I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 242 - 147: Finished, I became the scapegoat!

Chapter 242: Chapter 147: Finished, I became the scapegoat!

The feasibility of using black gunpowder for explosions had significantly boosted Gu Shanhai’s confidence. Soon, after he synthesized a type of high-explosive black gunpowder and took appropriate safety measures, it had already grown dark.

"It’s time to go to Yuzhu Pavilion." Gu Shanhai quickly got ready.

He also knew the exact location of Yuzhu Pavilion, having inquired about it while out purchasing materials.

When he left the inn, he saw quite a number of people since he wasn’t the only one invited; many scholars who had come for the exam were invited, and the number was not small.

’It seems they are invited in batches, not all at the same time. Right, this many scholars, if all were invited at once, Yuzhu Pavilion couldn’t accommodate them all.’

Not to mention, just the inn where Gu Shanhai was staying housed nearly fifty candidates. He had also found out that during this period, their food and lodging were covered by the government, so they didn’t need to pay themselves; this was a sort of welfare treatment.

Also, to better manage these scholar candidates. This was about selecting talent, and central management could help avoid various accidents, showing the importance placed on the imperial examination and the candidates. More importantly, since this place was under the Emperor’s direct jurisdiction, the treatment was better than the past rural and departmental examinations.

He also learned that Yuzhu Pavilion was more about having a meal and informally interacting to relieve stress; the Crown Prince wouldn’t make an appearance. For the Crown Prince, it was necessary to rally support, but appearing now would seem somewhat beneath him.

Gu Shanhai had no complaints about this; if it weren’t for the need to go with the flow and find a cover, he wouldn’t even want to go there.

Because it was a waste of time. Intellectuals belittling each other was common. There would inevitably be poetry competitions, and he didn’t understand any of it.

When intellectuals gather, it wasn’t about romantic affairs or couldn’t they grieve for the nation. This was inherently problematic.

Yuzhu Pavilion wasn’t far away. Gu Shanhai arrived there quickly on his own, like Deng Zhida and other fellow townsmen who came in a group, belonging to a close-knit circle.

This also confirmed something; the person he was replacing didn’t have a good relationship with his fellow local students, otherwise, they would have called him to set off together rather than leaving one after another.

And the previous chat was probably due to a chance encounter rather than a deliberate attempt to talk.

Upon entering Yuzhu Pavilion, servants quickly organized everything. After Gu Shanhai reported his name, he was seated in a slightly cornered spot.

’Is there a guest list? Indeed, reputation matters everywhere.’

The arrangement at Yuzhu Pavilion was quite normal. As a person of no renown, you couldn’t expect to occupy a prime seat. That was too much wishful thinking.

’This approach, though, isn’t appropriate,’ Gu Shanhai lamented internally. A fellow scholar candidate sitting beside him looked calm at first glance, but his micro-expressions revealed his displeasure.

Scholar Hou Weiji.

This was the hint Gu Shanhai got. He noticed something interesting—not everyone received relevant hints, such as his townsmen or those well-known scholars sitting in the front row or those next to him.

For people like servants at Yuzhu Pavilion or those unlikely to intersect at all, there were no corresponding hints.

Thus, Gu Shanhai boldly guessed this was likely because the authority figure didn’t know these people.

Which meant that people who got hints could be key figures or perhaps just mere NPCs.

The atmosphere in Yuzhu Pavilion quickly heated up. The few scholars in front spearheaded the warming up, obviously adept at dealing with such social gatherings. After declaring their own titles, everyone began to flatter each other, but to Gu Shanhai, these praises seemed somewhat like hidden barbs.

As the mood escalated and became heated, many scholars sitting in the back rows began to stir—first inciting poetry competitions, then planning to climb the social ladder by stepping on others’ reputations.

Gu Shanhai remained unmoved, instead observing this development with a cold eye. Hou Weiji beside him was more proactive, frequently standing up, holding his wine cup, and walking around, exuding a flamboyant style.

For a while, Gu Shanhai couldn’t quite understand how the situation was unfolding.

He knew there was danger here, but where exactly the danger lay remained unclear. After spending the whole afternoon without encountering anything, he considered it pretty bizarre.

At least give him some kind of hint; otherwise, he was just as baffled and would have to proceed with the plan to steal the examination questions from the Ministry of Rites.

Primarily, Gu Shanhai believed there might be relevant situations at Yuzhu Pavilion; otherwise, there was no reason to bring him here for no reason. Perhaps it was tied to past experiences of the original person, enough to be included in this illusion, which surely meant there was an issue.

The banquet progressively grew more lively; he even saw his townsmen joining in, leaving only a few possibly introverted scholars still inactive.

Just as Gu Shanhai was thinking about getting up to explore, he suddenly heard a shriek.

Everyone was startled.

"Dead... Geng Sheng is dead!" Then, a scholar exclaimed loudly.

A scholar surnamed Geng had died. Gu Shanhai was also curious about this; he remembered the man, named Geng Wu, whose name, like Hou Weiji’s, had the prefix ’Scholar.’