
"What?" Li Yan's eyes widened in surprise, her face filled with shock. "Someone hit Xu..." She was about to say "Xu Qingshu" when she suddenly realized that Mao Ge'er was still staying at the mansion. Although he was with the old lady at the moment and wouldn't come here for no reason, Li Yan still cautiously lowered her voice and asked, "Who hit him?"
Xu Qingshu was a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, so even when meeting the county magistrate, he was not required to kneel. Who would be so bold as to strike a scholar who was about to take the imperial examinations?
Wang'er said, "The one who beat him was also a scholar, but not from Huating County." He added, "It was quite a coincidence. Today, after finishing his duty, the general was going to a shop to buy some hairpins for his wife and wanted to get home quickly, so he took a shortcut. He happened to pass through that alley and saw Scholar Xu being beaten. Afterward, the general quickly stepped forward to stop it. He ordered his servants to take Scholar Xu to the clinic for treatment, and then the general directly took the scholar to the government office."
"After I took Scholar Xu to the clinic, I was still worried, so I went to the prefect's office. Only then did I learn that the general had taken that scholar to court."
Since he was also a scholar, Li Yan could guess what was going on.
She remembered that when she hosted Xu Qingshu for dinner that day, Han Yue next door also hosted a table of people. At that time, Han Yue brought people over to offer toasts, but those so-called literati and scholars didn't take Xue Yi seriously at all. Afterwards, they spoke ill of Xue Yi in private.
However, Xue Yi didn't take it seriously at the time, and the matter was left unresolved.
How did things develop to this point?
Could it be that after they left, Xu Qingshu went to confront those people?
Unable to figure it out for a moment, Li Yan didn't think too much about it and just said to Wang'er, "Go prepare the carriage. I'll go to the old lady's place first and then go with you to the prefect's office."
This matter originally had nothing to do with Xue Yi, but now that he has taken the scholar to the authorities, it is bound to be related to him.
These scholars secretly formed cliques, especially those from the same county; they were all in cahoots. Moreover, scholars are more calculating, and if they were dishonest, they would inevitably resort to despicable means.
Although Xue Yi was powerful and worldly-wise, he was too frank and straightforward, making him no match for those scheming scholars.
Li Yan knew that she wouldn't be of much help even if she went, but at least she would be there to keep her company. In case anything happened, she could get the news as soon as possible and come up with a solution quickly.
After Wang'er was ordered to prepare the carriage, Li Yan went to the old lady's Liqing Courtyard.
When they arrived, they dared not tell the truth, only saying that Xue Yi had prepared a table at a restaurant outside and they wanted to eat alone.
Upon hearing this, Madam Xue was overjoyed and quickly said, "Then go quickly...go quickly."
Fearing she would expose her secret, Li Yan did not rush to leave. Instead, she patiently sat quietly with Old Madam Xue for a while before slowly getting up to say goodbye.
Once outside Liqing Courtyard, Li Yan quickened her pace considerably.
At the entrance of the General's Mansion, Wang'er's carriage was already prepared.
After Li Yan got into the carriage, Wang'er immediately drove to the prefectural government office.
At this moment, a large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the prefectural government office. In addition to ordinary citizens of Jiangning Prefecture, there were also many scholars from the counties under the jurisdiction of Jiangning Prefecture.
Li Yan pushed her way through the crowd and squeezed to the front.
At this moment, the prefect, dressed in a scarlet official robe and wearing an official hat, sat upright in the high hall.
Below the hall, Xue Yi, dressed in black military armor, sat to one side, his expression solemn. Before him, in the very center of the hall, knelt a person.
Li Yan looked closely and saw that the man was dressed in fine silk and satin and was kowtowing to the prefect.
With the crucial exams just around the corner, these scholars absolutely cannot afford to make a single misstep. Let alone beating up a fellow scholar in the street, even hitting just anyone would be a stain on your record.
If this matter hadn't blown up, there might have been a chance to let it go. But now, Xue Yi has brought the man directly to the prefectural government office, attracting a large crowd of onlookers... the matter is practically common knowledge now. If the prefect doesn't handle it impartially and set an example for others, he may not be able to quell public anger.
Prefect Cheng was also very disappointed by this.
This year marks the triennial autumn imperial examination, a time naturally filled with numerous and complex matters. He has been proceeding with extreme caution these past few months, fearing even the slightest mistake. And wouldn't you know it, he's encountered a situation where a fellow scholar beats up another scholar from the same cohort.
Because this year is the autumn imperial examination year, officials from the capital have been sent to supervise the examination.
With the autumn imperial examinations just around the corner, officials from the capital have already arrived in Jiangning Prefecture.
With his superiors in the capital watching over him, how could he be expected to disregard the law?
It is definitely not possible.
But this scholar, who had studied diligently for years and finally reached this point, how could he not be angry? He had to be so petty about such a trivial matter and ruin his future.
This was both to give an explanation to the officials in the capital and to serve as a warning to the other scholars. Therefore, Prefect Cheng knew that there was no room for negotiation in this matter, and the punishment had to be severe.
Disqualification from this year's exam is inevitable. Whether there will be further punishment depends on the severity of Xu Xiucai's injuries.
Zhao, a scholar, naturally had fellow scholars from his hometown. When they saw that the prefect was going to disqualify him from this year's examination, they immediately swarmed in, knelt in the main hall, and desperately begged for his life.
This scholar Zhao was used to being arrogant and domineering in his hometown, and he was somewhat ignorant of his place. He thought that this place was also his home and that he could do whatever he wanted. He didn't restrain his temper at all. Now that he was really about to suffer a great disaster, he deeply regretted his actions.
Seeing his fellow villagers pleading for him, he immediately begged, "I know I was wrong, please give me another chance, Your Excellency."
Prefect Cheng glanced at the examiners from the capital, as if he would be willing to give them the opportunity if they were to loosen their grip even slightly.
But these people not only did not back down, but became even more serious and said, "If such a thing can still be given a chance, and can still be allowed to continue taking the exam, wouldn't the Jiangning Prefecture Autumn Examination be in complete chaos?" They also accused Zhao Xiucai, "We are all scholars, what kind of grudge would make you do such a thing? A student like you, not to mention that you are no longer qualified to take the exam today, even if you were, you would be a scourge if you became an official in the future."
The speaker was the most senior official in the capital, and he was the one who most detested such behavior.
"Today, Prefect Cheng's ruling only disqualifies you from this exam. If I were to preside over the case, I would sentence you to a lifetime ban from taking the exam. Even if the matter were to be brought to the capital, I would have my reasons. We are both citizens of the Great Zhou and from the same cohort; how could you do such a thing? If you have such brute strength, you should join the army and guard the frontier."
After berating Zhao Xiucai, he looked at the others kneeling to the side pleading for him. His expression grew even colder, and he said, "Let's see who dares to plead for him! Anyone who dares to plead will be punished as well."
Upon hearing these words from the Beijing official, the scholars who had just been so passionate about "sharing the glory and the loss" immediately fell silent.
After all, when it comes to one's future and career, no one dares to gamble their entire life.
Zhao, the scholar, thought to himself that he was, after all, a scholar, a learned man, while Prefect Cheng was merely a local official, and in front of officials in the capital, he wasn't the only one who had the final say. So, he naturally harbored a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).
But who knew that the official from the capital would be even more ruthless, speaking even more harshly than Prefect Cheng.
If he were to judge the case, he would likely ruin his entire career.
At this point, Zhao Xiucai dared not say anything more, fearing that if he uttered another word, he would never be able to take the exam again for the rest of his life.
There was no room for maneuver in this case, so Prefect Cheng slammed his gavel and pronounced judgment directly.
In addition to being disqualified from this year's exam, Zhao Xiucai was also given twenty strokes of the cane. Furthermore, he had to bear all of Xu Qingshu's medical expenses.
After the case was closed and the court session ended, it was completely dark outside.
Before leaving the courtroom, Xue Yi bid farewell to several officials from the capital.
Actually, Li Yan was no longer in a hurry by this point. She let the crowd disperse around her and stood there quietly waiting for him.
After Xue Yi finished greeting everyone and walked out in his imposing military armor, Li Yan naturally smiled as she looked at the tall man.
Xue Yi naturally saw her too, and quickened his pace, striding towards the door.
"Were you scared?" As soon as he stepped over the threshold, Xue Yi's gentle and caring words reached his ears. At the same time, he reached out and gently helped him up.
"It's alright," Li Yan shook her head.
It wouldn't be accurate to say she wasn't frightened at all. She was only worried at the very beginning, but when she arrived here and saw him sitting there calmly as if he had everything under control, her anxious heart gradually calmed down.
In the end, she, like many other ordinary people standing at the entrance of the government office, watched the show with the attitude of a spectator.
Seeing this result now, she feels gratified.
Then, thinking back to what happened before, he realized that if he hadn't happened to pass by that alley, if he hadn't been brave, decisive, and powerful... then Xu Qingshu would probably have had to swallow that bitter pill today.
Fearing he would worry about his family, Li Yan said, "Don't worry, your mother doesn't know the whole truth yet, and Mao Ge'er doesn't know what happened to his father either."
Xue Yi was about to ask this question when she spoke first, so he nodded.
"So, what did you tell your mother when you went out?" He was delayed because he was afraid she would worry at home, so he quickly sent Wang'er back to inform her after everything was almost settled.
I just hoped she could relax a little and wait at home, but I didn't expect her to be so impatient and come looking for me directly.
If she were at home, she would have had an excuse to appease her mother. Now that she's out, she'll naturally have to use some words to deal with her mother.
The two walked out the door side by side. Li Yan said, "I told her that you had arranged a table outside today and invited me to have dinner together. She was very happy to hear that and immediately urged me to leave quickly."
Xue Yi laughed upon hearing this and said, "In that case, we should eat outside before going back."
Li Yan: "By the way, how is Scholar Xu's injury?"
Xue Yi said, "It's a superficial wound, not affecting the bones or tendons. But that Zhao Xiucai is really vicious and ruthless... So even though it's a superficial wound, it's quite serious. I estimate he'll need at least ten days to half a month of rest." He added, "Fortunately, there's still more than half a month until the autumn examination, which is enough time for him to rest and recuperate."
Li Yan asked, "Was the person who hit someone one of the ones who came to toast with Han Yue when we had dinner together before?"
Xue Yi nodded.
Li Yan said indignantly, "Just because of some verbal dispute?" She laughed angrily and snorted, "For some verbal dispute, he could be so vicious. It's clear that he's a person of questionable character." She guessed that he was used to being arrogant and domineering in his hometown, and now that he's in Jiangning Prefecture, he still thinks he's back home.
Who knew that the people here wouldn't tolerate him, and he ran into a brick wall.
Han Yue, described in the book as such a virtuous and upright person, actually ended up associating with someone like Zhao Xiucai.
Just as she thought of Han Yue, she looked up and saw a familiar-looking man standing next to her carriage outside the prefectural government office.
Under the moonlight, a man dressed in a moon-white robe was looking into the yamen, as if he were waiting for them.
Xue Yi descended the steps with steady, slow steps. His dark eyes were fixed on Han Yue, and he looked down at Han Yue.
When Han Yue saw that the person he was waiting for had arrived, he lost all his arrogance and went straight to greet him.
"General Xue," he addressed him by his official rank.
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