Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Esther D.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Smurfinbatik] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Maria P.] [Nicole]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Reece P.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Amanda] [Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hlau V.] [Ine O.] [Kiiayame] [kuroneko_chan] [Liznel M.] [Michelle K.] [onepiece] [Oushna]
[Ray] [Samanta V.] [Scorpion Princess] [Sweetlove] [Victoria]
"What next step? The apricot list has already come out. Do you think they would still restart the exam?"
They originally planned to take away An Junwang's exam paper and make it appear missing. With the power and influence of the Zhuang Family, it wasn’t difficult to find out that the exam paper had gone missing, then they would definitely find a way to restart the metropolitan exam.
They didn't do anything at the beginning of the exam because they only learned about An Junwang's weakness two days prior to the metropolitan exam.
At that time, it was too late for them to make careful arrangements, so they had to use a roundabout way to make the metropolitan exam restarted. When the time came, they would create disturbance in the examination room, delaying the starting hours. Then, at night, An Junwang would lose his sight and naturally fail.
"What a pity!"
Xiao Liulang and An Junwang both became the Huiyuan, and the Brisk Wind Tower lost a lot of money.
Gu Jiao’s 1000 taels became 11,000 taels. So happy!
Bishui Alley's neighbors all bet on Xiao Liulang to get the first place, and he did get the first place. Wasn't tied for the first place still first place? The imperial court already granted people the title of Huiyuan, would a mere Brisk Wind Tower still dare to deny it?
Brisk Wind Tower cried miserably.
The neighbors made a lot of money and quickly came to the elderly woman to play leaf cards.
Elderly woman: En, good! The wallet is bulging, the sheeps are fat, all ready to be slaughtered!
Everything was hers!
Old Chief just came back from the outside. As soon as he got off the carriage, he was grabbed by the collar by the elderly woman and dragged to Uncle and Aunt Zhao's house next door to play cards!
He was mainly responsible for carrying money!
Feng Lin also passed the exam this time, though he was almost at the tail of the crane, ranking 176th out of 210 names.
In the provincial exam, he was 17th in You Province, but when he arrived in the capital, he actually placed lower than 170th. This gap simply made people feel terrible.
However, he really did well in the exam. Several of the examinees higher than him in ranking in You Province’s provincial exam failed to appear in the list, and some of them that did were not far ahead of him on the list either.
This was truly the fight of the powerful. So ferocious!
Lin Chengye was also on the list, and his grades were not bad, ranking 123rd.
It must be known that in the provincial exam, fifty people from You Province had passed, and among them, he ranked 45th, almost failing to become a Juren.
Lin Chengye seemed to have turned silly from happiness. Thousands of taels were not wasted. Teacher Liulang was so awesome!
Feng Lin nodded and looked at him deeply. He was worthy of being a wealthy examinee!
Du Ruohan ranked 15th on the list.
There was a slight gap between the results and his imagination. His goal was to be in the top ten, but top fifteen was also a high rank. After all, this was a national exam, and everyone of them here was already the top students. This exam was held once every three years and only 210 people successfully managed to pass.
Du Ruohan wasn’t an ambitious person, nor was he overly arrogant and confident. He quickly accepted his achievements and was satisfied with it.
Of course, he recognized that he was only able to pass the exam thanks to Gu Jiao. If it weren't for the wind chill medicine she gave him, he would have collapsed as early as the first session.
This was not a county exam or a prefectural exam. The examinees here were all outstanding. If one exam did not go as expected, it was almost certain that they wouldn’t be able to rank in the top ten or so. The distance might even be between the top and the bottom.
That night, Du Ruohan went to Bishui Alley with large bags of things.
Ever since the news of Xiao Liulang becoming the Huiyuan got out, people almost broke the threshold of their home.
Feng Lin and Lin Chengye were also here.
Therefore, Xiao Liulang didn’t find it too unexpected to see Du Ruohan come as well. As for the things in his hands——
Xiao Liulang saw that he could hardly carry them, so he made a rare act of courtesy, "It's just a Huiyuan, there's no need to attach a great deal to it——"
“Lady Jiao! I have come!" Du Ruohan excitedly ran into the house.
At absolutely the same style as Feng Lin’s.
Xiao Liulang’s face turned completely black.
Just like in Gu Jiao's dream, Xiao Liulang becoming the Huiyuan was the biggest upset in the history of the metropolitan exam. And because he was tied with An Junwang, Xiao Liulang became all the more amazing in the eyes of the public.
To be able to stand side by side with An Junwang, how heaven defying was this poor boy?
Compared to the news of the explosion accident in the yamen of the Ministry of Works, this news spread much faster. In one day, it was known all over the capital.
Naturally, it also reached Marquis Xuanping's ears.
Marquis Xuanping had a ‘don’t fool this grandpa’ look on his face as he asked, "Who got the first place?"
"It’s the young master!" Steward Liu answered with a grin.
He also bet on Xiao Liulang and made one hundred taels of silver!
It was actually the ten taels that Gu Jiao bet at the beginning. At that time, he was in terrible heartache, but now his heart was full of elation.
He was happy, but there was also some regret. Why didn't he bring an extra hundred taels of silver that day?
Marquis Xuanping's handsome face was suffused with suspicion. Was he so amazing that he had given birth to another talented son?
He always felt something was wrong!
"Alas, there’s nothing wrong with giving birth to an intelligent son, is there? Isn't Little Marquis also very smart?"
Marquis Xuanping was self-aware of some things. Xiao Heng was smart not because he took after him. If he did, he would be a rough man.
Xiao Heng took after his mother, who was smart, delicate, thoughtful and knowledgeable.
So who did this illegitimate child take after? Chen Yunniang? Chen Yunniang was a gentle and kind woman, but she didn’t have such brains.
Marquis Xuanping said in a grim tone, "Contact those old things and bring me Xiao Liulang's exam paper."
The exam papers of all the examinees were filed in the Ministry of Rites, and most people couldn’t get their hands on them.
However, Marquis Xuanping wasn’t your ordinary man. Sometimes he wasn’t even human.
Steward Liu got Xiao Liulang's original and vermillion exam papers, at the same time, Chang Jing also found several gray-bearded old scholars whose walk was already unstable.
Marquis Xuanping asked them to compare Xiao Liulang's original exam paper with the articles written by Xiao Heng before his death.
The old scholars found the articles of both individuals really amazing.
"Are these written by one person?" Marquis Xuanping asked with a heavy voice.
"No."
"It can be seen that they’re not at first glance."
The old scholars shook their heads.
"Are you all sure?" Marquis Xuanping looked suspiciously at several people.
"Lord Marquis, if we can't even tell a person's literary talent, we’ve been living in vain for all these years. These two people not only have different handwriting, but also have completely different styles of writing and thinking."
One was bright as a day, the other was filled with darkness.
Xiao Heng's articles were like a spring breeze, carrying a cheerful mood, while Xiao Liulang's articles were like the wind and snow, able to cut at people's hearts.
If this was the same person, how much pain and suffering must he have gone through to change into a seemingly completely different person?Raz P.'s Thoughts
To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).
You can read up to 20 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
No patreon but want to support us? Then,
OR if you can't support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~