Chapter 323: The Lady of the Marquisate vs. the Younger Prince 66
Kong Liang's family was poor, and he could not afford the tuition of Lushan Academy. However, the dean saw that Kong Liang had passed the imperial examination at a young age and was quite talented, so he exempted him from the tuition and let him do some work in the academy to make a living.
The following year, Kong Liang passed the imperial examination and became the youngest juren in the capital. Lushan Academy became even more famous because of this.
In this year's imperial examination, Kong Liang could not afford to bribe the officials with extra money, and he was short of food and clothing, so he fell ill during the first examination.
Like many other candidates from poor families, he borrowed money from loan sharks to bribe the police, and the next two exams went much more smoothly. After the nine-day exam, he lay in bed for three full days before he recovered, and he is still not fully recovered now.
His cousin had already helped him check the list. The inn he stayed in was remote and simple. In order to get the news as soon as possible, it would be better to wait in the Penglai Restaurant.
Kong Liang coughed and covered his mouth, then whispered, "Brother Zheng is indeed gifted. He ranks among the top in the annual examinations of the academy, but unfortunately he fails the imperial examinations every year. I see that those who performed worse than Brother Zheng in the annual examinations have all become Jinshi, and some even have the second and third place."
"Lushan Academy has a long-standing reputation. I don't know why Brother Zheng has been unable to pass the exam for so long."
Zheng Jie's face looked very ugly. He could bribe the examiner of Lushan Academy for the annual examination and get the test questions in advance. Naturally, he would be able to rank among the top. This way, he could give an explanation to his family.
The imperial examination held every three years was too strict. Even if he had a lot of money, he could not buy a place as a Jinshi.
But this year is different. He is the pre-determined champion. When he arrives at the Golden Palace, as long as he prepares well in advance and doesn't do too badly in the palace examination, he will at least be in the top three.
The emperor could not offend the chief examiner too much. If the first place in the examination was not the top scholar, he should at least be the second or third place.
Zheng Jie fanned himself fiercely a few times and said sarcastically, "You smell so poor. I don't know what the Penglai Restaurant is doing. They don't charge money and let me sit at the same table with you. It's really unlucky!"
"It was just that I was unlucky in the past, and it was common for me to perform poorly in the examinations. I am a learned man, am I not better than a half-baked person like you who has only been studying in the academy for a year or two?"
Kong Liang smiled slightly and said nothing.
He didn't believe at all that Zheng Jie could pass the imperial examination, let alone win the first place.
The dean has always known about Zheng Jie's private actions, but he just turned a blind eye to it. After all, the academy's library was donated by the Zheng family. If this matter were to get out and anger the Zheng family, it would not be good for the academy.
The annual examinations in the academy are mainly to allow students to adapt to the environment of the imperial examinations in advance. The ranking is actually not important.
Kong Liang had already written down his answers and showed them to the dean. The dean said that he had answered well and should be on the list, but each examiner has different preferences, so it is difficult to say the specific ranking. If he is lucky, he might really be able to take the first place.
That's why Kong Liang was a little out of control. He wanted to be the top scorer. In the Golden Palace, he had the confidence that the emperor could choose him as the top scorer!
The dean, against all odds, allowed him to study in the academy, and taught him knowledge and the principles of conduct in society tirelessly. He had to do better than anyone else to live up to the dean's kindness and his mother's expectations.
Zheng Jie hated Kong Liang's smile the most. Kong Liang was just a peasant who swept the floors and wiped the tables in the academy every day. His life was worse than that of his servants.
Why should I sit at the same table with such a person and why should I look down on him?
Zheng Jie slammed the table and said angrily: "What are you laughing at? You won't be able to laugh later! I'm telling you this today, don't dream about it, you will never pass the imperial examination in your lifetime! Go home and farm!"
Kong Liang also had close friends in the academy. Someone couldn't stand it anymore and slammed the table and started arguing with Zheng Jie.
Zheng Jie had even more lackeys around him, and the two sides started arguing with each other.
With a clang, a group of people wearing red belts entered the Penglai Restaurant, beating gongs and drums, and shouted:
"Congratulations to Mr. Zheng Jie of the Zheng family for getting first place in the annual examination. Mr. Zheng is a handsome man, and he has a bright future. I congratulate Mr. Zheng..."
The person who brought the good news read it three times in a row, each time louder than the last, alarming everyone in the Penglai Restaurant.
Zheng Jie's servants had already prepared wedding money and rewarded the person who brought the good news, throwing out handfuls of copper coins. The entrance of Penglai Restaurant was crowded with people, who squatted on the ground picking up the money, wanting to get a share of the joy of the "number one scholar".
The person announcing the good news smiled and said, "He is the Honorable Scholar, but not the No. 1 Scholar. When you are in the Golden Palace, His Majesty will personally approve the result. The first place in the palace examination will be the No. 1 Scholar!"
The people couldn't tell the difference between these titles and thought the first one was very impressive, so they crowded forward to see what the "number one scholar" looked like.
Zheng Jie really enjoyed the feeling of being admired by thousands of people. He stood at the entrance of Penglai Restaurant and recited the poems he had prepared long ago, which again drew cheers from the whole room.
After the people who came to congratulate had left, Zheng Jie walked into the restaurant, fanning himself with a folding fan. The owner of the Penglai Restaurant came over personally and invited Zheng Jie to the fourth floor.
"The fourth floor is not open to outsiders, but all Huiyuan can dine on the fourth floor of our restaurant once. If you are in the top three in the Golden Throne Hall, you can also enter the fourth floor. Penglai Restaurant will definitely make you enjoy yourself."
Zheng Jie threw the last handful of copper coins in his hand at Kong Liang's face and said contemptuously: "Don't say that I didn't help you. I'll let you also get some of my happiness, hahahaha..."
Kong Liang sat in the chair in a daze, and did not react at all when coins were thrown at his face.
Zheng Jie felt a little bored, so he pushed Kong Liang hard and laughed, "What a bullshit number one talent in the capital, some people even say he is the second Prime Minister Ji, bah! Don't you even look at your own weight to compare yourself with the Prime Minister of the dynasty."
Kong Liang fell to the ground, as if unconscious, tears falling silently. He only wished that he had never been to Penglai Restaurant, so that he would not have to humiliate himself.
He walked out of Penglai Restaurant in a daze. The midday sun was so bright, but his heart was dead silent.
His mother was seriously ill, and since he failed the exam this time, she would never be able to wait for the day when he would pass the exam and be paraded through the streets on horseback.
On the day after the results were announced, the poems and essays of the examinees were compiled into books and sold in major bookstores.
Kong Liang saw his own poem at a glance. It was obviously his poem, so why did it become Zheng Jie's?
He went to the Imperial Examination Hall to make a scene, but was beaten out and no one listened to him. He went to the government office to complain, but was driven away before he could even get close.
He went to the dean for help. The dean had seen the test paper he had written from memory and could prove that he had written the poem, but the dean shook his head and advised him not to make trouble anymore.
The dean did like him, but there was no way he would risk the lives of his wife and children and his own future for him.
Kong Liang was desperate, and he remembered the Penglai Restaurant, where someone had once exposed the evil deeds of a local corrupt official, and the report had indeed reached the ears of the emperor.
With a desperate determination, he took a broken gong and made a clanging sound that was deafening.
"I am Kong Liang, a student who passed the imperial examination in the year of Kuimao and will take the imperial examination in the year of Jiachen. I sue Zheng Jie for stealing my exam paper and taking it for himself, thus stealing my title of first place. I am willing to confront Mr. Zheng face to face to argue over right and wrong!"
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