Making money, taking exams, and raising a family in rural imperial examinations

Due to his conceited talent and early dropout, he didn't make many good friends, and he couldn't count them on his hands. When Lin Ze saw Fang Shanyuan, it was very easy for him to take his seat.

Fang Shanyuan's family background is similar to that of the original body, both of them were educated from poor families in the village. Because they are about the same age, they have been classmates at the same table since they entered the private school, and their relationship has always been harmonious.

And the other party is not like other student forces, who still treat each other with courtesy after the original body is in trouble, behaves very well, learns real materials, and is a person who can make friends.

So Lin Ze was a little more patient, and left directly for others.

"Brother Lin, I really admired Shibie for three days. I didn't see you face to face just now. I thought I had misidentified the person..."

Fang Shanyuan was very happy to see Lin Ze, and he bowed his hands to say hello.

What he said was not to be polite, but to speak the truth. What he said was not referring to Lin Ze's dress, but the change of Lin Ze's temperament.

The previous "Lin Ze" looked very gloomy and decadent because of various blows, but now Lin Ze is full of spring, with his head held high. The same face gives people completely different feelings because of different souls.

Lin Sangui and others had Chen Shuju's incident as a foreshadowing, only thinking that Lin Ze's temperament had changed drastically, but for Fang Shanyuan who didn't know it, when he saw Lin Ze today, he really thought it was another person.

The face is still the same face, but it makes people dare not recognize it for a moment.

Lin Ze couldn't figure out the meaning of Fang Shanyuan's words, so he changed the subject directly, and didn't dwell on this issue.

"When you are open-minded, you will be refreshed. I made everyone laugh before. I don't know why Brother Fang is so anxious to stop me?"

Speaking of this, Fang Shanyuan also remembered important things, and he didn't care to greet him with a shiver.

"Hey, I'm so happy that I almost forgot about the business! Brother Lin, the matter is very important, can we talk for a while?"

Fang Shanyuan looked around, looking nervous.

Seeing his appearance, Lin Ze thought for a while and nodded, looking for a place to store the ox cart, took Zhang Yu and the other party to the nearest teahouse, and asked for a private room.

Not knowing what important things to say, Fang Shanyuan was still not at ease when he arrived in the private room of the teahouse. He checked left and right several times to make sure no one could overhear, and then looked at Zhang Yu who was following him again, with a hesitant expression.

"Brother Lin, do you think your husband can also avoid it?"

In this day and age, men generally don't have the reason to listen to women when they talk about things.

"It's okay, my husband can hear everything about my family."

Lin Ze refused without even thinking about it. It is absolutely impossible to treat his daughter-in-law differently.

Zhang Yu smiled shyly, and stood still obediently. Anyway, he is not a brother of a big family, and it doesn't matter if he shows up in public. He prefers Lin Ze's idea to hiding in the backyard in a well-behaved manner.

It can be seen that Fang Shanyuan was secretly astonished like Li Guangcai before him, and even more surprised.

He often went to the town to keep informed. Although he had heard about some changes in Lin Ze during this time, and the meaning of the sign of love at first sight was even clearer, he really did not expect Lin Ze, who was so proud before, to have changed so much.

However, he can even put down his identity to sell things, and now Lin Ze's act of protecting his husband doesn't seem so unusual, after all, not everyone is the same.

After being shocked, Fang Shanyuan was relieved. Since Lin Ze is not afraid, he has nothing to worry about.

Looking around again, Fang Shanyuan spoke with a serious expression,

"Brother Lin, I originally planned to go to your village to look for you, but I didn't expect to meet you here. It's so coincidental. After thinking about something for brother for several days, I decided to say hello to you, otherwise I would I feel really uneasy..."

"Brother Fang has something to say, but it's okay to say it." Lin Ze pondered.

"Okay, as a brother, you will know everything. The provincial examination is coming soon. Although it is difficult to say, cheating and leaking questions in scientific examinations have been unavoidable since ancient times. They happen frequently. Although we despise them, there are always people with scheming intentions. "Brother Lin, do you know Zhu Hongchang?"

"Master Zhu's owner of Xiangrui Restaurant, West Street Gambler, and South Street Waiter's House, and the county magistrate's brother-in-law."

"The brother-in-law of the magistrate of the county is just a brother of a concubine's natal family, just pretending to be a tiger..."

Fang Shanyuan snorted and smiled before continuing,

"Brother Lin, you haven't been around the town for a long time. You probably don't know that Zhu Hongchang relied on his sister's nepotism to claim that he has the test questions for this township examination, which attracted many unscrupulous students to come to him."

"It should be unbelievable to believe such absurd things, but there are indeed some people with unstable minds. Our Nanyang Town has only produced one Juren for many years, and the other students have failed time and time again. It is inevitable to regard this as a life-saving straw."

"I don't know whether the test questions are true or not, but once this matter is exposed, it will have a great impact, and the students involved will suffer, and their family members may also be implicated..."

Having said this, Fang Shanyuan paused for a moment before continuing,

"Brother Lin, a few days ago, I saw that your second brother seems to be on the list."

"Sure?"

Lin Ze was shocked and raised his head.

Although Zhang Yu has never read a book, he also knows the seriousness of the imperial examination fraud exposure. If it is light, he will be deprived of his fame and cannot take the scientific examination for a lifetime, and if it is serious, he may be decapitated.

Fang Shanyuan nodded,

"It's absolutely true. It's related to the imperial examination. I dare not talk nonsense. There are many people who buy test questions from Zhu Hongchang. If it is fake, it's okay, but if it is true, Qingshan County may bring disaster."

The rigor of the imperial examinations in ancient times was far more difficult and severe than the modern ones. If the test questions sold by Zhu Hongchang were fake, then at most those students with bad intentions would be deceived.

But if it is true, Zhu Hongchang sold so many test questions, wouldn't that mean that Qingshan County will be admitted to a group of leaders this year!

The imperial court is not a fool, this data is tricky at first glance, and the higher authorities will definitely send someone to investigate thoroughly, and the students and their families who 'passed the exam' will be miserable by then.

It’s not that everyone doesn’t know this kind of result, but they can’t resist the temptation and fluke mentality of passing the exam. Students who land every time will inevitably feel impetuous and want to take shortcuts.

Fang Shanyuan had a good relationship with 'Lin Ze', and accidentally learned that Lin Jianwen was also there, so he immediately thought of Lin Ze, who was related by blood.

"Brother Lin, you and him are blood relatives. Once this matter is exposed, even if you are fine, it may affect you in the future..."

"..."

Lin Ze remained expressionless for the time being, holding a teacup with a gloomy expression.

Not all fools understand this truth. In ancient times, the system of continuous sitting was emphasized. If one person gains the Tao, the whole family will suffer.

But now that he has broken off his relationship with Lin Ze, he doesn't care what happened, but the problem is that Lin Sangui is still related to Lin Jianwen. Lin Sangui is the father of the original body, and he is not a bad person, so he can't just sit idly by.

What's more, such things as imperial examination fraud are not a small problem.

After thinking for a while, Lin Ze put down his teacup and asked,

"Zhu Hongchang is so ostentatiously selling test questions, what's the county magistrate's reaction?"

Even Fang Shanyuan knew about the leak of the test questions, so it was unreasonable for the county magistrate not to know about it. The county magistrate would bear the brunt of this kind of incident, and it was impossible to keep silent and ignore it.

"I can't hear this..."

Fang Shanyuan is sorry, he is just a poor student with no money and no power, if the news that Zhu Hongchang sold the test questions had not spread to too many people, he would have no way to know about it.

"I'll go back and have a look. Thank you Brother Fang for letting me know, otherwise I'm afraid I'll be caught off guard."

Lin Ze didn't hesitate to ask. He knew Fang Shanyuan's details and abilities. If he wanted to know more, he had to figure out a way for himself.

But... Yuanshen and Fang Shanyuan have not been in touch for a long time, and the relationship has been estranged for more than half a year. The other party came to him suddenly and told him such important news. He felt that he didn't believe it because of the simplicity of friendship.

Lin Ze is not a kid who just came out of society, he is more willing to think of the bad than to believe in the good of the world.

Thinking of this, Lin Ze showed a gentle smile like a breeze,

"Brother Fang, I really don't know how to thank you for such important news. I will remember this favor. If Brother Fang needs my help in the future, as long as I can, I will definitely not refuse."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Fang Shanyuan's face when he heard this, and he felt a little guilty when he saw Lin Ze's gentle smile.

If it was an ordinary friend who said this, it would be no problem, but based on their friends who met suddenly after half a year of estrangement, the meaning of thanking them so much would not be so simple.

Put yourself in the shoes of others, if you don't have a plan, who will meddle in the affairs of irrelevant people?

Thinking of his situation, Fang Shanyuan gritted his teeth, put his face aside, stood up and cupped his hands at Lin Ze,

"Brother Lin, you and I have known each other for many years, and I, Fang Shanyuan, don't bother with such dirty and indecent things that threaten others. It's just that I have no choice but to come forward brazenly. I do have something to ask, Brother Lin. If you want to help, I will keep my mouth shut about the imperial examination if you don’t want to!”

"Lin Jianwen and I have broken off our relationship, and his accident has nothing to do with me..."

Lin Ze still had a gentle smile, like a breeze, but it gave people the illusion of being inexplicably inferior.

Fang Shanyuan was shocked, obviously he didn't expect that he had broken off the relationship with Lin Jianwen, which is a serious matter here.

But he quickly came back to his senses, a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth,

"Brother Lin, it's because I didn't do things well for my brother. I really didn't mean to threaten you when I told you about the imperial examination. Don't be angry. I took the liberty to find you this time because my wife is seriously ill. You know the situation of my family. I have studied for many years. I have already emptied my family, and I have tried everything I could to borrow, and even sold the land at home, but it is still not enough..."

Speaking of this, Fang Shanyuan's expression was sad, and he didn't care to beg someone to lose face in a low voice, face is not important.

"I heard that brother Lin recently did a small business in the town, and the business is very prosperous, so... I feel ashamed to come to my brother like this, but the wife at home is waiting to take the medicine, so I ask brother Lin to see it for the sake of being a classmate for many years. If I can save one or two in an emergency, I will definitely pay back double for my brother in the future."

After finishing speaking, Fang Shanyuan bowed his head and waited for Lin Ze's answer as if waiting for a trial.

He didn't have too much hope. These days, he has already begged many people, and it is common for him to be turned away. Lin Ze is just here to try, after all, he has borrowed a lot of money.

"How much do you want to borrow?"

Lin Ze didn't directly refuse or agree directly, pondering over it.

He doesn't understand the affairs of Fang Shanyuan's family, and his sympathy is questionable, but he doesn't like to owe favors to others, and he doesn't mind spending money to buy news.

"Five, 50 taels..."

Fang Shanyuan raised his head, his tone was cautious, even he himself blushed when he said this number.

"Then go and grab the bank."

Lin Ze's eyelids twitched, and he said the same words as his future disciple.