Chapter 30

（Throw some flowers to celebrate Wang Er's acceptance, and don't forget to cast a few recommendation votes to celebrate!）

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Behind the second hall of the county office, there was a moon gate, marking the boundary between the front and back of the office. The back was where the county magistrate lived and worked, with the core being the signing room.

In the county magistrate's signing room, Chief Clerk Diao flew into a rage, saying, "Sir, this is a genuine work by Huang Gongwang, and you let this boy ruin it! What crime should he be punished for?"

"It was Chief Clerk Diao who asked me to write on it. Otherwise, even if you gave me a hundred more lives, I wouldn't dare to write recklessly..." Wang Xian repeated pitifully. In his heart, however, he felt extremely satisfied. Since he had the upper hand, what could the old man do? As for the position of clerk, he no longer had any hope. He just wanted to support himself and take care of his mother. Would everyone outside the government starve to death?

In the other room, County Magistrate Wei was splattered with Diao's saliva all over his face. He had no choice but to turn his head and look at the defiled scroll. Indeed, it was a mess of writing, and even a child who had practiced for a few years in a private school could write better. It was a waste of a famous painting.

Scholar Sima also came over, trying to suppress his urge to vomit, and read Wang Xian's words. Then, ignoring Diao, he clapped his hands and praised, "Good poem! Good poem!" He read it aloud:

"Clasping the green hills, I stand firm, rooted in the broken rock,

Enduring a thousand trials and a myriad of blows, I remain strong, defying the winds from all directions!"

"Oh?" County Magistrate Wei was greatly moved and quickly re-examined the words. Indeed, it was a seven-character poem. Although the verses were simple and straightforward, the high moral integrity and the spirit of not bowing down in adversity were evident, making County Magistrate Wei tremble with excitement.

Isn't this a true reflection of me, Wei Yuan? County Magistrate Wei thought to himself, feeling self-indulgent. He had taken office with great aspirations, determined to serve the country and the people, to bring prosperity to the region. But the local powers were deeply entrenched and did not take him, the county magistrate, seriously. Every time he tried to implement national policies or good deeds, officials and gentry opposed him at every turn, making him feel frustrated and oppressed. Now, reading this poem, it was as if thousands of people were cheering for him, encouraging him, making his blood boil and his spirit soar!

Reading the poem repeatedly, County Magistrate Wei couldn't help but shed tears. It was truly a good poem, and finding a soulmate was rare. He should have a big drink to celebrate!

Seeing the county magistrate getting carried away, Sima had to tug at his sleeve.

"Uh, oh..." County Magistrate Wei came to his senses and looked at Diao, who was stunned, "Sorry, I lost my composure. Brother Ren'an, I really like this painting. You've always wanted my 'Rainy Landscape' painting, let's exchange them."

"Sir..." Diao's face turned pale. He didn't want to look at the messy writing, but it turned out to be an excellent poem. More troubling was that it seemed to have touched County Magistrate Wei's poetic heart... He had planned to completely cut off Sima's hopes, but now this unexpected turn of events left him speechless.

"Your silence means you agree." County Magistrate Wei said happily, "Mr. Sima, quickly hang up the painting."

Sima then took down the 'Rainy Landscape' painting hanging on the wall and hung up 'Yellow Mountain Welcoming Pine'.

County Magistrate Wei looked at the painting with satisfaction. He even felt that the writing wasn't ugly, but rather ancient and rugged. Look at how each stroke was forceful and full of vigor!

At this moment, no one would know that this painting would be auctioned for 1.6 billion Huajin in six hundred years... For which the descendants of the Diao family and the Wei family would even go to court to fight over the ownership of the painting, of course, that's another story.

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After calming down, County Magistrate Wei also needed to handle the main business.

He asked Wang Xian to leave and had a heart-to-heart talk with Diao, "Brother Ren'an, he's just a clerk, why must you make things so difficult for him?"

"Sir, you don't know, this person has a bad reputation and a twisted mind. Once he enters the government office, he will surely cause trouble." Diao said gloomily, "I couldn't dismiss him outright because he was introduced by Wang Ziyao, so I had to resort to this tactic."

"A bad reputation is probably a rumor, and a twisted mind is a misconception." County Magistrate Wei said dismissively, "Without a sense of pride and a spirit of righteousness, one cannot write such a good poem."

"Sir..." Diao had to change his approach, "The problem is, we are selecting officials, not scholars. His poetry is good, but his handwriting is really unsightly..."

"Bad handwriting can be practiced, but his talent in mathematics is rare and exactly what our county needs," County Magistrate Wei decided, "Let's hire him!"

"Yes..." The chief official had spoken, and Diao couldn't insist. They talked for a few more minutes, but neither mentioned the position of clerk, just idle chatter. Diao then bid farewell and returned to the office.

"Master," as soon as Diao left, Sima couldn't help but ask, "Why not directly appoint the young Wang as the clerk, to repay him?"

It turned out that County Magistrate Wei had been praised by the court for rectifying a miscarriage of justice. Although he had just taken office and couldn't be promoted immediately, with this honor, he was already considered a capable official, and he didn't need to worry about his future.

County Magistrate Wei was a Confucian scholar who believed in the principles of Confucius and Mencius. He knew that although he didn't know that Sima's ideas were all ghostwritten by Wang Xian, without Wang Xian taking the responsibility, he wouldn't have dared to search the He family's house. So he always felt he owed the young man something.

With Sima still having some integrity, he also spoke up for Wang Xian, so County Magistrate Wei agreed to give him the position of clerk vacated by Xu Shan. But now, County Magistrate Wei had changed his mind. He sighed, "I've thought about it, it's not right. There are so many people waiting for a promotion. Diao came to make a fuss, wasn't it to get this position for his brother-in-law? If I directly give him this position, it will cause a lot of resentment. Let's take it step by step..."

Actually, Sima knew these reasons too. But the position of a clerk was quite stable, and some people could hold it for a lifetime. If he missed this opportunity, who knew when it would come again? In the official world, the worst thing was to owe someone a favor. If you didn't repay it quickly, the interest alone could ruin you.

"If he really has the ability, it won't take long." Seeing that he was about to say more, County Magistrate Wei said in a low voice, "I am also in need of capable people right now!"

"Ah, well..." Sima said gloomily, thinking, When will I lose my last bit of integrity?

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Back in the clerk's office, Wang Ziyao vividly recounted to Wang Xingye what had just happened. Wang Xingye was stunned, thinking, Is this really my son? He can write, do math, and even write poetry? Is he just pretending?

"The poem is copied," Wang Xian said honestly, "I saw it somewhere before, but I can't remember where."

"Nonsense." But the two old foxes, Wang Ziyao and Wang Xingye, didn't believe it at all, "The senior magistrate is a scholar, and the third magistrate is a juren. Two people with such great knowledge haven't heard of this poem, and you know it? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Ha ha, this child is good, he knows to hide his abilities. I was just about to tell you, don't be arrogant in the future, or you'll run into trouble," Wang Ziyao said in a senior's tone, "I just found out that Diao was making things difficult for you because you once insulted his daughter, saying something like 'a cheap person is pretentious.'"

Wang Xian admitted his mistake, "Nephew was ignorant and caused trouble for Uncle."

"That's nothing." Wang Ziyao waved his hand, "The government office is like a revolving door, but it belongs to us, the believers of the King of Cang and the descendants of Prince Xiao. If Diao wants to make things difficult for himself, he can just not give me face!"

This domineering statement left Wang Xian speechless. He had just seen how respectfully Wang Ziyao treated Diao. But seeing his father nod in agreement, he realized that Wang Ziyao wasn't just talking big...

"Alright, don't worry about today's incident." At this moment, a bailiff from the clerk's office came in with a neatly folded white shirt, a black towel, and shoes and socks.

Wang Ziyao stood up, took the clothes, and handed them to Wang Xian personally, "With me here, who can bully you?"

"Thank your uncle." Wang Xingye said happily, "Learn from your uncle in the future. If you can have even a third of his ability, I won't worry about your future."

"Ah, Wang Er will definitely be better than me," Wang Ziyao shook his head, "We, as elders, can only help him along the way."

Wang Xingye thanked Wang Ziyao again and then led Wang Xian out of the office. Leaving the county office, Wang Xian couldn't help but say, "Dad, you and Uncle Wang have a great relationship."

"Spit." Wang Xingye spat, "A bag of money from the Lin family, I gave him half. Otherwise, would he be so enthusiastic?" He said resentfully, "Spent the money and still had to go through such a dangerous process to pass. He was just saying nice things because he felt embarrassed."

"It's not his fault, I offended Diao," Wang Xian said gloomily, "I thought it was over, so I wrote on his painting. Who knew the county magistrate would come to my rescue." He sighed, "In the future, Diao will definitely make things difficult for me."

"That's for sure, but it's no big deal," Wang Xingye said nonchalantly, "If he dares to treat you unfairly, I'll find a way to deal with him."

Wang Xian couldn't help but admire his father. Wang Ziyao was one thing, but for his father, a commoner, to dare to say he would deal with the third-in-command of the county, it was truly domineering... He wondered if it was just talk.

When they got home, they found the house full of people. The neighbors were drinking tea and chatting, waiting for news.

Seeing the father and son return, with Wang Xian holding the white shirt and black towel, the neighbors all smiled happily and praised Wang Xingye's great ability... In their eyes, Wang Xian, this little rascal, becoming a government official was all due to Wang Xingye's efforts.

Wang Xingye, however, unusually boasted about his son's writing, math, and poetry skills, trying to prove that his son had passed the exam on his own merits, leaving the neighbors stunned.

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