Chapter 85

Wei Shu returned from the prefectural city overnight, not even stopping by the Wei family home. He instructed the servants to drive the carriage straight to Cuiwei Academy.

That day, Shen Cui noticed that his mood was getting better and thought to herself that he should be back today. So, after breakfast, she didn’t rush to activate the time enhancement, nor did she close the gates of the academy.

When she heard the sound of horse hooves outside, everyone knew it was him returning, and they rushed out to greet him.

Wei Shu didn’t need help from the servants; he jumped down from the carriage by himself.

With no outsiders around, he didn’t need to maintain a gentlemanly and reserved appearance, so he cheerfully said, “As expected, I ranked twelfth in the exam!”

“Well done, well done!” Lao Buyu said with relief and joy.

Mu Er Pang and Wei Xi surrounded him and led him into the main hall, one asking if he was tired and the other if he was thirsty.

Shen Cui had been paying attention to his mood. She had guessed earlier that he had done well in the exam and was also happy. Unable to interrupt, she followed them into the house.

Zhou Shi went to the kitchen and brewed a fresh pot of tea, placing it on his desk.

Wei Shu drank it down, feeling relieved, and began to tell them about his experience.

“They say what’s written on paper is always shallow, don’t they? Before, I inquired about the format and rules of the prefectural exam and thought I understood the whole process. But after experiencing it myself, I realized that what people say and what you experience are different. Let’s start with the exam hall…”

He talked for a long time, and Mu Er Pang, Wei Xi, and even Lao Buyu, who had gone through the entire examination process before, listened very attentively.

He kept talking until he mentioned the day they checked the exam results.

The servant beside Wei Shu was bursting to speak, hesitating several times.

Wei Shu gave him a helpless look, indicating he could finish speaking, but he shouldn’t linger on with suggestive gestures.

The servant said, “Our young master performed well, but Song Yao didn’t make it… I looked at the top twenty names several times but couldn’t find his name. However, there were so many people that I couldn’t squeeze to the side. I overheard someone nearby saying nasty things, like…”

He was about to mention the fire in the examination hall, but Wei Shu didn’t want Shen Cui and the others to worry, so he gestured for him to stop.

Although the servant was clever, he didn’t continue but also didn’t explain the side story. He abruptly stopped, making Lao Buyy and the others even more curious.

Shen Cui also wanted to know why Wei Shu’s mood value dropped so drastically on the first day of the exam, so she asked with her eyes.

There was no way to hide it now, so Wei Shu told them everything, standing up and turning around in place as he spoke to show them that he was really okay.

The servant originally wanted everyone to laugh at Song Yao’s misfortune, but once he heard about the fire, Shen Cui and the others didn’t care about Song Yao anymore. They just looked at Wei Shu to make sure he was completely unharmed, realizing it was a false alarm, and then they relaxed.

After hearing the whole story, Mu Er Pang couldn’t help but mutter, “That scholar is really… really unlucky. His shoes were cut, then he encountered a fire, and he was disqualified without even taking the exam… Doesn’t that mean he has to wait another year…”

Wei Shu agreed!

“It’s really a pity. I saw that he was honest, not expecting any reward for returning the money he found. He’s really honest, although his actions are a bit strange. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would intentionally set a fire. It seems his luck was just bad, accidentally causing all this.”

Failing the exam is just one thing, but after preparing so carefully, to not even have the opportunity to take the exam, they all felt sorry for him and were a bit sympathetic.

Lao Buyu shook his head and said, “This young man is actually quite alright. You don’t need to worry too much for him. After all, I have seen more pitiful cases.”

Everyone asked him what he meant.

He continued, “Most of you are active in this county and haven’t heard about things outside. When I traveled outside earlier, I heard about a ‘child prodigy’ named Mei Ruochu. Mei Ruochu was exceptionally talented, with an eidetic memory, and wrote poetry at the age of seven. I’ve seen his poetry, and I still remember it… Although it seemed a bit immature, his talent was outstanding, delicate, and refined. With a bit of nurturing, he would naturally become a literary giant.”

Looking at Mu Er Pang, he said, “Based on his original development, I think only your elder brother could match him.”

However, no one had heard of this person. It was understandable that Mu Er Pang started learning late and Wei Xi had few contacts. But Wei Shu had spent several years at Qingzhu Academy and had participated in two academy competitions in a row. If there was someone who could match Mu Yunchuan, wouldn’t he have heard of it?

“So, it’s a pity. Such a famous child prodigy back then has now become a nobody.” Lao Huai sighed, “There are too many pitiful things in the world. It’s a pity when luck is bad, and it’s also a pity for ‘Shang Zhongyong.’ What we can do is try our best and work hard to avoid this ‘pity’ happening to ourselves. Do you understand?”

The three young men immediately stood up, bowing in agreement.

The atmosphere became a bit heavy. Shen Cui changed the subject, saying, “Ah Shu just came back from outside. Do you want to rest?”

Wei Shu rushed back to share the good news with them, and he had been hiding in the examination hall for four days before that. He only rested for a few days in the prefectural city. These days, he had been holding on with just sheer determination.

Now that he was back, he felt tired and exhausted.

But it was not the time to rest. He still had to return to Qingzhu Academy to report his results.

After the county exam, he immediately went back to report, just following the procedure, not finding it difficult or troublesome.

Today, his results were good, and he had outperformed Song Yao. He felt a bit reluctant to go back.

He couldn’t explain why he felt this way, but he just felt a sense of aversion.

Moreover, he couldn’t help but think, now that Song Yao had performed poorly and he had become more outstanding, what if the headmaster suggested he go back?

Although he had volunteered to take the punishment for Song Li and leave Qingzhu Academy to study elsewhere.

Lao Buyu also explained later that the headmaster’s intention was not to drive him away but to temper him.

Now that the prefectural exam was over, he should go back. However… the longer he stayed at Cuiwei, the more he disliked the headmaster’s cryptic and circuitous ways, even though he understood the headmaster’s deep intentions.

He was not good at hiding his thoughts, nor did he intend to show any cunning here at Cuiwei. His dilemma and hesitation were noticed by Lao Buyu and Shen Cui.

Shen Cui suggested he rest for a while before returning.

But Lao Buyu stood up and said, “That’s right, according to the rules, you still have to go back to Qingzhu. Come on, I’ll accompany you back! The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll be back. You can rest when we return.”

As he spoke, he gave Shen Cui a glance—a mischievous smile in his eyes. Shen Cui understood that he had a plan, so they could handle it themselves.

A few moments later, Lao Buyu and Wei Shu arrived at Qingzhu Academy and asked the gatekeeper to inform Ling Qingming.

Soon, the two of them met Ling Qingming.

“Congratulations to Senior Brother.” Knowing Wei Shu’s difficult position, Lao Buyu spoke first, “Wei Shu did well, ranking twelfth in the prefectural exam, maintaining the reputation of our sect and the two academies!”

With such a good result in the prefectural exam, as long as things continued in this direction, there shouldn’t be a problem in the academy exam.

Naturally, Ling Qingming was also pleased. He looked at Wei Shu with satisfaction and encouraged him, “Stay focused, and don’t slack off in the upcoming academy exam.”

Wei Shu naturally agreed.

After praising and encouraging him, Ling Qingming asked, “What about Song Yao? How did he do?”

Wei Shu had rushed back day and night, and even though he had delayed in the village for a while before returning, he was still earlier than most. Since Song Yao had performed so poorly, he naturally wouldn’t be back so soon.

“I don’t know. There were so many people looking at the results that I couldn’t even get in. It was a servant at home who helped me check.”

Anyway, this was the truth. He only knew that Song Yao did poorly but didn’t know his specific ranking. Since they had a conflict, he didn’t bother to convey the bad news to the headmaster in advance. It would seem like the actions of a petty person eager to kick someone when they’re down.

Ling Qingming also knew about their feud, so he didn’t ask further and instead asked about the exam content.

On the way back, Wei Shu wrote down the exam content from memory.

He had written two copies, one of which he had already left at Cuiwei Academy. He took out the other copy and handed it to Ling Qingming.

Ling Qingming read through it quickly and felt that the questions were quite standard and not particularly difficult. If Wei Shu could rank twelfth, then Song Yao definitely couldn’t have done well!

“Not bad,” Ling Qingming smiled and then proceeded to give Wei Shu some guidance on the content.

After he finished, Ling Qingming casually asked Wei Shu about his future plans.

Lao Buyu quickly interjected on this difficult topic, “Leaving aside other matters, Cuiwei is very peaceful and quiet. Besides, with the change of seasons recently, his younger brother’s health isn’t very good. Since the two brothers are close, we’ll let him stay in our academy… according to what we agreed upon before.”

Wei Shu didn’t know what they had agreed upon before, but Ling Qingming naturally did.

It was just a bit strange. Lao Buyu had always been quite clever, but after suffering once, why was he rushing into a second time?

However, for him and Qingzhu Academy, it was a deal that didn’t come at a loss. So Ling Qingming just nodded and didn’t say much more.

After they finished their conversation, the gatekeeper came to inform them that Song Yao had returned.

Lao Buyu signaled to Wei Shu with his eyes and then stood up to take his leave.

Ling Qingming was more interested in seeing Song Yao, so he was about to summon him. He naturally agreed not to have Lao Buyu and Wei Shu present.

As Lao Buyu and Wei Shu walked away, Lao Buyu couldn’t help but chuckle when they reached the Entrance stone outside Qingzhu Academy.

Wei Shu asked him why he was laughing.

Lao Huai stifled his laughter and said, “Oh, it’s nothing. Just thinking of a saying, ‘lose a watermelon and pick up a sesame seed,’ and it made me laugh for no reason.”

As they left, Ling Qingming met Song Yao.

Song Yao looked dejected, far from his confident demeanor when he ranked first in the county exam. Anyone could tell he didn’t do well.

Ling Qingming maintained his warm smile and first comforted him, “When you reach the end of the road, watch the clouds rise. Life is full of ups and downs, and a temporary setback is nothing to worry about.”

After comforting him, he asked specifically how he had ranked.

Song Yao murmured, “Thirty-three…thirty-third place.”

While Ling Qingming had guessed he didn’t do well, he never expected Song Yao to perform this poorly!

His smile froze on his face.

Song Yao quickly explained, “Headmaster, it wasn’t that I performed poorly. There was a fire in the exam hall, right near where I was seated. Although it was extinguished later, the smell of burnt lingered, affecting my performance on the first day…”

Wei Shu hadn’t mentioned anything about a fire. Hearing this from Song Yao, who performed poorly, made it sound like an excuse.

“If it was indeed an accident, then it’s understandable. Don’t be discouraged. Prepare well for the academy exam.”

Song Yao was absent-minded, barely registering Ling Qingming’s words, and quietly agreed.

He didn’t have the face to continue pestering Ling Qingming for advice. He presented the exam content he had memorized and took his leave.

After he left, Ling Qingming’s face darkened completely.

He had high hopes for Song Yao, even going as far as to send away Wei Shu, who had a conflict with him, hoping Song Yao would achieve a good result. Never did he expect him to be so incompetent, even blaming his poor performance on a fire in the exam hall? So many unexpected things happened in the exam process. Even if the fire hadn’t affected him directly, he shouldn’t have been so flustered!

As for Wei Shu…

He had intended to let Lao Buyu help raise the reputation of their academy, but now it seemed like he had become a fool who handed over a treasure to others.