Amidst the laughter and cheers, Yao Jinrong's face alone was ashen and pale.

What calligraphy brush master? He could tell at a glance that Xia Qingzhai was clearly mocking him!

But now he was in a bind; if he backed down now, he would truly lose all face.

Perhaps Xia Qingzhai is just putting on an act now, hoping to scare him away and avoid having his true colors of being ignorant and incompetent exposed...

Yao Jinrong gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Fine! Then I promise that if your article is really good, I will publicly apologize to you, immediately withdraw from the county school and never come back, okay?"

Boos came from the crowd: "An apology is what's due, and being expelled from the county school is also what's due. What kind of punishment is this?"

"He has to kneel down and kowtow! He has to write an apology and post it on the wall of the county school for everyone to see!"

"So shameless! I am ashamed to be associated with this person!"

Yao Jinrong ignored her and glared at Tong Su. Tong Su gave him a half-smile and smiled, "Since this is the highest level of punishment that Brother Yao can accept, I will agree to it."

Everyone sighed with regret, casting increasingly disdainful glances at Yao Jinrong.

Jin Wenting raised his hand, and several of his guards quickly stepped forward, carefully lifted the red silk scroll, and pasted it on the wall.

A large group of students rushed over to watch.

Yao Jinrong was so anxious that his heart was in his throat. His fists were clenched tightly, and his palms were sweating. He wished he could stretch his neck two feet long so he could get past the crowd and see what was written on the wall.

How long has Xia Qingzhai been sitting down before daring to pick up a pen and start writing? What kind of writing could he possibly produce? And he writes so fast, how could he possibly write anything good!

These classmates will surely disperse soon, laughing, and might even let out a disgusted shout, startling everyone...

"ah!"

The student who rushed to the front of the article during the rescue suddenly let out a loud shout, startling everyone around him!

"Ah! So 'not following the rules' can be interpreted like this? I know it's a line from Mencius, but this interpretation... Good heavens, how come I never thought of that?"

"Xia Qingzhai truly deserves to be the top scorer in the county and prefectural examinations! Xia Qingzhai is really amazing! I told you long ago that even if he didn't study well recently, he would definitely catch up."

"You didn't see how hard he studied a few months ago, hanging himself by his hair and pricking his thigh with an awl! He was reading all day, except for sleeping for three and a half hours, even while eating!"

"I can't do as much as he has, no wonder my writing has never been as good as his. I'm not jealous at all that Xia Qingzhai passed the imperial examination; I truly admire him!"

Yao Jinrong listened to the praise from everyone in shock, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Are these people praising Xia Qingzhai?

Xia Qingzhai wrote a wonderful article that astonished everyone?

How could that be!

They must be...acting...

Yao Jinrong turned his hopeful gaze to Xu Yincheng.

Brother Xu is the best student in the entire county school in reading the Five Classics. I hadn't thought about where the question "not following the rules" came from before. Now that everyone says it comes from Mencius, Yao Jinrong believes that Brother Xu is the best writer of the Five Classics.

At this moment, Xu Xuezi was standing earnestly in front of the article posted on the wall, reading it carefully several times before slowly turning his head to look at Tong Su.