Chapter 522 - 196: Ranking (3)
Chapter 522: Chapter 196: Ranking (3)
Sheng Mingchuan laughed at the sight. "Are you feeling unwell, Mr. Gong? If you are, you should finalize the rankings at once. Going to a doctor is the proper thing to do. Examiners have died at their invigilation posts throughout history, and not just a few. Though you are young, Mr. Gong, you must still be careful, lest all your hard work ends in misfortune before you can receive any credit for it."
Hearing this, Gong Yuanxiu seethed with anger.
He bit down hard on his lower lip. If it weren’t for Sheng Mingchuan’s powerful connections, he would have thrown caution to the wind and lashed back at him.
Since he couldn’t do that, his next best option was to take it out on the students of Xinghuai Prefecture. If he could reduce the number of them who became scholars this time, it would be a vicious slap in Sheng Mingchuan’s face.
Unfortunately, all the petty tricks he had prepared were impossible to execute in this hall.
Sheng Mingchuan, whether out of extreme caution or cunning calculation, had used the excuse of being concerned for everyone’s health to replace all of their personal attendants. Even the servants who lit the lamps had been swapped for constables from the government office, eliminating any possibility for him to make any moves.
That alone was infuriating enough, yet Sheng Mingchuan still had to taunt him. It was the last straw. Gong Yuanxiu spun around in a fury and said through gritted teeth, "I’ve made my decision. This paper from the South Hall, Earth Three Hundred Seventy-Nine, will be this examination’s top scorer."
In the end, Gong Yuanxiu decided to take a gamble. He would choose the most outstanding, most stunning essay and declare it the winner.
And who else but Tao Yanxun could produce such a stunning piece of writing?
He then produced two other papers. "This one from the East Hall, Heaven Fifty-One, will be the runner-up. And this one from the West Hall, Profound Eighteen, will be the Jingkui."
As the words left his mouth, Gong Yuanxiu’s heart pounded with anxiety, yet he still clung to a sliver of wishful thinking.
’Tao Yanxun studies at the Imperial College, where he is considered one of the top students. He was supposed to take the Provincial Examination in the Capital City. However, the third anniversary of his grandmother’s death fell right before the exam, requiring him to return home to pay his respects. Claiming the round trip would be too time-consuming, he decided to take the examination in Xinghuai Prefecture instead.’
’Of course, that reason was just a pretext for me and for outsiders. The real purpose was simply that Xinghuai Prefecture is a remote place. With his academic prowess, he believed he could easily crush all the other candidates, secure the title of top scorer, and bring glory to the Tao family.’
’I had even tacitly agreed to help manage things from the shadows, to suppress any potential surprises. But who could have predicted that surprises would indeed arise—and two of them at that?’
’Still, Xinghuai Prefecture is just a remote backwater. Even if other eye-catching papers have appeared, I am certain that neither that Zhao Jing of Xinghuai Prefecture, who swept the preliminary examinations, nor the other top preliminary scholar, Chen Yan Nian, could possibly be a match for Tao Yanxun.’
’Therefore, this paper from the South Hall—the most brilliant of them all—must be from the hand of Tao Yanxun. It can’t be wrong.’
With the rankings decided, a weight lifted from Gong Yuanxiu’s heart. Just then, he felt something trickle from his forehead into his eye. He reflexively raised his arm to wipe it away and saw a dark, damp spot instantly spread across the sleeve of his official robes.
’This sweat... it’s not because I was scared,’ he thought. ’It’s definitely just because this hall is too crowded and hot.’
Gong Yuanxiu tried to save face. "It’s already autumn, but this late-season heat is still so fierce. Mr. Sheng, you are advanced in years; you must be extremely careful when you’re out and about."
Sheng Mingchuan slowly lifted his eyelids, not deigning to fully open them to look at him. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Gong. This old man may be advanced in years, but my health is excellent. I can’t compare to you, Mr. Gong—so young, yet already so depleted. Once we’re out of this examination hall, I will recommend an old physician to you. He can help you properly restore your constitution, lest you find your strength failing you when you need it most and lose your prestige."
The hall was filled with men, and everyone understood the implication of Sheng Mingchuan’s words. They lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking with stifled laughter.
Gong Yuanxiu naturally understood the taunt as well. His breath hitched, and his face flushed with anger.
"My health does not require Mr. Sheng’s concern! If you have so much idle time, you’d be better off worrying about the rankings of the Xinghuai Prefecture students. If too few of them make it into the top ten this time, you’re the one who will have to answer to His Majesty."
"I am well aware of the situation, so I won’t trouble Mr. Gong to worry on my behalf."
The two men were at a standoff, neither willing to back down.
Seeing that it was getting late, Mr. Zhou cleared his throat and interjected to smooth things over. "Let’s unseal the papers. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can post the results. The students are all waiting outside."
Once Mr. Zhou had spoken, neither Sheng Mingchuan nor Gong Yuanxiu said another word.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, the stack of examination papers, as thick as a pile of stones, was unsealed one by one in the inner hall.
"First, find these three papers: South Hall, Earth Three Hundred Seventy-Nine; East Hall, Heaven Fifty-One; and West Hall, Profound Eighteen."