You are unlucky and I am tough

Chapter 136 The Prefect's Reward

Zhao Xiuwen looked at the two of them and nodded. "A few days ago, Cheng Caijun had some trouble in the academy and was scolded by the teacher."

When Cheng Shuang heard that they were talking about Cheng Caijun, she immediately lost interest and picked up the teacup to drink tea silently.

Wei Qinglang was also puzzled. Did Zhao Xiuwen hate Cheng Caijun so much that he actually came to tell them?

"The incident started with the Liangshan storybooks," Zhao Xiuwen continued. "Over a month ago, Cheng Caijun brought the storybooks he bought to the academy. By borrowing them for free, he befriended the poor students there. He formed a faction to oppose the dandy young men and became incredibly powerful."

"But a few days ago, someone reported him to the Master for buying pirated fake books and circulating them in the academy. He was severely reprimanded by the academy's headmaster, who accused him of tarnishing the academy's reputation."

When Cheng Shuang heard this, she remembered that she met Cheng Caijun at a tea stall on the Chinese Valentine's Day, holding the Liangshan storybook. It turned out that he bought a pirated copy.

"And then?" she asked curiously.

"Then, when he wrote his self-criticism, he included a poem at the end." Zhao Xiuwen said, reaching into his pocket to fish something out. "The teacher read it, praised him in class, and even pleaded with the headmaster on his behalf."

Zhao Xiuwen took out a piece of paper and handed it to Cheng Shuang, "Madam Wei, take a look at this poem and see if you still remember it."

Cheng Shuang took it and opened it with suspicion. On the paper was a poem titled "Humility and Cultivation". She began to read: "In the ocean of learning, seek truth and strive for progress. Only by self-examination can one go the right way..."

After reciting two lines, Cheng Shuang suddenly stopped and looked up at Zhao Xiuwen. Zhao Xiuwen nodded slightly, "It is exactly the line that Madam Wei recited just now."

Cheng Shuang couldn't believe it. "So he stole my poem, gave it a name and claimed it was his own?"

Don't scholars all value reputation and face? Isn't Cheng Caijun the youngest student in the village?

Are you so shameless?

Zhao Xiuwen sighed, "I didn't expect him to do such a thing. I wanted to refute him at the time, but I had no evidence. Later, I went to find Cheng Wanpeng, but he said he didn't remember ever hearing this poem.

I think there's no evidence to support this, and he won't admit it even if I confront him, but I still feel it's necessary to tell you."

Wei Qinglang took the paper and read it, then said in a deep voice, "He dared to do such a thing because he was sure you had no evidence to prove he plagiarized. Besides, who would believe you if you said this poem came from an ordinary peasant girl?"

Zhao Xiuwen nodded. "I was thinking of that, too. If I tell anyone, no one will believe me. If Madam Wei had written it down before, we could use the ink and paper to determine the approximate time."

Cheng Shuang spread her hands and said, "No, I'm not a scholar. They kept calling me an ignorant village woman that day, so I just wanted to mock them and wrote that poem."

He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Forget it, let him steal. I don't have anything to lose. Let him get away with it for now. With this kind of mentality and character, he will fall sooner or later."

Zhao Xiuwen also knew that this would be the result, and he was a little angry at the other party for not fighting back. After all, they grew up together in the same village.

Cheng Shuang picked up the paper again and looked at the words on it. "Zhao Tongsheng, this calligraphy is excellent. The brushstrokes are vigorous and flexible, combining strength and softness. Whose handwriting is this?"

Zhao Xiuwen said, "It was written by a teacher from our academy. This teacher specializes in calligraphy and is quite accomplished in it."

"Can you give me this calligraphy?"

Zhao Xiuwen smiled and nodded, "Of course, if Madam Wei likes it, you can keep it."

He was somewhat surprised that Cheng Shuang didn't find it offensive and was willing to keep the poem.

After sitting for a while, Zhao Xiuwen said goodbye.

Cheng Shuang went back to her room, found a book, and tucked the piece of paper inside. Wei Qinglang followed her in and asked in confusion, "Why did you keep it?"

"I don't know, I just think it might be useful in the future." Cheng Shuang put the book away, put her hands on her hips and snorted, "This Cheng Caijun dared to plagiarize my poem. I'll make a note of this."

Wei Qinglang laughed. Seeing her fearless look when facing Zhao Xiuwen just now, he thought she really didn't care at all.

They had tomato and egg noodles for dinner. After dinner, it was Cheng Shuang's turn to teach her younger siblings. Cheng Guqiu asked his two daughters to go back to their rooms and not disturb them, but Cheng Shuang stopped them and asked them to come to class with him from now on.

Four or five days passed in a blink of an eye. Seeing that Cheng Guqiu and his two daughters had not returned, the villagers began to believe what Li had said.

That day, Cheng Shuang had just woken up from a nap and was sitting in the yard eating watermelon when the village head came and asked why Cheng Guqiu and his daughter had not returned home.

Cheng Shuang then told Lu Yinyin the whole story. Of course, she did not say that she asked Lu Yinyin to buy the people. She only said that it happened that the Lu family bought these three people, which enabled them to bring the people back.

Cheng Lizheng didn't expect such a thing to happen. He had also met Lu Yinyin once and knew that Cheng Shuang had a good relationship with the Lu family. He didn't have any doubts at all. He also told Cheng Guqiu to stay in the village with peace of mind. After the slave status was abolished, he would find a way to accommodate them.

Cheng Guqiu and his two daughters naturally expressed their gratitude profusely. At this moment, a group of officials entered the village and people from the county government came again.

The leader, Mr. Lin, brought with him several young officials riding tall horses. They wore black official uniforms embroidered with intricate patterns and had swords on their waists. It was obvious that they were not ordinary yamen runners.

Behind him was a team of yamen runners running in an orderly manner, with great pomp and momentum, heading straight for the bamboo house.

Wei Qinglang, who was picking pumpkins in the vegetable garden, heard the sound of horse hooves and came out with a pumpkin the size of a washbasin in his hand. He saw a group of people coming towards him, followed by a large number of villagers.

When they got closer, but didn't see County Magistrate Zheng, Wei Qinglang was puzzled. "Master Lin, what are you doing?"

Master Lin immediately dismounted and said, "Lord Wei, these two are officials from the prefectural capital. Prefect Zhu has sent someone to deliver a reward to you. Hurry and have everyone at home come out and listen to your orders."

Wei Qinglang roughly guessed what was going on, and quickly put the things in his hand under the fence. When he pushed open the gate, he almost bumped into Cheng Shuang who heard the noise and came to open the door.

Soon the whole family was called out. They were stunned to see so many officials, especially Cheng Guqiu, whose legs went limp with fear. If it weren't for his two daughters supporting him, he would have almost fallen.

When the official on horseback saw everyone present, he raised the memorial in his hand and said loudly, "The prefect has an order. I kneel and listen."

The Wei family, Cheng Lizheng, and the villagers who came to watch the fun all knelt down and prostrated themselves on the ground.

The official coughed lightly, opened the memorial, and said loudly, "Wei Qinglang of Chengjia Village, Qushan County, though living in the countryside, cares deeply about the people's livelihood. With his wisdom, he has invented fan wheels, rice hullers, and other things that benefit the people. This governor is very pleased and specially rewards him with three hundred taels of silver, ten rolls of brocade, and ten rolls of silk. I hope that Wei Langjun will continue to uphold innovation, seek the welfare of his neighbors, and bring glory to the country. This governor will also strongly support him so that these tools that benefit the people can be widely disseminated and benefit all people."

After reading the memorial and closing it, the official raised his hand to signal behind him, and a yamen runner came up with a box and a tray. The red cloth was removed, revealing white silver ingots inside, ten taels each, totaling three hundred taels.

The villagers who were kneeling not far away gasped when they heard this. The prefect was so generous that he actually rewarded them with three hundred taels. The Wei family had previously collected Ganoderma lucidum and sold it for one thousand taels. Later, they sold watermelons and vegetables to restaurants and made a lot of money. Now they had received another three hundred taels as a reward from the prefect. They would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives.

Wei Qinglang stood up and took the tray handed to him by the yamen runner. "I would like to thank the prefect for the reward."

The others also stood up one after another and looked at the rewards carefully.

Cheng Shuang secretly put her hands under her knees in the back, still with her head down, thinking that she had not expected that the prefect Zhu was so generous. This way, Wei Qinglang could leave his name with the prefect.

Just as I was wondering if I could use this achievement to settle down in a better place in the future, I heard the voice above my head speak again.