Chapter 38 After the County Examination

"Clang"

The sound of breaking porcelain.

Director Wang angrily raised his hand and knocked down an ornamental vase from the antique display shelf. He paced back and forth in the room with a very ugly look on his face.

"How is this possible?"

"Aren't those students who stayed in Wanhua Academy said to be good-for-nothings? How come they have such excellent county exam results?"

Shanzhang Wang was puzzled. "Could it be that those teachers and students from Wanhua Academy were deceiving me?!"

Even if others would lie to him, when An Yuanrong was alive, he was often praised for his talent in studying.

Liu Mingjie, who is now engaged to his own youngest daughter, and Zhao Kui, who has broken off the engagement with An Yuanrong's daughter, have no reason to lie to him.

This did neither of them any good.

Wang Yaozong, who was sitting nearby and looking careless, said carefully, "Father, why are you so angry? The bet you made is that three of the six students must pass the college entrance examination and become scholars."

"Father thinks that with so many new students entering the college each year and those accumulated in previous years, it would be impossible for those few young men to pass the exam and become three scholars."

"Tsk, I don't believe it anyway." Wang Yaozong said nonchalantly, curled his lips and made a final summary.

Principal Wang, who was feeling anxious, didn't know what he was thinking, but he was successfully calmed down by his own erratic son.

At this time, he also felt that passing the county examination was nothing big. Only after passing the prefectural examination would he be eligible to take part in the academy examination.

Even if you take part in the college entrance examination, you may not be able to pass the exam and become a scholar.

So many students are stuck in the dilemma of the provincial and academy examinations. It is indeed too early for him to worry about it now.

Although people were surprised that several students from Anxin did so well in the county exam, it only caused a small splash in the literary circle of Lin'an County, and then it died down quietly.

Even the county magistrate was surprised for a moment when he learned that the teacher who ranked first and second in this year's county examination was a woman, and then nothing happened.

There is only one first place case in the county every year. You think the county magistrate attaches great importance to it.

*The backyard of Wu’s cloth shop in Lin’an County.

Upon learning that An Rui ranked eighth in the county exam, Old Man Wu and Old Lady Wu sat there holding An Rui's hand and were so happy that they refused to let go.

"My dear grandson has made great progress. I heard your uncle come back to the cloth shop today and we didn't believe it. I didn't expect that Xiao Rui actually passed the county exam."

"That's right, Aunt Xiaorui has always seen you as smart since you were young." An Rui rolled his eyes secretly. Who was his second aunt to say that it was better to go out and work early and earn money than to study?

Second Aunt An was surrounded by her brothers and sisters from her natal family. Even the third brother's wife from the wealthy county town who usually looked down on them condescended to speak a few words to her.

Uncle An and Aunt An still can't believe that their stupid son could pass the county exam and did quite well.

This also made Uncle An fall into self-doubt.

He also taught these students who stayed in Wanhua Academy to study and did not leave.

But no matter how you look at it, he is not a good student.

Especially when his son and that kid Liu Boxing get together, they are either discussing food or on the way to discuss what to eat.

You can take the imperial examination with this level of skill, you must be kidding.

When the Zhao family learned that An Xin, whose engagement was broken off by their family, had actually taught several students who passed the county exam, they could only say sourly that she was just lucky.

After dealing with the enthusiasm of several of his students' parents, An Xin stayed inside the academy, blocking out the disturbance outside.

She only went up the mountain occasionally to hunt some wild game and send it to Doctor Su. She could see that the old man was sincere and loved her as if she were his granddaughter.

It was almost March and the sun was shining brightly that day.

An Xin asked someone to bring out a rocking chair and put it in the corridor. He held a book in his hand and placed a pot of tea next to him.

The warm sunshine of early spring shone on her, and the yard was filled with the fragrance of peach, apricot and pear blossoms.

She covered her face with the book, lying on the chair, enjoying the leisurely time.

He was disturbed by his little cousin who ran in with a teasing look on his face.

An Xin: "Little Du Miao, you'd better come up with a reliable reason, otherwise..."

When An Rui saw her raised fist, he immediately said, "Cousin, calm down. I will tell you something interesting to atone for disturbing you."

"Tell me about it!" An Xin looked at his little cousin, as if he would teach him a lesson if he was not interesting.

"Cough" An Rui raised his hand to his lips and coughed lightly, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"My cousin, Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Zhu, Jiang Zhou and Liu Boxing are here."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

An Xin raised her eyebrows. Although she was surprised why they came to the academy two days in advance of their holiday, this was not enough reason for An Rui to disturb her.

"Oh, and then?"

An Rui's eyes were filled with gossip, and he asked excitedly, "Cousin, do you know why they came to the academy early?"

An Xin shook the recliner under him and closed his eyes. He didn't believe that this boy could hold it in.

"Cousin, this is really too much. Don't you have any curiosity?!"

Then An Rui, who couldn't hold it back any longer, pouted, walked over and squatted beside An Xin's recliner, stretched out a finger and poked her arm.

Seeing An Xin open his eyes with a smile on his face and a playful expression on his face, An Rui's curiosity immediately burned again.

"Cousin, Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Zhu, Jiang Zhou, and Liu Boxing, I heard that they have been chased by the little girls from their relatives and friends' families every day.

And...ah..."

Before An Rui could finish his words, he was dragged out by his arms after being entered by several people who had no idea where in the world.

"Come on, little junior brother, since you love gossiping so much, let us chat with you!" Zhu Shijing gave Jiang Zhou and Liu Boxing a look, and An Rui was in misery.

"Ahhh...cousin, you have no moral ethics. Did you look like that just now because you saw them come in but didn't tell me~" Before An Rui was dragged out, he realized the ambiguous look in An Xin's eyes when she looked at him just now.

An Xin glanced at the two bamboo-like figures still standing there, their eyes also revealing a hint of gossip, and asked, "Are you really being chased by girls and have nowhere to go, so you hide in the academy?"

"I have always lived in the academy." This explanation was cold and plain, simple and concise, with not a single word superfluous.

The meaning is very clear. How could you not know whether I am being pursued by girls or not, since we live in the same academy?

Li Ziyu glanced at Leng who was hurriedly explaining, then turned and gave An Xin a look, asking her to slowly understand it.

With a look of world-weariness and indifference, he walked out of the yard with his hands behind his back.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's with your attitude? I'm your headmaster, how can you ignore me like this? Be careful or I'll retaliate against you!" An Xin sat up in dissatisfaction and threatened without any deterrence.

(End of this chapter)