Qi Yan made a sincere request, and He Lin nodded upon hearing it.

"Qi Qing's words are truly moving, I grant your request." He thought for a moment, "There is a vacancy for the Vice Prefect of Qin Commandery."

Qi Yan's face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for granting my request." He was genuinely grateful; although the position of Tongpan was only an eighth-rank official, he had requested it himself.

He did want to be the prefect, but the prefect was a fifth-rank official, a position even the newly appointed top scholar couldn't handle, so how could he possibly be qualified?

"good."

He Lin nodded and asked Qiu Xu and the other two to step down. He then began to announce the names of the second-class Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), including Qiu Dazhi.

Qiu Xu, Xie Yunzhi, and Qi Yan accepted the imperial horses bestowed upon them by His Majesty.

Adorned with red flowers, they led their horses out of the palace.

On their way out of the palace, the three of them received a lot of attention from the eunuchs.

After leaving the palace, the three of them, still dressed in their respective red robes, simultaneously mounted their horses.

Unexpectedly, outside the palace, a crowd of men, women, and children had already gathered, eager to witness the true appearances of the three individuals.

Young women and married women alike were completely mesmerized.

Their movements as they mounted their horses were heroic and dashing, displaying their handsome and spirited demeanor.

As Qiu Xu and his two companions were being paraded through the streets, their horses automatically parted to make way for them.

The people cheered and jumped for joy at the top scholar who passed the imperial examination.

Because the three were going in different directions, they soon went their separate ways.

The common people also went astray.

Where Qiu Xu's horse went,

Passing by Xingyue Tower,

Zhou Zifang and his parents were originally sitting inside the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zifang's parents were pressuring him to agree to their arrangement to meet a girl.

When Zhou Zifang heard the excited shouts of the crowd outside, "The new top scholar! The new top scholar!"

He was the first to rush out of the restaurant.

"Ah Xu!" he called out to Qiu Xu on horseback.

"Brother Zhou," Qiu Xu smiled and nodded, his face full of embarrassment.

Good heavens, he shouldn't be so high-profile.

It was his scholar's robes that made him the center of attention.

"Ah Xu, I knew you would pass the exam!" Zhou Zifang ran to the front of the horse and said with a smile.

As he spoke, he looked at his own unsuccessful state and began to feel ashamed of himself.

He originally thought that as the young master of Xingyue Tower, he would have countless riches and honors, so he developed the dissolute playboy attitude of regarding money as dirt and having no ambition.

But looking at Ah Xu now,

Qiu Yan's assets have long surpassed those of the Zhou family.

But Ah Xu has always been striving for progress.

He finally understood why Ling'er looked down on him.

Having such an outstanding older brother, he realizes he's far inferior when he compares himself to him.

“Brother Zhou, you’re not bad either,” Qiu Xu said, noticing the dejection in Zhou Zifang’s eyes.

The two said goodbye.

Zhou Zifang watched Qiu Xu's retreating figure, surrounded by the crowd.

For the sake of one person, the seed of striving for excellence in his heart slowly began to sprout.

"The top scholar is actually Qiu Yan's younger brother? Qiu Xu?" Behind him, Zhou Shao was also staring at Qiu Xu's back, utterly astonished.

He had overheard the entire conversation between his son and Qiu Xu.

"Yes, it's him, my classmate in Baiyang. We entered Luming Academy on the same day."

"So, Baiyang Academy is this amazing!" Zhou Shao realized then that whether or not one passed the imperial examinations had nothing to do with whether or not one studied in Shangjin.

He even insisted that his son could study in Shanghai.

"Zifang, look at yourself, and then look at others!" Zhou Shao said with a look of disappointment and frustration.

"With thousands of students at Luming Academy, can every single one of them become the top scholar in the imperial examination?" Zhou Zifang's words made Zhou Shao's face darken.

"Who says you have to be the top scholar? If you can make it into the top three, even if you're the last one, I'll be burning incense with gratitude. Your brothers have all gone into literature or business, but you... sigh!"

“What’s so great about being in the top three? Besides, you have your brothers to bring you honor, so stop targeting me.” Zhou Zifang replied unhappily, “Dad, I just want to do what I like.”

Zhou Zifang was rebellious by nature, and what he disliked most was his father's plans for him.

To put it simply, over the years, he has never done a single thing his father asked him to do.

"You...you're hopeless!" Zhou Shao raised his hand, paused, and finally brought it down.

“Oh dear, our son isn’t bad either; he’s at least a scholar.” Zhou’s mother approached the father and son at some point and grabbed Zhou Shao’s wrist, which had just been lowered.

What she disliked most was Zhou Shao's constant belittling of her son. "His father, stop harping on Zifang's shortcomings. He's well past the age of marriage. Zifang's marriage is the most important thing."

"Sigh!" Zhou Shao sighed, looking at his son's already sullen face, and stopped making sarcastic remarks.

"You drove Miss Zhang away yesterday, so you can't afford to mess things up with Miss Wang tomorrow."

“That’s right, Zifang, it’s time for us to settle down,” Zhou’s mother agreed.

The couple had eight children.

Zhou Zifang was the youngest, meaning he was their youngest son.

Now, their eldest grandson is already married.

However, Zhou Zifang is still all alone, which makes them anxious.

"Father, Mother, please stop introducing me to girls." Zhou Zifang said sullenly.

"Why? Men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age. What, do you want to never get married?" Zhou's mother was anxious. Although she usually protected Zhou Zifang, marriage was a major event that could not be tolerated.

Suddenly, she paused, "Could it be that Zifang has someone in his heart?"

"..." Zhou Zifang remained silent because the girl he had his eye on...

I rejected him.

"Tell me, whose daughter is she?" Zhou's mother asked.

The first person Zhou Shao thought of was Qiu Yan.

He already knew about Qiu Yan's move to Tianjin.

He also knew that Qiu Yan was someone of considerable importance.

He used to have a winning mentality towards Qiu Yan.

But now, Qiu Yan's business is beyond his reach.

As for how he knew?

He had approached Qiu Yan, asking her to continue working at his restaurant, but she politely declined.

Later, through questioning, he learned from Zhou Zifang about Qiu Yan's vast business network.

I couldn't help but think to myself, what an extraordinary woman!

Unfortunately, his son didn't have that blessing.

"Mother, please don't ask anymore." Zhou Zifang turned around and entered Xingyue Tower.

Behind him, Zhou Shao and his mother both looked unhappy.

"This is outrageous! This unfilial son has actually fallen for a married woman!" Zhou Shao said angrily.

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother felt dizzy.

This is unacceptable, it's embarrassing!

Qiu Xu's side is still being passively paraded through the streets.

It wasn't that he walked slowly; in fact, he was too weak to walk.

The people of Shangjin are so warm and welcoming.

Passing by various government offices and courtyards,

The young ladies from prominent families were secretly attracted to Qiu Xu.

Only when passing by the gate of the Qin residence,

Qin Man's face was cold.

"Hmph, does anyone think they can become the top scholar?" she scoffed disdainfully.

So what if he's the top scholar? His sister can take his life with just one word.

"This year's top scorer is actually him?" Duan Tianzhang had a deep impression of Qiu Xu.

Originally, because of Gu Qian, her affection for Qiu Xu had dropped to zero.

But now, I feel that I've regained my previous goodwill towards her.

No, even more so.

Unconsciously, she appeared shy and timid...