TEFSCBSS Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Chancellor Su Helping Su Li?

As soon as the list of candidates was released, it caused an uproar. Some were overjoyed, some were disappointed, and others were outright furious.

“Why am I not on the list?! I’ve been called a prodigy since childhood, with a photographic memory! Everyone in my village praises me—this list is unfair! Completely unfair!”

People were gathered around the list, chattering noisily. When they heard the commotion, they all turned their heads, even Wang Qingmu and Butcher Liu stopped their argument.

The one shouting was a young man dressed in a water-blue robe, neatly attired with a decorative flower pinned in his hair.

Beside him stood several elderly villagers, the closest being a middle-aged man with a calculating expression. He, too, wore scholarly clothes, with a mediocre-quality jade ornament on his forehead.

“Exactly! My son’s talent is known far and wide. His poetry is recited by countless people, and everyone who hears it praises it! Why isn’t he on the list?”

“Are you looking down on the Wei family?”

“Hah! I bet everyone on that list has connections or has paid their way in! A so-called ‘application process’? More like an inside job!”

As soon as the middle-aged man spoke, murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“Could he be right? Is this rigged?”

“How would we even know?”

Seeing that no one refuted him, the Wei father and son grew even more arrogant, continuing to accuse the script shop of corruption.

“Take Wang Qingmu, for example. Everyone knows he works at the script shop. Are you going to say that didn’t help him get on the list?”

“And I see at least two or three young noblemen on that list. Even living outside the capital, I’ve heard of them! They’re the spoiled sons of aristocrats! How much did their families pay to get them in?”

His words grew more impassioned, but from the moment he mentioned Wang Qingmu’s name, those familiar with the script shop started to sense something was off.

Wang Qingmu’s expression darkened. Butcher Liu, standing beside him, followed as they walked toward the Wei father and son.

Seeing them approach, the regular patrons instinctively stepped aside, while a few onlookers eagerly followed behind, ready to back them up.

Wang Qingmu clasped his hands politely. “May I ask your esteemed name, sir?”

He directed the question at the aggressive middle-aged man. However, the man did not return the courtesy. Instead, he arrogantly folded his hands behind his back. “And who might you be? You don’t even recognize me?”

“I am Wei Dahe, father of Wei Zhongyong!”

Seeing their attitude, Wang Qingmu dropped his formalities, straightened his posture, and spoke with sharp eyes. “Since you are my elder, I will show you due respect. But may I ask—does Wei Zhongyong have any renowned poetry, political essays, or insights worth learning? We would be honored to hear them.”

Wei Dahe and his son, unaware that this was Wang Qingmu, mistook his words as flattery and an eager desire to learn. Their smug expressions grew even more pronounced.

“Of course! My son is already a tongsheng (a student who has passed the initial exams). His writing is more than worthy of your study. Zhongyong, recite one of your poems for them.”

Wei Zhongyong lifted his chin and cast a condescending glance at Wang Qingmu. “Listen well, then. This is a masterpiece I composed last year while admiring the autumn scenery from a high vantage point.”

“The autumn phoenix tree…”

Before he could finish his poem, a group of mounted guards suddenly pushed through the crowd. One of them stepped forward and stuffed a cloth into Wei Zhongyong’s mouth.

At the forefront stood Su San, his expression firm and righteous. He clasped his hands and addressed the crowd:

“Everyone, Chancellor Su has investigated the matter. The Wei father and son were involved in buying and selling poetry, using fraudulent names to enter competitions. As a result, Wei Zhongyong’s student status was revoked. Do not believe their nonsense.”

His gaze swept toward the script shop and landed on Su Li, who had just stepped outside to see what was happening. He smiled and said,

“Miss Su Li, the Chancellor wanted you to know that although you are no longer part of the Su family, he did raise you for many years and will support any decision you make. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Without waiting for a response, Su San immediately directed the guards to take the Wei father and son away.

Su Li: …?

Who was this? And why was Chancellor Su meddling again? Helping her?

Who asked for his help? She was already trying her best to avoid him!

Su Li was completely bewildered. She had expected that some people would be unhappy with the candidate list and was prepared to show them the applicants’ credentials.

In her mind, the outstanding resumes should have been enough to silence any challengers.

When the Wei father and son jumped out to make a scene, she had even excitedly prepared to back up Wang Qingmu with the evidence in hand.

After hearing the story of the Wei father and son, Su Li had even sighed and shared the tale of “Injury to Zhongyong” with those around her. She suspected that this was a real-life example—once a widely praised prodigy, but still merely a tongsheng (lowest level scholar) after so many years. There was a good chance that his father had exaggerated his talents and bought plenty of poetry to maintain his reputation.

But before she could even finish her story, before Wang Qingmu had a chance to counterattack, Su San had already arrived with a group of people to “rescue” her.

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

And the more the crowd pondered, the more something felt off.

Several regular patrons of the script shop, experienced in playing story-based games, had initially been confident that the Wei father and son were just making a scene. They assumed the two were merely sore losers, slinging baseless accusations in an attempt to discredit the script shop and its ten chosen candidates.

But then… what did Su San’s words mean?

Wait.

Xilou Script Shop. Boss Zhao. Was actually Su Li?

The same Su Li who had once been at the center of the infamous “Real and Fake Daughter” scandal?

And what did he mean by “help”? Helping with this event? Did that mean it wasn’t just the Ministry of Justice facilitating this collaboration, but that Chancellor Su was secretly involved as well?

Or… had Su Li pulled some strings with Chancellor Su to finalize the candidate list?

“Hey, what do you guys think that captain of the guards meant just now? What kind of ‘help’ was he talking about?”

“Who knows? Big shots always talk in riddles—who can understand them?”

“Yeah, yeah, but I don’t even care about all that. One thing I do know is my ability. And let’s be real—Wang Qingmu’s writing is leagues beyond mine. If someone wants to say he got on the list through cheating or connections, I refuse to believe it.”

The script shop regulars all nodded in agreement. They might not know much about the others on the list, but Wang Qingmu? They had known him for years—some had even watched him grow up. They knew his character, his skills, and his dedication.

If Wang Qingmu hadn’t made the list, then maybe they would have questioned the selection process. But since he was on it, everything seemed entirely reasonable.

“But that guy just said Boss Zhao is a fake daughter!”

“Now that you mention it… I suddenly remembered the first murder mystery script we played here. Could it be… was that based on her real-life experience?”

“You know what? The more I think about it, the eerier it gets.”

The script shop regulars were soon engulfed in a heated debate over Su Li’s true identity and the real vs. fake daughter scandal. They wanted to know if Su Li had used her own story as inspiration—whether the rumors about a sister murdering a sister, a father framing his daughter, and even someone returning from the dead were true.

Their discussion grew so intense that some even wanted to pull out paper and start taking notes. (Good habits from playing story-based games.)

Meanwhile, the other bystanders who weren’t familiar with the script shop split into two factions after hearing Su San’s words.

One group believed that Su Li was lucky but lacked integrity—how could she organize an event only to pull strings and rig the selection? Disgusted, they vowed never to return.

The other group, however, saw Chancellor Su in a different light. They believed he was truly a great man—raising an ungrateful girl for years, only for her to abandon the family. Yet, despite all that, he still forgave her and stepped in to help. He must have been working behind the scenes to ensure the event’s success. What a noble man!

Listening to the heated discussions, Su Li mentally ran through all of Chancellor Su’s manipulative tactics and cursed him in her heart.

But she couldn’t just grab a loudspeaker and explain everything from the beginning.

Back at the Grand Princess’s estate, it had been Su Yao—her peer—who had insulted her. Even then, she had only referred to herself as an illegitimate daughter and never directly criticized Chancellor Su.

If she dared to publicly say that Chancellor Su had ill intentions today, she would be drowned in a sea of spit before nightfall.

No matter the era, filial piety was a moral cage. Chancellor Su had already done enough on the surface to make it look like she owed him a great debt. After all, even the troublemakers had been taken care of by him. How could she possibly speak ill of him now?

But that didn’t mean she was going to let him manipulate her without a fight.

Sweeping her gaze across the crowd, she spotted Su San standing alone, watching the chaos unfold.

Her eyes narrowed.

If he wanted to make things difficult for her, then fine.

They could both suffer.

Let’s see who can stomach it longer!

Having made up her mind, she strode up to the platform, grabbed a loudspeaker, and—