After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Lu Jing's voice was warm and gentle as he slowly and methodically explained why Ning Baixuan had ranked ninth in the academy examination.

Hongfeng smiled slightly and glanced at him with admiration in his eyes.

Facing Hongfeng's gaze, Lu Jing nodded in acknowledgment, but couldn't help feeling smug. Ning Baixuan was bound to slip up in the provincial examination... This was the consensus within the Imperial Academy.

After all, the provincial examination involved anonymous transcription, and in addition to the chief examiner, there were also invigilators and co-examiners.

The proctors only supervise the exams, while the co-examiners only review the papers.

Among the examiners were several renowned scholars from the Imperial Academy, including even the Director of Studies.

Several others were former associates of Chief Minister Qin, all of whom were upright and incorruptible, and none of them would give Marquis Jingbei any face.

Moreover, for Marquis Jingbei... he simply wanted his talented grand-nephew to have another scholar's title.

As for his status as a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), presumably the old Marquis wouldn't be so tactless as to bother the Empress again.

At the North-South Poetry Gathering, the students of the Imperial Academy were overshadowed by Ning Baixuan and Shangguan Xiu. Although they were broad-minded and did not hold grudges, they were also well-versed in the classics and had a clear sense of right and wrong. Naturally, they could not tolerate those who deceived the world and stole fame!

Upon hearing Lu Jing's words, the female voice inside fell silent.

After a long pause, the other person seemed to mutter to themselves, "No wonder... I always thought he didn't seem like he'd had much education..."

"Huh?" Hongfeng and Lu Jing were both taken aback. The voice was somewhat unclear, and since they couldn't communicate, they wondered if they had misheard.

Seeing that the seventeenth princess inside was silent.

Hongfeng said gently, "Your Highness, Lu Jing and I have already made an appointment with the people from the Imperial Academy of the Southern Dynasty. We plan to go to Heming Tower together today to wait for the results of the Jiangnan Examination Hall to be released... Your Highness, I will not disturb you any longer."

Lu Jing smiled and said, "If Your Highness were to pass the provincial examination with top honors, and even achieve the highest honors in four consecutive examinations, you would be second to none in history, and the marriage alliance would be a natural progression."

Two people from the former Liang dynasty won the "Small Three Top Scholars" title, one person won the "Big Three Top Scholars" title, but only one person won all six titles.

Therefore, let alone winning six consecutive top honors, even winning four consecutive top honors would make Hongfeng the second person in history to achieve this feat.

Hongfeng smiled reservedly.

After the provincial examination, he recited some of his essays and policy proposals from memory and showed them to his three teachers. The three teachers were overjoyed and exclaimed, "Even the Southern Dynasties might not have produced so many top scholars!"

After the two finished speaking, just as the Seventeenth Princess inside was about to say "You may leave" and take her leave, silence fell over the room.

Even Hongfeng couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed at this moment.

After a while, a clear female voice suddenly let out a soft "Eh?": "So, Ning Nan is definitely going to fail the exam this time?"

Hongfeng was a little confused about what the princess meant. His expression froze for a moment. Was the princess thinking, "These talented scholars from the North and South will definitely be overshadowed by you?"

Lu Jing lowered his head and said, "Nothing is absolute, but I think it should be as Seventeenth Princess predicted."

"Hmm—" The female voice inside let out a long moan, her voice clear and crisp, "Then wait a moment!" There was a hint of surprise in her tone.

After saying that.

A sound of a stool being dragged on the floor came from inside. It must have been because the princess got up and the stool was moving around, making an unpleasant noise.

"Ahem! Tuantuan! Yuanyuan!" The Seventeenth Princess cleared her throat, her voice crisp and excited, and called out, "Come in!"

"Yes, sir!" the twin maids replied in unison.

The two opened the carved vermilion door, went inside together, and then slammed the door shut again.

Hongfeng frowned. He wondered what this notoriously audacious Seventeenth Princess was planning to do this time.

Not long after.

The gate was wide open.

"snort!"

With a soft hum, a handsome young man dressed in a bright yellow mandarin jacket and wearing a melon-shaped hat stepped out from inside.

Hong Feng and Lu Jing were both stunned. Although the young master was dressed in men's clothing, his handsome face was still undeniable.

This person... is clearly the Seventeenth Princess!

At that moment, Hongfeng suddenly had a thought... He wondered how the Southern Dynasty Empress's appearance compared to the Seventeenth Princess. He had requested an audience many times, but she had never granted him one. He wasn't in a hurry; he only hoped that the Empress had six or seven points of the Seventeenth Princess's beauty.

"Hmph!" The young master, disguised as a man, cleared his throat.

Even though it was early winter, this young master was still holding a white folding fan in his hand.

Hongfeng took a breath and looked at the folding fan. There was a painting on it. The painting... the painting was of a boy with his eyes closed, dressed in simple clothes, who seemed to be sitting on the edge of a bed. Behind the boy was a window, and outside the window was a patch of golden sunlight.

"Clatter!"

The young master closed his fan, his eyes clear and bright, like a pool of water come alive. She tilted her chin up, revealing her fair neck, and said:

"Let's go! Since that's the case... then this young master... will accompany you to see the results of the imperial examinations!"

……

……

Heming Tower was bustling with activity today, filled with people and noise. Not only was the interior of the tower full, but the area outside was also packed. The owner of Heming Tower had used his connections to set up a shed outside and set up about ten tables for students waiting to receive their exam results to rest and have tea.

Across the street is the Jiangnan Examination Hall, and at this time of year, the restaurant is always incredibly busy.

This year's provincial examination, in particular, is exceptional.

At the beginning of the month, the Nancheng Daily published a news item stating that over the past 120 years, a total of eight top scholars had drunk tea at Heminglou while awaiting the release of the examination results!

The newspaper ran the story for three consecutive days, and as a result, Heminglou's "Top Scholar Tea" became an instant hit!

From that day on, if you come to Heminglou and don't order a pot of "Zhuangyuan Tea", then you've wasted your trip!

When Hongfeng, wearing a melon-shaped hat, arrived at Heming Tower with Lu Jing and... a certain elegant young lady, this was the scene that greeted him.

The outdoor sheds were packed with people, and the inside was even more noisy, making it almost impossible to squeeze in.

However, things naturally changed when he arrived.

As soon as we arrived outside the Crane Cry Tower.

Dressed in purple, Qin Yun led students from the Imperial Academy to greet him, repeatedly saying with laughter, "Welcome, Your Highness! A private room has been prepared..."

Upon hearing the words "Prince," the Crane Cry Tower, which was packed with people upstairs and downstairs, immediately fell silent.

Everyone was startled and turned to look at the group of people wearing melon-shaped hats by the door.

Upon seeing that face, whose beauty rivaled that of Wu Shangmei, everyone's expressions became even more complicated.

Only after seeing those people go up to the second floor and seemingly enter a private room did everyone turn around and whisper to their tablemates...

"This Tartar is quite formidable... He achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations in Yingtian Prefecture..."

"Yingtian Prefecture?"

"The entire Yingtian Prefecture..."

"I hope this time they don't become the top scholar among the Tartars..."

"You never know, you never know..."

"It's expected that Ning Baixuan is a good-for-nothing, and Xu Qingteng is just another one... But it's strange that Bailu Academy and the Imperial Academy are also such good-for-nothings..."

"That's right... I heard that in the Southern Zhili provincial examination, Li Wenzhao from Bailu Academy only got second place... Qian Huang, Qing Zude, Lian Ziweng... a whole bunch of talented people, but they're all complete idiots..."

……

At the entrance of Heming Tower, Gongsun Heng, who had not yet stepped across the threshold, turned around and looked at the group of senior brothers from Bailu Academy with a grin.

Apart from Li Yanting and Lian Ziweng, everyone else's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Gongsun Heng laughed, "You're all just cowards!"

Everyone gave a bitter smile.

Qing Zude rolled his eyes and snorted, "Let us be cowards then, as long as Ning Baixuan doesn't fail the exam this time and embarrass Headmaster Gongsun..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gongsun Heng's smile vanished as she stared at him.

Qing Zude immediately changed the subject, saying, "Losing face to the headmaster is secondary; what I fear most is that he is my junior sister's master, and losing face to her would be the real issue!"

Gongsun Heng snorted: "The imperial examinations are so difficult, are you that good at it? You're also my grandfather's disciple, how many times have you taken the provincial examinations?"

The implication was clear: how many times have you embarrassed my grandfather?

Qing Zude was immediately taken aback.

The others chuckled. Although their junior sister was defending her cheap "master," her words, "The imperial examinations are so difficult," still brought them some comfort.

Everyone was filled with anxiety. No one was sure they would pass the provincial examination this year, let alone the metropolitan examination that followed.

At that moment, the shopkeeper behind the counter, with his sharp eyes, noticed their clothing.

He hurriedly stepped forward, smiling and bowing, and said:

"May I ask if you are all esteemed scholars from Bailu Academy?"

Qing Zude glanced at the shopkeeper and exclaimed, "What? You think students of Bailu Academy can come for free?"

He pointed to the door and said impatiently, "We are all poor scholars and cannot afford your private room. Just set up another table for us outside and pour us a pot of 'Top Scholar Tea'."

The others smiled nonchalantly, not finding anything wrong with Qing Zude calling them "poor, pedantic students."

The shopkeeper hurriedly shook his head, repeatedly saying, "No, no, no... Gentlemen, gentlemen..."

He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, and smiled.

"Young Master Ning has already reserved private rooms for you all. Please follow me..."