Chapter 129: Confiscation and Exile
Song Erlang’s face turned deathly pale, his mind blank. He jerked his sleeve back, staring in disbelief at the densely packed cheat notes. He rubbed at them vigorously, but instead of fading, they only became more pronounced.
Gu Huaizhi hadn’t cheated; instead, it was he who had been caught cheating!
Song Erlang was on the verge of collapse. He frantically tore at the garment, ripping it off and throwing it toward the oil lamp in a desperate attempt to burn the evidence.
“It’s not me! This isn’t my clothing! I didn’t cheat. This garment was given to me by Li Guangyao. He specifically took it to a temple to be blessed, to wish me success in the exam.”
He was so frantic that his words became incoherent, his face filled with terror as he looked pleadingly at the proctor, hoping he would believe him.
“If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to arrest Li Guangyao and interrogate him!”
The proctor, quick on his feet, snatched the burning garment from the oil lamp and stomped out the flames. The fabric had a hole burned into it, and around the scorched area, more cheat notes appeared.
An idea struck him. He held the garment over the fire, and as the pale fabric was heated, a dense array of cheat notes began to emerge.
The soldiers were stunned, not expecting such a cunning trick!
The proctor continued to pass the entire garment over the fire, revealing that not a single spot was blank; it was covered entirely in cheat notes.
The more Song Erlang looked, the colder his heart became, as if a block of ice had been shoved into his chest, and his blood nearly froze.
He never imagined that Li Guangyao would betray him, standing with Gu Huaizhi and working together to frame him!
“My lord, it’s not me! I truly didn’t do it. Li Guangyao conspired with Gu Huaizhi to frame me. I would never do something like this, even if you gave me ten times the courage. My teacher said that with my abilities, I would definitely pass this exam! Why would I ruin my own future?”
Song Erlang was on the verge of collapse. He was the only hope of the Song family. To ensure his success in the imperial examination, his mother had begged the Crown Princess for help, and managed to get Song Dalang out of prison without leaving a criminal record.
Initially, the Crown Princess refused, but later, his mother took the risky step of threatening her by using the Crown Princess’s order to persecute Su Wan against her. Only then did the Crown Princess agree to help.
Perhaps the Crown Princess was displeased at being threatened, so on the night before the court hearing, she arranged for Song Dalang to die in prison.
Since he had only attempted to harm someone and wasn’t involved in a murder, it was relatively easy to erase Song Dalang’s criminal record.
Song Erlang’s mother didn’t dare offend the Crown Princess, so she blamed Song Dalang’s death on Su Wan.
Now, the hard-won opportunity had been completely destroyed!
Song Erlang trembled uncontrollably, drenched in cold sweat. Just as he was about to continue pleading for mercy, the proctor’s words struck him like a heavy blow.
“Song Xu, for engaging in corrupt practices and abusing your position, you are stripped of your scholar’s title and banned from taking any further examinations for life. Additionally, for conspiring with others out of personal vendetta to falsely accuse a fellow examinee and disrupt the provincial examination, which is a grave offense, you shall be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.”
The proctor didn’t believe a word of Song Erlang’s excuses. His friend had falsely accused Gu Huaizhi, and yet the cheat sheets were found in Song Erlang’s possession—especially using such sophisticated methods. There was no way he could be innocent.
Knowing that Song Erlang and Gu Huaizhi were from the same village and that their families had a deep-seated grudge, the proctor couldn’t help but think how close Song Erlang had come to ruining a brilliant talent out of personal spite.
The proctor commanded furiously, “Guards, drag Song Xu away! Give him fifty lashes, confiscate his family’s property, and exile him to the frontier as a soldier.”
Song Erlang’s face turned ashen as he desperately tried to defend himself, screaming, “My lord, my lord, I’m innocent! Someone has framed me! Please investigate thoroughly—mmph—”
Before he could finish, a soldier covered his mouth and dragged him away. The sound of the lashes landing echoed soon after, each strike like a hammer on the hearts of the other examinees. They all stood in fear, and cold sweat running down their backs.
Song Erlang had brought this upon himself, suffering the consequences of his own actions.
Had he not conspired with his friend to falsely accuse Gu Huaizhi of cheating, this situation would never have come to him.
Karma!
The proctor, with his square face and stern expression, exuded an air of authority. He stared at the writing on the garment, puzzled by how Song Erlang managed to make the characters appear only when exposed to heat.
“To be thorough, inspect every examinee carefully,” the proctor instructed after a pause. “And make sure to heat Gu Huaizhi’s clothing as well.”
“Yes, sir.” The soldiers went over to Gu Huaizhi.
After some thought, the proctor decided to follow them.
The soldiers heated all of Gu Huaizhi’s clothing, but no hidden cheat sheets appeared.
For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, the proctor felt a sense of relief, and he offered some words of reassurance. “Focus on your exam. Clearing your name won’t affect your participation in the imperial examination.”
Gu Huaizhi stood up and gracefully cupped his hands in a respectful bow.
The proctor took a few steps away but then turned back, asking, “Do you happen to know what method causes the writing to appear only when exposed to fire?”
Thinking that Gu Huaizhi had already finished his exam, the proctor handed him a sleeve unrelated to the exam questions and said, “I only know that turmeric turns red when exposed to alkaline water.”
Gu Huaizhi, of course, knew the method—he had orchestrated it himself. The text written with saltwater dries colorless, but when exposed to heat, it turns black.
“I don’t know,” Gu Huaizhi replied, a hint of impatience showing in his eyes. “This student is physically weak, and if the inspection is complete, I would like to rest.”
The proctor thought to himself, “This young man’s lack of understanding of social etiquette and his disinterest in flattering or currying favor with his superiors will surely hinder his prospects in the officialdom!”
He let out a cold snort, thinking that Gu Huaizhi was fortunate to encounter a lenient official like himself who valued talent, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so forgiving.
The proctor, along with his entourage, left in a grand manner and made a formal report of the incident to the court.
—
Su Wan was unaware of the events in Guangling Prefecture. As she was set to leave for Guangling Prefecture the next day, she took advantage of the good weather to wash all her bedding and covers, replacing them with a fresh set.
“Thud—”
As Su Wan shook out a pillowcase, a palm-sized glass jar fell out. The jar was sealed with a wooden stopper, and inside were four slips of paper. When the sunlight hit the jar, the colors seemed to swirl like clouds, creating a stunning effect.
Curious, she pulled out the wooden stopper and tipped out the slips of paper. Three of them were blank, but one had Gu Huaizhi’s handwriting on it.
The note in the jar explained that the glass jar was a birthday gift for her, and each slip of paper represented a wish—Gu Huaizhi promised to fulfill three of her wishes.
Su Wan was taken aback, not expecting Gu Huaizhi to do something so childish.
Yet, despite this, she felt a surge of happiness welling up in her heart.
She even felt an impulse to head to the prefectural city immediately.
With this thought, Su Wan decided to act on it. She placed the slips of paper back into the jar and hid it under her bed. After quickly packing a bundle, she prepared to leave, only to run into Mother Gu.
Mother Gu couldn’t hide the joy in her eyes as she took Su Wan’s hand and said, “Wanwan, there’s great news! Song Erlang was caught cheating in the imperial examination and has been sentenced to have his family property confiscated and to be exiled. This morning, soldiers came to seize the Song family’s property, and Song Manfu was stripped of his position as village chief. The clan leader has removed the Song family from the genealogy and driven them out of Xinghua Village. It’s truly satisfying!”
“Justice has been served,” Su Wan remarked, a smile tugging at her lips. She then advised Mother Gu, “I’m heading to the prefectural city today. Please take care of Jiu Ge for me.”
Mother Gu’s smile faded slightly, replaced by concern. “I will take good care of her. You must be careful on the road and take care of yourself.”
Su Wan nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself.”
As she boarded the carriage and passed by the village entrance, she caught sight of Madam Jiang at the clan leader’s door, wailing and causing a scene, refusing to leave.
The fate that had befallen the Song family was entirely their own doing, and they deserved no sympathy.
As the carriage moved away from the village entrance, Su Wan was about to lower the curtain when she noticed the village youths dragging Madam Jiang and Song Manfu to the village entrance and throwing them out. With the Song family dealt with, Mrs. Hu would finally be free.
Qi Third and Qi Fifth were waiting at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain when Su Wan’s carriage arrived. The two brothers sat on the carriage shaft, ready to escort Su Wan as she transported a batch of goods to the prefectural city.
When the group reached the prefectural city, Su Wan disembarked and underwent a search by the soldiers at the city gate.
“Mrs. Gu!” Zhao Da’s rough voice called out.
Su Wan turned around to see Zhao Da and Zhao Wei approaching on horseback. “What a coincidence! Are you here on business in the city?”
Zhao Da and Zhao Wei had come to the prefectural city partly because of the incident with the cheating in the imperial examinations, and partly because they had detected signs of Qi family soldiers being active in the city. Naturally, they wouldn’t reveal the true reasons to Su Wan.
“Something happened with the imperial exams, so General Zhao came to investigate,” Zhao Da replied with a hearty laugh, his gaze inadvertently falling on the two people behind Su Wan. And his large, round eyes suddenly sharpened with suspicion.
