Since Liu Zhenqing had been invited to dinner, it was natural to add dishes to the table. This time, Liu Zhenqing was a little more cautious and didn’t dare to act recklessly. He only said that he had forgotten what dishes he liked at this restaurant. Qin Yu was cold but attentive, and directly asked Jin Li to order the original owner’s favorite foods.

However, that food seemed to be very bland, and Liu Zhenqing didn’t like it. He preferred heavier food, and the only thing he could tolerate here was the bland fish. He loved to eat fish of all kinds, and had gotten a fish bone stuck in his throat many times. Despite being laughed at, he still loved eating it, even if his skill at picking out fish bones was not very good.

After taking a few difficult bites, Liu Zhenqing decided not to embarrass himself. He said awkwardly: “It seems that my tastes have also changed.”

The three of them didn’t hesitate. After all, injuring one’s brain could turn a person into a fool, let alone affect their sense of taste.

The waiter finally served their signature braised fish and also gave Huo Fenglie an extra plate.

He Lan and Qin Yu were not surprised by this, and at this time, Liu Zhenqing was curious about what they had to say about Rong Shiming.

“Him? It’s possible for such an uneducated person to run an academy? Qiming Academy? Is this…..allowed?” Liu Zhenqing was astonished.

After He Lan’s explanation, Liu Zhenqing’s outlook on things was completely refreshed.

In fact, it was not at all a normal academy for students to learn, but more of a cram school to prepare them for the Imperial Examinations. 

It specialized in serving those who were about to take the exams, and provided a one-stop shop for food, accommodations, and education. He had heard that there were several similar academies like this in the generations before the Zhou Dynasty, but they no longer existed after that.

Liu Zhenqing really felt that educated people, Imperial merchants like the Liu family, or even officials could make this sort of arrangement, but it was more normal for people like Rong Shiming to invest in gambling houses. It was strange for him to start an academy that only seeked fame and not profit. Could it be for the purpose of making connections? After all, if there were students who passed brilliantly, they would definitely be grateful to Rong Shiming. But he himself relied on the First Princess to show off his power, so did he still need to rely on this?

“Rong Shiming’s academy is very strict about the status of its students. Generally speaking, people from poor families cannot get in. The fees are probably very high. If he is seeking profit, he should also be seeking connections,” Qin Yu said.

Liu Zhenqing fell silent.

He Lan said: “So in the next few days, he should be very busy and won’t have time to trouble you. When he is free, you will have gone away and he will have no chance to return today’s humiliation, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not worried about this. Even if he wants to cause trouble for me, he won’t be able to come to my house, and I won’t go out,” Liu Zhenqing said.

“With that expression of yours, I thought you regretted it and might give in later,” He Lan said with a smile.

“I just think…..” Liu Zhenqing paused for a moment. The former Prime Minister Liu of the Great Zhou Dynasty was naturally very clever, but he was not comparable to the three young men in front of him. “I feel it is risky, and like it’s an easy channel for cheating in the Imperial Examinations.”

When Liu Zhenqing finished speaking, the three of them were stunned.

“But he has held this academy several times,” He Lan said. “There wasn’t…..”

“However, those who came out of his academy were at least second-level students…..and there were the so-called lucky ones.” Qin Yu said in a deep voice: “It has been like this several times. It is indeed suspicious.”

“How is it done? Hasn’t the emperor always been very strict in managing this aspect?” He Lan asked: “If there was any doubt, it would definitely be investigated. Perhaps we are overthinking it.”

Qin Yu shook his head. There were naturally many ways to cheat in the Imperial Examinations, but all of them were difficult. It was hard to say how it could be done without being discovered. Thus, it was indeed possible that they were overthinking it.

Regarding this topic, Huo Fenglie could only listen, as he hadn’t been in the capital and didn’t know much about the Imperial Examinations. He did not, however, stop eating the dishes in front of him.

He Lan and Qin Yu both stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing definitely thought more than he spoke. He was unwilling to meddle in other people’s business, and after all, it was better to do less than more considering his current situation. But someone once told him that the Imperial Examinations were the most critical step in selecting talents for the country, and it was the place where mistakes were least allowed.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed, and he gave a silent sigh, saying: “I made a wild guess. I just feel that since they are all rich and powerful, why not just stay honestly in the Imperial Academy? It’s strange. Maybe I’m judging others by my own villainous nature, but…..”

When Liu Zhenqing said this, his eyes darkened. “I once saw my grandfather punish a shopkeeper in the chamber of commerce, and one thing was talked about at that time. There were exam questions when the chamber of commerce was about to select accountants, and the shopkeeper was greedy for money, so he gathered those people who came to seek employment in advance. He asked them for money to help them train, then secretly gave them answers to the different questions according to the amount of money they contributed. It was discovered at that time that the shopkeeper even quibbled that he only happened to guess similar questions. In fact, after finding out the test questions, he had changed the numbers slightly so that those people knew how to calculate them in advance. Don’t you think this is very similar?”

Liu Zhenqing told this as if it was a funny story, but everyone fell silent.

It had never been discovered, they only had second-level students at most, and they only accepted rich and powerful students. Based on these three points, one could basically guess the pattern of cheating.

And after Liu Zhenqing systematically listed his thoughts, it seemed that these matters were pretty much inseparable.

Liu Xiaozhu’s multiple near-death experiences, his engagement to Jiang Zi’er, her father being the Minister of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites being responsible for the Imperial Examinations…..Liu Zhenqing had never believed in coincidences.

But he still didn’t understand why he had to be targeted. Was it just because Rong Shiming was particularly vicious?

But Liu Zhenqing didn’t bother to think too hard about it. Anyway, that was basically it. The information that needed to be given was given, and the rest was left to them.

Liu Zhenqing’s few breezy words caused He Lan and Qin Yu to feel as if they had been struck by lightning, and the look in their eyes shifted. The two glanced at each other, probably already eyeing this Imperial Examination.

And for Liu Zhenqing, meddling in the affairs of others this time could be regarded as getting revenge on behalf of Liu Xiaozhu.

Because he was thinking about and interfering in a lot of things that he shouldn’t interfere in, Liu Zhenqing became a little absent-minded. When he finished eating the food in his bowl, he was about to pick up a piece of fish when he saw that there was a very flat fish on the plate in the upper righthand corner. The fish was very soft, without any bones supporting it.

In the past, when there was fish on the table, there would be a small plate like this and a steady stream of boneless fish meat would be spread on it.

When he, Huo Feihan, and Li Xingruo were chatting animatedly, they didn’t need to worry about fish bones at all. Everyone ate the fish happily.

This scene felt just like those days, and was so familiar that Liu Zhenqing fell into a trance. On instinct, he picked up the fish on the plate and casually stuffed it into his mouth.

En, it was delicious. As expected, there were no fish bones at all and it was very smooth. He needed it to replenish his brainpower.

This fish was done well.

One mouthful, two mouthfuls, three mouthfuls…..then two very obvious gasps woke Liu Zhenqing up.

Liu Zhenqing froze, choking on the fish meat in his mouth. He coughed violently for a moment, and then looked tremblingly to the right at the chopsticks in his frozen hand. Huo Fenglie’s gaze was heavy.

The plate of fish seemed to be closer to Huo Fenglie. Hadn’t he asked for an extra?

Had he removed the fish bones piece by piece?

This was Huo Fenglie’s habit when eating fish. Qin Yu and He Lan had long been accustomed to it. Every time, he would remove a whole plate of fish meat and then eat it slowly, so they always thought that Huo Fenglie must have obsessive tendencies in this area. Maybe he got a fish bone stuck in his throat as a child and got frightened, so he developed this habit.

They had sat at the same table with Huo Fenglie countless times, and had never seen anyone dare to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth.

He still wouldn’t admit that he wanted to eat swan meat, but he even stuck his chopsticks into the other person’s bowl. What were his intentions?

Liu Zhenqing: Will anyone believe me if I say I didn’t mean to? Can I spit it out?

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Chapter Thirteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifteen