Chapter 30 The Ancient Scholar Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 30) Lin Youmu…

Lin You was dumbfounded. They hadn't even graded any other papers, and they'd already decided on third place? Were the rankings for exams in ancient times really so arbitrary?

Although Chu Nanfeng was indeed a third-place scholar in history, and he did indeed rank second in the imperial examination, this is not the normal procedure.

She glanced at the group of elders again, but no one objected. Instead, they praised the emperor for his discerning eye and congratulated him and the court on gaining another talented individual.

Perhaps this is the dictatorship of the feudal era.

Just after the Emperor selected the third-ranked scholar, the notification sound from the cheat system rang out again.

[Ding! Emperor's favorability +5, 50 points gained.]

[Ding! Main quest: Perform a talent show for the Emperor within three months to gain 5 points of favorability. Completed. Reward: 30 points.]

Lin You: ? ? ? ?

What kind of bizarre operation is this?

Is the cheat system malfunctioning? Or is it a bug?

Who would consider taking the imperial examination as a talent show?

"If the talents of a cheat system are counted in terms of playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, then calligraphy is naturally a kind of talent as well," Chu Nanfeng explained after hearing her complaint.

The Emperor's word was law, and his seemingly casual appointment of the third-ranked scholar, in Lin You's view, was without any flaws.

Three days later, Chu Nanfeng passed the imperial examination with flying colors, becoming the third-ranked scholar in the top tier. The messengers arrived at the Chu family's door in a grand procession, accompanied by a deafening commotion of gongs, drums, and firecrackers.

Chu's mother happily scattered half a basket of copper coins, and Chu Qing ran around excitedly.

Chu Nanfeng was also radiant. He usually appeared calm and reserved, which almost made Lin You forget that he was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy.

Lin You then reminded him, "Chu Zaizai, aren't the top three supposed to parade through the streets on horseback? Can you even mount a horse?"

Chu Nanfeng: …………!!

Xie Zian, who came to congratulate his friend, was temporarily conscripted by his friend to teach Brother Chu how to ride a horse, at least to learn how to mount and dismount and the basic precautions for riding.

Little Ma Lin Doudou has been with this family for about half a year. The food has been pretty good, and she has grown a little taller, but she is still relatively short compared to Xie Zian's previous horse.

This is very friendly to a new scholar like Chu Nanfeng.

The saddle that Lin You chose from the blind box finally came in handy. When Chu Nanfeng and Lin You went shopping, they would bring back some snacks for the little horse. Lin Doudou was quite close to him.

After feeding him a handful of roasted soybeans and two pieces of maltose, Chu Nanfeng successfully mounted the horse.

Xie Zian was surprisingly reliable this time, personally demonstrating and teaching Chu Nanfeng step by step, finally managing to teach him the basics before the parade.

"Brother Chu, don't worry, the horses that parade through the streets are all well-trained, and there are people watching over them the whole time."

Xie Zian was filled with regret. If he had known that Brother Chu would pass the imperial examination with top honors, he would have made sure to get Brother Chu to learn how to ride a horse some time ago.

He then sent someone to inform Xu Wuchen, asking him to find someone to look after them. Only after receiving a reply did Xie Zian invite Chu's mother and Chu Qing to the private room he had booked earlier.

The top two scholars this year were both in their forties or fifties. The top scholar even had a long beard. Compared to the top scholar, the third-place scholar was naturally more dashing and popular with girls.

The second-floor windows on both sides of the street were crowded with onlookers. Petals and handkerchiefs fluttered down, covering Chu Nanfeng all over, and some people even threw fruit at him.

Fortunately, Xu Wuchen had specially arranged for someone to help block it, thus preventing the tragic incident of the third-ranked scholar being hit all over his head during his parade.

Lin You, unusually, did not sit on Chu Nanfeng's shoulder, but flew in mid-air, looking at the spirited young man in red at the front of the group, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction and joy.

When her older sisters heard that she had been admitted to a top university, they were so happy that they couldn't sleep all night. That's the kind of feeling they had.

The magnificent horse parade through the streets and the grand banquet at Qionglin Restaurant kept the capital bustling for three whole days.

Then, Chu Nanfeng was given a holiday. All the successful candidates in the imperial examinations had several months of leave to return to their hometowns to visit their families.

The holidays were arranged according to the distance of the journey from one's hometown. Chu Nanfeng's hometown was not far from the capital, so his holiday was only two months long. I heard that the longest holiday a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) had was half a year.

Lin You was very puzzled: "My godmother and little sister are here, are we still going back?"

When they came, they traveled with a caravan, which took them two months to reach the capital. Now, the round trip has only taken two months, so the journey must have been very rushed.

“Of course I have to go back and tell my father,” Chu Nanfeng explained to Lin You. “And we need to go back and build a memorial archway to display the imperial 'Passing the Imperial Examination' plaque…”

Lin You only vaguely understood what they were saying: they were going back to pay respects at Chu's father's grave and build a house for the plaque bestowed by the emperor.

The money for building the house was provided by the imperial court, a full twenty taels of silver, and the land was also provided by the government, which was very thoughtful.

The plaque read "Tan Hua Ji Di" (探花及第), but Lin You thought it only referred to the top scholar.

Because of the rush, Chu Nanfeng didn't bring his mother and Chu Qing with him. Qian Youcai returned with his goods and daughter after the first month of the lunar calendar, leaving only Coachman Wang and Chu Nanfeng on this trip.

Not long after leaving the city, they saw the carriage of Marquis Xie on the road, and Xie Zian sticking his head out of the carriage.

"Brother Chu, I happen to have some official business to attend to in Qinghua City. We can travel together."

Qinghua City was the place where Chu Nanfeng took the provincial examination, and it was only a day's journey from his home.

Xie Zian's official business was naturally requested from the Emperor. It just so happened that there was still some finishing work to be done on the matter he investigated in Qinghua City last year, and he didn't have any official duties recently.

The task could have been accomplished by simply sending someone, but the emperor, annoyed by him, eventually let him go.

Seeing that Brother Chu looked so weak and helpless, Xie Zian was naturally worried about letting him go back alone. Although the country was peaceful and prosperous now, and they were traveling on the official road, they still had to be careful.

Just as he was worried about Chu Nanfeng, the Emperor was also not entirely at ease with Xie Zian, that silly boy, and instead assigned Xu Wuchen, who had only been working for a month, to be his partner.

Chu Nanfeng looked at Xie Zian, who was smiling at him with a silly grin, and Xu Wuchen, who was standing on horseback beside him. He felt both amused and touched.

Then, Lin You witnessed the two friends helping (and cheating) each other along the way.

While traveling, Chu Nanfeng told Xie Xiaogongzi about historical strategies and the Thirty-Six Stratagems in the carriage.

During the break, Xie Zi'an led Chu Nanfeng on horseback and taught him a few simple self-defense moves.

It was a very happy and harmonious time.

After delivering Chu Nanfeng to the county town, Xie Zian and Xu Wuchen rode quickly to Qinghua City, promising to pick him up in three days and return to the capital together.

Lin You looked at Chu Nanfeng, who was breathing a long sigh of relief, and Xie Zi'an, who was clearly fleeing in defeat, and laughed again, rolling around on Lin Doudou.

Chu Nanfeng's return was highly valued. Not only did the villagers line the streets to welcome him, but the county magistrate also personally prepared a banquet to welcome him back.

Before Xie Zian left, he left two guards for him. They were tall and strong, with swords hanging at their waists. Even though Chu Nanfeng remained gentle and humble, no one went up to him to entangle him.

After settling the commission with Coachman Wang and giving him an extra two taels of silver, Chu Nanfeng sent him home.

After all, Wang the coachman's home is here, and he doesn't plan to live with him in the capital for a long time. Besides, he doesn't use the carriage very often. He can just have Afu learn how to drive the carriage later.

As for the return journey, he had already arranged with Xie Zi'an to have his guards help him drive the carriage.

The guards were happy to help someone whom their lord and heir thought highly of, especially since he was a third-place scholar in the imperial examinations.

Xie Zian ran three miles in one breath, and only slowed down after he was sure that Chu Nanfeng could not see him. As he walked, he discussed with Xu Wuchen how to handle the situation.

Xu Wuchen listened to his reasoned analysis and couldn't help but nod: "That's right, you haven't wasted your time studying. You've actually become smarter. On the way back, ask Mr. Chu to explain it to you more."

Without waiting for the other person to speak, he took the lead and ran forward.

"Xu Wuchen, you stop right there! I'll beat you up!" Xie Zian hurriedly rode his horse after him.

Chu Nanfeng's parents fled to this place after their hometown was flooded and settled down. They didn't have any close relatives or friends here.

Chu Nanfeng paid respects to his father, visited his former teacher at the academy, and chatted with familiar neighbors for a while, but did not see Han's father and mother.

After inquiring with others and confirming that the two were in good health and had not encountered any trouble, Chu Nanfeng did not make a point of visiting them.

Mr. and Mrs. Han no longer live in their small courtyard. Now, Brother Liu takes the key and goes in every now and then to clean it up and prevent weeds from growing overgrown.

Chu Nanfeng offered money to Brother Liu, but Brother Liu refused to accept it. In the end, he only gave the notes on the Four Books and Five Classics and the Book of Changes that he had once read to the young man in the Liu family who was studying, and also gave him some pointers on his studies.

The Liu family was flattered by this, as this was a book that their son, a top scholar, had read, making it far more valuable than gold and silver.

Like her husband, Liu's wife was also a woman of few words, but the two of them secretly resolved to take good care of this place in the future.

Since Xie Zian needed two more days to handle his business, Chu Nanfeng wasn't in a hurry to leave and even invited his former classmates to dinner.

Aside from Han Qige, he got along well with the other people in the academy, especially Zhao Jingmo, with whom he had helped save people.

Zhao Jingmo wasn't particularly gifted in academics, but he had excellent aptitude for medicine. He had given up on the path of taking the imperial examinations and was now a well-known doctor working at his family's pharmacy.

It's only been half a year since I last saw him, but he seems much more composed.

During their conversation, Zhao Jingmo mentioned that the person they had saved was named Shen Tianqi, who had come before the New Year with gifts to express his gratitude for saving his life.

"He had a big fight with the family because of those four people, and was almost removed from the family genealogy. Now he's not going to school anymore. I heard he's going to join the army, and he asked me to return the money to you."

The two taels of silver were placed in an ordinary plain-colored purse. Chu Nanfeng took it casually and didn't think much of it.

After the location of the archway was chosen, the plaque for passing the imperial examination was handed over to the county magistrate, who was in charge of the subsequent construction. Chu Nanfeng then returned to the capital with Xie Zian and Xu Wuchen, who had finished their business.

Of course, he was still sitting in the carriage, with several guards taking turns driving, and the speed was even slightly faster than on the way back.

After cancelling his leave at the Ministry of Personnel before the deadline, Chu Nanfeng entered the Hanlin Academy and became an ordinary civil servant with a nine-to-five job.

The work at the Hanlin Academy wasn't heavy; it mainly involved writing articles, organizing past materials, and at most revising a book. It should have been quite easy.

However, compared to the top two scorers of this year's competition, Chu Nanfeng seemed extremely busy.

Seeing that all his colleagues had already left work, leaving him the only one working, and once again working overtime without pay until eight or nine o'clock, Lin You couldn't help but frown. He then followed the supervisor who assigned him the work to check on the situation.

They don't even get overtime pay, and they make people work late into the night every day. It can't be that they're deliberately bullying their son Chu because he doesn't have any connections.

When Chu Nanfeng saw the report on disaster relief that had been assigned to him, he disregarded the already darkening sky and picked up his pen again to write down his suggestions.

Lin You spent several days wandering around the Hanlin Academy, but still couldn't find out why his superior had given Chu Nanfeng extra work, even though he secretly admired Chu Nanfeng quite a bit.

Listening to her angry protest, Chu Nanfeng felt helpless. "Sister, haven't you noticed that in just two months, His Majesty's favorability rating is already close to thirty?"

Why does your sister think he's being ostracized because he's busy with work? Didn't she see the envious and jealous looks people gave him?

His office was well-lit and quiet, the tea was always hot, and even his boss was kind to him.

When working overtime, the candles are smokeless and the writing instruments are of the highest quality; this clearly shows that they are being valued.

"Huh? Wasn't it Xie Zi'an who helped raise the favorability rating?" Lin You had always treated Xie Zi'an as a tool for completing tasks.

"Of course not, these must be tasks arranged by His Majesty." Knowing that she didn't understand the articles very well, Chu Nanfeng explained what he had written during this period.

“Every time my favorability rating increases, it’s on the very night I submit my memorial to the emperor,” Chu Nanfeng emphasized, highlighting the emperor’s high regard for him.

Lin You continued to complain, "Knowing you work overtime so late every day, the boss still doesn't give you a raise. This boss is too stingy."

Chu Nanfeng sighed helplessly. The imperial court didn't operate on such a simple logic. "Since what I've done has reached His Majesty's ears, he will surely remember it."