The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

The marking office...

Liu Zixu has been helping to grade exam papers at the marking center for several years. He is from Xin'an County and was a classmate of the current headmaster of Xin'an County School.

If a student from Xin'an County passed the exam each year, he would inform the headmaster in advance of the good news. Although he couldn't mention the student's name, he could still let him know whether a student had passed the exam.

The students at Xin'an County School this year are quite good. He still remembers that when the examiner heard that he was from Xin'an County, he was very happy to share with him that Xin'an County was a good place.

A place blessed with outstanding people and abundant resources, it produces many talented individuals.

If that's the case, then it means that either Xin'an County had a lot of students who passed the exam this year, or the top scorers in the exam were from Xin'an County.

He suddenly remembered that the headmaster of Xin'an County seemed to be lecturing at the Deer and Elk Academy, which was not far from here, and he decided to tell him the good news in person.

At the entrance of Xin'an County College, Li Changquan pointed at Shen Chen and said, "Shen Chen, stop pretending to be high and mighty. You always look down on us."

"I thought you were so capable, but you're just a spineless coward who relies on his sister to sell her body."

Shen Chen clenched his fists after hearing his words, but did not reply.

Seeing that Shen Chen did not speak, the other party assumed that he had hit a nerve and became even more audacious, "It hasn't been that long. Before, you couldn't even afford a book, let alone an inkstone."

“I already inquired about it. Your family is so poor that they can barely afford to eat. How could you possibly afford this Duan inkstone?”

"This Duan inkstone must have been stolen."

Li Changquan took out an inkstone from his pocket. Shen Cao recognized it; it was the inkstone that Shen Yu'an had prepared for his elder brother.

He bought a lot of inkstones at once, saying that it's always good to have more of these things on hand.

A while ago, my older brother said that the inkstone at his school had been broken somehow, so he took one from home to the school.

"You're making false accusations. I took this from home; I didn't steal it."

"And if you say I stole it, do you have any evidence?"

Li Changquan pulled someone out of the crowd. Shen Chen glanced at him and realized that the person was someone he used to share a room with, but he hadn't spoken much to him.

Li Changquan pointed at that person and said, "You tell me."

The man was suddenly pulled out and felt a little embarrassed, but Li Changquan kept threatening him with his eyes.

He could barely lift his head and pointed at Shen Chen, saying, "Shen Chen told me when he lived at the school that his family gave him a little over a hundred coins a month for expenses."

"He usually only eats one meal a day, and uses the rest of his money to buy books."

"Good, good, good!" Li Changquan raised his hands and clapped vigorously, then looked at Shen Chen with a look of anticipation. "So, Shen, the great talent, tell me, how can you afford an inkstone that costs tens or even hundreds of taels of silver?"

"You!" Shen Chen hadn't expected that something he'd casually taken from home would be so valuable.

He wanted to argue with Li Changquan, but then he remembered the rumors he had heard at school recently, and looked around at the people surrounding him. He gave up trying to explain.

"Since you like this inkstone, then you can take it."

After saying that, Shen Chen tried to break free and leave.

But Li Changquan wouldn't let him have his way. He had long disliked Shen Chen. Even though his family was so poor they were barely able to make ends meet, Shen Chen always refused when Li Changquan asked him to help with his homework. He wasn't asking Shen Chen to do it for free.

Moreover, every time he was in class, all the teachers praised Shen Chen highly, especially some of them who would say, "Look at Shen Chen," when they were reprimanding him.

He just couldn't stand Shen Chen's smug, self-righteous attitude.

Once, he walked up to him, wanting to say hello, but to his surprise, Shen Chen didn't recognize him.

They even asked him who he was.

They studied in the same classroom for two years, and he still didn't know who he was.

How could he possibly bear this?

A while ago, when no one was around after school, he smashed Shen Chen's inkstone. Unexpectedly, a day later, Shen Chen brought him a Duan inkstone.

That's a Duan inkstone! When he bought it, his father repeatedly told him to handle it carefully.

Shen Chen, however, seemed completely unaware of the value of the Duan inkstone, and simply placed it casually on the table.

Finally, the provincial examination ended, and he had finally found an opportunity, so he certainly wouldn't let Shen Chen off easily.

"What? You want to leave already? Did I hit the nail on the head?"

"You thief."

In the Great Xia Kingdom, theft is a serious crime punishable by imprisonment.

For a student like Shen Chen, being caught stealing means the end of his future.

After all, the imperial court wouldn't want someone with tattoos on their face.

"You're framing me." Shen Chen's voice trembled with anger.

"You should speak based on evidence."

Li Changquan pointed to the student who had already lowered his head, "He is the witness."

When bystanders heard that a student from Xin'an County had stolen something, they all started pointing and gossiping about Shen Chen.

Several onlookers even started shouting, "Report to the authorities! Report to the authorities!"

Li Changsheng was delighted by the crowd's reaction; today he was determined to utterly humiliate Shen Chen.

Shen Chen remained upright, not bending his back despite the jeers of the crowd.

"Since that's the case, let's report it to the authorities. The innocent will clear themselves."

Upon hearing that Shen Chen actually wanted to report to the authorities, Li Changquan was not about to give in to his wishes. "Report to the authorities? That would be exactly what you want."

"I've heard that you have a younger sister who has a very good relationship with the county magistrate."

"If we report it to the authorities, then you can say whatever you want."

He stood opposite Shen Chen, his face radiating righteous indignation, as if he represented justice itself.

Shen Chen is the greatest evil in the world.

"This is a frame-up. From the very beginning, you've been the one saying everything. Does that mean everything you say is true?"

Shen Chen quickly realized that Li Changsheng was deliberately manipulating the crowd's emotions. Every time he asked Li Changsheng to produce evidence, Li Changsheng would change the subject.

He certainly has no evidence. Even Liu Quan's words just now only prove that he didn't have the money to buy Duan inkstones, but they can't prove that his Duan inkstones were stolen.

"And you keep saying my family is poor. Does that mean poor people can't make money? Does that mean that everything a poor person owns is stolen?"

"You!" Li Changquan didn't expect Shen Chen to react. He really didn't have any evidence, so he definitely wouldn't go to the government office. He just wanted to ruin Shen Chen's reputation.

“I’ve already inquired in your village. The county magistrate visited your home before.”

"If he didn't have a close relationship with your sister, why would he go to your house?"

Shen Chen was surprised to learn that he had actually gone to Stone Village to inquire about him.

"I've already said I'm willing to go with you to see the official, but you're not willing to go with me. Is it because you have something to hide?"

Upon hearing Shen Chen's words, the onlookers all looked at Li Changquan. Indeed, why was he unwilling to meet with the officials?

“I told you, your sister is the county magistrate’s lover, so the county magistrate will definitely speak on your behalf.”

When Shen Chen heard that he had falsely accused his sister in front of so many people, he was so angry that he immediately rushed up and punched him.

"You can say whatever you want about me, but you can't falsely accuse my sister!"

"Brother!" Shen Cao was worried that her older brother would be at a disadvantage, so she immediately rushed out from the crowd.

After grabbing his elder brother, he spoke fiercely to Li Changquan, "Who said my family can't afford Duan inkstones? Let alone one, we could afford ten if we wanted to."

“If you can convict someone just by saying a few words, then what’s the point of having an official government in this world?”

"Furthermore, does the county magistrate know that you are slandering him like this?"

"Today it's not you who's going to report to the authorities, but my Shen family. My elder brother's Duan inkstone has been stolen, and the thief is you. The Duan inkstone you're holding is my elder brother's."

"You have no evidence to prove that my elder brother stole this Duan inkstone, but I have evidence to prove that this Duan inkstone belongs to my elder brother!"