To say there's no trickery behind this, who would belie

e second condition, a smile no longer reached his eyes, but he still remained silent.The elder smiled and said to him, "Village Chief Wang, it's already quite good that I didn't ask you for the fertil...Zong Pingchuan stood up with a cold face, and everyone's eyes immediately turned to him.

"Master Zong, do you have any insights Do you perhaps know the details of this matter"

Zong Pingchuan ignored this meddling colleague and merely glanced at Yuan Buyu before walking up to him and respectfully bowing.

"Your Excellency, I believe there are many strange things about this matter." He paused, then suddenly took a deep breath, looking utterly resigned and defeated.

"To be frank with my esteemed colleagues, the young man before your eyes is my son."

He made his voice heard after he went to the capital for the imperial examination. That's why I didn't know about him until now.

"Ba'er did indeed take the imperial examinations, but he didn't pass. This child is afraid that I won't acknowledge him if he doesn't, so he purposely made a scene out of it."

"Sorry to have made you laugh."

zongpingchuan walked in front of zongbai, a look of compromise and guilt on his face. Fang jinyu saw this and wanted to give this stepfather an Oscar award. How could he act so well

When so many people's faces could still turn black and white.

"Ba'er, stop fooling around. Father knows he owes you and your mother. He is willing to make amends. Come here quickly, let's go home and talk about everything."

Zong Bai was furious, almost laughing at the absurdity of his so-called father's behavior.

"Am I being deliberately childish"

"After you recognized me as your son, you exchanged my achievements for those of others. Is this what a father is supposed to do!"

Fang Jinshi was taken aback. How could Zong Bo not follow through on what they had agreed upon

This kid got angry after being provoked by Zong Pingchuan's two sentences, and actually exposed Zong Pingchuan in front of so many people.

Without evidence, slandering high-ranking officials of the court would result in punishment.

"You insolent wretch! Master Zong is a high-ranking official of the court, how could he possibly do such a thing!"

"This young man is making baseless accusations against government officials. According to the law, he should be taken to the Jingzhao Mansion and beaten fifty times!"

The boards in Jingzhao Mansion were notoriously brutal. Even a sturdy man who endured thirty lashes would lose half his life. Zong Bai was only eighteen years old, still growing, and even though he was tall, there wasn't much flesh on the body of a boy during puberty.

Could he still be alive after receiving fifty lashes

Seeing a hint of fear on Zong Bai's face, Zong Pingchuan felt very satisfied.

"Lord Wu, what Bai'er said were just childish words. As long as he follows me and stops causing trouble, I beg you all to please spare him. Don't hold his actions against him."

He had just arrived in the capital.

A lady smiled and said, "Some time ago at Jinxiu Mountain Villa, Lord Zong did not speak like this."

"Master Zong Bai, you have been in the capital for quite some time now, haven't you You should have recognized your family at the Hundred Vegetables Banquet last time, so why wait until now"

"Could it be that Young Master Zong was telling the truth, that this top scholar being dismissed is really related to Lord Zong"

Zong Pingchuan would rather die than let this dirty water fall on his head. Once the matter of cheating in the imperial examination was exposed, he wouldn't even be able to keep his official hat.

Yuan Buyu has always kept no useless people by his side. Once he loses his official position, he will become a pawn and be completely abandoned by the Yuan family!

Then his years of hard work would be ruined.

No, no, he absolutely cannot allow this to happen.

"My lady, please be careful with your words!"

"How could this official possibly do such a thing Everything must be based on evidence. Could Madam perhaps present some evidence to prove that this was done by this official"

"Can this kid just spout a few words to prove that it was I who did this"

Zong Pingchuan's sudden anger was rather intriguing.

"Master Zong, why are you so flustered If it wasn't you who did it, then what does it matter Since it wasn't you, why do you obstruct the distinguished lords from bringing the students participating in the preliminary examination at the palace to confront them"

If our Nanyang Hou mansion had a top scholar, the whole family would be overjoyed. It's not like Master Zong, who is afraid his son will become successful in his studies.

The wife of Marquis Nanyang's words received a lot of agreement from the people.

It's truly difficult to become the top scholar. These prestigious families, especially those with titles, have a tradition of nurturing their children from a young age for the imperial examinations. Even those born into noble lineages must, like all other scholars, pass the exams to prove their worth and talent.

Although hereditary titles are passed down to the next generation, allowing the eldest son to enter government service without taking the civil examinations.

Those who entered the officialdom thanks to their ancestors' legacy would always appear inferior in front of truly talented individuals. To prove their children's excellence, every family forced them to bury their heads in books and study relentlessly.

Zong Pingchuan, despite having a top scholar son, still doesn't want him.

To say there's nothing fishy going on here is hard to believe.ing.After resting for a while, Fang Jinshi felt she had regained some strength. She propped herself up on the bed frame and sat up.Seeing her exhausted like this, Zong Yu couldn't help but feel concer...