Chapter 14

Wen Zhangyuan laughed heartily, "My dear daughter, you're overthinking this! Let me tell you the truth, his name is Yue Heng. If I told you that he didn't even make it to the list of a thousand candidates in the Spring Examination, what would you think? Someone who can't even make the list of a thousand, could he possibly be a powerful scholar?"

Wen Xinyue was surprised, pouting her little mouth and glaring at her father, complaining, "He didn't pass the initial exam, and you're still thinking of letting him retake it directly? Not only that, you even want me to help him? Using power for personal gain, you officials are all no good! You're not afraid of the punishment from Emperor Fuxi, hmpf!"

Seeing Wen Xinyue leave in anger, Wen Zhangyuan couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.

This world is too dangerous, even a nearly sixty-year-old man like him could fall into a trap at any moment, like today when he almost offended the literary department of the State of Chu and lost his life.

If the world of scholars is this dangerous, it's even more brutal in the world of warriors, where countless women become playthings of powerful warriors.

Wen Xinyue is a completely naive girl, a pure and innocent child. If she really goes far alone, how could he possibly be at ease? Even if she passes the Level 1 Practitioner exam this year, he will find a way to entrust a friend in the Hong County military to arrange a safe and easy place for his daughter, absolutely not letting her take any risks.

Of course, approaching and protecting Yue Heng is a task assigned by the literary department of the State of Chu and the inspector of Qi County, Su Tan. This kind of thing must be done by someone trustworthy.

At the same time, he really had the intention Wen Xinyue mentioned, wanting Yue Heng to take care of her a bit. How could a scholar who can write a 'Resonant Essay' be weak? By the time of the retake, who will help whom is still uncertain!

Wen Zhangyuan secretly smiled.

...

After Min Xuhuai's beast-soul carriage left, Zhu Zhaigong and Lu Changyuan, who were alarmed, were in a dilemma. Yue Heng was emitting a strong smell of alcohol, his eyes closed, and his right arm in a splint. No one dared to move him easily.

"Zhu Zhaigong, I remember Yue Brother was staying in Room Ganyi before, but was forced to sleep in the woodshed the day before. Now that Minister Min has personally brought him back and left him here, should we send him back to the woodshed again?" Lu Changyuan asked, deliberately emphasizing the word "send."

Zhu Zhaigong was momentarily speechless. He was in a difficult position, not knowing how to view Yue Heng.

Not only did Yue Heng not die, but he also insisted on finishing the Spring Examination. It was said that after the exam, Doctor Min Ling personally picked him up, held an umbrella for him, and used a beast-soul carriage to welcome him. Now, he has personally brought him back, which clearly shows Doctor Min's intentions. Zhu Zhaigong was so regretful that he almost slapped himself. This was like being toyed with by fate!

"Sleep in what woodshed? What woodshed? Qian Laoer, tear down that woodshed and burn it tomorrow! What are you waiting for? Quickly carry Grandpa Yue to Room Ganyi! Damn it, be careful with Grandpa Yue's arm!"

Zhu Zhaigong was furious, shouting at Accountant Qian and directing the waiters and other servants to carry Yue Heng.

"Zhaigong, the twenty best rooms in the Ganyi section are already full... How about we give him a lower room?" Accountant Qian hurriedly reported, drawing the attention of many poor students.

"Idiot! With so many people watching, what should I do? Only up, not down!" Zhu Zhaigong whispered in anger.

"Ah? Only up? Then... that means..." Accountant Qian's face showed extreme reluctance, as if Zhu Zhaigong had docked his salary for three months, making him feel very pained.

"Go clear out the best room in the Tian section!" Zhu Zhaigong, under the watchful eyes of the poor students, gritted his teeth and ordered loudly, causing the students to be surprised. However, he had already made up his mind: "Let this kid stay one night, and we'll see the results tomorrow! Hmpf!"

Accountant Qian's back teeth ached. The Tian section room costs ten taels of silver per night, and giving it to this penniless guy for free was truly heart-wrenching. He weakly waved his hand to direct the waiters and the inn's guards: "Carry him away!"

His voice trembled, almost breaking, filled with reluctance.

Lu Changyuan and others were delighted to see such good fortune, immediately helping to carry Yue Heng's book box and following to watch the commotion.

Zhu Zhaigong, feeling pained, sat in the hall, sulking. He poured himself a cup of tea, and after finishing it, feeling the anger in his chest slightly subside, he saw several people in fine clothing enter the inn and ask, "Is the best room in the Tian section still available?"

Thud!

Zhu Zhaigong fell to the ground, his face red, his beady eyes wide open, his raised arm falling heavily. He didn't know what to say, and the scene amused everyone in the hall, leaving the visitors puzzled: "Just asking if the Tian section room is available, is it really that funny?"

The next day, after the rain, the sun rose in the east, and the list was posted at the hour of Chen. Countless students in Hong County were silently praying, and the Wen Temple became a crowded place. Countless scholars burned incense and prayed to enter the list of the first round of the Spring Examination.

Yue Heng dressed and tightened the splint on his right arm, which was securely bound. He took out the injury diagnosis signed by Min Xuhuai from his chest, looked at it, and put it back, then walked out of the Tian section room with a cold smile.

"Yue Brother looks much better today, more spirited!"

"Thank you, Brother Huang!"

"Good morning, Yue Brother! Seeing Yue Brother finally smile, it must mean you performed well in the exam yesterday. You will definitely be on the list today!"

"Not at all, not at all. I'm smiling because I'm in a good mood today and plan to kill someone!"

"… Yue Brother, don't joke around. With your sick and injured body… oh, sorry, I can't see how you could kill anyone…"

"Hehe, I'll curse him to death!"

"Haha! I knew Yue Brother was joking!"

The group squeezed into the carriage of the Drunken Immortal Tower, which was a benefit the inn had to give Yue Heng, and the others followed to enjoy the perks.

The closer they got to the posting point at the county office, the more nervous the students became. Influenced by the pessimistic mood, the carriage was filled with sighs. Many first-time examinees' voices trembled, and Huang Shihong, who had failed three times, was almost in tears.

Yue Heng, however, was not afraid. "Early Spring to Water Department's Eighteenth Officer" was a famous poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Han Yu, widely known and passed down for generations. If this poem couldn't pass the Fuxi Wenpan's examination, then probably no poem could.

But would he be the top scorer?

Yue Heng was quite looking forward to the posting. He hoped to remain silent until he made a stunning appearance. If he could win the top spot in the Spring Examination and become a genius child scholar who could activate the divine palace independently, with Min Xuhuai's exaggerated diagnosis, killing Bai Ming would be incredibly easy!

The examination system in the Zhongyuan world was somewhat different. There were top scorers, second and third place winners, but the titles of scholar, jinshi, and grand scholar, which Yue Heng was familiar with, only began to emerge during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The Zhongyuan world had developed not long after the pre-Qin, Three Kingdoms, and Jin periods, so there were no such familiar titles. Instead, there were specific terms like Level 1 Child Scholar, Level 2 Student, and Level 3 Scholar.

Before reaching the Zhaoyuan Pavilion, the carriage had to stop because the street was too crowded. Thousands of scholars from Hong County, along with their families, friends, and the inn's helpers, as well as onlookers, made the entrance to the county office examination hall crowded with more than ten thousand people.

"Clang, clang, clang! Good news, make way for the fast horse, everyone move aside!"

A man held a large gong, banging it and shouting for the crowd to move. Yue Heng and his group hurriedly stepped aside, watching the gong-bearer jump onto a large horse, and the horse handler quickly put a red flower on him. The man continued to bang the gong and shout, "Good news from Mingyue Pavilion! Clang, clang, clang!"

Everyone's ears hurt, but they were envious. Lu Changyuan said enviously, "It must be a student from Mingyue Pavilion who has passed."

Huang Shihong sighed, "To use a fast horse to send the news, it must be a good ranking, at least within the top hundred."

Lu Changyuan added, "Every year, only about a hundred child scholars are selected, and the chance of being among the top hundred is very high. It's definitely worth celebrating!"

The crowd stirred again, and another person came to bang the gong. This time, it was a fast horse from Chufeng Manor. The gong-bearer was extremely proud, shouting, "Chufeng Manor congratulates Lord Qiao for ranking fourteenth!"

Wow...

The crowd was amazed. This was the highest ranking heard today. The candidate surnamed Qiao had achieved a remarkable fourteenth place, and it was almost certain that he would become a child scholar. This was a great face for Chufeng Manor!

"It's actually fourteenth place! I can guarantee this person will definitely become a child scholar!"

"It's Qiao Xuewen. He's only sixteen this year, and I know him! Half of his success is due to his parents giving him a good name, and the other half is because I lent him the book of our ancestors! Haha!"

"Ten years of hard study, finally blooming in the Spring Examination, good, good, good!"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and with the sound of the gong, shouts of "Congratulations on passing," "Twenty-fourth place," "Eleventh in Hong County" occasionally rang out, making Yue Heng and the other poor students who couldn't get in feel extremely itchy and restless, as if their hearts were being scratched by a cat.

"Brother Lu, there are too many people, we can't see the list. What should we do?"

"This Drunken Immortal Tower is too irresponsible, not even sending a messenger to report the good news. We have to squeeze in ourselves. If I pass, I'll pray to Emperor Fuxi every day!"

"Those onlookers are so annoying, they don't even know to stand to the side. Yue Brother, be careful with your arm!"

Yue Heng smiled, pulling his right arm back and hiding behind Lu Changyuan. He turned his body to prevent others from bumping into him.

This act must be thorough and professional. The students were always worried about his injury, and sometimes even he felt like his arm was really broken.

But just as he turned, he lifted his head and saw the person he least wanted to see, Bai Ming.

Ten meters away, Bai Ming was looking at Yue Heng with a smug expression. People were coming and going between them, and the surroundings were noisy. Yue Heng could only see Bai Ming's lips moving but couldn't hear anything. Yue Heng couldn't read lips, but he knew Bai Ming had no good intentions.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from nearby, as if multiple people were banging gongs and drums. The sound came from behind Bai Ming.

The crowd parted, and a wooden platform slowly appeared, with at least ten servants in Zhaoyuan Pavilion uniforms standing on it. They had red headbands, yellow sashes, and were wearing short clothes in the cold winter, waving red cloth-wrapped wooden hammers and banging copper gongs.

At the front of the platform stood a middle-aged scholar in a long robe, his rank unknown. He held a simple Fuxi Wenpan, and a faint blue light emanated from his body.

This person used the power of the divine palace in his body to activate the amplification function of the Fuxi Wenpan and shouted loudly, "In the fourteenth year of King Chu You, the Spring Examination results for Hong County are posted. Zhaoyuan Pavilion congratulates Lord Song for ranking tenth, Lord Shi for ranking ninth, Lord Bai for ranking eighth... the Kuang brothers for ranking third and second, and Lord Ji for ranking first!"

This powerful congratulation stunned everyone. It turned out that the top ten in the Hong County Spring Examination were all students from Zhaoyuan Pavilion!