Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 61 Reasons and Speculations

"It doesn't constitute fraud, but do you know what Sun Zhigao said?" Guan Yan said seriously.

"What did you say?"

Zhou An was curious about what Sun Zhigao had said that made Guan Yan look so serious.

"He said the person who took his money was the son of Zhang, the registrar. Although the registrar of Tongzhou was surnamed Zhang and had two sons, when we invited people over to identify him, the person he described was not there."

Guan Yan paused, then continued, "But he insisted that he wasn't deceived. He claimed that when he befriended that young master, he saw the man greet Li Mu, and that's why he believed him!"

Zhou An was even more puzzled: "You and Li Mu don't get along, isn't it a good thing to involve him?"

"If it were that simple, I would naturally be happy."

Guan Yan sighed and said, "The problem is that on the way to the government office, many candidates learned the news and followed them all the way there."

They also said it involved fraud and wanted to watch the interrogation. My father thought that expelling them would only make things worse, so he had no choice but to agree.

Sun Zhigao confessed that the young master Zheng he knew told him the chief examiner was Du Xuezheng, and that Du Xuezheng was indeed the chief examiner this time. His confession also implicated Li Mu, and the onlookers all believed that cheating had indeed occurred in the imperial examinations!

"What a complete idiot!"

When Zhou An learned what had happened, he understood why Guan Yan couldn't be happy, and he was speechless at Sun Zhigao's stupidity.

Encountering a swindler doesn't constitute fraud. But when it involves the offspring of officials, it's a completely different story.

Although Sun Zhigao failed the exam, the other candidates didn't care. As long as there was cheating, it meant there was a problem with the result.

Moreover, Sun Zhigao's failure to pass the exam does not necessarily mean that he did not commit fraud.

Even if you know the exam questions in advance, it's pointless if you can't write a good essay, since there are no fixed answers to policy essays.

Unless someone else writes the article for you and you memorize it, or you hand the prepared article directly to Sun Zhigao in the examination hall so he can copy it directly.

Otherwise, it's not impossible that he would still fail the exam even if he cheated.

Moreover, Hu Yuan participated in setting the questions this time, which can be interpreted as meaning that they did not know Hu Yuan would be involved in setting the questions before the transaction.

Originally, Hu Yuan was the one who set the exam questions. Because of his reputation, the candidates would at most have some complaints, but there wouldn't be much public pressure.

Now that those test takers have a reason, they also have a reason to continue making trouble.

Guan Yan's father was the prefect, and if things really escalated, his father would be held responsible.

This is also why Li Mu couldn't be happy about it.

"Does Li Mu really know that person?" Zhou An asked.

"I probably don't know them."

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "My father had someone call Li Mu over for questioning. He said that someone did talk to him at the time. Although he didn't recognize him, he mistakenly thought he was the son of some merchant from Tongzhou and chatted with him for a few minutes."

"..."

Zhou An really admired the swindler who deceived Sun Zhigao.

They have an incredibly accurate grasp of people's hearts.

If someone suddenly comes up to you and greets you, and knows your name, most people will assume that they have forgotten who the other person is, rather than doubting that they do not know the other person at all.

Not to mention Li Mu, a son of an official, who usually has too many people trying to curry favor with him. It's normal for strangers to come and greet him.

Judging from Li Mu's previous behavior, he would feel smug in this situation and it would be normal for him to chat with the other party for a while.

As long as Sun Zhigao wasn't nearby, he had no idea what they were talking about and simply assumed that the other party really knew Li Mu.

Li Mu, a playboy, usually flaunts his wealth and status. Sun Zhigao must know him. Seeing that the other party could chat with Li Mu, he naturally believed that Li Mu was a conman.

"Did your father say how this matter should be handled?" Zhou An asked.

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "My father doesn't have any good solutions for the time being. I learned that Sun Zhigao and you are jointly guaranteeing something, and I was worried that you might be involved, so I came to find you."

"Thank you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou An solemnly cupped his hands in thanks.

"Why are you being so polite with me!"

Guan Yan waved his hand and said, "I'll go back first and see how things are progressing."

Zhou An asked, "Was the person who was arrested with Sun Zhigao also involved?"

"That's right."

Guan Yan nodded and said, "The swindler asked Sun Zhigao for a thousand taels of silver, but Sun Zhigao couldn't come up with that much money, so the person who was arrested with him paid three hundred taels for him."

That's why, after failing the exam, he complained about Sun Zhigao and even forced Sun Zhigao to return the money.

To appease him, Sun Zhigao invited him to drink. The two got drunk, started arguing again, and even came to blows.

"I see!"

Zhou An finally understood why Sun Zhigao had wanted to include him.

The fewer people who know about this, the better; otherwise, even if you pass the exam, you'll leave something for the other party to use against you.

Sun Zhigao's attempt to win him over was unusual; he then turned to Guo Xun instead.

"It's getting late, I have to go!"

Guan Yan stood up and said, "If there is any news, I will send Xiao Wu over even if it is inconvenient for me to come."

"Don't worry, Dekuan!"

Zhou An pondered, "Although I don't know if your father has any way to resolve this matter right now, the simplest solution is to find those swindlers!"

"By now, those swindlers have probably already run away. It won't be easy to find them now."

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "My father also ordered an artist to paint a portrait based on Sun Zhigao and the others' descriptions. Hopefully, it will be useful!"

"No, I think the swindler is most likely still in the city!" Zhou An said.

"Um?"

Guan Yan asked in surprise, "Why is Huai De so certain?"

"To be honest, Sun Zhigao had approached me before, but I refused."

Zhou An pondered for a moment and said, "Sun Zhigao and I are from the same hometown. He returned to his hometown in the autumn of the year before last. After returning, he was busy with his wedding and stayed in Youyang. He did not come to Tongzhou."

In other words, the scammer had already contacted him before he returned to his hometown.

"That's right!"

Guan Yan nodded and said, "Sun Zhigao said that the time when that person spoke to Li Mu was indeed the year before last."

Li Mu initially had no recollection of it, but gained some understanding through Sun Zhigao's description.

"Do you think the con artists, after planning this for so long, only managed to fool Sun Zhigao and his accomplice?" Zhou An asked.

"I know the scammers definitely cheated more than just two people; there must be others, but the cheated students won't tell you."

Guan Yan said, "It is precisely because so many people are deceived that the swindlers flee immediately after succeeding."

I don't think so!

Zhou An voiced his guess: "You said it yourself, the victims won't report it to the authorities or tell anyone. If that's the case, why would the swindler be in such a hurry to escape?"

"They've already succeeded, why stay in Tongzhou instead of fleeing? Do they intend to continue their scams?" Guan Yan retorted.

"They certainly won't continue their fraudulent activities in Tongzhou, but there's always a chance of something going wrong. No one can guarantee that the authorities won't find out about their fraudulent activities."

That's why they have to run away.

Guan Yan felt that Zhou An was talking nonsense.

"Judging from their methods, this is clearly not the first time they've done something like this. Otherwise, spending so much time and effort to scam people would be too costly."

Zhou An said, "If I were a liar, I wouldn't leave. Instead, I would hide in Tongzhou and only leave when I'm sure things haven't been exposed."