Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 947: The Lucky General

However, this time Gu Jin’an and his companions were not shy. During the county examination, everyone had been through this before, and they unabashedly took off their clothes, bending over for inspection.

The Government Officials were also quite reluctant, so this part of the inspection was passed quickly.

"Move on, move on, next! Everyone, hurry up, if you’re slow and draw a bad number, don’t blame us." The Government Officials shouted until their throats were sore, but there were too many people, even if they were fast, it would take all morning.

After Gu Jin’an and his companions finished the inspection, they held their tokens and followed the Government Officials to collect pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and receive today’s provisions and water.

The provisions were very ordinary, just two large pancakes.

Gu Jin’an and his companions remembered Gu Jinli’s instructions, to break the pancakes apart for inspection after receiving them.

Gu Jin’an was now on good terms with Xu Zhao Ming, and upon seeing him put the pancakes in his basket, he reminded him: "Brother Xu, take the pancakes out, break them apart and inspect them before putting them back."

He said this openly, and the Government Officials only frowned upon hearing it, with one of the most dissatisfied merely saying, "You still need to break them? You’re too fussy, hurry up, there are other candidates waiting."

"Hey, Lord Official, we’ll be quick." Gu Jin’an was good-looking, and he spoke in a pleasant tone, so the Government Officials, who initially thought they were just making trouble, lost their anger upon seeing his attitude.

A man dressed as a cook suddenly grabbed the pancakes from Gu Jin’an’s hand, laughing: "Young master, these two pancakes are a bit burnt. They taste bitter when eaten. I’ll change them for you."

As he was about to throw the pancakes into a bin on the ground, Gu Jin’an grabbed his arm, squeezed the joint hard, and the cook let out a cry, his hand loosened, and Gu Jin’an snatched back the pancakes.

Gu Jin’an smiled at the cook, shaking his head inwardly, with such little guts and yet wanting to commit evil deeds? Without the courage of a tiger, don’t dream of making quick money.

The Government Officials nearby were no fools, seeing this raised suspicion, looking at the cook, but they dared not believe he had the guts to pull such a stunt.

The cook used to be a Government Official, but after a leg injury he was crippled, so he could only do odd jobs, cooking for the Government Officials. This time, they thought he was honest and trustworthy, so they brought him to the Ritual Room to help.

Seeing the Government Officials staring at him, the cook quickly explained: "Xiao Ma, we joined the government office at the same time, don’t you know what kind of person I am? I wouldn’t have the guts to do something bad!"

Pointing at Gu Jin’an, he added: "I just saw he was fussy, and his pancakes were burnt, fearing he’d come after me if he passed the exam, so I wanted to change them for him to curry some favor."

Constable Xiao Ma was Squad Leader Ma’s cousin, hearing the cook’s words, and considering their camaraderie from joining the government office together, he was inclined to trust him.

But Gu Jin’an bowed respectfully to Constable Xiao Ma, saying: "Lord Official, I don’t mean to disdain the government office’s provisions, I actually like burnt pancakes. I want to break them apart just to be cautious. After all, exams are important, and I hope you won’t mind."

He then looked at the cook and bowed deeply, saying: "Thank you for cooking for us candidates, sir, much appreciated."

Much appreciated!

The cook was breaking out in cold sweat, what appreciation? What mattered was handing over the pancakes!

The cook wanted to seize the pancakes, but Xu Zhao Ming had already, in front of the Government Officials, broken his pancakes, finding a piece of paper inside with some words, seemingly from the "Thousand Character Classic."

Xu Zhao Ming was stunned, truly not expecting contraband hidden in the provisions, and even more bewildered that the smuggler was illiterate. Was the Prefecture Examination really testing the "Thousand Character Classic"? How absurd! Disregarding us poor scholars burning the midnight oil?!

Xu Zhao Ming was so angry his hands shook. Seeing this, Constable Xiao Ma immediately restrained the cook, shouting to the Government Officials nearby: "Seal the doors, go notify Lord Magistrate, something big has happened!"

"Hey." The Government Officials knew something severe was amiss, immediately splitting into groups; some sealed the gates, some ran to notify Magistrate Gu, others raced to the kitchen, sealing the kitchen courtyard, while some searched for candidates who had already received provisions to collect them all, intending to break them apart for inspection.

...

Recently, Magistrate Gu had been frantically busy, and on top of that the Prefecture Examination was coming up, such exhausting days were driving him to violence. This morning, he even performed a ritual, praying to God for the examination to proceed smoothly.

But before the exams had even started, trouble emerged.

With a crash, Magistrate Gu smashed a porridge bowl in rage, exclaiming: "Investigate thoroughly, arrest everyone in the kitchen for interrogation; if we don’t find anything out, none of us will live!"

This was exam bribery, and the issue lay not with the candidates, but with the government office staff. If higher-ups found out, even with great merit he shouldn’t expect promotion, and could even face execution.

"Yes." Squad Leader Ma and Squad Leader Zhang hurried to take action.

Judge Tang was also shocked, yet tried to comfort Magistrate Gu: "My lord, this misfortune is a blessing in disguise. Had Gu Jin’an not discovered early, if found after the exams, we’d all be facing execution." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Magistrate Gu hearing this, felt deeply relieved: "County Magistrate Zheng mentioned it’s his habit; during the previous county examination, he also broke apart provisions for inspection, unexpectedly saving us this time."

Truly a lucky charm.

"Let’s go, we should check immediately." Magistrate Gu quickly straightened his attire, leading Judge Tang to the courtyard where provisions were distributed.

Seeing this, Constable Xiao Ma immediately came forward, saying: "My lord, all the pancakes have been collected; just give the order, and we can break them apart for inspection."

He then pointed at the cook, adding: "Gu Changfa is acting suspiciously. It’s likely he has a significant connection to this matter."

Magistrate Gu had already heard of Gu Changfa’s situation, and upon hearing this, looked at Gu Changfa, sneering: "Ungrateful fiend, come, beat him until he talks."

Gu Changfa had always eaten the government office’s bread, and even after becoming crippled, the office hadn’t dismissed him, assigning easy and safe tasks instead. But this ingrate was so venomous, attempting a single scheme that almost ruined them all.

"Yes." Constable Xiao Ma complied, dragging Gu Changfa to the center of the yard, pinning him with two Government Officials, and administered punishment himself.

Bang bang bang!

The iron-shod stick struck Gu Changfa harshly, forcing cries of agony till he fainted.

"Splash him awake, continue beating!" Magistrate Gu’s rage was uncontainable, and he wouldn’t stop until Gu Changfa confessed.

"Yes." Squad Leader Xiao Ma continued the beating.

But apart from screams, Gu Changfa didn’t utter a word.

Gu Jin’an frowned, Gu Changfa didn’t seem like a resolute person, enduring like this must have a reason.

He stood in place and respectfully said to Magistrate Gu: "My lord, his silence could indicate his family received substantial benefits."