73 silver
◎Theft scandal◎
"Brother, please talk nicely and don't hurt me."
"Don't cause a murder lawsuit."
Everyone started to persuade him one by one.
But the strength in Ji Shijing's hand did not relax at all, but became tighter and tighter. The blue veins on the back of his hand seemed to be about to break through the skin in the next second.
The tall man was pushed against the door and his neck was strangled. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was purple, like a fish dying from dehydration. He desperately tried to grab Ji Shijing, coughing constantly, and intermittent sounds came out of his throat, unable to form a complete sentence.
Someone went forward to pull the Ji Shijing, but couldn't pull it at all.
Everyone looked at each other, discussing what to do, and the room was in an uproar.
Soon, the commotion here attracted the attention of the examination hall. The servants hurried to report to the person in charge of the hall. Not long after, a master in an official robe came hurriedly.
Seeing the official coming, everyone stood in a very orderly manner, fearing that they would leave a bad impression on the person in charge.
"What are you doing?" the manager looked at Ji Shijing and asked, his voice angry and obviously unhappy.
Ji Shijing closed his eyes and recalled Shu Yao's advice to him: Don't cause trouble when you go out.
When he opened his eyes again, his vision was much clearer, and the madness slowly faded away. He slowly loosened his hands, and the tall man slid to his knees on the ground, breathing heavily. The feeling of surviving a disaster made him unable to hold back his tears.
The short man hurried over to help him up and help him calm down.
The tall man gave Ji Shijing a bitter look, and with the shorter man's help, he walked over to the examiner with tears and snot, knelt down, grabbed the steward's thigh, and cried loudly, "Master, you have to help me. This kid almost strangled me to death. He must be sent to the government, and it would be best if he could be given fifty lashes."
The steward stroked his beard and didn't listen to his side of the story. Instead, he asked Ji Shijing, "What do you have to say?"
Ji Shijing stood straight, looking down at the tall man, and said in a cold and terrifying voice: "He stole my silver."
Hearing him say this, the manager's brows immediately frowned. The examination hall was honest and would not tolerate any cheating. "Is this true?" he asked the tall man again.
The tall man's eyes rolled around and he quickly shook his head to deny it: "He's slandering me. Hurry up and report him to the police and have him arrested."
The shorter man next to him was clearly feeling guilty, his body trembling uncontrollably. The steward noticed this, stroked his beard, looked at the taller man and said, "We'll know if you stole any of his money if we search him."
The tall man was obviously anxious, shouting loudly, his hands unconsciously clenching his sleeves: "It's none of my business if his money is lost. What right do you have to search me?"
The steward patiently explained to him: "If you didn't steal his silver, why are you afraid of being searched?"
The tall man was still struggling: "What if they don't find the silver on me?"
The manager said, "I will definitely clear your name when the time comes."
The tall man raised his head high, stood up, and opened his arms to wait for people to search him. He looked fearless.
Seeing his calm look, everyone thought that he did not steal the silver.
Sure enough, the servant found nothing after searching around.
The tall man snorted arrogantly and pointed at Ji Shijing: "Come here and apologize to me right now."
Ji Shijing stood still and looked at the short man who was still squatting on the ground: "And this."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tall man immediately stood in front of the short man and said, "Not only did you slander me, but you also slandered my brother. How unreasonable!"
The short man was a little at a loss when he saw that the matter involved him. His legs were shaking after he stood up from the ground. He tugged at the tall man's sleeve, feeling a little scared.
The manager signaled to the servant, and the servant pretended to search the short man, but the tall man stood in front of him and refused to let him go. The manager was a little angry and had the tall man held down.
Soon, the servant found a purse in the short man's clothes. The short man had cold sweat on his forehead, his lips were trembling, and he couldn't say a word.
Seeing him like this, what would the manager not understand?
The steward took the purse in his hand, opened it and looked at it, then asked Ji Shijing, "How much silver is in it?"
Ji Shijing: "Five taels."
"Sir, this purse is mine. He saw it when I was counting money last night." The tall man was still quibbling.
The manager asked the short man directly: "Tell me the truth, whose purse is this?"
The short guy is timid to begin with, and usually follows the tall guy around to bully him. But now that the tall guy can't even protect himself, he doesn't know what to do.
At this moment, the tall man suddenly looked at him fiercely, so he had to swallow the words that were about to come out of his mouth and said instead: "This...this...this purse is...it's not his anyway." His words were incoherent.
Those present were all educated people and had already seen most of the situation, but as long as the tall man and the short man refused to admit that the purse belonged to Ji Shijing, there was nothing they could do.
Unexpectedly, Ji Shijing suddenly said, "My name is embroidered inside the purse."
As soon as these words were spoken, the tall man suddenly opened his eyes wide and became frightened.
The manager poured out the silver and turned the purse over. He looked at something and his expression was extremely serious.
The tall man was no longer as arrogant as before. He stood with the short man and lowered his head in shame. After all, he was a scholar. If the news of him stealing the silver got out, how would he survive?
"How dare you! Why don't you tell the truth now?" The manager pointed at the two of them, his tone very unhappy.
The tall and short men's legs trembled, and they both knelt down. The short man said, "Sir, this is none of my business. It was he who said he wanted to steal the silver."
Seeing that he was putting all the blame on himself, the tall guy started arguing with him: "You said you were going to play a trick on that weirdo, and now it's all my fault?"
The two quarreled fiercely, but at least the matter was made clear. The examination hall would not tolerate such people with evil intentions, so the two of them were asked to leave and were not allowed to participate in this year's examination.
The manager returned the purse to Ji Shijing and nodded approvingly.
The matter was resolved, and the onlookers returned to their beds to rest.
Ji Shijing stood at the door, looking at the purse in his hand. In fact, there were no words in the purse.
…
In the evening, Shu Yao wrapped the vegetable seeds she bought in a cloth strip and tied it around her waist.
In the past, when my family was planting crops, my grandfather was afraid that the weather would be too cold and the seeds would not germinate, so he used this method to warm the seeds so that they would germinate quickly.
Shu Yao tied these seeds around her waist and abdomen, and paid special attention to them when she slept at night, for fear that the seeds would be scattered if she turned over.
She almost didn't sleep that night, not only for the seeds, but also because she was worried about Ji Shijing. Tomorrow was the day of the exam, and she prayed silently in her heart, hoping that he could pass the exam and become a scholar.
Only when daybreak came did she close her eyes slightly.
The rooster crowed, and Shu Yao picked up her hoe and went out. On the road were some villagers who had gotten up early to work in the fields. They greeted her with a smile: "Yao girl, you're going to the mountains so early?"
Shu Yao nodded: "I'm thinking about growing some vegetables for myself in the spring."
Shu Yao went up the mountain while chatting with the villagers who were traveling with her.
The two wastelands on the mountainside have been reclaimed. Shu Yao took out the seeds that had hatched last night from the wooden barrel and scattered them one by one along the grooves in the ground. When she encountered loosened soil, she dug it up again with a hoe before sowing the seeds.
A total of four kinds of vegetables were planted on the two pieces of wasteland: cabbage, cucumber, beans and eggplant.
She also planted several fruit trees on the public land nearby, so when the villagers are thirsty in hot weather, they can pick some fruit to quench their thirst.
After almost all the seeds were sown, the sky began to turn slightly red. Shu Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead and squinted her eyes to look at the sun slowly rising in the east.
Ji Shijing should be taking an exam at this time.
I hope he succeeds.
…
Today is the day of the exam. There is a crowd outside the examination hall, most of whom are eagerly waiting parents. They put their hands together, talk to themselves, and pray that their children can pass the exam.
Inside the examination hall, each candidate had his own desk, and everyone was writing furiously. Patrolling examiners were walking back and forth among them. Some nervous candidates felt dizzy and fainted.
The examiner sitting in the main seat was the old man who watched Ji Shijing reading that afternoon. He saw Ji Shijing at a glance and thought to himself that this exam question was related to "Four Classics Commentary", and wondered how he would write it.
He stroked his gray beard, looking very interested.
Ji Shijing sat upright in his seat, and a ray of sunlight coming through the window just happened to shine on the tip of his pen, making the words he wrote shine brightly as if coated with gold.
Time passes by little by little.
Finally, when the sun was shining brightly, the gongs and drums sounded, signaling the end of the exam. Everyone stopped writing and walked out of the exam room one after another.
Some people looked depressed, covering their faces and crying, while others couldn't wait to discuss the test questions with their classmates. They all sighed and said that the test questions were very difficult. Most of the people who left the examination room looked unhappy.
"What kind of question is that? We're here to take the exam for the title of scholar, not the top scholar."
"The questions in the palace examinations in previous years were not this difficult."
“…”
Ji Shijing packed up his things without saying a word and walked quietly behind the crowd. His face was calm and no emotion could be seen.
The gate of the examination hall opened, and parents outside the examination room stretched their necks to look at their children, their faces full of eagerness.
The candidates rushed out of the gate, some of them threw themselves into their parents' arms and cried. Their parents did not blame them, but comforted them to take the exam again next year.
Everyone blocked the door so tightly that no one could get in. When Ji Shijing saw the scene in front of him, he felt excited. Would Shu Yao be waiting for him outside?
But soon, he shook his head in self-mockery.
After the crowd dispersed, he quietly stepped out of the door. As he walked down the steps, someone suddenly patted his shoulder. He felt unhappy, wondering who was so blind, and turned around to look.
The expression on his face froze for a moment, and the ice in his eyes gradually melted, and was filled with tiny bits of joy. He pursed his lips tightly, trying hard to control the corners of his mouth from rising.
Seeing his indifferent expression, Shu Yao burst out laughing: "What's wrong? Are you not happy that I came to pick you up?"
He immediately shook his head and tightened his grip on the bundle: "No." He was very happy.
Shu Yao smiled and said, "Other candidates have parents to pick them up, and our Ajing needs one too."
Ji Shijing stared at her in a daze, a warm feeling running through his heart. This feeling was so wonderful, he seemed to be becoming more and more dependent on her.
System: [After testing, the trust value is 48%.]
Shu Yao smiled and patted his head: "You worked hard on the exam today, I'll take you out for a nice meal."
The two of them found a nearby restaurant and ordered the light meals that Ji Shijing liked.
While waiting for the food to be served, he asked uncomfortably, "Why are you... here today?"
Shu Yao boiled the dishes and gave him a mysterious smile.
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