Who Said a Study Servant Can’t Win the Imperial Exam?

The turmoil within the County Magistrate and Prefectural government office had little to do with ordinary folks. Yet, today brought monumental news for the Cui Family.

Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan made another attempt to enroll in the County Academy. This time, without hesitation, they were accepted!

The ease of it was almost unbelievable.

Dazed and bewildered, the brothers returned home, only to encounter Ye Huaifeng arriving with several jin¹ of pork and two jugs of wine.

Ye Huaifeng chuckled, “Timing is everything! I’ve brought wine and meat to celebrate with you, dear brothers.”

Cui Zhongyuan raised an eyebrow, “Da Chuan, how did you know we got into the County Academy?”

Ye Huaifeng laughed heartily, “I didn’t know about that. I came mainly to thank Xian-Ge’er and to celebrate reclaiming the restaurant’s management.”

Oh.

The brothers had no reason to doubt him, and the three entered the courtyard together.

Old Cui’s excitement was palpable, “Wonderful, wonderful! My two sons are studying at the County Academy, and my two grandsons are at the Pei Family clan school.”

“They’re all bound for great things.”

Ye Huaifeng nearly choked on his own saliva at the mention.

Cui Xian studying at the Pei Family clan school? He vaguely remembered having a duty to ‘educate the students’ at the Pei Family clan school this month.

Phew, that was close!

Looks like the Pei Family clan school is off-limits for now.

And speaking of ‘educating students,’ Magistrate Ye felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Logically, with a prodigy like Cui Xian in his jurisdiction, he should nurture him well to bolster his career prospects.

The problem was, he kept calling him ‘Xian-Ge’er’ left and right. How could he, as the Magistrate, face Cui Xian openly?

It was utterly embarrassing!

…Better to keep the disguise tight, and hide the truth for as long as possible.

At the Cui Family’s dining table.

Cui Xian raised his teacup with a smile, “Congratulations, Da Chuan-Ge, on reclaiming the restaurant’s management. I toast with tea instead of wine, wishing you soon subdue that unruly deputy leader and firmly establish yourself as the Proprietor.”

Ye Huaifeng cheerfully returned the toast.

Then, with anticipation, he asked, “Xian-Ge’er, do you really think I can take down that deputy leader?”

Cui Xian confidently replied, “Of course, Da Chuan-Ge, you just need a favorable wind. When the time is right, you’ll naturally succeed. But…”

Ye Huaifeng asked, “But what?”

Cui Xian grinned, “But when that time comes, you might find yourself not wanting to take down that deputy leader after all.”

Impossible!

Ye Huaifeng thought he was joking and joined in the laughter.

The next day.

Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan headed to the County Academy for enrollment.

Before leaving.

Cui Xian advised, “Eldest Uncle, Father, your enrollment timing is perfect. It’s likely Zhao’s family will soon make a move against us.”

“When that happens, you two should act accordingly within the County Academy.”

Huh?

Cui Zhongyuan asked nervously, “Xian-Ge’er, how can I help?”

But Cui Xian simply smiled, “Don’t worry, when the time comes, Father and Eldest Uncle, just help guide the way.”

After Father and Eldest Uncle went off to the County Academy,

Cui Xian continued his studies at the Pei Family clan school, receiving abundant praise and reward tickets from Teacher Wu daily, seemingly unaffected by the world.

However, the Cui family and the four Young Masters grew increasingly restless, anxiously awaiting news.

Three days later, around noon,

the village chief of Hexi Village arrived at Zhongjing Lane, breathless, and knocked on the Cui family’s door, urgently saying, “Saozi, how did you manage to offend the Zhao family?”

“They sent someone to Hexi Village, offering 1 wen to buy your family’s thirty mu of land.”

“If you disagree, they threaten to send all the men in your family to perform Corvée Labor! The whole village is abuzz with this news.”

“Look, why don’t you come back with me?”

It had begun!

On hearing this, Old Cui was initially shocked.

Then she quickly became distraught, wailing loudly, “Oh, my goodness! I can’t take this anymore! The Zhao family is far too cruel!”

The two daughters-in-law of the Cui family also started crying, looking as if the sky had fallen.

Seeing their pitiful cries, the village chief felt deeply moved.

He had thought the Cui family had prospered, yet suddenly they had run into trouble with the Zhao family.

Life is truly unpredictable!

That day,

Cui Xian took leave, and together with his family, wailed and hurried back to Hexi Village with the village chief.

Before leaving, Cui Xian looked towards the Pei Family clan school and thought to himself-

Big brother, the real drama starts now.

It’s all on you to set the stage.

Zhongjing Lane.

The wailing of the Cui family drew the neighbors out to see what was happening.

Old Man Cui, upon hearing the commotion, laughed at their misfortune.

Constable Lin, feeling uneasy, couldn’t help but ask, “Father-in-law, this trouble with the Cui family wouldn’t have anything to do with you, would it?”

Old Man Cui’s face immediately darkened, “Nonsense! What does this have to do with me?”

Constable Lin was relieved.

A bit later,

the Cui family finally returned to Hexi Village.

A large group of villagers came to inquire about the situation.

Old Cui and the two daughters-in-law, tears still on their faces, didn’t even go home but went straight to the fields.

They had only finished sowing at the end of June.

Now, a month later, the fields were lush and green, the crops growing well.

Such fine fields!

Yet, to think they were being sold to the Zhao family for a mere wen!

Seeing Old Cui’s pitiful crying, the villagers not only cursed the Zhao family but also felt a fox’s fear for the rabbit’s fate.

The Zhao family was not to be trifled with.

Amid the sounds of cursing and crying,

suddenly, Xian-Ge’er dashed into the field, furiously pulling up seedlings.

The village chief, puzzled, asked, “Xian-Ge’er, what are you doing?”

Cui Xian looked up, earnestly saying, “I read in a book that pulling up seedlings can help crops grow faster. The Zhao family is too oppressive, coveting our fields.”

“I want the crops to mature faster, to harvest the grain and minimize our losses.”

What?

Hearing this, the villagers stared, dumbfounded.

If it weren’t for the current misery of the Cui family, they would have thought-

Has this child studied himself silly?

The next day,

Old Cui ‘surrendered,’ asking the village chief to relay a message agreeing to sell the land, begging the Family Elder to show mercy and not send the Cui men to perform Corvée Labor.

Hearing this, Zhao Zhi sneered, pleased that the Cui family knew their place.

Zhao Yaozu cheered, “Great, great! Grandfather, let’s go to Hexi Village and bury my birth details in the ground. I’m going to become a genius!”

Although Zhao Zhi didn’t believe in such things, he agreed wholeheartedly to please his grandson, “Whatever my dear grandson wants.”

And so, the Zhao family duo set off in a carriage towards Hexi Village.

They didn’t notice a young child watching them from Zhao Mansion, who immediately turned and ran to deliver the news once Zhao Zhi left.

At the Pei Family clan school, Cui Xian and Cui Yu were absent today, and Pei Jian and his friends felt their hearts racing, sensing that something was happening.

Indeed, when they heard that Zhao Zhi and his grandson had gone to Hexi Village, Pei Jian and the others decided it was time to act!

Their task was to set the stage for Cui Xian. Even the best play needs a grand stage to attract a large audience.

The plan was to involve everyone-farmers, merchants, scholars, young and old-making the elderly chuckle and the scholars exclaim in disbelief.

It needed to be thoroughly entertaining yet uniquely refined, sparking curiosity across different groups.

The goal was to ignite a “firestorm of public opinion” that would blaze through Nanyang County Town, forcing even the Magistrate and Prefect to step in and quell the uproar.

Otherwise, they might be accused of failing in their duty to educate.

“The eight-year-old prodigy who wrote “Rainbow Cat” and “Ode to the Goose” suddenly becomes ordinary, rallying countless children to pull up seedlings in his family’s fields, hoping to hasten crop maturity and naively increase grain yield”

Is this topic explosive and absurd enough?

In the clan school, Pei Jian took a deep breath and shouted, “Classmates! Listen to me, Cui Xian is in trouble and needs our help! Are you willing?”

What? Cui Xian is in trouble?

The students gathered around, concerned, as Cui Xian had many admirers in the clan school.

Pei Jian continued, “Cui Xian has read the classics and learned that pulling up seedlings can help crops mature faster! Today, we will go to Hexi Village to assist!”

“Not just us from the Pei Family clan school. Go to other clan schools and gather everyone you can!”

“We’ll set off from the clan school, chanting slogans along the way, so everyone knows what we’re doing!”

Huh?

The students were stunned, hardly believing their ears.

One student hesitated, “Isn’t this… pulling up seedlings? Teacher said it’s wrong.”

Pei Jian was furious, “Cui Xian said it works, do you think you’re smarter than him? Remember how ‘Ode to New Bamboo’ won last time? Be careful, or Teacher Wu will scold you for being bookish.”

“This time, Cui Xian is competing in knowledge again! Can you bear to see him lose?”

The student shrank back, not daring to speak.

How could he compete with Cui Xian in knowledge?

Since even the unstructured “Ode to the Goose” became a classic, perhaps… pulling up seedlings might actually work?

Moreover, they couldn’t let Cui Xian lose inexplicably again!

Otherwise, Teacher Wu would be angry.

Zhuang Jin, Li Heyu, and Gao Qi all responded enthusiastically.

Among the students, Pei Jian had arranged for some to support the idea.

If it were a group of adults, this plan wouldn’t work.

But they were young children, capable of doing things beyond adult expectations and imagination.

Thus, a group of young boys was easily led astray, creating an amusing “Emperor’s New Clothes” scenario.

No one dared to question the absurdity of the matter anymore.