Chapter 34: Young Master, You’ve Passed the provincial Imperial Examination!

However, Su Jinshi noticed that Shen Shilang was completely relaxed and confident about the exam results.

According to Shen Shilang, if he didn’t pass, there must have been foul play involved.

Influenced by Shen Shilang’s attitude, Su Jinshi also stopped worrying.

Time flew by quickly until the day the results were posted.

Madam Wei, taking no chances, brought Wei Jianming and Wei Ruyan early to the announcement site to avoid the crowd that would gather later.

Su Jinshi accompanied Shen Shilang to see the results.

Shen Shilang, though lean in appearance, was muscular due to his martial arts training.

When they arrived, there were already many people, but Shen Shilang managed to push his way to the front.

Madam Wei had her servants clear a path, creating a space for her, Wei Jianming, and Wei Ruyan to stand comfortably.

The servants then surrounded them, preventing others from crowding in.

Since Wei Jianming was confident about his performance, expecting his rank to be in the upper middle if not near the top, Madam Wei and Wei Ruyan began checking the list from the top.

To their shock, upon seeing the first name, they froze.

“Impossible!” Wei Jianming shouted in disbelief, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What are you staring at?” Wei Jianming irritably barked at the onlookers.

The crowd scoffed, rolled their eyes, and returned to searching for their own names.

“Could it be someone with the same name?” Wei Jianming gritted his teeth. “It must be a mistake. That good-for-nothing could never have topped the list!”

“Mother…” Wei Ruyan clutched Madam Wei’s arm. “Is this top scholar really that Shen Shilang we know?”

Madam Wei pressed her lips tightly together, took several deep breaths, and finally managed to say, “I haven’t heard of anyone else in the city called Shen Shilang.”

“Could it be… that useless man actually became the top scholar?” Wei Ruyan said, still in disbelief.

Wei Jianming scanned the crowd, trying to find Shen Shilang, who must have come to see the results too.

Then he heard Madam Wei say, “Let’s first see if your second brother’s name is there.”

“Right, right,” Wei Ruyan nodded. “We need to check on him too.”

The shock of seeing Shen Shilang’s name at the top had made them forget about checking for Wei Jianming’s name.

Even Wei Jianming himself had momentarily forgotten to look for his own name.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Jianming scanned the list from top to bottom.

But no matter where his name appeared, it no longer mattered.

There was no way he could have ranked higher than Shen Shilang.

As this realization hit, Wei Jianming’s face darkened.

He was especially reminded of how he had confidently told Shen Shilang that there was no way he could outperform him.

Now, it felt like a slap in the face!

“I see it! I found your name, Brother,” Wei Ruyan shook Madam Wei’s arm, pointing at the list. “There, in the middle section.”

Madam Wei looked and indeed saw Wei Jianming’s name. She smiled and said, “Jianming, you passed! Now you just need to prepare for the imperial exams next spring!”

But Wei Jianming felt no joy in passing the exam. He was in a daze, only faintly hearing Wei Ruyan say, “Brother, you’re now a juren^[1] a Provincial Graduate or Scholar.

Normally, achieving even a mid-level rank would be cause for celebration.

After all, countless candidates didn’t make it past this round.

At that moment, many disappointed candidates were already leaving the crowd.

Some even had mental breakdowns, shouting, “Failed again! I failed again! How could this happen, how?”

An older candidate, his hair already graying, crouched down, holding his head and weeping bitterly.

But none of this concerned Wei Jianming. He kept looking for Shen Shilang in the crowd.

Meanwhile, he overheard others asking, “Who is this Shen Shilang?”

“No idea whose family he’s from, but it’s amazing he topped the list.”

Finally, Wei Jianming spotted Shen Shilang. He angrily pushed through the crowd to reach him.

But before he could get there, Shen Shilang, having already seen where Wei Jianming was ranked, had stepped away from the crowd.

Wei Jianming: “!!!”

“Jianming!” Madam Wei called out to him through the crowd, “Where are you going?”

Wei Jianming’s gaze followed Shen Shilang as he too moved towards the edge of the crowd.

It was much easier to leave the crowd than to push through it, but even so, by the time Wei Jianming managed to break free, his clothes were already disheveled.

“Shen Shilang!” Wei Jianming’s shout was loud enough to make Shen Shilang pause, but it also caught the attention of many others around them.

Hearing Shen Shilang’s name, everyone turned to see who this year’s top scholar was.

Sensing the growing attention, Shen Shilang realized the situation was turning bad. Without even turning back, he quickly strode forward.

Wei Jianming, even more infuriated, chased after him, yelling, “Shen Shilang, how dare you ignore me!”

Shen Shilang glanced back at the approaching Wei Jianming, then at the others now crowding in his direction. He cursed under his breath, “Idiot!”

Without hesitation, he broke into a run.

Despite the number of people chasing him, none could match Shen Shilang’s speed.

Shen Shilang reached the Wei Mansion first, where he saw Manager Yue waiting at the gate.

“Young Master Shen!” Manager Yue called out in surprise and delight when he saw Shen Shilang returning.

Shen Shilang had no time to explain and quickly pulled Manager Yue inside.

“Young Master? What’s wrong?” Manager Yue asked, confused.

“Wei Jianming called out my name in public, causing a bunch of people to chase after me,” Shen Shilang explained, finally breathing a sigh of relief as the gate closed behind them.

“Why would they…” chase you?

Before he could finish, Manager Yue realized what must have happened and exclaimed joyfully, “Young Master, did you top the list?”

Shen Shilang bowed slightly in gratitude, “I must thank you, Manager Yue, for all your care and support.”

Manager Yue quickly avoided the gesture and bowed deeply in return, “I wouldn’t dare take credit. My small effort is nothing compared to your years of hard work.”

“Such joyous news! Have you informed the General yet?” Manager Yue asked eagerly.

“I haven’t had the chance,” Shen Shilang replied.

“Of course, I was too hasty,” Manager Yue nodded. “I’ll send someone to inform the General right away!”

Meanwhile, Wei Jianming had calmed down slightly. Realizing that too many people were chasing Shen Shilang, he stopped and finally returned with Madam Wei and Wei Ruyan.

Passing the exam should have been good news, but all joy had been completely overshadowed by Shen Shilang’s success as the top scholar.

The atmosphere in the carriage on the way back was tense, with a heavy, oppressive silence.

Breaking the silence, Wei Ruyan said, “That Shen Shilang really fooled us well.”

“Looking back, who knows how much more he’s been hiding from us. We always thought he was useless at both scholarly pursuits and martial arts, but now it turns out he’s skilled in both and even topped the exams,” Wei Ruyan said through gritted teeth. “He kept a low profile in the mansion for years, hiding his abilities, even enduring beatings without retaliation. He’s truly patient!”

Madam Wei frowned and added, “So during the previous exams, was he deliberately holding back? With the ability to top the list, he wouldn’t have placed only in the middle before.”

…

T/N: top scorer or top scholar?? I might change it later on…