Upon hearing this, Chen Zhancai immediately perked up. "Really? The results are really out?" he exclaimed, and without caring about his disheveled appearance, he ran out the door.
The waiter followed them out of the inn.
All the way there, Chen Zhancai was filled with anticipation, his mind filled with fantasies about whether he would shout loudly after passing the imperial examination or kneel down and kowtow a few times...
Unable to contain his eagerness, he jogged to the place where the results were posted.
The place was already packed with people, completely jammed.
Chen Zhancai exerted tremendous effort to finally squeeze his way to the front of the red list.
His eyes searched the list anxiously and nervously for his name.
However, even after searching from the top to the bottom of the list, the name 'Chen Zhancai' was not found.
He was somewhat incredulous, thinking he had missed it, and began searching again.
They searched repeatedly, but still couldn't find his name.
In that instant, Chen Zhancai's vision went black, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Some of the people around cheered with joy, while others sighed in despair.
At this moment, Chen Zhancai seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, his mind was in a daze, and he appeared as if he had lost his soul.
After standing there stunned for a long time, he turned around like a walking corpse, dragging his leaden legs, and slowly walked towards the inn...
Throughout the journey, his heart was filled with a mixture of emotions, like a bottle of mixed feelings spilled out.
He regretted that he had insisted on pretending to be a rich young master and imagining a romantic encounter.
Now look what happened. He enjoyed pretending to be an idiot for a while, but he failed the imperial examination and is penniless. How is he going to pay the bill?
Back at the inn, the innkeeper will definitely keep pressing for payment for the room; if you tell him the truth, he'll beat you to death.
No, I absolutely cannot say I have no money. I must come up with a good way to get away with it.
There might be no good solution, unless the shopkeeper takes a liking to the place and waives the rent.
Impossible, impossible! The shopkeeper isn't his father, how could he not want the money...?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious and frightened he became. Suddenly, a thought struck him: as long as he didn't go back, everything would be fine.
Having made up his mind, he glanced around and thought, "If I don't run now, when will I?" So he quickly made his escape!
He swung his arms and ran in the opposite direction of the inn, but before he had gone far, he heard someone shout behind him.
"Young Master Chen, please wait! Don't run away!"
The waiter had been following Chen Zhancai for a while. When he saw Chen Zhancai come out of front of the list looking dejected, he guessed that he had failed the exam. He wanted to go up and comfort him, but before he could get close, he saw Chen Zhancai running in the opposite direction from the inn.
He immediately sensed something was wrong, thinking that Chen Zhancai couldn't take the blow and wanted to commit suicide by the river, so he hurriedly ran after him.
That shout was like a thunderclap, instantly striking Chen Zhancai's heart, and he involuntarily stopped in his tracks.
Looking back, I saw that the inn's waiter had caught up with us.
He was immediately startled, and quickly cleared his throat, trying to hide his inner panic, and said seriously,
"Who ran away? I just wanted to stretch my muscles, is it really necessary to make such a fuss!"
Hearing this, the waiter chuckled awkwardly and said, "Please don't be offended, sir. I thought you couldn't find the inn, so I came up to remind you."
Chen Zhancai frowned, looking displeased. "Why aren't you working at the shop? What are you doing here? Are you spying on me, afraid I'll run away?"
"No, no, no," the waiter shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, "Young Master Chen, you have really misunderstood me. I was just passing by and had no intention of doing so."
Chen Zhancai sneered inwardly. The little brat still wouldn't admit it, so he'd just go along with it. "I see. You can go now. I'd like to take a stroll alone for a while."
"No rush, no rush. Since Young Master Chen is in such a good mood, let me show you around and tell you about the local customs and culture."
The waiter wasn't stupid; he knew his responsibilities. If he lost sight of someone, he'd get a severe scolding and might even lose his job.
Chen Zhancai was furious to see him sticking to him like a leech.
Knowing he couldn't shake them off, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and return to the inn.
The shopkeeper had already understood something from the waiter's eyes, but he still pretended not to know and stepped forward with a smile, asking,
"Young Master Chen, the results were announced today. You must have passed with flying colors, right?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhancai became extremely nervous, but he still tried to remain calm, maintaining his air of a wealthy young master and starting to boast.
"Although we didn't pass the imperial examination this time, it doesn't matter whether we pass or not. We can just have my father, Chen Baiwan, spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy an official position. Wouldn't that save us a lot of trouble?"
"Yes, yes, Young Master Chen is absolutely right." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly in agreement, then subtly changed the subject, "Now that the results have been posted, Young Master Chen will likely be setting off soon. I just roughly calculated the accounts, and it's less than sixty taels of silver. Do you think it would be appropriate to transfer the shop's rent...?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhancai's heart skipped a beat. His worst fears had come true; what was he to do? How could he possibly pay the shop owner?
There's no way around it, I'll just keep spouting nonsense!
One has to admire Chen Zhancai's mental fortitude; even in this state, his facial expression remained largely unchanged.
He waved his hand casually, "Shopkeeper, don't be anxious. It's just a mere sixty taels of silver. To my Chen family, it's nothing. I wrote home a few days ago. In three to five days, my father, Chen Baiwan, will send his steward to Ningjing to pick me up. He will give you one hundred taels of silver then."
He said this, but he had already planned it out in his mind. He would first try to keep the old man calm with his words, and then find a chance to slip away. He couldn't just sit and wait to die!
The shopkeeper was no pushover either, but he still smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Of course, of course, young master, you can stay here with peace of mind."
Is there anything else?
"No, please go upstairs to rest, Young Master Chen."
When the innkeeper saw Chen Zhancai return to his room, he narrowed his eyes and instructed the waiter beside him, "Keep a close eye on this kid, and don't let him get away."
"Don't worry, shopkeeper. These days, I've spent all my time guarding his door, except when I'm sleeping."
"No, for safety's sake, from now on, you're on watch for twelve hours a day!"
Upon hearing the shopkeeper's words, the waiter frowned. "Shopkeeper, what do you mean? Are you afraid he'll run away? That can't be right. He said his father is Chen Baiwan, the richest man in Anyang. He wouldn't renege on his promise over such a small amount of money."
"That's true, but there are some things we have to be wary of!" The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed softly.
......
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