Chapter 326: Impoverished Gu Yuan?

And as Gu Yuan put pen to paper, some subtle changes occurred inside the examination cubicle.

The originally damp and chilly air became dry and warm.

The low-quality ink in the inkstone gave off a faint pine scent.

Each character Gu Yuan wrote flashed with an extremely faint dark-gold light the moment it was formed, then quickly sank into the paper.

This was the initial manifestation of the Great Dao principle resonating with the heavenly Dao of this realm.

Gu Yuan also slightly suppressed the power of his inner world.

He knew perfectly well that if he unleashed his talent aura without restraint, the moment this essay was finished it could pierce through this examination hall together with the official aura canopy over Qingzhou City.

He is now a down-and-out scholar, and must proceed step by step.

Of course, on the other hand, this is also the suppression of all non-dynastic forces under this dynasty's rules.

Gu Yuan could feel it.

Without True Immortal-level power.

Anyone who comes here… will be suppressed.

Even so, that extremely compressed talent aura still caused a disturbance above the examination hall.

On Mingyuan Pavilion.

Wang Bo'an was holding a teacup, half-listening to the chief clerk's report on examination hall discipline.

Suddenly, the seventh-rank official aura steadily rotating above his head began to vibrate violently without any warning.

Wang Bo'an's hand shook, and scalding tea spilled onto the back of his hand.

He didn't bother to wipe it, sprang to his feet, hurried to the railing, and fixed his gaze firmly on the examination cubicles below.

"My lord magistrate, what's happened?" the chief clerk hurried forward to ask upon seeing this.

Wang Bo'an gave no answer.

He mobilized the power of the official seal, pushing his strength to the extreme.

Boosted by the official aura, he saw above a certain examination cubicle in the northwest corner of the hall a faint milky-white pillar of aura beginning to form.

Though slender, that aura pillar was extremely pure, actually showing signs of breaking through the suppression of Qingzhou City's official aura.

"What pure talent aura!" Wang Bo'an sucked in a breath of cold air.

In this remote place of Qingzhou, no talent capable of triggering a talent-aura pillar in the county examination had appeared for several decades.

An essay of this caliber, once reported to the prefectural city, would certainly draw the prefect's attention, and might even reach the ears of heaven.

"Investigate!"

Wang Bo'an lowered his voice and ordered his trusted subordinate clerk,

"Go to Room Jia Thirteen in the northwest corner and see whose child is sitting there. Remember, do not alarm him."

The clerk received the order and left.

After the burning of one incense stick, the clerk returned silently to Mingyuan Pavilion.

"Reporting to the magistrate, the investigation is clear."

The clerk leaned close to Wang Bo'an's ear and said, "The examinee in Room Jia Thirteen is named Gu Ziyuan. He is an impoverished scholar, living in Willow Tree Alley in the southern part of the city, orphaned, with no background."

"Impoverished?"

Wang Bo'an's brows knotted into a lump.

He turned his head and looked toward the not‑far Room Jia One.

There sat his own nephew, Wang Teng, the legitimate heir of the Qingzhou Wang clan.

For this county examination, the Wang family had, half a year in advance, bought off connections, obtained a rough outline of the exam topics, and even hired a renowned teacher to ghostwrite several model essays for Wang Teng.

Wang Teng's placement as top scorer had long been decided internally by the Qingzhou Wang clan.

This is the rule of the aristocratic clans, and also an unspoken rule of Qingzhou officialdom.

After all, Wang Teng… is reputed to have the bearing of a prime minister.

But now an utterly background‑less impoverished peasant has actually written an essay that produced a talent‑aura pillar?

Wang Bo'an's face darkened.

The official‑career resources of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty are limited.

The amount of fortune Qingzhou City can nurture each year is fixed.

If Gu Ziyuan were to take first place, not only would Wang Teng's official career be affected, but the Qingzhou Wang clan's monopoly on local fortune would also be torn open.

This is something the aristocratic clans cannot tolerate at all.

"No matter how high the talent aura, it's still just a commoner."

Wang Bo'an gave a cold snort, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes,

"The heaven of Qingzhou City is the Wang family's heaven. Whether an essay is good or not, I, the official, have the final say."

He turned to the chief clerk, his tone grim: "Pass the order down—collect the papers. Pay special attention to Gu Ziyuan's essay and send it straight to my study."

The sun set westward, and the county examination ended.

Gu Yuan handed in his paper, lifted the empty exam basket, and walked out of the examination hall's gate.

Breathing the slightly murky outside air, he stretched.

The musty smell in the examination hall really isn't pleasant.

He ignored the excited or dejected examinees around him, went straight to the bun shop on the street corner, bought two vegetable‑filled buns, and ate them while heading south to Willow Tree Alley.

The lodging arranged by the system for him was a leaky thatched hut.

Gu Yuan pushed open the wobbly wooden door, saw inside only a broken bed and a lame‑legged table, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Xiao Ai, this immersive experience of yours is way too realistic." Gu Yuan sat on the broken bed, "You've really been treating me like a beggar."

【When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a person, it first frustrates his spirit and toils his bones. Host, please maintain your role.】

Gu Yuan couldn't be bothered to deal with it.

He sat cross-legged, extended his divine sense, and covered the entire Qingzhou County Office.

With his Immortal King–level soul, nothing happening in this city escaped his perception, not even the crawl of an ant.

He clearly saw Wang Bo'an's reaction on the Bright Far Tower and heard the other's secret plotting when collecting the papers.

"Clan suppression, backroom maneuvering—this kind of drama exists in any world." Gu Yuan took a bite of a steamed bun and chewed.

He wasn't angry.

On the contrary, if that county magistrate had honestly given him top rank, he would instead have to think about how to stir up trouble.

Now the other party voluntarily handed over the evidence, saving him a lot of effort.

After all, this time.

He certainly wasn't in the Heavenly Pivot Origin Realm sort of scenario where one needs to temper the mind and, incidentally, set things right.

If he could be a bit faster, Gu Yuan wouldn't waste time here.

……

The night was deep.

Qingzhou County Office, rear hall study.

Wang Bo'an sat behind the desk, with two exam papers laid out before him.

One was his nephew Wang Teng's—flowery language, a conventional piece praising the sage.

The other was Gu Yuan's paper.

Gu Yuan's paper was set apart to the side, faint white talent qi swirling on it, even making the candles in the study appear dim and lackluster.

Wang Bo'an read Gu Yuan's essay word by word.

The more he read, the greater his shock.

This essay's scope is too grand.

It not only points directly to the origin of the official way, but also subtly points out the crux where the divine dynasty's fortune gives rise to black spots.

Such vision—let alone a poor scholar from Qingzhou City, even those old scholars of the capital's Hanlin Academy might not be able to write it.

After the astonishment came deep fear.

If this essay were to spread, it would surely cause an uproar throughout court and countryside.

The writer might soar to fame, but he, the Qingzhou County Magistrate responsible for reviewing the papers, would definitely be dragged into the high-level political whirlpool and be crushed to pieces.

"This child must not be kept." Wang Bo'an made up his mind.

He picked up a cinnabar brush and fiercely drew a big red cross on Gu Yuan's paper.

"Reckless and ignorant, rashly discussing state affairs. Though the wording is splendid, the intentions are not upright. Reject!"

Wang Bo'an wrote the comment, mobilizing the authority of a seventh-rank county magistrate's seal, and stamped it heavily on the paper.

As the seal fell, the crimson official qi transformed into a ferocious tiger, forcibly suppressing and devouring the white talent qi swirling on the paper.

Gu Yuan's essay, which could have shaken the world, became a worthless scrap under the crushing force of official authority.

Wang Bo'an gazed at the lusterless exam paper and exhaled a long breath of foul air.

"Gu Ziyuan, if you must blame someone, blame being born into the wrong family."