Chapter 29 Half a fellow villager? So, Su Lin is actually... half...

No one cared about the turmoil in Lu Chengzhou's heart. The examination officer continued to announce the rankings and votes of all the candidates one by one, following the established procedure.

The more Lu Chengzhou listened, the more alarmed he became.

Not only did his old rival Gu Ming get 110 votes, but even that other number seven kid who he didn't take seriously at all, who was following number three, got 98 votes.

These people were all ranked ahead of him, causing his ranking to drop from the top three to fifth place!

Lu Chengzhou felt a surge of anger and, before the results could be announced, he stood up abruptly and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "I'm not convinced! There must be something fishy going on here!"

For a moment, everyone stared at him as if he were some strange object. Lu Chengzhou's heart pounded and his face burned, but he still insisted, "I demand a re-inspection of the ballot box!"

"Nonsense!" Lu Hongguang, feeling embarrassed, rebuked, "With everyone watching, who could possibly tamper with things?"

"If the verification confirms there are no errors, I am willing to apologize to you." Lu Chengzhou, however, refused to back down, clinging to his last glimmer of hope like a lifeline. "But I suspect the ballot box has been secretly replaced!"

He would rather believe that the group of grassroots students with no connections were cheating behind the scenes than believe that his own essay was actually poorly written.

But Lu Chengzhou's imagination ultimately failed.

Su Lin's anti-counterfeiting measures were extremely thorough. Each ballot box was sealed intact and had the signatures of randomly selected spectators as proof. Under his questioning, the examination officer opened the boxes in public to check. The seals and handwriting were all correct, and several people in the audience also spoke up to confirm that they had indeed voted for number three.

Lu Chengzhou blushed, but still refused to accept reality, stubbornly arguing, "Even if the vote count is correct, how do we know their essays weren't ghostwritten? I demand that all the candidates' answer sheets be made public!"

He firmly believed that his article was excellent and that he could not possibly have received only this many votes.

At his insistence, all the exam papers written by the candidates themselves were posted on the notice board on the stage, and students gathered around to look at them carefully.

At first glance, the difference in quality is immediately apparent.

Lu Chengzhou's article followed the same old, safe path, simply modifying his well-established strategies for governing the country and applying them in a straightforward manner. While this approach was steady and reliable, it lacked any originality and still bore his inherent flaws: it was full of flowery language but lacked substance, and while it had plenty of legal principles, it lacked emotional depth, leaving the reader with only a sense of conventionality.

Gu Ming has made a breakthrough this time compared to his previous works, abandoning the ornate and elaborate style and attempting to depict the hardships of ordinary people with simple and unadorned poems. Although the intention is good, due to the lack of genuine experience, it always feels distant, like looking at flowers through a fog, and fails to truly touch people's hearts.

Wen Yue's article is a simple narrative, recounting without embellishment her family's disaster, the successive deaths of her relatives, and her eventual rescue by her "older sister." Although the writing is somewhat immature, its sincerity and deep emotion are quite moving, ultimately placing it fourth.

In the end, everyone's attention was focused on Wen Qingshi and Lin Lan, who were in the top two.

Lin Lan composed a poem entitled "Song of Persuading Rain".

She didn't write any policy essays, nor was she confined to a personal perspective. Instead, she spoke from the voices of countless disaster victims, praying to heaven for rain. From mothers longing for rain to nurture their rice seedlings, to children yearning for water to quench their thirst, to the elderly praying for their lives, every note is filled with heartbreaking emotion.

Because of his personal experience, the despair and longing for rain that permeate his writing are extremely moving, bringing tears to the eyes of the reader.

Wen Qingshi's essay, on the other hand, incorporated some modern disaster relief concepts that Wen Yu had mentioned in her daily life, as well as her own insights gained from extensive reading. It discussed strategies for dealing with disasters from multiple aspects, including water conservancy projects, grain seed improvement, disaster victim resettlement, and work-for-relief programs.

Her article was well-structured, with solid arguments, and the proposed measures were both novel and practical. It was full of pragmatism and a desire to benefit the people, which made many insightful people around her nod in approval and praise it as a worthy winner.

After reading it, Lu Chengzhou knew in his heart that his article was indeed much inferior, but his strong pride prevented him from bowing his head. He forced a smile and pointed at Wen Qingshi and the others: "How could such an article be written by a few unknown people like you? You must have hired a master to write it for you in advance. It's undoubtedly cheating!"

With his sharp eyes, he noticed that each of them had an ordinary lucky bag hanging from their waists, meant for seeking good fortune in academics. He quickly exclaimed, "The cheat sheet must be hidden here! Please check it, sir!"

Although Lu Hongguang felt that his son's actions were somewhat ridiculous, he still said, "Hand over the items you are wearing."

The three then realized that it was a literary luck talisman that Wen Yu had bought. They felt it was utterly absurd, but since they had acted uprightly and were not afraid, they handed the item over directly.

The examiner opened the lucky bag in front of everyone and verified that there was nothing hidden inside. Even the vendors selling the item below the stage stepped forward tremblingly to testify that the item had no hidden compartments.

Seeing this, Lu Chengzhou seemed to have no choice but to speak recklessly: "Then...then your cheat sheets must be hidden somewhere else on your person! I demand a body search on the spot, otherwise it will be difficult to prove your innocence!"

Upon hearing such absurd remarks, Wen Qingshi's expression changed drastically, and he angrily exclaimed, "Young Master Lu! This is going too far!"

A body search in full view of everyone would inevitably reveal their true gender.

Seeing her resistance only confirmed his suspicions, Lu Chengzhou became even more smug: "If you don't have something to hide, why don't you dare to let people search you?"

Lu Hongguang initially thought the body search was excessive, but seeing the three men resisting so much, he couldn't help but have doubts.

Could it be that there's some truth to this?

He pondered for a moment, then, following his son's words, pretended to be fair and said, "Since you want to prove your innocence, the three of you can take off your outer robes and show them to the public. If there is no note hidden inside, then your innocence will be cleared."

He was trying to force them to comply in this seemingly "gentle" way.

Wen Qingshi pursed his lips, standing frozen in place, refusing to budge. Lin Lan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My lord, this is a refined literary gathering. How can we expect students to undress in public? This is truly an insult to scholarship!"

As the two sides remained deadlocked, Lu Chengzhou felt even more certain that they were hiding something, and unable to restrain himself, he stepped forward to forcibly pull them apart.

Wen Qingshi and the others hurriedly dodged, and the scene became chaotic for a moment.

Lu Chengzhou shouted, "I only asked you to undress, why are you acting so coy! Could it be... could it be that you are not men at all, but women in disguise, here to swindle and deceive?"

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Suddenly, a dignified voice came from outside the crowd: "Stop!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young official in a scarlet robe walking slowly towards them, surrounded by his entourage. He had a dignified and composed demeanor, with a scholarly air about him, yet he exuded an air of authority without anger.

It was Prefect Su Lin who arrived late.

When Su Lin arrived, the scene quieted down considerably. He first bowed to everyone and said, "I have been busy with official duties and have kept you all waiting for a long time. I hope you will forgive me."

He then turned his gaze to Lu Chengzhou, who was still struggling on the stage, and frowned slightly: "What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket and pulling in front of everyone?"

However, the murmurs from the audience grew louder and louder because of Lu Chengzhou's earlier shout.

"Women? Are they really women?"

"Upon closer inspection, it seems there is indeed no Adam's apple, and the face is pale and beardless. The smaller one looks like a boy, while the other two..."

"Ridiculous. He's just a kid. It's normal that he's not fully developed yet."

Various speculations abound.

Su Lin did not rush to quell the discussion. Instead, he calmly looked at Wen Qingshi and Lin Lan, who were at the center of the storm, and asked in a gentle voice, "Is what he said true? Are you indeed women?"

Wen Qingshi knew she could no longer avoid it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her gaze was completely calm.

She replied, "Yes, sir."

The audience erupted in chaos.

"Really a woman? This...this is impossible!"

An old scholar with a white beard slammed his cane on the ground and cursed, "Nonsense! This literary gathering is no place for women!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a woman in the room retorted, "Lord Su has allowed us women to enter the garden to vote, so why can't women participate in the essay writing competition? We've all seen their essays, and they're better than many men's!"

“That’s right! Just because men’s poetry and prose are inferior to women’s, does that give you the right to slander them? What kind of logic is that!” The girl next to her immediately chimed in.

The old scholar was speechless for a moment, stammering, "This...this is ultimately different..."

He couldn't explain it either.

As if he had seized a huge incriminating weapon, Lu Chengzhou shouted excitedly, "Sir, they have violated the rules! Women have never been allowed to participate in literary gatherings! Their qualifications must be revoked!"

Su Lin smiled calmly and countered, "What about men? What about women?"

His gaze swept over Lu Chengzhou, his tone turning cold: "Whether an article is good or bad is a matter of public opinion. If you are not as skilled as others, you should reflect on your own shortcomings, rather than blame others for being male or female. Young Master Lu, if you lose, you must accept it."

Lu Chengzhou's face flushed red, filled with shame and indignation. He then turned his anger towards Wen Yue, who had remained silent, attempting to provoke him: "You! You are also a man. Are you willing to be overshadowed by two women? If they are removed from the list, you can be among the top three!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Yue's face showed disdain, and she said coldly, "Although I, Wen Yue, have not been studying for long, I still know the meaning of 'shame'. I don't want the rankings obtained by excluding others and ignoring the facts. I admire their talent."

Lu Chengzhou looked at Gu Ming anxiously again.

Gu Ming casually shrugged and laughed, "Brother Lu, why bother? The two ladies' writing is indeed superior to ours. I, Gu, am completely convinced of my defeat."

Lu Chengzhou was so angry he almost fainted.

Seeing his son being refuted by everyone, Lu Hongguang couldn't help but chime in, "Lord Su, this is the ancient custom; there is indeed no precedent for women to participate in the gathering..."

Su Lin did not argue with him, but said to the examiner, "Go and fetch the invitation to the literary gathering that I have issued."

The examination officer was ordered to retrieve the letter and read it aloud to the public. The invitation, written in black and white on white paper, simply stated "Invitation to talented young men from Luzhou to attend the meeting," without specifying gender.

Someone in the audience immediately shouted, "'Youth' has always referred to a man!"

Su Lin calmly explained: "The Shuowen Jiezi says, 'Shao means young.' The word 'Shaonian' generally refers to young people, including both young men and women. Moreover, I am reopening this literary gathering with only one criterion—appointing people based solely on their talent. Why should I care whether the participants are young men or young women?"

The man was speechless.

“If anyone thinks it’s unfair,” he said, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally settling on Lu Chengzhou, “then you can write an article that surpasses those two women’s, and then we can discuss who deserves the title.”

Lu Chengzhou clenched his fists in anger, but couldn't utter a single word.

He knew in his heart that his writing was indeed far inferior to that of the two women.

"Now," Su Lin raised his voice, making a decisive statement, "I will now present awards to the top three winners of this literary gathering. Gentlemen, do you have any objections?"

The garden fell silent for a moment.

Su Lin persuaded people with reason and intimidated them with power, completely quelling the controversy.

Wen Yu, standing in the crowd, opened Su Lin's character panel.

Su Lin, 32 years old, female (disguised as a man), Prefect of Luzhou...

She was actually a woman.

No wonder she stood up for it after learning the truth; it turns out she herself was in a similar situation…

Wen Yu looked at the line of text below, and her gaze froze.

[Special Experience: During his youth, he accidentally traveled to the modern era, received higher education for over a decade, and then returned to his original body. He subsequently passed the imperial examinations, entered officialdom, and rose through the ranks...]

She was deeply shocked.

Although this Lord Su was not someone who had traveled from the modern world like her, his identity was far more complicated than she had imagined!

So, Su Lin is actually... half a fellow townsman?

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Author's Note: There's no ranking list this week [crying emoji] I'm about to burst into tears...

Thank you to everyone who's been following this story! I wouldn't be able to do without you all [pity].