Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 63: Cultivating Literature to Produce Good Students

Zhou An heard some noise on the street outside, so he opened the window and looked out. He saw a large number of soldiers driving away the people on the street.

"Looks like it's going to work. Hopefully, we can catch them," Zhou An murmured.

"Young Master!"

Stone's voice rang out from outside: "A large number of soldiers have appeared outside. I wonder what happened."

"Get dressed first," Zhou An said.

"Yes!" Stone replied.

Zhou An picked up his clothes, put them on, and opened the door to the outer room.

"Young Master!"

Stone was dressed, his expression somewhat solemn.

Zhou An chuckled and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

Stone was somewhat confused, but Zhou An made no attempt to explain.

He sat down and fell into deep thought. After some time, there was a knock on the door.

"Scholar Zhou, the officials are investigating a case and need to verify your identity. Please open the door!" the waiter called from outside the door.

"Go open the door!"

Zhou An gave an order, took the official document, and stood up.

Shi Tou opened the door, and several soldiers stood in the doorway. The leader bowed and said, "Scholar Zhou, we apologize for disturbing you so late! It's just our duty to verify your identity!"

"It's alright!"

Zhou An handed over the official document, which he took, examined carefully, and then returned to Zhou An, bowing and saying, "Sorry to have disturbed you!"

"No need to see me out!"

Zhou An nodded slightly and accepted the document, after which the soldiers left.

"Close the door and take a break."

Zhou An gave the order and then returned to his room.

The search continued until late at night before gradually subsiding.

Zhou An lay on the bed, and when he heard the outside quiet down, he smiled slightly and soon fell asleep.

"Young master, young master!"

The next day, Zhou An was awakened from his sleep by the urgent cries of the stone.

"Hmm~"

Zhou An rubbed his eyes and asked, "What is it?"

"Young Master Guan is here!" Stone said.

"I understand, I'll get up!"

Zhou An replied, rubbed his face, got up, dressed, and left the room.

"Wai De, you're amazing!"

When Guan Yan saw Zhou An come out, he said excitedly, "The man has been caught!"

"I already guessed it last night when I heard that there was no sound until late at night!" Zhou An smiled.

"A man of great talent and virtue!"

Guan Yan looked on with admiration.

Zhou An had previously asserted that the swindler had not escaped and was still in the city.

They could also guess that someone had been caught based on the sounds outside.

He even began to doubt whether Zhou An could predict the future.

Zhou An shook his head slightly and smiled, "Tongzhou City is so big, even if all the local soldiers were mobilized, it would take at least one night to search it all."

"Oh, right!"

Guan Yan patted his head, then excitedly recounted what had happened.

Yesterday, after he returned home, he told his father what Zhou An had said.

After listening, Guan Shuo pondered for a moment and then made a decision.

In fact, Guan Shuo also knew that the possibility of suppressing the matter was extremely slim.

The best outcome would be to catch the scammer.

But almost everyone subconsciously assumed that the scammer had already run away, never considering that the scammer was still in the city.

After hearing his son relay his words, he thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed possible.

If Sun Zhigao hadn't been short of money and turned to someone else, which led to a dispute and a fight, the authorities would never have known.

Therefore, the scammers are not in a hurry to run away. They only need to stay at their residences and not go out to avoid encountering the scammed test takers. They are almost guaranteed to be exposed.

Since the chances of suppressing the matter are extremely slim, why not take a gamble?

Such incidents are uncontrollable; the perpetrators were not apprehended, and other problems arose, so the prefect must bear the responsibility.

Conversely, if such an unexpected situation arises, and you quickly apprehend the person and resolve the situation perfectly, then that is a success.

Guan Yan decided to take a gamble; if he couldn't find it, he would write a letter directly, rather than worrying about it.

After obtaining consent from others, they deployed the local troops into the city, blocked all roads, and searched every house.

They even preyed on places like restaurants, inns, and brothels.

However, those swindlers were not caught during the search. Instead, they were guilty and knew that they would not be able to escape once the city gates were closed at night. After discussing it, they prepared to leave their residence and climb over the wall to hide in the yard of a nearby house.

Unexpectedly, the male homeowner, who went to bed early, was awakened by the noise outside and couldn't fall back asleep.

Hearing a commotion outside, he quietly opened the window to check and vaguely saw someone climbing over the wall into his yard. He immediately shouted.

Soldiers nearby heard the commotion and rushed over, capturing them.

"Huai De, guess how many people they've scammed!" Guan Yan said mysteriously.

"Do you really think I can predict the future?" Zhou An said irritably.

"Hehe, it's mainly because you've been too amazing these past few times."

Guan Yan smiled and, without keeping them in suspense, said, "The silver notes we found on them alone amounted to tens of thousands of taels. In addition, we also found the cash they had hidden and some other valuables, which should total close to twenty thousand taels!"

"These test takers are really rich!"

Guan Yan lamented how much money the swindlers had cheated out of, but Zhou An marveled at how wealthy these test-takers were.

But thinking about it, it's normal. As long as a girl passes the county exam and is under twenty, there are plenty of wealthy families willing to marry her off.

At this age, with some effort, it's hard to say whether one can pass the metropolitan examination, but if one takes the provincial examination several times, the chances of passing are relatively high.

If a wealthy family is willing to marry off their daughter, they will naturally not be short of money; they can come up with a thousand taels of silver if they think of a way and grit their teeth.

Zhou An did not ask Shulan for any dowry, but Shulan once showed him the account books, which roughly estimated to be no less than ten thousand taels of silver, not including the land.

Is it worth it to buy a degree in the imperial examination with a thousand taels of silver?

That's a matter of opinion.

Judging from the treatment given by the imperial court alone, it was definitely not worth it; a thousand taels of silver would be enough for an ordinary family of five to live on for twenty years.

However, considering the social status and hidden benefits, it is still very worthwhile.

"However, according to their confession, it's not necessarily a thousand taels. That price is too high and would scare many people away. They're asking for such a high price because they're hoping to scam as many people as possible. If someone really can't afford it, they'll lower the price if they keep asking them."

Guan Yan said, "According to them, it was basically around five hundred taels, but only Sun Zhigao and one other person actually gave a thousand taels. They cheated about fifty people this time."

"That's not too many. There are usually one or two thousand people participating in the provincial examinations, which shows that there are still many smart people," Zhou An said with a smile.

"Too!"

Guan Yan smiled and said, "By the way, the Qionglin Banquet will proceed as scheduled tonight. Scholar Hu said he'd like to meet you!"

"Scholar Hu, you want to see me?" Zhou An asked, somewhat surprised.

"If it is really revealed that there was cheating in the imperial examination, Scholar Hu will also be in some trouble. Therefore, he went to the government office yesterday as well."

My father later said that it was because of your suggestion that he thought of searching the city.

"When Scholar Hu heard your name, he asked to see you," Guan Yan said.

Zhou An still felt something was off. Even if cheating was exposed, Scholar Hu would only be in some trouble. He couldn't possibly want to see him just to thank him.

"I don't know the specifics, but it's a good thing. I'll come find you tonight, and we'll go together."

Guan Yan said, "I barely slept last night and came to find you early this morning. Go back and catch up on some sleep first."

"I also go to bed late at night, so I need to eat something and catch up on my sleep." Zhou An yawned as he spoke.

.........

In the evening, Guan Yan arrived at the inn by carriage and picked up Zhou An to go up to the tower.

"Speaking of which, Li Mu should thank you. If he tries to cause trouble later, see how I'll put him in his place!" Guan Yan laughed.

Because of the strict supervision, the invitations were not needed. After entering the building, the two were led to the fourth floor.

By this time, many successful candidates had already arrived, chatting in small groups.

The two went inside, found a seat, and had just sat down when a servant came over.

"Young Master Guan, is this Scholar Zhou?" the servant asked, bowing.

"Exactly!" Guan Yan nodded.

After confirming, Xiao Si quickly bowed to Zhou An and said, "My father and Scholar Hu invite you; please come with me, Scholar Zhou!"

Zhou An glanced at Guan Yan, and seeing him nod, he followed Xiao Si.

Xiao Si led Zhou An to a private room, knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, led Zhou An inside.

"My lord, Scholar Zhou has arrived!" The servant bowed and stepped aside.

The elderly man at the head of the table sized Zhou An up as soon as he entered. Seeing his composed demeanor, he stroked his beard and praised, "You've produced a fine student!"