Chapter 86

It turns out he scored even higher than the top candidate in the imperial examination.

Is there such a thing? Wen Jianhui was not just surprised; she was stunned. This had already exceeded her understanding. She never thought that her family would produce a once-in-a-century talent, and it was her son-in-law!

Wen Ruowei, who was hiding behind and listening, kept tugging at her sister's arm, muttering, "Sister, did you hear that?"

Zhong Ruochen's eyes were already filled with spring, unable to contain her joy. She felt a surge of sweetness, having never heard a group of men praise another man so incessantly.

Though she had yet to meet the man, she already felt that fate had been kind to her, giving her such a good husband.

Zhong Su and the others only now realized that they had just figured out the situation, discovering that this family, apart from making money, was indeed a bit shallow.

A figure appeared at the door, and Yu Qing arrived.

The servant who led Yu Qing in couldn't help but take a few more glances at his back as he left, feeling puzzled and curious.

Top candidate in the imperial examination! The top of the list! What a great piece of news! When he went to the east courtyard to pass on the message, he also specially congratulated him. However, the man sitting on the platform, holding a sword, listened coldly and calmly, and after hearing it, stood up without any expression and followed him.

Having passed the imperial examination and hearing such a significant piece of news, the man himself could remain completely unresponsive from start to finish, which was quite impressive.

Yu Qing entered the hall, turned his head, and coldly observed the group of people from the guild. When he reached Zhong Su and the others, he first bowed, "Greetings, Uncle, Aunt."

The people in the hall were somewhat puzzled, their eyes unable to leave his ponytail, wondering why he had come out so casually.

Wen Jianhui waved her hand, signaling him to be exempt from the formalities, with a warm and amiable smile.

Zhong Su also had a radiant face, smiling broadly, but as someone who had long been in the public eye, she maintained a certain composure and nodded in approval, "You did well, you made the list. This is the delegation from the Lizhou Guild here to congratulate you and to inform you of some matters." She pointed to the group of officials.

Everyone in the scene, except for Yu Qing, had a beaming face, extremely festive.

The group of officials also sized up Yu Qing, wanting to see what kind of person could achieve such a once-in-a-century score, and whether he had any extraordinary features.

As soon as Yu Qing approached, these people quickly lost their smiles.

First, Yu Qing himself didn't smile, and with a blank expression, he said, "The person in charge, come forward and speak."

"It's me, it's me." The leading lean man immediately stepped forward, bowing and scraping, "Cheng Gui greets the young master, congratulating you on achieving the top score in all four subjects and becoming the top candidate in the imperial examination."

Yu Qing didn't respond to this, calmly asking, "Are you from the Lizhou Guild?"

The lean man continued to bow and scrape, "Yes, we are here to congratulate you on the orders of the guild leader, and also..."

Yu Qing interrupted, "I have stayed at the Lizhou Guild before, why haven't I seen you?"

One of the officials immediately said, "We have met, young master, we have met. When you enter and exit the guild, you often cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief, perhaps because the guild has some unpleasant smell..."

Yu Qing glanced at him, feeling a bit familiar, and interrupted again, "You say you are here to congratulate me, show me the proof!"

His few words had a cooling effect, and the group of officials realized they didn't seem to be here to congratulate but rather to surrender. They had never encountered such a calm person before. In previous years, those who received good news were always overjoyed, even dancing with excitement, making them think they had come to the wrong person.

Not only the officials, but even the Zhong family couldn't maintain their smiles.

"There, there, there." The lean man quickly handed over the document, "This is the document from the Ministry of Rites to the guild, containing the official letter and the seal of the Ministry of Rites. Please, young master, inspect it."

Yu Qing took it, flipped through it carefully, and saw his exam ranking, officially informing him that he had passed and would be summoned to the palace for the final imperial examination in five days. The document was indeed stamped with a large seal, but he didn't know if it was genuine.

Seeing his calm handling of the situation, Zhong Su felt a flush of embarrassment, realizing she had been quite out of place, not as composed as a young man.

Wen Jianhui also found Yu Qing's calm and composed demeanor increasingly satisfactory, secretly praising him, "Indeed, he is the one who will become the top candidate, different from other common people."

"Sister, did you see? That's the man who will be with you day and night. I wasn't wrong, was I? He does look quite handsome, doesn't he?"

In the back hall, the two sisters were peeking through a small carved air vent, and Wen Ruowei whispered in her sister's ear.

Day and night? Zhong Ruochen glanced at Yu Qing in the hall, imagining the scene, and instantly blushed, even her ears turning red. She pinched her sister's waist, whispering, "Stop talking nonsense!"

Despite her embarrassment, she did see the man she was to marry, and he was indeed as handsome as her sister said. His tall and straight figure seemed to exude an invisible strength, something she had never seen in the well-dressed young men she had seen with her parents.

His attire also put her at ease. She was afraid he might be a man who was arrogant due to his talent, but seeing his ponytail, she knew he was a more casual person, likely not hard to approach.

Wen Ruowei continued, "Sister, did you see? A top candidate in the imperial examination is different. He is so calm and composed, even in such a great piece of news. He is the calmest and most composed person in the room, even more so than Father and Uncle Du."

Zhong Ruochen was filled with longing, thinking to herself, "This is the man I will spend my life with..."

Yu Qing carefully examined the document several times, finding no flaws. He closed it and fell silent.

The lean man, seeing he had finished, said, "The guild leader and Mr. Fu have instructed you to visit the guild before going to the palace for the final imperial examination. First, they want to meet you, and second, there are palace rules and etiquette you need to learn."

Yu Qing just listened, not responding, and casually handed the document back to the man, surprising everyone.

The lean man instinctively caught it, but realizing it was wrong, quickly returned it with both hands, "No, young master, I can't take this back. This is for you, and you will need it to enter the palace for the final imperial examination."

Yu Qing, having handed it over, had no intention of taking it back, and directly said to the butler, "Uncle Li, prepare a horse for me."

The butler was puzzled, "For what?"

Yu Qing suddenly turned his head toward the carved air vent, catching a glimpse of the peeking eyes, having long noticed someone was there.

Zhong Ruochen, who was peeking through the air vent, felt her eyes meet Yu Qing's, and was startled. She quickly retreated, her heart racing, worried that Yu Qing would recognize her and think she had some bad habit of peeping. Her face turned pale, and she deeply regretted coming to peek.

Wen Ruowei patted her shoulder, pointing to the air vent, and confidently waved her finger, indicating that it was impossible to see inside from outside.

Yu Qing just glanced back, mistaking it for a servant of the Zhong family, and didn't think of anyone else. He turned back to the butler, "I'm going to the examination hall." And he left.

"Uh..." The lean man holding the document was stunned, quickly chasing after him, "Young master, please take the document first."

Yu Qing: "You take it back first."

"Ah? This... This can't be taken back. Young master, this document is not ordinary. It involves the final imperial examination presided over by the emperor, and the cabinet has ordered it to be delivered by the end of the day. I can't afford to delay, and I don't have the courage to defy the cabinet. If you don't sign it, I won't be able to complete my task. We have no grudges, but if you do this, I'll lose my job, and my family depends on me. Young master, young master..."

The lean man was panicked, begging, not daring to force the matter with the top candidate, who could ruin his life if he lay down on the ground.

The group of officials in the hall were also panicked, never having encountered such a situation. They were supposed to be here to celebrate, not to take the blame. They immediately followed in a chaotic rush, shouting, "Young master, please wait."

Zhong Su and Wen Jianhui, who had come out of the hall, were also taken aback, not knowing what was happening.

Seeing the group suddenly run off, Zhong Su suddenly came to her senses and said to Du Fei, "You go and watch over him, make sure nothing happens to him."

They genuinely couldn't afford any mishap with Yu Qing.

Du Fei nodded and quickly left.

The servants of the Zhong family, encountering the group of officials, stopped to watch, curious about what was happening.

The group of officials surrounded Yu Qing, trying to persuade him, but Yu Qing refused to take the document, let alone sign it.

Moreover, he wasn't just a weak scholar; a group of people blocking the road couldn't stop him. It was unbelievable!

When they reached the screen wall at the entrance of the Zhong family's residence, an impatient Yu Qing suddenly leaped into the air.

Where did he go? The group of officials were speechless, looking up to see a figure disappear into the sky.

They went around to the back of the screen wall, saw no one, and then heard the sound of hooves outside the gate.

The group ran out of the gate and saw that he had indeed fled.

Yu Qing, unable to wait for the butler to arrange a horse, saw a group of horses at the gate, and without caring whose they were, untied one and rode off.

"Ah? Young master, that's my horse!" one official cried out.

The lean man shouted, "Young master, you can't ride recklessly in the capital!"

The group quickly untied their horses and chased after him.