Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 319 Save Yuan
Cui Wenjing was incoherent, his facial muscles contorted as he tried to burst into laughter, but his eyes instantly turned red, and hot tears welled up like a burst dam, flowing freely down his already wrinkled cheeks, which he didn't bother to wipe away.

It was a near-frenzied excitement, a release that had been suppressed for far too long.

The heavy burden of more than a decade has finally been lifted at this moment.

He suddenly turned around and waved his arms at everyone he could see, whether he knew them or not, his voice trembling but incredibly loud.

"I won! The fifth time! I finally won!"

In fact, apart from his fellow Sichuanese, no one paid him any attention, but he still raised his head, letting the tears flow freely, and exhaled a long, long breath of pent-up frustration from half a lifetime towards the cold sky of Kaifeng.

"Ranked 359th, Shen Kuo from Hangzhou."

Shen Kuo spent almost all his time making hot air balloons before the exam, and he still managed to pass. He truly lived up to his reputation as an "all-around genius".

However, taking the imperial examinations wasted too much of this scientific giant's time.

"The 341st, Wang Shao of Jiangzhou"

"Ranked 328th, Lü Huiqing from Quanzhou"

Although they both passed the exam, their rankings were not high, and their performance was probably affected by the heavy snow to some extent.

Just then, a gasp of surprise rang out from the group of Jiangxi scholars, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"What are they shouting? What's so great about being on the back of the list?"

"It seems to be the Zeng family or something."

"Hey, how come three members of the Zeng family won?"

"Not three, but five! And two sons-in-law!"

"Good heavens! Five members of this family made it onto the list! No wonder they were so loud!"

The sound of discussion reached Lu Beigu's ears, and he quickened his pace in looking at the list.

"Ranked 317th, Zeng Fu of Jianchang Army."

"Ranked 305th, Zeng Bu of Jianchang Army."

"Ranked 297th, Zeng Mou of Jianchang Army"

"Ranked 286th, Wang Wujiu of Jianchang Army."

"Ranked 274th, Wang Yanshen of Jianchang Army."

Lu Beigu understood that once this list was released, the reputation of the Zeng family of Nanfeng among scholars would surely rise to new heights.

After all, there's a world of difference between being good at only one skill and being good at everything.

Lu Bei looked in the direction of Zeng Gong and the others. He saw that although Zeng Gong's expression remained calm, his tightly pursed lips had relaxed slightly, and his eyes showed an undisguised sense of satisfaction.

Zeng Bu, Zeng Mou, and others around him were so excited that their faces turned red, and they pounded each other's chests.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Beigu saw other familiar names.

"Ranked 195th, Lin Dan from Fuzhou"

This is Lin Xi's younger brother. Lu Beigu met him once at Ma Jiliang Garden.

"Ranked 192nd, Zhu Guangting from Henan Prefecture"

As Lu Beigu's gaze moved rapidly across the list, a phenomenon became increasingly apparent.

—On this list, which includes the 185th to the 373rd admitted students, the proportion of candidates from Kaifeng Prefecture is surprisingly low from beginning to end!

This is completely abnormal, because in the past, the list of candidates for the provincial examinations of the Ministry of Rites would be filled with a large number of students from Kaifeng Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, the students from the Imperial Academy who had gathered together did not show any disappointment or surprise on their faces. Instead, they were filled with an irrepressible excitement and even a sense of superiority.

"Hey, see? Just like I told you!" a voice deliberately raised, with a boastful tone. "This list is all for the lower ranks. How could someone from our Imperial Academy possibly be ranked here?"

The people around immediately echoed him, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Yes, yes, yes! They're definitely all at the front! They're all waiting on the top list!"

An arrogant young man asserted, "This year's class will likely have an even bigger harvest than last year! They might even make up half of the top spots!"

“More than half? I think we might even sweep it all! How could ordinary people compare to us Imperial Academy students?” another person said confidently.

"Haha, when we see the top list later, we'll definitely be proud of ourselves! Let those out-of-towners see what the 'Imperial Academy style' is like, and what the grandeur of the capital is like!"

The laughter of the students was filled with anticipation of witnessing their upcoming glory.

They whispered among themselves, their voices loud and filled with collective confidence.

Clearly, they automatically interpreted the absence of Imperial Academy students on this list as a result of all of them performing too well, thus placing them all in higher positions and making a collective appearance on the later-posted front list.

This idea is not without merit, because in previous years, many students from the Imperial Academy have ranked highly among the top candidates.

However, some more perceptive students felt uneasy about this strange phenomenon of collective absence from the list of successful candidates.

However, they dared not voice their suspicions.

Lu Beigu shook his head. This list was clearly a resounding slap in the face from Ouyang Xiu to the Imperial Academy!

However, the students, still immersed in their dreams, were oblivious and even mistook the slap for a salute.

Just as they were looking at the list of the last few, the officials from the Ministry of Rites brought out the list of the first few.

The huge banner was fully unfurled and pasted onto the high wall as well.

This time, no one looked from back to front; everyone's eyes were fixed on the very top of the list.

Although he was mentally prepared, he still felt that the moment of his fate came somewhat abruptly.

Lu Beigu's gaze swept over the countless throngs of people and landed on the top of the list, on the darkest line of text.

He saw it.

—First place, Lu Beigu from Luzhou, eighteen years old, ranked first in calligraphy, second in ink painting, second in poetry, first in prose, second in current affairs, and first in essays.

The air seemed to freeze completely in that instant.

Lu Beigu's pupils suddenly contracted, his mind went blank, all the noise around him instantly faded away, leaving only the "thump-thump" of his heart pounding wildly in his chest, his blood rushing and surging through his veins, making a buzzing sound.

Provincial Yuan?

Is he the top scholar in the current provincial examination?
His reaction at that moment was somewhat unexpected; it was disbelief, profound bewilderment, and even a hint of fear.

Lu Beigu squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then suddenly opened them wide.

The ink is clear, the handwriting is neat, and the place of origin, name, and age are all exactly correct.

It's a long story, but in reality, all of Lu Beigu's reactions happened in just two breaths.

Beside him, Su Zhe's exclamation changed tone and even cracked.

"Brother Lu! Provincial Governor! You're the Provincial Governor!!!"

This sound was like a thunderclap, splitting the invisible barrier around Lu Beigu and completely igniting the emotions of the candidates from Sichuan!
"what?!"

"Brother Lu is the provincial champion?!"

"My God! Look! It really is Lu Beigu! The top scholar!"

Cui Wenjing was overjoyed. The usually composed man grabbed Lu Beigu's arm and shook it vigorously, as if to confirm through this direct contact that it was not a collective hallucination.

(End of this chapter)