In Chapter 28, the moment the roll call was announced, countless gazes fell upon...
In an instant, countless gazes fell upon Lu Hongguang, making him feel as if he were being pricked by needles, and even cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
His dull-witted son, oblivious to everything, gazed at him expectantly, his eyes filled with longing for the top spot.
Seeing that he remained silent, Lu Chengzhou impatiently raised his hand and called out loudly, "Father... Lord Lu! The time has come, shouldn't we start calling out the names and counting the rolls?"
What an idiot!
Lu Hongguang was so angry at his own son that he almost vomited blood.
He took two deep breaths to suppress the metallic taste rising in his throat, and forced a smile as he said to the examiner beside him in a deep voice, "...After you have finished counting the votes, report them to me and the other officials for discussion, and then announce the final rankings."
He didn't want to go too far.
This tactic was too obvious; it was clear at a glance that he was secretly manipulating things just to force Lu Chengzhou, that good-for-nothing son, into the top three.
But if they don't do this, the Lu family will lose all face in front of the entire city today!
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience erupted in an uproar, whispers filling the air as everyone discussed the sudden turn of events.
"What do you mean? Is Lord Lu planning to secretly tamper with the competition results?"
"What happened to the promised public vote count? How did it turn into them plotting it in private again?"
"Could it be that they want to send his son to the top spot? Do they think we're all blind? The person in seat number three isn't Young Master Lu at all!"
"That's right, I clearly remember that the line for number three was the longest just now! Is this unknown talent going to be buried like this?"
Some people muttered to themselves, "Well, if Young Master Lu really wins, we can at least recoup some of our bets and avoid losing everything..."
“That’s right, this number three is nobody. What good would it do us if he won? Why should we go against the government for his sake…” someone nodded in agreement.
Before he could finish speaking, his words were immediately interrupted by a sharp voice from the side.
"That is incorrect!"
Wen Yu had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
At the last literary gathering, Qing Shi lost the championship to her own brother, and because of her status as a woman, she couldn't even speak out.
This time, Lu Hongguang is going to pull stunts again to steal what belongs to Qing Shi for his son. She absolutely cannot tolerate it!
Everything from her youth must belong to her; no one can take it away.
Wen Yu stepped out from the crowd and stood at the center of everyone's attention.
She turned to the crowd and said loudly, "Gentlemen! Have we risked our lives to come here just for the sake of winning or losing a little money?"
"Lord Su overruled all objections and granted us this precious vote, for the sake of fairness and for true talent to see the light of day! How can we betray his trust out of fear of the powerful and wealthy, and allow a pearl to be tarnished once again?"
She paused deliberately, giving everyone time to think.
"Please look at the stage, everyone. Imagine, in the eyes of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, how are we ordinary people any different from that student sitting in seat number three? According to the rules of previous years, what right do we have to stand here in Lu Garden to judge essays and decide the champion?"
Wen Yu's eyes were burning, and her voice trembled slightly with emotion.
This wasn't entirely her acting; it also carried a hint of resentment towards the unfair treatment of women in this era.
These genuine emotions, combined with her years of accumulated acting skills, became the best trigger to stir people's emotions.
Many people listened to her words, and the crowd gradually quieted down, with countless eyes focusing on her.
Wen Yu seized the opportunity to say, "Now that Lord Su is not present, and Lord Lu intends to make a decision unilaterally, this moment... may be our last chance to defend our right to choose."
"Ladies and gentlemen, please ask yourselves. Should we follow our hearts and elect the leader that we, the common people, truly recognize..." She paused, her gaze sweeping across the entire room, her voice suddenly rising, "or should we, as in the past, shrink back and give up all the hard-won right to speak back to those high and mighty adults and their pre-selected 'leader'?"
His words were like cold water poured into boiling oil, instantly igniting the long-suppressed emotions of the crowd.
Yes, this is the first time in history that they have had the right to choose.
Lord Su trusted them, overcame all objections, opened up avenues for talent, allowed them to enter the garden, and gave them the right to vote. How could we betray him like this?
When everyone was silent, a girl spoke up, and the women present, who had been bound by rules and etiquette for many years and rejected by worldly prejudices, were filled with emotion.
In the past, the precept that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent" was like a shackle, and they never received the same treatment as men. How could they have imagined that they could participate in such a grand literary event?
Today, thanks to Lord Mengsu's kindness, they not only came, but also gained the same right to vote as men.
They are absolutely unwilling to give up this hard-won qualification easily!
"Publicly announce the names!!"
Someone, I don't know who, was the first to raise their arms and shout.
Like a spark falling into dry grass, flames shot into the sky, instantly spreading and becoming uncontrollable.
"Yes! Call out the names publicly!"
"We beg Lord Lu to publicly count the votes!"
"We want to see the vote count with our own eyes! We want to know who we voted for!"
The calls started out sporadic, but quickly coalesced into a unified wave of voices.
The sun was gradually setting in the west, dusk was falling, and lights were gradually lighting up in various parts of the garden.
The dim lights illuminated the excited faces below the stage. Regardless of age or gender, everyone raised their hands and shouted in unison, "Public vote counting!"
The surging public opinion was like a mountain roaring and a tsunami crashing down, making the judges on the stage extremely uneasy. They all turned their heads to steal glances at Lu Hongguang's ashen face, who sat in the middle.
Lu Hongguang wanted to shout sternly to silence them, but he had something to hide and couldn't speak with conviction. He could only slam his fist on the table and yell, "Silence! All of you, be quiet! What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket!"
Just as the two sides on and off the stage were locked in a stalemate, Lu Chengzhou's untimely mind unexpectedly completed a surprising deduction on its own.
He wondered if his father's hesitation was because he was worried that his early success would make him too arrogant, and that he wanted to secretly manipulate the situation to hand over his top position to someone else, in order to temper his character.
This is not a baseless rumor.
He once read about an incident in the book: an examiner of the imperial examinations recognized his student's essay in the exam paper. Fearing that others would gossip about them for favoritism and cheating, he deliberately moved the student from first place to more than tenth place to avoid suspicion.
His father was usually very strict with him, so it wasn't impossible for him to do something like this.
Moreover, before the exam, he had argued with the third candidate, who mocked him, saying it was his last year attending the conference and he should "cherish" it.
If we fail to win this time, we will become a laughing stock for our opponents, and even a laughing stock in everyone's eyes.
The thought of being pointed at and talked about in the future, with people saying things like, "Look, that's Lu Chengzhou, who has taken the exam for many years but has achieved nothing," made his vision go black and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Lu Chengzhou looked towards the third examinee over there.
The other person was clearly smiling and calm, but he couldn't help but imagine a mocking expression on their face.
"So, the talent that Young Master Lu is so proud of... is nothing special after all."
Absolutely not!
Lu Chengzhou, who believed he had glimpsed the secrets of heaven, suddenly felt a tragic sense of duty to turn the tide.
He suddenly stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Lu Hongguang, and proclaimed loudly, "I also believe that since it is a public election, it should be open and transparent! Please, Your Excellency, respect the will of the people and announce the names publicly on the spot!"
boom!
Lu Hongguang felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his blood rushing to his head, his mind spinning, and he almost fainted.
This wretched child!
She had risked her reputation and changed the rules in front of everyone for him, but that idiot Lu Chengzhou actually... personally undermined her?
With even his own son turning against him, Lu Hongguang could no longer find any reason to shirk his responsibility.
His face was ashen, as if all his strength had been drained away. He waved his hand listlessly and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...Granted. Examiners, immediately...announce the names publicly."
----
Upon receiving their orders, the examiners carried the ballot boxes to the front of the table and placed them on the desk.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of people, an examination officer opened the box in front of everyone and took out all the ballots, piling them up into a small mountain, while another person was responsible for loudly announcing the votes.
Each time a sheet was read aloud, the third examiner would take up a pen and solemnly draw a tally mark under the corresponding number on the notice board.
The tickets after the performance were placed in another empty box, which was then sealed again after the entire performance for inspection.
Lu Chengzhou stared intently at the "正" character below number three. Seeing the strokes accumulating more and more, he gritted his teeth in anger and thought with disdain: This guy who popped out of who-knows-where can actually attract so many ignorant people to follow him. It's really just vulgar music that suits the tastes of these country bumpkins.
But deep down, he still harbored a proud self-confidence.
There must be some insightful people among those in the audience, and his work will surely be recognized.
"Candidate number three, final vote count—one hundred and sixty-three votes!"
The examiner read out the numbers clearly and forcefully, eliciting a gasp of amazement from the audience.
Immediately afterwards, the votes for No. 4 and No. 5 were announced, both around thirty votes, which made No. 3's votes stand out even more.
"Candidate number six, final vote count—one hundred and fifty-one votes!"
Another amazingly high score.
Lu Chengzhou suddenly turned his head and looked incredulously at the thin boy sitting in seat number six.
This person... seemed to have come with Number Three. He vaguely remembered that Number Three called him "A-Lan," and the two seemed to know each other very well.
absurd!
His dissatisfaction with Su Lin reached its peak.
To let these ignorant fools decide the outcome of the literary gathering is an insult to literature!
Finally, it was his turn to use box number seven.
The examination officer removed the seal and began to announce: "Number seven, one vote..."
Lu Chengzhou unconsciously held his breath, leaned forward slightly, and silently counted the number of tally marks on the board.
He secretly calculated: "With the brilliance of my article this time, even my father praised it, and I should be able to get two hundred votes... right?"
"Candidate number seven, final vote count—" The examination officer paused briefly, seemingly somewhat surprised by the result, before clearly reporting: "Eighty-nine votes."
Eighty-nine?
Lu Chengzhou's expression froze completely.
It's not two hundred.
Even less than a hundred.
With only 89 votes, almost half of that of candidate number three, and far behind that kid number six!
Impossible! There must be something fishy going on!
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Author's note: Although you didn't win the championship, congratulations on winning first place in the [Clown] category!
The 15,000-word section for this ranking list is finished! Time to start saving up drafts. See you on Thursday when the rankings change! [Applause]
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