APSIL -Chapter 132 The Capable One Has More Troubles, Wang Datou

Zhang Shou cast a sideways glance at A-Liu, who was calmly cleaning up the aftermath. He really wanted to knock on the boy’s head and ask whether he had just been trying to harm him or whether he trusted him too much.

After all, if he had just agreed with that kind of jungle-law philosophy in front of A-Liu, the opinion of the man standing before him now—the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture—might have been completely different.

“Although eavesdropping is not exactly a good habit, I happened to stand there quietly without making a sound and heard your sincere words, Doctor Zhang. In this world, far too many people rely on deceit, plunder, and scheming to build their fortunes, and they even believe that the only way to get rich is through such means. Truly, there are very few people who create wealth cleanly with their own hands.”

After saying this, Wang Jie gave Zhang Shou an approving nod. After Zhang Shou invited him inside, Wang Jie saw the messy bowls and plates on the table that had not yet been cleared away, but he did not mind. Instead, he looked around the small room, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

“My efforts in supporting you before His Majesty to take charge of Banshan Hall were not in vain. Among all the instructors of the Imperial Academy, those who can calmly live in these dormitory quarters are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. But then again, even the students themselves mostly cannot endure such hardship, let alone the teachers. I heard Lu Zhu also lives here? Truly, like teacher, like disciple.”

Zhang Shou had not expected Wang Jie to praise him so much the moment he arrived. He immediately felt a strange suspicion—when someone offers kindness without reason, there must be some ulterior motive.

So he simply got straight to the point.

“Lord Wang personally came here today—is it because of the Jiuzhang Hall matter? Or because of the matter we discussed before, drawing the snake out of its hole?”

“Both.”

Wang Jie did not sit down. He simply stood there and gestured for Deng Xiaodai to untie the bundle on his back. From inside, Deng Xiaodai took out a thick stack of examination papers.

“These are the papers that made it through the final selection. Unfortunately, even after lowering the standard to merely requiring one correct answer, the number of people who passed was still extremely small. There are even some papers that are completely identical, suspected of plagiarism. That will require you to distinguish them yourself.”

Only then did Zhang Shou sincerely bow.

“Thank you, Lord Wang, and thank you, Judicial Assistant Song, for your hard work these past few days.”

“Consider it repayment of a favor.”

Wang Jie said it casually, but thinking about how he had spent every spare moment these days reading those ridiculous papers, he felt a surge of frustration.

If Zhang Shou had not come up with this idea, causing piles of examination papers to fill the Shuntian Prefecture office, he would never have discovered that among those so-called talented scholars from the capital region praised endlessly by local magistrates, there were actually people trying to muddle through and deceive their way in!

Naturally, Zhang Shou had no idea what Wang Datou was thinking.

After thanking him, Zhang Shou smiled at Deng Xiaodai.

“Xiaodai, after reading so many papers these days—those that were randomly answered or tried to cheat their way through—what do you think? When it comes to classics and history, there are probably many people you cannot compare with. But when it comes to mathematics, you are qualified to be the teacher of many of them.”

Deng Xiaodai originally only felt that looking at those papers had nearly driven him crazy. But after receiving Zhang Shou’s praise, he became somewhat embarrassed.

“Everyone has their own specialty. My little ability is nothing. Judicial Assistant Song is the truly impressive one. His knowledge is profound, and he also understands mathematics…”

Before he could finish, Wang Jie interrupted.

“Little Song’s mathematics can at best be called basic understanding. He cannot be considered proficient. Compared with you, he is still slightly inferior, let alone compared with Doctor Zhang.”

He turned to Deng Xiaodai.

“Now that you are following him, study some classical knowledge and build your foundation. Even if Doctor Zhang has no intention of having you take the imperial examinations, a person with poetry and knowledge naturally carries himself differently. Reading is always useful.”

Seeing Deng Xiaodai hurriedly nod, Zhang Shou lightly patted the young farmer’s shoulder before smiling at Wang Jie.

“Lord Wang, you haven’t sent away the other examination papers yet, have you?”

“Just as you suggested, I specially selected six hundred papers and sent them to the civilian academy in the capital that specializes in poor scholars. Let them make use of them. Whether for practicing handwriting or drafting essays, they can all be useful.”

“There was no name covering on those papers, of course.”

“As for the rest, there are probably another one or two thousand. Later, I will have carts send them to the Imperial Academy. In the future, they can become draft paper for your Jiuzhang Hall students to practice calculations.”

Zhang Shou could not help but smile.

“Lord Wang, this so-called specially selected batch of papers—what standard did you use?”

Seeing Wang Jie gesture toward him with his lips, Deng Xiaodai immediately answered.

“Lord Wang said he specifically chose those papers with the best handwriting but whose answers were merely filled with quotations from ancient sages to fool people, as well as those papers where the answers were completely random and meaningless.”

“These two types are sent to the civilian academy. The rest will be sent to the Imperial Academy.”

A-Liu, who had just carried the copper hot pot to the doorway, could not help but mutter softly: “Never killing someone, yet still drawing blood.”

His voice was not loud, but Wang Jie still heard him. However, instead of becoming angry at A-Liu’s criticism, he calmly replied: “When I preside over examinations, I would rather see a blank paper than one filled after someone exhausts every effort to disguise their ignorance.”

“Those who pretend to understand what they do not, yet still attempt to sneak into Jiuzhang Hall through luck and deception—people like that simply waste my time.”

Fortunately, I have always been a lazy person during exams. If I could not answer something, I simply left it blank. I never wasted effort filling pages with nonsense…

Otherwise, meeting a teacher like Wang Datou would truly have been disastrous.

While Zhang Shou was entertaining this ridiculous thought, Deng Xiaodai stared at his waist for a long while before suddenly asking: “Little Teacher, when did you start carrying a sword?”

“You have sharp eyes. Today is actually my first day bringing this sword out.”

Zhang Shou immediately laughed. Seeing Wang Jie’s brows furrow slightly, he explained the entire matter from beginning to end, and then also told them about the speech he gave at Banshan Hall that day.

“At the end, I even used the story of ‘wiping spit off one’s face without anger’ as an example. I imagine those students have already spread it around.”

“These demons and villains truly have become lawless!”

Wang Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, then said apologetically: “That day in court, I credited you with solving the matter. Later, things spread after what happened at Master Ge’s residence. The news that you deciphered those secret letters is now known by everyone. It seems certain people have already begun making moves.”

“Now that you openly carry this sword, are you trying to provoke the mastermind behind the scenes?”

Zhang Shou smiled faintly.

“Exactly. There is no way a thief can steal for a thousand days, but a person can defend against thieves for a thousand days.”

“Unless I lure them out, I will never be able to sleep peacefully.”

“There is no way a thief can steal for a thousand days, but one can’t guard against thieves for a thousand days…”

Wang Jie repeated the phrase thoughtfully, then nodded approvingly.

“Well said.”

“So, you intend to use yourself as bait?”

“That is what I’m thinking.”

Zhang Shou nodded.

“Someone who could make such a foolish move as sending a sword to threaten me is likely the kind of person who explodes like a firecracker when lit.”

“If so, why not make myself more conspicuous and see whether I can provoke them into acting?”

“Taking a little risk now may not solve everything permanently, but at least it can serve as a warning to others.”

Seeing Zhang Shou speak so calmly, without the slightest complaint that Wang Jie had been the one who dragged him into the troubles surrounding Shuntian Prefecture, Wang Jie suddenly felt somewhat guilty.

The resentment he had accumulated from dealing with piles of examination papers these past days immediately vanished.

From this perspective, Wang Datou—who was often criticized as cold and ruthless—was actually a very sincere person.

“This matter cannot be left aside by me. After all, it happened because of me.”

“The Zhao State Duke’s Residence is too conspicuous. If you insist on taking this risk, you do not need them to act. I will secretly arrange people to support you.”

This was exactly what Zhang Shou had been waiting for.

Seeing that Wang Jie truly had a sense of responsibility, he immediately agreed with a smile. The two then lowered their voices and discussed various details while ignoring Deng Xiaodai’s worried gaze.

Wang Jie had also only used his lunch break to come over from Shuntian Prefecture. After finishing what needed to be done and saying what needed to be said, he intended to leave.

After Deng Xiaodai followed him out of the dormitory, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

“Lord Wang, I happen to have something to ask Little Teacher. I’ll go back for a moment.”

Seeing Deng Xiaodai run back recklessly, Wang Jie was slightly surprised but did not think much of it.

However, Deng Xiaodai rushed back like a gust of wind. First, he glanced at A-Liu, who was standing guard outside like a gatekeeper, then grabbed Zhang Shou’s sleeve and pulled him inside.

“Little Teacher, there is something I absolutely must tell you.”

He paused, trying hard to steady his breathing.

“Did you once enter the palace with Eldest Miss Zhu to meet the Empress Dowager, and nearly get framed by someone?”

“His Majesty sent Eunuch Chu to Shuntian Prefecture. That little eunuch who committed the crime was directly handed over to Lord Wang for judgment.”

“At that time, I happened to be there with Judicial Assistant Song, buried under piles of examination papers.”

As if still afraid someone might overhear, Deng Xiaodai looked left and right several times. Only after confirming that A-Liu—the human gatekeeper—would not let anyone sneak in did he lower his already quiet voice even further.

“Lord Wang cursed loudly, saying why should those messy matters from the palace be thrown onto him?”

“Eunuch Chu could only keep smiling and saying, ‘The capable ones have more responsibilities.’”

“But after realizing Lord Wang seemed determined not to accept it, he sent both me and Judicial Assistant Song away.”

“I pretended to be half-asleep and lagged behind. Then I heard Lord Wang complaining that His Majesty was too lenient toward the imperial clan, and that he was not even the Imperial Clan Court.”

After saying this, Deng Xiaodai gave Zhang Shou a deep bow, then ran back at the same speed he had arrived.

Wang Datou truly was someone who had too many responsibilities because he was capable.

Not only did the Zhao State Duke’s Residence repeatedly dump troubles on him, even the emperor kept throwing cases outside his official jurisdiction into Shuntian Prefecture…

But thinking about it carefully, weren’t all these troublesome cases actually related to him?

Zhang Shou thought this silently.

However, when A-Liu looked toward him from outside, Zhang Shou immediately changed to a serious expression.

“With Lord Wang’s sharp eyes and fair judgment, he will surely handle matters impartially. Naturally, I trust him.”

A-Liu stared at Zhang Shou for a long while before finally nodding.

“Then I won’t go to Shuntian Prefecture.”

Zhang Shou was speechless.

So if I had not said that, you were planning to go there and beat someone up again?