Chapter 101
The reputation of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination" has reversed on the Taxue Forum.
As the number of words in the February Sky series increases, and as the male protagonist participates in the county, prefectural, and provincial examinations step by step, becoming a student and then a scholar, readers' expectations for the book are getting higher and higher.
The moment the list of successful candidates was posted, a huge gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.
"Cao Hongjing is the top investigator, Cao Hongjing is the top investigator!"
Upon hearing this, the students who were huddled together to look at the list immediately erupted in an uproar.
"What?!"
After preparing for the exams for some time, the students in Huizhou Prefecture had already gotten to know most of the outstanding students from various places, and they naturally knew of Cao Hongjing's name.
Everyone in Wuyuan County says he is a child prodigy.
Scholars often look down on each other.
Perhaps this child named Cao Hongjing does have some talent, but the title of genius is a bit of an exaggeration, which is what many students think.
But now, they could no longer deceive themselves. Cao Hongjing had not only passed the imperial examination at a young age, but he had also ranked first. All of them couldn't catch up with a mere child.
"Heaven is unfair!" An elderly man with half-white hair, standing in front of the list, couldn't find his name and burst into tears, unable to hold back his emotions any longer.
He was over forty years old, and his son was already married, but he still hadn't passed the imperial examination. This was his last chance, and he failed again. Meanwhile, Cao Hongjing was only fifteen years old!
He was fifteen years old, not even as old as his son.
Cao Hongjing, at such a young age, actually won first place, which made many people unconvinced. These people rushed to the examination papers posted by the government and began to read Cao Hongjing's article word by word, as if determined to find any mistakes.
It's just that we can't find it at all.
Cao Hongjing's entire examination paper was completely free of any corrections, and his handwriting was neat and square, conforming to the standard "official script" of the imperial examinations at that time. As for the content of the essay, it was full of classical allusions, making it a delightful read.
Is this an article that a fifteen-year-old boy could write?
Those who had been so aggressive immediately relaxed, lowered their heads, and slowly walked out of the crowd.
"I am no match for your ability to excel in examinations!"
Inside the teahouse.
Officials went up to the second floor with gongs and drums to announce the good news.
"Congratulations to Mr. Cao Hongjing from Wuyuan for achieving first place in the exam!"
As the officials beat their drums and offered their blessings, everyone in the teahouse immediately turned their attention to the young man sitting by the window on the second floor.
The boy wore a four-cornered turban, a round-necked blue robe, and black cloth shoes. His outfit was that of an ordinary, poor student, but his delicate and youthful face and slender figure clearly indicated that he was too young.
He came in first place...
There was a moment of silence, followed by a buzzing of discussion.
Cao Hongjing remained unmoved. He took out a red envelope he had prepared beforehand and handed it over. The two officials accepted it with smiles, said a few auspicious words, and then left to inform the other successful candidates.
......
The protagonist's gradual ascent through the imperial examinations is a classic example of the "leveling up" trope. No one can resist the glorious moment of triumph after hardship, not even the readers.
Sure enough, the male protagonist had just passed the imperial examination and become famous in Huizhou Prefecture at the age of fifteen, and the netizens on the Taxue Forum couldn't sit still.
I apologize for my previous boasting. This Ming Dynasty is great! This Ming Dynasty is wonderful! I thought the author had run out of ideas and was just putting old wine in new bottles. It turns out I was too narrow-minded. How could a commoner like me keep up with the ideas and thought processes of a genius?!
- That's overblown.
I was even more excited than the male lead when he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Especially when I saw him calmly showing off in the teahouse, attracting envious glances from those around him, I couldn't help but go downstairs and run around.
- I'm dying of laughter. I was howling in the dorm in the middle of the night and my roommates punished me. I told them what happened, and then they got hooked on this novel and are now planning to read it. [shrug]
Hahaha, you can even recommend something like this!
- February Sky is amazing. I've read all her previous books, but I never felt that same spark as her fans. Now I realize I just hadn't encountered my perfect "pig butchering scam" yet...
Oh my god, I'm so excited! The officials actually went to the county and our hometown to deliver the good news! Now our eldest son has become the pride of the whole village and the whole county! [Hands on hips]
I just want to kneel down and beg you to update faster! The story of the scholar is already so exciting, how great will it be when he becomes an official?!
The protagonist's achievement of becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination during his time in the Ming Dynasty is just a small climax in the plot. While readers are still celebrating the protagonist's success, Xu Ying has already begun to conceive the next part of the story.
The imperial examination is a long road, and becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) is just a stepping stone. After that, the protagonist still needs to participate in the provincial-level imperial examination. Only by passing the provincial-level imperial examination and becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) can one take the first step into officialdom.
*
The Zhou Xun incident implicated many people, and as the media exposed the issue, some went to jail and others fled the country. In short, in the eyes of the public, this incident can be considered a partial victory.
Only some of Zhou Xun's extreme fans are dissatisfied.
Fans' love for their idols is fervent and blind. Often, even if others have no ill intentions, they will still suspect that their idol has been wronged. How much more so when this is a real and enormous injustice, they will feel even more indignant on his behalf.
The phrase "chasing after and killing" perfectly describes this group of people.
Those few who escaped punishment because of their family's power and influence may escape legal sanctions, but they cannot escape the retaliation of these fanatical fans.
Fans came up with all sorts of unboxing methods and sent various packages, forcing these people to release videos to prove their innocence and strongly assert that they had nothing to do with the matter.
It doesn't work at all.
These fanatical fans only believe what they find out. Once they get on your nerves, you won't get rid of them until they've skinned you alive. Perhaps this is a different kind of "evil people will be punished by evil people."
Meanwhile, another group of Zhou Xun's more normal fans, while cheering and encouraging him, suddenly discovered that the blogger named 'Purple Lavender' had posted another video.
Purple Lavender posted a video?!
Upon hearing this news, both fans and casual observers were shocked. After all, it was one of her videos that connected Zhou Xun and Er Yue Tian, two people who had nothing in common, which led to so many subsequent events.
Although what happened afterward had nothing to do with her, seeing her release a new video, everyone couldn't help but wonder what she was up to this time.
Wang Yixin didn't intend to do anything.
She was simply happy that her brother had been exonerated and could return to the big screen.
Overjoyed, she tipped Er Yuetian a considerable amount of money. Speaking of which, she was grateful to Er Yuetian for replying to her so that Zhou Xun's matter could be exposed. Therefore, her goodwill towards Er Yuetian has increased dramatically.
She actually sent several more private messages to Eryuetian afterward, all expressing her gratitude and asking who Dingzhi was, but unfortunately Eryuetian never replied to her again.
It's okay if she doesn't reply; she'll still read her novels. Consider it a sign of support.
After deciding that Er Yuetian's "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination" was unsuitable for her brother, she stopped paying attention to it. However, to thank Er Yuetian, she picked it up again this time.
After subscribing and making a donation, she slowly started reading from the first chapter.
This is quite something.
In the latest chapter of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination", the young protagonist passed the exam with top honors. The local magistrate of Wuyuan was overjoyed. Upon learning that the protagonist had not yet chosen his courtesy name, he generously wrote the two characters "Dingzhi" for him.
Set it... Set it...
It turns out that Cao Hongjing is the Dingzhi that Eryuetian mentioned, and that Eryuetian had long intended for Zhou Xun to be the male lead.
Realizing this, Wang Yixin could no longer suppress the smile on her lips. She gloated in her room for a long time before posting this amazing discovery online.
The familiar combination of text, screenshots, and background music immediately stunned netizens who clicked on the video of purple lavender, as they were taken aback by the information conveyed by the large text on the screen.
Purple Lavender: If you knew who Dingzhi was, you'd also think my brother is so lucky, hahaha! [Screenshot][Screenshot][Screenshot]
To prevent first-time viewers from being confused, Wang Yixin specially reposted the screenshots of her private messages with Eryuetian. As for the remaining two screenshots, one was the cover of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination," and the other was a scene from the novel where the county magistrate named the male protagonist.
The three screenshots clearly show the cause and effect.
-?! !!
-If I understand correctly, the blogger meant that Eryuetian told her that Zhou Xun was not suitable to play Zhu Yuanzhang, but suitable to play Dingzhi. Now the blogger has discovered that Dingzhi is Cao Hongjing, and Cao Hongjing is the male lead of "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination". So, by deduction, Eryuetian hopes that Zhou Xun will play the role in "Traveling to the Ming Dynasty to Take the Imperial Examination"!
- This shocked my whole family. So, a month ago, Er Yuetian had already thought of the words for the male lead of her novel and found the actor for him. Is she that far-sighted?
- I'm starting to wonder if this is all a setup.
Was the private message that February Sky replied to the blogger just a casual reply? Why did the blogger's video go viral so quickly after it was posted? Why were netizens able to uncover so much information in such a short time? Is there really no one behind the scenes pushing things along?
-Do you think it's possible that Er Yue Tian wanted Zhou Xun to play the male lead in her novel, but as someone in the industry, she must have known that Zhou Xun was not in control of his own destiny. So she came up with this method of public exposure to eradicate the criminal forces behind Zhou Xun in one fell swoop...
- Holy crap, February is going against capitalists! Listen to this, is this even reasonable? To get Zhou Xun to play their male lead, they pulled this stunt. Even screenwriters wouldn't dare to think of such a thing!
- Hahahaha, the speculations in the comments section are getting more and more outrageous.
Regardless of what February Sky was thinking, I think the blogger is right about one thing: Zhou Xun is indeed lucky. Usually, artists like him who are targeted by capital don't have a good ending, but he not only escaped but also gained the favor of a great screenwriter, which is already very fortunate.
......
Following the trending topic #WhoIsDingzhi#, #DingzhiIsCaoHongjing# has now become a trending topic.
This trending topic is actually part of a TV series.
Netizens' memories are usually limited, but if someone repeatedly helps them recall, they can still manage to remember.
#Who is Dingzhi?# Isn't this the beginning of the Zhou Xun incident? Now that the Zhou Xun incident has just ended, the mystery has been revealed immediately. The timing is so coincidental that it's no wonder netizens suspect that everything was orchestrated by Er Yue Tian.
For a time, memes like "February Sky fights capitalists for Zhou Xun" and "February Sky gets angry for his male friend" filled the trending comments section, causing passersby who clicked in later to burst into laughter.
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