Chapter 15

The sound of rushing water...

The crowd suddenly erupted into a frenzy, with the servants beating drums and gongs, leading the crowd in chants.

"Clang!"

"Top ten in Hong County!"

"Clang!"

"Zhuangyuan Pavilion congratulates!"

"Clang!"

"Top ten in Hong County!"

"Clang!"

"Zhuangyuan Pavilion congratulates!"

The wooden platform moved slowly forward. Those who got closer found that it was actually a modified grain transport cart by a master craftsman. This cart, powered by a beast soul, could carry three people and ten thousand pounds of grain. The Zhuangyuan Pavilion had really pulled out all the stops!

The young masters who were called out simply stood on the cart, waving to all directions, their faces beaming with pride. The other literati, filled with envy and jealousy, wished they were the ones standing there.

"Is this possible? Han Yu's 'Early Spring' didn't even make the top ten? Are these top ten candidates all poetic geniuses? Could they have written timeless masterpieces?"

Yue Heng's mouth dropped open in surprise, his left hand grabbing his hair. He didn't know what to say.

If 'Early Spring' couldn't even make the top ten, it didn't make sense! Earlier, someone had announced the names from eleventh to fourteenth, but none of them were his. Now, the top ten didn't include him either. What was going on?

Bai Ming stood on the cart, noticing Yue Heng's frantic expression. His pride was off the charts!

"I, Bai Ming, am the eighth in Hong County, and all the top ten in this year's spring exam are my colleagues from the Zhuangyuan Pavilion. Yue Heng, you poor and petty fellow, you still want to pass the child scholar exam and give the murderer a full body? What a delusional waste of space! Beating you would be a waste of time. Just wait and see how I will humiliate you later!"

He stood on the cart as it moved slowly forward. The cart was surrounded by admirers of the top ten in Hong County. These students clung to the edges of the cart, moving step by step, looking up and calling out the names of the young masters, trying to build connections and show loyalty, all the way to the notice board where the cart stopped.

Bai Ming walked around on the cart, personally examining the ten lists in detail, seemingly oblivious to the noise around him.

After finishing the ten lists, he burst into laughter, turned around, walked to the edge of the cart, and surveyed the area with a domineering gaze, finding Yue Heng and others not far away.

He raised his right hand, pointed at Yue Heng, and laughed loudly, "Yue, do you know if you made the list?"

Yue Heng was taken aback. Bai Ming actually dared to challenge him in front of thousands of students!

"Are you out of your mind? If 'Early Spring' couldn't make the top ten in Hong County, I can accept that, assuming the examiners are illiterate and lack appreciation. But there's no way it couldn't even make the list of a thousand! I've seen the level of poetry in this Zhongyuan world. Last year, I wrote a spring exam poem, 'In May, the spring is deep, petals fall in abundance, the earth rolls like a cart, people are as numerous as dust.' This level of work could make the top thousand and almost pass the child scholar exam. You're telling me that a masterpiece like 'Early Spring' couldn't make the list? Are you kidding me?"

Yue Heng didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. Bai Ming's question made others think he had failed again, but Yue Heng was too confident. How could he have failed?

"Bai, are you joking? If I made the list, I made it; if I didn't, I didn't. The red and black words are posted on the wall. Do I need to ask you? Can't I see for myself?"

Yue Heng replied casually, not wanting to argue with Bai Ming, his face full of disdain.

Bai Ming laughed wildly, "Yue, all these years in the Northern City Literary Society, you overestimated yourself, gathering those talentless but arrogant students to insult and defame me. I tolerated you because of your slight talent and didn't argue with you! Last year, you missed the child scholar exam by ten places. I thought you would improve this year, but how laughable! You didn't even make the list of a thousand this year. You're a complete waste! I, Bai Ming, have suffered so much humiliation from you!"

"Rubbish! Impossible!"

Yue Heng was truly angry!

The insults and defamation mentioned by Bai Ming could be dealt with later, but the claim that Han Yu's 'Early Spring' didn't even make the list of a thousand was a real insult to him.

Who was Han Yu? The foremost of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, a literary genius!

If he really didn't make the list, the so-called literary system in this Zhongyuan world would be a complete joke, and all the divine palace literary symbols would be a mess!

Wait... divine palace literary symbols!

In his anger, Yue Heng suddenly remembered. He had already activated the divine palace and conceived a literary symbol, making him a child scholar. Whether he made the list or not didn't matter. Why should he be angry with this bastard?

The blood rushing to his head gradually subsided. Calmness was what he needed most now. Bai Ming might be deliberately provoking him. He, Yue Heng, must personally check the list!

For the crowd, this was just a small incident, but in the outer second floor of the county office, County Magistrate Qi and Literary Master Wen noticed and were almost frightened out of their wits.

"So, he is Yue Heng!"

County Magistrate Qi immediately took out a simple Fuxi literary disk, drawing a literary symbol with his right hand. A pale blue light flashed, and he shouted, "Captain Shi, immediately dispatch two teams of soldiers to disperse the crowd in front of the notice board. Temporarily prohibit people from viewing the list. The more chaotic the scene, the better!"

Literary Master Wen did the same, but he contacted his daughter Wen Xinyue, "Xinyue, do you see that young scholar in a green robe with a broken right arm? Your father's life is in your hands!"

"Yue, you must remain calm and not be forced to recite the poem in public! If this poem is heard by outsiders, there will be resonance, and the confidentiality of the Ministry of Literature will be compromised!" The two officials stood on the second floor, watching anxiously.

With thousands of candidates in Hong County, once they left the exam hall, they merged into the vast crowd, making it impossible for the county office to track each one. Although Yue Heng was registered in the Northern City Book Society, his dilapidated home was empty. County Magistrate Qi and others didn't dare to organize a large-scale search of all the inns and taverns in the city, so they could only control the scene at the list announcement.

They couldn't personally show up or use violence to control Yue Heng, and they were worried about the leakage of the resonant poem. They were in a difficult situation!

Yue Heng was truly indignant, and very indignant. He muttered to himself, "I don't care if I made the list, but I must seek justice for Han Yu! Is there no justice in this world? This is too much!"

Before he could reach the list, the side door of the county office opened, and two teams of fully armored soldiers with shields and swords rushed out, about dozens of them. The leading officer wore a red-tasseled helmet and held a long sword, shouting, "Everyone, step back ten steps! Stay away from the list!"

Before he finished speaking, the soldiers had already engaged the crowd. They raised their shields, pushing the literati and students back. Many fell and were trampled, causing chaos. Even the modified grain transport cart of the Zhuangyuan Pavilion was forcibly detained, and the ten young masters were pushed off, looking equally disheveled.

In front of the army of warriors, even the most famous literati and young masters were nothing. This world undervalued literati!

Yue Heng's body was not yet fully recovered, and his right arm was in a fake splint, making his movements very inconvenient.

In the chaos, he was pushed and almost fell. The wooden splint hit his already thin body, causing him to gasp in pain, his eyes rolling.

Suddenly, someone pulled him by the neck, and his body involuntarily turned, face-first into someone. Fortunately, the person's chest was particularly soft, so it didn't hurt. At the same time, he smelled a fragrance.

"Ouch!"

Yue Heng hurriedly looked up and found that he had collided with a woman, her face full of anger.

Before he could react, he was pushed again by the crowd and collided with the woman a second time.

The same position, the same feeling, the same fragrance. Before he could marvel at how soft and fragrant it was, his left arm was grabbed with great force, feeling like it was about to break.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

His arm felt like it was clamped in a vise. The beautiful girl, with her eyebrows raised and a face full of shame and anger, quickly dragged him to a less crowded roadside, showing no mercy, and ignoring his cries of pain.

Finally getting a chance to catch his breath, Yue Heng struggled to free his left arm, his right arm exposed, and rubbed it, his face contorted in pain.

He looked at the beautiful girl and said, "Miss, killing someone at the county office gate will violate the laws of Chu!"

The girl was taken aback but quickly responded, "Fine! I'll take you to a back street, so it won't violate the law!"

This made Yue Heng almost faint!

On the second floor of the county office, County Magistrate Qi and Literary Master Wen saw this and breathed a sigh of relief. Yue Heng was under control and wouldn't act rashly.

"Qi, it should be fine. I will delay until tomorrow and add Yue Heng's name to the list. Today, you can hand over the list of a thousand candidates for the Hong County spring exam to the Qi Prefecture's Ministry of Literature as usual. Lord Su is already prepared to receive it and will personally handle the list, ensuring no one knows we tampered with it. If someone finds out in the future, we can claim it was a supplementary entry, ensuring everything is foolproof!"

"Thank you, Wen. But I see that girl seems to be your daughter? Your sacrifice is too great..."

"I dare not disobey the orders of the Ministry of Literature of Chu. Yue Heng has the resonance of a literary symbol with me. No matter how much I pay, it is worth it, and I have no complaints."

"Yue Heng hasn't proven his talent yet. The resonant poem might have been a stroke of luck, not necessarily reflecting his true ability. If he is mediocre, wouldn't it be inconvenient for a man and a woman to be together?"

"To be honest, I told my daughter that Yue Heng is a bastard son I had years ago, and they should be siblings... I don't think anything will happen..."

"Cough... Wen, you have suffered! Please take good care of your wife and daughter, and calm their emotions. Stability is the priority!"

"Of course, thank you, Qi!"

The two cunning officials, each with their own agenda, smiled and then looked at the noisy crowd. The target was now away from the danger zone, and the crisis was averted.

County Magistrate Qi breathed a sigh of relief and said to the Fuxi literary disk, "Captain Shi, stand down!"

Page break for ads

Page break for ads end