Chapter 231

Li Qiuchi's residence was not far from the highest official residences in Guiyang Prefecture. He was a litigation master, and a famous one at that. He often had to deal with officials, so it was inconvenient for him to live too far away. Moreover, living in this area could also show off his unusual status.

With Xu Boyi's guidance, Xue Shuiwu and her daughter easily found Li Qiuchi's residence. The courtyard had three entrances, and the garden was decorated with ingenuity. There was a scenery every three steps, and a change every five steps. It actually had the taste of a Jiangnan garden.

Because they had Xu Boyi's letter, the Li Residence's family directly brought them in. They only stopped at the entrance of the quiet and elegant study room and went in to report.

Li Qiuchi was drawing a landscape painting with the window open. This landscape was the scenery outside the window. There were mountains in Guiyang City, and a city in the mountains. The city was built in the forest, and the beautiful scenery could be seen everywhere.

Li Qiuchi had just finished the last stroke, and was looking at his masterpiece with a smile. The family member walked in lightly, bowed, and said, "Master, Young Master Xu has personally written a letter and introduced a mother and daughter. He said that there is a big case, and he asked Master to listen carefully. Later, he will personally discuss it with Master."

Li Qiuchi smiled, "Oh? What big case is it that he is so interested in? It seems that there is a lot of profit to be made. Let them in. "

Li Qiuchi placed the brush on the mountain, and slowly sat down behind the desk.

To be the most famous litigation master in the province, apart from one's own ability, one naturally needed various connections. Li Qiuchi could be said to have eyes and ears in the sky in Guiyang Prefecture. Originally, Xu Boyi was just a small assistant, so he might not be noticed by Li Qiuchi. However, Li Qiuchi wanted to make friends with him because of his long-term vision.

Xu Boyi came to Shuixi from Hulu County. Not long after, he latched onto the thigh of "White Tiger", and was arranged by the Tian family to be an assistant in the administrative department. He had a bright future, so Li Qiuchi quickly formed a relationship with him. From then on, they called each other brothers and were exceptionally close.

This "White Tiger", Li Qiuchi only dared to call it in his heart. With his status, he did not even dare to say it out loud. He was afraid that if he was careless, it would reach the ears of that Miss Tian. That Miss was temperamental. When she was happy, she would just smile, but when she was unhappy, he would be in deep trouble. Li Qiuchi relied on his mouth to make a living, so how could he do such a thing?

This "White Tiger" was named Miaowen, the eldest daughter of the Tian Clan, one of the four chieftains of An, Song, Tian, and Yang. The name Miao Wen sounded like a gentle and virtuous lady. On the surface, it looked like that as well. Everyone who came into contact with this proud daughter of Heaven, Miss Tian, felt that she was gentle and charming. She was indeed a daughter of a noble family. However, after getting along with her for a while, it was inevitable that people would stay away from her.

As one of the three tigers, she was not domineering like Xia Yingying, nor did she have outstanding martial prowess like Zhan Ning 'er, but she could make people turn to ashes with a smile. Those who knew her well would naturally keep a respectful distance. In reality, one could understand a bit of her temperament from the nickname she gave herself.

She called herself "Lian Xie Ji". It was a very strange name, but people who met her for the first time would easily be bewitched by her beautiful appearance, elegant speech, and gentle and charming appearance.

Mother Xue and Shuiwu entered the study and respectfully greeted Li Qiuchi. Li Qiuchi smiled and invited them to sit. He asked about the grievance they wanted to complain about, and Mother Xue repeated what she had said to Xu Boyi. Li Qiuchi heard half of it, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

He patiently listened to Mother Xue finish, and then asked her for Xu Boyi's handwritten letter. He opened it and read it carefully. He laughed towards the sky, and said to Mother Xue with a smile, "Good! I'll help you with this matter, but that Ye Xiaotian is not an easy person to deal with. Li still needs to make some preparations. Where are you staying, and leave your address. Go back and wait patiently. Once Li is ready, he will send someone to summon you. "

Mother Xue had rushed to the Disciplinary Bureau as soon as she entered the city, and had not yet found a place to stay. Hearing Li Qiuchi's words, she couldn't help but be stunned. But ever since she heard that someone was willing to redress her grievances, her mind seemed to have become much clearer. Thinking it over, she couldn't help but say happily, "Litigator Li, we mother and daughter have not found a place to stay. But my daughter has been betrothed since she was young, and her fiancé is a steward in the Tian family in Shuixi. We will go seek shelter with him. His surname is Xie, and he is called Xie Chuanfeng. "

Li Qiuchi smiled, "So it is the Tian family. Good, I am very familiar with the Tian family. Then go, Li will come find you after he has made preparations."

Mother Xue thanked him profusely, and pulled Shuiwu away. Only then did Li Qiuchi take a look at Shuiwu, thinking, "She is very intelligent and beautiful. If she is properly trained, she will definitely become a beautiful woman. It is a pity that she can only be the wife of a lowly person."

Not long after Mother Xue left with her daughter, Xu Boyi came in person excitedly. Ever since Xu Boyi hooked up with the Tian family and obtained the appreciation of the Tian family's eldest daughter, Miss Miaowen, he rose to the sky in one step and became the Chief Secretary Zhao Mo. Since then, he had the idea of taking revenge on Ai Dian Shi.

With his limited authority, he naturally couldn't deal with a county's Warden, who was one rank lower than him, but had more authority. But he had the powerful Tian family behind him, so he had full confidence. Unexpectedly, when he sent someone back to Gourd County to inquire about the situation, he unexpectedly heard that Ai Dian Shi had 'sacrificed his life for the country'.

The person he sent had a dusty journey. Seeing that he had finished his investigation, he wanted to go to the brothel to relax. But he didn't expect to meet Su Xuntian, who was drunk in the brothel. After Su Xuntian was drunk, he bragged to the girls about how he had done well in the yamen, and how he defeated the county's tyrant, Qi Mu, and mentioned 'Ai Dian Shi'.

At that time, Su Xuntian didn't say it in detail, but it had already revealed that there was something else going on. The girls were just flirting with him, and no one paid attention to it. The person Xu Boyi sent was for 'Ai Dian Shi', so he couldn't help but pay attention to it.

So he changed his mind and went up to talk to Su Xuntian. He ordered a good meal and some good wine to drink with Su Xuntian, and got the big secret out of him. When he returned to Shuixi and reported to Xu Boyi, Xu Boyi found out that Ai Dian Shi was a fake.

But at this time, Ye Xiaotian was nowhere to be found. The person he sent only asked about Ai Dian Shi's real identity and how he faked his death. After that, Su Xuntian slept like a dead pig, so he couldn't ask anything else. Xu Boyi had no choice but to swallow his anger.

After all, with his status, he didn't have the ability to challenge all the officials in Gourd County. Even if he had a backer, the Tian family wouldn't offend so many people for his personal grudge. Those officials, big or small, all had their own backers. Who was he that the Tian family would offend so many officials for him? Who would have thought that the heavens would grant his wish and that Ye Xiaotian's news would actually deliver itself to him?

Li Qiuchi had also suffered under Ye Xiaotian's hands. After he became close friends with Xu Boyi, Xu Boyi had complained to him about Ye Xiaotian. Both of them knew that the Ai Dian Shi was Ye Xiaotian. When the two of them got together, they excitedly came up with a plan to deal with Ye Xiaotian.

…

On the day of the Imperial Examinations in Tongren Province, as expected, Ye Xiaotian made it onto the list. This was the first Elementary Scholar in Tongren Province in five years, so it caused a sensation. Even though there was only one Elementary Scholar, the prefectural government still held a ceremony to celebrate.

According to the rules, the selected Elementary Scholars would gather at the prefectural government office. The officials would sound the gongs and fire the guns. The new Elementary Scholars would then line up and enter the main hall from the side door of the government office. They would then pay their respects to the prefectural government's Old Master, who would then give them the Elementary Scholar's blue robes.

Only one Elementary Scholar was a bit shabby, but Prefectural Magistrate Zhang really didn't care about this. The ceremony went on as usual. Thus, two groups of bailiffs sounded the gongs and cleared the way. Another group of soldiers fired their guns into the air. In a moment, the air was filled with smoke. Ye Xiaotian emerged from the smoke, tears streaming down his face.

The prefectural governor, Li Zhongyin, said in a friendly manner, "Haha, becoming an Elementary Scholar will bring glory to your ancestors. No wonder you are revealing your true feelings. However, you are about to meet the prefectural government official. Quickly wipe away your tears, don't be rude in front of the prefectural government official."

Ye Xiaotian raised his sleeves to wipe his tears. He thought to himself, "Who the hell is revealing my true feelings? I was suffocated by the smoke, okay?"

Ye Xiaotian turned his head and saw that the smoke was slowly dissipating. The innocent were rising and the corrupted were falling. In the middle, the silhouettes of Hua Yunfei, Mao Wenzhi and Dong Tian could be seen. Mao Wenzhi was waving excitedly at him. Mao Wenzhi's abdomen … there was a small hand waving. It was poor Yaoyao, her body still hidden in the smoke. As for Big Guy and Fuwa, it was not convenient to bring them along in this situation.

Ye Xiaotian smiled, turned around and followed Li Zhongyin into the magistrate's office.

In the main hall, Prefectural Magistrate Zhang was sitting behind his desk.

Ye Xiaotian entered and under the guidance of Prefectural Governor Li, he bowed to him four times. Prefectural Governor Zhang smiled and wanted to act like a gentleman. However, after trying twice, his fat was stuck in the chair and he could not stand up. He then accepted the four bows from Ye Xiaotian and waved his hand, "Get up. Servants, give the Elementary Scholar a robe."

Immediately, a yamen runner came forward with a blue scholarly robe and helped Ye Xiaotian to put it on. A drumbeat was played in the corridor, and another two yamen runners came forward. They placed a golden silk flower the size of a bowl on Ye Xiaotian's hat, and draped a red silk cross over his body. After Ye Xiaotian was dressed, he bowed to the prefectural magistrate four times.

Prefectural Governor Zhang tried his best to straighten his back, but he still could not stand up. He signaled to his left and right, and two bailiffs rushed over. One of them held the magistrate's arm while the other held the armrest of the chair. With a "Hey" sound, they exerted their strength and pulled the prefectural governor out of the chair.

Prefectural Governor Zhang stood up and took two deep breaths. He then said to Ye Xiaotian in a friendly manner, "My body is a little inconvenient. Let Prefectural Governor Li handle the rest of the ceremony. You can go now. When the ceremony is over, come back to the magistrate's office. I will hold a banquet to celebrate. "

Next, the prefectural governor Zhang was supposed to lead all the newly selected Elementary Scholars … which was Ye Xiaotian alone. They would enter the Confucian Temple and pay their respects to Confucius. They would kneel three times and kowtow nine times. Then, they would go to the school. The prefectural governor and the school officials would pay their respects to each other, and the students would pay their respects to the officials.

Now that Prefectural Governor Zhang Duo had spoken, Prefectural Governor Li would naturally take care of these long-winded rules. When Prefectural Governor Li heard that the prefectural governor Zhang was going to hold a banquet, he felt proud. He and Ye Xiaotian thanked him profusely. Then, the trumpeters and drummers sent the pair of master and disciple out.

Prefectural Governor Zhang stood in the main hall and looked at Ye Xiaotian's silhouette with satisfaction. He smiled and nodded, "Mmm! This young man looks like he is very knowledgeable. He should go to Shui Xi to take the High Scholar's examination. A talent like him cannot be wasted in my hands! "