Chapter 7 007 Academy Assessment
After several hours of spreading and fermentation, Yuan Sheng's scandal had already become known to everyone.
Not only Taoyuan Village, but villagers from other villages had also heard about it and ran to Taoyuan Village to watch the excitement.
"Let me see what this bastard who has sex with someone without any help and harms a good girl looks like."
Yuan Sheng was shocked and angry. He hid at home like a turtle, fearing that he would be caught and become the target of public criticism.
Upon learning that Zhu had gone to the Du family to cause trouble for Du Qingtang, Yuan Sheng looked forward to it, but she soon returned in disgrace.
When asked about the reason, Zhu threw the firewood stick and said, "I don't know what's wrong with that damn girl. She actually dared to pick up a knife and chop me."
Yuan Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "The monk may escape, but the temple cannot. I will avenge this tomorrow!"
Zhu and Yuanping followed Yuansheng's lead and had to give up for the time being.
Before dawn this morning, Yuan Sheng left home for the private school.
Before he could go find Du Qingtang to settle the score, his classmate—the kind with whom he had a bad relationship and a deep grudge—came up to him and said, "Yuan Sheng, Yuan Sheng, I never thought you would be this kind of person."
There were classmates of Li's private school who lived near Taoyuan Village. With the mentality of watching the fun and not minding the trouble, they spread the story of Yuan Sheng, and now everyone knows about it.
At this moment, Yuan Sheng felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing.
He couldn't stand the strange looks from his classmates, so he asked for leave from Mr. Li on the grounds of feeling unwell.
Mr. Li looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitant, and finally sighed, obviously disappointed. "That's fine. I hope you can deal with your personal affairs as soon as possible and don't get deeper and deeper into trouble."
Yuan Sheng was so embarrassed that his face turned red and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
What made it even harder for him to accept was that Mr. Li also said, "Yesterday, the county magistrate sent someone to tell me that you don't have to go to the literary gathering in two months."
Yuan Sheng was horrified: "Why?"
Qingyuan County holds a literary gathering every year, usually hosted by the county magistrate.
Scholars from all over the county are proud to receive invitations to literary gatherings. They rack their brains for an invitation just to have a seat at the gathering.
Apart from the students of Qingyuan Academy, only the students of Li's private school can attend the literary gathering.
As early as the middle of this year, Yuan Sheng had been preparing for the literary gathering, hoping to make a splash and gain special attention from the county magistrate.
Now he was told that the county magistrate had personally ordered that he was not allowed to attend the literary gathering.
This news was like a bolt from the blue, causing Yuan Sheng to lose hearing and experience blackouts.
Mr. Li said frankly, "A gentleman should keep himself clean. What you did was so egregious that even the county magistrate heard about it."
Yuan Sheng didn't know how he left Li's private school. As soon as he returned to Taoyuan Village, he saw Du Qingtang coming out of Liu Tongsheng's house.
He didn't have time to think about why Du Qingtang, who was supposed to be in the private school, was still in the village. His body moved faster than his brain and he shouted, "Du Qingtang!"
As long as Du Qingtang admits that she framed him, the situation will be reversed in an instant. He can restore his former good reputation, change the county magistrate's opinion, and allow him to participate in the literary meeting.
Otherwise, he wouldn't mind spreading Du Qingtang's secret.
Unexpectedly, Du Qingtang turned a deaf ear to him. Her arrogant attitude made Yuan Sheng very angry. He turned his anger into motivation and planned to teach her a lesson.
Then Du Qingtang kicked him in the knee, forcing him to kneel down first and then to prostrate himself on the ground.
"Du Qingtang, you dare to hit me?!" Yuan Sheng couldn't believe it.
Seeing his furious look, Du Qingtang guessed that her arrangement had worked.
In fact, she didn't do anything. She just bribed a little beggar to loudly tell the county magistrate about Yuan Sheng's "glorious deeds" when he passed by.
"I'm going to hit you if I want to. Do I have to choose a time?" Du Qingtang looked down at him with disgust in his eyes. "If you bother me again, I'll tell Mr. Li about the love poem you wrote to Li Wei."
Yuan Sheng was struck by lightning and blurted out without thinking: "How did you know?"
Of course it’s because of the previous life.
This bastard Yuan Sheng not only frequents brothels, but also likes to show off his literary talent and seduce decent women. Mr. Li's daughter Li Wei is one of them.
In the first life, Yuan Sheng won Li Wei's heart with a love poem. Later, when Li Wei reached the age of marriage, she refused to marry the young talent favored by Mr. Li and insisted on marrying Yuan Sheng.
At that time, Yuan Sheng had already hooked up with the daughter of the magistrate of Baoding Prefecture when he took part in the provincial examination. How could he be willing to marry the daughter of a teacher?
Li Wei could not bear the blow of her lover falling in love with someone else, so she hanged herself that night.
Mr. Li, who was old and had a son, seemed to have aged twenty years overnight and passed away soon after.
Yuan Sheng is a true scumbag who has harmed so many people. He deserves to be cut into pieces.
Du Qingtang planned to give Mr. Li some information when he went to the county town again in a few days.
Li Wei was at the age of coming of age, as young as a flower. She should have had a long and good life, instead of being deeply involved in love, abandoning her family for a scumbag, and hanging herself with a white silk silk.
......
When Du Qingtang returned home, four girls were doing embroidery.
When they saw Du Qingtang, they all thought they were hallucinating: "Why is Tangge'er back?"
Du Qingtang didn't say much: "I have something to do. I've been at home for the past two days."
Du Qiya wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, but was pulled back by Du Baya. She didn't understand but still kept her mouth shut.
After Du Qingtang returned to his room, closed the door, and concentrated on completing a homework assignment left by Liu Tongsheng, Du Qiya asked, "Ba Ya, why did you pull me over just now?"
Du Baya played the role of a go-between: "Tang'er has grown up and has his own plans. It's not good to ask too many questions."
Du Qiya snorted: "Tang Ge'er is not a stranger, so what's wrong with asking a few questions?"
Du Baya shook her head but didn't say that she still felt that Tang Ge'er was worried. Although he looked calm on the surface, he was actually not happy at all.
"No more talking, hurry up and do it. If you do two more pieces, you can earn more than ten coins."
"A dozen coins can buy you some jujube paste cake... Hey, Fifth Sister, why did you hit me?"
"This money is not only used to support Tang Ge'er's education, but also to support the whole family. How can we eat whatever we want?"
Du Qiya puffed out her cheeks unhappily, thinking that sooner or later she would have a lot of money and could buy whatever she wanted.
But in the end she said nothing, picked up the embroidery needle and continued to embroider the peony.
This peony is so beautiful, graceful and rich. I wish she could be like a peony one day.
Let’s see who will still say that she is a money-loser then.
-
In the following days, Taoyuan Village was peaceful.
Du Qingtang went to the Liu family to ask for advice. When she met Yuan Sheng several times, he took the initiative to take a detour, obviously because he was afraid of the leverage she had.
Zhu went out in a hurry every day and returned at sunset. No one knew what she was busy with.
As for Yuanping, he was out of breath after walking a few steps. He might as well have the energy to sit on the kang and smoke a pipe.
The scandal surrounding Yuan Sheng was making headlines, and new faces appeared in Taoyuan Village almost every day, either hinting at something or directly trying to find out information.
"Most of these people are looking to marry their daughters here, and they heard the rumors and came here to find out the truth."
"Any family that loves their daughter will not consider Yuan Sheng again."
This is indeed the case.
No matter if they were ordinary families in the surrounding villages, or the wealthy Zhang and Wang, or the wealthy families in the county who were attracted by Yuansheng's talent for studying, they all backed out.
Especially after Yuansheng took sick leave and disappeared for several days, he felt that Yuansheng was an irresponsible and low-character villain. Even if he wanted to find a well-educated son-in-law, he would never consider Yuansheng.
Ever since Yuanshi was punished by Du Qingtang by not being allowed to eat for a day, she finally became obedient. She has been silent these days, as if she were an invisible person.
Du Qingtang enjoyed the quiet time. He would get up early every morning to recite his lessons, and then go to Liu's house to practice questions. He practiced all the questions from the Four Books, the Five Classics, policy essays, couplets, and examination poems over and over again.
Although it was boring, it was very rewarding. Even Liu Tongsheng had to admit that Du Qingtang had made rapid progress.
"If I remember correctly, the Qingyuan Academy exam is on the fifth day of this month, which is tomorrow." Liu Tongsheng put down the five classics essay written by Du Qingtang and asked, "Are you confident?"
Du Qingtang lowered his eyes to read the annotations on the paper, and the advantages and disadvantages were clear at a glance: "I will do my best."
Liu Tongsheng pointed at her vaguely and said angrily, "You little bastard, you're trying to trick me."
Du Qingtang smiled slightly: "Anyway, thank you for your dedicated guidance these past few days."
Liu Tongsheng smiled and said, "I am only giving you some pointers. What is most valuable is your diligence and understanding."
Before leaving, he assigned Du Qingtang five more assignments: "Think more, and forget it if you can't finish it."
These days of practice are enough for her to cope with the assessment of Qingyuan Academy.
Du Qingtang agreed, stood up and bowed to him, then walked home in the sunset.
Four girls were making wood carvings. The kitchen floor was full of sawdust, which made a crackling sound when they stepped on it.
"Oh, Tang'er is back!" Du Wuya put down the wooden sculpture of a fat doll that had already taken shape and rubbed it on her skirt. "Tang'er, why don't you go back to the room and rest first? I'll heat up the food and it will be ready soon."
Du Qingtang responded vaguely, put the rice paper in his hand back, turned back, washed his hands and picked up the spatula.
Du Wuya added a handful of firewood to the stove and was about to go around to the stove to heat up the dishes. Seeing Du Qingtang stir-frying skillfully, she was stunned at first, then sat back, and the smile on the corner of her mouth seemed much more genuine.
“It’s time to eat!”
The three girls put down their carving knives and wood carvings, Yuanshi put down her straw hat, and the six mothers and daughters sat around the table.
Before dinner started, Du Qingtang said, "I'm going into town tomorrow."
Yuan stole a glance at her and wanted to say something but was worried about the lesson she had learned before, so she shut her mouth and buried her head in eating.
Du Baya said softly, "Be careful and remember to go home before dark."
Du Qingtang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his voice was so low that it could not be heard: "Okay."
-
The next day, Du Qingtang set off before dawn.
Naturally, she didn't have breakfast. She brought two pickled vegetable cakes and filled her water bag with water. She ate while walking. Whenever she felt a little choked, she would drink a few sips of water to moisten her throat.
Du Qingtang arrived at the county town after dawn. She had already explored the route before. After entering the city, she walked through the streets and alleys and soon arrived at Qingyuan Academy.
Qingyuan Academy, as the leading official academy in Daxia, covers a vast area, with tall and thick light gray walls and a dignified and imposing vermilion gate.
There is a plaque hanging above the door, with the four words "Qingyuan Academy" written on it in silver and iron strokes. It is said that it was written by a former emperor of Daxia.
Du Qingtang thought she had arrived early enough, but she didn't expect that someone else had arrived earlier than her.
The thin young man stood behind the stone lion with a book in his hand. This was a sheltered spot, so he wouldn't be exposed to too much cold wind.
"Now that the great way is hidden, the world is my home..."
He was reciting "The Book of Rites". His clear voice penetrated the morning mist and inexplicably lifted people's spirits.
Perhaps sensing Du Qingtang's brief gaze, the young man looked up and gave him a somewhat sheepish smile: "Are you here to take the test as well?"
Du Qingtang nodded, and a gust of wind blew over, causing him to cover his nose and sneeze.
"If you don't mind..." The boy took two steps back, "You can come to my place to take shelter from the wind."
The jacket Du Qingtang was wearing was one that Yuan Sheng had discarded. It had been patched up for three years and was no longer warm enough. He had been walking against the wind, and now his hands and feet were cold and numb.
"Thank you." Du Qingtang walked over and decided that the first thing he would do when he had more money was to throw away this tattered jacket and buy a thick and cold-resistant one.
During the waiting time, Du Qingtang and the boy did not communicate at all. The former recalled the questions he had done in the past few days, while the latter recited in a low voice. They did not disturb each other and were focused on their own work.
There are more and more people outside the academy, and it seems there are probably three digits of them.
Looking at these people, Du Qingtang's expression became somewhat solemn.
Du Qingtang never looks down on anyone, nor does she think she is superior to others just because she has seen better times. Everyone else is just dirt under her feet.
Although he had taken the imperial examination three times, Du Qingtang's results were average and not top-notch.
And these people - her competitors are all well-educated. They must have been well-read and well-read since childhood and are full of literary talent. It is obviously not easy for her to beat them and rank in the top five and obtain the qualification of being exempted from tuition.
The academy gate opened, and a young man in a green scholar's robe appeared: "Examinees, please form a team and divide into two columns..."
Du Qingtang walked out from behind the stone lions and stood in the row on the left side of the gate.
But will she definitely lose?
not necessarily.
The competitors are certainly excellent, and she is not bad either.
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