My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 35p1

Chapter 35 p1: The Good News

Ren Xuezheng took the exam paper. He first browsed through the previous questions and saw that they were done very well. He had a good impression of it and then looked at the essay at the end.

[The people are the foundation of the state. If the foundation is stable, the state will be secure. In the Ningxing Dynasty, the common people account for seven-tenths, and the aristocratic families for three-tenths. The land is divided accordingly…]

After reading the essay, Ren Xuezheng nodded. “This essay can indeed be the top of the college exam.”

He liked essays with a bit of an edge, but too much was not good. The exam papers from each county, especially the first-place ones, had to be stored in the archives. If future generations, or if something happened, they would all be held responsible.

During the reign of the fifth emperor of the Ningxing Dynasty, there was a great literary inquisition. The exam papers stored in the archives were taken out and scrutinized. If there was even a hint of going against the grain, one would be implicated and thrown into prison.

Therefore, Ren Xuezheng had always maintained a cautious attitude towards the essays and wording of the exam papers. They could be conservative, they could have a bit of an edge, but they could not discuss state affairs too much.

“Alright, I’ve already read the other exam papers. We can decide on the rankings now,” Ren Xuezheng said.

The teachers of the county school nodded.

It was almost evening. A yamen runner came in and said, “Sir Huang said that if you are all done, he will be hosting a dinner for you at the Xianju Tower.”

Sir Huang was naturally the county magistrate of Jinhe County, Huang. The number of xiucai in the county was related to his political achievements, so he was naturally concerned.

Ren Xuezheng: “Thank you, Sir Huang. We’ll be right there.”

After the teachers of the county school had tidied up, they followed Ren Xuezheng to the Xianju Tower for the banquet.

County Magistrate Huang was about fifty years old. He had a smile on his face. Seeing them arrive, he said with a smile, “Thank you for your hard work. Please, take your seats. We can start serving the dishes.”

Amidst the clinking of glasses, County Magistrate Huang was drunk. He asked, “How many xiucai did our county produce this year?”

The teachers of the county school all looked to Ren Xuezheng. He said, “This year, there are twenty-one xiucai.”

County Magistrate Huang was a bit disappointed. Yunzhou Prefecture was a large prefecture, and the culture of studying was prevalent. Although they were only a county town under it, they still had the desire to surpass the other counties in the matter of the xiucai exam.

“Alright, I know. According to tradition, I will give a reward to the top scorer. It will be the same as last year.”

Ren Xuezheng smiled. “Sir Huang is right. With your encouragement, I believe they will study even harder and achieve a good result in the provincial examination in August.”

County Magistrate Huang smiled. “I also hope they can achieve a good result.”

The next day, after the rankings were decided, they still posted the list and then sent a clerk to inform the successful candidates.

Early in the morning, there were already people squatting at the entrance of the county yamen, waiting to see the list. At this time, many of the scholars from the towns had already gone back. Only the scholars from the county were still there. Those with wealthy families in the towns were also still in the county, waiting for the results.

Xie Feng, Luo Shuang, and Cheng Maoxue were all students of the county school. Among them, Xie Feng was a collateral branch of the Xie clan of Chen Commandery, Luo Shuang’s family was wealthy, and Cheng Maoxue was from a declining scholarly family. An ancestor of his had been a minister. This generation had finally produced a good seedling like Cheng Maoxue, and the whole clan had pooled their resources to send him on his way to success.

Today was the last exam of the college exam. Xie Feng and the others could have sent their family servants to check the list and inform them, but they were anxious to see it themselves and had come early.

“So it’s Brother Xie, Brother Luo, and Brother Cheng. You three have also come to see the list. You must be here to see your rankings,” a scholar said with a smile, cupping his hands.

Xie Feng smiled without speaking. He was very confident in himself. Besides, he had been first in the previous county and prefectural exams. It was only natural that he would be first in the final college exam.

In Jinhe County, the most capable were Luo Shuang and Cheng Maoxue, and he had already figured out their ways. No one in the entire Jinhe County was his match.

If he successfully obtained the first place in the college exam, he would be a “Lesser Triple First.”

Luo Shuang was handsome and looked gentle. He said, “I dare not say so. It still depends on the exam paper. No one can be completely sure until the end.”

Cheng Maoxue gave a bitter smile. “I was overthrown in the prefectural exam. I dare not speak too boldly now.”

At this moment, a yamen runner came out with the list and posted it. The scholars immediately rushed forward.

First place: Song Changxu

Second place: Xie Feng

Third place: Luo Shuang

Fourth place: Cheng Maoxue

…

Cheng Maoxue looked at the ranking and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Xie Feng had stopped fanning himself. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked at the list again.

He was in second place. How could that be?! He had clearly been first in the previous two exams. How could he have been overthrown in the last one?

Luo Shuang was calm. Anyway, he had always been behind Xie Feng. But when he saw the name in the first place, he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Ever since Xie Feng had entered the county school, he had always been first in every exam. Now, at the very end, when he was about to get the “Lesser Triple First,” the first place had been snatched by an unknown person.

Xie Feng’s mood was a bit shattered, but he still maintained his composure on the surface.

The scholars who had found their names were happy. They looked at the top of the list and sighed, “I remember this Song Changxu was fourth in the county exam, third in the prefectural exam, and now he’s first in the college exam.”

“So amazing. This Brother Song is famous in Jinhe County now.”

“Does anyone know where he’s from? He’s probably not from the county, or there would have been some news.”

The scholars who had stayed in the town also started to talk, all saying that they had never heard of this name.

“He can’t be from the countryside, can he?” a scholar said hesitantly, slapping his head.

“How could he be from the countryside? How could a village produce a top scorer? What would the aristocratic families think? Could he be from a reclusive family?”

Song Changxu was shrouded in a layer of mystery in front of everyone. They all started to talk about him. Xie Feng looked at the name at the top of the list, his heart filled with unwillingness.

He thought that this person would be coming to the county school to study soon. Then he would know if this person had just gotten lucky, or if he had real talent.

Seeing that Xie Feng was silent, Luo Shuang, who had known him for many years, knew that he was a competitive person. He patted his shoulder comfortingly.

He comforted him, “It’s fine. There are still the provincial, metropolitan, and palace exams. This Brother Song can’t always be ahead of you.”

Xie Feng felt much better after hearing Luo Shuang’s words. He said, “But I’ve already gotten first place twice. If I had gotten it this last time, I would have been a ‘Lesser Triple First’.”

The three of them walked out of the county yamen, which was surrounded by several layers of people. Some of the scholars had already been eliminated in the county and prefectural exams, but they were still keen to see how many xiucai there would be in the end.

Luo Shuang said, “It’s fine. In my heart, you’re already a ‘Lesser Triple First’.”

Cheng Maoxue said helplessly, “I say, why did no one comfort me when I was overthrown in the prefectural exam? Now, looking at the rankings, mine is the lowest, and I’m still being ignored. I’m so miserable.”

Xie Feng and Luo Shuang couldn’t help but laugh.

Xie Feng’s mood improved a lot. He smiled and said, “You were overthrown once. This time, you’ve already had a buffer.”

Hearing Xie Feng’s words, Cheng Maoxue said, “It’s true that my reaction wasn’t as big as yours, but I’ve become curious about this Brother Song.”

Xie Feng and Luo Shuang were also curious about Song Changxu. The three of them had always occupied the top three in the county school. This time, an outsider had snatched the first place. Anyone would be unwilling.

“We’ll just have to wait for this Brother Song to show his true face,” Xie Feng said with an ambiguous tone.

In Jinhe County, Song Changxu’s name was mentioned by many scholars, because he had no fame there before, and no one had heard of him. The only one who knew his background was Feng Xin’ou, who had already returned to Linglai Village.

The yamen runners rode on horseback to the candidates’ homes to report the results. It was a day’s journey from Jinhe County to Shuibo Town.

The liveliness in the county town had nothing to do with the people of Qishan Village for the time being.

After the exam, Song Changxu slept for three days at home to recover his energy. After that, he went with Song Ye and the others to loosen the soil and plant.

After the exam, there was a period of rest. During this time, Song Changxu preferred to do some physical labor rather than continue to study.

Xu Zhizhou wiped his sweat. Song Changxu came over and said, “You go and rest first. I’ll finish this piece of land.”

“Can you do it?”

Song Changxu stuffed the water flask into Xu Zhizhou’s hands, pushed him under a large tree, and then took a hoe to do the hard work himself.

Actions spoke louder than words. His body was already well-trained.