Volume One: From Peasant to Gentleman Chapter 57: Cheating in the Examination Hall

Jiang Ping and Su Wei were puzzled, but obediently fell silent. Su Wei’s father whispered, “The teacher has already said these questions must not be spread. If you keep shouting and someone familiar comes by asking for the questions, what then? There are still three exams left. From now on, keep your mouths shut!”

That’s right!

They had been so overjoyed, they’d forgotten this detail.

Terrified that their words might slip out, the two quickly covered their mouths and hid behind their parents, grinning in secret.

A while later, the other companions came out of the exam hall one after another.

Zheng Peng rushed over, about to boast about their predictions coming true, but Jiang Ping clamped a hand over his mouth and whispered, “Don’t say a word. There are thieves around…”

Thieves?

Zheng Peng’s eyes darted about, unable to pick out who the so-called thief was. Since he was from the same village as Jiang Ping and his close friend, he naturally trusted him.

By now, both parents and children realized the importance of secrecy, and all students from the Su Family Private Academy who left the exam hall thereafter were forbidden to speak.

The moment anyone opened their mouth, they were immediately silenced by a parent.

“Don’t talk. Hold it in!”

Only when they hurried back to the inn did the children finally let loose their chatter.

That day, one of the questions had been predicted exactly, and another was close. Having practiced and rewritten these essays, composing them was naturally effortless.

The inn became lively in an instant, with the children pulling out the rest of the predicted topics from the sixth day, hoping they might hit the mark again.

Three days later, when the county examination results were announced, only one student from the Su Family Private Academy was eliminated.

Su Wei and Jiang Ping ranked high, taking eighth and twelfth place respectively.

This was largely thanks to Xie Shuxian.

In the second exam, another miracle occurred: a predicted topic appeared once more.

When the results came out, only three from the academy were eliminated.

The third exam saw no such miracles, and five were eliminated, leaving only Su Wei, Jiang Ping, Su Zijian, Zhang Qiang, and Zheng Peng still standing.

As the fourth round did not eliminate anyone, these five had already passed the county examination.

It was a bountiful harvest.

When the fourth round ended, forty-one scholars attended the final banquet.

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Chen Liangbin had reviewed the county examination papers and felt that this year’s students were much stronger than last year’s. The number advancing to the prefecture examination would likely surpass the previous year.

But as for producing a top scorer at the prefecture level, that seemed unlikely.

The candidates greeted him in unison. The county magistrate, as always, was courteous and humble, waiving the ritual of kneeling, then offered a few formal words before inviting them to be seated for the banquet.

“Honorable Magistrate, I must report a matter—there has been cheating during the examination.”

A hush fell over the hall. All eyes turned to Jin Ruizhe, who had stood to report the cheating.

Cheating in the exam was a grave crime. If proven, it meant imprisonment and a lifetime ban from the imperial examinations.

Chen Liangbin looked at Jin Ruizhe, his expression unreadable. “Speak.”

Seeing that the magistrate was not angered, Jin Ruizhe hurried forward, bowed deeply, and said, “Xie Shuxian leaked the exam questions to students from the Su Family Private Academy ahead of time, which is why five of them passed. Please investigate thoroughly, Magistrate.”

“What evidence do you have to slander others?”

Hearing the accusation against their teacher, Jiang Ping could no longer restrain himself and stood up. Su Wei, fearing Jiang Ping would act rashly, quickly tugged his sleeve and whispered, “The magistrate is present—don’t be reckless.”

He then stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, “Please discern the truth, Magistrate! The five of us all have licensed scholars as guarantors, our backgrounds are spotless, and our success is due to our hard study. This accusation of leaked questions is baseless—Xie Shuxian only made predictions, which happened to align with the exam topics. Besides, his predictions were made twenty days before the exam—how could the questions have been leaked so early?”

Jiang Ping and the other four followed suit, bowing and pleading, “Please discern the truth, Magistrate!”

Chen Liangbin already found Jin Ruizhe unpleasant.

Last year he caused a scene at the final banquet, and now he was stirring up trouble again. Did he think the magistrate was easy to fool?

Chen Liangbin’s expression didn’t change, and he asked cheerfully, “Jin Ruizhe, if you suspected Xie Shuxian of leaking questions, why didn’t you report it before the exam? I could have expelled them all from the exam hall then and there…”

Jin Ruizhe hadn’t expected this question. He flushed red and stammered, “I—I was worried they would deny it, and it would disrupt the other candidates…”

In truth, Jin Ruizhe hadn’t intended to make such a scene, but his overall ranking in the county exam was only thirty-fourth. Having been eliminated in the final round of last year’s prefecture exam, the blow had been severe.

Afterward, he studied diligently, no longer aspiring for minor honors, but didn’t expect to score even lower this year.

Meanwhile, the students guided by Xie Shuxian had all surpassed him.

Angered, he decided to make the accusation.

Chen Liangbin, still smiling, asked, “And now you’re not worried?”

Seeing the magistrate didn’t seem angry, Jin Ruizhe grew bolder and declared righteously, “I only wish for fairness. Cheating is an injustice to those who failed. Please investigate, Magistrate!”

Chen Liangbin chuckled, “And how did you learn of this?”

“After the main exam, I heard these students talking about their success and crediting Xie Shuxian. When we questioned them, they grew secretive and said nothing…”

In reality, Jin Ruizhe knew none of this—it had all been fed to him by his father.

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At this point, he could only elaborate on Jin Buhuan’s story.

The more Jin Ruizhe spoke, the more worked up he became, eventually claiming that Xie Shuxian had paid a hefty sum to buy the exam questions.

At this, Chen Liangbin’s expression darkened. “Jin Ruizhe, are you implying that I, as magistrate, sold the questions to Xie Shuxian?”

“Magistrate, that’s not what I meant,” Jin Ruizhe replied hastily, forgetting that only the magistrate knew the exam questions.

If someone had managed to buy them ahead of time, who but the magistrate could have sold them?

“It was Xie Shuxian who stole the questions, which is how the leak occurred,” Jin Ruizhe insisted, finding himself in a bind and unable to back down. “The facts speak for themselves. Please summon Xie Shuxian for questioning.”

“Bring Xie Shuxian here!”

The county exam questions were finalized only three days before the test—how could they have been leaked twenty days earlier? Clearly, Xie Shuxian was skilled at predicting topics.

With this turn of events, no one could sit and eat; everyone stood silently, waiting for Xie Shuxian to arrive.

“Student Xie Shuxian greets the Magistrate!”

The county school was not far from the yamen, and Xie Shuxian soon arrived.

“You may rise.”

Xie Shuxian straightened and asked, “How may I serve you, Magistrate?”

Chen Liangbin smiled. “Jin Ruizhe has accused you of cheating—leaking the exam questions twenty days in advance. Quite the feat!” He briefly summarized the scene that had just unfolded.

This fellow really knew how to stir up trouble—turning predictions into accusations of cheating. This level of twisting truth rivaled that of Zhao Gao.

Xie Shuxian didn’t argue. Calmly, he asked Jin Ruizhe, “Tell me, Master Jin, suppose when your mother was pregnant, I predicted she’d have a boy, and the child turned out to be you—would that be considered cheating on my part?”

Laughter erupted all around.

Jin Ruizhe, furious, retorted, “You, a scholar, speak such filth! You’re unworthy of being top scholar.”

“Why so agitated? I was simply making a hypothesis,” Xie Shuxian replied unhurriedly. “Suppose two people, one says your mother carries a boy, the other says a girl. When you’re born, does that make me and your mother improper? At my age, I… well… that…”

The crowd broke into laughter once more.