Zhou Gu never imagined a day when someone would loom over him like a mountain, rendering him unable to compete and move forward.
Ye Guixue might not be there in person, but his chess game was.
Being able to challenge Su Rong and end the game in a draw suggests that if Zhou Gu were to face him, he would also be crushed.
Though he’d known this deep down, Su Rong’s performance today had widened the gap even more.
Whether it was family background, skills, or abilities, he felt that it was not just a simple game of chess. The gap between them was much larger.
Zhou Gu cleverly surmised that Su Rong was being deliberate today. He wanted Zhou Gu to recognize his own shortcomings and then step back respectfully.
But was he going to back down? He had been knocked down enough times and this wouldn’t make a difference. He was always aware of this gap, so he wouldn’t retreat.
He absolutely wouldn’t retreat.
Lu Fengyan lost, Lu Weiran lost, Zhao Shu lost. Only Xie Lin and Su Xingze were left.
Xie Lin wanted to push Su Xingze ahead. Seeing Su Rong staring at him, he let out a sigh, "Lady Su Qi, I don’t want to lose too terribly."
Although losing is losing, there’s a difference in how you lose. If he were beaten in a few moves, it would be more embarrassing, right?
At this time, Su Xingze looked out of the window and said, "It seems that people on the street are leaving one after another. It appears the results have been posted."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong dropped her aggressive stance, let Xie Lin off the hook, pushed the chessboard away, stood up, and said to everyone, "What are we waiting for? Let’s go and have a look!"
Since they were here to check the lists, that’s what they should prioritize.
Everyone agreed.
The party left the tea house swiftly. The place where the results were posted was just a street away, so they walked against the crowd to check.
People along the street were discussing this year’s list and Su Rong heard names like Zhou Gu, Su Xingze, Lu Fengyan, Zhao Li’an.
Xie Lin was anxious, clutching his head, "Why am I not on the list? Did I fail the test? Didn’t I make the list?"
His knowledge and curriculum might not be as good as Zhou Gu’s, but he didn’t think he would fail. He was confident that he should make the list. But if he didn’t, ever since the exam he’d be spending five thousand taels of silver from his mother’s treasury. Would she want it back? But he had already spent the money.
Zhao Shu also scratched his head, "I didn’t hear my name either, perhaps because Su brother, Zhou brother, and Lu brother are ranked too high. And we’re so far behind."
At this moment, he didn’t dare to mention the possibility of failing. What if he jinxed himself and actually failed the exam? Would he have to retest? Wait three more years? He certainly didn’t want to study again.
"I can’t believe it, a tie for first place."
"Yes, this happens once in a century."
"Those two pieces were written so brilliantly, no wonder the emperor had them posted."
"Compared to the two pieces, mine is rubbish. No wonder I didn’t make the list."
"My goodness, little brother, you’re only thirteen years old. Wait three more years, and you’ll be able to write outstanding articles too."
...
Xie Lin was taken aback, "What?! A tie for first place? Did you hear that just now?"
"We heard it. None of us is deaf." Zhou Gu glanced at Lu Fengyan and Su Xingze.
Lu Fengyan shook his head, saying plainly, "My piece wasn’t as good as Su brother’s."
After the exam, when he was at the Duke Residence, he saw Su Xingze. After a discussion, they recited their writing pieces to each other. Lu Fengyan knew then; his piece was not as good as Su Xingze’s. There was no way he could tie for first place with him.
"Zhou Gu, congratulations!" A young man from the capital knew Zhou Gu and hailed him from a distance.
"Young Master Zhou, congratulations."
"Congratulations!"
"You’re first."
Zhou Gu was stunned, "Really?"
He looked at Su Xingze.
Su Xingze smiled. Despite spending a lot of time together after the exam, they didn’t discuss their exam papers like Lu Fengyan did; rather they jointly studied past examinations from Nanchu and analyzed the political situation there.
"And also, Master Su, congratulations!"
"Both of you tied for first place."
"The pieces you wrote were amazing. It’s said that the great scholars debated for three days and nights and couldn’t come to a conclusion, hence they gave you a tie for first place."
"Look, that piece is posted over there. It’s truly amazing."
...
"And you too, Lu, congratulations! You are second."
"Young Master Lu’s essay is also insightful."
"Lu Fengyan from Chuanxi surpassed Zhao Li’an from Jibei. Zhao Li’an is in third place."
...
The list shows the names of Zhou Gu and Su Xingze, sure enough, they were tied for first. After them is the name of Lu Fengyan, followed by the name of Zhao Li’an and then the name of Jiang Xing.
Su Rong was surprised. Jiang Xing actually got fourth place.
Lu Fengyan turned his head to Zhou Gu and Su Xingze and congratulated: "Congratulations, Brother Zhou, Brother Su."
Zhou Gu suddenly laughed, "Congratulations to you too, Big Brother Su, Brother Lu. I never thought I’d do so well. I was afraid that Grand Tutor Qin would criticize me for not living up to his expectations. But surprisingly, I managed to tie with Big Brother Su. Now, I won’t be scolded by him, I guess I have lived up to his expectations."
Su Xingze said, "I am older than you, so, technically, you won."
Zhou Gu raised his eyebrows, looked at Su Rong, saw her smiling eyes, and purposely said, "I don’t have a little sister who made me worry from a young age, and I didn’t waste a lot of time, so I am about the same as Big Brother Su."
Su Xingze burst into laughter.
Upon hearing this, Su Rong turned her head and glared at Zhou Gu, "Then you were wasting time every day, fooling around and fighting with the guards at the Eastern Palace?"
Zhou Gu put his hands behind his back and smiled arrogantly. "Anyway, I am tied with Big Brother Su for first place."
Su Rong could not help laughing at him, "Wow, you are quite capable, congratulations."
The smile on the corner of Zhou Gu’s lips gradually spread, the frustration he had earlier due to being utterly defeated by her and being purposely reminded of Ye Guixue quietly disappeared. His voice softened, "Thank you, Lady Su Qi."
He wanted to say that at least he was no worse than Ye Guixue. If Ye Guixue was the top scholar in Nanchu before, now he had also secured first place.
Su Rong turned her head back to watch the list, and her smile lingered on her lips for a long time.
Xie Lin became anxious, "What about me? What about me? Did you see my name?"
"You are ranked seventy-eight." Zhou Gu saw it clearly and said to Xie Lin, "Not bad at all."
Xie Lin was overjoyed, "Really? I actually ranked seventy-eight? I’m so awesome."
Zhou Gu: "..."
"What about me? What about me?" Zhao Shu stood on tiptoes to see.
"One hundred and second." Lu Fengyan laughed, "You made the list, congratulations, Brother Zhao."
Zhao Shu was also so happy that he was jumping for joy and laughing, "I am also so awesome, hahaha."
Zhou Gu: "..."
At that moment, Duanhua squeezed out from the crowd and stood in front of Zhou Gu, "Zhou Gu, if I take you under the list now..."
Zhou Gu’s face darkened, "You dare!"
Duanhua really didn’t dare. She couldn’t beat Zhou Gu, and calling all the guards from the Princess Residence wouldn’t help either, she pouted her mouth and turned her head to Su Rong, "I want to take him."
Su Rong blinked her eyes.
Duanhua looked at her, "What kind of expression is that?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Su Rong shrugged, "My expression means, I’m not going to help you. If you want to take him, do it yourself."
Duanhua’s face fell, she mumbled "Can’t take him" and then said to her, "Today is the day to choose husbands under the list, and Zhao Li’an was chosen."
Su Rong was curious, "Who chose him?"
"The third princess."
Su Rong had no impression of the princesses in the palace, so far, she had never met any of them.
Duanhua looked at Su Xingze and lamented, "If it weren’t for you keeping an eye on your big brother, he would have been taken. I just heard that they couldn’t get Su Xingze and Lu Fengyan, so they could only take him."
No one dared to seize Zhou Gu.
Su Rong: "..."
She was really insightful to keep an eye on her big brother. She turned her head to Su Xingze and said, "Big brother, you should thank the princess and me, otherwise if you were taken by the princess, it would be difficult for me to save you."
Su Xingze also lamented that this tradition of choosing husbands under the list was truly terrifying. If Zhao Li’an was really chosen by the princess and became the Royal Son-in-Law, his official career would be over.
After all, according to the current law of the dynasty, royal sons-in-law are prohibited from holding important positions.
He thanked Duanhua, "Thank you princess for the early warning."
Duanhua waved her hand magnanimously, "No thanks needed."
What she actually wanted to say was, if you want to thank me, you can cook me a couple more dishes. However, considering there were many people, she didn’t say it out loud.
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