Chapter 100 The Provincial Examination (2)
Li Xiaoxiao swore she had never been so disheveled as she was today.
The person on her back was unconscious. She carried him as she ran through the streets of Lin'an Prefecture in the early morning, not knowing what the outcome would be.
Even if he is delivered to the entrance of the examination hall on time, will Meng Guanqi be able to wake up and take the exam?
Today is the most important day of the provincial examination, the most difficult policy essay, and there are as many as five questions. Even if Meng Guanqi is barely woken up by her, his mind is probably still blank. After the first two subjects went smoothly, how can he accept that he will fail the third subject because he was framed?
The provincial examination was held only once every three years, and after going smoothly in the first two examinations, Meng Guanqi suddenly lost his chance in the third, which was a fatal blow to him.
She had to prevent this tragedy from happening, no matter what!
Meng Guanqi is a refined and noble person; he has never done anything wrong. Why would such dirty tricks be used against him?!
Li Xiaoxiao felt extremely angry and burst out with extraordinary speed. Some people on the road who had just seen the students off to the examination hall and were on their way home only saw a black shadow flash by and disappear before their eyes without them being able to see anything clearly.
"What just passed by? A cat?"
"Where would you find a cat or dog that big?"
"You run really fast."
"Yeah, I thought I was seeing things..."
The distance that should have taken an incense stick to burn was covered in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and she arrived at the entrance of the examination hall.
Only a few people remained in line at the entrance. The examination hall would close in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and she had to get Meng Guanqi into the hallucination hall before then.
Finger bleeding is the fastest and most effective method. Considering that Meng Guanqi still needs to write with his right hand, she did not hesitate to prick the five fingers of his left hand and forcefully squeeze out the blood.
Meng Guanqi twitched in pain in his sleep and immediately tried to pull his hand back, but Li Xiaoxiao held on tightly and stuffed two more mint pills into his mouth to refresh him. These were prepared by Doctor Xie from Huichuntang at Liu's request. Fearing that Meng Guanqi might be in poor spirits, the amount of mint was generous and very refreshing.
The violent impact finally jolted Meng Guanqi awake, both by the pain and the burning sensation. He opened his dazed eyes and stared blankly at Li Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, what are you doing?"
Li Xiaoxiao squeezed his fingers hard, and Meng Guanqi belatedly felt a sharp pain. Blood was dripping down his fingertips, and the numbness in his body was gradually fading.
After squeezing his fingers, Li Xiaoxiao started taking off his socks, then suddenly stabbed him with a hairpin. Meng Guanqi was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes, and he struggled violently: "Xiaoxiao, what are you doing? Let me go!"
Li Xiaoxiao said urgently, "We can't let it out. You need to wake up quickly. You've been drugged with a strong drug. Bloodletting is the fastest way to save you." Ignoring his struggles, she forced him down and pierced all ten of his toes.
This was tantamount to subjecting Meng Guanqi to severe torture. Meng Guanqi was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face, and he struggled until he was covered in sweat.
Seeing that he was sweating so much, Li Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he was sweating. The more he sweated, the faster the effects of the drug would dissipate. He had been unconscious for more than four hours from last night to this morning. After bleeding so much and sweating so much, the remaining effects of the drug should be almost gone.
Seeing that she finally let go, Meng Guanqi was finally free from the torture. Only then did he realize that his hands and feet were trembling. He was surprised: "What exactly happened?" He turned around and saw that the entrance to the examination hall was not far behind him. He was stunned. In his memory, he did not remember how he got here.
Li Xiaoxiao glanced at the now deserted entrance of the examination hall. With less than half a cup of tea's time left before the officials closed the gates, she cupped Meng Guanqi's face in her hands and looked at him earnestly: "My dear, I don't have time to explain what happened right now. Just remember, it's the fifteenth of August. You're about to enter the examination hall for today's final exam. Don't think about anything else, just focus on the exam, give it your best, and pass it. Can you do it?"
Meng Guanqi stared blankly at her without reacting.
Li Xiaoxiao grew anxious and moved even closer, their faces almost touching: "Baby, promise me, can you do it? As long as you do well on your exams, after you get out of there, I'll skin that bastard alive and throw him in front of you so you can do whatever you want with him, okay? Can you do that?"
There's no time left! Why is Meng Guanqi still spacing out?! Has the drug not worn off yet? What should we do?
Li Xiaoxiao was extremely anxious.
Meng Guanqi suddenly moved. He reached out and hugged her, pulling her into his arms with a slight pull, and rested his head on her shoulder: "Okay, as long as you promise me one thing, I can do it."
Li Xiaoxiao said urgently, "I'll agree to anything you ask, can we talk about it later? You don't have time now, the examination hall is about to close. Here, take this, remember to take a few when you feel dizzy!" She handed him the mint brain-clearing pills.
Meng Guanqi stood up unsteadily and went to pick up her book basket: "I understand. I don't want to think about anything. I want to go take the exam."
Li Xiaoxiao looked at him worriedly. He couldn't even stand steadily. How could he take the exam?
But there was no time to say much more to her. The yamen runners at the entrance of the examination hall had already started packing up their things. If they didn't go in soon, Meng Guanqi wouldn't be able to get in.
Li Xiaoxiao immediately helped Meng Guanqi to the gate of the examination hall: "Wait, there are still candidates who haven't gone in!"
The constable glared at Meng Guanqi with displeasure for a couple of seconds before taking the book basket from his hands and opening it for inspection: "If you had been two more breaths later, you wouldn't have been able to get in!"
After checking the book basket, the bailiff checked his clothes and found that he had put his shoes on backwards. He snorted and said impatiently, "It's ridiculous that you can be late for the last day of the exam. Hurry up and go in. You are the last one. If anyone else comes, no one is allowed to go in."
Li Xiaoxiao watched with worry as Meng Guanqi swayed and disappeared into the examination hall with his book basket, her heart filled with anxiety.
Unfortunately, the provincial examination is only held once every three years. If he misses this one, he will waste another three years. Moreover, if Meng Guanqi fails the exam because of being framed, it will have a huge impact on his mentality. It is hard to say whether he will be able to muster the courage to take the exam a second time!
Meng Guanqi was the last to enter. His cell was in the northwest, some distance from the main gate.
The candidates, who had been sitting in their cells for a while, stared at Meng Guanqi in astonishment as he swayed around as if he were drunk, nearly falling to the ground several times. Their mouths were agape.
It was still dark, and no one could see his face clearly, but judging from his appearance, he was either drunk or seriously ill. Was there any need to take the exam?
For a time, some gloated, some felt pity, some remained indifferent, and some were glad that they had one less competitor. The candidates had different thoughts.
Meng Guanqi clearly didn't care what others thought of him.
When he first got rid of Li Xiaoxiao's support, he was still a little unsteady on his feet, but after walking a short distance, he started sweating more and more.
The mint pills in his mouth hadn't been fully digested, and he was still choking and burning. Li Xiaoxiao really tried everything to wake him up. His left fingertips and all ten toes were throbbing violently, causing him to sweat even more. Fortunately, the sweat gradually relieved his dizziness, making him more and more lucid. By the time he found his cell and sat down, the dizziness he had been forcibly awakened from had lessened considerably.
He forced himself to calm down, tidied up his cell, sat down, and took out his writing brush, inkstone, and inkstone.
There was no food in the basket. Originally, there was: four large steamed buns and a bamboo tube of water prepared by Zhang's mother. However, Li Xiaoxiao was afraid that the basket might be drugged or even have a note inside. Before handing the basket to him, she took out the steamed buns and water and threw them away. So he had no food or water all day.
Fortunately, it wasn't an exam, so he didn't need to spend the night there. Otherwise, he would not have survived two days and one night without food or water.
He was still sweating profusely. Meng Guanqi wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and felt that his inner clothes were already soaked. Fortunately, it was August and the weather was hot. Otherwise, he would not have been able to stand sitting like this all day.
He cleared his mind, forcing himself not to think about anything. The most important thing at hand was to finish today's policy essay exam; everything else could be dealt with later.
It was still dark, and there was still about half an hour before the exam papers were distributed, which gave him just enough time to recover. He closed his eyes, trying to clear the chaotic thoughts from his mind, remaining motionless as if in deep meditation.
As dawn broke, the yamen runners came to distribute the exam papers and were surprised to find Meng Guanqi soaking wet, looking like a drowned rat.
The constable glanced at the sky instinctively. It wasn't raining, and the examination cells had been renovated and weren't leaking. So why was this examinee soaking wet?
But the yamen runners knew they couldn't make a sound no matter how surprised they were. Seeing that Meng Guanqi kept his eyes closed, they were afraid he had fallen asleep, so they kindly tapped his desk twice to remind him that the exam had started.
Meng Guanqi opened his eyes, his gaze now clear.
Half an hour passed, and it seemed that the sweat had washed away the effects of the sleeping pill. The last trace of discomfort in his mind had disappeared, except for the discomfort of being soaked in sweat.
He popped another mint pill into his mouth, stood up, took off his inner and outer clothes, wrung them out, and sweat poured out. Even when Meng Guanqi climbed Guiyuan Mountain, he had never sweated this much, which showed how strong the sleeping drug was.
After wringing out his clothes, he put on only his undershirt and tossed his outer garment aside. Once he felt a little more comfortable, he turned his attention to the exam paper.
At that moment, his mind was clearer and more focused than ever before, and all he could see were the exam questions.
He finally picked up the pen and wrote the first word.
After watching Meng Guanqi enter the examination hall, Li Xiaoxiao immediately rushed back, her speed not much slower than when she saw Meng Guanqi off.
After rushing back to the small courtyard by the river, she kicked open Ah Sheng's door. Sure enough, Ah Sheng was pale and lying unconscious on the bed.
Of course, Li Xiaoxiao wouldn't bleed Ah Sheng's hands and feet. He was much luckier than Meng Guanqi; she could take him to see a doctor.
She picked Ah Sheng up and carried him out of the courtyard, but turned back as soon as she stepped out and brought out the remaining chicken soup from the kitchen.
This was thanks to the fact that Zhang's mother cooked too much food yesterday, and the three of them couldn't finish it. There was still some chicken soup left. Li Xiaoxiao originally wanted to throw it away, but Asheng thought it was delicious and wanted to keep it to drink today, so the medicinal herbs in the soup were still there.
Carrying Ah Sheng on her back and holding a bowl of chicken soup, she walked through the alley to the main street. In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, she found the largest clinic in the vicinity called Yanghetang.
Because it was near the Mid-Autumn Festival and also the time of the provincial examination, the government required that the clinics must have someone on duty for all twelve hours of the day. Therefore, Li Xiaoxiao didn't need to knock on the door when she came to find the doctor with Asheng before dawn.
Seeing her rushing over with a child on her back and a pot of soup in her arms, the doctor on duty quickly took Ah Sheng and placed her on the bed in the examination room. While asking about the situation, he put his hand on Ah Sheng's pulse: "What's wrong with the child?"
Li Xiaoxiao's face was ashen as she handed the pot in her arms to the doctor: "Doctor, please take a look at the medicinal herbs in this soup. Is there anything wrong with them? We drank this soup last night, and all three of us in the family fell into a coma after drinking it."
The doctor's expression changed, and he immediately took out tongs and removed the medicinal herbs from the soup one by one.
Five kinds of medicinal herbs were picked out: Chinese yam, Solomon's seal, astragalus, ophiopogon japonicus, and one more. The doctor brought over the oil lamp, examined it carefully, and his face changed: "This is datura, which has hallucinogenic and paralyzing effects. How could you have accidentally put it in the soup?"
Li Xiaoxiao didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "Is this datura flower so easy to buy?"
The doctor said, "It's not easy. This medicine comes from the Western Regions and is very precious. Ordinary pharmacies only give it to patients with external injuries because they are afraid that the patients will not be able to bear the pain. After taking it, the patient's perception will be confused and they will not feel pain, so there will be no violent reaction when the wound is sutured. However, this medicine is very potent, and ordinary doctors do not dare to prescribe it casually. It is also very difficult to buy it from regular pharmacies."
He picked out five datura roots from the remaining chicken soup and sighed, "Such a dose would be enough to incapacitate a cow!"
Li Xiaoxiao's expression was grim: "If someone drinks such a large dose, won't there be any side effects?"
The doctor said, "With such a dosage, it will be difficult for him to wake up without being in a coma for three to five days. Even after he wakes up, he will be dizzy for a while, and he will only return to normal after his body slowly eliminates the effects of the medicine."
She'll be unconscious for three to five days before she wakes up! If she hadn't noticed in time and woken up, Meng Guanqi would have slept for three to five days and wouldn't have been able to take the provincial examination at all. It would have been too late.
Even if she wakes him up today by giving him acupuncture and medicine, and watches him stagger into the examination hall, she cannot guarantee that Meng Guanqi will be able to take the exam smoothly. If he continues to feel dizzy, he will definitely not be able to perform normally.
Li Xiaoxiao was so angry that she crushed the doctor's medicine pillow in one go.
The medicine pillow was carved from jade and was extremely hard. However, it shattered into dust under her angry grip, startling the doctor, who then looked at Li Xiaoxiao in horror.
This petite and frail young woman is actually a martial arts expert? She crushed this hard jade pillow with just one hand—and this is stone!
Li Xiaoxiao bowed and said, "Please, doctor, prescribe medicine to help my brother wake up as soon as possible."
That wasn't difficult. As the most famous medical clinic in Lin'an Prefecture, the doctors here were all highly skilled. It was just a matter of treating a minor ailment. He quickly wrote out the prescription and personally dispensed the medicine for Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "Doctor, I have some family matters to attend to right now. Do you have a consultation room here where my brother can stay? Also, it's inconvenient for me to prepare the medicine. Could you please help me prepare it?"
The clinic has no shortage of hospital rooms and beds, and also offers a medicine-decocting service for an extra fee. Li Xiaoxiao paid the fee, handed Asheng over to the doctor, and instructed, "No one but me can come in to see him or take him away. Once he wakes up, let him stay here and wait for me to come and get him. He absolutely cannot leave the clinic. If he goes missing, I will hold you accountable."
She looked around and saw an abacus made of old wood. She picked it up and snapped it in two as if it were made of tofu, and the beads fell to the ground.
Li Xiaoxiao threw the broken abacus in front of the doctor: "Put the cost of the abacus on my tab, and I'll hand the person over to you."
The old doctor turned pale with fright, nodding vigorously, already imagining a dramatic scene unfolding in his mind.
The unconscious young boy in front of me must be a noble young master who was framed and drugged in an attempt to kill him. However, his sister, who possesses extraordinary skills, discovered him and brought him to a clinic. She was treating him while hiding him from her enemies, while she herself was going back to seek revenge.
The old doctor shook his head. He had seen plenty of these dramas of vying for favor and power among wealthy families. With his sharp eye, he could guess the truth of the matter with a high degree of accuracy!
I wonder if the enemy who drugged the young master can withstand a punch from this elder sister?
The old doctor picked up the broken abacus with a heavy heart. This old abacus was a piece of furniture he had used for nearly thirty years, and it had developed a patina. She broke it with a casual flick of her wrist.
Actually, she had already shocked him by simply crushing the stone pillow; there was really no need for her to ruin his plans further...
I wonder which wealthy family in the prefectural city these young master and young lady belong to? Are there any families in Lin'an Prefecture with such formidable martial arts skills?
The old doctor pondered deeply as he prepared the medicine.
After entrusting Ah Sheng to the clinic, Li Xiaoxiao rushed home. It was just dawn, and the diligent neighbors had already gotten up. There were also groups of people carrying wooden trays with their dirty clothes to wash by the river.
Li Xiaoxiao hurriedly entered the courtyard and searched the house from top to bottom, focusing on Zhang Li's luggage.
All three family members were drugged and passed out, but Zhang Li "went home for the Mid-Autumn Festival," leaving him the only one unharmed. It was hard for Li Xiaoxiao not to suspect him.
Moreover, the doctor found datura in the chicken soup that Zhang's mother brought. Datura is not easy to buy. If it was unintentional, she should cut off her head and give it to them to sit on.
Zhang Li's luggage showed no signs of anything amiss. He was really cautious; he said he was going back to his hometown for the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner, and he didn't even take his personal belongings with him.
If he took too much with him, it might arouse suspicion from Li Xiaoxiao and the other two. So he simply took only a change of clothes and even left the carriage safely in the stable.
Li Xiaoxiao searched inside and out but found nothing of value. She sat down on a stone chair in the courtyard and began to ponder.
Zhang Li was bought by Liu from a brokerage firm in Lin'an. Five men and six women were also bought into the household at the same time. Because he was a local of Lin'an County, he was familiar with the environment and appeared to be quick-witted and steady, so Magistrate Meng chose him to be their coachman and take them to Lin'an to participate in the provincial examination.
Logically, this task shouldn't have been assigned to Zhang Li, who had only been working in the government office for a few months. Zhao Jian would have been the most suitable person to do it. However, unfortunately, Xiu Mei was about to give birth, and Magistrate Meng and Madam Liu were worried that Xiu Mei would have no one to take care of her, so they sent Zhang Li instead.
Zhang Li's role was to drive the carriage and lead the way. With Li Xiaoxiao around, it would be difficult for him to make a move against Meng Guanqi. However, he didn't expect that Li Xiaoxiao would casually mention that his mother could help with cooking.
With many sons and little income, Zhang's mother would strive to earn extra money whenever possible. She appeared almost perfectly in front of the Meng family, and no one thought anything was wrong.
Aside from Li Xiaoxiao casually mentioning that Zhang Li doesn't resemble his parents, Zhang's mother immediately realized that Zhang Li looks like his grandmother from his hometown.
Li Xiaoxiao had only said it casually, and since she had never met Zhang Li's grandmother, she didn't delve into the topic further.
They stayed there for more than twenty days, eating Zhang's mother's cooking every day without any problems. They didn't even try to cheat on the first or second exam, allowing Meng Guanqi to finish smoothly. It wasn't until the third exam that they added a very strong drug to the chicken soup.
The person behind it is both cautious and ruthless.
He could have easily poisoned them all while they were completely unprepared, but he didn't. Instead, he chose to deliver a devastating blow to Meng Guanqi when he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, causing him to fall from grace and perhaps never recover. This completely ruined his spirit and his future.
To kill someone is to destroy their spirit; the pain of living is far more profound and prolonged than the pain of dying.
Who would hate him so much that they would set up such a trap for him?
A name popped into her mind—could it be Lu Weifu?
Apart from Lu Weifu, Meng Guanqi had not offended anyone.
Was it the Lu family behind this? If so, was Prefect Song involved? Didn't Prefect Song already make peace with Magistrate Meng? Why would he turn around and harm Meng Guanqi?
But wasn't Lu Weifu already exiled thousands of miles away? I heard that the Lu family couldn't make a living in Lin'an Prefecture and had packed their bags to go back to their hometown to farm. To Prefect Song, they are no longer of any use. Is it worth it for him to go against the Meng family again?
No matter how she thought about it, it didn't make sense. Li Xiaoxiao felt like her brain wasn't working properly; she still didn't know enough clues.
A sound of a tile breaking rang out, and Li Xiaoxiao suddenly raised her head. The next moment, she appeared outside the courtyard, holding a beggar boy who was not yet fully grown up by the collar.
The beggar clearly saw her sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, but in the blink of an eye, she grabbed his shirt at the chest. He was so shocked that he was about to scream, but Li Xiaoxiao covered his mouth.
Her eyes were sharp, filled with murderous intent: "Who are you? What are you doing lurking around my doorstep?"
The beggar's eyes widened in terror as he struggled desperately. Li Xiaoxiao released his mouth, and he, terrified, stammered, "I...I was just passing by...I wanted to...want to beg for some food..."
Li Xiaoxiao sneered: "You're here begging for food at the crack of dawn? Who are you trying to fool? I've lived here for almost a month and haven't seen you. Tell me, who sent you?"
The beggar stammered, unable to speak, but his gaze involuntarily drifted out of the alley.
Li Xiaoxiao turned around in surprise, and a dark shadow flashed by and disappeared quickly.
Li Xiaoxiao released the beggar and chased after him.
If she wasn't mistaken, the figure was Zhang Li.
Having lived together for a month, she would never mistake him for someone else.
The fact that he ran away upon seeing her means he knows everything; he came to check if the three of them had been drugged!
Li Xiaoxiao didn't want to think so badly of people, but Zhang Li's behavior proved that he knew about the drugging. He was in cahoots with Zhang's parents and deliberately drugged the three of them.
Unfortunately, when she chased after him, Zhang Li had already disappeared. This was his territory, with its winding alleys and dense population. He could disappear into any of them and she would never find him again.
Moreover, Zhang Li has already alerted the enemy, so they probably won't dare to show up again.
When Li Xiaoxiao returned to the courtyard, even the little beggar was gone.
However, she didn't expect to get anything out of the little beggar. She figured Zhang Li was too afraid to show up, so he just picked someone off the street to check if the three of them had woken up. She never expected that she would be sitting in the courtyard, grabbing the little beggar and scaring him away.
Although he escaped, he had already obtained information that he hadn't been drugged. He knew her abilities and certainly wouldn't dare to surface again.
Li Xiaoxiao was furious but had nowhere to vent her anger. She paced around the yard for almost half an hour before she finally managed to calm down.
She probably wouldn't be able to sleep until she found out the whole story. Besides, she had promised to bring Zhang Li to Meng Guanqi and have him skinned alive. Poor young master, no one had ever laid a finger on him in his life, but how many times had he been stabbed in her hands?
The first time was when she was drugged by Lu Weifu, and she stabbed two holes in her. This time, in addition to her right hand which she used to write, her left hand and all ten toes were stabbed. She didn't know how much blood was squeezed out. What's the difference between this and being tortured with finger-crushing?
Her hand was heavy, and by the time Meng Guanqi fully regained consciousness, she didn't even know how much pain she was in.
The courtyard was quiet, except for her pacing anxiously. Zhang Li's drugging of her was like a dog biting a turtle; it seemed to be full of flaws, yet she couldn't find a way to attack.
As the sun rose higher, she was exhausted and hungry. She hadn't had a drop of water since dawn until now, which was approaching noon.
She went into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and saw the large steamed buns and flower rolls that Zhang's mother had brought. Not knowing whether they had been laced with medicine, she threw them all into the swill bucket.
Fortunately, there was still a small bag of rice she had bought in the rice container in the kitchen. Sometimes, when her mother didn't cook enough rice, she would steam some extra, and this extra rice became what she could eat now.
It's a pity that after working as a kitchen maid for so long, all she's learned is how to steam rice and cook porridge. She can't cook anything, not even Liu Zhi can.
She put in two handfuls of rice and casually cooked two bowls of plain porridge without adding anything else. She just ate it without thinking. Now was not the time to enjoy the food; she had a lot of things to do.
After finishing her meal, she suddenly heard voices coming from the riverbank outside the courtyard. Her eyes lit up, and she finally knew where to start.
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