Most of the people around the young girl were either Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) or young generals who had become famous at a young age. She didn't take this top scorer in the preliminary examinations seriously, and the name of her elder brother Jian Cang only flashed through her mind briefly before fading away.
Qin Shaohuai didn't really care about being the top scorer in the county examination. He himself was the top scorer in that year's examination. As a man from a family of military generals, his ability to win the top score in that year's examination undoubtedly proved that his intelligence was no less than that of the civil officials. What he cared about was a word from his master. His master was He Linghua, the dean of Bailu Academy, who was also a retired prince's tutor from the previous dynasty. His status was no less than that of a nobleman.
He was also appointed by the emperor to be an examiner in charge of judging the county examination results. He remembered his master's words of praise when he last visited him: "This child has great talent." Qin Shaohuai felt a little uncomfortable. His master had never praised him like that before, even though he had passed all kinds of examinations. He felt a little irritable, but he was not the type to vent his frustrations on others. He just felt more and more uncomfortable and concerned about that name.
April has arrived, and the capital city is busier with scholars than ever before, even more so than during the last county examination.
The Ningyuan Earl's Mansion was not far from the Imperial Examination Hall in the capital. As usual, Qingyin boarded the carriage amidst the farewells of her family.
Like the county examination, the prefectural examination was divided into five sessions, each lasting one day.
Qingyin ignored the burning gaze directed at her and calmly wrote her exam paper. After a while, her hand felt a little sore, so she paused to relax and looked up, meeting the examiner's gaze.
The examiner this time was a relatively young official, with a tall and straight posture, strong features but a dark complexion. Qingyin didn't recognize him, so she just nodded and smiled slightly. The man turned his head away somewhat stiffly.
Qingyin guessed that the serious examiner was probably afraid of affecting the students, but he didn't care. He stopped relaxing his eyes and continued answering the questions.
Qingyin, with her head down, didn't notice one of the examiners' bright red ears.
The prefectural examination was significantly more difficult than the county examination. Some questions even touched on people's livelihood. They were not difficult, but Qingyin felt that it was more difficult to quickly improve the local situation. He pondered for a moment and then wrote... After filling in all the questions, Qingyin stopped writing.
Half a month later, the five sessions of the prefectural examination were completed, and all that remained was for the examiners to grade the papers, with the results to be announced a few days later.
Before the long table, Qingyin sat by the window of the restaurant, watching Luo Jiancang rushing forward like a wild horse through the crowd. Her lips twitched slightly. She forcefully pressed her restless younger sister down into a chair, then turned to the couple with excited or apprehensive expressions and said helplessly, "Father, Mother, Little Sister, it's one thing for Jiancang to run away, but why do you both want to rush over too?"
Qingyin pointed downwards with her finger, "Look at all these people, what if you get pushed around?"
The men who were being scolded looked on with disdain, and lowered their heads guiltily, not daring to refute their eldest son's words.
The little girl, annoyed by the noise, lowered her head dejectedly. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She looked up, pointed at the crowd, and exclaimed, "Ah! Big brother, second brother squeezed in!"
Upon hearing the little girl's voice, everyone else disregarded everything else and wished they could climb out the window and see the list with their own eyes.
When Luo's father saw his youngest son's beaming face, he knew the outcome. Sure enough, not long after, Luo Jiancang, who had worked so hard to squeeze out the time, came running back to the restaurant.
During this time, he practiced martial arts with his older brother and became much stronger, which is why he was able to quickly squeeze into the crowd with his strength. However, his current appearance was a bit terrible. His hair crown was squeezed crooked and it looked like it was about to fall down.
However, apart from Qingyin, no one cared about Luo Jiancang's appearance at this moment.
Mr. Luo immediately stood up and asked excitedly, "How did you rank?"
Luo Jiancang raised his eyebrows smugly and said, "Then it must be first place!" The boy was so proud that it was as if he himself had won first place.
"Good, good, good!" Mr. Luo exclaimed excitedly, not noticing his second son's reaction.
The little girl next to her jumped up excitedly, and Lin's mother couldn't hide her smile.
The most composed person in the entire private room was probably Qingyin. He sat to one side, watching his family members gathered together in a joyful atmosphere with a smile in his eyes.
Back at the Earl's mansion, Mr. Luo and his family were still unable to hide their excitement. In the evening, after finishing his dinner, Mr. Luo hurriedly put down his chopsticks. Seeing the surprised looks on everyone's faces, Mr. Luo coughed lightly and said, "Well, I still have some official business to finish today. I'll go back and finish it when I get back."
Overtime is a must! Mr. Luo felt it would be too painful not to share the good news with his friends.
Seeing the knowing looks on the faces of Lin's mother and Luo Jiancang, his face flushed slightly.
As for Aon, Aon did not comment.
In the dead of night, Duan Jiayan, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder because he hadn't finished something, stared at the document on the table with bloodshot eyes, his hands still writing something.
The dim light made the room so quiet that only the sound of pens scratching filled the air. Duan Jiayan rubbed his slightly sore neck, turned his head, and prepared to rest for a while. Suddenly, a huge, almost human-sized black shadow appeared behind him.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" A sharp, loud male voice rang out. Duan Jiayan's mind raced through countless childhood tales of the strange and supernatural: legends told of ghosts who, at midnight, hunted for food in the silent night, their sustenance derived from light, because…
"Duan Jiayan, stop calling! Stop calling! It's me." Mr. Luo walked out awkwardly.
After a moment of panic, almost everyone who remained at the Ministry of Works rushed over, asking, "What happened? What happened?"
Looking at his old rival Duan Jiayan, who was still angry and whose face was red from holding back his anger, and the guards and a few colleagues who rushed over, Luo's father looked a little embarrassed. "Haha, it was an accident, an accident... that's how it is."
The group of men glanced at Lord Luo with mixed feelings, then at Lord Duan, whose face was still flushed, and were at a loss for words.
As a leading figure in the Ministry of Works, Duan Jiayan, who was engrossed in research, was not a very talkative person. However, he couldn't hold back any longer and said angrily, "What are you doing back here in the middle of the night, Luo Peiyuan?"
Upon hearing Duan Jiayan's words, Luo's father's eyes lit up. "Hehe, I've been waiting for you to say that!" he thought. "Hehe, how did you know that my eldest son came first in both the county and prefectural examinations?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, someone said, "No, who asked you that?"
Duan Jiayan frowned. "Your eldest son, Luo Jiancang? Wasn't he sixth in the prefectural examination?"
Oh, wait, that old fox Luo Peiyuan has another son. Thinking of that child, Duan Jiayan paused for a moment, "Your eldest son is back?"
“Of course, my eldest son was in poor health before, so I took him to a place to recuperate. Now that he’s better, I’ve brought him back.” Mr. Luo’s face was beaming with pride.
Although he disliked his old rival's cunning, Duan Jiayan still understood the value of first place. He nodded slightly and said earnestly, "Not bad."
The officials who were silently watching the drama unfold thought to themselves, "It seems that the rumors that Lord Luo doesn't value his eldest son are definitely false, otherwise why would he come here to show off? But the relationship between Lord Luo and Lord Duan doesn't seem as good as the rumors suggest!"
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