Chapter 102 The Provincial Examination (4)
Of the three, Li Xiaoxiao had the biggest appetite, followed by Meng Guanqi, and Asheng was the least voracious.
However, Meng Guanqi did not pay attention to his appetite, but rather to maintaining his health. He would put down his bowl when he was 80% full, so the amount he ate was actually about the same as Asheng's.
Meng Guanqi still clearly remembers that big pot of chicken soup. Meng Guanqi drank one bowl, Asheng drank two bowls, and Li Xiaoxiao drank three bowls. In the end, there was about half a bowl left. Li Xiaoxiao wanted to throw it away, but Asheng couldn't bear to part with it and kept it.
It was precisely because the soup wasn't thrown away that Dr. Ni found datura, a drug from the Western Regions, in the dregs of the soup, and only then did the three realize they had been drugged.
However, both he and Ah Sheng, who drank one bowl of soup and two bowls of soup, fell into a coma. He was forcibly awakened by Li Xiaoxiao pricking his hands and feet, but Ah Sheng fell ill and is still unable to get out of bed. Only Li Xiaoxiao, who drank three bowls of soup, was fine.
Not only was she alright, but she also remembered to send him to the examination hall to take the final exam. How did she manage that?
That's what Meng Guanqi thought, and that's what he asked Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows: "Who said I wasn't drugged? I woke up at the end of Yin time, having been unconscious for a full four hours. If I had woken up any later, you would have missed it."
Meng Guanqi asked in confusion, "But you drank the most, so why were you the first to wake up?"
Li Xiaoxiao stubbornly insisted, "How can my body be the same as yours?"
Well, her strength was indeed beyond their reach. Meng Guanqi reluctantly accepted her explanation, attributing it to her stronger physique.
Li Xiaoxiao said, "By the way, Doctor Ni said that although I pricked your hands and feet to draw blood and wake you up, I was still worried that the sleeping drug hadn't been completely eliminated, so I prescribed three days' worth of medicine for you. Wait here, I'll brew it for you to drink right away!"
Meng Guanqi: ...
He feels fine now and doesn't want to drink bitter medicine, what should he do?
But seeing her bustling around for him, he could hardly suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up in a smile.
Li Xiaoxiao was decocting medicine in the kitchen when Meng Guanqi brought in a small stool and sat down next to her. Looking at the fire in the small stove, he said in a deep voice, "I don't understand this situation."
Li Xiaoxiao tilted her head and looked at him.
Meng Guanqi said, "The person who set up this scheme played a very big game. Zhang Li was bought by my mother several months ago, which means that at least when my mother was choosing servants, he had already planned to use this piece to prevent me from participating in the provincial examination."
Li Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "Why was the scheme set up months ago? Couldn't someone have bribed him to drug us? I heard from the neighbor's wife that Zhang Li bought wine and meat every few days when he lived here, so his expenses must have been quite high. Money should have been able to sway him..."
Meng Guanqi shook his head: "No, because Zhang Li concealed the fact that he can read. You know, the price difference between a literate servant and an illiterate one is several times. If he really sold himself because he was short of money, not only would he not have concealed it, but the broker would have publicized it to sell him for a good price. But he didn't, and instead concealed it, so his purpose is not because he is short of money, but because he has other plans."
He meticulously analyzed the situation, trying to reason out the story of Zhang Li selling himself into a logical and reasonable way: "By concealing his literacy, he could fabricate a poor family, honest parents, and a poor rural hometown. Otherwise, there's no way to explain how a poor family with four sons could send their children to learn to read..."
"Not only did he conceal the fact that he was literate, but he also went to great lengths to rent a house here for half a year, cultivate good relationships with the neighbors, and pretend to be a local of Lin'an Prefecture before selling him to our family. When I came to Lin'an Prefecture to take the provincial examination, my mother would choose servants to accompany me, and she would definitely give priority to those who were familiar with the roads here, which would greatly increase his chances of being selected."
At this point, Meng Guanqi frowned: "But I can't understand why he didn't do it on the first day of my exam, but instead chose the last day. We've been here for more than twenty days and we were completely unprepared for him. If he had chosen to administer the drug on the first day, I wouldn't have been able to enter the examination hall, and he could have ruined my chances of passing the imperial examination. But he chose the last day, and that's what I can't understand."
Li Xiaoxiao listened intently, nodding seriously. This was indeed a point that didn't make sense. She added, "And I'm also curious, since he had already drugged us, why didn't he just use poison instead of a sleeping potion? If he wanted to kill us, wouldn't it have been easier to just use poison?"
Meng Guanqi thought for a moment and came up with the answer: "Our headmaster once said that there is no poison in the world that is colorless and odorless, so poison can only be put in medicine, that is, to use the bitterness of the medicine to mask the smell of the poison. But none of the three of us are sick, and we don't need to take medicine. I sleep well and don't like to drink things like calming soup, so he must have been unable to do it, so he switched to a sleeping potion..."
Although datura has a medicinal taste, when it is stewed with other herbs and chicken soup, they can't taste it.
He then thought, "Or there might be another explanation. He chose to administer the drug on the last day, and it was a sleeping potion. Is it possible that he simply wanted to stop me from taking the imperial examination and didn't want to take my life?"
Li smiled and said, "Then why did he try to stop you from taking the imperial examination? Did you offend someone?"
Meng Guanqi sighed: "I don't know about that. There might have been quite a few when I was studying in the capital, but in Biyang County and Luzhou, I can say for sure that there weren't any."
He suddenly glanced at Li Xiaoxiao: "Lu Weifu?"
Li Xiaoxiao scratched her head: "I did think it might be him, but he's already been exiled thousands of miles away. I heard his family has gone back to their hometown to farm. The relationship between Prefect Song and the magistrate isn't as strained as it used to be. He wouldn't need to harm you for the sake of a wife and nephew who's been exiled thousands of miles away, and anger the Meng family again, would he?"
Meng Guanqi nodded: "That's right, I also think it couldn't be him."
So who exactly was it? They spent half a year setting up a scheme just to prevent him from taking the imperial examination?
There was an answer, and the reason was found in the letters Li Xiaoxiao found, but he didn't believe it.
He was more inclined to believe that Zhang Li had deliberately lured Li Xiaoxiao to look for it; otherwise, why would such a secret be placed so openly in his drawer? Shouldn't such a deadly secret be burned immediately upon receipt?
After thinking for a while, Meng Guanqi suddenly sighed, "Actually, we were also at fault in this matter."
Li Xiaoxiao looked at him blankly.
The stool was a bit narrow, so he adjusted his posture: "Zhang Li is about sixteen or seventeen years old this year, right? If his family is really so poor that they can't make ends meet, shouldn't it have been more appropriate to sell him when he was eight or nine? He's already grown up and can do odd jobs to support his family. It's just that his family can't make ends meet, so we have to sell him. That's one reason."
"Secondly, I need to take the provincial examination. Besides taking care to stay healthy and in good spirits, the most important thing is my diet, right? But we were completely oblivious and casually ate the food sent by the mother of a servant we barely knew. We ate it for almost a month. You're right, if they wanted to kill us, even a slow-acting poison would have been enough to kill us. But we were all so careless and didn't consider anything..."
Because Magistrate Meng and Liu were both carefree, they didn't consider that there might be problems in this area, and as a result, they were easily drugged.
If Li Xiaoxiao hadn't woken up in time, he would have missed the exam without a doubt.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed, "We were indeed at fault. When I went to look for Zhang Li's old house today, I realized that Zhang's mother had been sending us meals for so long, and we didn't even know where she lived or where she was cooking for us. It was inevitable that we would suffer a loss..."
It's all because the atmosphere at home is too nice, so no one thought about the need to be careful when going out.
A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. This lesson was so painful that it nearly killed them. I guess they won't dare to trust others easily in the future.
The two lowered their heads and repented. The medicine was ready, and despite Meng Guanqi's reluctance, Li Xiaoxiao forced him to drink it.
Seeing that he had finished drinking a bowl of medicine, she was about to go back to catch up on her sleep. She had stayed up all night watching over two unconscious patients, and fearing that Zhang Li might have other tricks up his sleeve, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight either, so she needed to catch up on her sleep during the day.
She slept until dusk. Meng Guanqi called her to get up for dinner. She ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice before asking blankly, "Why is there food? Did you order it from the restaurant?"
Meng Guanqi remained expressionless: "I did it."
He made it? Besides cooking porridge, he can also stir-fry dishes?!
Li Xiaoxiao stared at Meng Guanqi in shock, having already forgotten their low spirits that morning, and showered him with praise: "Wow, little one, you're such a genius! You're so amazing! You're so incredible! I've been in the kitchen for so long and still haven't learned how to cook. I get scolded by Mom every day. How come you're so amazing? You learned it in no time..." (The following eight hundred words of praise are omitted.)
Meng Guanqi tried his best to keep a straight face, but he couldn't resist her endless flattery. She praised his home-cooked dishes as if they were delicacies from the heavens, and his neck turned red from the praise. He couldn't help but pick up a bite of the dish and eat it: "Is it really that delicious?"
Li Xiaoxiao shoveled rice into her mouth while praising it repeatedly: "Delicious, so delicious~"
Seeing how much she enjoyed her food, Meng Guanqi couldn't help but look at his own hands with some doubt. Was he really a genius? Was his cooking really that good? Why had he never heard his senior brothers praise his cooking?
But he doesn't need others to praise his cooking skills; he just needs her to enjoy the food.
Why can't she learn to cook? One of them has to be able to cook, right? Otherwise, in situations like these past two days, who will cook for them?
Meng Guanqi accepted the fact that he had to cook without any qualms, and even put a piece of food on her plate: "Eat more if you like it."
Li Xiaoxiao buried herself in her food. She had been drinking porridge yesterday and this morning, but it wasn't filling at all. She needed to eat rice instead.
She liked the food here no matter how it was prepared, not to mention that Meng Guanqi actually cooked it quite well; it wasn't undercooked or too salty. She wasn't picky.
Meng Guanqi rested that night, while Li Xiaoxiao kept watch. She had slept all day and was full of energy. She took the opportunity to stroll around the courtyard to see if there was anything unusual, but unfortunately, the surroundings were calm and there was no one around.
After she scared Zhang Li away, did he just give up and not come back to harm them? If he doesn't show up tonight, he'll be even less likely to show up tomorrow when Magistrate Meng brings his men.
Even if Li Xiaoxiao had extraordinary abilities, she was helpless if Zhang Li didn't show his face.
The night passed peacefully.
Li Xiaoxiao thought it would be good if Magistrate Meng could arrive before sunset today. The letter was sent yesterday morning, and the escort agency sent it by horseback at full speed. It was expected to arrive in Biyang County before evening. Magistrate Meng set off early this morning and should arrive here around evening as well.
Just as they were about to have lunch, Magistrate Meng arrived with Madam Liu, Granny Qi, Steward Zhao, Zhao Jian, and three or four servants.
Seeing her son standing safely in the house, tears welled up in Liu's already swollen eyes again. She rushed towards Meng Guanqi, crying out, "Brother Qi!" and burst into tears while holding her son.
Meng Guanqi was startled and quickly comforted her mother, "Mom, don't get agitated, I'm perfectly fine."
Magistrate Meng also hurried in, helped his son up and down, his heartache evident in his words.
How could Liu not be excited? When she received the letter from Li Xiaoxiao on horseback, saying that Meng Guanqi had been drugged during the last exam and asking the family to send someone to pick them up immediately, she almost fainted on the spot.
She couldn't wait a moment longer, so she immediately led her men and set off with Magistrate Meng, traveling through the night. When they arrived at the post station in the middle of the night, they had no choice but to rest, but how could they sleep? They stayed awake until dawn, and as soon as it was light, they set off again with their men, finally arriving in Lin'an Prefecture before noon.
Seeing his son with his beard and tail intact, he was naturally too excited to speak.
Meng Guanqi winked at Li Xiaoxiao, signaling her to come out and say something.
Seeing Liu Shi crying like this, Magistrate Meng's eyes were also wet with tears, and the others looked like the sky had fallen. Li Xiaoxiao slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "Our young master has passed the exam!"
Upon hearing this, the room fell completely silent.
Meng Guanqi felt as if a cold wind had suddenly blown past him, scattering him into pieces.
He closed his eyes and sighed silently.
Liu was like a crowing rooster whose throat had been choked; she burst into tears and hiccuped halfway through, staring at Li Xiaoxiao in shock.
Magistrate Meng was completely baffled, looking at Li Xiaoxiao with a puzzled expression: "What are you talking about?"
Li Xiaoxiao said something shocking: "I say, young master, you are blessed with good fortune. Despite being drugged and without food or water, you performed beyond your usual level and secured a place as a scholar ahead of time!"
Seeing Meng Guanqi glaring at her, Li Xiaoxiao scratched her chin: "You're the one who told me you did better than usual on the test... You weren't just trying to comfort me, were you?"
Magistrate Meng, who had been relieved, was now filled with anxiety again: "Brother Qi, what exactly happened?"
Meng Guanqi helped Liu Shi to a chair and silently returned to his study, handing the exam paper he had memorized to Magistrate Meng.
Magistrate Meng quickly sat down next to Liu and began to examine the document carefully.
He read it for half an hour, and the serious expression on his face gradually relaxed. By the end, he burst into laughter and patted Meng Guanqi on the shoulder: "Good! Well written!"
Madam Liu asked anxiously, "Master, can Chess really win?"
Magistrate Meng coughed and said, "Don't be complacent. Whether you pass or fail, we'll have to wait until the results are released in half a month."
Although he didn't give a definite answer, Liu had already gotten the answer from his expression: Meng Guanqi had a very high chance of winning this time!
Liu clasped her hands together in joy: "Amitabha, thank you Buddha for your protection, thank you Bodhisattva for your protection. My son was able to turn misfortune into good fortune despite encountering such a great calamity. It is all thanks to Buddha..."
She exclaimed happily, "Granny Qi!"
Granny Qi hurriedly stepped forward: "Yes, this old servant is here."
Liu said, "It must be because the first incense I offered on the first day of the month worked. When you get home, remember to prepare offerings to fulfill your vow, and we'll go to the temple together to do so."
Granny Qi replied happily, "Yes, this old servant will prepare as soon as I get back."
Li Xiaoxiao looked sadly at the dishes on the table that had gone cold. She had lit the fire and Meng Guanqi had cooked them himself. When they were first served, they were steaming hot and smelled delicious. She was ready to eat three big bowls of rice with them. But as soon as the adults and the madam arrived, the dishes went cold right under her nose. The bright green leaves had turned yellow, and they certainly didn't taste as good as when they were fresh out of the pot.
Meanwhile, Liu was still discussing with Granny Qi what offerings to use to fulfill her vow. Actually, the offerings Liu prepared didn't need to be for the gods or Buddhas; they were just for her to eat.
After Magistrate Meng reviewed his son's exam paper and found no problems, he finally felt relieved and began to ask what had happened in the past few days: "Xiaoxiao's letter was vague, only saying that you were drugged. What exactly happened?"
Just as Meng Guanqi was about to speak, he heard Li Xiaoxiao's stomach rumble loudly. Clutching her stomach, she said pitifully, "My lord, madam, can we finish our meal first?"
She shouldn't have said anything, because once she did, everyone's stomachs started growling. Magistrate Meng and his men had been traveling since last night until this morning, and in their haste they hadn't had time to eat. Now that they were finally at ease, everyone was hungry.
The two dishes Meng Guanqi cooked were naturally not enough, so Li Xiaoxiao went to the kitchen to start a fire while Granny Qi kneaded the dough.
There are too many people, cooking rice is too slow, so making noodles and stir-frying some meat sauce is the fastest way.
While kneading the dough, Granny Qi said to Li Xiaoxiao, "You still haven't learned how to cook? Xiaoxiao, it's not good for a young lady not to know how to cook. What will you do after you get married?"
Li Xiaoxiao argued vehemently, "Granny Qi, how can anyone be perfect? I can do everything. If I could even cook, that would be incredible! Who would be worthy of me then? If I could do everything, why would I need to get married?"
Granny Qi's hands slipped while kneading the dough, and she almost dropped the whole pot of noodles on the ground. She looked at Li Xiaoxiao in shock, unable to believe her ears.
Li Xiaoxiao counted on her fingers for her: "Look, I can earn money, I can farm, I can hunt, I can catch thieves, I can have children, so why can't I find a man who can cook? You agree, right? I didn't ask him to earn more than me, nor did I ask him to be better at fighting than me..."
Granny Qi opened her mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again, then closed it again.
No wonder Mao's mother was often rendered speechless by Li Xiaoxiao's retorts; it turns out she had so many twisted arguments!
But she seemed unable to refute Li Xiaoxiao's statement, because everything she said was true.
Granny Qi had never seen anyone more capable than Li Xiaoxiao. If she hadn't been born a girl, she would probably be a great general in the court by now. Even the crown prince's personal guards couldn't beat her. If she were a boy, what chance would anyone else have?
From this perspective, it seems that not knowing how to cook is not a big deal. If she is capable, she can simply hire a cook to help her. Why do they insist on forcing her to learn how to cook?
Granny Qi finally understood, smiled, and continued kneading the dough.
However, she suddenly realized: "If you can't cook, who cooked those dishes just now?"
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes darted around: "It wasn't me."
Granny Qi said, "Did you ask the neighbor to cook it? Why didn't you ask her to cook more dishes? The young master is eating with you, and there's not even a piece of meat!"
Although Li Xiaoxiao was quite assertive about her inability to cook, she dared not openly tell Granny Qi that Meng Guanqi had cooked the dish, otherwise Granny Qi would probably slap her in the face with the sole of her shoe.
Meanwhile, in the study, Magistrate Meng and Lady Liu were speechless with shock after hearing the entire story of how Meng Guanqi was drugged.
Liu exclaimed in disbelief, "Could Zhang Li's indenture be fake? How is that possible? The brokerage firm I went to is the biggest one in the entire Lin'an Prefecture!"
Magistrate Meng pondered for a moment: "The largest brokerage firms in Lin'an Prefecture are all backed by the government. If they are found to be forging documents, not only will their brokerage license be revoked, but they will also be fined heavily. It's not worth it. You should know that whether it is a prosperous time or a chaotic time, the business of buying and selling people is the most profitable. I don't think Zhang Li's indenture is fake."
Liu was puzzled: "Since his indenture is genuine, how could he dare to do such a treacherous thing? Being wanted by the government is no small matter."
The government severely punishes runaway slaves. Zhang Li signed a contract of servitude and became a slave. Slaves cannot be registered or issued travel permits. Unless he hides from the officials for the rest of his life, he will eventually be found out.
Magistrate Meng said, "There is another possibility: Zhang Li's indenture is genuine, but the person who sold himself to our family is a fake."
Liu's expression changed: "You mean he's an imposter?"
Magistrate Meng said, "This is the only reasonable explanation. Since he came to our house with a purpose, isn't it normal for him to use a fake identity?"
Liu murmured, "Who on earth wants to harm us like this? If it weren't for Xiaoxiao's vigilance, Qi-ge would have missed the third exam, and then it would be another three years later..."
Meng Guanqi had already handed the letter that Li Xiaoxiao had found to Magistrate Meng: "Father, if it is the person mentioned in this letter, he does indeed have the ability to do such a thing."
Magistrate Meng looked down at the letter in silence for a long while before finally saying, "What do you think?"
Meng Guanqi said, "I have my doubts. Zhang Li and his parents were so careful and meticulous, and they set up this scheme for so long. After administering the drug, they disappeared without a trace. I don't believe they would be so careless as to leave such an important letter in a place where we could find it at any time."
Magistrate Meng nodded: "I also think this behavior is illogical. He put the letter in such an easy place to find, as if he is deliberately pointing the finger at the Third Prince. Whether or not the Third Prince instructed or not, this matter ultimately points to the capital. It seems that he wants to divert our attention to the capital."
Meng Guanqi suddenly realized: "So that's how it is!"
Magistrate Meng asked, "What? So that's how it is?"
Meng Guanqi said, "Xiaoxiao and I have never understood why Zhang Li, who had clearly gained our trust, would use a sleeping potion instead of poison. If their goal was to drag our family into the power struggle in the capital, then this makes sense."
Magistrate Meng's gaze sharpened: "Are you saying he's afraid you'll become an ally of His Highness the Crown Prince in the future, and wants to destroy you first?"
Meng Guanqi nodded, but then sighed, "It's a pity that this is a guess based on our belief that it was the Third Prince's doing... But Zhang Li deliberately left such obvious evidence, should we believe it or not?"
Magistrate Meng said, "If these letters are genuine, then the Third Prince is openly declaring war on our family. If they are fake, it is possible that another prince is hiding behind us, impersonating the Third Prince to leave letters, hoping to incite the Third Prince to fight against the Crown Prince so that he can reap the benefits."
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