Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 288 - 124 Competition

He glanced down at the scholar’s name, and upon seeing it, felt it somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"Oh? Is it him? No wonder, no wonder!" Mr. Fang finally remembered, no wonder the name seemed familiar.

"Oh? Do you know him? I see he’s quite young, could he be a disciple of some Great Scholar?" Fu Ming, seeing that Mr. Fang recognized the scholar, thought that Gu Chengyu might be a disciple of some Great Scholar. However, in recent years, he hadn’t heard of any Great Scholar taking on a disciple!

"More than just that! This boy has some reputation! Perhaps the Holy Emperor remembers him!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Fang Huai and the former Grand Secretary Liang Zhirui’s eldest disciple Yin Kun had been close friends for many years. Over two years ago, Yin Kun sent someone to Jingyuan Prefecture to his teacher, saying that the teacher wanted to accept a closed-door disciple. Yin Kun had mentioned the name and age of the young junior brother to him before, leaving him with some impression.

The reason for the impression is because Gu Chengyu was the student who wrote those essays three years ago. Those two essays even caught the Holy Emperor’s attention, and although the flood control measures were not implemented, the increase in agricultural taxes was indeed issued, and the Holy Emperor has personally inquired about it twice in the past two years.

Hearing from Yin Kun, his teacher was very attentive to this young closed-door disciple and repeatedly urged their three senior brothers in letters to take good care of the little junior brother. Only, the apprenticeship ceremony did not invite many people, probably because the little disciple was too young, which might have been a form of protection for him?

"Oh? Is this true?" Fu Ming found it somewhat unbelievable. Could it be that this boy was from the capital? Why hadn’t he seen him before? If he were a noble son, he should have some impression, let alone would a noble son from the capital ever stay at an inn.

He became rather curious about this Gu Chengyu. Listening to the previous scholars, Gu Chengyu could not be a Jiangnan person.

"Do you remember those two essays from three years ago? This boy wrote them." Fang Huai knew that Fu Ming was solely focused on teaching at Boshan Academy. Although he had some understanding of current affairs in the capital, he wasn’t part of the officialdom and was thus somewhat lacking.

"Could it be this boy?" Fu Ming only knew that it was a candidate who wrote them during the county examination, but he hadn’t heard of his name.

Fang Huai chuckled. Who at that time wasn’t envious of Jiang Mingyuan’s luck? Although Jiang Mingyuan is a magistrate now, everyone knows it’s because of the experimental fields. In the next evaluation, he might get promoted two ranks. After all, the fields were implemented successfully. These methods have been widely adopted, even in Jiangnan they have started to implement them.

He gazed deeply at Gu Chengyu. This was a talented person, but whether he was suitable for officialdom was still uncertain, so he needed to observe further.

Their conversation did not affect the competition over there — indeed, it was a competition.

Three talented scholars were vying for the first place. If that wasn’t a competition, what was? And Gu Chengyu seemed to have been forgotten by everyone.

"Chengyu! Since you’ve written a poem, let’s wait a bit longer. Maybe if you get first place, you’ll get a room!" Sun Xian was also infected by the atmosphere, wondering who would come out on top between Gu Chengyu and these so-called Jiangnan talents. He didn’t recognize those Jiangnan talents and had great faith in Gu Chengyu.

"Who knows how these Jiangnan talents compare to Gu Chengyu?" Fu Ming asked Mr. Fang, looking at the three great talents surrounded by people over there.

Fang Huai raised an eyebrow at the question, "Whether it’s for fame or real talent and learning, do you think you can test it out here? The Provincial Examination is the true test!"

"Hmph! You all keep talking about the Imperial Examination. Those rejected by it might possess real talent and learning. The Imperial Examination is not the measure of whether a person truly has talent!"

Fu Ming was somewhat repulsed by this. He himself had been forced by his family to become an Advanced Scholar, but he wasn’t interested in being an official and liked scholarly pursuits. So he resolutely decided to teach at Boshan Academy and eventually became a Great Scholar and smoothly rose to become the Mountain Master.

Fang Huai shook his head and chuckled. This old fellow was truly peculiar. Did he think there were more people in this world as indifferent to fame and fortune as he was? Take that boy for instance! He was someone with ambition!

"Have you not thought about it? If you hadn’t become an Advanced Scholar, would Boshan Academy have let you teach then? Would you have risen to be the Mountain Master? What if you were just an ordinary scholar?" If Fu Ming hadn’t passed the Advanced Scholar exam back then, he would be nothing now.

Fu Ming was taken aback by Fang Huai’s words. Had he not thought it over? Of course, he had. Rather than being forced by his parents, it would be better to say he also wanted to prove himself through the examinations, he just didn’t like officialdom!

Within this short time, more and more people gathered in front of the inn. Gu Chengyu watched the actions of the three over there and saw Min Feng finish first.

Manager Wan of the inn immediately led the staff forward to collect the poems. During this time, Liu Haonan and Huang Junheng also finished.

"Chengyu! They were much slower than you!" Ye Zhiqiu softly remarked beside Gu Chengyu.

But unexpectedly, such a remark stirred up a hornet’s nest, as the scholars standing in front of them were Jiangnan natives. How could they bear to hear that?

"Hey! I say, how did we forget you just now? What? Do you think writing quickly means it’s better than the talents’? Utter nonsense!"

"I say, didn’t they just say they knew the answers to these topics? Clearly, they didn’t answer correctly, otherwise why didn’t the two Great Scholars say anything?" Ye Zhiqiu successfully drew their attention.

With that said, the three talented scholars simultaneously looked at Gu Chengyu. Previously, Liu Haonan didn’t pay any attention to Gu Chengyu. Now, an idea occurred to him.

The three of them were competing, and losing would be a disgrace. Most importantly, he wasn’t confident he could win against the other two. So, why not pull this candidate into it and have an extra stepping stone!

Gu Chengyu was pushed to the front by the crowd and could only politely bow, even though he didn’t want to be too conspicuous, things always turned out oppositely.

"This Junior Brother, you seem very young yet have already become a Scholar; where are you from?" Huang Junheng thought it was necessary to ask clearly. He didn’t want to accidentally offend a noble son, which would not be good.

Those local tyrants, even a fourth-rank official from the capital would have to show them some respect.

"I am surnamed Gu, from Jingyuan Prefecture."

Gu Chengyu had just finished speaking when Liu Haonan interrupted, "Brother Gu, didn’t you just write a poem? Today we will certainly choose a first place, why not bring it out and let’s have everyone appraise it!"

Earlier, Liu Haonan and the others, surrounded by scholars, did not see Fu Ming take Gu Chengyu’s poem. He thought Gu Chengyu didn’t dare to show off his skills in front of experts and had already discarded his poem!

"What makes him worthy to have his poem placed beside those of the three great talents?" A scholar rolled his eyes. He had seen the three great talents at poetry gatherings, and their poems were indeed excellent.