The brand new black silk round-collar robe almost blinded the eyes of everyone in the hall.

"Ah? When did this young master become a student of the Imperial College?" The people in Caijia Lane outside the fence couldn't help but exclaimed. The students of the Imperial College were the same as the students. They were not allowed to kneel before the officials and were not allowed to be tortured!

"Now the county magistrate can't beat me with a stick..."

In sharp contrast to the cheering people in Caijia Lane was Magistrate Zhang's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot. He didn't make such a big scene just to show off to the brat!

"Pa pa pa!" Magistrate Zhang slammed the gavel. If he couldn't hit the board, could he slam the table?

"Quiet!" the clerk on duty shouted to the onlookers, "If you make any more noise, you will all be kicked out!"

Only then did everyone in Caijia Lane quiet down.

~~

This set of student hat and belt was a condition that Zhao Hao had agreed with Zhou Jijiu a long time ago. One of the important reasons why he had to wait until today to come to the court was that he was waiting for his student qualification to be in place.

For this purpose, Zhao Hao spent an extra one hundred taels of silver to speed up the making of it, and only got the set of student crown and belt the day before yesterday.

Now he could guarantee that he would not have to kneel down or be tortured, so he finally showed up for the court session. Otherwise, only a fool would come...

But County Magistrate Zhang was unsuccessful in his mission and became more and more angry. He had to make Zhao Hao's wallet bleed heavily before he could vent his hatred.

He slammed the gavel again, glared at Zhao Hao and said, "You are such a stubborn student, why can't you get the message?!"

"It's just because I'm in the deep mountains and transportation is inconvenient, so I haven't seen the red ticket..." Zhao Hao replied helplessly: "I didn't mean to disrespect you, sir."

"Quibbling!" Magistrate Zhang ignored his flirting and slammed the gavel, saying, "I have read the complaint. You are a student who doesn't study hard. Why do you want to cheat others of raw silk?!"

"Please take back what you said, old parents. I am a descendant of an official, from a clean family, and I have learned the teachings of the saints and have a kind heart." Zhao Hao looked insulted and said seriously, "I will never do such a conscienceless thing. I don't know why you listen to the words of a businessman who donated money to the class, but don't believe the words of scholars..."

"Have you ever been to school for a day?" When Mr. Liu heard that he also despised him, he immediately jumped up and said in anger: "You are a student who donated money to the class, what qualifications do you have to criticize others!"

"My master is qualified!" Eryang couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "What do you, a businessman, know about our affairs?!"

"I didn't donate a penny." Zhao Hao also sneered at Liu Yuanwai and said, "It was the Imperial College's chief priest who appreciated my talent and recommended me to the academy."

"Silence, silence!" Magistrate Zhang slammed the table again and angrily said to the two students in the hall: "If you two make noise again, I will write down your names and hand you over to the school for punishment!"

"Remember it!" Wang Wuyang straightened his neck and said, "My name is Wang Zhou Shao, from the Wang family of Taicang, and I was selected as a Confucian scholar by the Suzhou Prefecture!"

"Uh..." Magistrate Zhang was overwhelmed when he heard about Wang from Taicang. He was even more overwhelmed when he heard that this boy was a Confucian scholar from Suzhou Prefecture. He knew that Suzhou Prefecture only selected one Confucian scholar this year, and that was Wang Zhoushao, the nephew of Wang Shizhen, the leader of the literary world.

"My surname is Hua Shuyang, and my family is Hua in Wuxi. My father is Hua Hongshan!" Hua Shuyang also gave his family name.

County Magistrate Zhang was completely stunned.

Although Grand Tutor Hua has lived in seclusion in the mountains for many years, he has many students and former officials all over the world. Many of them are now in power, and his son cannot afford to offend them!

Not to mention Magistrate Zhang and Mr. Liu, even Fatty Tang and his gang were shocked by the identities of Zhao Hao's two disciples.

Normally, seeing them wearing blue clothes and small hats, serving tea and water, they looked no different from Fang Wen, but I didn't expect they had such a powerful background.

Then I thought, these two young masters from noble families are actually willing to become disciples of Zhao Hao, who is younger than them...

Now everyone looked at Zhao Hao with even more awe.

~~

The atmosphere in the field changed. County Magistrate Zhang stopped puffing his beard and glaring, and shook his head slightly at Mr. Liu.

That means, tough guy, not enough money...

This time, Mr. Liu came with great momentum. In the restaurant on Yaqian Street, there was a group of Suzhou merchants who had prepared a banquet and were waiting for his triumphant return!

How could he shrink back at this time? Even if he couldn't make money, he had to fight for his reputation!

He gritted his teeth, thrust his hand out from his sleeve and pretended to wipe his beard.

That means adding another five thousand taels!

Magistrate Zhang immediately regained his seriousness, slammed the gavel and said, "I only know the laws of the court, I don't know anything about the Wang family and the Hua family, don't bother me with the trial!"

As he said that, he turned to Zhao Hao and said sternly, "Did you say that you wanted to borrow silk to open a workshop?"

"I did." Zhao Hao spread his hands and said, "Why else would I borrow the silk? I can't eat it."

"Three months have passed. Where is your factory?!" County Magistrate Zhang asked Zhao Hao coldly.

"My parents should have heard about this. The silk price has plummeted and the prospects of this industry are bad. How can a normal person jump into the fire pit?" Zhao Hao replied, "Besides, the loan agreement only stipulates that we will borrow silk and repay it. It does not stipulate that we must open a factory. So I changed my mind. This is reasonable. It is not against the law, right?"

"You are clearly a fraud!" Magistrate Zhang slammed the gavel and said, "You want to take advantage of the plummeting silk prices and make a fortune from Mr. Liu!"

"Hahaha, my parents are joking..." Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh, "Excuse me, is it a student who understands the market situation, or is it the president of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce and vice president of Nanjing Silk Industry Association who understands the rise and fall of silk prices?"

"This..." Even though Magistrate Zhang was thinking about the ten thousand taels, he was speechless after hearing Zhao Hao's question. He had no choice but to slam the table and said, "I am asking you a question!"

"Obviously my parents have the answer in their minds." Zhao Hao was as stubborn as an old lawyer, and said with a smile: "Everything is arranged by fate, no one can be blamed."

"That's right!" Tang Youde couldn't help but chime in, "If the silk price skyrocketed, can we also sue Mr. Liu for fraud?"

"It's not like I have to lend you silk!" Mr. Liu rolled his eyes at the two of them.

"We didn't force you to lend us silk with a knife!" Tang Youde spat disdainfully, "You are the president of Suzhou Chamber of Commerce and vice president of Dongting Merchants. You signed something in black and white but refused to acknowledge it. You went to the government to sue and refuse to pay. Is this how you Suzhou merchants do business?!"

As expected, birds of a feather flock together. Tang Youde also learned how to use the map cannon.

"Pah, pah, pah!" Magistrate Zhang knew that the plaintiff was in the wrong, and further questioning would only make things worse, so he simply cut the Gordian knot and said, "The plaintiff lent the money out of friendship, and the defendants should be grateful and should not take advantage of the situation to cause the plaintiff to suffer heavy losses. In order to educate people and show benevolence, I have decided to sentence the two defendants to return the principal at the original price and waive the interest, and everyone will be happy!"

According to the price three months ago, 20,000 catties of silk would be worth 70,000 taels of silver, which was 50,000 taels more than the current price. Even if the 13,000 taels paid to County Magistrate Zhang were excluded, Mr. Liu still recovered most of his losses.

And more importantly, his face was saved~

He was naturally overjoyed, boasting: "My parents are really the great Lords of Heaven, who are as clear as a mirror and as pure as water!"

Zhao Hao was naturally furious. Tang Youde couldn't help but jump up and down and cursed: "This case is clearly written in black and white. You old parents are confusing right and wrong. We don't accept it and will definitely appeal to Yingtian Prefecture!"

"Yes, if Yingtian Prefecture doesn't care, we will report it to the Nanjing Ministry of Justice and the Censorate! We don't believe that there is no place for justice in this world!" Hua Shuyang and Wang Wuyang also started to make noise.

"At the Lu Ming Banquet, I will report you to the old masters in Nanjing!" Zhao Shouzheng suddenly blurted out with anger, his face flushed.

Magistrate Zhang and Mr. Liu burst into laughter. The former had heard from the latter that Zhao Shouzheng was a dull scholar who had failed five examinations!

"It's still the Luming Feast. You should pass the exam first!" Magistrate Zhang had already pronounced the verdict, so he naturally didn't allow them to make any more noise. He picked up the fire sticks and shouted, "Get these students who are roaring in the court out!"

Before he finished speaking, a cannon shot was heard outside.

Then someone shouted loudly:

"Good news, the master of the Zhao family, whose real name is Shouzheng, has passed the provincial examination of Yingtian Prefecture and ranked seventh. He has also been listed in the top three in the Beijing newspaper!"

"Ah! OK! I got it!"

ps. The sixth update on the first day, please give me monthly votes and recommendation tickets~~