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

"Old Scholar Tong, you have no desire to be an official in your heart, so how did you manage to pass the imperial examination?!"

Ning Jieyuan's words, tinged with a cold smile, exploded in the private room!

The old scholar named Tong Xiaocheng's eyes widened.

The anger that had been building up in his chest for years suddenly surged up inside him.

"This old man," he waved his hand, suddenly rising to his feet! He raised his voice and shouted out the two words.

But his voice suddenly stopped, and the complete sentence, "How could I not want to be an official?" seemed to be stuck in his throat. He couldn't say it for a moment, and his eyes immediately became blank.

The reason he didn't shout those words was certainly not because he was afraid of being accused of being greedy for wealth or power.

He's over sixty years old, half his body is in the ground, so why should he care what others say?

Besides, if it weren't for wanting to become an official, if it weren't for coveting wealth and status, why would I have taken the provincial examination for forty years?

But just as he was about to categorically refute the other party's utterly absurd statement, a sudden clap of thunder seemed to ring out in his mind.

For a moment, they were speechless.

Do you want to be an official? ...Of course I do!

When he was a child, his father, grandfather, and teachers all told him about the "Great Way of the Sages," the "People are the most important," and the "Successful Person Helps All Under Heaven." From that time on, he wanted to become an official and help all under heaven.

As he grew older, he witnessed tax collectors oppressing the people, the evil servants of a scholar abducting women, and the people pleading their cases in tears, yet the privileged sons of the wealthy walked out of the county government unscathed... His desire to become an official reached its peak!

Countless days and nights, despite his fingers being frostbitten and inflamed, he gritted his teeth and wrote tirelessly, all for the sake of becoming an official so that he could vent the anger of those who were oppressed, including himself.

Tong Xiaocheng's mind raced with thoughts, and the colors in his eyes constantly shifted. Sometimes they shone brightly, and sometimes they turned gray.

In an instant, a series of faces flashed through his mind.

Some of them were like-minded friends from their youth, who, like him, were cynical and unwilling to lag behind others.

I am determined to pass the imperial examinations and become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). Once I am appointed to an official post, I will assist the emperor in reforming the bureaucracy! I will reclaim our lost territories, restore peace and tranquility to the land...

Some of his friends were different from him; some passed the imperial examinations and became officials, while others even passed the metropolitan examinations and became officials... But...

Tong Xiaocheng's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Those friends... seem... no different from the officials they criticized when they were young!

Their family's landholdings seemed to appear out of nowhere, growing larger year by year; their ancestral property expanded annually; they took concubine after concubine, and the children they bore were increasingly wicked. One of their children, even as a teenager, spat at him and cursed, "You pedantic scholar! My father calls you brother, and you actually dare to discipline me?"

Tong Xiaocheng was lost in thought, and muttered something to himself.

"Nothing's different..."

……

The students of Bailu Academy stood on the left side of Ningnan.

"What's wrong with him?" Qing Zude looked at the old man, frowned, and asked.

The old man seemed stunned by a strange remark Ning Baixuan made.

Qian Huang had far more experience than Qing Zude, and he had a few guesses in his mind, but he couldn't say them aloud. He just sighed, a hint of respect in his eyes, and said:

"Ning Jieyuan is truly a man of great talent!"

At this time.

"Phew..." Tong Xiaocheng sighed as his expression gradually returned to normal.

The old man's anger and urgency had faded, and he glanced at Ning Nan with a complex and indescribable look in his eyes.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone.

He bowed deeply to Ning Nan with a solemn expression, his tone both deep and slightly relaxed as he said:

"Tong...Tong thanks Ning Jieyuan for clearing up my doubts..."

The old man's voice trembled slightly: "Tong..."

He was filled with mixed emotions, but in the end he couldn't say anything, only saying:

"Tong's obsession has been resolved; in this life... he will no longer take the imperial examinations!"

Tongshudai made a solemn vow.

Inside and outside the door, an uproar erupted in an instant!

The old scholar, who had taken the provincial examinations for forty years and was quite famous among the academies and students, known as "the bookworm," had actually given up? He was no longer taking the imperial examinations?!

"Tong Shudai, what's wrong with you?!" someone shouted.

Tong Shudai, however, seemed to have let go of his worries, his face showing a relieved expression, and he didn't reply...

……

Seeing this, Ning Nan breathed a sigh of relief... Well, at least they're not going to bother each other anymore...

He showed no sign of it on his face, only raising his eyebrows.

I actually had a lot of things I wanted to say to persuade the old man to go home and stop causing trouble here.

Ning Nan was greatly relieved to hear the old man's advice after only saying one sentence.

"Oh,"

Ning Nan returned the greeting and smiled politely:

"Mr. Tong, you are too polite."

He pointed to a table next to him, behind which sat a thin accountant from Heming Tower, holding a pen in his hand, his eyes filled with trepidation.

Ning Nan reached out and smiled, "Mr. Tong, please take back your visiting card..."

……

When Gongsun first arrived in Heming, he said that a large group of people planned to cause trouble for him after the results of the provincial examination were announced, in order to confirm that he had "borrowed his great-uncle's reputation to pass the county examination" and to speak out for Lou Jizuo, who had been demoted.

A scholar's rebellion will fail after ten years.

He didn't take it seriously at the time.

Even if there were a hundred scholars who only talk and never act, what great things could they possibly accomplish?

If they were to make a move... Qian Sijin would be standing guard beside him with a squad of Imperial Guards and a crossbow.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

However, he also thought to himself that it was probably because of the death of Li Baoxin that he had presented key evidence to overturn the verdict of the Jiangning County government, which offended Magistrate Lou and caused the county magistrate to name him last.

Of course, I did have some doubts in my heart: was I really that bad?

But he only got ninth place in the provincial examination, which made people suspect that he had only gone through most of the process.

Lou Jizuo was probably still seeking personal revenge.

These people wanted to avenge Lou Jizuo, but it's not hard to guess why they had to wait until after the results of the provincial examination were announced.

It's nothing more than waiting until he fails the provincial examination, which will solidify his reputation as "having poetic talent but no great talent."

At this point, it would be perfectly logical to kick him while he was down. For these people, it was a small matter to avenge Lou Jizuo, but it was a big deal to step on the heads of the talented people from the north and south to make a name for themselves. As the saying goes, people are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat.

At that time, the results of the provincial examination were still uncertain, and he had no interest in paying attention to them. He only wanted to see if he could pass the provincial examination.

Before the provincial examination, I boasted to my wife, still holding onto my expectations and feeling confident that my writing was decent and should be fine.

Once he passed the imperial examination, the rumors would be dispelled—the county examination was a result of Lou Jizuo's personal revenge, deliberately placing him last.

In that case, these people should stop making things difficult for me, right?

Later, when the names were called out for the provincial examination, his name was not called from sixth to one hundredth place... Ning Nan felt bitter and knew that he had most likely failed the exam this time.

Although the Five Classics Champions have not yet been announced, I only ranked ninth in the provincial examination. How could I possibly be qualified to be one of the Five Classics Champions in the highly competitive provincial examination?

He sighed inwardly, but naturally didn't show it on his face. He just stared at the table and ate snacks like dried tofu and broad beans.

Seeing him like this, Gongsun pursed her lips and didn't say anything to comfort him. She obediently sat to the side and poured him tea.

Neither of them expected it at the time...

When the top five scholars were announced, and finally the top scholar was named...

I actually heard the name "Master Ning Nan of the Ning Family"...

He was so shocked that he felt a chill run through his body, wondering if he was hallucinating.

Fortunately, Gongsun reacted quickly, jumping up and going out to tip the servant and get the red invitation to verify...

What he didn't expect was...

Even if one is the one who understands the essence.

Those who wanted to cause him trouble didn't think the rumors were self-defeating.

Instead, he felt that the provincial examination was also being helped by "Uncle Bo Gong," and he even came to block his door.

However, these people weren't stupid; they knew that spreading rumors about "cheating in the provincial examination" was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.