Top Scholar

Chapter 264 As expected

[Disclaimer: The character in the book is praising a future top scholar, not me. I'm not that narcissistic. It's all for the sake of the plot.]

The exams were still in full swing at the state academy.

Everyone knows that the provincial examination is the most difficult of the three major stages, and the prefectural examination is the most difficult of the three minor stages. Although the county examination has the lowest acceptance rate, there are very few truly qualified candidates, so the actual competition is not fierce. The prefectural examination, while attracting numerous top talents, also has a high acceptance rate…

Therefore, regardless of their abilities, all candidates only submitted their papers when the venue was cleared by the time the exam was over.

The gates of the academy slowly opened, and the candidates gathered together to walk out. People who knew each other greeted each other and naturally asked how the exam went.
A group of candidates from Jiang'an County surrounded a tall, thin candidate in his early twenties, chattering amongst themselves: "Brother Jizu, can you do it again this time and get the top score?"

The tall candidate shook his head and smiled bitterly, "There's no chance anymore, the top spot has already been decided."

"What? Was it decided beforehand?" the candidates exclaimed in surprise. They knew the state exams were notoriously corrupt, but they hadn't expected them to be this shady.

"No, that's not it." The tall man then recounted the events that had occurred at Minglun Hall that morning to his fellow villagers.

"What's the difference between that and a pre-selection?" a group of Jiang'an examinees said indignantly. "How can you know that kid is the best without even reading his essay?"

"That's right, Brother Jizu's writing is no worse than his! We should at least give him a chance to compare, right?"

"..." The tall man remained silent, neither agreeing with them nor stopping them. Clearly, he was resentful, but his grandfather's exaggerated reaction made him hesitant to express his opinion.

On the other side, the candidates from Naxi County also learned of this news and were equally indignant. They knew they were not qualified, but they still brought up the top scorer from their county.

On the surface, she was standing up for him, but in reality, she was venting her own dissatisfaction...

"Brother Yuangong, shall we go with you to appeal to the Old Ancestor?" Some people even wanted to urge him to be the first to speak out.

But Yuan Gong, with his baby face and squinty eyes, shook his head and smiled, "We appreciate your kindness, but let's not cause trouble for our ancestor during the exam period."

“Brother Yuangong, I’m not one to stir up trouble, but I wouldn’t be able to swallow this insult.” Someone said indignantly.

“There’s nothing to be angry about.” Yuan Gong saw through it all and laughed, “I do feel a little sorry for that newly appointed top scholar.”

"You still sympathize with him? He's the top judge in the state, what's there to sympathize with?"

“If I were him, I definitely wouldn’t want to be the top scorer in such a shocking way,” Brother Yuangong laughed. “There’s no difference between being the top scorer in the first round and the top scorer in the last round. I would rather take the exam step by step and pass it in the last round, so that I wouldn’t suffer this kind of criticism now.”

"Indeed." Many people agreed: "In the current situation, it's not worth being criticized even after being the top scorer."

"It's a different feeling," someone else disagreed, saying, "To be chosen as the top scholar based on just a draft, what a glorious achievement! Tomorrow he'll be famous throughout Luzhou!"

"Haha, he's already famous throughout Luzhou!" Naturally, some people had heard of Su Lu's name.

“Then his fame will spread all the way to Chengdu!” the man said, changing his tune.

"A high reputation without sufficient talent is like a large tree with shallow roots; it will surely fall when the wind blows." Yuan Gong laughed and said, "Why put so much pressure on yourself just to pass the county-level exam?"

"Haha, indeed." The classmates then understood that Brother Yuangong was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

On the contrary, the candidates in Luzhou, although they were also discussing the matter with great interest, focused on why their husbands had acted so outrageously, and no one questioned Su Lu's score.

From the very first day of enrollment, he was leading by a wide margin at Heshan Academy. In the eyes of Luzhou students, this was far more impressive than any chance of being the top student.

"What is Grandfather doing? Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?" Even Bai Yunshan, who was usually exaggerated in his words and actions, felt that Prefect Jia had gone too far.

“Indeed, too much of a good thing can be bad.” Lei Jun nodded and said, “Now how many people will be watching Su Hongzhi? Grandmasters will definitely investigate him closely.”

"Fortunately, Su Hongzhi's knowledge is solid and he is not afraid of being investigated," Bai Yunshan said with a smile. "However, it is hard to believe that he can suppress all the candidates in Luzhou with just a draft."

"Yes, I'm afraid the trouble is yet to come." Lei Jun sighed softly. Although he and Su Lu were not in the same class, they were from the same school during the state examination, and they still hoped that Su Lu was doing well.

~~
As they spoke, the candidates walked out of Xuegong Street and met up with their families outside the gate. Hearing that the list of successful candidates had been posted, they all went over to check it out.

Before long, the notice board was packed with people, three layers deep. Newcomers couldn't even see the words on the notice board, so they asked the people in front of them, "Please read it."

The candidates in front of the notice board loudly read aloud the announcement that had already been released.

"This is ridiculous! We're not having it!" Many people hadn't even heard about this before, and upon hearing this, they were completely outraged.

"We want to see our grandfather, we want an explanation!"

"I knew you wouldn't accept it, so the old man posted the article!" Fortunately, the teachers from all the schools were there and had already read the article. To prevent the situation from getting out of control, they quickly shouted, "Read it aloud so everyone can hear whether he's worthy or not!"

"..." The clamor at the street corner turned into a low hum, and the examinees angrily fell silent. Some who hadn't done well and were still holding back their anger were ready to start cursing after hearing a few words. With writing, if you want to curse, you can always find something to curse about.

Who knew that he would be so utterly defeated upon opening his mouth—

"Filial piety is the ultimate regret, but it is too late to repent!"

The opening ten characters, like the morning bell and evening drum, immediately shocked everyone! Those who were holding back their anger and wanted to say no were forced to open their mouths, unable to utter a single word of 'no'.

Just like a regular Tang poem, it's fine if you say it's not good. But if it were "Ascending the Stork Tower," "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," or "Mooring at Maple Bridge at Night," and you still said it was not good, then you'd be laughed out of the room.

The room fell completely silent as everyone held their breath, listening intently to this magnificent article, each word a gem, each sentence a testament to blood and tears.

When the reader reached the section on the eight-legged essay, he was also moved by the strong emotions of the article, and his voice became hoarse, as if each word was trying to break free of its restraints before bursting out of his throat.

It is precisely this hoarse and strained voice that best matches the heart-wrenching regret in the article.

The murmuring spring flows swiftly beneath the ice, a hidden sorrow and resentment arise...

In the dim twilight, the examinees clearly saw the images surging between the lines of their writing—

Some people are so grief-stricken by the death of their parents that they can't even read the poem "Liao E," just like Zai Yu grieved for his parents back then.

Some people, seeing the wind blowing and the trees swaying, are reminded of their deceased parents and weep bitterly, just like the fish weeping blood and tears for missing the opportunity to fulfill its filial duties.

In the grand hall, the mirror reflects the white hair of one's parents, filling one with sorrow; even if a wanderer is dressed in fine clothes, he is bound by worldly ties and cannot return home to fulfill his filial duties.

A man was about to leave to make a living and reluctantly bid farewell to his elderly mother. Seeing his white-haired mother weeping uncontrollably, he realized he had also run out of tears...

On a snowy night, unable to be by his mother's side to fulfill his filial duty, he had to leave sadly, closing the thatched gate behind him. Overwhelmed with guilt, what use was a son to a mother? It would have been better if he had never been born…

But when he suddenly realized his mistake and returned to his hometown, he could only stand before his mother's grave, weeping in vain before the poem "Nangai" that speaks of filial piety...

The universal human emotion gripped everyone's heart, making it difficult for them to control their emotions, and they couldn't help but sob...

The sobbing seemed contagious. In this dark twilight, countless people couldn't contain their emotions and shed tears of heartache.

The scene reminded Su Lu, who was watching from afar, of his past life when he was a primary school student and his group went to the cinema to watch "Mom, Love Me Again." Perhaps this was what touched upon the collective subconscious of humankind...

Even he himself felt like crying.

~~
It took a long time for people to recover from the spiritual baptism after the recitation ended.

For those students whose homes are in Luzhou, their first thought was to hurry home and apologize to their parents.

Those who came from other places to take the exam were also eager to return to their inns, write a letter home, and express the same feelings.

Su Lu breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, no one would ever say he wasn't worthy again…

But it's not sustainable to keep suffering reputational damage and then try to reverse it. Maybe next time I should be more careful and not be the first to stick my neck out?
He was lost in thought when suddenly someone hugged him from behind, which startled him!

"Son." Just as Su Lu was about to throw him over his shoulder, the man spoke up, "I never knew you were such a filial son..."

"..." Su Lu was so frustrated and speechless: "Dad, can't you be a little more composed? You scared me to death."

"No, let Dad hug you." Su Youcai choked up and said, "I never thought you buried your filial piety so deep, I never even noticed."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Su Lu, who had brought this upon himself, couldn't afford to embarrass his father. He endured the discomfort for more than ten breaths and said with a wry smile, "Is that enough? Let me go."

"Alright." Su Youcai then let go of him.

Even Chun Ge'er said in a hoarse voice, "Your article is so moving that I couldn't help but shed a few tears."

"Isn't this something I learned from my older brother?" Su Lu said with a smile.

“No, that’s self-taught, yours is clearly trained.” Chun Ge’er said astutely, “You are much better than me in terms of emotional resonance.”

"Big Brother is amazing!" Su Lu gave him a thumbs up in admiration. The old master's teaching of "not speaking out" and "no moves are better than moves" was something his brother had actually figured out.

"Come on, this article of yours is enough for me to study for years." Su Man shook his head and said, "I originally thought the gap between us was limited, but I didn't expect that I still can't catch up with you."

"It's not that big," Su Lu laughed. "A good article is born of nature, and a masterpiece is often a matter of chance. Even if you asked me to write a second one, I couldn't."

"How many more articles like this do you want to write?" Su Man couldn't help but laugh and said, "It would be a blessing from our ancestors to write even one."

Then, unable to resist asking, "So, did the morning prayers work?"

"It works! It really works! My inspiration is flowing freely today too." Su Youcai nodded vigorously and said, "Go back and let me show you the article. See if it can go viral!"

"So confident?" Su Lu and Su Man were overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Of course, we have the blessings of our ancestors!" Su Youcai laughed loudly.

He actually believed it...

(End of this chapter)