Chapter 92: Proving innocence
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
At this moment, the invigilator also moved. His footsteps were very light, and there was almost no sound. His footsteps weren't fast, but every step seemed as if he was floating in the air.
To be an invigilator in the capital examinations, how could his abilities be weak?
Fang Zhengzhi could almost confirm that within two seconds, this fatty would be caught. And, the youth cheating together with him would also face the same punishment.
"Report!"
A clear voice broke the silence of the examination venue, causing the fatty's head to instantly retract.
The invigilator stopped in his tracks, a trace of anger appearing on his face. But, he still walked towards Fang Zhengzhi's direction. Because, the person who spoke, was Fang Zhengzhi himself.
The surrounding scholars similarly raised their heads, all their gazes fixated upon Fang Zhengzhi.
"Reporting again?!"
"Don't tell me there is another person stupid enough to cheat with him?"
Within the crowd, there were people who heard about the incident when Fang Zhengzhi reported Meng Yushu during the Huai An County examinations, hence, hearing Fang Zhengzhi's words, they instantly guessed.
"Report what?" The invigilator walked in front of Fang Zhengzhi.
This invigilator naturally wasn't the same one as before. After all, the invigilator had lost face, hence had long since went to some faraway examination venue to invigilate.
"He is peeking!" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the fatty.
The fatty's initially somewhat worried face instantly turned white.
"You… you are speaking nonsense, since… since when did I peek!" Even though the fatty was anxious and afraid, but, admitting on the spot was impossible, hence he naturally began to argue intensely.
When the surrounding scholars heard this, they more or less understood what had happened. Some people recognised the fatty and knew his academic abilities. Fang Zhengzhi report about the fatty should be true.
But, was it really good to destroy somebody's future like that?
The eyes of the invigilator lit up. He previously thought that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to defend the fatty, but now it seemed like that wasn't the case.
"You personally saw him peek?" The invigilator understood. He was worrying about not catching the fatty in action, but now since somebody stood out to report, he naturally was happy to help Fang Zhengzhi.
"This… with the wooden board blocking, I couldn't see clearly…" When he heard the invigilator's words, Fang Zhengzhi's mouth curved into a slight smile. His tone instantly changed, and suddenly started to mumble.
"You… you didn't see clearly yet you reported me?" When the fatty heard this, his legs that were initially trembling and shaking all over stopped shaking. He instantly puffed out his chest and raised his head, seeming very open and honourable.
"Blocked by the wooden board? You should still be able to see clearly!" The invigilator blinked a few times at Fang Zhengzhi and began to guide him systematically. Peeking during an examination required him to catch this in action in order to impose any punishments.
But after Fang Zhengzhi's shout, there naturally wasn't any opportunity to catch him. But, if a witness who was in the examination as well as the invigilator both make accusations, then that was another matter altogether.
"Even though I didn't see it clearly, but, I definitely saw him turn his head. Furthermore, I got a method to prove that he was peeking just now!" Fang Zhengzhi similarly returned a meaningful glance to the invigilator.
The invigilator instantly understood tacitly.
But, what method was there to prove that he was peeking?
He actually couldn't think of one at the moment.
When the fatty heard Fang Zhengzhi's words, his initial inflated confidence was as if burst by a needle, instantly decreasing by half. He had personally witnessed Fang Zhengzhi's methods before.
A method to prove?
It's over, it's over…
Fang Zhengzhi wants to toy with me, what can I do? The fatty's heart instantly jumped into this throat.
"What… what method do you have to prove…" Blood filled the fatty's face due to his anxious, causing it to seem flushed with red.
"There is a method to prove that he was peeking?" The surrounding scholars also looked at one another, and didn't quite understand what Fang Zhengzhi's method was.
"Tell me more!" The invigilator signalled Fang Zhengzhi to speak.
"Announce the answer! If he really can do the question, then naturally he would be able to answer it. If he couldn't do it, then naturally one can prove that he was peeking just now!" Fang Zhengzhi replied in a matter-of-fact manner.
When the invigilator heard this, his face instantly darkened.
Announce answers? This was the theory examination! Even though he evidently knew that the fatty would definitely not know, but if he really asked the fatty to announce his answers, this was indeed too extreme.
And just announcing one's answers would prove that one didn't peek? This logic seemed rather plausible, but upon careful inspection, it was definitely not.
Even if somehow, the fatty managed to announce this answer, who would judge whether it was right or wrong?
When the surrounding scholars heard Fang Zhengzhi's "idea", they instantly began to laugh. Announce answers? Ha ha ha… how can he even think of this!
"Yes, what I mean is for him to announce some fixed answers, answers which everybody would know. For example, writing from memory the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings. He doesn't have to recite the entire thing, he just has to say one sentence, then I'll believe that he didn't peek. But if he can't even recall one sentence, that proved that he completely doesn't know and hence, would definitely have peeked!"
Fang Zhengzhi looked at the expression of the invigilator and the surrounding scholars, and continued to explain.
The invigilator frowned once again. No matter what, whether it was writing from memory or not, announcing answers was something he definitely couldn't allow.
Just as he prepared to open his mouth to prevent this.
The fatty had already begun to shout excitedly.
"I know, I know!"
He was really excited. Fang Zhengzhi reported him and it was impossible for him to claim that he wasn't afraid at all. After all, he really was peeking just now, and thought that it was all over.
But, he never thought that Fang Zhengzhi would state such simple terms.
In the entire examination paper, he naturally didn't know eighty to ninety percent of it. Even for the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings, he couldn't recite it completely.
But, following what Fang Zhengzhi said, as long as he recalled one sentence, everything would be fine.
One sentence?
That was such a simple request! To be able to pass the county examination, the text in the Six Secret Teachings naturally had to be reviewed many times, one sentence was nothing to him!
"Now when our two armies, opposing each other, have deployed their armoured soldiers and established their battle arrays, releasing some of your troops to create chaos in the ranks is the means by which to fabricate deceptive changes!" In order to prove his "innocence", the fatty was desperate.
He simply didn't bother waiting for the invigilator to agree. Once Fang Zhengzhi finished his sentence, he instantly announced the "answer".
But, his abilities were indeed limited. This sentence was a very queer sentence. It wasn't an opening, nor was it the conclusion. It wasn't even a main point of the chapter.
It was purely just among the two or three sentences that he really remembered…
But, after the fatty finished his sentence, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi proudly, as if saying, how is that? Are you convinced that I know now? Reciting one sentence was a small matter!
"That's right, the twenty-seventh chapter indeed contains this sentence, I can confirm!" The youth sitting beside the fatty instantly stood up upon hearing.
He had all along been waiting for an opportunity to speak. Now, the opportunity finally came. Hence, he naturally couldn't give up this chance for him and the fatty to prove their "innocence"!
The surrounding scholars also nodded one by one. Gazing at the invigilator and Fang Zhengzhi, their meaning was similarly just as obvious. He had answered it, what are you going to do now?
"Shut up! If you dare announce the answer again, I will punish you for cheating!" When the invigilator met the gaze coming from the surrounding scholars, his expression instantly became colder.
"Looks like I had really seen wrongly!" Fang Zhengzhi instantly seemed disappointed and regretful. Then, he sat down with a guilty expression.
The surrounding scholars were taken aback, they didn't expect Fang Zhengzhi to actually give up so easily.
"What was that all about?"
"That's not right, Fang Zhengzhi let him off just like that?"
Even though they were somewhat regretful, but, when they saw the invigilator at the edge of raging, naturally nobody dared to speak again. One by one, their gaze returned back to the examination paper on their own desks.
The invigilator coldly swept his gaze across the surrounding scholars, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi and instinctively glanced at the examination paper in front of Fang Zhengzhi.
Then, he realised that the rest of the questions seemed to have been completed, but the only one left was writing from memory "the twenty-seventh chapter in the Law of Dao and the Six Secret Teachings". It seemed to be blank.
"Could it be…" A cold glint flashed in the invigilator's eyes.