Chapter 39 Avenging His Father

Li Kui thought for a moment and finally remembered. He had seen it in the old archives: a scholar from Tangyin County had been caught taking the imperial examination on someone else's behalf in Ci Prefecture, resulting in the stripping of his scholarly status and an official record on file. The man's name seemed to be Li Daqi.

"Oh! Your father was..." Li Kui faltered awkwardly, unsure of how to continue.

Li Yanqing looked straight into Li Kui's eyes with a sharp and steady gaze. "I know my father's reputation is poor. The facts are there, and they are undeniable. But I would like to ask Your Honor a question: Would a farmer ever feed the grain he painstakingly grew to pigs?"

Li Kui did not catch Li Yanqing's meaning immediately, so he smiled and said, "Explain a little more, I don't quite follow."

"It is very simple. My father was well aware of the consequences of being caught taking an exam for someone else. Furthermore, he received not a single copper coin for doing such a thing, nor any other benefit. So why would he risk his scholarly future and reputation to take such a risk? Has Your Honor ever considered this logic?"

Only then did Li Kui understand Li Yanqing's analogy. Indeed, no one would be willing to give precious grain to pigs; they would typically use distiller's grains and pigweed. Similarly, no one would willingly sacrifice a scholar's hard-earned status to make wedding garments for someone else.

"Then why did he do it?" Li Kui became somewhat curious.

"Because the person for whom my father took the exam was none other than Assistant Magistrate Ma's nephew. Pressured by coercion and intimidation, and being weak-natured by birth, my father dared not refuse. After the incident came to light, my father's life was utterly ruined, and my mother died of grief because of it. Yet Assistant Magistrate Ma remains safe and unscathed. How utterly unjust this is to my father!"

Li Kui finally remembered; it was indeed Assistant Magistrate Ma's nephew. He nodded and said, "I can understand how you feel, but many things in this world have nothing to do with fairness. As ordinary people, one can only be extremely cautious and careful never to take on burdens one cannot afford to bear."

Li Kui's unspoken meaning was that, although it was somewhat unfair, your father still went ahead and took the exam for another, which in itself was a mistake. Being ordinary folk, how could he possibly escape the consequences?

At that moment, Li Yanqing dropped to his knees, tears welling up as he said, "This student does not wish to absolve his father of guilt. I only implore Your Honor, considering that my father was forced into the proxy exam, and considering that his family was torn apart and left destitute for years because of it, to expunge his record! The grace of Your Honor, this student shall engrave upon his heart forever."

The punishment for Li Daqi's proxy exam had two main parts: one was the revocation of his scholar status, and the other was an official record barring him from ever participating in the imperial examinations again.

For Li Daqi, once this was officially recorded, no chief examiner would ever pass him, no matter how well he performed in any future exams.

Not only that, but this official record also had a profound impact on Li Yanqing. Much like having a criminal record in the family, even if Li Yanqing were to place first as the top scholar in the future, once the examiners checked his father's file, Li Yanqing would have no hope—let alone of becoming the top metropolitan scholar—even passing the provincial examination would be out of the question.

However, once Li Daqi's file was expunged, he would officially be considered reformed in the eyes of the government. After a dozen years, with countless rotations of officials, such a minor matter would be entirely forgotten.

Li Kui naturally understood this. Moreover, he deeply appreciated Li Yanqing's extraordinary talent. For such a gifted child to lose his chance to rise in the world simply because of his father's past would be an absolute tragedy.

More importantly, Li Kui possessed the authority to expunge Li Daqi's record. He could dispatch someone to the village to investigate Li Daqi's conduct over the past few years. If Li Daqi had genuinely turned over a new leaf, helped the young and aided the elderly in the community, and established a good reputation, Li Kui would be well within his rights to grant him a second chance by clearing his adverse record.

Of course, re-entering the imperial examinations was out of the question.

After a long period of contemplation, Li Kui slowly said, "For the sake of your filial piety, I can take note of this matter. However, official business must be handled through official channels. The standard regulation requires a probation period of five to ten years. I shall grant the minimum: next year, the prefecture's academy supervisor will send someone to the village to observe your father's conduct. If he performs well, I will remove the adverse record from his file."

Li Yanqing was overwhelmed with gratitude. He was not doing this for his own sake—he had no desire whatsoever to participate in the imperial exams. His sole purpose was to lift the official blemish from his father, to remove the heavy iron shackle that had imprisoned his father's soul, allowing him to face life anew.

Li Yanqing knew that under normal procedures, the Prefect would never initiate an inquiry into such a matter; the county academy supervisor would first have to submit an application, which would then go through layers of approval before finally reaching the Prefect's desk.

Yet, with Assistant Magistrate Ma standing in the way, who would ever dare bring this matter up again?

Although Li Kui appreciated his talent, this was not the true reason he was willing to help. The true reason lay in Li Kui's intrinsic nature—his deep benevolence and unwavering integrity. Filled with gratitude, Li Yanqing bowed deeply once more to Li Kui, saying, "Your elder's boundless kindness, Yanqing shall hold forever in his heart."

...

Since examinations were scheduled for the following day, Li Kui did not converse with Li Yanqing for much longer. After inquiring briefly about his studies and daily life, he dismissed him.

Li Yanqing took his leave and stepped out of the study. As he reached the corridor, he heard someone calling his name from behind. He turned around to see the young mistress, Li Jiuzhen, hurrying after him.

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you!" Li Yanqing stopped and smiled.

Li Jiuzhen ran up to him, a little breathless. "You clearly didn't want to see me at all! You bolted out the door faster than a rabbit."

"How could that be? It's just that I have exams tomorrow, so I was in a rush to go back and review."

"Hmph! That's a decent excuse. Very well, I'll let you off. So, how do you plan to get the new book to me?"

Li Yanqing scratched his head. Couldn't this young lady buy it herself? A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked with a smile, "Do you perhaps want Lushan Xiaoxiaoxiao to write a few inscriptions in the book for you?"

Li Jiuzhen nodded vigorously; that was precisely what she wanted. She asked tentatively, "Is that possible?"

"No problem at all!"

Li Yanqing readily agreed since it was no trouble for him. But then he suddenly realized: if she recognized his handwriting, wouldn't she figure out he was the author? The thought vanished almost as quickly as it came, and he promptly devised a solution—he would simply have his father write a few characters for him instead.

"Then how will you send it to me?"

Li Jiuzhen's face lit up with joy as she quickly handed him a slip of paper. "This is my home address. You can take it to the post station and have them deliver the book to my father. Remember to wrap it up properly so they don't damage it."

Li Yanqing accepted the address and waved goodbye. "I must be going. We'll meet again if there's a chance."

Li Jiuzhen watched him all the way out through the side gate. At the threshold, Li Yanqing turned back to wave one last time before his figure disappeared beyond the main entrance.

"Jiuniang, what is it?" Her father, Li Kui, appeared behind her, gently patting his daughter's head with affectionate indulgence.

"Father, I came to see Brother Qing off."

Li Kui smiled. "The poem he wrote this morning was truly wonderful. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes! Where is it?"

"In my study. Father will take you to see it."

Holding her father's hand, Li Jiuzhen skipped happily along with him toward the study.

...

Before dawn broke, more than twenty fellow villagers spontaneously formed a guard to accompany the students' ox-cart toward the county school. They carried torches, with a young man walking at the very front holding a lantern bearing the four large characters "Lushan Academy," which shone brightly in the darkness of the night.

Today's examination was set to begin promptly at the Hour of Mao (6:00 AM) and end at the Hour of Wu (12:00 PM), lasting a full three double-hours.

The test was relatively simple, roughly equivalent in difficulty to the first question of the debate examination. It primarily tested the students' foundational knowledge, covering three Confucian classics: the *Classic of Filial Piety*, the *Analects*, and the *Mencius*, while also evaluating their calligraphy.

Considering that various contingencies might arise, only the scores of three out of the four students from each academy would be tallied. Combined with the debate scores, this would form the final aggregate grade.

Although the difficulty was manageable, the grading standards were remarkably stringent: a single wrong character or a single spot of correction would negatively impact the score. Therefore, the students had to exercise utmost caution, thinking thrice before putting brush to paper.

With the toll of a bell, the examination commenced. Inside the spacious grand hall, thirty-two desks were arranged. Thirty-two students from eight academies sat at their respective desks, deep in thought as they applied brush to paper. The hall was exceptionally quiet, save for the rustling sound of brush tips gliding across paper.

Three elderly scholars served as proctors, patrolling back and forth along the aisles, while the academy supervisors from both the prefecture and county levels sat seated prominently at the front of the hall.

Every academy had drilled its students to memorize these three Confucian classics countless times during their preparation. Everyone knew them by heart. As long as they remained cautious, careful, and read the prompts correctly, most could answer proficiently. Even Wang Gui, who struggled somewhat with memorizing the *Mencius*, found his brush flying across the page with remarkable smoothness.

Time slipped away bit by bit. With half a shichen remaining before the end of the exam, Li Yanqing was already working on the final question. He read the prompt several times: it was taken from the *Mencius*, Volume 1, "King Hui of Liang, Part I," requiring the students to fill in the missing sentences.

After a brief moment of reflection, Li Yanqing lifted his brush and wrote in the blank space: *"Let every homestead of five mu be planted with mulberry, and those aged fifty can wear silk. Let there be no neglect in the breeding of poultry, pigs, and dogs, and those aged seventy can eat meat. Let the fields of a hundred mu not be deprived of their farming seasons, and a family of eight mouths will not suffer from hunger. Pay careful attention to the education of the schools, instilling in them the duties of filial piety and fraternal love, and those with grey hair will not carry loads upon the roads. When the aged wear silk and eat meat, and the common people neither suffer from hunger nor cold, yet the ruler does not attain the true imperial sway—such a thing has never been."*

Li Yanqing gently laid down his brush, carefully blew on the ink to dry it, and reviewed his answers twice over. Not a single character was amiss.

*Dong!* The third warning bell rang out, and Academy Supervisor Yao Wannian announced in a ringing voice, "This is the final warning! You have the length of one stick of incense remaining!"

Several students who had mismanaged their time began to write frantically with panicked strokes. "Oh no!" a student cried out in a low voice, evidently having made a mistake in his haste.

Once his ink was thoroughly dry, Li Yanqing raised his hand. An elderly proctor smiled, walked over, and collected his test paper. At that moment, Yue Fei also raised his hand, ready to submit his examination as well.