My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 295 - 173: The Prophecy of the Fortune-Telling Old Man

March the fifth.

In and around Chang'an, the entrances to each Examination Hall were crowded with Imperial Examination candidates.

The Book Department examinations had ended four days ago, and today was the day the results were to be announced.

Only those candidates whose names appeared on the list would be eligible to take part in tomorrow's Mathematics and Ritual Department exams.

As the staff of the Examination Halls posted the red lists, countless candidates surged forward, searching for their own examination numbers. Several members of the examination staff were squeezed in the middle, unable to make their way out.

"One hundred and thirty-eight, I made it!"

"One thousand six hundred and fifty-two, I'm on the list too!"

"Damn it, I failed the first subject. I'll have to come back in four years!"

...

After the Book Department exams ended, the results were not ranked.

Only after all subjects had concluded and the results from all thirty Examination Halls had been collated would it be known who exactly was the top scholar of the Book Department.

This was a sense of mystery deliberately maintained by the court.

However, almost everyone felt that this year's top scholar in the Book Department would come from the First Examination Hall.

Although the specific scores had not yet been announced, rumor had it that within the First Examination Hall, three had shown excellence in calligraphy, one excelled in painting, and one in composition.

For these three minor subjects, in most cases, not even one excellence would be found.

And from the other Examination Halls, no news had emerged of anyone achieving such excellence.

This year's Imperial Examination coincidentally fell on a twenty-year cycle, with genius disciples from great families all gathered, but their strengths lay in the last three subjects. The Book Department had always been a powerhouse of students from the Four Great Academies.

The First Examination Hall, during the process of paper evaluation, also witnessed some minor controversies.

For instance, the three calligraphy papers that Master Wei had strongly recommended as excellent were rejected by the Chief Judge.

In defense of his disciples' fairness, Master Wei got into a physical altercation with the Chief Judge.

Later, the court dispatched several other examiners and sent an Imperial Censor to supervise, eventually confirming the three papers as excellent. The Chief Judge was stripped of his position for seeking personal vengeance through the scores and was banned from serving again by the court.

Though not heavily punished by the court, Master Huang's reputation was thoroughly tarnished.

His disciples and students were quick to distance themselves from him.

Originally, one of his calligraphy works could have sold for hundreds of taels of silver. After this event, the prices of his works plummeted, and many collectors of his pieces suffered great losses.

Some of the shops and private residences that had been inscribed by Master Huang hurriedly took down their signs out front; those who were slow to do so quickly found their walls adorned with rotten vegetable leaves and smelly eggs.

On the contrary, Master Wei's reputation soared because of his fairness and willingness to stand up for his students, precisely what all students hoped for in a good teacher. Consequently, his calligraphy works' prices also continued to rise...

This event, which was quite legendary, gradually spread among the students.

Those who made the list didn't have time to gossip about such matters; they still needed to prepare for tomorrow's Mathematics and Ritual Department exams.

Song Yu, of course, was no exception.

His Imperial Examination was already over.

After the Book Department exams in the First Examination Hall, out of two thousand candidates, only one thousand six hundred remained.

As expected, he failed to make the list.

However, he never had much hope to begin with, so it would be wrong to say he was disappointed.

His family had already planned his future. Song Yu, with one arm around Zhou Yu and the other around Pei Jun, said, "Come on, let's go have a drink. I finally don't have to read those damned books anymore. I'll treat you tonight; you guys can sleep with as many as you want..."

Pei Jun waved his hands, "No, thanks. I have other matters."

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Zhou Yu also shook his head, "I have matters as well. You go by yourself."

Song Yu frowned and asked, "Aren't we brothers? What could be more important than having a drink with me?"

Pei Jun lowered his head, "I have an exam tomorrow."

Zhou Yu's gaze shifted away as he said, "So do I."

...

Song Residence.

Song Yu walked into the courtyard, disheartened, and said to Li Nuo, "Brother-in-law, you made the list."

Li Nuo nodded; he had never doubted this, so he didn't even bother to check for himself.

Song Yu left with a heavy sigh. How could this be?

He had only praised Zhou Yu before as capable of becoming the top scholar in Horse Riding to support him as a brother. In truth, he felt Zhou Yu wouldn't even pass the Book Department exams.

But he did.

Not only did he pass, but Pei Jun did too.

Among the Yunmeng Three Talents, only he failed to make the list.

This was hard for him to accept.

After all, previously they had all been on the same level. Had they been studying behind his back?

Not long after Song Yu had left, Li Anning snuck in and, unable to wait, blurted out, "The horse gallops swiftly as the spring breeze triumphs; in one day, I've seen all of Chang'an's flowers... Did you write this?"

Before the Imperial Examination ended, it would be impossible for outsiders to see the candidates' papers.

But Li Anning had her own ways of obtaining information.

In this session of the First Examination Hall, the only paper in the Composition subject that received an A+ started with this line.

Li Nuo nodded.

Li Anning swung her fist in excitement, her chest heaving as she said, "I knew it was you; it wasn't in vain that I snuck those scrolls out for you!"

She looked at Li Nuo and asked again, "The painting A+ was also yours, right?"

Li Nuo replied, "I don't know."

He couldn't give her a definite answer before the results were released.

Li Anning was certain, "It has to be you!"

Li Anning didn't ask further, confident in his abilities in the Ritual Department. Being a Law Practitioner, even if he didn't achieve an A+ in the Ritual Department, he wouldn't fare too poorly.

Thinking of calligraphy, she sighed silently to herself.

She had heard that the three A+'s in calligraphy were all disciples of Mr. Wei.

No A or A+ papers were written in the Hairpin Flower Small Regular Script.

This indicated that his calligraphy could, at best, be an A-.

Two subjects rated as A+ had given him enough of an edge, but the calligraphy had leveled this significant edge, casting doubt over the certainty of becoming the top scholar in the Book Department.