Chapter 2234 The Shocked Crowd
Jing Mansion.
Madam Chang looked at her husband suspiciously, "Did you already know about this?"
Lord Jing remained calm and composed, saying, "I know, but I thought His Majesty would try his best to persuade him to change his mind. I didn't expect him to still not change his mind."
The Zhou family.
Cen Yi found it incredibly unbelievable, but then she felt relieved and murmured to the old woman who had returned with the news, "Actually, when you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem so strange. If he really wanted to climb the social ladder, marrying me back then would have been the best way out. Later, when he brought down Gong Qiu and made a contribution, the late emperor wanted to reward him, but he refused."
Everything seems to follow a pattern.
The daughters of officials like the Wu and Xue families were also gossiping about it.
Not only them, but soon even the candidates who hadn't had time to leave the capital heard the news.
The candidates from Changjin Prefecture immediately approached Xun Sheng to inquire, but Xun Sheng himself was completely baffled and was still in shock. "You don't know either, and he wouldn't tell me something like this. I still can't quite believe that this news is true."
"What was Meng Yunzheng thinking? Everyone studied hard for years, just for this moment of being granted an official position. But he gave up at the last minute."
"However, I heard that Mr. Huai'an and Mr. Hejiang will be teaching at the academy he opened. With the two of them there, won't the academy be so popular that people will wear down its doorstep?"
"Since I didn't pass the exam this time, how about we go and take a look after the academy opens? Perfect, let's see the scenery that Mr. Shanju praised so highly."
“I’ll go too. Maybe I can get guidance from Mr. Huai’an and Mr. Hejiang because of my connection with Scholar Meng, and pass the exam in three years.”
As everyone talked, they began to look forward to it, with only a few people whispering about the second and third place winners.
As the runner-up, Chu Qiuping was alright; his knowledge was what it was, but he simply couldn't compare to Meng Yunzheng. Regardless of whether the other party wanted to become an official, that was a fact.
The imperial examination was only a test of a person's knowledge, but how far one could rise in officialdom depended on their own efforts.
Therefore, after being shocked by Meng Yunzheng's decision, Chu Qiuping actually felt a sense of admiration. After all, not everyone could push away the broad road ahead and choose a path that would not help his career.
However, Jin Lin couldn't stand it. If Meng Yunzheng didn't intend to become an official, then he shouldn't take the exam.
If he hadn't participated in this imperial examination, he would have been the runner-up, the second-place finisher.
After angrily smashing two vases in his home, Jin Lin went to Chu Qiuping to complain.
Chu Qiuping glanced at him and asked in return, "But no matter whether you are the second or third place scholar, you will be a compiler in the Hanlin Academy when you are appointed to your official post."
Moreover, he suspected that even without Meng Yunzheng, Jin Lin would most likely have been the third-ranked scholar.
Ultimately, Jin Lin is really good-looking; the third-place scholar is needed to make the list.
Jin Lin choked for a moment, then said with exasperation, "I know it won't make much difference to me, but it's not fair to you. Think about it, if it weren't for him, you would be the top scholar, and your official rank would be the sixth grade. Even if it's just one grade, it's a world of difference in the eyes of outsiders."
Chu Qiuping wasn't stupid; how could he not recognize such obvious attempts to sow discord?
He ignored Jin Lin and even considered staying away from him because of this.
However, no one knew that the emperor would promote Chu Qiuping to the position of compiler in the Hanlin Academy the very next day.
(End of this chapter)
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