Jiang Chen ignored Liu Yimin's winks and said coldly, "Is that so? I didn't realize you had such powerful methods."

"Scared?"

The old scholar smiled smugly. "I'm not afraid to tell you, the magistrate of this county is my brother, and the county magistrate is my niece's husband!"

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chen stared coldly at the old scholar's smug face. "But I came from the capital. Can your niece's husband control things in the capital?"

"Hahahaha..."

The old scholar couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, looking at Jiang Chen with the eyes of someone looking at a country bumpkin. "Sure enough, you're just an ignorant boy who can't even figure this out!"

"Let me tell you, my niece's husband came from the capital! And he's this year's *enke* (special imperial examination) *jinshi* (successful candidate)!"

"I see." Jiang Chen suddenly understood.

"Understand?"

The old scholar looked at Jiang Chen smugly. "Are you scared now? Regretful?"

"Too late!"

The old scholar revealed a venomous expression. "Let me tell you, in this lifetime, you'll be lucky to even become a *tongsheng* (government-supported student)! *Xiucai* (successful candidate in the imperial examination at the county level)? Don't even think about it!"

Jiang Chen chuckled. "I'm a little scared, actually. But you're mistaken about one thing. I don't need to take the *xiucai* exam."

"Don't need to take the *xiucai* exam?"

The old scholar was stunned, then he sized up Jiang Chen, his expression gradually becoming strange.

Could it be that he misjudged him, and this young man was already a *xiucai*?

The old scholar thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Normally, the *xiucai* and *tongsheng* of Great Wei were assigned to various counties and villages to serve as county officials and village officials.

But there were also some *xiucai* and *tongsheng* who had angered the current emperor, so they were directly removed from the selection list for county and village officials by His Majesty.

This kid, most likely, was one of those who had been removed!

Otherwise, why would he be traveling south for no reason instead of preparing for the imperial examinations in the capital?

After figuring this out, the old man laughed triumphantly again.

"I was almost fooled by you, kid! You've already been blacklisted by His Majesty! Even if you've already obtained the title of *xiucai*, in His Majesty's eyes, you're not even as good as a mud-caked farmer in the countryside! What do you have to be proud of!"

Jiang Chen sneered at the old scholar. "I'm not a *xiucai* either."

The smile on the old scholar's face instantly froze, his eyes becoming somewhat dull.

If he wasn't a *xiucai*, could he be a *juren* (recommended man)?

The *juren* exam was several times harder than the *xiucai* exam!

After all, to pass the *xiucai* exam, you only needed to be better than the other students in the same county and state.

But to become a *juren*, you had to stand out among the *xiucai* in an entire prefecture!

The difficulty of that was unimaginable!

He had taken the exam for twenty years without passing the *juren* exam. There was no way this young man could already be a *juren* at such a young age, right?

The old scholar naturally didn't believe it, but if Jiang Chen was really a *juren*, then he indeed had no reason to be arrogant.

After thinking about it, the old scholar tentatively asked, "Which year did you become a *juren*?"

Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "I'm not a *juren* either."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old scholar collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Even holding onto the door frame couldn't keep him standing.

"*Xiucai*, sir!"

"Sir!"

Liu Yimin and the woman in the room exclaimed at the same time, helping the old scholar up.

Although he was being supported, the old scholar was still trembling all over, with cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

If Jiang Chen was really a *jinshi*, then he was in big trouble!

*Jinshi* were definitely the dragons and phoenixes among men in Great Wei.

After all, only two or three hundred people from the *juren* candidates could pass the *jinshi* exam each year.

His niece's husband was an *enke jinshi*.

Although he was parachuted in as the local county magistrate, everyone in the area treated him with great respect.

Not for any other reason, but just the title of *jinshi* alone was enough to make everyone in the area unable to breathe.

Although he was a relative of the *jinshi*, he was not, after all, a *jinshi* himself.

If he really offended a *jinshi*, even his niece's husband would not be able to speak up for him.

Because *jinshi* were able to meet the emperor!

If today's events were reported back to the capital, even if they didn't reach the emperor's ears, as long as they reached the Ministry of Personnel, then his position as a village official would be over.

Even that *jinshi* niece's husband would be implicated!

Thinking of this, the old scholar completely panicked.

He squeezed out a smile towards Jiang Chen in a somewhat flattering manner, and his voice was not as loud as before, as he said softly, "This..."

At this point, the old scholar stopped.

He didn't know what to call Jiang Chen.

In terms of age, he was definitely the elder.

But the other party might be a *jinshi*!

Then he couldn't rely on his age to act old.

After thinking about it, the old scholar made a decision.

"This lord, I... I was indeed rude just now. How about this, I'll slap myself, slap myself."

After saying that, the old scholar gently slapped his own face twice.

The force was so light, it was probably lighter than using it to apply powder.

Jiang Chen sneered. "I remember that there's a sound when you slap yourself, why didn't I hear it?"

The old scholar's face turned pale, he didn't expect Jiang Chen to be so unyielding.

But with this, he was even more certain of Jiang Chen's identity as a *jinshi*.

If he wasn't a *jinshi*, would the other party dare to speak like that?

Moreover, he could also see that Jiang Chen's bearing was indeed not that of an ordinary person.

Gritting his teeth, the old scholar closed his eyes and gave himself two slaps.

The two slaps were very crisp, making the old scholar wince in pain.

Ignoring the pain, he squeezed out a smile and smiled at Jiang Chen, "Lord, are you satisfied now?"

Jiang Chen was expressionless and did not speak.

The old scholar breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "Lord, my niece's husband is also a *jinshi* from this year's exam, how about I take you to meet him?"

Firstly, he wanted to gloss over what had just happened.

Secondly, he also wanted to confirm whether Jiang Chen was really a *jinshi*.

Although his bearing didn't seem fake, what if he was a swindler?

The old scholar had to confirm this.

So after saying that, he stared intently at Jiang Chen, wanting to see the truth from Jiang Chen's expression.

If the other party was somewhat resistant, or even directly refused, then it must be fake!

The old scholar stared at Jiang Chen without blinking, and saw Jiang Chen nod faintly.

"Alright. It would be best if you could call your brother along as well."

When the old scholar heard this, he smiled even more flatteringly, nodding repeatedly, "That's natural, that's natural."

Only now did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

On the one hand, Jiang Chen asked him to call his brother, which meant that he wanted to reconcile.

On the other hand, the fact that he agreed without hesitation meant that the other party should not be fake.

The old scholar became somewhat excited.

Although he had almost caused a big disaster earlier, it now seemed to be a good thing.

Otherwise, how else would he be able to get involved with a *jinshi*?

The old scholar was even thinking in his heart whether he should adopt a goddaughter and then marry his off to a *jinshi* son-in-law.

The more the old scholar thought about it, the happier he became, and even Liu Yimin, who was standing beside him, began to look pleasing to the eye.

"Village Chief Liu, you've done a good job, um, a good job."

Liu Yimin had long been dumbfounded.

He didn't understand what was going on at all, but he was praised.