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Zheng Yanming's attitude was very firm, not even the Marquis of Lingdong County could make him back down.
Others might fear this marquis, but he did not. Even if the marquis had great doubts about the county exam results, the outco was decided and no one could change it.
As for an appeal, it wasn't that simple. Xie Cang and Lin Yuan considered Su Qi'an's ten strategies for governing the country to be exceptional talents, but he and Wei Zhentang both thought of it as an act of rebellion. If he wasn’t punished, that was already lenient.
No matter whether it caused trouble with the local governor or the provincial governor, Zheng Yanming was in the right. He didn't believe that for a re scholar, Xie Cang would really dare to escalate things.
Even if it did escalate, it would probably just be a war of words, and the result would still not change.
Looking at Zheng Yanming's strong stance, Xie Cang stared at him for a long ti. After a while, he coldly said, “Zheng Daren, if you insist on this, I won’t say much, but I hope you won’t regret this decision later.”
“Regret? Hmph, is Marquis Xie threatening ?” Zheng Yanming snorted dismissively.
He was a grand scholar serving the court, and not even a marquis, let alone a local governor or provincial official, would dare disregard him.
He had to laugh. If he could be so easily threatened, he might as well retire and avoid embarrassing the Hanlin Academy.
The atmosphere in the room instantly beca tense. It was clear that the two were at odds.
Standing behind them, Wei Zhentang’s face looked serious, but inside, he was secretly pleased.
This was the result he had been hoping for. Fortunately, he had invited this scholar to serve as the examiner. Otherwise, if he had to face the marquis himself, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
Xie Cang showed a look of regret and coldly said, “Fine, Zheng Daren, this is your choice. Today, I’ll let you see just how important Su Qi’an really is.”
At first, Xie Cang thought he would use force to make Zheng Yanming yield, but instead, soone behind him stepped forward.
Fang Jingzhi scanned the three of them before stepping forward. With a wave of his sleeve, he revealed a finely crafted scroll.
He unfurled the scroll, showing a respectful expression and then said in a loud voice:
“The county governor has issued an order. If Su Qi’an of Lingbei County does not pass the exam, our county will regret losing such talent. We will consider adding one more scholar position. This decree is issued, and the supervising officials are to execute it. No objections will be tolerated. Anyone who obstructs will be severely punished.”
As soon as Fang Jingzhi finished speaking, the heavy atmosphere in the room fell silent. Zheng Yanming, who had been so confident a mont ago, suddenly panicked.
His gaze flickered as he stared at the scroll in Fang Jingzhi’s hand, hesitating. “I-I-is this really from the county governor?”
Fang Jingzhi rolled up the scroll, and coldly said, “Heh, the county governor’s order is here. If the great scholar does not believe it, he can take a look himself.”
Seeing Fang Jingzhi’s confident deanor, Zheng Yanming’s heart sank.
This “county governor’s order” was a decree issued by a county governor. It carried significant weight, as the county was governed in this manner. Although there were higher authorities like the provincial governors, they couldn’t manage everything in the county. It would be exhausting if they tried to oversee every small detail.
The county governor had the power to issue this decree, and even a marquis of a county or an influential scholar like Zheng Yanming couldn’t interfere with it. Otherwise, it would be seen as an attempt to interfere with the county’s governance.
The power of this order, while great, was not sothing the county governor could issue recklessly. There were limits on how many tis it could be issued, and a county governor could only issue five in total. More importantly, every ti an order was issued, the provincial governor had to be inford.
That was the signal that made Zheng Yanming uneasy.
A re scholar from Lingbei County was not only backed by a county marquis but had also stirred the county governor and provincial governor to action.
“What kind of person is this Su Qi’an?” Zheng Yanming’s eyes flickered, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He realized that if he didn’t get to the bottom of this, he might not even know how he ended up dead one day.
Although Xie Cang and Fang Jingzhi didn’t particularly like Zheng Yanming, they weren’t out to destroy him. After all, he was a prestigious scholar. Pushing him too far would cause trouble.
They were only seeking justice for Su Qi’an and wanted to teach this scholar a lesson, not push him to the brink.
At this mont, Xie Cang softly spoke three words: “Chunfeng Academy.”
The ntion of these words made Zheng Yanming’s pupils shrink. His mind quickly pieced things together.
There were rumors that Chunfeng Academy had backing from influential officials, but he hadn’t realized that this backing was from the county governor of Chuan Province.
“If the county governor is involved, does that an the provincial governor...” Zheng Yanming thought, but then he couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought, sweat dripping from his forehead.
He had beco the examiner for this county exam thanks to an invitation from Wei Zhentang. Years ago, when he was just a commoner and not yet a scholar, he had received help from the Wei family. This was just a favor he was repaying.
He had thought dealing with a talented scholar like Su Qi’an would be as easy as squashing an ant. But now, a simple scholar seed to be connected to so many big players.
How did the distant county governor find out about this? Now it all made sense.
When Su Qi’an composed a poem for Lu Xiaowan at Chunfeng Academy, her reputation soared. The main academy in Chuan Province imdiately brought him in.
As the man behind Chunfeng Academy, the county governor was well aware of Su Qi’an's talents. Yet, he had decided to intervene and obstruct his success, thus preventing a talent that could increase Chunfeng Academy's prestige from passing the exam.
By doing this, he had cut off the county governor’s revenue stream, a move that was as good as killing soone’s parents.
The county governor’s decree was not only for Su Qi’an’s justice but also served as a warning to Zheng Yanming.
If this happened again, Zheng Yanming, as a sitting scholar, might have to retire imdiately. Thinking of this, Zheng Yanming glared at Wei Zhentang, who looked like a wooden statue.
He was almost ruined by this fool, and if it weren’t for the other people in the room, he would have beaten Wei Zhentang right then and there.
Having realized everything, Zheng Yanming imdiately changed his tone and said quickly, “I made a mistake. Fortunately, the county governor is wise and Xie Hou’s reminder, or else I would have made a huge mistake. Everything should proceed as the county governor has instructed.”
“If in the future, Xie Hou ets Su Qi’an, please apologize to him on my behalf.”
Xie Cang, watching Zheng Yanming’s change in attitude, couldn’t help but feel a bit disdainful but didn’t show it.
It was already quite a bit of face for a sitting scholar to say this. Xie Cang decided to let it slide.
“The great scholar’s thoughts are appreciated. It was all a misunderstanding, and now that it’s cleared up, it’s fine. Earlier, I may have said so things too harshly. I hope the scholar can be more understanding.”
“Ah, what are you talking about, Xie Hou? It’s all just a misunderstanding. Now that it’s clear, it’s fine.”
Just monts ago, these two were at each other’s throats, but now they had completely changed their attitudes, and everyone in the room could see what was going on.
Having been in the bureaucracy for so many years, no one was a fool. There were no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
As the atmosphere in the room began to settle down, suddenly, a figure hurriedly rushed in.
It was none other than Wang Xiaowei, and Fang Jingzhi’s face darkened as he said, “Wang Xiaowei, don’t you see we are discussing sothing important? What is so urgent?”
Wang Xiaowei repeatedly bowed and apologized, but the urgency on his face didn’t fade as he quickly spoke.
“Please forgive , my lords. I’m anxious. Su... Su Qi’an has left.”
“What... what did you say? Explain yourself!”
Before Fang Jingzhi could speak, Xie Cang’s voice cut through the air coldly, his tone making Wang Xiaowei feel trendous pressure.
He quickly explained, “According to the instructions from the county governor, we’ve been secretly protecting Su Qi’an’s safety. After the results were announced, Su Qi’an seed to be in a bad mood, and we didn’t want to disturb him, so we just watched as he returned to his inn.”
“But later, after a whole day, Su Qi’an never ca out. We found it strange and felt sothing was wrong. We barged into the room, and Su Qi’an had already left.”
“He left? Did he leave anything behind? Any letters?”
“No, he left in a hurry, looks like he’s been gone for half a day.”
Xie Cang’s brows furrowed, his gaze flickering as he looked around the room, releasing a strong chill.
Everyone in the room felt the coldness emanating from Xie Cang.
At this mont, Wang Xiaowei seed to rember sothing and added, “Oh, I rember now. Before leaving, Su Qi’an spoke to a thin monkey-looking man who seed to have sothing happening in his village, and he was in a hurry to go back.”
Upon hearing this, everyone noticed the cold aura around Xie Cang dissipate, though it still lingered slightly.
It seed that Xie Cang understood what was happening now. He snorted coldly and imdiately spoke, “Fang County Governor, order 300 soldiers to imdiately head to Dongshan Village with .”
“Understood,” Fang Jingzhi replied, quickly walking out with Wang Xiaowei.
As they left, the atmosphere in the room relaxed. It was clear that the military presence Xie Cang exuded earlier had unsettled both of the scholars present.
Turning to Lin Yuan, Zheng Yanming suddenly asked in a quiet tone, “Lin Lao, do you truly know nothing about Su Qi’an’s situation? Was it really just about appreciating talent and giving a fair assessnt?”
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