Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 90 The fate of Sun Xiucai (please subscribe)

Fang Hang and Qin Li came to the town, opened a room in an inn, and asked Qin Li to inquire about Sun Xiucai's whereabouts. They stayed in the inn, thinking about how to remove Sun Xiucai's reputation.

As mentioned earlier, the Zhou Dynasty was different from other dynasties in that scholars did not receive any preferential treatment, they only had a title.

Therefore, all it takes to remove a scholar's title from his official title is the county official's teachings.

If Yuan Wenshao personally took action and approached Liu Jiaoyu from the official school, he would definitely give Yuan Wenshao this face.

But Yuan Wenshao said that his name cannot be used.

If he planned slowly, there would still be a way. However, Yuan Wenshao would leave Youyang in a few days, and he had to get it done before Yuan Wenshao left.

After thinking for a long time, Fang Hang didn't think of a good solution until Qin Li came back.

"Mr. Fang, that Sun Xiucai was drinking wine with a few scholars at Yixiang Tower at noon, and he hasn't left yet." Qin Li poured a bowl of water and drank it before saying.

"What is the identity of the scholar with him?" Fang Hang asked.

"I've asked around. They are all from the town. It seems that they are planning to take the county examination this year. I asked him to ask about some information about the county examination." Qin Li said.

Fang Hang pondered for a while, and said, "Go and watch them, and when they come out, come back and tell me."

"Okay, I'll go right now."

Qin Li regretted coming. He thought he could deal with Sun Xiucai, but unexpectedly, all he did was run errands and keep an eye on people.

But now he couldn't go back and replace him, so he had to accept his fate.

……

"Brother Xu, Brother Wu, thank you for your hospitality."

At the entrance of Yixiang Building, a drunken Sun Xiucai said goodbye to two scholar-looking people.

"Haha, Brother Sun, walk slowly."

Although the two scholars' faces were slightly red, they were not drunk. After Sun Xiucai staggered away, one of them let out a 'poof' and said angrily: "Sanlang, this Sun Xiucai is really not a thing. He is so delicious and drinkable." I found two girls for him, but he didn’t say anything useful.”

Wu Jiang sighed and said: "According to what he means, let's invite him again tomorrow."

"Sanlang, today's meal has already cost more than ten taels. What if he still doesn't say anything tomorrow?" Xu Kai said.

Their family can only be considered to be in good condition, and they are not particularly wealthy. One meal cost more than ten taels of silver, which was quite a lot if they split it equally.

The most annoying thing is that he didn't find two girls at once, but he took advantage of Sun Xiucai.

"If he doesn't say anything, we will spread the word that he is a liar and see if anyone comes to see him again." Wu Jiang gritted his teeth.

The reason why they came to Sun Xiucai was not to find out what they should pay attention to in the county examination.

Although only Sun Xiucai and Fang Hang have passed the county examination in Youyang in the past seven or eight years, there are many who participated in the county examination.

If they only asked about this, there was no need for them to ask Sun Xiucai.

The reason why they approached Sun Xiucai was because they heard that Sun Xiucai's teacher in the government school was one of the people who set the questions for this year's county exam, and they wanted to find out if he could get the questions for this year's county exam.

While the two were talking, a strong man walked over. The two stopped quickly and looked at the person with some caution.

The person who came was none other than Qin Li. He held up his hands and said, "I have a friend who would like to invite you two to come over and have a chat."

"We don't know you, let alone your friends, why do you want to invite us?" the two of them said a little warily.

"Haha, my friend's name is Fang Hang. You should know him, right?" Qin Li smiled.

"Fang Hang?"

Naturally, they knew Fang Hang. Fang Hang was more famous than Sun Xiucai in Youyang.

"Did Fang Hang really ask you to invite us?" The two looked at each other with some doubt.

"Of course, don't worry, Fang Hang is at the tea shop in front, in public, what's there to worry about?" Qin Li said.

The two of them took a look at the tea shop not far ahead and felt relieved. Wu Jiang said, "Okay, we'll go with you."

"Haha, please!"

Qin Li led the two of them to the teahouse, arrived at a private room, opened the door and invited them in.

When Wu Jiang and Xu Kai saw that it was indeed Fang Hang sitting inside, they felt relieved and walked in.

Qin Li closed the door and stood guard at the door.

"I take the liberty of inviting you two to come over. Don't be offended. Please sit down quickly." Fang Hang stood up and greeted.

"I've seen Brother Fang. I wonder why Brother Fang came to us?" Wu Jiang asked.

"Haha, I just want to ask you two questions. Let's sit down and chat." Fang Hang said with a smile.

The two looked at each other, cupped their hands, and sat down.

Fang Hang poured a cup of tea for the two of them and said with a smile: "I heard that you invited Sun Xiu to drink because you wanted to know what you need to pay attention to in the county examination. But as far as I know, there are many people in Youyang who have participated in the county examination. Anyone can find out about this kind of thing. Isn't it just for this reason that you invited Sun Xiucai?"

"This doesn't seem to have anything to do with Brother Fang, right?" Wu Jiang said.

"Haha." Fang Hang took a sip of tea and said, "Of course it doesn't matter. I'm just curious. I saw that you two don't want to be my friend."

"This…"

The two of them were a little embarrassed when they heard this. Although the Fang family was in decline, Fang Hang had passed the provincial examination.

Who knows if he will pass the imperial examination in the future?

Therefore, neither of them wanted to offend easily.

Wu Jiang hesitated and said: "Actually, this matter is not a secret. There are recent rumors that Sun Xiucai's teacher at the county school is one of the people who set the questions for this county exam. We want to ask him about his teacher. My preference is easy to pinpoint."

The so-called question guessing means to know the preferences of the examiner and question maker in advance to guess the likely questions.

This kind of thing is very common among candidates. After some students taking part in the imperial examination know the examiners and question makers, they will buy some of their articles and read them to understand their writing style and political leanings.

Fang Hang had done something similar before.

But he felt that things were definitely not that simple, and it was not a shameful thing to choose the topic. Many students participating in the imperial examination would even get together to discuss it.

Moreover, this kind of thing can be found out by asking someone. There is no need to ask Sun Xiucai.

In addition to the two people being hesitant at first, Fang Hang probably figured out their purpose after thinking about it for a moment.

Fang Hang was very excited after guessing the purpose of the two. If he could find evidence that Sun Xiucai helped commit fraud, he might even lose his life, not to mention being dismissed from his job.

Although Dazhou did not kill scholar-bureaucrats, the prerequisite was that you were a scholar.

But Fang Hang soon calmed down. He had participated in the county and township examinations and knew more about the imperial examinations than Wujiang and others.

There are still more than five months before the county examination, how could the person who made the question be determined so quickly.

Even if it is settled, it won't spread so quickly.

He felt that it was most likely that Sun Xiucai spread it deliberately, just to deceive people into eating and drinking.

To say that Sun Xiucai was deceiving people is not a lie. After all, Sun Xiucai was studying in a government school. When the examiner and question maker were decided, he could help these people choose the questions in advance.

And this kind of thing cannot be said clearly. Even if Sun Xiucai is wrong about the topic, who would dare to trouble him for this kind of thing?
Even if Sun Xiucai really had a way to get the test questions, it was still early before the imperial examination, and it would take a lot of time to get the evidence.

And what he lacks most now is time.

Therefore, it is not appropriate to use this incident against Sun Xiucai.

Fang Hang pondered for a while, and said: "You two were deceived by him." "Impossible, we all heard about this matter from others, and we took the initiative to find him, how could we be deceived?" Wu Jiang said.

"Yes, we promised various benefits, but he never agreed. If he lied to us, why didn't he take the initiative to ask for the benefits?" Xu Kai retorted.

Hearing what the two said, Fang Hang became even more convinced that Sun Xiucai deliberately spread the news.

As for why he didn't ask for benefits, it was simple because he couldn't get the test questions at all.

If he was just cheating on food and drink, no one would dare to trouble him even if he was exposed.

But if he cheats money, it will be difficult to end it.

"Don't worry, you two. Think about it, during the county examination every year, when will the person who set the question be announced?" Fang Hang said.

"Uh…"

The two of them were stunned for a moment. The examiners are basically fixed every year, usually the county magistrate and the imperial edict.

The examiner will only propose the topic, and the rest of the topic writers will not be announced until one or two months before the county examination.

"The author of the question is Sun Xiucai's teacher, maybe he learned about it from the teacher in advance?" Wu Jiang said.

"Haha, it's impossible, because the person who asked the question will never confirm it so early. Now that the person who asked the question hasn't been confirmed yet, how will he know?" Fang Hang chuckled.

Wu Jiang and Xu Kai's faces turned ugly, and they now realized that they seemed to have been fooled.

"It seems that you two have figured it out. I have some issues with Sun Xiucai because of some things. If you two do me a little favor, I will definitely make Sun Xiucai suffer a miserable end, which will also allow you two to vent your anger." Fang Hang laughed. road.

The two looked at each other and said, "I wonder what Brother Fang wants us to do?"

Fang Hang whispered a few words, and the two looked at each other and said, "Okay, we are willing to help Brother Fang with this."

"Then I'll bother you two." Fang Hang said with a smile.

……

"Brother Sun, here." Wu Jiang greeted Sun Xiucai when he saw him.

Sun Xiucai smiled and stepped forward and said, "Why did you come to Shuixie Pavilion today? The cost here is not cheap."

There are only two brothels in Youyang, namely Yixiang Tower and Shuixie Pavilion.

The Shuixie Pavilion is built along the river, has several painted boats, and is the most expensive.

"Haha, it doesn't cost much."

After Wu Jiang finished speaking, he and Xu Kai smiled and invited Sun Xiucai in.

I ordered a painting boat, ordered a few girls, and started drinking from cup to cup.

Sun Xiucai hugged him from left to right, and the two of them kept toasting, and it didn't take long for him to become drunk.

"If you don't drink it, don't drink it. If you drink it again, you will let down the beauty."

Sun Xiucai pinched the face of the beauty in his arms and chuckled, "You two, I'll go first."

"Haha, please, Brother Sun, we are going to have some fun later." Wu Jiang said with a smile.

After Sun Xiucai left, Xu Kai put his arms around the beauty and said, "Sanlang, do you want us to do it too..."

Wu Jiang understood what Xu Kai meant and was a little moved, but he still shook his head and said: "He is just a wax gun. What if he comes out first?"

Xu Kai thought about it, and without saying anything more, he and Wu Jiang left the Waterside Pavilion.

The three of them came together, and they didn't make a reservation in advance. They said that Sun Xiucai would pay, but the madam didn't stop them, and let them go.

When Sun Xiucai came out of the room with a pale face and frivolous steps, he didn't care when he learned that the two of Wu Jiang had left.

Originally, he thought that the two of them entertained him well this time, so he agreed directly. The two of them left just in time, and he could kill him again next time.

However, when he was about to leave, the madam came up to him with a gust of fragrance and said with a smile: "Master Xiucai, how is the service of our Shuixie Pavilion girl?"

"Haha, what Mother Chun trained is naturally good, but I would like to try Mother Chun's Kung Fu." Sun Xiucai said with a smile.

Chun's mother naturally didn't care about Sun Xiucai's teasing. She covered her mouth and said with a smile: "I am old, how can I catch the attention of Master Xiucai? This time I spent a total of 32 taels of silver. I can take 30 taels as long as I decide."

"What money?" Sun Xiucai was stunned.

Mother Chun's face stiffened and she said, "Master Xiu Cai is joking. How can you come out to play without spending money?"

Sun Xiucai finally came to his senses and said, "It's the two of them who invited me this time. Didn't they pay?"

"What did Master Xiucai say? Although Shuixie Pavilion is a brothel, it attaches great importance to its reputation. How could it be possible to charge twice?" Chun's mother said displeased.

"The two of them must be drunk. Don't worry, Mother Chun. I'll go find them and come back and pay." Sun Xiucai said as he was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Chun's mother sneered: "If you leave, who can I ask for the money? If you don't go out and ask around, who dares to eat the king's meal in our waterside pavilion?"

"Mother Chun misunderstood, how dare I eat the King's meal? I have to find someone to pay for it." Sun Xiucai said with an apologetic smile.

"Haha, they told you to pay when they left. I don't care who pays among you. If you don't pay today, don't even think about leaving!" Chun's mother said coldly.

"How about Chun's mother sending someone home with me to get the money?"

Sun Xiucai also reacted at this time and knew that he had been tricked.

I scolded Wu Jiang and the two in my heart, and prepared to go back and settle the score with them.

But now we have to resolve the matter as soon as possible. How can someone who can open a brothel not have some background?

He didn't dare not pay Shuixie Pavilion's account.

And if it gets too big, it will not be good for his reputation.

This time Chun's mother did not refuse, and sent two strong men to follow Sun Xiucai home to withdraw money.

Although the Sun family was poor, Sun Xiucai made a lot of money after he became famous.

The family purchased some land and also had some savings.

However, his mother has a pungent character, and asked her to pay for the money, as if she wanted her life, and directly scolded the two strong men in the Waterside Pavilion.

These two strong men were thugs raised by Shuixie Pavilion, so they were naturally not easy to get along with, and they didn't know what it was to be sympathetic, so they gave her two slaps... Uh... She doesn't seem to be a good person either.

After the grandma was beaten, she cried and wanted to fight with them, attracting all the neighbors around her.

Ever since Sun Xiucai became famous, Sun's mother looked down upon her neighbors. When she saw Sun's mother being beaten, no one helped her, but she felt very happy.

Seeing so many people watching, Sun Xiucai knew that he would be in big trouble if he continued to make trouble. He quickly took his mother into the house, explained the interests and consequences, took the money, sent them away, and closed the courtyard door.

He originally wanted to hide at home for a few days, wait for the limelight to pass, and then go to Wu Jiang and others to settle the score.

Unexpectedly, the news that he went to a brothel and had no money to pay quickly spread throughout Youyang like a gust of wind.

In addition, there was a rumor that Sun Xiucai's teacher was the one who set the questions for this county examination. Sun Xiucai knew the test questions in advance from his teacher and sold them to reference students.

The news spread quickly, and soon the entire county knew about it.

Sun Xiucai's teacher was almost furious to death after hearing this. Many students even went to the county government to ask the county magistrate for an explanation.

The county magistrate, seeing the outrage among the people, came forward to explain after discussing with the imperial edict, saying that the author of the question had not yet been identified, and there was no theory that the question had been leaked. It was all rumors.

However, Sun Xiucai behaved inappropriately and brought disgrace to the scholars. He was revoked from his academic career and was not allowed to take the exam again within three years.

(End of this chapter)