Chapter 17 Immortal in the Painting County Annals
Shao Yanzhe simply reviewed all his memories from the time he traveled to ancient times, looking back at everyone he had met during that period.
Finally, he remembered who that person was.
He had met that official once before; they bumped into each other yesterday as he was leaving the bookstore.
Because the official's gaze made him really uncomfortable, he was immediately relegated to a remote corner of his memory.
In addition, the official robe he was wearing now was a bit loose, making his figure different from yesterday, which is why he wasn't recognized at first glance.
Shao Yanzhe clicked his tongue lightly. This official was indeed quite good-looking, but his character was really not good.
It was at this moment that the gong signaling the submission of papers rang.
Shao Yanzhe instantly perked up. He lifted the cloth covering him, got off the somewhat narrow bed, and quickly gathered his things.
After the soldiers collected their exam papers, they picked up their exam baskets and headed towards the entrance of the examination hall.
He was eager to eat something; the bowl of porridge he had earlier wasn't filling enough. Since it wasn't too late, he was the first to leave the examination hall, intending to buy something to eat nearby.
He stood in front of the meat pie stall, his mouth watering at the delicious aroma.
Just then, he overheard the conversation between the two scholars.
"To see Scholar Shen in his prime today, he is indeed even more impressive than before!" a scholar exclaimed.
“Indeed, I’ve heard that Scholar Shen is gentle and refined, and seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved,” another scholar chimed in.
Listening to their praise of Scholar Shen, Shao Yanzhe carefully recalled and confirmed that only that middle-aged man had appeared in the examination room. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Could he be Scholar Shen, Shen Moyuan?
With that in mind, he smoothly joined the conversation between the two.
"Excuse me, I just overheard you two talking about Scholar Shen. Are you referring to Scholar Shen Moyuan from twenty years ago?"
The two scholars looked at him; although they were strangers, they would not refuse to answer the question.
One of the thin scholars nodded: "That's right!"
Shao Yanzhe continued to inquire, "I am very curious about this Scholar Shen. From what you two are saying, he is quite famous?"
Another dark-skinned, plump scholar immediately perked up: "Of course he's famous! Back in the day, Scholar Shen achieved the highest score in the imperial examination, and was personally selected as the top scholar by the current emperor. He was even chosen as the son-in-law by Minister Qin, a second-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. He was truly the envy of everyone!"
Shao Yanzhe's eyes flickered slightly, and he tentatively asked, "I heard that Scholar Shen was once married? If so, how did he become engaged to Lord Qin's daughter?"
He had expected to hear a tirade against Yun Weiyue, but to his surprise, both scholars looked bewildered.
"Scholar Shen was married? I've never heard of that. Have you heard of it?"
"I've never heard of him before, sir. Where did you hear about him from?"
Once he realized that the two weren't just giving him a perfunctory answer, but genuinely didn't know, Shao Yanzhe immediately looked troubled: "I can't remember either, maybe I'm mistaken?"
"Then you must be mistaken, brother. Based on my understanding of Scholar Shen's life, I have never heard of such an outrageous anecdote!"
"That's right, I haven't heard of it either. You must be mistaken."
Shao Yanzhe smiled sheepishly: "Yes, I must have misremembered."
He immediately changed the subject, saying, "By the way, today in the examination hall, I saw an official in a scarlet robe. He had a refined and scholarly air about him, and his presence made me feel ashamed of myself. Could this official be the scholar Shen Moyuan that you two mentioned?"
The two nodded firmly: "Yes! That must be Scholar Shen!"
"Thank you both for your clarification. In that case, I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell!"
"Goodbye!"
Having obtained the information he wanted, Shao Yanzhe did not linger. After bidding farewell to the two scholars, he took the food he had bought and returned to Wenyuan Academy.
When he returned to the dormitory, it was almost dark. He lit an oil lamp and began to eat.
"Meow!" Xuan Yao meowed in dissatisfaction. It sat on the edge of the bed, wagging its tail, which slapped against the bed.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at it and couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, I've bought one for you too."
As he spoke, he placed Xuan Yao's portion on the other side of the table.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yao immediately jumped onto the table and began to eat.
Shao Yanzhe looked at the scroll hanging on the wall: "Are you two interested in this? Why don't you try it?"
"Can."
Upon receiving the reply, Shao Yanzhe placed the meat pie he had bought in front of the scroll and, not forgetting, inserted three incense sticks on it.
After they had filled their stomachs, they sat down together and began to talk.
Shao Yanzhe looked at Yun Suqing, who was inseparable from Yun Weiyue, and asked, "I heard Miss Suqing mention last time that Shen Moyuan is going to die soon. Do you know anything about this?"
Yun Suqing paused for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at Yun Weiyue beside her. Seeing that she didn't react, she began to answer.
She frowned slightly and said, "Actually, it's nothing. Didn't that person control me? He controlled me to murder those scholars who could have ranked first in the exam, and to extract literary energy from them to enhance my own literary energy."
He needed me to pass through his path to acquire literary talent, so I tampered with things and plotted to take his life through it.
Shao Yanzhe: "I see. However, it must be a life-for-life exchange."
Yun Suqing immediately fell silent, lowering her head and not daring to look at Yun Weiyue beside her.
When Yun Weiyue saw her like this, she could tell what she was thinking at a glance. She didn't say anything, but gently held her hand and comforted her.
Yun Suqing's stiff body immediately relaxed, and her anxious heart slowly calmed down.
Upon seeing this, Shao Yanzhe raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, he was the one who understood himself best. Even with a dual personality, there were commonalities.
He continued, "On my way back today, I learned some information that is related to Shen Moyuan."
Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing asked, "What is it?"
Shao Yanzhe: "No one knows about Shen Moyuan's past marriage; it's as if he never married."
Yun Weiyue was stunned: "That's impossible. He and I are old friends. We grew up together and got married when we were eighteen. I can't remember that wrong."
Yun Suqing nodded in agreement: "Yes, I remember too. There's no mistake about this."
Shao Yanzhe frowned and said, "I think Shen Moyuan must have done something to graft Miss Weiyue's past onto himself. Otherwise, with Miss Weiyue's reputation for talent since childhood, even if she had a wrongful conviction, it wouldn't have been unknown for only twenty years."
“That’s definitely it!” Yun Suqing said with a look of disgust, then looked at him and said, “We have no reason to lie to you.”
Yun Weiyue lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
Shao Yanzhe said, "Of course, I have the ability to discern whether you are lying or not, and I believe what you said about the past."
"It seems we need to go to the county government office to check if the county annals from that year record everything. If not, then we'll have to start with Shen Moyuan."
Yun Suqing agreed, "That's fine, but my sister and I can't enter the county government office, so we'll have to trouble you."
Shao Yanzhe immediately nodded in agreement.
He went directly to the teacher and said he wanted to check the county annals to learn about the local customs and culture.
The master didn't think much of it. He simply wrote him a letter of recommendation, telling him to find the county clerk so he could enter the county government office and check the county annals.
After bidding farewell to the teacher, Shao Yanzhe went to the county clerk, who happened to be on duty that day. After reading the teacher's letter, he did not refuse and readily agreed.
“Nephew, come with me.”
The clerk led Shao Yanzhe into the county government office and led him to the archives where the county annals were kept. He opened the door and said to him, "The county annals are kept inside. I'll give you half a day to look at them as soon as possible."
Shao Yanzhe quickly cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Master. I will read it as soon as possible!"
He watched the clerk leave, then began to examine the documents.
There were many bookshelves inside, and fortunately, the bookshelves were labeled with the year, so finding them wasn't too difficult.
He went straight to the first year of the Xirui era and started looking through it.
"Master Li? Where did you just go?" The county magistrate was a little surprised to see Master Li walking out from the back office.
Master Li did not hide anything: "I'll show the county annals to my nephews and nieces so that it will be of some help to them in the imperial examinations in the future."
The county magistrate suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
After chatting for a few minutes, the two parted ways.
The county magistrate watched Li the clerk leave, and his face immediately turned cold.
He hurriedly left, heading towards the archives where the county annals were stored. When he was almost there, he slowed down, calmed his breathing, tiptoed to the window, and peeked inside.
Soon, he saw a scholar engrossed in reading a book. He glanced over and quickly recognized that the place where he was was the county annals containing the local customs and traditions of the area surrounding the county town from the previous year.
He didn't leave because of this, but kept watching the scholar until the scholar left the storehouse before he felt relieved and left.
Shao Yanzhe followed Master Li and chatted casually with him. Before leaving, he glanced behind him and looked in the direction where the county magistrate had been.
He couldn't help but smile slightly before looking away.
"Well? Have you found the county annals from the first year?" Yun Suqing asked somewhat anxiously.
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "Of course!"
He took out an old book from his pocket, which was a record of the imperial examination in the first year of the Xirui era.
Yun Suqing picked it up and examined it carefully. She quickly found the records of Yun Weiyue's imperial examination from that year, and also recorded information about her husband, Shen Jiazi Moyuan.
"It seems that Shen Moyuan's ability can only alter illusory memories, but he cannot change or even destroy these county records."
She stared at the county gazetteer in her hand and immediately smiled!
Shen Moyuan, you're finished!
"So what do we need to do next?" Shao Yanzhe asked. He didn't know much about ancient times, so he could only listen to the opinions of the locals first.
Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing exchanged a smile before saying, "Leave it to us."
"Okay." Shao Yanzhe nodded.
On the other side, inside the Gongyuan Hall, officials were busy reviewing examination papers.
After Shen Moyuan finished reading an exam paper, he picked up the teacup next to him and was about to take a sip when he suddenly stopped. He glanced around and found that everyone else was looking down at their papers.
He used the act of drinking tea as a cover, while his other hand gently touched the spider pattern on his cuff, thus learning a piece of text information.
Immediately, his expression turned cold. Someone had actually messed with the county annals!
He pressed his finger against the spider pattern and gave a command to the person opposite him.
"Find him, kill him!"
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