LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 152
Despite the tea house being more than a hundred meters away from the standings board, out of sight, people still kept crowding by the windows. Tang Jue was at the front, craning his neck and scanning the crowd downstairs in search of a small servant who had gone out early to secure a spot.
Unfortunately, there were too many people downstairs and he could only see the tops of their heads, unable to make out anything else.
The small servant had spotted him, though, and after reading the standings, he headed straight in this direction. Alas, his short stature meant he was swallowed up by the crowd - the old house steward had chosen him for his small and agile build, never imagining this would be an issue.
He waved repeatedly in an attempt to catch Tang Jue's attention, but to no avail, so he could only hop about while shouting, "Young Master! Young Master, I'm over here!"
Tang Jue heard the familiar voice and scanned even more carefully until finally spotting him. He quickly waved back, asking, "How did it go?"
The small servant excitedly replied, "You made the list! You made the list! Ranked 103rd!"
Though the ranking was not great, at least he had made the cut, which meant Old Master would surely reward them upon return.
Tang Jue's face lit up with joy. "Truly!"
"Absolutely true, I saw it with my own eyes," the small servant exclaimed. "And Old Master Liu, he's the top scorer! First place!"
That was the first name he had noticed.
Tang Jue gripped the windowsill, nearly tumbling out. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely certain! I checked the name, age, and origin - it all matches!"
Tang Jue turned to go back and share the good news, but the small servant called out again, "Young Master! Young Master! And Master Zhong ranked 64th!"
The small servant tried to push through the crowd to come up and relay the details, but was blocked by a constant stream of people exiting the tea house.
Tang Jue turned back, his joyful expression freezing on his lips as he saw the two who had failed to make the list.
The old house steward, too old to jostle his way through the younger crowd, could only wait outside and approach Tang Jue as he emerged, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Young Master, how did it go?"
Tang Jue gave a restrained nod.
The old steward let out a huge sigh of relief - thank the heavens, thank the heavens. "I'll have someone send word to the Old Master right away, express delivery. He'll know the good news by tomorrow morning."
He hurried downstairs, leaving Tang Jue alone to face the gazes of the other four.
He returned to his seat, unsure of how to break the news. He furtively raised one finger towards Liu Yizhu, squinting and wiggling his eyebrows.
Liu Yizhu exhaled in relief - at least he had not completely failed her expectations.
Yang Jingyuan had struggled with the exam and expected a poor outcome, remaining gloomy throughout without even joining Tang Jue in going to watch the standings. Seeing Tang Jue's secretive gestures, he scoffed, "Why all the secrecy? Just spit it out."
"Brother Liu and..." Tang Jue cleared his throat, glancing at Zhong Liangyu.
Zhong Liangyu's tense nerves immediately relaxed as he asked expectantly, "What ranking?"
"Sixty-fourth."
Not too bad, then.
He shot a glance at Liu Yizhu before signaling to Tang Jue with his eyes. Tang Jue raised one finger again. Zhong Liangyu stared blankly. Normally he and Liu Yizhu were neck-and-neck, ranked first or second with little difference between them. How had the gap widened so drastically? He gazed at Liu Yizhu in bewilderment. Had he been studying with other tutors behind his back? Or taking some kind of enhancing drugs?
Yang Jingyuan stuttered in disbelief, "Top scorer?"
"Top scorer?"
"Who's the top scorer?"
Those with keen ears overheard their conversation and immediately swarmed over. "Which young master is the top scorer?"
Inexperienced, Tang Jue simply pointed at Liu Yizhu, who was then besieged by the crowd.
"This young master is so talented and handsome. May I ask where he is from? I have a daughter of marriageable age, with a beautiful countenance like a flower. I wonder if the young master would consider..."
"I too have a daughter, as graceful as a swan alighting on water, putting flowers to shame. Perhaps the young master would be interested?"
The first elder who had approached suddenly grew incensed. "I was here first!"
"So what? I don't care!"
The two immediately began bickering as others seized the opportunity to approach Liu Yizhu. "I also have a daughter..."
Liu Yizhu stood and tried to leave, repeatedly declining. "I'm already married, there's no need, no need."
"Already married?"
"Taking a concubine would work too! At least take a look, Young Master."
Take a concubine?
Liu Yizhu turned and fled, having just attained the top score with no desire to invite death so soon.
Tang Jue held back those who wanted to chase after Liu Yizhu, recommending himself instead. "What about me? I also made the list and am still unmarried."
He pulled over Zhong Liangyu, who had been about to follow Liu Yizhu's escape. "He's also on the list and unmarried."
The crowd then surrounded them instead. "What were your rankings?"
"My daughter is so beautiful!"
"Is that so? Then I must see for myself!"
Tang Jue was single-mindedly focused on finding a bride here, with no intention of leaving. With no other choice, Yang Jingyuan could only shield Zhong Liangyu and push their way out. Liu Yizhu and Hu Jin had already exited and were waiting for them around the corner.
"Where's Tang Jue?"
"Setting up times to meet potential brides."
Liu Yizhu frowned before gesturing for Zhong Liangyu to straighten his disheveled clothes. "Shall we head back?"
Zhong Liangyu shook off Yang Jingyuan's attempts to help with his clothes, taking two steps towards Liu Yizhu. "I don't understand how the gap between us widened so much."
Liu Yizhu replied calmly, "You weren't that far behind me."
"Then why...?"
"Instead of asking me, you should ask the exam graders."
Zhong Liangyu nodded dejectedly. He and Liu Yizhu had always had somewhat differing writing styles, so perhaps he had made some mistake somewhere.
He sighed, "Very well, but congratulations nonetheless, Brother Liu. You've been worrying about this for so long, and now the dust has settled."
"Congratulations to you as well."
Liu Yizhu smiled faintly. Had the dust truly settled? He couldn't help but feel that this was only the beginning.
The next morning, Tang Shan received the news from Chengzhou and was overjoyed, helping the kneeling messenger back to his feet. "Get up, get up. You've worked hard overnight. Someone, send him to rest."
He called out loudly, "I'll reward you all properly when the Young Master returns."
"Thank you, Old Master!"
"No need for such formalities." Tang Jue waved off their bows and turned to head back inside to share the good news with Madam Tang. As he passed the tutor, he paused and smacked his forehead. "Send someone to Qingshi Town - her son outscored our Jue'er by a wide margin!"
"Yes!"
The tutor acknowledged and departed. By noon, Li Mingwei had received the news.
Old Lady Wang was puzzled. "What does 'Yuanji' mean?"
"It means first place."
"Really!" Old Lady Wang was stunned that her son could be so impressive, gripping the table as she felt a wave of dizziness. Was this real?
She slapped her own face - it stung!
It was real!
"But why hasn't anyone come to share the celebration? When he became a xiucai, people came with a big red flower, just like a wedding."
"Mother," Li Mingwei helped her sit down. "The list just came out yesterday. It's probably too soon. This little messenger is from the Tang residence."
"The Tang residence!" Old Lady Wang stood and grasped the messenger's hand. "How did the Tang family's son fare? Did he also..."
"Please don't trouble yourself, Old Lady. Our Young Master also made the list!"
"Then he'll be going to the capital next year along with Yizhu?"
"Yes, yes!"
Old Lady Wang beamed, relieved of having to pay for the travel costs.