Chapter 69: Humans Are Actually Quite Foolish
Yun Ce’s previous university entrance exams on Earth were not a good experience, and even thinking about it now brings tears to his eyes. As the child of high-ranking officials, everyone had high expectations for him.
This was mainly due to the poor academic performance of the other members of the Yun Clan.
Therefore, Yun Ce’s grades were very conspicuous among his peers.
The goal set for him by Yun Linchuan was too ambitious. To be honest, is China’s top university something you can get into just by trying hard?
Those things are destined to be or not to be; they inherently screen for high intelligence and don’t want test-takers who have read extensively but without deep comprehension.
Most importantly, Yun Linchuan was unwilling to help him. If he had helped, Yun Ce felt he could have easily entered any good university in the world.
Because he didn’t help, Yun Linchuan was like a stone in a latrine in Yun Ce’s eyes.
In the end, he didn’t get in. Even the School of Archaeology and Museology didn’t want him. It wasn’t until Yun Ce revealed his identity as a martyr’s child, something he extremely wished to keep unknown, which added significant points, that he qualified to study in the History Department, majoring in Chinese History.
Even so, he was mocked by the old scoundrel Yun Linchuan for how many years he studied.
Relying on heaven, relying on earth, relying on parents not to be a hero is just talk; few people are capable enough to carve out a great future relying on themselves. If everyone could do that, Earthlings would have already left the solar system and been roaming the galaxy.
Of course, some things still require personal effort, like—the wedding night.
On Earth, Yun Linchuan was undoubtedly Yun Ce’s greatest enemy. In the Great Han, Yun Ce felt he had finally become his own master.
Many things are beyond the comprehension of people like Feng An and Liang Kun, who came from grassroots backgrounds.
Why would the Great Han government release the exam questions in advance and then publicly display them where everyone could see?
To put it bluntly, it was a preparation for leaking the exam questions.
Those who needed to know the exam questions already knew them. If someone accidentally leaked this information, how would the government save face?
Here comes the brilliant part: display the exam questions in plain sight, then send a few trusted confidantes, or trick a group of fools into “stealing” them, creating the illusion that the questions were stolen but not actually stolen. This would be perfect.
If someone were to blab about getting the exam questions beforehand, the government would then step in and say the questions were stolen by thieves, and that the blabbermouth was in league with the thieves. After a public example is made, no one would doubt the government’s impartiality.
To be honest, Yun Ce handled the exams when he was recruiting temporary workers in the townships in a similar manner. Having multiple backup plans for a single task is the best way to get things done.
The college entrance exam questions on Earth are a top-level national secret, far more classified than the security of armored car transports. Attempting to steal the former is a death sentence, while the latter might allow you to live.
On Earth, Yun Ce wouldn’t dare. In the Great Han, he was a reinforced Yun Ce, so naturally, he had to give it a try to avoid being laughed at by Feng An and the others if he failed.
Yun Ce was very familiar with An Ran Building, mainly because it was right next to the school. The building was twenty-seven meters tall, including the eaves at the very top, and had a total of seven floors. Its color came from the unique gray marble of Chuyun City. As for the roof, it was made of pure white tiles. These tiles likely had a large amount of limestone added during firing, resulting in this brilliant white effect.
To steal someone’s exam questions, one naturally needs to scout the area beforehand. Yun Ce thought that dressed as a scholar, walking past An Ran Building would be a natural thing to do. However, after only walking halfway around, he was pulled into a small alley by someone with long limbs and a build that was very suitable for a thief.
“Is my friend here to steal the exam questions?” The thief spoke concisely, to the point, and got straight to the matter.
Yun Ce’s face immediately turned red as he said, “How can you make baseless accusations?”
“Stop pretending. You took fifty-eight steps, and thirty percent of the time you were looking at the six guards, another thirty percent at the surroundings, and the remaining forty percent checking all the possible spots on An Ran Building where a grappling hook could be attached. What do you say, my friend? I think I’m pretty good at reading people, aren’t I?”
Yun Ce said indignantly, “I am a scholar…”
Before Yun Ce could finish speaking, the thief said disdainfully, “Don’t talk about scholars; the most disgusting things in this world are done by scholars.
Looking at your build, you’re not strong, so your martial arts probably aren’t that great either. Most importantly, your peeking at An Ran Building shows you’re not skilled in this area.
How about it? Help your brother out. When it’s night, distract the guards so I can enter An Ran Building from the side. Once I’m out, I’ll tell you the exam questions.”
Yun Ce’s eyes widened in horror. He thought, “Did my previous behavior make him mistake me for an idiot?”
“Can such unreliable trickery actually fool him?”
Since he was rarely mistaken for an idiot, Yun Ce nodded repeatedly, indicating his satisfaction with the thief’s suggestion.
The thief smiled with satisfaction and patted Yun Ce on the shoulder twice, saying proudly, “There’s nothing in this world I can’t get. You meeting me today is truly good fortune.”
Yun Ce sniffled and asked, “How should I attract the guards’ attention later?”
The thief immediately took out a leather pouch from his embrace, put his mouth to a tube, and blew hard. After a moment, the pouch became inflated. The thief then removed the tube, unfastened a string, and separated the inflated pouch in the middle.
He then took out a few thin wooden strips, which, when opened, resembled fan ribs. He stuffed all the fan ribs into the leather pouch, and the pouch immediately took on the appearance of a lantern ball. Indeed, the thief placed a box filled with fat into the lantern ball and said to Yun Ce, “Later, you light the wick and find an opportunity to throw this lantern ball into An Ran Building, and then you can run away.
How about it? Isn’t it simple?”
Yun Ce nodded seriously and said, “Simple.”
The thief turned to leave, but Yun Ce grabbed his sleeve. He impatiently turned back to look at Yun Ce and said, “You can’t even handle this small matter?”
Yun Ce shook his head and said, “You haven’t told me where we’re supposed to meet later.”
The thief pointed to the corner of the wall and said, “We’ll meet here. My friend, when I get the exam questions, I’ll tell you. You’ll definitely pass the Grand Competition, and if you show your talent in Chang’an, you’ll surely be an outstanding person.”
Seeing Yun Ce engrossed in the grand scene of his success in the Grand Competition, the thief smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t forget the main task.”
Yun Ce quickly agreed, and the thief hurried off to make preparations.
Yun Ce watched as the thief headed to the left of An Ran Building, which was the school’s latrine. It seemed this fellow planned to sneak into An Ran Building’s vicinity by crossing the latrine.
Clearly, the quality of these thieves was not high. The possibility of stealing exam questions was nonexistent. The six guards with swords standing at the entrance could each take on ten people like the thief, let alone the two guards with crossbows perched in the lush big tree to the left.
As Yun Ce walked out from the street corner, he saw Feng An and Liang Kun. They were acting sneakily, even more like thieves than he, who was preparing to steal exam questions.
As he grabbed the collars of the two men and returned to the street corner, several people followed behind, all of them shrinking their heads. They clearly looked like they were preparing to steal exam questions.
“Why are you here?”
Feng An said with a wry smile, “Young Lord E sent us. She said that even though we two are not very useful, we can at least act as lookouts for you.”
Yun Ce looked back at the group of older brothers following them and then said to Feng An and Liang Kun, “You two stay here and, by the way, familiarize yourselves with the changes in power dynamics.”
After saying that, Yun Ce tied a towel around his face and approached the group, saying, “Fellow brothers, are you also coveting the exam questions?”
“No, no, don’t talk nonsense.”
“Yes, we just admire An Ran Building. We heard that this building was built with the funds from Master Cheng’s lectures. As juniors, we should look up to it.”
“Just now, a brother named Grass on Flying found me. He said the exam questions are in An Ran Building and that he can definitely steal them. He can share them with me later.”
“Oh? Is there such a good thing?”
“Brother Grass on Flying fled Chang’an to seek refuge in Chuyun Prefecture. It’s said he stole an important item from Panxing Tower and is being pursued everywhere. Now that he’s in trouble and short on money, he plans to steal the exam questions and sell them.”
The most impressive thing about this brother is that once he uses his skills, he can move as swiftly as grass on flying and tread on snow without leaving a trace. Such a great opportunity should not be missed.
“Oh? Is there such a good thing? Why are you telling us?”
“Good heavens, Brother Grass on Flying rarely makes a move, but once he does, he wants to get enough money. The exam questions can be given to me, but this money…”
“How much money does he want?”
“Fifty taels of gold!”
“Hiss… That’s a lot.”
“Are you an idiot? Fifty taels of gold to sell the exam questions to this masked gentleman is indeed expensive. But, these are exam questions! You only need to know the content. If this gentleman sells them to the five of us, wouldn’t it only cost ten taels of gold each?”
As soon as this person spoke, the five people in front of Yun Ce fell silent. Their eyes gleamed with the light of gold and the light of wisdom.
“At least cover your faces with towels. Do you want people to know who you are?”
Yun Ce said, full of disappointment.
“Oh, oh, you’re right, you’re right.”
After everyone covered their faces, Yun Ce pointed to Feng An and Liang Kun, who had already covered their faces, and said, “The two brothers over there have already agreed to join. Adding you five, we have eight people. Fifty taels of gold divided by each person is a little over six taels. I contacted you all, so I’ll ask each of you for seven taels of gold. Am I asking for extra money?”
“We’ll pay after we get the exam questions!”
“Nonsense, if Brother Grass on Flying doesn’t give me the exam questions, I won’t give him gold either. I suggest we give all the gold to this gentleman to hold, and I’ll handle the transaction and payment then.”
Feng An was pointed at by Yun Ce, so he had to step forward. Yun Ce took a gold bead from his embrace and handed it to Feng An. Liang Kun also gave his money bag to Feng An.
Then, Feng An naturally stood in front of the five people to collect the money.
“Everyone, don’t get separated. We’ll run as soon as we get the exam questions!”
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
Yun Ce hesitated for a moment, then took out the lantern ball the thief had given him from his embrace. Following the thief’s example, he assembled the lantern ball and held it out to the five people in front of him, saying, “One more thing, Brother Grass on Flying hopes to find someone to light this thing and throw it into An Ran Building.”
Seeking votes and all sorts of votes.
