Chapter 616: First Class, Jinshi Pass! How is this possible? It's all fake.
"The results... the results are out!" Haitang's voice was a little distorted with excitement. "Young Master Lu from our family has passed the imperial examination! He got first place and became a Jinshi!"
"What?" Gu Qingchen sat up from the couch with his eyes wide open.
Chu Ruohan couldn't hide the smile on her face. The smile came from the bottom of her heart, making the room brighter.
"Good, good! This kid, finally got his reward after all the hardship!"
At the same time, in the courtyard of the third room.
Mrs. Gu was leisurely listening to a little tune when a servant rushed in crawling, his face as pale as paper.
"Husband... Madam...something's wrong!"
Mrs. Gu San was disturbed and frowned unhappily: "What are you yelling about! Is the sky falling?"
"The list... the list is out..." The servant gasped, his voice trembling, "Master Lu... Master Lu... he passed! And he got first place..."
With a "bang", the celadon teacup in Mrs. Gu San's hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
She stood up suddenly, grabbed the servant by the collar, her eyes bloodshot.
"What did you say? Say it again!?"
"Master Lu... is in high school... and the news has spread everywhere..."
"Impossible!" Mrs. Gu's voice became sharp and piercing, almost a roar, "This is absolutely impossible! He was clearly arrested!"
"Gu Xiaowu saw it with his own eyes! He was caught red-handed. He will never be hired again! How could he possibly be on the list?"
She pushed the servant away as if she was crazy, staggered back two steps, and knocked over the chair behind her.
Her mind was blank, with only the servant's frightened voice echoing in her mind.
“I got it…I got it…”
How is that possible?
She stared at the servant who brought the news, as if she wanted to eat him alive.
"Tell me again, who got hit?"
"It's Young Master Lu, Young Master Gu Lu!" The servant was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, banging his head.
"It's all gone viral outside! The big red announcement has even been delivered to the Duke's Mansion: third place in the first class, the third place winner!"
The third place winner!
"Mother-in-law, please be careful!" Yang quickly supported her.
Madam Gu San shook her hand away, "Where's Gu Xiaowu? Go find that servant Gu Xiaowu for me! I want to ask him! Didn't he see that little bastard being taken away with his own eyes? Where is he?"
Outside the yard, a hearty laugh came from far away, interrupting the madness in the yard.
"What's all the commotion? I heard it from a distance."
Master Gu San walked in with a beaming face. He had specially changed into a brand new Hangzhou silk gown today, and his eyes and brows were filled with joy.
He didn't even look at the servant kneeling on the ground, but walked straight to Madam Gu San, unable to hide the smile on his face.
"Madam, great news! Have you heard? Our brother Lu has passed the imperial examination! And he even won the first place in the imperial examination! Haha, my grandson is the third place winner!"
He rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes filled with pride and anticipation: "That's great! With his talent and rank, admission to the Hanlin Academy is a sure thing!"
"The future is bright. Our third branch has finally produced a remarkable figure!"
Mrs. Gu San looked at her husband's ecstatic face and felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Stand tall and upright?" Mrs. Gu San glared at her husband with red eyes. "You are dreaming! He is a sinner! A sinner who cheated!"
The smile on Master Gu San's face froze. He frowned and looked at his wife unhappily.
"What nonsense! On such a happy occasion, why are you acting crazy here?"
"Am I crazy?" Mrs. Gu laughed shrilly, her nails almost digging into Yang's arm.
"I'm not crazy! You're the one who's crazy! You were fooled by that little bastard! He didn't even enter the exam room! He was caught! He was caught for cheating!"
These words were like thunder from a clear sky, making Master Gu San's ears buzz.
He looked at his wife's crazy expression, and thought of her inexplicably good mood these days, and a terrible idea loomed in his mind.
"You...what did you do?" Master Gu San's voice became heavy, the joy faded, leaving only coldness.
"What am I doing? I'm protecting our third branch! Protecting our son!"
Madam Gu roared, "How can we allow a bastard's grandson to surpass the legitimate son..."
Master Gu San's face turned ashen. He knew clearly which was more important, a grandson who had not yet grown up or a grandson who had won the third place in the high school entrance examination.
"Stupid woman!" He threw his sleeves violently, shaking with anger. "How dare you tamper with the imperial examination? Do you know what this crime is? Your whole family will be implicated!"
"Implicated?" Mrs. Gu San seemed to have grasped the last straw. She stepped forward and grabbed her husband's sleeve tightly.
"No way! No one knows! Gu Xiaowu did it cleanly and saw the person being taken away with his own eyes! Now this news must be wrong! It's fake news released by the Duke's Mansion. They want to deceive us!"
Before she finished her words, there was a commotion at the gate.
Then, the butler led several messengers with music and walked in with a huge red silk announcement in their hands, smiling widely on their faces.
"Congratulations, Third Master! Congratulations, Third Master! Your young master, Gu Lu, has passed the imperial examination and ranked third in the first class of the imperial examination!"
Every word of that joyful singing was like a heavy hammer, hitting Mrs. Gu San's heart hard.
She watched helplessly as the glaring red wedding announcement was unfolded. The two large characters "Gu Lu" written on it were written in a flamboyant style, mocking her stupidity and arrogance.
Master Gu San was stunned on the spot, then he reacted and his face was immediately filled with a smile that was even brighter than before.
He cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, congratulations! Come, take a look!"
"No... this is impossible..."
Madam Gu San muttered to herself, her eyes vacant. She pushed Yang aside and rushed to the center of the courtyard like a madman, pointing at the officials who announced the good news and screaming, "You are liars! You are all liars! Lawyer Gu cheated, he has been caught! How could he possibly win the third place in the imperial examination?"
The messengers looked at each other, their smiles froze on their faces.
Could it be that this old lady Gu has gone insane?
Master Gu San's face instantly turned the color of liver. He roared, "Someone, come! Hurry up and help the lady back to the house! We are embarrassing ourselves here!"
Several strong maids rushed forward and tried to hold Madam Gu San back.
"Let me go!" Madam Gu San struggled hard, "Gu Xiaowu! Where is Gu Xiaowu! Let him come! Let him confront me!"
At this moment, Gu Xiaowu was dragged in by two servants.
As soon as he entered the yard and saw this scene, his legs went weak and he fell to his knees with a thud.
"Madam! Master!"
Mrs. Gu San seemed to have seen a savior. She pushed everyone away, rushed to Gu An, and grabbed him by the collar.
"Tell them! Tell the master! What did you see that day? Did you see that little bastard being taken away?"
Gu An was shaken so hard that he felt dizzy. He took one look at the furious Master Gu San and the bright red wedding announcement, and was so frightened that he could barely speak. "I... I saw with my own eyes... I saw that someone was found smuggled into Master Lu's exam basket... The person was taken away by the soldiers!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the yard fell into deathly silence.
The officials announcing the good news had strange expressions on their faces, and Master Gu San's eyes turned completely cold, as if he was looking at a dead person.
How could a person who was caught cheating by officers and soldiers on the spot appear on the gold list and become the highly anticipated third place winner?
There is only one possibility.
Master Gu San's gaze slowly shifted to his wife's face, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
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