After the two entered the study Cao Xinggong looked around walked behind the desk and sat down. He stared at his nephew standing opposite and asked How is it? Is this study suitable for studying?
Xu Fei chuckled This spacious and elegant study. If I say it is not good that would be unreasonable. Uncle I really did not expect that you have already acquired such a large mansion. In this capital where land is worth its weight in gold without considerable wealth one would not even dare to think about it. I heard from the servants that you have more than this one large residence and quite a few other properties as well. Uncle it looks like you have done very big business these years. Why have I never heard the family mention it?
Cao Xinggong shook his head slightly What the eyes see and what the ears hear are not necessarily true. Some things may appear to be mine on the surface but in fact they may not be mine. They are just registered under my name and I manage them on behalf of others. Some matters are not easy to explain clearly and it is not good to say too much. There is no need to tell your family.
Xu Fei laughed Uncle you are joking. Since it is under your name then naturally it is yours. How could it not be yours? Who could forcibly take it away?
Cao Xinggong smiled faintly You will naturally understand when the time comes for you to understand. All right let us not talk about this now. Let us talk about your matter instead. Afterwards he reached into his sleeve took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him. Keep this carefully. Memorise it after reading it and burn it afterwards.
What is this that requires such caution? Xu Fei felt doubtful and puzzled. He unfolded the paper and looked at it. He found several lines written on it National scholar receives imperial grace carries heaven’s mandate or strives for self strengthening and introspection… He muttered a few sentences then looked carefully at the rest. He discovered it was opening topics for policy essays classics history poetry and fu. There were questions but no answers. He could not help raising his head and asking Uncle this looks like the exam questions we usually get in examinations. Why are you showing this to me?
Cao Xinggong said lightly These are not ordinary exam questions. They are the exam questions for your current metropolitan examination!
He said it casually but Xu Fei felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt. It could be said that he was startled. He said in a daze Uncle do not joke. There is still more than a month until the exam and it is not yet time for the questions to be set. How have you already obtained the exam questions? This joke is really too big.
Cao Xinggong said calmly I am not joking and I did not set the questions. Xu Fei you are someone who wants to enter officialdom. You should remember that whoever has the ability to influence the selection of the examiners can decide what the future exam questions will be.
The reasoning was not difficult to understand. Xu Fei said with uncertainty and doubt Then… how did you obtain it?
He clearly still had some disbelief. Leaking the metropolitan examination questions was a shocking matter.
Cao Xinggong sighed I said earlier that what you hear and see may not be mine. The person who truly owns these things happens to be someone who can influence the selection of the examiners. Do you know why I came back so late last night? I knelt outside that persons study for half an hour before I obtained this piece of paper for you. Do you understand?
Xu Feis nose felt sour and he felt somewhat moved but he still felt doubtful and uncertain. Uncle what kind of person are you talking about?
Cao Xinggong This is not something you should ask. Our family has never produced a proper scholar. When your family wrote to say that you had passed the provincial examination I did not even dare to believe it. Since you have already reached this step then your uncle here will also risk everything. No matter what I had to beg that person to show mercy and give you a chance. Your two cousins are useless. In the future the Cao family may have to rely on you to support it. I hope that in the future you will not forget your uncles painstaking efforts today.
Xu Fei said with agitated emotions Uncle rest assured. Since I have known the exam questions in advance and have this month of preparation time I will definitely strive to come back with the top rank.
These words almost choked Cao Xinggong to death. He glared and stood up. It could be said that he became anxious on the spot. What nonsense are you saying? The words spoken outside earlier were for outsiders to hear. Did you actually take them seriously? To know how much chance you have in the metropolitan examination and to see if I could help you I had someone evaluate your provincial examination answers. It was only at a barely passable lower middle level. It would not be wrong to say it relied on luck.
If you had not made a name for yourself as Horizontal Hill Xu Fei this time with a border official vouching for you I would not have dared to ask for help and the other party might not have agreed. With your level if you come back with the top rank how will everyone else live? If you get the top rank how much attention will it attract? Not to mention whether acquaintances from your hometown will become suspicious have you thought about the palace examination? That is when His Majesty gives you questions on the spot.
You can know the metropolitan examination questions in advance but can you also make His Majesty leak the palace examination questions to you in advance? Who do you think you are? Get the top rank in the metropolitan examination and get nothing in the palace examination. Do you think everyone in the world is a fool? If you get the top rank in the metropolitan examination the heads of both our families together would not be enough to be chopped off.
Xu Fei felt as if he had been awakened by a thunderclap. He realised he had been overly excited just now. He was scolded into a cold sweat and his own foolish words made his face turn red.
Cao Xinggong saw that he had made his nephew feel embarrassed so he changed his tone and spoke gently Do not aim for a ranking in the front. Just aim to scrape by as a conferred jinshi. That way others will not suspect you. At most they will think you were lucky. As long as you can obtain the status of a conferred jinshi and as long as you can remain in the capital that is enough. Your uncle is also in the capital. For the rest it depends on human effort. Whether the exam ranking is in front or not cannot determine future achievements and prospects. Do you understand?
Xu Fei immediately cupped his hands and said I understand. Nephew has remembered it.
Cao Xinggong pointed at the paper in his hand Keep this properly. Do not hold it in your hand and wave it around everywhere. Are you afraid others cannot see it? Once you have memorised it destroy it immediately.
Yes. Xu Fei felt a bit flustered. He reached out flipped open a book on the desk stuffed the paper inside the pages and then pushed that book to the very bottom of a pile of books on the desk.
Cao Xinggong saw this and shook his head straight away. He did not criticise too harshly again. All right I still have important guests to meet at noon so I will not say too much. In the evening I will hold a banquet to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel. After saying that he left.
Uncle I will see you off. Xu Fei quickly followed. He still had something to ask his uncle. After being scolded like that by his uncle he did not know whether he should speak or not.
After the two left the study a slight sound came from behind a half screen half bookshelf cabinet behind the desk.
It was the sound made by Chong Er. He was squatting there with a basin of water in front of him. The cloth in his hand had been put into the water making the slight sound.
He had not intended to eavesdrop on the conversation between the uncle and nephew. He was only silently wiping the floor behind there wanting to make the young masters reading place a bit cleaner. Who knew that he would accidentally hear such a shocking conversation? It made him not dare to move even if he wanted to avoid it. He was so scared that he did not even dare to breathe loudly.
He was not stupid either. He knew he had heard something he should not have heard.
Taking advantage of the fact that both had gone out he also wanted to seize the opportunity to leave quickly. He quickly came out from behind the cabinet.
However before he reached the door through a half open window he saw the situation in the courtyard. He discovered that Xu Fei and his uncle were facing each other in the courtyard talking about something again.
He was frightened and hid behind the window wanting to wait until the two left so he could leave immediately.
However after waiting for a good while he still did not see any sign of the two leaving. He vaguely heard the words Ashiheng.
Young master Shiheng? Chong Er was startled. He did not know if he had heard wrongly. He did not know what he thought of but he turned back to look at the desk. After staring in a daze for a while and lowering his head repeatedly like this he bit his lip as if he had made up his mind. After stealing a glance at the movement outside he quickly left through the window went to the desk with trembling hands moved aside a stack of books picked up the bottom one flipped it open and found the piece of paper that Cao Xinggong had given to Xu Fei.
Earlier when he was hiding behind the cabinet he had already seen from the gaps in the bookshelf where Xu Fei had hidden the thing.
He opened the paper looked at the content on it and found that there were not many words. He listened carefully to the sounds outside took the pen from the pen rack in a flustered manner quickly dipped it in the remaining ink in the inkstone pulled out a sheet from a stack of white paper on the desk and quickly wrote copying the so called metropolitan examination questions.
Before long all the questions had been copied in a flamboyant style.
He quickly hid the copied version in his bosom put the original back into the book pages and then moved the stack of books back to press down on that book.
After doing all this sweat had broken out on his forehead from fright. Then he returned behind the window and waited…
What Xu Fei and his uncle were talking about was nothing else. It was precisely the matter of four thousand taels of silver. He wanted to borrow four thousand taels from his uncle.
It would have been fine if he had not mentioned it. Once he did Cao Xinggong expressed doubt. You were strictly guarded all the way and basically had no opportunity for expenses. How could you incur such a large expenditure? It was not that he was unwilling to give his nephew the money. Since he had even gone so far as to obtain the exam questions how could he care about this little bit of money? He just wanted to find out what had happened.
Pressed by his uncle Xu Fei had no choice but to confess honestly. He told about the matter of guessing riddles to cheat all the way until they fell into the ancient tomb wasteland demon realm then escaped and finally arrived in the capital. He roughly recounted the entire process.
Cao Xinggong had not expected his nephew to have such a bizarre encounter. After listening to the account he pondered and said So that means that Ashiheng really saved your life?
Xu Fei It can be said that way. That is why I want to give him this money.
Cao Xinggong was silent for a while and said Do not give him the money first. Let him wait and see the situation before deciding. I know about the matter. You prepare well for the exam.
Xu Fei immediately became a bit anxious Uncle that guy will do anything for money. He holds something over me. It is better to give it to him to avoid complications.
Cao Xinggong said with his hands behind his back Do not be anxious and do not be afraid. Precisely because he will do anything for money we cannot give it to him easily. What if he is a greedy and insatiable person? Giving money is to settle matters. Spending money is to avert disaster not to invite trouble. If he is someone who can part on good terms then based on the fact that he saved my nephews life the money will naturally be given to him. If he does not know what is good for him then there is no need to give it and there will naturally be another way to resolve it. All right I know about the matter and will naturally handle it cleanly for you.
Xu Fei roughly understood his meaning and nodded slightly.
Relax and prepare well for the exam. Cao Xinggong patted his shoulder turned and strode away.
Xu Fei gave an affirmative sound and followed again personally seeing his uncle off to outside the main gate.
Meanwhile Chong Er hiding inside the study finally waited for the opportunity. As soon as the two left the courtyard he immediately slipped out of the study quickly walked towards a small side room on one side of the courtyard gently pushed the door quickly flashed into his own room gently closed the door and hid behind the door. He was truly frightened into a cold sweat all over his body. His heart pounded wildly and his hands kept shaking.
He himself was somewhat puzzled why he had done such a thing.