Xu Mo only staggered out after hundreds or even thousands of students had left and the gates of the examination hall were about to close.
His clothes were disheveled; his dusty coat looked like it had been torn, and even his hair ornament, which had been tied up, was loose. He could only manage a weak smile as he clutched a small, openwork bamboo basket.
"Big brother," Jiang Sheng's tears welled up again, "You...were you bullied?"
She saw it when she was stealing food at the brothel. There was a pretty lady who was bullied by a pig-like customer. That's how it was.
My older brother wouldn't...
"I'm fine," Xu Mo said calmly. "Let's go home first."
They got back into the carriage.
Fang Heng was at the front, while his younger siblings sat around Xu Mo, their faces full of worry.
"I'm really fine." Xu Mo straightened his clothes. "It's just that when we were collecting the papers, someone suddenly rushed out and started grabbing my paper like a madman. I struggled with him on the ground for a while, and that's how this happened."
The examination hall was solemn and the imperial examination was a serious affair.
To prevent favoritism and cheating, the students' names had to be covered up on their exam papers, and the person collecting the papers was followed by two armed constables.
But they couldn't stop those with ulterior motives from protecting them.
For example, if the two armed constables hesitated for a moment, Xu Mo's exam paper would be completely destroyed.
“It was definitely the magistrate and his wife who did this,” Zheng Ruqian said angrily. “They went too far, not even sparing the examination hall. How despicable!”
"Then wouldn't my brother have wasted his time taking the exam?" Jiang Sheng's heart clenched again.
Xu Mo patted her little head, "Speaking of which, we have to thank Xiao Wu."
The scene at the entrance of the examination hall taught him a lesson. After the exam, he realized he still had plenty of time, so he simply wrote two copies, both to reinforce his memory and as a precaution.
So, while the man was being taken away by two constables and everyone was feeling sorry for Xu Mo, he slowly took out an exam paper.
The teacher collecting the papers stared wide-eyed.
Xu Mo watched this unfold. After handing in his exam paper, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he watched as the teacher collected dozens more papers until he couldn't pick out his paper from the list. Only then did he feel at ease and leave.
Thus, they escaped a calamity.
Jiang Sheng pulled Zheng Ruqian along, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"But brother," Fang Heng said, noticing the crucial point, "the county examination lasts for five days. You were lucky today, but what about the next four days?"
There's no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against thieves if you're a thief yourself.
Even if Xu Mo could be on guard, he couldn't use the same trick five more times.
Not to mention that this would distract Xu Mo and prevent him from concentrating on the exam.
Jiang Sheng's heart jumped again.
Xu Mo pondered for a while before turning his gaze to his fifth brother, Changyan.
“The fact that the perpetrator has been taken away shows that the Imperial Examination Hall still cares about its reputation.” Chang Yan tapped his left hand lightly with two fingers of his right hand. “Since they care about their reputation, they will inevitably be afraid of things getting out of hand. On the contrary, we should make things out of hand and make them afraid.”
"However, just in case tomorrow, elder brother should still have a backup plan."
He gave a sly smile.
The magistrate of Xiyang County valued his reputation and never dared to act openly; he always did it covertly.
Since that's the case, they'll help Magistrate Xiyang humiliate himself properly.
the next day.
Xu Mo entered the examination hall.
The siblings darted into the crowd, chatting enthusiastically about everyday things. As they talked, they mentioned the incident of someone causing trouble at the examination hall the day before.
Although this matter was tried to be covered up, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. There were always one or two people who saw it, and three or five people who heard it.
The students' families waited at the gate until they were bored. It was a rare treat to hear such gossip, so of course they wanted to chat about it thoroughly and enjoy it to the fullest.
In addition, this kind of thing, at best, is just one person's bad luck, but at worst, it could happen to any child. If your own child's test paper is destroyed, that would be terrible.
For a time, the entire entrance to the examination hall was abuzz with discussion about this matter.
By noon, it had become a topic of discussion throughout the entire street.
By evening, half the county knew that a case of favoritism and corruption had occurred at the examination hall the previous day.
Beside the carriage.
Jiang Sheng looked completely innocent. "I only said that someone committed a violent act and stole the exam paper, I didn't say anything about cheating."
It's hard to doubt the ability of aunties and older women to relay messages.
Zheng Ruqian suppressed a laugh, "As long as the results are good, that's fine. Right now, everyone is questioning the fairness of the exam in Xiyang County."
With this suspicion in mind, the magistrate of Xieyang County dared not do anything, fearing that another incident would undermine the people's trust in the government.
Moreover, if he wanted to quell the public outcry, he had to deal with the person who snatched the exam papers.
This is tantamount to breaking one's own arm.
Jiang Sheng could imagine how angry the magistrate and his wife were, yet how helpless they were.
"Now, it all depends on how my elder brother does today," Fang Heng said, frowning.
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that, the magistrate of Xiyang County dared not do anything out of the ordinary.
But what about today?
The five siblings craned their necks to look at the entrance of the examination hall.
The exam ended shortly afterward, the gates of the examination hall opened, and thousands of students poured out.
Xu Mo came out quickly this time. He walked lightly, carrying a small bamboo basket, and stood smiling in front of his younger siblings.
"Big brother," Jiang Sheng tugged at his sleeve, "How was your day?"
Xu Mo's smile vanished.
It's actually not that great.
He didn't resort to destroying the exam paper, but he was bumped into by someone before entering the exam room.
The man was quite polite and apologized repeatedly, so Xu Mo didn't pursue the matter.
Once inside the examination room, he habitually patted his entire body, only to find a piece of paper on his back—a piece of paper smeared with rice smeared on it, firmly stuck to his cotton-padded jacket.
Xu Mo's heart sank at that moment. When he took it off, he saw that it was filled with the key points of today's test, densely packed and truly piercing.
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