Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 49: True and False (Part 1)
"The secret lies in these few words," Xu Zun pointed at the piece of paper and said, "When the real Qiu Yongnian was imprisoned in the secret room of Changsheng Temple , for some reason, he was allowed to carve words on the wall of the room.
"He knew very well that he had been victimized by a villain, and that he had a lot of grief and indignation but could not express it. If he carved any words related to his life experience, they would certainly be destroyed by the guards.
“Therefore, he could only carve some irrelevant and less sensitive words to avoid the suspicion of the guards.
"But even so, Qiu Yongnian still found an opportunity to secretly reveal a piece of information to the outside world.
"Among all the words in the secret room," he pointed at the words on the paper, "only these five words are in larger fonts, and they happen to be located in the five directions of east, west, south, north and center.
"So, I believe these five words must have their meaning!"
"Five words?" Cai Kun raised the paper and said, "Isn't this four and a half? Can you please not keep us in suspense? What does it mean?"
"The woman is not a piece of paper, but a single person..." At this moment, Governor Li Yan stroked his beard and looked at it carefully. After repeating it silently several times, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he understood something.
However, Xu Zun did not give him a chance to show off, and immediately pointed to a few words and revealed the secret: "In fact, this is a very ordinary couplet!"
"Ah?" County Magistrate Luo Baiwan hurriedly calculated in his mind, muttering, "Female versus male, square versus round, paper versus pen, no versus yes, male versus round versus pen? No, try again..."
"Female to male, square to circle, paper to shape, non to yes," Xu Zun had already given the answer, "The single standing man is the character 'you'. Change the order. Now everyone knows what Qiu Yongnian wants to tell us, right?"
"Round, shape, is..." Among the few people, Chen Taiji reacted the fastest. He was the first to adjust the order and said hurriedly, "I am the shape- round-legged man! I am the number one scholar! Is this correct this time?"
Am I the top scholar?
Everyone repeated.
"Yes!" Xu Zun said, "The real Qiu Yongnian has told us the truth. He is the real Qiu Yongnian, and this person..." He pointed at Qiu Yongnian on the chair and shouted, "He is fake!!!"
"ah!?"
Qiu Yongnian, who was sitting on the chair, was startled at first, then his cheeks trembled, but in the next moment, he laughed out loud towards the sky.
"Hahaha...hahahaha..." Qiu Yongnian laughed loudly, "Xu Zun, are you really crazy? You can just make up nonsense based on these five words you made up? It's a huge joke!
"Everyone knows that I, Qiu, am only a Jinshi, ranked in the top three. I was just lucky enough to be selected into the Imperial Academy by the Emperor's grace, and I have nothing to do with the top scholar!
"Xu Zun, you have slandered me again and again. It is obvious that you have ulterior motives. You..."
"Looking back at the guest in the mountain, don't laugh, I am the top scholar!" Unexpectedly, Xu Zun suddenly recited a poem, and then asked Qiu Yongnian, "If you are the real Qiu Yongnian, you would know this poem "Drunken Flower Shadows", right?"
"You..." Qiu Yongnian's expression suddenly changed and his smile froze.
"Let me ask you, who wrote this poem?" Xu Zun asked respectfully.
"Me." Qiu Yongnian replied.
"What year was it written?" Xu Zun asked again.
"The fourth year of Xianyuan." Qiu Yongnian replied.
"Where is it written?"
"Home."
"What's your neighbor's last name?"
"Also last name Qiu."
"You wrote twelve poems in the Shangzhou Collection. What is the name of the twelfth poem?"
"It's not finished yet. There is no twelfth chapter!"
"Which inn did you stay at when you went to Beijing to take the imperial examination?"
"I didn't stay at the inn. I stayed at the old house of Prince Yu's Mansion."
"Which candidate was sitting next to you during the palace examination?"
"There's no one next to me."
"In the Hanlin Academy, you..."
"Enough!" Qiu Yongnian shouted angrily, "Xu, what on earth are you trying to do? My Lords," he shouted to Cai Kun and the others, "My Lords, Xu Zun is an infringement of the court. How can you allow him to slander the court officials here? This... How can this be disgraceful?"
“Tsk tsk…”
After these words were spoken, the officials smacked their lips, and it was clear that they were also half-believing and half-doubting, and couldn't figure it out.
"Did you see that?" Xu Zun said with a gloating look on his face, "Didn't he answer fluently just now? What does that mean? It means he has practiced it a long time ago!
"My Lords, the line 'I am the number one scholar' is very famous in the Nangeng area of Shangzhou," Xu Zun explained, "The author of this line is Qiu Yongnian, who was only 17 years old at the time!
"I'm not bragging. Influenced by my father, Xu Zun has loved poetry since he was young. Even before he met Magistrate Qiu, he was already very familiar with this poem "Drunken Flower Shade".
"Therefore, after I solved the puzzle of the text in the secret room of Changsheng Temple, combined with various previous signs, I have firmly believed that the Taoist priest who died in the iron coffin is the real Qiu Yongnian, and this one - is a fake!"
"You..." Qiu Yongnian's face was pale and his whole body was trembling. He defended himself to the officials, "This is really unreasonable and unfounded. I have never seen such a thing before. The adults, please take charge of this county..."
Well...
All the officials frowned with serious expressions. It was obvious that this "I am the top scholar" was a bit forced and could not be used as evidence.
But Xu Zun spoke so passionately and logically that it was really hard to tell what he was saying.
"My Lords," Taimin, the Shangyuan County Magistrate who had not dared to speak because of his low position, suddenly spoke up, "Xinye County Magistrate Qiu Yongnian came to my house to meet me before taking office. It seemed..." He glanced at Qiu Yongnian and said, "Is there any problem ?"
"Of course not," Xu Zun said bluntly, "He had already been replaced by then!"
"This..." Taimin was so annoyed that he had to keep silent.
"If you ask me, this is indeed a bit exaggerated," said Li Yan, the governor, after some thought. "The paper pairing seems a bit untidy, square and circle, and circle is not the same character. Isn't it... a bit far-fetched?
"Also, Qiu Yongnian was once a student at the Imperial Academy. How could the people there not know him? If we just find someone from the Imperial Academy to identify him, wouldn't the whole thing be exposed?"
"Sir," Xu Zun said, "If I weren't there, who would know that this Qiu Yongnian was a fake?
“After framing Lord Shen and me, he must have been promoted. He might go to another prefecture to take up a post, or he might return to Beijing to take up a post.
"But at that time, he had already completely mastered everything about Qiu Yongnian, and since they looked similar, who would doubt his identity?
"Besides," Xu Zun continued, "how can we determine whether he had been replaced before entering the Imperial Academy?"
"Ah? This... this..." Li Yan frowned, "Isn't this too unbelievable?"
"Humph!" However, Cai Kun, who was sitting in the main seat, snorted coldly and said, "To impersonate someone, it's easy, but it's not easy either.
"It doesn't matter whether the Hanlin Academy knows him or not, but it's impossible for a person to be without parents and family," Cai Kun stared at Qiu Yongnian in front of him and said, "As long as we find Qiu Yongnian's family, it will be clear at a glance whether it's true or not."
"Your Excellency is wise," Xu Zun complimented him with a fist, and then boasted confidently, "But I'm not stupid either. I've been prepared since I started to doubt Qiu Yongnian's identity!"
After saying that, he gestured to Huo Anu.
Huo Anu went outside and dragged a young man with shifty eyes into the court.
Almost everyone in Xinye County Government knew this person. He was the habitual thief in the county - Liu Dong!
