The young man who had struggled his way out of the sea of bitterness encountered sufficient warmth and love again. Even in the face of injustice, he had the courage to refute it. Uprightness and integrity were forever ingrained in his bones.
When he was beaten until both his legs were broken and thrown into the wilderness, he did not give up. When he was specifically targeted by an imperial order from the county, he did not give up. When the Wang and Fang families sought revenge on him, he still did not give up.
At this moment, he had no reason to give up.
[Xu Mo] turned back and took a look at [Jiang Sheng], who was shouting at the top of his lungs. He also nodded reassuringly to [Wen Zhiyun], whose eyes were brimming red. Finally, he made eye contact with [Chang Yan], whose expression was stern.
Taking a deep breath to calm his mood to the most tranquil state, the bizarre silence around him also quieted down peculiarly.
[Qi Huai], who was anxious, [Zhao Yuan] who was bawling with his mouth wide open, [An Jun] who was pounding the wall in resentment, and the countless angry yet puzzled commoners - they all set their sights on the back of that young man in the center of the Grand Hall of Fengtian Prefecture.
"Sir," [Xu Mo]'s mind raced as he spoke, "May I ask, are you certain that both these exam scrolls are in my handwriting?"
The Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture came back to his senses and nodded, "That's right, they are identical to the texts you provided, down to the last detail. I would have thought that you wrote two copies yourself..."
How could that be possible?
[Xu Mo] had no reason to be writing exam papers for [Fang Yuan], much less the time to produce two essays.
The only explanation was that the two individuals' handwriting was extremely similar.
And precisely because of the similarity, [Xu Mo] had no way to prove that the Top Examinee exam paper belonged to him.
He also did not ask the Fang family to produce samples of [Fang Yuan]'s handwriting over the years for comparison. Given the Fang family's meticulous nature, they must have long destroyed [Fang Yuan]'s past handwriting samples, leaving only those similar to [Xu Mo]'s in circulation.
By the time the Fang family started making their moves, there were not many flaws left for him to exploit.
With handwriting ruled out, the time the essays were written ruled out, and the content of the essays ruled out, all that remained was...the name on the exam paper.
[Fang Yuan] had imitated [Xu Mo]'s handwriting and written [Xu Mo]'s name on his own exam paper before sneakily switching his paper with [Xu Mo]'s.
But [Xu Mo] did not write his name down.
Now, the only two ways [Fang Yuan]'s name could appear on the Top Examinee exam paper were:
One, the Fang family had [Fang Yuan] completely copy out a new exam paper to replace the original Top Examinee paper.
Two, the Top Examinee paper remained the original, but the name was changed from [Xu Mo] to [Fang Yuan].
Which was it?
If it was the first scenario where the Fang family had the capability to replace the entire exam paper, why would they still go through the trouble of using [Xu Mo]'s handwriting? It would make more sense for them to directly replace it with [Fang Yuan]'s handwriting instead. That way, the Top Examinee paper would be in [Fang Yuan]'s writing, while the failing paper would be in [Xu Mo]'s writing - more convincing.
If it was the second scenario, it meant the original exam paper itself was difficult to tamper with. The Fang family made use of the copyists within to pull some strings, then had [Fang Yuan] painstakingly practice imitating [Xu Mo]'s writing to achieve their objective of stealing the dragon's pearl to adorn the phoenix crown.
If the truth was really as such, there should be flaws in the position of the names on the Top Examinee exam paper.
[Xu Mo] suppressed the excitement welling up within him. He took two steps forward, wanting to scrutinize the Top Examinee exam paper with his own eyes.
The Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture hesitated for a moment before unfolding the exam paper to reveal the obscured name section at the start.
The obscured names section was, as the name suggested, where the examinees would paste glue over their own names before tearing open that area after the exams were over. It was inevitable that some paper fibers would be torn in the process, but that mostly occurred around the edges, rarely directly over the examinee’s own name.
Yet the name and home town section on this Top Examinee exam paper seemed to be somewhat creased, as if a layer had been lightly scraped away, causing the two words “Fang Yuan” to be slightly blurred with ink.
[Xu Mo]’s hands trembled slightly.
He had bet right. Although the Fang family was powerful, they were not yet capable of covering the heavens with one hand.
The Imperial Examination Hall was fair, the civil service examinations were just, but they had been manipulated by those with ulterior motives who had specially set things up for years on end.
These people calculated against poor scholars, bullied commoners without support. They abused power for personal gains.
Now, they were about to be disappointed!
[Xu Mo] retreated back to his original spot in three to two steps, declaring spiritedly, "May I report to you, sir, that I discovered signs of modification at the name and home town section on the Top Examinee exam paper. Clearly, some ill-intentioned individual changed my name to the current one written there. Kindly make a discerning judgment on this, sir."
The Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture was momentarily stunned as he stroked the obscured name section, his expression turning strange.
"Sir, do not listen to this rascal's crazy ravings." The Fang family steward's expression was solemn. "When my young master was obscuring his name, his hand shook and some of the paste landed on top of his name. After scraping it away again, he re-pasted his name over it. It was not modified."
"Do you believe that, sir? First it’s the identical handwriting, then modification appeared at the obscured name section - how can there be so many coincidences, all lining up to benefit the Fang family’s young master?" [Xu Mo] did not back down an inch. "Why has the Fang family only sent a steward over here? Are you looking down on the Fengtian Prefecture's trial procedures, or is the writing skills of your Top Examinee simply lacking that you all are afraid to put it to the test?"
The sharpness of the scholarly gentleman fully exhibited itself at this point.
Both possibilities he suggested reflected badly on the Fang family and were enough to greatly change the expression on the steward's face.
His complexion really underwent a drastic change.
"I, [Xu Mo], hereby declare that if anyone isn't convinced, we can hold another round of comparison tests. We can discuss ancient classics, trade poems, or even take the exams over again. Well, is the Fang family's young master brave enough to take me up on it?" [Xu Mo] sneered coldly.
"Are you brave enough?"
"Are you brave enough?"
True talent did not require concealment. However cunning their maneuvering was, the Fang family was incapable of stealing his ability away.
After undergoing layers of emotional baptisms, [Xu Mo] had practically transformed and been reborn. He now grasped the means utilized by eminent families and also understood the Fang family's capabilities.
Yet no matter how dark the skies got, there would always be rays of light.
As long as he yet lived, there was still possibility.
"What right do you have to demand a comparison test just because you want one?" After the initial brief panic, the Fang family steward also reacted. "Does our young master have to take a test alongside whichever scholar that jumps out from somewhere? Is the purpose of becoming Top Examinee to compare notes with the likes of you? Who do you think you are, to demand comparison tests just because you say so?"
[Xu Mo] did not respond.
He had already figured it out. The Fang family did things thoroughly. Apart from some minute flaws in the obscured names section, everything else could be described as nearly impeccable. Even something as dubious as identical handwriting that could arouse external suspicion, the Fang Family was able to turn the accusations around and frame [Xu Mo] for intentionally imitating and causing trouble for no reason.
Pointlessly arguing wouldn't get him anywhere anyhow. It’d be better to just deliver the final decisive blow from the fundamental level – hold the reexamination, go head to head based on actual skills.
Now, it all depended on how the Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture would rule on this.
"Sir, you have witnessed all sorts of oversights with your own eyes. Rather than continually entangling ourselves to find the truth, why don't you let us take the exams once more? I am willing to accept tests of any form at any location alongside young master Fang." [Xu Mo] sincerely pleaded.
"Our eminent family's young masters do not tolerate random slander and false accusations from outsiders. The Top Examinee already had his name up on the list, yet now he has to undergo re-comparisons just because some clown wants to kick up a big fuss over it? This is extremely unfair toward our Fang family." Not resigning himself to defeat, the Fang family steward played his trump card of trying to coerce others with their eminent family status.
The entire Grand Hall of Fengtian Prefecture sank into silence, quiet enough for a pin drop to be heard.
Everyone's stares congregated unto the Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture. Some gazes carried expectations, some nervousness, and some threats.
The moustache of the fifty-something short elder trembled as his plump hands tightly grabbed the wooden armrests of his seat. He was caught in an unresolvable dilemma - falling either way would be catastrophic.
