Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 842: Third Place [Thank You All for the Monthly Tickets]
There were three groups of people delivering good news: one was the porters waiting under the list, hoping to earn some joy money; another group was a few from the county government led by Constable Xiao Yang; and the last group was Luo Wu.
Luo Wu knew Gu Jin’an and others were here, so he specially informed County Magistrate Zheng that he wanted to deliver the good news to them.
County Magistrate Zheng admired Gu Jin’an, especially after reading his essays at the county examination. He looked forward to Gu Jin’an achieving high scores in the Prefecture and college examinations, bringing honor to Tianfu County.
For the examinee’s County Magistrate, having local scholars succeed in higher exams is also a commendable achievement.
The several groups met at the entrance of Futai Building, where Elder Xu immediately yelled "Oh my!" and made a pained expression.
He’s getting on in years, and when Constable Xiao Yang and the others saw him, they were sure to ask, "What’s wrong with Elder Xu? Are you feeling unwell?"
The porter who came to deliver the good news didn’t care about Elder Xu’s condition, wanting to squeeze inside Futai Building but was tightly held back by Xu Zhao Ming’s servant.
Elder Xu said, "I’ve just heard the results are out and specially came to Futai Building to find my grandson to hear the good news with him, but being old and useless, running a few steps made my whole body hurt."
While speaking, he took a step forward and was the first to cross the threshold.
Constable Xiao Yang and the others saw this and understood Elder Xu’s intention, not competing over the path and letting him go first.
Elder Xu went straight to the elegant room on the second floor. Seeing Xu Zhao Ming’s face dripping with cold sweat, he immediately knew he hadn’t guessed the word puzzle and began to curse, "You arrogant brat! How dare you trouble others during a gathering with fellow examinees! Have you forgotten the Xu family’s rules? Today I’ll beat you in front of your fellow examinees for being a foolish disgrace!"
As he spoke, he raised his cane to strike.
Xu Liang reacted quickly, hurriedly blocking him: "Uncle Grandpa, don’t be angry. Brother Ming didn’t mean to embarrass his fellow examinees. We were just figuring out word puzzles and sharing insights."
Gu Jin’an sat nearby, watching the Xu family act but kept silent with a laugh.
Elder Xu kept glancing at Gu Jin’an from the corner of his eye. Seeing this, he approached and said to Gu Jin’an, "Good Brother An, don’t mind Brother Ming. He left home young and wasn’t taught by adults, so he’s a bit arrogant... Winning or losing doesn’t matter, okay?"
After speaking, he clasped his hands in salute towards Gu Jin’an.
Gu Jin’an hurriedly stood up to support him, not allowing him to complete the salute: "You’re too kind, Elder. We’re just killing time waiting for the list by guessing some word puzzles, not really concerned about winning or losing."
Great Chu values filial piety, and scholars particularly respect the elderly, regardless of whether this elder belongs to your family. If they are older than you, you must show respect.
Thus, since Elder Xu personally came to plead, Gu Jin’an couldn’t refuse to give Xu Zhao Ming a way out, otherwise, it might spread that he was unkind and disrespectful towards elders.
Hearing this, Elder Xu finally relaxed and shouted to Xu Zhao Ming, "Aren’t you going to hurry and thank Brother Gu Jia’an!"
Xu Zhao Ming felt very embarrassed and couldn’t move his feet.
While he hesitated, the porter delivering the message already rushed up, shouting loudly, "I congratulate Young Master Xu! You have leapt like a dragon over the dragon gate, ranking third in the county examination!"
Third place?
Xu Zhao Ming was stunned, his smile froze on his face. He asked the porter delivering the message, "What did you say? What rank did I get in the county examination?"
He was waiting to win the top scorer to regain his reputation; how could it be just third place?!
However, the porter still smiled broadly and shouted again, "I congratulate Young Master Xu! You have leapt like a dragon over the dragon gate, ranking third in the county examination!"
Xu Zhao Ming’s face turned pale, he staggered and almost fell if not for the quick-eyed servant who swiftly supported him.
Xu Zhao Ming pushed away the servant’s support and asked, "Where’s Song Lin? He’s responsible for checking the list. Why hasn’t he returned yet? Hurry and find him to ask about the ranking!"
He looked as if he couldn’t believe he only ranked third in the county examination.
The Yang Family had received much favor from the Xu Family in the county. Constable Xiao Yang didn’t want Xu Zhao Ming to lose too much face and hurriedly said, "Young Master Xu, the Lord knows there are many examinees in Futai Building, and specifically asked me to deliver the good news; you indeed ranked third in the county examination."
But Xu Zhao Ming wanted to rank first, be the top scorer of the county, and didn’t care at all for the third place!
He didn’t want to admit his failure in the examination, and bit his lip saying, "Impossible, that ranking is wrong, something must..."
"Hold your tongue!" Elder Xu’s heart almost leapt out of his chest, nearly hitting Xu Zhao Ming, was Brother Ming mad? How dare he publicly question the county examination results, suggesting the County Magistrate was corrupt, intending to make an enemy of the County Magistrate?
Xu Zhao Ming came to his senses, shivered a bit. Thankfully, his grandfather reprimanded him quickly, or he would’ve landed in great trouble.
Yet he’s still not satisfied, asking Constable Xiao Yang, "Who are first and second in the county examination?"
Xu Zhao Ming stared at Constable Xiao Yang as if awaiting a sentence, secretly hoping: Let it be anyone, just not Gu Jin’an!
However, things didn’t go as he wished, Constable Xiao Yang said, "The top scorer in the county examination is Gu Jin’an, the second is Qi Kangming."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhao Ming’s mind exploded; he lost not just to Gu Jin’an but also to the unknown Qi Kangming.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the dizziness in his mind to settle, then turned with teary eyes to Qi Kangming, "I’ve never heard of you, how could you, without fame, possibly rank second?"
Elder Xu really wished he could die, deeply regretting sending Xu Zhao Ming to study in Jinling, only to be influenced by the Jiangnan Scholar, becoming arrogant and courting disaster.
The county examination rankings were already out; what use was asking more? It’d just further embarrass oneself!
Moreover, it was just a county examination, nothing considerable. There’s still the Prefecture and college examinations ahead. Unable to accept defeat like this, wouldn’t it make others look down upon? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
Qi Kangming stood up and said, "This word puzzle set by Brother Cheng, I also heard for the first time. Now I’ve guessed nine characters; listen to them."
Is Xu Zhao Ming refusing to accept losing to him? Then he’d use the unfathomable word puzzle to strike back.
Qi Kangming said, "Four small ghosts for the four mountain spirits and evil spirits, the Pipa, zither, and harp as Eight Great Kings, ten sun and moon together as Dynasty, as for treading a river of stars, I haven’t guessed it yet."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhao Ming was amazed, silently reciting Qi Kangming’s answers... Not only do the mountain spirits and evil spirits all contain the word ’ghost,’ but they’re also legendary types of spirits, fitting the four small ghosts theory. The Pipa, zither, and harp ruled over eight kings, being the kings of string music, aligning with the Eight Great Kings theory.
And ten sun and moon combined as Dynasty.
Xu Zhao Ming’s face turned pale, filled with a sense of defeat, it was obviously such simple characters, why couldn’t he think of them after pondering for an hour?
Just for this puzzle, he lost to Qi Kangming; what face did he have left to question Qi Kangming’s county examination ranking?
Again looking at Brother Cheng, asking, "What’s treading a river of stars?"
Brother Cheng didn’t hide it and smiled, "It’s ’湦’."
As he spoke, he moistened a bit of tea, writing the character ’湦’ on the table.
This is a rare character, many present didn’t recognize it, asking, "What character is this? Never seen it before; can it be used in puzzles?"
Xu Zhao Ming said, "It’s the character ’湦,’ meaning the ancient character of Emperor Zhou, synonymous with ’昇,’ having the meaning of the day in the heavenly skies."
Even though this character is rare, Xu Zhao Ming had read chronicles about the ancient Emperor Zhou, this character prominently featured within, appearing multiple times.
However, he couldn’t guess it, proving that although he learned it, his mind wasn’t as flexible as Gu Jin’an or Qi Kangming, unable to apply what he learned in a practical sense.
