Chapter 562 - 209: Paying a Visit
Chapter 562: Chapter 209: Paying a Visit
The man held a folding fan—an affectation of elegance—and was accompanied by a servant.
When the scholar bumped into him, he knocked the fan right out of the man’s hand and onto the ground.
It was an expensive fan. The ribs were made of jade, and the leaf was painted with distant green mountains, freely soaring cranes, and white clouds drifting over the peaks, creating a scene of profound and boundless tranquility.
With a soft SNAP, one of the jade ribs broke.
"How dare you! Where did a scoundrel like you come from, breaking my lord’s fan? This fan is his lordship’s favorite, and it was incredibly expensive. How could a poor, shabby scholar like you possibly afford to replace it?"
Upon hearing this, the scholar swallowed the apology on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he started fighting with the manservant.
"What ’my lord’? Bullshit ’my lord’! You’re nothing but useless parasites who do nothing but hold office and eat! Even success in the Provincial Examination can be bought and sold. Is there any justice left in this world?!"
In the end, the scholar was no match for the manservant. Before he could even finish speaking, he was punched twice in the face. Blood immediately gushed from his nose, and his eyes began to swell and turn purple. He collapsed wretchedly onto the flagstones, a truly pitiful sight.
The manservant was about to strike again but was stopped by his wealthy master.
The man’s heart pounded as he listened to the scholar’s shouting. Seeing that they were drawing the attention of a crowd, with people frequently craning their necks to look in their direction, he hastily ordered his manservant to help the scholar up and lead him into a nearby alley.
He then bent down, picked up the broken fan, and bowed to the crowd with his hands clasped. "Just a small misunderstanding that we’ll sort out. Please, everyone, go about your business. I’ll have a proper discussion with this young friend about compensation."
The scholar heard the man and immediately tried to run. "What compensation? You’re the one who couldn’t hold your fan properly! How can you slander me?"
"Silence!"
Once they were in the alley, Gong Yuanxiu dropped his pretense of kindness and scrutinized the scholar before him.
The man was down on his luck, yet held himself in high esteem—just like every other poor scholar he had ever met. They prided themselves on their scholarly arrogance, refusing to bow to any person of power or wealth, as if that alone could demonstrate their moral integrity.
’Bullshit!’
’Moral integrity without the support of power and money is nothing but decaying paper. A single gust of wind, and not even a scrap will be left.’
Gong Yuanxiu frowned and asked, "What did you mean by that just now? What do you mean, ’even success in the Provincial Examination can be bought and sold’? Those aren’t words to be thrown around lightly. If you incite public outrage, you, the instigator, could lose your head."
Though he asked the question, Gong Yuanxiu’s mind was already racing.
’Could it be that more people have found out about me taking bribes?’
’Even if they know, it’s useless!’
’From start to finish, I only took the ten thousand taels from the Gu family. But the Gu family is utterly unremarkable, so I felt perfectly justified in taking their money and doing nothing for them.’
’As for the Tao family, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is an old fox. How could he be careless enough to give someone leverage over him?’
’He didn’t give me gold or Silver Coins, but he did give me a hint. As long as I could ensure Tao Yanxun became the top scorer in the provincial examination, a promotion would be just a word away for me.’
’There’s no evidence regarding the Tao family, and I’ve already hidden the evidence from the Gu family. Besides, Gu Lin’s name isn’t even on the list of successful candidates. No matter how you look at it, I’m clean.’
’If it’s not me, could it be Xu Yanlin and Yuan Shixin buying their success?’
’But while Yuan Shixin’s ancestors may not have been high-ranking nobles, they did produce several Fifth and Sixth-rank Officials. Logically, his family shouldn’t be short on money.’
’And the Xu family is even more unlikely.’
’The old master of the Xu family still holds a key position. Countless people, carrying mountains of gold and silver, can’t even find a way to get in their door. Even if the Emperor’s private treasury were to run out of money, the Xu family never would.’
’If it wasn’t them, then who could it be?’
Before Gong Yuanxiu could ponder any further, the scholar spat a glob of phlegm right in his face.
"Who it is has nothing to do with you! I see it now, you’re an official too. You officials are all cut from the same cloth, always protecting your own and leaving poor scholars like us with no path to advance."
Gong Yuanxiu’s face darkened. He wiped the sticky phlegm from his cheek, forcing himself to swallow his anger, and continued in a pleasant tone, "Now, you’ve got that wrong. How could I be an official? I’m just a merchant. People might compliment me, calling me ’Great Lord’ or ’My Lord’ when they see me, but I can’t actually think of myself as someone important. When we merchants see real officials, don’t we have to shamelessly kneel and kowtow, presenting them with chest after chest of Silver? To be honest, we merchants have it even harder than you scholars."
Gong Yuanxiu had successfully duped the scholar.
Having found common ground, Gong Yuanxiu invited the scholar to a private room in a restaurant. The two of them cursed out every official in the provincial capital, from the governor down to the gate guards, before finally getting down to business.