Eat Up! He Who Eats Is Silenced

Of course, these actions alone wouldn't solve the problem completely, maybe just for a day.

Fang Zheng didn't expect the officials to stop marking papers just because he'd collected their seals.

After disposing of the seals, he returned to the officials' quarters and began writing at the desk.

Zhang Dongxiang saw him return but said nothing. After all, officials needed rest too.

Soon a letter was written and sealed. Fang Zheng took it to the inner screen door where officials handled communications between inside and outside.

Shortly after, the outer screen official came to meet him.

Fang Zheng handed over the letter and two silver notes, instructing the official. "Please find someone to deliver this letter to Xie Xian at the Banshan Daily."

"Also, find someone to buy some good wine and dishes from outside and send them over immediately. Abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, the best stuff! The food here is terrible, and none of us can stomach it!"

"Use the remaining silver to buy good wine and food for the brothers outside too. Understand?"

The outer screen official accepted the silver notes and letter, swallowed hard, and hesitated. "Minister Fang, this isn't proper... I can help deliver your letter, but the wine and dishes are somewhat..."

Seeing his hesitation, Fang Zheng became irritated and slapped another silver note into his hand. "This is for your trouble. Take it!"

"Come on! It's just a meal, don't worry!"

"Master Zhang says he's old, with half his body in the grave. Every day he just wants to eat well. He sits there sighing, and it's annoying everyone."

"With the conditions in the examination compound, where could he eat anything good? He's suffered his whole life, can't you let him enjoy a little?"

Hearing this, the outer screen official nodded earnestly. "Minister Fang is thoughtful. I'll go arrange it right away!"

"That's right! That's the spirit! Don't worry about trouble. If the sky falls, Master Zhang will hold it up!"

"The brothers outside are working hard too! Make sure everyone eats and drinks well. Don't skimp, if you need more money, come to me!"

The outer screen official was deeply moved.

Minister Fang was truly considerate, even thinking of the brothers outside!

"Thank you, Minister Fang! I'll go right away!" he said.

"Good, go now! If someone brings me something tomorrow morning, make sure it's delivered to me immediately!"

"No problem!"

...

After making these arrangements, Fang Zheng returned to the officials' quarters feeling very satisfied.

This day had been quite exhausting, but it was worth it. At least now both he and the candidates could have a more comfortable time.

As evening approached, the examination continued. Fang Zheng rested briefly before returning to the examination site.

When the sun set, each candidate needed to be given three candles.

Only after these three candles burned out would the day's examination officially end.

After Fang Zheng distributed the candles, other officials began to seek him out one after another.

Naturally, they came to reclaim their marks. Although not many people used the latrine, and letting a few go wasn't a problem, they still needed their seals occasionally.

These were established rules passed down through generations! They couldn't be relaxed!

Fang Zheng brushed off several officials, then another group of four approached him together.

The officials had apparently discussed the matter and, though they didn't know why Fang Zheng had borrowed so many seals, they suspected he was up to no good!

One official got straight to the point. "Minister Fang... what about our marks? When can you return them? And why did you need to borrow so many?"

Fang Zheng chuckled awkwardly and said. "Oh dear, gentlemen, I'm so sorry!"

"Look at my terrible memory! I went back for a cup of tea and forgot them in the officials' quarters... I was afraid of delaying my monitoring duties and didn't want to go back, so I just kept borrowing from others. Back and forth, I ended up borrowing quite a few. What a coincidence that you all ran into each other! Isn't that just incredibly unlucky?"

The four officials' expressions darkened.

You borrowed all our marks for your own convenience, and somehow 'forgot' four times? Did you leave your brain in the officials' quarters too?

"Minister Fang, could you please go retrieve them for us? We all need them. As they say, what's borrowed must be returned," one said.

"Well...." Fang Zheng looked up at the sky. "Gentlemen, why not just let it go? Today's examination is almost over, and you don't need them urgently."

"I'll get them for you after we return. Oh, and I ordered some wine and dishes from outside. We've all had a hard day, let's enjoy some good food tonight!"

Seeing his friendly attitude, the officials' expressions softened somewhat.

Indeed, the day's examination was nearly over, and the marks weren't immediately necessary. They weren't essential tools.

"Fine, we'll follow Minister Fang's suggestion. We can enjoy the food, but no wine! We still need to grade papers tonight!" one official said.

Fang Zheng nodded and cupped his hands respectfully.

After the officials left, he sighed with relief.

Better to delay as long as possible! Just get through today, and tomorrow won't be a problem!

Afterward, Fang Zheng made a few more rounds and was relieved to see that all the reporters had used the latrine without any marks appearing on their papers.

...

Soon the examination ended.

Fang Zheng returned to the officials' quarters exhausted. By now, several tables of excellent food and wine had been laid out, with more dishes still being brought in.

At a glance, he could see these were all premium dishes! The outer screen official had clearly taken the task seriously.

Zhang Dongxiang immediately asked when he saw Fang Zheng. "Minister Fang! Did you order this food?"

"Yes, indeed... I thought after a tiring day, the kitchen food here is unpalatable, so I wanted to treat everyone to something better. Is there a problem?" Fang Zheng replied.

Zhang Dongxiang's attitude was actually quite friendly, as there was no reason to be angry about someone offering a meal.

He merely advised. "This is your first time monitoring an examination, so you may not know... usually, we eat the same food as the candidates. Otherwise, how can we command respect?"

"Tomorrow you must not order such food and wine again. I appreciate your thoughtfulness toward the other officials, but please have this removed!"

Many officials actually wanted to eat the good food. The examination compound's meals were plain and tasteless, hardly edible.

Rules were rules, but enjoying a private meal behind closed doors wasn't such a big deal!

However, given Zhang Dongxiang's status, no one dared speak up.

Fang Zheng surveyed everyone's expressions, then declared loudly. "No! That would be wasteful!"

"The farmer works beneath the noon sun, sweat drips into the soil below. Who knows the pain of each meal's birth, each grain is earned through bitter toil!"

"If you understand, give applause!"

The gathered officials looked at Fang Zheng with amazement.

Wonderful! What a fine poem! He truly composed a complete verse on the spot! They had heard he was the Fragmented Verse Sage, but today he delivered something whole!

Hearing his final call for applause, the officials spontaneously began clapping.

Zhang Dongxiang was also surprised.

He hadn't expected Fang Zheng to suddenly showcase his talent! And it was quite good! He had thought the young man's fragmentary verses were plagiarized from somewhere!

Though the final line about applause seemed oddly out of place.

The official quarters echoed with applause, and Zhang Dongxiang could no longer maintain his stern attitude.

Turning to the gathered officials with a smile, he said. "Since each grain is earned through bitter toil, we certainly shouldn't waste food. Today, let us accept Minister Fang's kind intention. What do you all think?"

The officials naturally agreed unanimously! Who wouldn't want to eat well?

Fang Zheng was grinning from ear to ear.

Eat up, eat up! He who eats is silenced! Go easier on me later!