Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

"Pei Zhaoqi is no longer our classmate! He can't even afford the tuition!" The chubby boy was able to refute at this moment, as if being in the same class with Pei Zhaoqi was a great shame for him.

Pei Zhaoqi, who was standing by, remained calm after hearing his words. He did not think it was shameful that he could not afford the tuition and could not continue studying in the academy.

But Mother Pei bit her lower lip silently, her fingers tightly grasping her apron. It was her incompetence...

Not only could she not afford the tuition, she also didn't even know that her child was being bullied in the academy.

Shen Zheng didn't want to waste any more time talking to them, so she simply pulled the chubby boy over.

She raised her chin and said to the other boy, "Go back and tell him to come to the Tong'an County Office to pay the ransom. Insulting a county magistrate is no small matter."

When the other boy heard that he would not be arrested, he did not even bother to agree to Shen Zheng's words and just ran away.

The slightly fat boy was so angry that he stamped his feet on the spot: "Traitor! Tell my big brother to come and redeem me!" He had to share half of all the delicious and fun things he got with him! He would never recognize this good friend again!

Pei Zhaoqi took a step forward, bowed to Shen Zheng, and thanked her sincerely: "I would like to thank the county magistrate for helping me out. If it weren't for you, my mother and I would have suffered today."

He was right. They were an orphan and a widow, so how could they defeat these two playboys?

Shen Zheng waved her hands at him. If she encountered such an unfair thing, she would definitely take care of it.

She looked the slightly plump boy up and down and asked, "Fatty, what's your name?"

The slightly fat boy's face instantly turned red with anger. He hated it most when people said he was fat! But now he was at the mercy of others, so he had to speak honestly: "Fang Ziyan."

Shen Zheng sneered and said deliberately, "The fat young master broke someone's business bowl today, so he should compensate for it."

Fang Ziyan screamed, "It's Fang Ziyan! Not Fatty Yan!"

He looked at the broken bowls on the ground again, wondering how much the broken bowls were worth, and then he struggled to get the clothes on the back of his neck out of Shen Zheng's hands.

Then he reached into his arms, took out a dozen copper coins and threw them on the table.

"Is that enough?"

The coin spun on the table, turning slowly for a few circles before stopping.

Pei Zhaoqi did not want his compensation. He was very happy that the two men had been humiliated today. He said, "Sir, it's just a bowl. You don't have to compensate me."

Shen Zheng turned around and looked at Fang Ziyan again.

Fang Ziyan's scalp tingled when she stared at him: "Pei Zhaoqi said that there is no need to pay, what can I do!"

Shen Zheng shook her head and deliberately frightened him: "If Master Pei accepts your compensation, then the only crime you committed is insulting the county magistrate. If he doesn't accept it, then your crime will only be aggravated."

"You should think about how to make Mr. Pei accept your apology." Shen Zheng sighed and spoke helplessly.

Fang Ziyan was indeed frightened by her. If this continued, he would have to be locked up in jail for a while. How could he take part in the provincial examination to become a scholar?

He quickly took out two ingots of silver from his pocket and placed them all on the table. Seeing that no one paid attention to him, he could only stammer, "Brother Pei...Brother Pei, I lost my mind today. I hope you can forgive me."

Shen Zheng looked at the two silver ingots and estimated that they weighed more than ten taels. A family that could give a child more than ten taels of silver as small expenses was considered extremely wealthy in the county.

Pei Zhaoqi also looked at the two silver ingots on the table. To be honest, he was a little moved for a moment.

More than ten taels of silver was indeed a huge sum of money for him and his mother. They might not be able to earn more than ten taels of silver even if they worked hard for a year.

But the young man still had the pride of a scholar. To him, these ten taels of silver were just beggar's food and he should not accept them.

In the end, he shook his head at Shen Zheng and refused: "If you really want to compensate, then compensate me with a bowl."

Fang Ziyan secretly cursed him as a fool in his heart. He was indeed a poor man. He didn’t know how many bowls he could buy with these two silver ingots!

Shen Zheng secretly praised Pei Zhaoqi in her heart. People say that scholars are hypocritical, but she doesn't think so.

He has such a smart mind at such a young age. If someone helps him, he will definitely achieve something in the future.

What if the person who helps is her, Shen Zheng?

"Did you study at Liuchang Academy in the next county before?" She raised her hand and motioned Pei Zhaoqi to sit down, then asked.

Pei Zhaoqi nodded. Although he didn't know why she asked this, he still answered: "Yes, I studied in Liuchang Academy for two years before."

Shen Zheng looked at the young man in front of him and estimated that he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, which meant that he had been studying in the academy when he was twelve years old.

"Have you passed the Tongsheng exam?" Shen Zheng guessed that he probably had not passed it, as most of the scholars in the county took the Tongsheng exam when they were around 20 years old.

If one passes the exam at the age of sixteen or seventeen, it means that he is either gifted or his family is willing to hire a good teacher to teach him.

Although Pei Zhaoqi was calmer than his peers, he still had the pride of a teenager. At this moment, there was a slight smile on his face: "The student passed the Tongshi exam last year."

Shen Zheng was stunned when she heard this. Judging from his family background, the possibility of him being taught by a teacher since childhood was very slim. So there was only one possibility.

Pei Zhaoqi is quite talented in studying.

Shen Zheng searched her memory for the contents of the original owner's imperial examination, but the Tongsheng exam was too long ago for her, so she could only come up with a provincial examination essay to test Pei Zhaoqi.

When Pei Zhaoqi heard the test question, he lowered his head to think, and soon began to discuss it.

Shen Zheng perked up when he heard his answer. His opinions were clear and he spoke eloquently. Although there were still some minor flaws, he would surely become a great man if he was polished in the future.

After he finished speaking, Shen Zheng couldn't help but applaud and praised him generously, "At such a young age, he has such insights. The young are truly formidable."

Pei Zhaoqi blushed slightly. The county magistrate was a female Jinshi who had passed the imperial examination and became the magistrate of a county. Compared with her, he was nothing.

Fang Ziyan was almost stunned watching from the side. He knew that Pei Zhaoqi was good at studying, but he didn't expect that he could speak eloquently. Compared with him, there was no way he could possibly pass the exam to become a scholar!

He gritted his teeth secretly, thinking to himself that he couldn't take the palace exam at the same time as Pei Zhaoqi!

Shen Zheng glanced at Fang Ziyan, who was gritting his teeth and groaning, and continued to ask Pei Zhaoqi: "Do you still want to continue studying?"

Of course Pei Zhaoqi thought about it, and even dreamed about it. Every time he read a book, he felt extremely happy, but now he had no conditions to study.

He bit his lower lip and lowered his head to answer, "I want to help my mother run the stall now. If there is a chance in the future, I will go back to the academy to study."

As soon as Shen Zheng heard this, she knew that he didn't really mean it, and thought to herself that this child was too sensible.

For others, the crying child gets the milk, but Shen Zheng has lived a hard life, so it is natural for her to pay more attention to these children who don’t cry.