"Now, let's force him in public, so that everyone knows he's a penniless debtor!"

At this thought, Eldest Bolton had already exchanged a look with Samuel Grant.

Samuel Grant understood, caught on, and suddenly stood up, walking straight to Edward Jr. Sutton's table. Standing in front, he said, "Edward Jr. Sutton, don't say you didn't win—even if you did, paying your debts is only right and proper. Your debt is already due!"

Before Edward Jr. Sutton could speak, George Bolton slammed the table and stood up: "Who are you to speak so rudely? Get out, get out, get out! People like you shouldn't pollute this place!"

As he spoke, he moved to drive him away.

Samuel Grant refused to back down, shouting, "Paying your debts is only right and proper! Just because you're a scholar, you don't have to pay?"

His voice was loud, and many people recognized Samuel Grant from the casino, so they began whispering among themselves: "Could it be that Edward Jr. Sutton owes gambling debts?"

A few people's eyes lit up—after all, in Great Zheng, it was explicitly forbidden for scholars to gamble, and violators would be punished.

Edward Jr. Sutton looked at the scene and said, "Don't worry. Though I borrowed your usurious loan to bury my father, I keep my word. I'll pay you back."

"You want to scheme for my ancestral tomb? That's wishful thinking."

As he spoke, he took out some broken silver from his chest, about seven taels.

Samuel Grant was startled at first, but seeing it was only seven taels, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "This little money isn't even enough to cover the monthly interest! Pay up!"

At this point, not only the scholars in the restaurant but also the crowd gathering to watch the commotion were asking those around them what was going on.

Even at a table in the corner, a plain-looking middle-aged man in a dark brown cotton robe and a young man looked over and asked the waiter who was serving dishes.

"How could a humble man dare say more!" The waiter smiled apologetically, but when he saw the young man frown and toss him a piece of silver, he added, "Order some more dishes, bring some wine, and the rest is your tip!"

It was a tael of broken silver. The waiter's eyes immediately narrowed into slits, and he bowed, "Thank you for the reward!"

He whispered, "That's Eldest Bolton of the county's Black Scarf Society, as famous as the Raft Gang and the Zengcai Society. For some reason, he set his sights on Edward Jr. Sutton's ancestral tomb and tricked him into taking a usurious loan. In three months, the interest has more than doubled. How can he pay that back?"

"Hey, Edward Jr. Sutton didn't borrow for anything else—he just wanted to give his late father a proper burial. He's a filial son!"

In just a few words, the situation was made clear. The middle-aged man remained expressionless, while the young man looked coldly at Eldest Bolton, his eyes chilling: "Black Scarf Society?"

"Young master, please be patient. We're not here to deal with these thugs—that's the patrol's job," the middle-aged man said.

The young man nodded and said nothing more, but the matter wasn't complicated, and by now everyone understood.

Borrowing money to bury his father, refusing to sell the tomb—this was filial piety. Richard Bennett was furious: "Truly despicable! Brother Su, I'll lend you five taels."

George Bolton also took out six taels of silver.

"Eighteen taels—there's still fifteen taels owed," Samuel Grant hadn't expected that real friends would be willing to help. He was surprised, counted, and then shouted.

"Fifteen taels of silver, I'll give it to you tomorrow," Richard Bennett said with a stern face.

"No, Master Yu, look at this IOU—the debt is due today. If you wait until tomorrow, the interest will roll over, and it won't be fifteen taels, but forty-three taels! Subtracting the eighteen taels, you'll still owe twenty-five taels!" Samuel Grant said, glancing around. Seeing that although the other scholars sympathized, no one else was offering money, he started shouting again.

Chapter 13: Tongsheng

"You..." Richard Bennett was shaking with anger, about to speak, when suddenly a voice called out from below: "Seventeenth year of Chengshou, Linhua County exam, eleventh place... Edward Jr. Sutton."

The registrar finished his water and, after reading the top ten, began to announce the rest. Although the list was posted with the top five above and the next fifteen below, that was only for those who took first place. For ordinary scholars, just passing was a great thing!

Many who didn't expect to make the top five were eagerly waiting for the fifteen-name list to be revealed.

Edward Jr. Sutton hadn't expected that the eleventh name called would be his.

"Congratulations, Brother Su! Congratulations, Brother Su!"

"Brother Su, you passed—congratulations!" Richard Bennett and George Bolton reacted, and the heart Edward Jr. Sutton had been holding up finally settled.

At least he passed. As for what place, honestly, Edward Jr. Sutton didn't care. The remaining nine names were read out in turn, and as expected, George Bolton was not among them.

Edward Jr. Sutton and Richard Bennett offered some comfort, but George Bolton took it well: "I expected this all along, don't worry. At most, I'm a little disappointed, but not upset. But you two—one the county's top scorer, the other eleventh place—you'd better treat me to a meal to celebrate!"

Meanwhile, those who had passed in the restaurant were congratulating each other. In the corner, Eldest Bolton's face was so dark it could be called liver-colored.

"Boss..." The thugs were stunned, hesitating and looking at each other, when a scholar shouted, "You scoundrels, don't pollute this place! Brother Su, I'll lend you a tael!"

"Brother Su, I'll lend you two taels!" Others caught on and generously chipped in. Of the remaining fifteen taels, twelve were quickly raised.

But three taels were still lacking, and the scholars simply couldn't come up with more.